2 February 2023

Record results for oil giant Shell show there are “still massive profits to be made from letting the climate burn,” warns Green Party Co-leader Carla Denyer.

Shell’s annual profits more than doubled to a record of nearly $40bn (£32.3bn) [1] as consumers struggle to pay huge energy bills after a surge in wholesale gas prices.

Denyer said:

“These record profits make the undeniable case for a carbon tax to be imposed on the fossil fuel industry before the planet is incinerated. These profits give the lie to any claim that fossil fuel giants will act responsibly when there is still money to be made from destroying our planet.

“The government’s windfall tax is useless – it has a massive loophole where companies can dodge the tax if they invest in new fossil fuel extraction. It fails to make the oil giants act responsibly toward people or the planet, or raise the money needed to invest in renewables.

“For the last year, we at the Green Party have been calling for a ‘Dirty Profits Tax’, without the Tory loopholes. This would have raised billions over the last year, and served as the first step towards a proper carbon tax. 

“Our carbon tax is one of the most powerful levers we can apply alongside to move us towards a clean green economy and fairer society. [2]

“Fossil fuel companies drive the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, but are still allowed to profit from their damaging activities. A carbon tax would target these big polluters and render coal, oil and gas financially unviable as cheaper renewable energies rise up to take their place.

“But as well as tackling the climate crisis, a carbon tax will offer a social dividend which will help people to get through this cost of living crisis and make the UK a more equal society. This is because yields from a carbon tax would provide the money to invest in free home insulation, properly-funded public services and a universal basic income.” 

ENDS

Notes

1

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-64489147

2

https://www.greenparty.org.uk/assets/files/Communications/10_Point_Climate_Plan.pdf

Back to main news page

Adblock test (Why?)

31 January 2023

As the UK marks three years since leaving the EU and the IMF confirms that the UK economy will shrink and perform worse than any other advanced economy in the year ahead [1], the Green Party has called for the country to become ‘rejoin ready’ so the UK can rejoin the EU when the political conditions are right.

Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer, said:

“With the IMF pointing to the UK as the only major economy facing a decline, it is clear that Brexit has been all pain and no gain. From labour market shortages to less resilience in the face of economic shocks; from a collapse in foreign investment to sharply reduced trade, all the economic indicators show that Brexit has failed.

“Only the Green Party has the courage to consider reversing this huge political mistake and question whether it would be better if the UK were to return to the EU. 

“As Greens we believe that the UK should rejoin the EU as soon as the political conditions are right. We need to get the country ‘rejoin ready.’ The EU will need to see us as a reliable partner before they are willing to open negotiations, while our eventual decision would clearly need to depend on the conditions we were able to negotiate.

“In the immediate term we must now renegotiate to restore freedom of movement to address labour market shortages, rejoin the customs union to ease the situation with goods crossing our borders, and end plans to shred thousands of pieces of EU legislation that help protect workers’ rights and the environment [2].

“A majority of the public are now with us on rejoining the EU. Three years on, it’s time to admit our mistake and end the economic, social and environmental damage caused by trashing our relationship with our nearest neighbours.”

Notes

[1] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64452995 

[2] https://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/bonfire-of-insanity-the-unwelcome-return-of-the-retained-eu-law-bill/ 

Back to main news page

Adblock test (Why?)

31 January 2023

The latest challenge from environmental campaigners to Bristol Airport expansion has been rejected at Bristol Civil Court [1]. Responding to the news, Green Party co-leader and Councillor for Clifton Down in Bristol, Carla Denyer, said:

“This is a devastating outcome. Bristol airport’s unnecessary expansion would mean thousands of extra flights producing one million tonnes of CO2 equivalents every year. This when the science tells us clearly that we must be drastically reducing our emissions. Not to mention more traffic, noise and air pollution for local people, as well as the risks expansion will cause to endangered local species. All this in face of clear local opposition.

“To make matters worse, we know that up to 20 other regional airports have their own plans to expand and will have been watching this case very closely to see if the government will enforce its own climate policy. As the government’s own committee on climate change has pointed out, airport expansion is completely incompatible with our commitments on climate change.

