19 April 2024

Responding to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s plans to stop GPs issuing sick notes to people too ill to work, Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer said: 

“How cold hearted do you have to be, and how lacking in empathy, to see this crisis of ill health as anything other than caused by decades of austerity and lack of investment in the NHS?

“The PM should be fixing the NHS so that people can get well, not blaming people who are ill.

“We would invest in mending the health and social care system, not denying people the right to see a GP when they need it.”

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15 April 2024

Green Party co-leader, Adrian Ramsay, has announced the Party’s plans for an Independent Commission for Nature that would protect nature and ensure the restoration of wildlife habitats. The new watchdog would be created as part of a new “Rights of Nature” Act that would enshrine in law the intrinsic value of nature while also recognising how a healthy natural environment is fundamental to clear air, water and food.  

Ramsay made the announcement as he joined leaders of national conservation charities at Black Bourn Valley Reserve in Suffolk [1] where they delivered their ‘Nature 2030 Open Letter’ signed by 100,000 people across the country [2].  

Adrian Ramsay said: 

“I am delighted to be the first party leader to back the calls of conservation groups to restore nature. The natural environment is deeply important to the British people, yet the lack of adequate legal protection has left the UK as one of the most nature depleted countries in the world. Last year’s State of Nature report [3] highlighted the scale of the threats facing nature, with 1 in 6 species at risk of extinction. Given this alarming situation, the work of the country’s many conservation and wildlife organisations is critical in helping to protect and restore nature. Like them, the Green Party understands we need a change in government policies to ensure the UK meets legally binding targets for nature by 2030.  

“Greens believe that nature has an intrinsic value. It is also vital to human health and survival – for the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat. Evidence also shows that people’s physical and mental wellbeing is enhanced by easy access to green spaces and nature. 

“The Green Party wants to see much greater protection of nature in law. We would set up an Independent Commission for Nature that would set targets for nature protection and restoration, enforced through the courts. This would be groundbreaking, allowing for the first time the possibility of individuals, communities and conservation groups taking legal action on behalf of nature. Currently, every time our rivers, seas or land is polluted, prosecution is left to hopelessly underfunded quangos. 

“The Nature 2030 open letter, signed by over 100,000 people, demonstrates that people want to see firm action to halt and reverse the decline of nature by 2030. The Green Party fully backs the outcomes the Nature 2030 coalition of conservation organisations want to see [4]. Nature restoration will be a key priority in our general election manifesto, and for me personally if I’m elected as an MP. 

“Only the Green Party will take the necessary action to double the budget for nature friendly farming, protect 30% of the land and sea for nature, invest in the skills needed for regenerative farming and wildlife habitat restoration, and protect people’s right to clean air and water and access to nature.” 

Notes 

1. Black Bourn Valley Nature Reserve managed by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust is a 290 acre former arable farm where natural regeneration methods and conservation grazing are being used to demonstrate how land management can balance competing demands on land use and natural resources whilst bringing back nature. 

2. Open_Letter_Nature_2030_Campaign.pdf 

3. State of Nature 2023 – report on the UK’s current biodiversity 

4. Nature_2030_Report_18.07.2023.pdf (wcl.org.uk) 

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14 April 2024

Following news of the Iranian attack on Israel and the involvement of UK aircraft in Israel’s defence, Green Party co-leader, Carla Denyer, has urged the UK not to be dragged into a Middle East war. She said: 

“The Green Party condemns Iran’s attacks against Israel, which were targeted on civilian as well as military targets.  This represents a concerning escalation of the current conflict in the Middle East. We call on all parties now to find ways to de-escalate this conflict, which risks spreading across the region. 

“We are concerned by the use of British aircraft in the night’s events.  We question why Britain should be involved in this confrontation, where there is a risk that we could become embroiled in a regional war.  The record of Afghanistan and Iraq suggests that involvement in such conflict brings great risks, especially when the military and strategic objectives are unclear.” 

