Responding to the Chancellor’s Spring Statement, the Co-Leader of The Green Party, Adrian Ramsay MP, said, “The Chancellor had a choice today. To rebalance our economy by asking the very wealthiest to contribute more, or to remove vital support from ill and disabled people. That she chose to take from the most vulnerable to balance her books is a damning reflection of how out of touch this government is. It is morally repugnant.”
He continued, “And it’s not just ill and disabled people who will suffer as the Chancellor doubles down on cuts to frontline services. This will weaken our communities and leave us all poorer. Labour once claimed that they were for the many, not the few – it’s clear now that this is no longer the case.”
Greens urge government to ‘rebalance the economy’ ahead of Spring Statement
Green MPs outside the Treasury, from left: Siân Berry MP, Adrian Ramsay MP, Carla Denyer MP, Ellie Chowns MP. Photo: David Mirzoeff/The Green Party
Green MPs pose with scales showing government’s ‘skewed priorities’ as government slashes disability benefits while refusing to tax wealth
They say a tax on assets over £10 million could raise nearly 5 times as much as Rachel Reeves’s cuts to disability benefits
Greens urge Reeves to abandon the planned cuts and ‘rebalance’ the economy in favour of ordinary people
Ahead of the Spring Statement the Green Party is urging the government to ‘rebalance the economy’, by reversing the planned cuts to welfare spending and instead taxing the wealth of multi-millionaires and billionaires.
The party’s MPs say it is deeply unfair that those already struggling to get by will be pushed further into hardship because the government is unwilling to tax wealth fairly – and that while we are still feeling the effects of the Conservatives’ ‘failed austerity experiment’ more cuts will only damage the economy further while leaving us unprotected from the climate crisis.
The day before Rachel Reeves is due to unveil her response to the OBR’s economic outlook and set out her government’s response, Green MPs posed with a set of scales representing the stark difference in the money the government plans to save with its welfare cuts and the amount that could be raised by taxing extreme wealth.
They say if the government took the advice of the Patriotic Millionaires and levied a 2% tax on assets above £10 million, this could raise £24 billion a year – almost five times the amount Reeves plans to save by slashing welfare for disabled people.
Speaking ahead of the spring statement, Adrian Ramsay, Green Party Co-Leader, said:
“It’s not fair that this government is unwilling to introduce a modest tax on the extremely wealthy while removing vital support from a million disabled people.
“Fifteen years of austerity have driven our economy to the edge—forcing ordinary people to bear the burden while multi-millionaires, billionaires, and big corporations amass extreme wealth. Meanwhile our economy is not prepared to protect us from the climate crisis.
“Labour’s plans will only deepen this inequality and push our economy further off-kilter. From removing the winter fuel payment from millions of pensioners to plans for more public service cuts, this government’s priorities are completely skewed.
“Instead of doubling down on the Conservative failed austerity experiment and pushing more people into hardship, it’s time to rebalance our economy for good.
“At the Spring Statement, Rachel Reeves can do just this. By taxing wealth fairly, she could invest in what this country desperately needs: giving communities the support they need, rebuilding our NHS, and taking action for a safe climate so we all have a future to look forward to.”
“The Lower Thames Crossing is a gargantuan waste of money that will dirty our air and increase road traffic danger and congestion across the South East.
“We have known for many decades that building new roads creates new traffic, and it’s estimated that this £10 billion scheme will only help journeys on the Dartford Crossing for five years while it induces new journeys to clog up all the roads in the area in short order. How many years before a multi-billion-pound relief road is suggested to cut congestion on the Lower Thames Crossing by those who want this scheme?”
“Instead of building ridiculously expensive and unnecessary new roads, we should be expanding our green public transport network to improve the day-to-day journeys of everyone who needs to get around, for a fraction of the cost.”
Green Party MP and co-leader Adrian Ramsay welcomed government plans to fund the installation of 400 solar power projects for schools and hospitals, (1) and called for Ministers to be more ambitious.
“This is an important first step in recognising the enormous energy resource offered by all the unused roof space on schools and hospitals that will also help them to cut energy costs. Now need the government to get out of the slow lane.
“We need the government to scale up this initiative. For instance, there are 24,000 schools in England alone, many of which could become energy generators with solar panels on their roofs. And the government should be extending the initiative to factories and warehouses.
“Better still, the government should be insisting that all new buildings include solar panels in their design.”
Green Party announces new CEO in “pivotal year for Green politics”
The Green Party of England and Wales has today announced the appointment of Harriet Lamb as the party’s new CEO. Harriet joins from the global environmental action NGO ‘WRAP’ where she currently serves as their CEO.
The announcement comes just weeks before “pivotal” local elections where the party hopes to build on its record-breaking number of councillors and maintain momentum after last year’s record-breaking result in the General Election.
From June, as CEO, Harriet will head up the party’s staff team and its day-to-day operations.
Welcoming Harriet to the role, Green Party Co-Leader, Adrian Ramsay MP, said,
“I am delighted to welcome Harriet to the Green Party. She brings a wealth of experience leading and scaling up organisations centred on bringing about environmental and social justice. She evidently has the experience and passion to play a central role in growing our party and our impact towards our core mission.
He continued, “The Green Party is on a roll. In the last few years we have quadrupled our number of councillors, entering administration on over 40 councils, and last year we saw a record General Election vote. With two party politics having broken down and people looking for alternatives, the Green Party’s positive vision for a fair, liveable future is needed more than ever. I look forward to working closely with Harriet in driving the party’s growth and impact to the next level.”
Commenting, Harriet Lamb said,
“I am super excited to be joining the Green Party and I am really looking forward to helping deliver the Party’s ambitious plans. I have spent my life working for charities driving social and environmental change – to end low pay, support refugees, nurturing peace in conflict-ridden countries, create the circular economy and most notably building the Fairtrade movement in the UK and globally – all values and issues dear to the Green Party and its agenda for positive change.”
