15 August 2019

Responding to the news that drug-related deaths in England and Wales are the highest they have been since records began more than a quarter of a century ago (1), Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack said:

“We are seeing in these figures the huge human cost of the ‘War on Drugs’, and the impact of cutbacks to treatment and prevention services following Westminster government austerity.

“It is striking the higher levels of deaths in the poorer regions of the UK, including in Wales. 

“Green Party policy calls for a different approach. We need to take a public health approach to the misuse of drugs, and protect individuals, communities and especially children at risk of exploitation through county line drug gangs.

“Our current unregulated, out-of-control, illegal drug distribution is linked to crime, violence and lives of misery.” 

Notes

(1)   https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/aug/15/drug-poisoning-deaths-in-england-and-wales-at-highest-level-ever-recorded

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15 August 2019

London’s Green MEP Scott Ainslie will today be attending the “Stand With Kashmir” event in Trafalgar Square, which starts at 5pm.

In advance of the event, Scott said: “Security in Kashmir can only come from the respect of human rights and self-determination. Time and time again UN agencies and human right organisations have found how Kashmiris’ human rights are being violated. 

“It is time to put an end to the decades of violence and human rights suffered by the inhabitants of Kashmir, and the decisions by India to unilaterally end the rights of Kashmiris is deeply disturbing and should be called out.

“By virtually cutting off the region, India is making Kashmiris inhabitants of an open-air prison, completely flouting the principle of autonomy enshrined in its constitution. Far from guarantee its security, the Indian Government is raising the stakes in a dangerous game that will only satisfy the hawks in its administration.

“By altering the constitutional status of Kashmir, India is reducing the possibility of a peaceful solution to a conflict that has kept two nuclear-armed nations at odds for the last 70 years. An outbreak of active conflict would bring untold human suffering.”

“Proponents of a post-Brexit ‘global Britain’, including the prime minister, seem once again unable to make our voice heard in international forums.

“We need the UK government to advocate for an ethical foreign policy that builds capacity for conflict resolution. The defence of human rights in Kashmir, including freedom of the press and of assembly, should be the starting point of any definitive peace talks.

“But we also need to call for calm and restraint from all sides. Fiery rhetoric and inflammatory language will not help this situation.”

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14 August 2019

Responding to a letter received this evening from Jeremy Corbyn about co-operation in the coming month in parliament, Green MP Caroline Lucas said:

 “We absolutely support and welcome Jeremy Corbyn’s call for a vote of no-confidence in order to avoid the catastrophe of the so-called ‘No Deal’.  Preventing a crash-out Brexit on the 31st October was what lay behind my proposal earlier this week.

“But the proposal from the Labour leader does not guarantee that the people are given the final say on Brexit.

“Holding a general election before a People’s Vote is the wrong way around.

“Votes are cast in general elections on multiple issues, and the first-past-the-post system can and does create parliaments unrepresentative of the views of the people. The People’s Vote would ensure everyone’s voice was heard clearly on the single, crucial, issue of Brexit.”

Caroline added:

“I would back a vote of no-confidence if Jeremy Corbyn calls it, but what I ask him to do is to guarantee that if he fails to win the confidence of the House, even for a time-limited temporary Government, that he would commit to supporting an MP who can do that, then deliver the crucial letter to the EU asking for an extension of Article 50, then a People’s Vote.

“After that is the time to hold an election, when voters can make the choice about their representatives to take the UK forward, dealing with the pressing issues within our country.” 

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13 August 2019

Responding to reports that Prime Minister Boris Johnson is planning to pull UK officials from meetings in Brussels (1),

Green Party Deputy Leader Amelia Womack said:

“The plans would constitute a complete dereliction of duty by the Government that will consciously fail to perform its basic functions.”

“Once again it is clear that for propagandistic reasons the Prime Minister would risk the security of our country and our standing in relation to our natural allies.

“Brexit was never presented as a diminishment of our status in the world. Every day we are safer as a country as a result of the exchange of information with our EU allies.”

“The EU has always been at the forefront of consumer protection, it would be a mistake to abandon those standards.”

Green Party Eastern Region MEP Catherine Rowett said:

“This is a dark day for British diplomacy as Boris Johnson sacrifices our national interest and self-respect on the altar of a regressive nationalism. We cannot solve problems, in Europe or at home, by cutting ourselves off from our neighbours and refusing to talk to anyone.

“The hard-line Brexiteers make grand claims about trade deals with a world beyond Europe but they know that is a lie. Other countries will not want to trade with a UK that is isolated and in chaos after a crash-out Brexit.

“Nobody voted for lessening British influence in the world or for greater hardship at home, and Boris Johnson’s government has no right to impose that on us.”

Notes

(1)    https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/aug/12/british-diplomats-to-pull-out-from-eu-decision-making-meetings-within-days

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7 August 2019

Reacting to the decision by train companies in the UK to stop accepting Interrail passes from January (1), Green Party Deputy Leader Amelia Womack said:

“This is entirely the wrong direction of travel, in both environmental and international relations terms.

“We need to be encouraging people to travel by train rather than taking the plane. It needs to be the easiest, simplest and cheapest option, as well as being as it already is by far the most pleasant.

“And we want to encourage people from across our continent and beyond to meet, to make friendships, learn about other societies, and build links with our fellow Europeans in particular.

“This is one more reminder that our current rail model is broken: we should be running this public service for the public good, which would certainly include taking Interrail passes, rather than private profit.”

Notes:

(1)    https://www.politico.eu/article/british-train-companies-quit-interrail/

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