31 August 2019

Video footage has emerged of Green London Assembly member Caroline Russell being arrested in Trafalgar Square while taking part in a Defend Our Democracy protest (1)

Her fellow Green London Assembly member Sian Berry, Green Party co-leader, said:

“Earlier today, I was speaking at the main rally of the Defend Our Democracy protest. I said then that we were calmly determined not to have our rights chipped away. Protest, and direct action were needed, I said then.

“I’m proud that Caroline has been at the forefront, with others, of showing that determination. 

“History tells us that all the rights we have we had to win. No one has ever handed them to us. 

“And Caroline and the others on the streets in London today were defending those hard-won rights that are now under attack from Boris Johnson.

“We, the people, will come back on the streets again and again in the coming weeks of national crisis to defend our MPs and win our final say. 

“We will keep saying to Boris Johnson, to Jacob Rees-Mogg, to Dominic Raab – your actions do not represent us

“If you abuse power, we the people will make sure you won’t be in power much longer.”

Notes

1. https://twitter.com/murphy_simon/status/1167818626424025088?s=20

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28 August 2019

Jonathan Bartley, Green Party co-leader, commenting on the announcement from Boris Johnson this morning of plans to prorogue parliament, said:

“This is an outrage, a cynical attempt to subvert the will of parliament.

“It is clear there is already a huge public reaction against this, with signatures flooding in on petitions and plans being made for peaceful demonstrations at Westminster, which the Green Party will be supporting.”

“It is important that everyone doesn’t despair, but gets active instead. There are four key actors in this situation: the government, the parliament, the people and the courts.

“Certainly the first three, and probably the fourth, are going to have important roles – we want to encourage the people to be at the forefront, as should be the way in a democracy.

“There is no democratic way to deliver a crash-out Brexit. We need a People’s Vote: that is the most democratic way forward that hands the crucial issue back to the people.”

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25 August 2019

Responding to reports of a possble cut to fuel duty (1), Green peer Jenny Jones has said:

“The UK has declared a climate emergency, there’s grave global concern about the Amazon, ‘the lungs of the world’, being consumed by fire, and yet what we hear from our Prime Minister is the floating of a populist policy that he hopes will win over the votes of Brexit Party backers.

Notes 

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15 August 2019

Commenting on today’s A-levels results, Vix Lowthion, Green Party Education Spokeperson and a secondary teacher who was with her pupils as they got the results this morning, said:

“This morning I was looking at the nervousness of students, teachers and parents and reflecting how A-levels are high-stakes testing.

“Pupils feel that their whole future is fixed in three exams taken in the summer heat. The working reality for adults is investigation, project work and in teams. Our qualifications system should reflect these 21^st-century skills.

“A-levels instead emphasise the ability to memorise and pass tests.

Our society needs adults who can analyse, reflect and collaborate. These skills can be built through module tests and research.

“As a sixth-form teacher I know the hard work and stress A-levels can generate.

“My compassion and support if you’re disappointed. Life’s joys aren’t only found through taking the straight and direct paths.”

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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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