As the polls close, Green Party Co-leader Adrian Ramsay, who is standing in Waveney Valley, said: 

“Tonight, Greens are on the brink of new breakthroughs. The Greens offered real hope and real change at this election and voters have been responding. 

“In Conservative-inclined places like Waveney Valley and North Herefordshire, and in cities like Bristol and Brighton voters have come out to vote Green. 

“We stood more candidates than ever before – giving people across England and Wales the chance to vote Green in ever greater numbers.  

“Our fantastic candidates and wonderful volunteers have made the case for a different kind of politics and can be immensely proud of what they achieved during this long campaign.” 

Co-leader Carla Denyer, standing in Bristol Central, said: 

“It is clear from the exit poll that Labour has won and won big. 

“We want it to succeed in government and we want its ambitions and achievements to be bolder.  

“That will be the task of our next generation of Green MPs we hope to see elected tonight, to push Labour in government to be bolder, braver, and more ambitious – and to put new issues on the agenda.   

“We have succeeded in getting progressive policies like a wealth tax on the super-rich to fund the rebuilding of our crumbling public services on the election agenda. Now we need to get it on the new government’s agenda. 

“The Conservatives broke Britain. If Labour is to begin to mend the damage, it is going to need to listen to Green voices in and outside parliament. 

“The tectonic political plates are shifting. In just a few hours we will be able to see how far.” 

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Green party co-leaders Carla Denyer (Bristol Central) and Adrian Ramsay (Waveney Valley) will spend the final full day of campaigning in their tight marginals before a massive get out the vote action on Thursday led by hundreds of volunteers. 

Denyer said: 

“Our aim is to win at least four Green MPs and are within touching distance of doing just that. We have brought real hope to this campaign, the hope that a group of Green MPs can bring by pushing an incoming Labour government to be bolder and braver in delivering the real change our country needs. 

“We have broken through the conspiracy of silence from the other parties around the need to invest in our NHS and public services, and voters are responding. 

“We have made the most powerful case of all the parties for the massive investment needed in our NHS and social care, paid for through a fairer tax system that asks multi-millionaires and billionaires to pay a little more. 

“Our manifesto also pledges to invest in the next generation through a focus on quality housing, education and transport.” 

Ramsay said: 

“We have stood in a record number of constituencies across England and Wales. That is because we want to give everyone the chance to vote Green so that they can send the clearest possible message to the incoming government that we need real change to tackle the climate crisis, restore nature and end the cost-of-living crisis for millions of people. 

“For instance, our Green Economic Transformation will deliver an unprecedented insulation programme for homes to make them warmer and cheaper to run. 

“Broadcasters and the media have had to include Greens in their coverage and voters have responded to seeing and hearing Green candidates talk honestly about the need for investment in our public services and to clean up our dirty rivers and coastlines. 

“More Green MPs – and every vote cast for a Green candidate tomorrow – tells the new government to be more ambitious and deliver what our country really needs to undo the damage of this reckless Conservative government. We need a group of Green MPs inside Parliament to press for action to restore our public services and defend our environment.” 

END

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. The Green Party is targeting: 

• Brighton Pavilion – Sian Berry 
• Bristol Central – Carla Denyer 
• North Herefordshire – Ellie Chowns 
• Waveney Valley – Adrian Ramsay 

2. What they’re saying about the Green Party Manifesto

National Education Union 

“The Green Party manifesto offers a refreshing chance to change the education system that educators, parents and our children and young people have had to put up with for the last 14 years.” 

British Dental Association chair, Eddie Crouch 

“Thanks to The Green Party’s Adrian Ramsay and Carla Denyer for showing real leadership on NHS dentistry. This crisis is now a major doorstep issue. It will only be solved with real reform and fair funding.” 

Independent newspaper editorial 

“The two main parties would do well to follow more of the Greens’ example – not only in their clarity about theclimate crisis, but also their fiscal frankness.” 

The Mirror’s Environment editor, Nada Farhoud  

“No one expects the Greens to form the new government but we do need them to hold Labour to account to ensure the climate crisis is dealt with the urgency it requires.” 

University of Warwick economics expert Professor Arun Advani on the Green wealth tax proposal 

“Economically credible.” 

Patriotic Millionaires’ Julia Davies 

“A small tax on those with more than £10m is a good start in making our tax system fairer and more sustainable.” 

Friends of the Earth 

“Hats off to the Green Party for having the honesty to say that we can’t fix our broken energy system, ailing public services and protect our planet without spending much more money. And we must ensure the burden doesn’t fall on ordinary working families.” 

Writer, George Monbiot  

“Our best hope lies with the Green Party.” 

Right to Roam campaign  

“This is a level of ambition on access befitting national government … we have the ingredients here for the deeper ecological shift we need to undergo as a society: towards a culture of connection and care for the natural world which is available to all and nurtured by everybody.” 

National Union of Students 

“We welcome the Green Party’s 2024 manifesto which is aspirational and progressive, contains measures which would tackle the many crises the country faces, and would make a meaningful difference to student lives.” 

