8 June 2018

Green Party of England and Wales Deputy Leader Amelia Womack this week reacted to Welsh Labour’s decision to vote against Plaid Cyrmru’s motion for a nationally owned energy company for Wales, despite nationalising energy being part of the 2017 Labour manifesto. [1]

Womack said:

“Carwyn Jones said that the tidal lagoon decision was a kick in the teeth, yet he has the gall to go against his own party’s manifesto pledges on a national energy company. This is utterly shameless.

“Wales should be able to produce its own energy and to do so we need a national energy company who will put public and environmental interests over the need to generate profit for shareholders. It’s deeply disappointing to see that Labour don’t stand by that when push comes to shove.”

[1] https://seneddhome.com/2018/06/labour-sidesteps-2017-manifesto-pledge-favouring-publicly-owned-energy/

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7 June 2018

The Green Party has responded to news tree campaigners in Sheffield have been given suspended sentences [1] for breaching protest injunctions [2].

Simon Crump and Benoit Compin were each given sentences of two months, suspended for one year.

Jonathan Bartley, co-leader of the Green Party, said:

“To see a local authority pursue action which could have resulted in jail terms for its residents for peacefully protesting the destruction of their local environment is beyond belief. This is the sharp end of a nationwide rollout of injunctions which seek to stamp out peaceful dissent wherever it is found. I stand in full solidarity with the brave greens campaigners putting their bodies on the line in the fight for Sheffield’s trees.”

Alison Teal, Green councillor in Sheffield, said:

“We will not be deterred by these bullying tactics. The residents of Sheffield have made clear they do not want their healthy street trees destroyed under an expensive, secretive and unaccountable Private Finance Initiative. To see the local authority attempt to throw them in jail is deeply worrying, but sadly not surprising. But the strength of the campaign to save Sheffield’s trees is growing by the day and we will not give in.”

Notes:

1. https://twitter.com/ChrisBurn_Post/status/1004743730006581248
2. https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/three-sheffield-tree-campaigners-face-potential-jail-sentences-after-breaching-protest-injunctions-1-9197693

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7 June 2018

The Green Party today expressed its dismay at the news that thirty-one House of Fraser stores are to close, leading to two thousand jobs lost right across the country. [1]

Green Party Deputy Leader Amelia Womack is in Cardiff and made special note to how it will impact on the Welsh capital in particular.

Womack said: “These closures will put two thousand people out of work and will be devastating to them and their families. Here in Cardiff, three hundred and forty two people will now have to seek new work, as will the House of Fraser staff in Cwmbran.”

“For this city, these closures have an ever bigger effect. House of Fraser, or Howells as it is known locally, has been at the iconic heart of trade in Cardiff for over one hundred and fifty years. It’s a double blow, Cardiff is losing a piece of history as well the jobs of today. That’s a blow that will be felt in many communities around the country today.”

[1] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/house-of-fraser-store-closures-job-losses-oxford-street-latest-a8387096.html

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5 June 2018

The Green Party today celebrated the momentous news that the European Court of Justice has ruled that a same-sex marriage concluded in one EU member state must be recognised by all the others, even where same sex marriage is not recognised. [1]

LGBTQIA+ Spokesperson Aimee Challenor noted that the ruling will now allow same-sex couples from Northern Ireland who marry in other parts of the EU to have the same rights as their fellow Northern Irish. Challenor argues that this ruling makes a further case for a People’s Vote on the final Brexit deal.

Chalennor said: “This is a momentous day for people all across Europe. From a UK perspective this is especially a momentous day for marriage equality in Northern Ireland, as LGBT+ people can now get married in Ireland or the rest of the UK and be recognised as equals in their own home.

“However, the sad reality is that this is not to last. Just as the ECJ delivers marriage equality to Northern Ireland, Brexit will take it away. It is vitally important that we get a People’s Vote on the final deal to give people a chance to protect the newfound equality.”

[1] https://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2018-06/cp180080en.pdf

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1 June 2018

The Green Party of England and Wales today criticised Westminster plans to scrap the Swansea Bay tidal lagoon [1] which would take place the same day they sign off on the Wyfla nuclear plant on Anglesey.

Deputy Leader Amelia Womack, who last ran in the 2016 Welsh Assembly Election, argued that the prioritisation of nuclear power over tidal was further evidence that the Government had no strategy for moving Wales to a clean, renewable future.

Womack also noted that the inconsistencies in the costs quoted from Hitachi [2], combined with the cost of the Anglesey project in comparison to cheaper offshore wind projects [3], were proof that the nuclear project lacks both financial and environmental sustainability.

Womack said: “Wales’ energy production has been a defining part of our history, this tidal power lagoon would be a defining part of our clean energy future. This project would have produced cheap, locally sourced energy, created jobs in the community and made South Wales a nationwide leader in green technology.

“Instead the Conservatives are ploughing money into a nuclear energy plant that is neither environmentally sustainable nor financially sound. This is further proof that the Conservatives don’t have the best interests of Wales at heart.”

[1] https://www.ft.com/content/c6454bac-64c1-11e8-90c2-9563a0613e56

[2] https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2018/05/22/wylfa-hitachi-nuclear-deal-delays/

[3] https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/cheap-power-at-nuclear-plant-blown-away-by-wind-3bzc2h5qm

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