Reacting to the latest Ofgem price cap announcement, Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay MP said: 

“This is miserable news for those already struggling to make ends meet in the run up to Christmas and follows a 10 per cent rise in August. 

“The government’s own figures show that its unnecessary decision to end universal winter fuel payments to help with bills will plunge 50,000 more pensioners into poverty next year. 

“The government must act. It says that its promised GB Energy will see prices fall – but when? It should support people to use less energy – and cut their bills – now. It should fund a national programme of council-delivered home insulation starting immediately.  

“Insulating people’s homes means they can stay warm while using less energy, save money and produce fewer harmful carbon emissions.” 

Responding to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s announcement that up to 300,000 homes will benefit from upgrades next year, Green Party Co-Leader Adrian Ramsay said,   

“Today’s announcement left too many householders out in the cold. Household heating accounts for almost a fifth of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions. And while making up to 300,000 homes a year warmer and cheaper to run is welcome, it falls far short of the 15 million homes that the UK Green Building Council says need to be retrofitted by the end of this decade.” 

He continued,  

“Heat pumps are a proven technology, but their uptake has been slowed by a lack of consistent support for households and industry, combined with underinvestment in creating the workforce and supply chains needed. What we need now is a nationwide programme of government-backed, council-delivered home insulation and clean heat sources installation starting immediately to keep people’s homes warm, bring down their bills, and reduce emissions.” 

Carla Denyer, co-leader of the Green Party said:

“The ICC arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant and Mohammed Deif shows that to continue selling arms to Israel is to aid and abet war crimes. It is utterly indefensible.

“The Government must recognise that their approach to the war in Gaza has failed. They must consider far more direct measures to incentivise a ceasefire including an end to arms sales, the introduction of divestments, boycotts and sanctions, prosecutions for all those who have committed war crimes and a plan for a viable Palestinian state.”

Responding to £1bn in funding which the government says will deliver a London-style bus service across England [1], co-leader of the Green Party, Carla Denyer MP, said: 

“It is encouraging to hear that councils will be empowered to take control of bus services. Tory deregulation of services was a green light for axing routes, running down services and a focus only on those routes which generated a profit.  

“It is also right that funding be based on need. However, the idea that Labour’s £1bn will mean a London style bus service arriving to all corners of the country is questionable. 

 “Also, increasing the single bus fare by 50% while freezing fuel duty definitely wasn’t the ticket. Keeping the £2 bus fare cap in England would have cost just a tenth of the money the government squandered by freezing fuel duty [2]. And too often bus reliability is affected by traffic, so we will need some bold moves on bus priority so buses can actually turn up when they are meant to.” 

Notes 

1. ‘London-style’ bus services planned for England with £1bn boost – BBC News 

2. Keeping £2 bus fare cap would have cost a tenth of fuel duty freeze, says think tank | The Independent 

Reacting to planned protests this week by farmers over changes to Inheritance tax [1], Green Party Food, Agriculture & Rural Welfare spokesperson, Emily O’Brien, said: 

“Farmers are feeling abandoned. They have suffered badly from Brexit, both via detrimental trade conditions and reduced subsidies. And tax breaks for agricultural land have inflated land values, making it harder for both new entrants and existing farmers.  

“It is right to clamp down on those who buy farmland to avoid tax and the Green Party strongly supports wealth taxes. But we also need the government to take action to ensure that hard working farmers can earn a decent income. In particular, in the face of our climate and nature crises, we need subsidies to focus on encouraging farmers to shift to nature-friendly farming. This will protect our food security and support the rural economy while allowing wildlife to recover.” 

Notes 

1. Starmer doubles down on ‘tractor tax’ claim ahead of huge protest | The Independent