7 March 2023

Responding to the small boats bill announced by the Home Secretary Suella Braverman today, Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay said:

“This is the latest attempt by the Tories to stop desperate people finding sanctuary. Last year three quarters of all asylum claims were granted [1]. Despite this, the government seems determined to clamp down on those fleeing conflict, persecution or extreme poverty in a host of countries by failing to offer legal routes to the UK. This will force people to continue taking their chances arriving in small boats. 

“The UK government appears to be on a mission to push the boundaries of international law and breach the European Convention on Human Rights. This will further damage the UK’s already shattered global reputation.

“The Green Party is the only party taking a strong stand against this cruel legislation and saying proudly that refugees are welcome. We want to see safe legal routes for anyone wanting to claim asylum. That’s the way to stop small boats making perilous journeys across the channel and break the criminal gangs involved in people smuggling.”

Notes

1. Top facts from the latest statistics on refugees and people seeking asylum – Refugee Council

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27 February 2023

Responding to the deal agreed between the UK and the EU on the Northern Ireland protocol, Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay said:

“We welcome closer cooperation between the UK government and the EU. Boris Johnson had promised an ‘oven-ready’ deal which has caused pain, division and turmoil for communities and businesses in Northern Ireland. 

“Hopefully today’s agreement marks a turning point when we can begin to heal these problems and strive towards much closer relationships.” 

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24 February 2023

Green Party founders, leaders and parliamentarians will gather today to mark the 50h anniversary of the founding of the Green political movement in the UK [1] – and the first Green Party in Europe.

Around 40 past and present leaders of the Greens including Caroline Lucas MP, Green peer Natalie Bennett, founding members Lesley Whittaker, Michael Benfield and Freda Sanders, and Jean Lambert former MEP, will meet for the opening of the Green Party archive at the London School of Economics [2].

The event marks the 50th anniversary of the first public meeting of PEOPLE, in Coventry on 22 February 1973. PEOPLE became the Ecology Party in 1975, before eventually becoming the Green Party in 1985.

Former leader Caroline Lucas, who became the party’s first MP in Brighton Pavilion in 2010, said: 

“The Green Party has come a long way over 50 years – transforming the public debate on the need to tackle the climate and nature crises, winning the political arguments for meaningful action, and being instrumental in the climate emergency declarations from both the UK Parliament and over 300 local authorities. 

“But with time running out, we urgently need more Green MPs to keep challenging the political status quo, demonstrating workable alternatives and standing up for a fairer, greener and more liveable future.”

Current deputy leader Zack Polanski will also be at the event on Friday.

Polanski said:

“I’m so proud of the achievements of the Green Party – over the past few years, we’ve seen our councillor numbers rapidly rise. 

“We still have a lot of work to do to meet the scale of the crises facing us and I know all over England and Wales members are ready to meet that challenge.”

ENDS

Notes

1

For more information about the 50th anniversary please visit: https://50years.greenparty.org.uk/

2

The event will mark the opening of the Green Party archive at LSE and exhibition:  “Clothing this Naked Earth”: politics and the planet which contains archive material 

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

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24 February 2023

On the first anniversary of Russia’s war on Ukraine, Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay said: 

“We extend our solidarity to the people of Ukraine who have resisted a year of Putin’s war and we send our deep condolences to all those who have lost loved ones.

“War carries huge costs for all sides involved and we must all work to bring it to a just end as soon as possible.

“A just peace must include holding to account those responsible for the many atrocities, such as in Bucha, the sexual violence and indiscriminate attacks against civilians. These are war crimes that must be prosecuted.

“I welcome the UN General Assembly vote calling for Russia’s unconditional withdrawal, a just and lasting peace based on the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine and the need for an immediate cessation of hostilities [1].

“Countries around the world must now show their solidarity by engaging with the UN which recognises both Ukraine’s right to exist in peace and independence and the need to end the war.”

Green Party Global Solidarity spokesperson, and former British Diplomat, Carne Ross added:

“On this tragic anniversary, the Green Party stands with the people of Ukraine in their fight against invasion and aggression. We support democracy and self-determination and Ukraine’s right to exist as an independent, free country.  

“We utterly condemn Russia’s continued hostility and aggression towards Ukraine, attacks against civilians and other war crimes. 

“The Green Party also believes that Ukraine should be provided with the means for its self-defence, including battle tanks and other weapons.

“We call on the UN Secretary-General to engage in diplomacy to explore the pathway towards an end to this awful war, and call upon him to communicate between Russia and other nuclear powers in the ‘P5’ to minimise the risk of the use of a nuclear weapon.  

“This war will end one day, hopefully with Russia’s defeat and Ukraine’s total liberation, but it remains incumbent on all to bring that day forward.”

[1] https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/02/1133847

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23 February 2023

Responding to Labour Leader Keir Starmer’s speech setting out his “five missions” [1], Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer said: 

“Keir Starmer has achieved the remarkable feat of combining lofty words with wrong-headed priorities to put our country on the road to further climate crisis and social injustice.

“His prioritisation of growth, seeking to put the UK economy at the top of the G7 table, made no mention of what limits there can be to such growth. It’s as if the climate and ecological emergencies suddenly cease to exist whenever there is talk of growth. 

“Economic growth for its own sake will mean supercharging environmentally destructive industries, when what we need is rapid investment in home insulation and clean and renewable energy.

“His call for ‘An NHS actually fit for the future’ is meaningless without a socially just plan to make social care free at the point of use, as the Greens have proposed.

“The country needs an alternative that is bold and realistic. The public wants big changes, with huge support for wealth taxes, pay rises for workers and a climate proofed economy. That is the route to a fairer, greener country.”

[1] https://labour.org.uk/missions/ 

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