26 May 2021

• Jonathan Bartley: “Without full accountability, this government will continue to mislead and attempt to spin its way out of taking responsibility”

The Green Party has reiterated its call for a full public and judge-led inquiry into the government’s handling of the pandemic to begin immediately [1] following the evidence given by Dominic Cummings to MPs today [Wednesday 26 May].

The Prime Minister’s former chief adviser revealed a catalogue of failings in the UK government’s response to Covid-19 which led to the avoidable deaths of tens of thousands of people when he appeared before the health and science joint committee today.

Green Party co-leader Jonathan Bartley said:

“The evidence provided by Boris Johnson’s former chief advisor has shocked and saddened many of us in equal measure. 

“From describing a government that simply had no plan, to accusing a Secretary of State of lying, public trust has been seriously undermined by how badly the Government has mismanaged the pandemic and the thousands of avoidable deaths this has caused.

“It is vital that a full public and judge-led inquiry starts immediately to discover exactly what went wrong, ensure that such mistakes are not repeated again and begin to restore public trust.

“Without full accountability, this government will continue to mislead and attempt to spin its way out of taking responsibility. Everybody suffers as this government attempts to gaslight us all over its failings during the pandemic.

“From repeatedly underestimating the impact of the virus, to spending billions on a failed test and trace system, the repeated failings are clear despite attempts to mislead the House and the public by a number of cabinet ministers.

“It will take generations for us to come to terms with what has happened since the beginning of last year, but a full public inquiry could provide the first steps for many to be able to do that.”

ENDS

Notes

            1

https://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/2021/03/23/greens-call-for-inquiry-into-government%E2%80%99s-handling-of-covid-19,-one-year-on-from-start-of-lockdown/

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26 May 2021

• Jonathan Bartley: “Without full accountability, this government will continue to mislead and attempt to spin its way out of taking responsibility”

The Green Party has reiterated its call for a full public and judge-led inquiry into the government’s handling of the pandemic to begin immediately [1] following the evidence given by Dominic Cummings to MPs today [Wednesday 26 May].

The Prime Minister’s former chief adviser revealed a catalogue of failings in the UK government’s response to Covid-19 which led to the avoidable deaths of tens of thousands of people when he appeared before the health and science joint committee today.

Green Party co-leader Jonathan Bartley said:

“The evidence provided by Boris Johnson’s former chief advisor has shocked and saddened many of us in equal measure. 

“From describing a government that simply had no plan, to accusing a Secretary of State of lying, public trust has been seriously undermined by how badly the Government has mismanaged the pandemic and the thousands of avoidable deaths this has caused.

“It is vital that a full public and judge-led inquiry starts immediately to discover exactly what went wrong, ensure that such mistakes are not repeated again and begin to restore public trust.

“Without full accountability, this government will continue to mislead and attempt to spin its way out of taking responsibility. Everybody suffers as this government attempts to gaslight us all over its failings during the pandemic.

“From repeatedly underestimating the impact of the virus, to spending billions on a failed test and trace system, the repeated failings are clear despite attempts to mislead the House and the public by a number of cabinet ministers.

“It will take generations for us to come to terms with what has happened since the beginning of last year, but a full public inquiry could provide the first steps for many to be able to do that.”

ENDS

Notes

            1

https://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/2021/03/23/greens-call-for-inquiry-into-government%E2%80%99s-handling-of-covid-19,-one-year-on-from-start-of-lockdown/

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24 May 2021

• Jonathan Bartley: “While most people want to see compassion and common sense applied at our borders, it is harder and harder for people to find legitimate routes to claim legal asylum in Britain”

In response to Home Secretary Priti Patel’s keynote speech on immigration today [1], Green Party co-leader Jonathan Bartley said:

“With every week that goes by, Priti Patel’s twisted immigration policy hits new lows. While most people want to see compassion and common sense applied at our borders, it is harder and harder for people to find legitimate routes to claim legal asylum in Britain. The only winners are the traffickers and smugglers who profit from the misery we create.

“This brutal and heartless agenda is completely at odds with public opinion. When thousands of neighbours stood together to prevent an immigration raid in Glasgow, we saw what the British public really thinks. We won’t stand for a border regime which drags people from their homes, locks them up with no reason and turns people away when they need our help. 

“It’s time to end the hostile environment, provide safe routes for refugees, and put the smugglers and traffickers out of business for good.”

