Responding to the government’s announced plans to give votes to 16 and 17 year olds, Green Party MP, Ellie Chowns said: 

“On this one, Labour have got it right. Giving 16- and 17-year-olds the vote is a long-overdue step towards a stronger, more inclusive democracy. Young people have powerful voices and a vital stake in decisions about their future — it’s only right that they have a say at the ballot box.

But if Labour are serious about renewing our democracy, this must be just the beginning. We need to go further — that means scrapping the undemocratic House of Lords, and finally delivering proportional representation so that every vote counts.”

Reacting to news that thousands of Afghans have moved to the UK under a secret scheme which was set up after a British official inadvertently leaked their data, Ellie Chowns, MP for North Herefordshire and Green Party spokesperson for foreign affairs, said:

“It is nothing short of horrifying that a British security breach exposed the personal details of thousands of Afghans who risked everything to stand alongside our forces, leaving them and their families exposed to persecution, torture, or worse at the hands of the Taliban.

“It’s truly shocking that proper data protection practices were not in place to prevent such a dangerous event. And though the government has assured Parliament that action has been taken to prevent such a leak from happening again, this does not negate the great danger posed to thousands through sheer carelessness.

“This breach should never have happened. Yet, in the face of this appalling mistake, it is absolutely right that the government acted decisively to bring those exposed to safety in the UK. These courageous people stood by us at great personal peril and put their trust in the government to not expose them to more risk; the UK owes them nothing less than safe refuge and a chance to rebuild their lives in security and dignity in Britain.”

Reacting to plans by Rachel Reeves to place financial services at the heart of the government’s growth agenda by softening up regulations on banks and reintroducing greater risk-taking into the financial system, co-leader of the Green Party Adrian Ramsay MP, said:

“If in their desperation to achieve growth, the government is willing to set up the conditions for another disastrous financial crash, then we need to question whether growth should be the be-all and end-all of economic policy.

“For Greens the focus will always be on improving health and wellbeing, creating greater equality and building a greener economy. And designing economic policy as a means to those ends.”

Reacting to the Met Office’s State of the Climate Report, published today, co-leader of the Green Party, Adrian Ramsay MP, has called on the Prime Minister to put climate resilience on a statutory footing. He said:

“England is facing its driest start to a year in my lifetime. Extreme weather is becoming the norm, and we are nowhere near prepared to protect our citizens. Our climate is fuelling extreme weather, and that is having direct and urgent consequences in the here and now.

He continued: ”We had the warmest spring on record, and we are in the middle of this summer’s third heatwave. The last three years have been among the top five warmest on record. The Government has not adequately prepared our infrastructure to protect our citizens.”  

”The Government must outline the steps they are taking to prepare for the increasing threat of extreme temperatures. This is not just about this summer, it’s about how we adapt as the climate crisis continues to escalate.”

“We need to safeguard the public from this rising climate threat. That is why the Prime Minister must put climate resilience on a statutory footing, requiring local councils and major infrastructure providers to carry out climate risk assessments for all projects.”

Green MP and co-leader Adrian Ramsay responded to the government bringing back  supplementary voting for combined authority ‘metro’ mayors, the Greater London Authority mayor, elected council mayors, across England; and Police and Crime Commissioners across England and Wales. 

“I look forward to the government now extending more democratic voting to General Elections and council elections as well. 

“This change in systems is welcome for Mayoral contests because it ensures voters can express their preferences and the outcome will better reflect people’s views. 

“We now need the government to wake up to the need to reform the General Election voting system, and the system for electing councillors. 

“We have a deeply undemocratic first-past-the-post system for General Elections, particularly now the tired, old two-party system has fractured. 

“That voting system also needs to change or we could once again find ourselves with a party with a majority of seats in Parliament won on a shrinking minority of votes.  

“We need every vote to count and for the public to feel that they have a real say in how the country is governed.”