Health Minister congratulates health staff on Birthday Honours
Health Minister Mike Nesbitt congratulates health and social care staff honoured in the 2024 Birthday Honours.
O’Dowd announces £748,000 road improvement scheme for A37 Broad Road, Limavady
Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd has announced that a £748,000 carriageway resurfacing scheme on the A37 Broad Road, Limavady will commence on Monday 17 June 2024.
Back of the net: Greens mark Euros kick off with football offer worth celebrating
The Green Party today is celebrating Euro 2024 kicking off with a game-changing offer to football fans that will see billions invested and money from professional clubs transferred to local communities.
The Green offer includes a £5bn package to invest in community sports and culture that will see grassroots sports clubs properly funded.
In addition The Green Party has unveiled a new funding proposition that would see local authorities enabled to invest in shares in professional sports clubs which operate in their area as a means of maintaining a connection between the club and its community. Any dividends paid to the authority would then be reinvested into public sporting facilities or coaching programmes in the area.
Alongside these financial offers, Greens also have policies to support grassroots football. Greens have also drawn up plans for example to allow local clubs access to school sports facilities outside teaching hours to ensure maximum use of a valuable resource.
The set of announcements comes on the back of a new GMB study based on a FOI request that shows nearly one thousand football pitches have been lost since the Conservatives took power 14 years ago. The Green Party manifesto pledges to enable local authorities to maintain key sporting infrastructure including pools and playing fields stating that these need to be used across all sections of the community to ensure sport is inclusive.
Commenting, Co-Leader and lifelong fan Norwich City fan, Adrian Ramsay, said, “All over the country millions play grassroots football. It builds friendships, keeps people healthy and has an immeasurable impact on happiness and wellbeing. But grassroots football needs support. Greens have pledged a £5billion fund to support community sports and culture that will sit alongside an innovative funding mechanism that will allow local authorities to invest in professional football clubs to reinvest dividends back into their community.”
He continued, “This weekend football fans won’t just be cheering on Scotland and England, they will also be heading out to grassroots summer tournaments all over the country. We can’t underestimate the value that this has for our communities. And we will do all we can to support it every step of the way.”
Ahead of the first game of the Euros kicking off Ramsay added, “With 3 Norwich players in the Scotland squad I will be cheering them along tonight and I will of course be watching the England opener on Sunday and I wish them all the very best at this tournament. I’m sure they will do us proud.”
Greens offer snap reaction to #ITVDebate
Speaking from the ITV spin room, Green Party Co-Leader, Zack Polanski, gave a snap reaction to the ITV Debate saying:
“Tonight the greens hopeful and ambitious vision for Britain clearly connected with the audience.
“We saw a battle of ideas on an equal platform.
“Voters were shown the full spread of electoral possibility.
“And while the tired rhetoric of the old parties looked isolated on stage tonight, the Greens hopeful and ambitious vision for Britain clearly resonated with the audience.
“Whether it was real investment in the NHS, an uplift in teachers’ pay or celebrating the role of immigration to our country.”
He continued, “Tonight Greens took to the national stage confident that our message of real hope and real change is resonating with more voters than ever before.
“People experienced for themselves how Greens offer a real alternative to the Conservative and Labour consensus.”
Labour manifesto represents a diagnosis of doom for our NHS Greens warn
Responding to the publication of the Labour Party’s Manifesto that promises an “unprecedented slowdown” in NHS finances, Green Party Co-Leader Adrian Ramsay said,
“This Labour Party manifesto is a diagnosis of doom for our NHS and other frontline services.
“After 14 years of mismanagement and underfunding our health service is severely overstretched and crying out for real investment.
“Instead, the Labour Party has today promised investment of just 1.1% increase according to the Nuffield Trust, an “unprecedented slowdown in NHS finances”.
He continued, “Greens understand the severity of the crisis the NHS and have a plan to nurse it back to health.
“We are proposing a £50bn investment per year by 2030 alongside an additional £20bn capital investment fund.
“To quote the IFS “Labour continues in a conspiracy of silence on the difficulties they would face”.
“It’s time they were honest with the public.
“Our frontline services can’t keep limping on without real investment from real tax reform.”
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