Green Party

7 June 2017

*Co-leader Jonathan Bartley: “Sacrificing our human rights in the name of fighting terrorism is exactly what terrorists want”

The Green Party has condemned Theresa May’s comments on human rights laws [1] and accused her of playing into terrorists’ hands by threatening civil liberties.

Jonathan Bartley, Green Party co-leader, will today speak at the party’s final rally ahead of the election [2] and call May’s threat to human rights a disgrace.

Bartley said:

“Sacrificing our human rights in the name of fighting terrorism is exactly what terrorists want. May is exploiting people’s fear to do away with hard-won protections that don’t suit her regressive agenda. There is no shortage of laws designed to clamp down on terrorism and responsibility for the failure to use these lies with the Government. There’s no point building more and more walls if we end up boxing ourselves in.

“If May throws away our freedoms she is letting the terrorists win. Proposing to tear up human rights laws is a knee jerk reaction and could be dangerously counterproductive. We can tackle terrorism without impinging on human rights but we need an honest conversation about the causes of terrorism and to ask some hard questions about the impact of UK foreign policy and police cuts.

“I’m calling on people across the UK to vote with their hearts for the kind of country they want. The Green Party stands for a confident and caring country, and we’ll always stand up for human rights and fight for an inclusive, tolerant society with a positive vision for the future.”

Notes

1. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2017-40181444
2. Jonathan Bartley will join Molly Scott Cato, Bristol West candidate, and Green Party activists for a rally at 2pm in front of the party’s mobile billboard at College Green, Bristol BS1 5TA.

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7 June 2017

*Co-leader Jonathan Bartley: “Only the Green Party will fix the NHS crisis and invest in education”

The Green Party will today call on voters to make a decision based on what kind of country they want Britain to be when they go to the polls on June 8.

Jonathan Bartley, Green Party co-leader, will join Molly Scott Cato, Bristol West candidate, for the party’s final rally before the election [1] to set out why a Green vote matters.

Speaking ahead of the event, Bartley said:

“No matter where you’re casting your vote on election day, you have the chance to put issues you care about on the agenda – from climate change to Brexit. Only the Green Party will fix the NHS crisis and invest in education.

“My message to voters ahead of tomorrow is to vote with your heart, and vote Green. If we wake up to a Conservative government on June 9, Green MPs will hold them to account, whether it’s by calling out the government for bringing the NHS to its knees or fighting an extreme Brexit. We’d be making sure a Labour government delivered on the bold promises in its manifesto – and taking them even further.

“I’m calling on people across the UK to vote not just for the MP they want, but the kind of country they want. The Green Party stands for a caring a confident country, that invests in public services, protects the environment and would give the people of Britain a say on the final Brexit deal. We’ll always stand up for what matters and fight for an inclusive, tolerant society with a positive vision for a sustainable future.”

Notes:

1. Jonathan Bartley will join Molly Scott Cato and Green Party activists for a rally at 2pm in front of the party’s mobile billboard at College Green, Bristol BS1 5TA.

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6 June 2017

* Jonathan Bartley: “The ‘special relationship’ with Saudi Arabia has to end”

* Event details: 2.30pm, ExCel London, One Western Gateway, Royal Victoria Dock, London E16 1XL

Jonathan Bartley, co-leader of the Green Party, will give a speech in London about arms sales calling on the new Prime Minister to suspend sales to Saudi Arabia on their first day in post. 

Bartley will say that Britain’s foreign policy cannot be divorced from counter-terrorism and that the UK must end its special relationship with Saudi Arabia – a country which turns a “blind eye while weapons flow freely to D’aesh”.

Saudi Arabia has been accused of causing the vast majority of civilian deaths in the conflict in Yemen, including with weapons sold to the Saudi dictatorship by the UK Government [1]. Since March 2015, when Saudi Arabia intervened in the civil war in Yemen, the UK has licensed £3.3bn worth of arms to the Saudi regime [2].

In a speech to supporters outside ExCel London, where the world’s biggest arms fair DSEI is held, Bartley will ask why no one is holding the Prime Minister to account for the human rights abuses of the Saudi regime, and their regimes complicity with Islamic extremism.

With the UK currently the second biggest arms dealer in the world [3], Bartley will also promise that Green MPs elected this week will campaign to suspend all arms sales to countries which are violating human rights.

Jonathan Bartley, Green Party co-leader, is expected to say:

“The British Government’s cosy relationship with Riyadh must end. The Saudi Regime is a human rights abuser and turns a blind eye while weapons flow into the hand of terrorists.  In the wake of the horrific and despicable acts of terrorism we have seen in the last three months we need to have an honest conversation about foreign policy and realise it cannot be divorced from counter-terrorism. It is a national shame that the UK sells arms to a regime that looks away while weapons flow freely to D’aesh.

“I appeal to the leader that takes the keys to Number 10 on Friday to spend their first day in office making an attempt to begin righting this atrocity by immediately suspending all arms sales to Saudi Arabia. And I make voters this promise: Green MPs elected this week will always campaign for the UK to suspend arms sales to countries which are violating human rights – this is the absolute minimum requirement of a confident and caring nation.”

1. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/23/uk-in-denial-over-saudi-arms-sales-being-used-in-yemen-claims-oxfam

2. https://www.caat.org.uk/media/press-releases/2017-04-03

3. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/britain-is-now-the-second-biggest-arms-dealer-in-the-world-a7225351.html

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5 June 2017

* Caroline Lucas: “This Government is fining people for falling sick”

* Molly Scott Cato: “Prescription charges undermine the principle of universal free healthcare”

* Event details: 2pm, Easton Day & Night Pharmacist, 192 Stapleton Road, Easton, Bristol, BS5 0NY [1]

Caroline Lucas will announce the Green Party’s plans to scrap prescription charges as part of its commitment to a national health service that’s genuinely free at the point of use.

Lucas will accuse the Government of fining people for being sick and creating barriers which stop people accessing the medication they need.

GPs have warned that the £8.60 prescription charge in England [2] is forcing some people to make a choice between food and medication [3].

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have already scrapped prescription charges, and the Green Party wants to adopt the same scheme in England.

Caroline Lucas, co-leader of the Green Party, is expected to say:

“Let me start by saying my thoughts remains with all those affected by the horrific acts in London yesterday. It is with a heavy heart that I speak to you today, but one which knows how important it is not to let those who seek to divide us succeed, or our democracy be cowed by fear.

“So I am here today to talk to you about the NHS. Every day this Government is fining people for falling sick by charging for prescriptions. GPs have warned that prescription charges force some patients to choose between spending their earnings on food – or essential medical treatment. This is not acceptable. It’s also a false economy because not taking prescribed mediation can cause people to miss work and lead to additional GP or hospital appointments.”

Lucas will announce the Green Party plans while visiting a community pharmacy in Bristol with Molly Scott Cato MEP.

Molly Scott Cato, Green South West MEP and Bristol West candidate, is expected to say:

“The NHS was founded on the principle of universal access to free, publicly funded and provided health care at the point of use. Prescription charges in England undermine that principle and the Green Party would not make people pay for access to vital medication.”

Scrapping prescription fees would cost an estimated £550 million annually [4]. The Green Party argue these costs could be more than met by getting rid of the NHS internal market – a move which would save an estimated £4.5bn according to the Centre for Health and the Public Interest [5].

ENDS.

For more information contact: press@greenparty.org.uk / 0203 691 9401

Notes:

1. Event details: 2pm, Easton Day & Night Pharmacist, 192 Stapleton Road, Easton, Bristol, BS5 0NY.

The Green Party has suspended national campaigning until Sunday night after the London terror attack. We are in discussion with the other parties and if campaigning does not resume tomorrow another email will be sent.

2. http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcosts/Pages/Prescriptioncosts.aspx

3. http://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/news/commissioning/commissioning-topics/prescribing/prescription-charges-adversely-impact-on-patient-care-say-40-of-gps/20007736.article

4. https://www.sruk.co.uk/media/filer_public/ca/f8/caf8a735-b265-40f6-8d52-40d69152060f/20170428_letter_from_prescription_charges_coalition_-_rt_hon_jeremy_hunt_-_conservative.pdf

5. https://chpi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/At-what-cost-paying-the-price-for-the-market-in-the-English-NHS-by-Calum-Paton.pdf

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5 June 2017

The Green Party has called for a shift in the political climate in a series of speeches across England on World Environment Day (June 5) [1].

Prominent Green politicians took part in coordinated speeches in Bath, Bristol, Isle of Wight, London and Sheffield [2]. Jonathan Bartley, Green Party co-leader, spoke in London at 10am.

Speaking ahead of the event, Bartley said:

“Theresa May’s staggeringly weak response to Trump’s climate sabotage shows how weak her Government is when it comes to environmental protection. She is standing idly by while the US president swings a wrecking ball at the Paris agreement.

“Britain could be leading the world in climate technology, creating thousands of new jobs and building an economy for the future. By voting Green on 8th June you will send the clear message to whoever is in Government that climate-wrecking policies are utterly short-sighted.

“In 2015 UKIP gained one MP but with 13% of the vote they changed the political narrative. UKIP said “jump” and the Conservatives said “how high?”. We can do the same at this election with a Green vote – a vote for a positive, inclusive, open, confident, and caring Britain. A Britain that is a true democracy with a parliament representative of the people.”

Notes:

1. http://worldenvironmentday.global/
2. Times and locations of speeches:

Eleanor Field in Bath

Time: 8.30am

Location: Roman Baths, Stall Street, Bath BA1 1LZ

Molly Scott Cato and Jean Lambert in Bristol

Time: 9am

Location: Brandon Hill, Park Street, BS1 5RR

Vix Lowthion in Isle of Wight

Time: 9.30am

Location: 115 St James Street, Newport, PO30 5HB

Jonathan Bartley in London

Time: 10am

Location: Corner of Natal Road and Streatham High Road, SW16 6JA

Natalie Bennett in Sheffield

Time: 11.30am

Location: Surrey Street entrance, Sheffield Winter Garden, S1 2L

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