ENDS

Notes

1

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/patel-uk-immigration-system-reform-speech-b1852475.html

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17 May 2021

• Jonathan Bartley: “It is time for us to end our complicity in Israeli repression in the occupied territories and Gaza and to end all sales of arms and related equipment to Israel by companies based in the UK”

The Green Party has written to the Foreign Secretary to urge the UK government to end the sales of arms to Israel by UK companies and officially recognise the state of Palestine in the wake of an alarming escalation of violence in the region.

In a letter to Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, Green Party co-leader Jonathan Bartley has expressed the Green Party’s deep concern with the loss of life in Israel and Palestine and urged the Foreign Office to issue much stronger and even-handed condemnation of those provoking violence. [1]

The letter cites figures from the Campaign Against Arms Trade which shows the UK has licensed £400 million worth of arms to Israel since 2015 and that some of these arms exported from the UK have previously been implicated in previous atrocities against Palestine. [2]

In the letter, Bartley also cites a 2018 Early Day Motion, signed by 73 cross-party MPs, which notes that licences had been granted in the previous two years to export arms to Israel, despite the fact that the consolidated criteria on arms exports precludes this “where there is a risk that items must be used for internal repression or in the commission of a serious violation of international humanitarian law and considering the need not to affect adversely regional stability in any significant way.” [3]

Bartley said:

“The recent escalation of violence in Israel and Palestine has once again shocked the world and we urge the UK government to do whatever it can to actively support de-escalation. The seriousness of the situation demands more than words.

“The most important action the government could take right now is to immediately put a stop to the sale of arms to Israel from UK companies.

“Hundreds of millions of pounds’ worth of arms have been sold to Israel since 2015. These may have been used to cause suffering and misery and have served no purpose at all in achieving peace in the region.

“It is time for us to end our complicity in Israel repression in the occupied territories in Palestine and to end all sales of arms and related equipment to Israel by companies based in the UK.”

ENDS

Notes

1

The full letter can be read here

2

https://caat.org.uk/news/caat-call-for-uk-to-end-arms-sales-and-military-support-for-israeli-forces-following-gaza-killings-and-storming-of-al-aqsa-mosque/

3

https://edm.parliament.uk/early-day-motion/51776/uk-arms-exports-to-israel

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10 May 2021

• Caroline Lucas: “The surge in votes we’ve seen for the Green Party this weekend shows that people up and down the country recognise the urgent need for real action on the environment, and that this can be done whilst dramatically improving the quality of peoples’ lives”

In the wake of record election results for the Greens this weekend [1], Caroline Lucas MP has said the government must set out what action it will take to tackle the climate and ecological crises in tomorrow’s Queen’s Speech.

Ahead of the speech, the MP for Brighton Pavilion has put forward a list of “Five Bills to Thrive” [2] which would make fundamental changes to society, including the creation of millions of Green jobs, for the best for people and the planet.

Meanwhile, the Greens have also called on the government to introduce the long-overdue social care bill and halt the photo ID requirement for elections set to be confirmed in the speech tomorrow, despite the fact that in 2019 there was just one reported conviction of voter fraud. [3]

Lucas said:

“The surge in votes we’ve seen for the Green Party this weekend shows that people up and down the country recognise the urgent need for real action on the environment, and that this can be done whilst dramatically improving the quality of peoples’ lives.

“The government must use the Queen’s Speech tomorrow to put us on the right track to addressing the huge challenges of climate and ecological breakdown. 

“If the government was serious about making life better for all, then tomorrow we would see a Green New Deal to create millions of Green jobs alongside Bills to help the UK meet its climate targets and shift the focus of our economic model away from relentless GDP growth and towards the health of people and planet.”

Meanwhile, Green Party peer Natalie Bennett called for the Prime Minister to deliver on his promise to introduce a Social Care Bill. 

Baroness Bennett said:

“Where is the social care bill that Boris Johnson told us was ‘oven ready’ from the steps of Downing Street on day one as Prime Minister? 

“The Conservatives are letting down the vulnerable elderly and those who care for them with inadequate pay and conditions yet again. 

“Meanwhile we have plans for our NHS that see it being handed over on a platter to the disastrous American for-profit healthcare providers.

“This is a Queen’s Speech from which a few are set to profit, while the rest of us pay, with our chance to exert democratic controls over the government even further reduced by deployment of US-style voter suppression tactics in the form of photo-ID requirements.”

ENDS 

Notes

1 

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/may/09/surging-greens-pitch-to-replace-lib-dems-as-uks-third-party

2 

https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium/voices/queens-speech-uk-climate-crisis-b1843299.html          

3

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/may/10/queens-speech-photo-id-future-elections-social-care

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