17 October 2023

The Green Party has called on the UK government to push for an immediate ceasefire to stop the mass killing of civilians in the Israel-Gaza conflict. 

Carne Ross, Green Party spokesperson for Global Solidarity and former UK diplomat [1], said: 

“As more details emerge, we are appalled by the brutality of Hamas’s attacks and its seizure of hostages.  The release of those hostages, who include women and children, must be immediate and unconditional.  Israel’s people have every right to safety and security. 

“There are also civilians in Gaza who must be protected. We are deeply concerned at the civilian casualties from Israel’s military action, the imposition of a blockade for food, water and fuel, and the forced displacement of the civilian population. All parties, including Israel, are obliged to adhere to international humanitarian law and the laws of war. These actions are in clear breach of those rules. 

“The only way to prevent further mass civilian casualties and mass suffering is for the fighting to stop.  The UK must join international calls for an immediate ceasefire. At the same time there must be immediate access for humanitarian assistance to the civilian population and the resumption of water, fuel and food supplies. 

“There is only one way to secure peace between Israel and the Palestinians. That is for a just political settlement based on the end of occupation of the Palestinian territories. There should not be a return to a never-ending ‘peace process’ that risks disruption by extremists, but an urgent and vigorous international effort to bring about the creation of a Palestinian state, allowing Israel and Palestine to exist safely within their own borders.” 

Notes

1. Carne Ross is former head of the Arab/Israel desk at the Foreign Office and former head of Middle East policy at the UK Mission to the UN. He resigned over the Iraq War in 2004. 

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13 October 2023

Responding to the latest developments in the Israel-Palestine conflict, Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer said:

“The Green Party remains horrified by Hamas’s attacks on civilians in Israel.  Nothing can justify such brutal violence.  Hostages must be released immediately.

“These attacks cannot be used to justify disproportionate and indiscriminate attacks on civilians in Gaza. It is deeply worrying that Israeli government ministers and spokespeople are justifying the denial of water, food and fuel to the Gaza Strip – this is collective punishment and is in breach of international law. 

“Likewise, the UN has warned that Israel’s demand that the civilian population leave northern Gaza will lead to a civilian ‘calamity’ and has appealed for any such order to be rescinded.

“There is every sign that many thousands of Palestinians will die in Israel’s attacks and many more will be injured and displaced, along with massive destruction of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure.  This is, again, contrary to international humanitarian law and is unacceptable.

“The UK and the international community must urgently call for both restraint and an end to violence.  Destroying Gaza will not end the Israel-Palestine conflict. It will perpetuate the violence for years to come while risking a broader regional conflict.

“To isolate the extremists and find lasting peace, the only option is a political solution based on the end of occupation of the Palestinian territories. The international community must now turn this crisis into the moment where we insist upon a meaningful political negotiation to bring about this solution.

“The government’s decision to send military forces to the eastern Mediterranean significantly escalates UK military involvement in the Israel-Palestine conflict.

“It also risks the UK being dragged into a potential regional conflict, as well as sending an implicit signal of condoning Israel’s military approach in Gaza.  This decision must be urgently reconsidered.”

ENDS

For more information or to arrange an interview contact the press office on press@greenparty.org.uk or call 0203 691 9401

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9 October 2023

Responding to the unfolding horror in Israel and Gaza, Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay said: 

“Our first thoughts are with the hundreds of innocent victims and their families who are faced with the devastating and escalating violence. Most of whom have an overriding desire to live in peace. 

“The Green Party calls for an immediate end to the violence in Israel and Palestine. The targeting of civilians is an outrageous breach of international law and is unacceptable under all circumstances.

“We urge the international community to take immediate steps to protect civilian life and infrastructure from attack, and to launch immediate humanitarian relief efforts. 

“The long absence of a meaningful political dialogue and peace process has created a vacuum into which those who offer violence as a solution to prosper. The pathway to ending these waves of violence and bringing about a long term political settlement must begin with an end to illegal occupation. 

“The UN Security Council, of which the UK is a permanent member, must act to prevent the spread of the conflict to neighbouring states such as Lebanon and Iran. They have so far failed to agree any new political initiative to address the fundamental causes of these latest acts of violence. For the sake of thousands of people on both sides in this conflict, they urgently need to do so.”

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8 October 2023

The Green Party conference called for a full public inquiry into the Conservative Government’s mismanagement of HS2, in an emergency motion to its Brighton conference. 

Members called for Parliament to investigate: 

• Lack of oversight and regulation of HS2 finances
• The mismanagement of the Euston rebuild
• The removal of safeguarding of the route, effectively an attempt to sabotage future governments
• The redirecting of funds from HS2 cancellation to road building schemes, which is incompatible with the Climate Emergency 

Green Peer Natalie Bennett said: “It is clear that whatever anyone’s views on HS2 as a project, the Conservatives have hopelessly mismanaged both the build and the most recent decision to cancel the project. 

“To restore trust, we need to ensure that lessons are learnt from this disastrous experience and the public has a clear view of responsibilities. 

“Particularly, there needs to be an examination of how money can be transferred from rail to road spending in this cavalier and non-transparent way.” 

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that Phase 2 of HS2 from Birmingham to Manchester would be cancelled. 

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8 October 2023

The Green Party has thrown its weight behind a four-day working week following a motion at their conference in Brighton.  

Welcoming the decision by Party members to back the policy, Catherine Rowett, Green Party spokesperson on Work, Employment and Social Security, who proposed the motion, said:  

“The UK has one of the highest working hours rates in Europe while having one of the least productive economies. The Green Party has today backed a policy of introducing a maximum 32 hour working week where workers have a right to request these reduced hours be worked over four rather than five days at no loss of pay.  

“A recent trial of a four-day week with a range of organisations from diverse sectors and sizes [1] found that of the 61 companies that participated, 56 are continuing with the four-day week, with 18 confirming the policy is a permanent change.  

“The trial found there was an improvement in employees’ well-being, an improvement in work-life balance and an increased ability to combine paid work with care responsibilities. For the businesses involved in the trial, revenue stayed broadly the same over the trial period while the number of staff leaving decreased significantly, dropping by 57% over the trial period. 

“The evidence is clear. A four-day working week is good for business, good for workers, good for the climate because people will have to commute less, and it is now confirmed as Green Party policy.”  

ENDS 

Notes 

1.  https://autonomy.work/portfolio/uk4dwpilotresults/  

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