24 August 2023

Reacting to today’s GCSE results, Vix Lowthion, Green Party Lifelong Education spokesperson, said: 

“Many students will rightly be proud of the GCSE, BTEC and T-Levels grades they have got today – outcomes achieved through hard work and excellent teaching. It’s a day to congratulate both students and teachers.  

“However, in education as in every other policy area, levelling up is just a slogan. The attainment gap between students from more affluent backgrounds and those from disadvantaged situations has grown ever wider under this Conservative government.

“We know that growing levels of poverty impact on being able to eat nutritious food, the quality of housing and having access to books and the internet which all have negative consequences on opportunities for child development and learning. The attainment of disadvantaged pupils is calculated to be 1.5 years behind that of their non-disadvantaged peers by the end of secondary school. 

“We must address the country’s chronic inequality by increasing taxes on the super-rich to raise the funds needed to boost key public services like health and education and to bring down the cost of living for the poorest in society through programmes like mass home insulation.” 

“The Green Party also believes that a move towards continuous assessment and away from a system of high stakes exams is critical to closing the attainment gap.”

ENDS

For further information or to arrange an interview please contact the Press Office press@greenparty.org.uk 0203 691 9401

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22 August 2023

The Green Party has today repeated a call for a 10:1 pay ratio to ensure that the highest paid individuals in an organisation receive no more than ten times the amount of the lowest paid. 

The call comes as this year’s annual report by the High Pay Centre reveals that median pay for FTSE 100 CEOs increased by half a million pounds, from £3.41m to £3.91m between 2021 and 2022. Median FTSE CEO pay is now 118 times that of the median UK full-time worker [1]. 

Co-leader of the Green Party, Adrian Ramsay, said:

“The UK’s leading fat cat bosses are raking in obscene levels of pay while many of their workers struggle to make ends meet in a cost of living crisis. That’s why the Green Party is repeating a call for a 10:1 pay ratio, mandated by law, to ensure that the highest paid individuals in an organisation receive no more than ten times the amount of the lowest paid.

“Such a policy would drive an uplift in wages for the lowest paid workers while addressing rampant and ever-widening inequality. 

“We also know it is the wealthiest that are having a hugely disproportionate impact on the climate crisis. The world’s richest 1% are responsible for 15% of carbon emissions, nearly twice as much as the poorest 50% [2]. It is clear that a 10:1 pay ratio would help create a fairer and greener country.” 

Notes

1. https://highpaycentre.org/ftse-100-ceos-get-half-a-million-pound-pay-rise/  

2. https://news.sky.com/story/wealthiest-1-polluter-elite-are-driving-global-carbon-emissions-says-new-report-12274350 

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Rishi Sunak has failed people on food inflation.

This Government should be standing up for struggling families and pensioners hammered by soaring food prices. Yet this out of touch Government seems happy to stand by as millions struggle just to pay for the weekly shop.

Food prices have risen by 30% in the last two years, the biggest rise on record, according to Liberal Democrat analysis of new official statistics.

The 30% two-year rise in the Office for National Statistics’ index of food prices between July 2021 and last month dwarfs the previous record of 19.3% between February 2007 and February 2009, at the height of the financial crisis.

Cost of essentials shoots up

The average price of a loaf of bread has gone up by 52p (27%) in the last two years.

A pint of milk is up 24p (57%),

Source: ONS.

Unless there is a clear urgent plan to tackle rising food prices, anything else Rishi Sunak says is just another empty promise. 

Liberal Democrats want to see the government cracking down on anyone profiteering – from supermarkets to food multinationals – and helping farmers and traders hit by costly red tape, so people get the fair deal they deserve.

Our plan to protect shoppers

1. Invest an extra billion pounds in British farms, to boost food production

We should be supporting our farmers to boost the UK’s environmentally-friendly and sustainable food supply.

Starting by targeting support at shortage areas, we can protect ourselves from import shocks, put more good-quality food on the shelves, and bring down prices for the long term.

2. Cut energy bills for farms and businesses

In April, the Government cut energy support for businesses by 85%, forcing farmers and shops to raise their prices. We’d put that support back in place, cutting costs for producers and retailers.

And in the meantime, the Government should ensure that energy-intensive farms qualify for extra support.

3. Let our farmers and fishers recruit the staff they need

The Government’s unfair visa rules have left our farmers and fishers producing less food because they can’t recruit enough workers. Tonnes of fruit and veg has gone to waste as a result.

The Government must fix its broken visa system which is holding back our food supply, by scrapping arbitrary salary thresholds. 

4. Free school meals for every child in poverty

Unfair rules put in place by the Conservatives in 2018 have excluded 800,000 children growing up in poverty from Free School Meals. And another 200,000 eligible children are missing out because they’re not registered.

The Government must immediately end this injustice by scrapping the arbitrary household income threshold, and automatically enrolling every eligible child.

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Guidelines for the Diagnosis, Assessment and Management of Lymphoedema were today welcomed by Departments of Health in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

A resurfacing scheme on the A31 Smith Street and Magherafelt Road, Moneymore has commenced.