17 January 2019

Reacting to the news that Hitachi are to scrap the £16bn Wyfla nuclear power station in Anglesey [1], Green Party of England and Wales deputy leader and prospective candidate for Newport West Amelia Womack said:

“Today’s news underlines nuclear power as obsolete in the twenty-first century.

“There are now many different  forms of renewable energy generation that are cleaner, cheaper, more efficient and don’t come with the potentially devastating environmental downsides.

“It’s now time for the Westminster Government to invest in tidal lagoon power at Swansea Bay and other projects that will deliver Wales’ clean energy future.”

[1]https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/jan/17/hitachi-set-to-scrap-16bn-nuclear-project-anglesey-wales

Tweet

Back to main news page

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

17 January 2019

Following her meeting with the Prime Minister to discuss Brexit this morning, Green Party MP Caroline Lucas said:

“I’ve just come out of Downing Street having had a robust discussion with the Prime Minister.

“I urged her to take no deal off the table and stop using it to blackmail MPs. It would be a catastrophe for the country and no responsible government should even contemplate it.

“I raised the rights of the three million EU citizens who’ve made their homes here and British people living in Europe, and the Prime Minister agreed to do more to reassure people whose lives have been turned upside down by Brexit. I got an update on the situation with those countries which have yet to guarantee citizens’ rights in the event of no deal.

“I pressured Theresa May hard on the need for a People’s Vote. One of her main concerns is about how it looks if Parliament is unable to deliver on the result of the referendum. 

“I’ve been talking and listening to people across the country and can assure her that Parliament is already considered to have failed – and the way to start bringing our society back together is with more democracy.

“We also touched on the role of Citizens’ Assemblies as part of the solution to the gridlock in Westminster and I’ve agreed to send her more information.

“But sadly these talks are coming far too late and there is no sign the Prime Minister is genuinely willing to compromise.”

Tweet

Back to main news page

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

15 January 2019

Responding to events in Parliament tonight, Green Party MP Caroline Lucas said:

“This is game over for Theresa May. But it’s only the end of the beginning of this whole Brexit saga.

“MPs don’t want Theresa May’s deal, they rightly reject no deal, and they can’t have a fantasy renegotiation.

“Unable to win the most important vote in a generation, our Government is no longer in power. So I will support this motion of no confidence – but a general election where both of the biggest parties support some kind of Brexit won’t heal the very real divisions this process has caused.

“If the Remain campaign learns from the mistakes of 2016, a People’s Vote could deliver the frank and honest debate we need, and provide an opportunity to move on from Brexit, empower communities and build a fairer country.

“I’ll keep campaigning for the public to have a say over our future relationship with our nearest neighbours, no matter who occupies Number 10.”

Caroline is among the sponsors of a cross-party motion of no confidence in the Government.

Tweet

Back to main news page

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

15 January 2019

Amelia Womack, deputy leader of the Green Party, will today call on Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour front bench to throw their weight behind the campaign for a People’s Vote on Brexit.

Womack will make the call during a speech at a rally for a People’s Vote in Parliament Square today at about 4pm [1].

 She is expected to call on Labour to “listen to its members” after a poll found 72% back a People’s Vote [2].

 Womack is expected to say (check against delivery):

“Whatever happens when MPs vote tonight, tomorrow all sides of this debate must come together to collectively find a way forwards. That means going back to the British people, asking them what they want and giving them a People’s Vote.

“So let’s be honest about what we need to get there. We have seen support for a People’s Vote is growing every single day – with more and more Conservatives giving their support. But we need the Labour front bench to get on board. Today as we wait for this historic moment we ask Labour to do what is right, to listen to its members – and to get behind a People’s Vote.

“Because while without Jeremy Corbyn this campaign feels truly winnable, we know that with him it would be unstoppable.”

Notes:

1. https://www.peoples-vote.uk/decision_day_live
2. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jan/02/most-labour-members-believe-corbyn-should-back-second-brexit-vote

Tweet

Back to main news page

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

14 January 2019

Green Party Baroness Jenny Jones, who has put forward a Bill to make clean air a human right, said:

“Air Pollution is a public health emergency responsible for hundred of thousands of premature deaths, but this new government strategy continues the same slow motion progress of the last two decades. As much as I welcome the long term goals of meeting World Health Organisation guidelines, I’m more concerned that we are nine years behind meeting the pollution limits for NO2 that we set ourselves back in at the turn of the century.

“We need to make clean air a human right, enforceable in the courts with a Citizens’ Commission providing legal support for parents and others to take action against those responsible for bad air. Until we get a new Clean Air Act that has legal teeth, then all these promises by government bodies, local authorities and car companies won’t result in urgent action.”  

Tweet

Back to main news page

Let’s block ads! (Why?)