Commenting on the High Court ruling blocking asylum seekers from being housed in a hotel in Epping and the prospect of Councils across England now weighing up their own legal challenges, Green Party MP Ellie Chowns said:

“This is where the legacy of 14 years of Conservative government has led us. They allowed a massive backlog of asylum claims which has resulted in local hotels being used for accommodation. 

“The Green Party embraces the right to claim asylum, in any country, as set out in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. And we need a fast and fair process to assess asylum applications.

“It is inhumane, as well as costly to UK tax payers, to have to wait years for a decision. 

“The UK Government quite rightly created safe and legal routes for people fleeing Ukraine. They need to offer the same to others seeking safety from similarly dangerous situations.  

“We also want to see those seeking asylum and protection to be allowed to work while their application is being decided. That’s the way to get them out of hotels and able to look after themselves and contributing to local communities.”

New analysis by the High Pay Centre has revealed that bosses of Britain’s largest listed companies are now paid 122 times the salary of the average full-time UK worker. The median pay of a FTSE chief executive climbed to £4.58m in the last financial year, up from £4.29m a year earlier, an increase of nearly 7%, according to the analysis.  

Reacting, Green MP Ellie Chowns said: 

“The High Pay Centre analysis is further proof that inequality in the UK continues to grow – the rich continue to get richer while millions struggle to meet basic household bills.  

“This is why the Green Party pushed for an amendment to the Employment Rights Bill calling for a maximum pay ratio within companies of 10:1 between the top and lowest-paid person.  

“Such a ratio would end obscene salaries for greedy CEOs while pulling up wages for the lowest paid in organisations – those essential to the success of a business. It would show workers the respect – and grant them the pay – they deserve.”  

New analysis by the High Pay Centre has revealed that bosses of Britain’s largest listed companies are now paid 122 times the salary of the average full-time UK worker. The median pay of a FTSE chief executive climbed to £4.58m in the last financial year, up from £4.29m a year earlier, an increase of nearly 7%, according to the analysis.  

Reacting, Green MP Ellie Chowns said: 

“The High Pay Centre analysis is further proof that inequality in the UK continues to grow – the rich continue to get richer while millions struggle to meet basic household bills.  

“This is why the Green Party pushed for an amendment to the Employment Rights Bill calling for a maximum pay ratio within companies of 10:1 between the top and lowest-paid person.  

“Such a ratio would end obscene salaries for greedy CEOs while pulling up wages for the lowest paid in organisations – those essential to the success of a business. It would show workers the respect – and grant them the pay – they deserve.”  

Responding to the news that “no ceasefire, no deal” was the main outcome of the Putin/Trump talks last night, Green Party MP, Ellie Chowns, said:

“After all the headlines and fanfare, we are left where we started: a brutal war caused by Russia’s aggression and no real solution in sight. Any lasting peace plan without Ukraine’s full participation and consent will fail. When you compare how Trump rolled out the red carpet for Putin to his publicly humiliating Zelenskyy, it’s clear that the only winner from these talks is Putin. He was handed the credibility of a seat at the top table while his forces continue their attacks on Ukraine.”

Responding to the collapse of talks on an international treaty on plastics, Green Peer Natalie Bennett said:

“The draft treaty was the product of intense lobbying by the chemical and plastics industries backed by key petroleum states. These vested interests should never have been allowed near the talks in the first place.  

“They are to blame for these talks collapsing and must be excluded from future efforts to curb plastics production. 

“Plastics is in the air we breathe, the food we eat and even in children yet to be born. It is fuelling the climate crisis, it is devastating communities around the world and destroying natural habitats.  

“Now, plastics will continue to contaminate our land and water supplies, and be ingested through our foods.  

“That will severely impact on our health and that health of the planet. 

“We desperately need an ambitious treaty, which leads to decisive action to cut plastic production, is absolutely essential and the UK government must lead the way in closing the door on oil producing states and fossil fuel and chemical corporations from future talks.”