31 January 2022

The Green Party co-leaders have set out plans to help tackle the cost of living as part of a major announcement to mark their first 100 days in office [1].

With households across the country facing a staggering 50% hike in their energy bills in April, the Green Party has said it is more vital than ever to set out ways now to help households through this cost of living crisis.

Following the call at the Green Party autumn conference for a £320 winter fuel payment to all, co-leaders Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay have said the party will support every Green Party councillor in the country to push for a retrofit revolution in their authority, as well as pressure the government into taking immediate action to help those who need it most. 

The leaders will use the example set by Green councillors in Lewes, who are leading the way by working with six other local authorities to retrofit 40,000 council homes, using the collective financial firepower of their housing maintenance accounts – a combined total of £1 billion.

Now, the Green Party co-leaders have said they will work with Zoe Nicholson, the Green leader of Lewes District Council, to enable Green councillors to roll this initiative out across the country.

At the same time, they are urging the government to reverse the recent £20 cut to Universal Credit, to ensure those in receipt of welfare payments would receive an extra £1,000 to help pay for their energy bills this year.

Denyer said:

“Once again, this government is doing nothing while millions of people in England and Wales are left facing the prospect of having to choose between eating and heating, and things look like they are only going to get worse.

“Greens are not sitting around waiting for the Government to make a move. We are taking the lead from the ground up. Green Party councillors will ask their local authorities to trial a scheme which should ensure that families across the country have warmer homes and cheaper bills.

“Work like this shows why it is so important to elect Green representatives at every level of government. A Green in the room makes a difference.”

The Green Party currently has around 600 elected councillors from every level of local government in England and Wales. In 14 authorities the Greens are in administration, including Brighton and Hove, Lancaster, Lewes and Sheffield.

Greens will also push local authorities to use this opportunity to work with colleges and educational institutes to provide green skills training and develop the workforce of the future. 

Ramsay said:

“This has to be the kickstart of a retrofit revolution across the country, and it is Greens who are already leading the way.

“If councils pool resources and look to work collaboratively, it will not only create a huge demand for jobs, it will also help the millions of people who are forced to live with the incredible stress of not knowing how they are going to pay their bills.

“On top of that, this is a serious boost to tackling climate change. Energy is the biggest carbon emitter in the UK. As Greens we are determined to do everything we can to create warm homes, cheaper bills and a safer environment.”

Zoe Nicholson, Green leader of Lewes District Council, said:

“Councils like Lewes have responsibility to lead the way where the government lags behind and find ways to support our tenants to live in warmer and cheaper homes. 

“Working with other councils means that we can move faster on retrofitting, solve the skills crisis in the workforce by developing a guaranteed pipeline of work for the renewable industry, and form local retrofit taskforces that will help those in private rented accommodation and homeowners.” 

Notes

1

Monday 31 January marks 100 full days since co-leaders Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay gave their maiden speech to the Green Party Autumn Conference 2021: https://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/2021/10/22/co-leaders-autumn-conference-speech-2021/

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27 January 2022

Responding to today’s news that energy company EDF will receive an additional £100 million cash injection from the Government to help it build the Sizewell C nuclear power plant, Green Party co-leader and MP candidate in Suffolk Adrian Ramsay said:

“Nuclear power is a burden and a risk, not a solution. The next decade is crucial for cutting carbon emissions but nuclear will only slow the energy transition, not speed it up. Even with constant injections of yet more taxpayers’ cash, the energy from Sizewell C won’t come onstream for years, whereas more cost-effective solar and wind can be deployed right now.

“At a time when people are already struggling with energy prices, it is absurd to throw yet more millions of pounds into a nuclear plant that could just drive energy prices up further [1] when we could be expanding cheaper, cleaner alternatives like solar or wind. 

“If built, Sizewell C would not only be a blight on Suffolk, but it would be a drag on the UK’s race to meet climate targets.”

Notes

1

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-60140854 and https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jan/27/ministers-invest-100m-in-edfs-20bn-sizewell-c-nuclear-power-station 

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Responding to today’s announcement that a coal-mining company has secured a license to mine 40 million more tonnes of coal at Aberpergwm [1], Wales Green Party leader Anthony Slaughter said:

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25 January 2022

Greens have welcomed the announcement by the Metropolitan Police that they will investigate a number of events at No 10 and Whitehall because they appear to constitute “the most serious and flagrant type of breach” [1]. 

Green peer, Jenny Jones, who launched an official complaint into the failure of the police to investigate ‘Partygate’, said:

“I welcome this much delayed police investigation into rule breaking by the Prime Ministers’ Office. The decision, finally, to investigate Partygate suggests there were serious and flagrant breaches of the rules at the time. 

“The Met Police should have started their investigation weeks ago when I launched an official complaint into their failure to enforce the law at Number 10 [2]. While other parties have kept their focus on Boris Johnson, Greens have been holding the police to account [2].

“The delay has damaged the reputation of the Met Police for impartiality and the timing of the announcement appears to have been used by Downing Street to delay the publication of the Sue Gray report, which we expected to be made public this week. 

“I hope the Met will now look at the charge of “misconduct in public office” as this allows the use of search warrants and goes beyond what Sue Gray has been able to do. It would also be good to see the Met Police add other matters to their list of questions such as cash for peerages, the fast track scheme of PPE contracts and cash for access involving the decoration of the Downing Street flat.”

Notes

[1] https://news.sky.com/story/met-launches-investigation-into-a-number-of-downing-street-events-12524866 

[2] https://inews.co.uk/news/downing-street-party-met-police-investigate-boris-johnson-drinks-event-1398216  

[3] Thousands of people signed a Green Party petition demanding the Metropolitan Police investigate the Downing Street parties: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/police-must-deliver-a-full-fair-and-independent-investigation-into-partygate 

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24 January 2022

Responding to the escalating situation in Ukraine and Boris Johnson’s response, Green peer Natalie Bennett, said: 

“It is deeply worrying that there is an escalation towards conflict. With the growing build-up of military forces, Boris Johnson is right to warn that an invasion would be a painful, violent and bloody business [1]. 

“However, Brexit and an over-reliance on gas for electricity and heating has strengthened Putin’s hand. 

“Johnson’s government has also dragged its feet over clamping down on property ownership by Russian oligarchs in London – part of that pit of global corruption that the resignation of Lord Agnew of Oulton on the floor of the House of Lords has highlighted today. 

“Transparency International reveals Russian money in London property to be an eye watering £1.5bn and that almost 150 land titles are owned by Russian individuals with links to Putin’s regime [2]. 

“Under these circumstances, Boris Johnson cannot cast himself as a leader in diplomacy over Ukraine.

“As Greens we continue to emphasise the need for intensified diplomatic efforts while underlining the risk posed by the stockpiles of nuclear weapons, and Britain’s plans to increase its numbers of warheads. We will continue to press for the implementation of the United Nations nuclear weapon ban treaty [3].”

Notes

[1] https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/breaking-boris-johnson-warns-putin-26032301 

[2] https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/jan/23/no-10-casts-boris-johnson-as-head-of-anti-russian-alliance-over-ukraine 

[3] https://www.icanw.org/the_treaty 

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