21 June 2019

Green Party co-leaders Sian Berry and Jonathan Bartley will today jointly be signing the Manchester Declaration calling for a “right to repair” for consumers.

They will be joined by a representative from the Restart movement at the “Library of Things” – a community-focused lending library of useful appliances and tools – in the Upper Norwood Library.

Jonathan Bartley said: “We all know how annoying it is when an appliance that we know used to last for decades dies after a few years, when a new computer won’t work with an older printer, when an expensive kitchen appliance becomes useless for the want of a minor part.

“As consumers, we should have the right to goods made to last, designed so that if an element goes wrong it can be repaired (ideally at home or at a repair cafe), that parts will be available when needed and documentation available to assist the repairer.

“There is no technical reason why this shouldn’t be the case. It is companies seeking to maximise profits, to push sales, that are exploiting us all, and trashing the planet. The governments that should be forcing them to act for the common good, producing a circular economy, are generally failing to act (2).”

Sian Berry added: “We are committing to using our political influence at local, national and EU level to trigger the switch to a circular economy, and fight for our right to repair.

“Planned obsolescence does not benefit the consumer. It certainly doesn’t benefit our planet. The only thing it benefits is the pockets of corporations.

“Up and down the country Green councillors are supporting and encouraging Repair Cafes and Restart Parties. These are great examples of communities getting together, supporting each other, sharing skills, creating environmental benefit, but their work is made unduly difficult by the failure of companies to properly design and make products.”

Notes:

1. https://manchesterdeclaration.org/
2. Jonathan will point to the fact that the French government has made it a crime to intentionally shorten the life of a product; https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-42615378

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20 June 2019

Responding to this morning’s decision of the Court of Appeal on the case brought by the Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT) against the government over Saudi arms sales, Jonathan Bartley, co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, said:

“The Court of Appeal verdict is a stunning rebuke for the government. 

“It has failed in a basic legal obligation to make a systematic assessment of the past violations of human rights law, as it should have done before granting export licences.

“The government should also take this opportunity to rethink its whole approach to a regime notorious for its abuses of its own citizens, and actions in Yemen.

“British arms sold to Saudi Arabia are implicated directly in rights abuses. The sales are also making the world a less stable and secure place, threatening all of our futures.”

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18 June 2019

Jonathan Bartley, co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, has welcomed the news that the UK now looks set to host the 2020 global climate talks.

He said: “Having this crucial global gathering on our climate emergency in the UK will be a great opportunity for us to learn from the top experts and campaigners, and galvanise the struggle for climate action in our country.

“But if we are not to be embarrassed in front of the world, the policies of this or a subsequent government are going to have to change radically.

“To be the hosts of COP26 when you are still pursuing the failed policy of fracking, massively subsidising fossil fuels, planning on expanding aviation and traffic, and building sub-standard energy-inefficient homes, would be a massive embarrassment.

“The UK has a proud record as a pioneer with the 2008 Climate Change Act. But we won’t be able to still trade on that legacy in 2020, as the British delegation was trying to do at the climate talks last year in Katowice.”

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18 June 2019

Reacting to the opening of the consultation on Heathrow expansion this morning, the Green Party’s co-leaders have said this should not be happening.

Sian Berry, co-leader of the Green Party and its candidate for London mayor, said: “The only answer to the Heathrow consultation is ‘no way’.

“Aviation clearly has to contract, not expand, while we need to promote and encourage cleaner options like train travel, which could replace many Heathrow flights.

“Huge numbers of Londoners already suffer from the noise and air pollution from Heathrow, see their transport systems overloaded and their lives disrupted.”

Jonathan Bartley, Green Party co-leader and Lambeth councillor said: “We are in a climate emergency.

“The Committee on Climate Change has already said a net-zero carbon target means the government has to rethink aviation expansion.

“This is something the government has clearly failed to grasp. From airport expansion to new roadbuilding, fracking to allowing homes with dreadfully poor energy standards to still be built, its actions are a direct opposite to its words. They are a betrayal of our society.”

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15 June 2019

The Green MEP for Yorkshire and Humber Magid Magid today will join the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign 35th anniversary rally.

He said: “Last year, as Lord Mayor of Sheffield, I was proud and honoured to dedicate one of my monthly campaigns towards demanding an immediate enquiry into this injustice from home secretary Sajid Javid. This year I will be joining thousands at the rally on Saturday to wholeheartedly reiterate that demand.

“Thirty five years after the grave abuse of state power and injustice of Orgreave, I commend everyone joining the community today to march for justice.

“The Green Party backs campaigners’ calls for an independent inquiry into the police brutality on that day.

“Coming to a clear and honest acknowledgement of what happened in the past is important in its own terms, to achieve the closure that the Hillsborough survivors and their families have won through hard campaigning. Orgreave deserves the same.

“There are still grave concerns about the behaviour of the police and security services in the UK, towards a wide range of communities, including black and minority ethnic communities and those from economically disadvantaged areas.

“Addressing the past is also a way of confronting the continuing abuses of the present, and by campaigners around many different campaigns uniting and supporting each others work, we all progress more effectively towards the goal of justice and respect for human rights and the law from the authorities.”

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