17 October 2018

The Green Party has responded to news three anti-fracking activists have had custodial sentences reduced to conditional discharges by the Court of Appeal today [1].

Simon Roscoe Blevins, Richard Roberts, and Richard Loizou were jailed in September for protesting fracking at Cuadrilla’s Preston New Road site in Lancashire in July last year.

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

“The release of three anti-fracking heroes from jail is a victory for peaceful protest. These sentences were not only heavy handed and wrong, they were part of a nationwide clamp down on dissent  making it harder and harder for campaigners to stand up against climate destruction.

“The Green Party stands shoulder to shoulder with Richard, Richard and Roscoe as they celebrate their freedom today. The anti-fracking movement is stronger than ever. We will not give up this fight until Britain is free of this dirty and destructive industry.

Notes:

1. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/17/court-quashes-excessive-sentences-of-fracking-protesters

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15 October 2018

The Green Party has responded to news Cuadrilla has started fracking at its site in Preston New Road, Lancashire, today (Monday 15 October). The move marks the first fracking to take place in Britain in seven years [1].

Jonathan Bartley, co-leader of the Green Party, said the start of fracking on the first day of the Conservative’s Green GB Week [2], and just days after the UN’s IPCC report [3], revealed the “rank hypocrisy” of a Government which has “backed frackers to put a sledgehammer through our climate targets”.

Bartley said:

“The Government is backing frackers to put a sledgehammer through our climate targets. Just days after the UN warned we have 12 years to face climate catastrophe fracking has started in Britain for the first time in seven years. Marking the start of Green GB Week with the start of fracking is rank hypocrisy.

“This proves just how deeply the filth of fossil fuels runs through our political establishment. The Government has forced fracking on Lancashire after the community said no and now drilling has started before all their concerns have been fully heard or answered.

“Public support for fracking is in freefall and the anti-fracking movement will continue to go from strength to strength. To tackle the scale of climate breakdown ministers must commit to keeping fossil fuels in the ground where they belong, and investing instead in a renewable revolution for the future.”

Notes:

1. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-fracking/gas-fracking-to-start-in-england-next-week-after-seven-year-halt-idUSKCN1MF0WK

2. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/landmark-week-of-action-to-celebrate-clean-growth 

3. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-fracking/gas-fracking-to-start-in-england-next-week-after-seven-year-halt-idUSKCN1MF0WK

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12 October 2018

The Green Party has responded to a High Court ruling which has rejected an injunction which would stop fracking taking place at Cuadrilla’s site in Preston New Road, Lancashire. [1]

Local resident Bob Dennett had applied for the injunction over emergency planning procedures at the site.

Jonathan Bartley, co-leader of the Green Party, joined campaigners at the court today and said the ruling was “bitterly disappointing” but that the anti-fracking movement is still “stronger than ever”.

Bartley said:

“A new fossil fuel frontier has been opened in Britain. In the same week the UN warned we have little more than a decade to tackle climate change, this ruling has paved the way for the first fracking in seven years.

“To stand any chance of hitting climate targets we must keep all fossil fuels in the ground where they belong. Fracking is a dirty, dangerous industry and I stand shoulder to shoulder with the brave residents standing up for the safety of their community today.

“We are deeply disappointed by this ruling, but the anti-fracking movement is stronger than ever and we will not give up this fight until Britain is frack free. It’s time the Government ditched its reckless dash for gas and invested instead in a renewable revolution of solar, wind and tidal power.” [2]

Notes:

1. https://twitter.com/adamvaughan_uk/status/1050707549396357120
2. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-45775309

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8 October 2018

Responding to the IPCC’s Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5C, Green Party MP Caroline Lucas said:

“This report couldn’t be written in stronger terms: we are at a tipping point on the edge of complete climate breakdown, and governments around the world are failing to prevent it.

“Our own government is pushing us towards that tipping point with carbon intensive and ecologically destructive projects like airport expansion, fracking and HS2 – while slashing support for renewables and continuing to subsidise fossil fuels.

“Ministers have a choice: they can keep coating business-as-usual policies in a green veneer and watch as floods and heatwaves become the norm. Or they can embrace the opportunities to create a fairer, healthier, safer society that come with the economic overhaul we need.”

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6 October 2018

* Deputy leader announces commitment at Autumn Conference in Bristol
* Move coupled with policy to end pay discrimination for under 21s
* Amelia Womack: “If we want to build a working environment that is fair for everyone, we have to make things fair from your very first job onwards”

In her first Conference speech since her re-election last month, Green Party of England and Wales deputy leader Amelia Womack has announced a policy to provide a living wage for apprenticeships.  

The policy, part of a wider plan to revolutionise the world of work, seeks to alleviate the UK’s skills shortage by encouraging more young people to seek apprenticeships.

Womack also announced the party’s intention to deliver an equal pay for under 21s. Currently, the minimum wage for an 18 to 21-year-old is £5.90. The Green Party has called for under 21s to be given a Real Living Wage.

Amelia Womack said:

“A fair workplace has to be fair for apprentices as well. So today we are also pledging our official support a living wage for apprentices. The current minimum wage for apprentices is £3.70 per hour.

“Meanwhile, three quarters of young people polled this year have said that low pay would put them off taking up an apprenticeship.

“It is no wonder that we have a skills shortage in this country. It is time that the political class woke up to the value of investing in training and apprenticeships, to the hardships facing young people today and to the realities of pay inequality in Britain.”

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