“Unfortunately, both the Conservatives and Labour want to have their cake and eat it when it comes to climate change, claiming to support climate action but unwilling to accept any change from business as usual. In the real world there is no such thing as green aviation or carbon neutral jet fuel. We must listen to the scientists, not the airports or aviation industry.”

Notes

[1] Bristol Airport: Judge rejects challenge against expansion plans – Bristol Live (bristolpost.co.uk)

Back to main news page

Adblock test (Why?)

30 January 2023

The Green Party has called on Rishi Sunak to publish his tax returns before he marks his first 100 days in office on Thursday [February 2] to increase transparency in a government that is losing the confidence of the public on a daily basis.

Following the sacking of Nadhim Zahawi as Conservative Party chairman for breaches of the ministerial code over his tax affairs, Green Party deputy leader Zack Polanski has urged the Prime Minister to publish his own tax returns, and to insist all government ministers do the same, in a bid to increase trust in politics.

Mr Sunak has previously promised he will publish them at some point, and had suggested he would do it before Christmas, but there is still no sign of them despite the fact he will reach his first 100 days milestone this week.

Green Party deputy leader Zack Polanski said:

“Rishi Sunak has spent nearly 100 days as Prime Minister yet despite his claim to clean up the image of the Conservative Party we continue to see a government lurching from crisis to crisis.

“This latest controversy with his former party chairman is another step towards the complete erosion of trust the public has in politics. 

“Meanwhile, dealing with one crisis of their own making after another has left this government with little time to focus on what they should be doing – helping people through the cost of living crisis and reversing years of damage to our environment and public services.

“It is vital this government begins to rebuild the trust of the public and gets on with the important work it is currently neglecting. A small, but important, first step would be for Rishi Sunak, and all of his Cabinet, to publish their tax returns, in the interests of transparency and to be full and frank with the people they are supposed to be serving.”

ENDS

Notes

1

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/nov/16/rishi-sunak-says-he-hopes-to-publish-tax-return-by-christmas

For more information or to arrange an interview contact the press office on press@greenparty.org.uk or call 0203 691 9401

Back to main news page

Adblock test (Why?)

27 January 2023

Green Party peer Jenny Jones has urged the Lords to stop the government’s “pre-crime” laws in a vote on the Public Order Bill on Monday.

The government has proposed late amendments to the Bill that give the police power to ban protests, or a series of protests, ahead of them being held. It doesn’t matter if the organisers have never been convicted of a crime and what’s planned is non violent, the intention is enough for the police to judge it as illegal, if they feel it will ‘seriously disrupt’ someone’s life. 

A protest only has to be “more than minor interference” to be counted as “serious disruption” under a government supported amendment. The judgement over what is minor, rather than “more than minor interference”, will be left to the police to predict, ahead of the proposed protest. 

As these pre-crime amendments have been submitted late and in the Lords, it means the Lords can vote them out of the bill.

Green Party peer, Baroness Jenny Jones said:

“The Lords have a rare opportunity to stop the draconian shift towards pre-crime. Under these proposals, the police will be able to ban protests that they think might cause more than minor disruption. 

“A government that bans strikes, introduces voter suppression and stops effective protest is destroying democracy from within. I hope the Labour peers will pull out all the stops and join with the rest of us who aim to stop pre-crime and these other draconian proposals from becoming law.”

“The practicalities of enforcing pre-crime are fraught with problems for the police. For example, the million strong protest against the Iraq War caused serious disruption, but there has never been a law that allows the police to ban such a gathering. 

“The police might have to guess at the numbers attending a demonstration and what the protestors might, or might not, do. Pre-crime laws give the police a huge discretionary power to decide what is a good or a bad protest. It puts the police in the position of making political choices with government Ministers applying pressure to ban protests that are embarrassing to them.”

ENDS

For more information or to arrange an interview contact Ian Wingrove on media@jennyjones.org

Back to main news page

Adblock test (Why?)