29 January 2018

Jonathan Bartley and Caroline Lucas, co-leaders of the Green Party, said:

“Turkey’s ongoing military attacks on Afrin are utterly wrong, and the killing of civilians is morally indefensible.  The Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, must urgent make a statement on behalf of the government making clear that they condemn the Turkish Government’s actions. 
 
“The people of this region have been targeted by all sides. The atrocities they have suffered at the hands of Daesh are now  exacerbated by the military onslaught of the Turkish Government. The British Government should be using all diplomatic means to bring an end to Turkish military incursions – and should start be using urging the UN and others to condemn Turkey’s actions.”

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23 January 2018

Caroline Lucas, the co-leader of the Green Party, has slammed ‘brass neck Boris’ for his stance on the NHS. Lucas called Johnson’s intervention ‘self-aggrandising of the worst kind’ and pointed to his role in damaging the NHS [1].

Caroline Lucas said:

“It seems that brass neck Boris has struck again. Not only does this brexiteer-in-chief keep repeating lies about mythical savings from leaving the EU, but now he’s trying to position himself as a saviour of the NHS after his party’s extreme brexit stance has caused EU nurses to leave the UK in droves.

“The crisis in the NHS is the fault of the Conservative Party. For Boris to suddenly chime in with platitudes for the health service he’s playing a part in dismantling is self-aggrandising of the worst kind.” 

ENDS

Contact: Matthew Butcher on 07885 459 904 or clucasmedia@parliament.uk

[1] For example the number of nurses and midwives coming to work in Britain from Europe has plunged by 89% since the UK voted to leave the EU.

The sharp fall coincided with a sudden increase in qualified European medics leaving the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s (NMC) register: from 2,435 in 2015-16 to 4,067 in the last year – a rise of 67%.

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17 January 2018

* Jonathan Bartley: “There’s no excuse for the Government’s continued abdication of responsibility.”

The Green Party has backed French President Emmanuel Macron’s call for the UK to take in more refugees from Northern France, ahead of a meeting with Theresa May on Thursday [1].

Jonathan Bartley, co-leader of the Green Party, called on both Macron and May to do more to help refugees. Bartley has visited the camps in Northern France three times to meet refugees and see first hand the conditions they face.

There are currently about 1,000 refugees living rough in Northern France right now, 100 of whom are children as young as ten.

Conditions are becoming increasingly desperate with three refugees losing their lives in Calais in recent weeks, including a 15-year-old boy [2]. Freezing temperatures mean hypothermia, frostbite and trench foot are commonplace.

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

“The French president is absolutely right to ask the British Government to do more to help solve the humanitarian crisis on our doorstep. There’s no excuse for the Government’s continued abdication of responsibility.

“Child refugees in Northern France are extremely vulnerable to abuse and trafficking. The UK Government must urgently fulfil its promise under the Dubs scheme to take in at least 480 unaccompanied child refugees, and extend the cut-off date beyond March 2016 so even more young people can be helped.

“But the Prime Minister must also have her own demands to make of Macron when they meet. As a first and immediate step, refugees in Northern France need safe and dignified accommodation to survive the freezing French winter.

“May must also demand Macron ends the French police’ excessive force and violence against refugees. A portion of the millions of pounds given to France by the UK every year must be used to protect those in Calais, not harm them, through investment in anti-trafficking and anti-exploitation policing.”

Notes:

1. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/emmanuel-macron-refugees-theresa-may-europe-brexit-eu-calais-camp-jungle-pay-border-a8160236.html
2. https://helprefugees.org/preventable-deaths-calais-border/

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15 January 2018

The Green Party has called on the Government to cancel HS2 after the collapse of Carillion, the company building the high speed rail link.

Jonathan Bartley, Green Party co-leader, also urged the Government to reverse privatisation, bring contracts back in house and launch a full-scale inquiry into the decisions made about the company, and the wider “privatisation experiment”.

Bartley said:

“The collapse of Carillion should be the final nail in HS2’s coffin. Cancelling this vanity project would save tens of billions of pounds, and stop the environmental vandalism which would see miles of countryside and ancient woodland covered in concrete. Instead, Britain’s rail network has the opportunity to rise like a phoenix from Carillion’s flames. Thousands of jobs could be created by investing instead in the upgrades local rail networks desperately need.

“Carillion’s demise should be seen as an opportunity to reverse privatisation, and protect jobs and pensions by bringing contracts back in house. It should also be the trigger for a full-scale inquiry, not just into the reckless decisions this Government has made over Carillion but also the whole privatisation experiment, which has been tried and found consistently wanting.”

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5 January 2018

Responding to statements by the newly formed Nature Friendly Farming Network that Brexit could offer a “once in a generation” opportunity to restore British wildlife [1], Green Party MEP Molly Scott Cato said:

“Farmers committed to working with nature were pleased to hear about Michael Gove’s plans to shift subsidies away from landholding to environmental benefits, but given his past record on environmental matters there is also understandable scepticism. To reassure the doubters Michael Gove could act now and use the flexibility within the CAP system to make some changes immediately I would suggest as a minimum that he introduces a maximum level of land-based payments and increases the proportion of payments that are given in return for wildlife-friendly farming. This would be a clear signal that the Environment Secretary’s commitment to a so-called Green position is more than political positioning.”

Notes

[1] https://www.farminguk.com/news/New-group-formed-to-promote-environment-friendly-farming_48278.html 

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