Denyer also questioned at what level the decision to engage UK defence forces was made: 

“I am deeply concerned about how this decision to deepen our involvement was made and in what further action the government proposes to involve UK armed forces. Britain’s military involvement must be scrutinised and debated by parliament. We should not allow ourselves to be dragged into a Middle East war. 

“Last night’s violence demonstrates again that there must be resolution to the interconnected conflicts of the Middle East, including in Gaza where a ceasefire remains urgent. We are at a moment of grave peril and it is incumbent on all countries, including the UK, to find ways to reduce rather than contribute to conflict.” 

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8 April 2024

Responding to comments by the Shadow Heath Secretary saying that under a Labour government investment in the NHS would be dependent on reform and that there would be an increased role for the private sector [1], co-leader of the Green Party, Carla Denyer, said: 

“Wes Streeting says that if the NHS doesn’t change, it will die. But it is inadequate funding that has left our NHS in a poor state of health, not lack of reform.  

“Between 2010 and 2019 the UK had a lower level of capital investment in health care and 18% lower average health spending than 14 EU countries [2]. 

“So to say that the public is paying a heavy price for failure is an insult to hard-working NHS staff, who are doing their level best despite being overworked and underpaid. It is the failure to invest adequately and pay staff properly that is at the root of dissatisfaction with the NHS. 

“The public agrees. They don’t want endless reforms; neither do they share the Conservative or Labour appetite for creeping privatisation. They want the current model to work and to see the NHS available to everyone free of charge and primarily funded through taxes [3]. A tax on the super-rich billionaires and multi-millionaires can provide the funds needed to fix our cherished NHS.    

“The Green Party has never had any truck with the profit motive in health care and will continue to push for a fully publicly funded NHS.” 

Notes 

[1] Wes Streeting warns NHS that there’ll be no additional funding without ‘major surgery’ under Labour | The Sun 

[2] How does UK health spending compare across Europe over the past decade? – The Health Foundation  

[3] Public satisfaction with the NHS and social care in 2023 | Nuffield Trust  

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7 April 2024

The Green Party has repeated its call for a full bilateral ceasefire, the release of all hostages, the suspension of arms exports to Israel, and for key players in the Netanyahu government to be held accountable for possible war crimes, six months on from the 7 October attacks by Hamas.  

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

“This isn’t just a far away conflict that we have nothing to do with. By consistently refusing to call for a ceasefire and continuing to supply arms, the UK Government has been complicit in the deadly assault on Gaza by the Israel Defence Forces.  

“Six months on from the horrific Hamas attacks on Israeli citizens, it is clear that the Netanyahu government’s response has been totally disproportionate. Over 33,000 innocent Palestinian civilians have now been killed, the majority of them women and children. This is not an act of self defence. As the UN’s Human Rights Council has resolved, the actions by the Israeli government are possible war crimes and crimes against humanity. Indeed, the UK Government itself has reportedly concluded secretly that Israel is breaking international humanitarian law.  

“It is time for our Government to end their complicity and start leading efforts towards peace. They must finally call for a ceasefire, immediately suspend arms exports to Israel and back the UN Human Rights Council’s call for accountability for all violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law.” 

In the six months since October 7^th, the Green Party of England and Wales has called for:  

• A full bilateral ceasefire  
• The release of all hostages  
• A suspension of all arms export licences to Israel until the violence stops 
• The cessation of all military collaboration with Israel, including use of British bases by Israeli forces, and intelligence sharing 
• Targeted Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against individuals and institutions supporting or facilitating Israel’s occupation of Palestine 
• An investigation by the Metropolitan Police and Director of Public Prosecutions of war crimes committed against UK citizens, or where UK citizens are potential perpetrators 
• The UK government to use its position as a permanent member of the UN Security Council to vote for, rather than abstain on, ceasefire votes 
• Targeted sanctions against key individuals in the Israeli leadership, including travel bans and asset freezes on Israel’s government ministers 
• An end to occupation of the Palestinian territories 
• The UK government to return to international law being the benchmark for UK policy, and repair the UK’s international reputation as a defender of the international rules-based order. 

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