The doctor on the doorstep: Alex Armitage, paediatrician and green campaigner

Alex Armitage, a paediatric emergency doctor, is sitting cross legged in a school hall in east London, surrounded by children from the local Woodcraft Folk group. He is the Green Party candidate for Hackney North and Stoke Newington and is joined by most of the other parties’ candidates.

The children are here for a mock election and want answers on single use plastic, making the UK carbon neutral by 2030, and equal pay. Armitage is on solid ground here because his party has the most radical policies to act on climate change. But, he warns the children, “If we are going to do this, it means the way we live will need to change massively—for example, driving around in cars, buying new clothes all the time, and flying on holiday.” The children are undeterred, and he …