The Care Workers’ Charity 

“We are pleased to see care front and centre of this manifesto and the clear acknowledgement of the needs of the care workforce. It is encouraging to see conversations starting about real investment in social care, with a proposal to invest £20 billion annually and speaking openly about how support for the care sector and the NHS must go hand in hand.” 

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2 July 2024 / 2 July 2024 by Green Party

Press Releases

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*lnvestment:   

• £8bn for schools including a £2bn pay uplift for teachers  

• £2.5bn a year to tackle RAAC concrete scandal  

• £5bn for special needs (SEND)  

• £3bn for sixth-form education   

• £12bn investment in skills and lifelong learning for further education.  

* Abolish Ofsted and replace high-stakes formal SATs testing with system of continuous assessment  

* Free daily school meal for all children  

* Scrap tuition fees and restore maintenance grants for undergraduates  

* Provide students at all state-funded schools and colleges access to a qualified counsellor.  

The Green Party has announced a package of measures to improve the learning environment for both students and teachers.   

Co-leader Carla Denyer said:  

“For Greens, education is a public good that benefits society, so it should be publicly funded and available to everybody, free of charge, at every stage of life.   

“Schools play an essential role in ensuring the wellbeing of all students and helping them to thrive.    

“To help relieve the stresses in our education system and improve wellbeing, for both teachers and pupils, Greens want to replace high-stakes formal SATs testing in primary and secondary schools with a system of continuous assessment, and abolish OFSTED. We also want to see a massive boost in funding for special needs provision in mainstream schools, and for a qualified counsellor in every state school and college.  

“No child must be left behind by poverty. Opportunities must be available to all. Alongside scrapping the two-child benefit cap and uplifting Universal Credit by £40 a week, Green MPs will push for all children to be provided with a healthy school meal every day – free of charge.   

“Greens also believe that a more holistic education, where arts and vocational subjects are treated equally within the curriculum, will help more students thrive. We also want children to learn about the climate and nature crises to equip them for the challenges ahead and so they can be part of the solution.  

“Post-16 education and training opportunities must be better designed to support lifelong learning. Greens will seek to restore the Education Maintenance Allowance to financially support young people to extend their studies.   

“Marketisation has been disastrous for Higher Education, pushing universities into financial crisis and burdening a whole generation of students with debts. So elected Green MPs will push to end tuition fees and restore maintenance grants.   

Co-leader Carla Denyer concluded:   

“We don’t pretend there’s a magic money tree lurking in the playground. We are being honest. Generating the billions needed to invest in our education system – including giving hard working teachers a much-needed pay uplift – requires reforming our tax system to make it fairer and greener.      

“Our A* offering is fully inclusive and costed. We know it gets top marks. Green MPs will push a Labour government to take some lessons from our manifesto and offer better funded support for both students and teachers.”   

ENDS  

Notes  

For full Green Party manifesto see: https://greenparty.org.uk/about/our-manifesto/2024-manifesto-downloads/   

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• “Leaking ceilings”, “staff working out of portacabins”, and wards in “desperate need of improvements” – NHS intensive care nurse speaks out. 
• Greens pledge £22bn capital investment to bring crumbling NHS hospitals, primary care buildings and outdated equipment up to modern standards 
• Greens accuse Labour of “holding the door open” to the private sector and offer cast iron guarantee to oppose privatisation of the NHS

The Green Party is today calling for an additional £22bn capital investment to bring crumbling NHS hospitals, primary care buildings and outdated equipment up to modern standards. This comes as the King’s Fund warns that without action, we will inevitably continue to have a ‘deteriorating NHS estate increasingly unfit for purpose’. 

Green Party co-leader, Carla Denyer, said: “No other political party is being honest enough with voters – the very fabric of our NHS is crumbling and must be repaired and rebuilt. 

“The NHS is stretched to breaking point and so we are offering a package to train and retain staff and cut waiting lists, but we also need to recognise that we are asking over-worked staff to cope with outdated equipment and poor buildings.” 

Rachel Birch, an intensive care nurse with 12 years’ experience in the NHS, added, “I’ve seen leaking ceilings in our intensive care unit, staff having to work out of portacabins, and wards in desperate need of improvements and modernisation.  

“The buildings that we use treating patients are old and inadequate for use.  

“Our department cares for critically ill patients needing maximum support that deserve the best facilities and treatment.”  

Green MPs elected on Thursday would press for:  

• £22bn in capital investment over the next five years to bring our crumbling hospitals and old equipment up to standard 
• Including, a one off £2bn capital investment in primary care buildings, £1.1bn annually assigned to clear the maintenance backlog and £3bn a year to be spent on hospitals.   
• This £22bn capital investment fund will sit alongside a £30bn revenue expenditure that will see people accessing an NHS dentist, working towards GP appointments on the day of need for those in high need and significant uplift in pay for frontline staff.  

Denyer added: “We know the importance of the NHS.  

“The Conservatives promised 40 new hospitals and failed to deliver.  

“Labour promises to hold the door open to the private sector. 

“It is only the Greens who are offering a cast-iron guarantee to push back against the creeping privatisation of the NHS and rebuild it, so it is fit for the future.    

“Our Green guarantee to protect the NHS from privatisation, combined with today’s announcement, represents the real hope for our crumbling NHS.”   

END  

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