18 May 2019

Let the train take the strain, says Green Party deputy leader

Young Green action coordinated with German compatriots

Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack will today (Saturday 18th of May) join London Young Greens to demand that train travel from London across Europe be made more convenient and cheaper.

They will be protesting outside St Pancras station, calling for improvements in rail travel, rather than cutbacks. This follows the recent announcement that sales of relatively cheap “through” tickets to German, Austrian and Swiss destinations will end. (1)

Amelia said: “Huge numbers of young people don’t want to fly but want to take advantage of the free movement now available to them as citizens of the European Union. It is possible to travel by train to and from most destinations in Europe, as Nobel Prize-nominee Swede Greta Thunberg showed on her recent visit to Britain.

“I know this personally, having been to the South of Italy, Berlin and many other European destinations by train.

“But the price makes it prohibitive for many, particularly young people. That flying is so much cheaper in pound terms, even though it is costing us the Earth, is a massive policy failure of their elders. Aviation is massively subsidised through lack of fuel tax and VAT.

“That costs the Treasury billions, and helps push people into the air, when for many journeys rail would be a far more convenient and pleasant way to travel.”

Amelia added: “The Young Green event is being held in coordination with a similar German Young Greens event, reflecting the way in which as part of the European Greens, we work cooperatively across the continent.”

Greens across Europe are also campaigning for the restoration of sleeper trains, to make longer journeys more practical and convenient, a campaign that has met with success in Sweden. (2)

For further information contact the Green Party press office, press@greenparty.org.uk, 0203-6919401. To cover the protest on the day, contact Matthew Hull, 0785 615783.

Notes
1 https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/eurostar-train-rail-brussels-germany-austria-switzerland-through-ticket-a8902431.html
2 https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2019/04/europe-night-train-sweden-eco-travel-sleeper-car-fossil-free/586228/

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14 May 2019

Rachel Featherstone, Green Party lead candidate for the North East, is tonight to visit the site of the proposed Dewley Hill open cast coal mine in Northumberland.

She will be marking the release of figures today showing that existing coal stockpiles in the UK are more than double the level needed required until 2025, when the government is committed to completely ending coal-fired electricity generation.

Rachel said: “The issue of coal mining is of great concern in the North East, where not only Dewley Hill buts also our treasured Druridge Bay is threatened by a proposed new open cut coal mine, despite strong local opposition. 

“But this is a national issue. The parliament has declared a climate emergency, but we are still in danger of not just losing wonderful natural environments, but also further driving greenhouse gas emissions globally by exporting coal, when we should be ensuring no more is removed from the ground.

“Proponents of coal try to argue that their mines will ensure we aren’t importing coal for the final days of its use. This important work by Friends of the Earth and the Coal Action Network blows that claim away.

“The government has often talked about promoting carbon capture and storage from fossil fuel burning, but there is no need for new technology. Nature has already done the storage for us, if we just leave the fossil fuels in the ground.”

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14 May 2019

Molly Scott-Cato, Green Party MEP for the South West, and lead candidate in next week’s European election, today launched a “10-step Plan for Tax Justice” before an audience of small business owners in Bournemouth.

She said: “Greens are proud to have led on cracking down on corporate tax avoidance in this parliament. But there’s still a lot more to done to make sure national government stop blocking European co-operation on this issue.

“Multinational corporations use their transnational structures to out-compete local independent businesses who pay their taxes and fund the public services that the corporations rely on to help generate their profits. They are parasites who are not paying their way.”

Molly added: “Bournemouth is one of the country’s financial centres, which is why we are launching this plan here. We need to clean up our financial sector so it stops serving our tax dodgers. Currently, it works for the benefit of the elite.”

The plan was launched simultaneously across Europe, reflecting the close cooperation between Green parties across the European Union. 

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13 May 2019

In a statement issued in Cambridge, Rowan Williams, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, said:

“It is harder and harder to pretend that we’re not living in the middle of the most serious environmental crisis in recorded history.  We desperately need people in British and Indeed global politics who are not afraid to name this challenge for what it is, and to look at what needs to change in our lives if we are to avoid terrible cost to future generations and to the most vulnerable people of our own generation across the world. 

“Catherine Rowett is someone with the honesty, the courage and the clarity to speak out and think hard on these matters, and I sincerely wish there were more like her in our public life. I have deep confidence in her integrity and vision.”

Catherine is a Norwich resident and Professor of Philosophy at the University of East Anglia.

If elected she will represent Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire in the European Parliament.

The Greens came within 1% of winning a seat in the Eastern Region in the European election in 2014, collecting significantly more votes than the Liberal Democrats.

Green MP Caroline Lucas said: “Greens came close in Eastern England last time. We are the region’s strongest pro-Remain party. You can elect a Green MEP for the East this time.”

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13 May 2019

The deputy leader of the Green Party, Amelia Womack, will be at Preston New Road anti-fracking camp today [Monday 13th of May] at 12.30pm, the first time any of the leadership team has visited the site since a climate emergency was officially declared in the UK.

She is attending the Green Monday event, at which members of the party’s leadership team, and other prominent Greens Party and other environmental campaigners, have been regular visitors.

Amelia said: “In the age of climate emergency, the argument against fracking should already have been won. I am proud to be in a party stating that we shouldn’t have fracking in the UK or EU and working transnationally to stop it. I have made six visits to Preston New Road and this absolutely should be the last time I have to be here.

“In these European elections, Greens are committed to stopping the fossil fuel industry by 2030 and securing investment for renewables. This means no fracking, no new coal and no oil extraction. Beyond that, we need to make all fossil fuel subsidy by governments illegal – both at home and within the EU. 

“The people here in Lancaster have been dedicated in their battle against the fracking industry and now we owe it to them to recognise that they were right all along. 

“Now that the Tories have officially recognised that we are in a climate emergency, Theresa May must see that an immediate end to fracking and fossil fuel industries is essential. The country has been distracted by Brexit but missed the point that European-wide collaboration is the best tool we have to tackle the climate emergency.”

Gina Dowding, top list party candidate for the Green Party in the North West, who has a great chance of becoming the region’s first Green MEP, adding to the current English tally of three, and who was arrested during a “lock-on” (1) at the site in 2017, said: “The people of Lancashire are tired of being at the front of the anti-fracking struggle – although determined to continue it until it is finally won, and the security of the ground under our feet, the quality of our air and the peace of our life, is no longer threatened by this unwanted fossil fuel industry.

“We said no to fracking – so this is also a struggle about democracy. I’m glad that so many people like Amelia have brought their support to this Lancashire fight from around the UK. 

“It is time for the far-off Westminster Tories to stop trying to impose this industry for which there is no social consent. They should turn their attention instead to promoting the most affordable, and environmentally friend, renewables options, as well as supporting the farming and tourism industries that are so important to this area, to which fracking is a threat.”

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