Arrest warrants make clear selling arms to Israel ‘abets war crimes’

Carla Denyer, co-leader of the Green Party said:

“The ICC arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant and Mohammed Deif shows that to continue selling arms to Israel is to aid and abet war crimes. It is utterly indefensible.

“The Government must recognise that their approach to the war in Gaza has failed. They must consider far more direct measures to incentivise a ceasefire including an end to arms sales, the introduction of divestments, boycotts and sanctions, prosecutions for all those who have committed war crimes and a plan for a viable Palestinian state.”


/ by Green Party

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Greens welcome £1bn in funding for buses but challenge scrapping £2 fare cap and call for bus priority measures 

Responding to £1bn in funding which the government says will deliver a London-style bus service across England [1], co-leader of the Green Party, Carla Denyer MP, said: 

“It is encouraging to hear that councils will be empowered to take control of bus services. Tory deregulation of services was a green light for axing routes, running down services and a focus only on those routes which generated a profit.  

“It is also right that funding be based on need. However, the idea that Labour’s £1bn will mean a London style bus service arriving to all corners of the country is questionable. 

 “Also, increasing the single bus fare by 50% while freezing fuel duty definitely wasn’t the ticket. Keeping the £2 bus fare cap in England would have cost just a tenth of the money the government squandered by freezing fuel duty [2]. And too often bus reliability is affected by traffic, so we will need some bold moves on bus priority so buses can actually turn up when they are meant to.” 

Notes 

  1. ‘London-style’ bus services planned for England with £1bn boost – BBC News 
  1. Keeping £2 bus fare cap would have cost a tenth of fuel duty freeze, says think tank | The Independent 


/ by Andrew Bell

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Farmers are feeling abandoned, but taxing wealth is right, say Greens 

Reacting to planned protests this week by farmers over changes to Inheritance tax [1], Green Party Food, Agriculture & Rural Welfare spokesperson, Emily O’Brien, said: 

“Farmers are feeling abandoned. They have suffered badly from Brexit, both via detrimental trade conditions and reduced subsidies. And tax breaks for agricultural land have inflated land values, making it harder for both new entrants and existing farmers.  

“It is right to clamp down on those who buy farmland to avoid tax and the Green Party strongly supports wealth taxes. But we also need the government to take action to ensure that hard working farmers can earn a decent income. In particular, in the face of our climate and nature crises, we need subsidies to focus on encouraging farmers to shift to nature-friendly farming. This will protect our food security and support the rural economy while allowing wildlife to recover.” 

Notes 

  1. Starmer doubles down on ‘tractor tax’ claim ahead of huge protest | The Independent 


/ by Andrew Bell

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Greens back call for COP reform

Reacting to calls for the COP process to be reformed (1), Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer MP said: 

“This is a timely call for reform of an international forum that has achieved a great deal but now needs to drive action in the face of the dire climate crisis the world faces. 

“COP has brought the world together and succeeded in putting scientific evidence at the heart of policy making. 

“It has set out the scale of the crisis the world faces and has agreed, in principle, that those countries which have caused the crisis should be funding the loss and damage experienced by those who are bearing its costs. 

“In addition, the international agreement to phase out fossil fuels is vital and urgent. 

“However, the crucial next phase of making change happen is being derailed by the fossil fuel lobby and complicit nation states. 

“The election of a climate change denier as US President whose election call was ‘drill, baby, drill’, underlines the need to reform the COP process. 

“We need to move urgently to a new phase of implementation, where COP becomes the forum to hold governments to account and push forward a change agenda, including supporting countries to adapt to the impacts of the crisis already being felt. 

“To achieve this, we must exclude the fossil fuel companies and their lobbying arms and strengthen the representation of those countries and indigenous peoples most impacted by climate change. 

“COP has succeeded in highlighting the need for urgent change and has laid the foundations for achieving that, but it must now reform and refocus on making change happen.” 

NOTES TO EDITORS 

  1. https://www.clubofrome.org/cop-reform-2024/

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Green MPs write to David Lammy to clarify Government position on risk of genocide in Gaza

The four Green MPs yesterday wrote to the Foreign Secretary to clarify the Government’s position on the risk of genocide in Gaza.

Ellie Chowns said:

“The UK has an obligation to prevent genocide under international law. We know the Government has not described the Israeli government’s assault on Palestinians in Gaza as a genocide – the Prime Minister keeps telling us. But has it actually assessed the risk? And what will it take for the Government to recognise that obligation and act on it to prevent genocide? The Green MPs have written to David Lammy to get answers.

“The humanitarian and human rights situation in Gaza is dire. Israel’s government has cut off aid in Northern Gaza, and is now forcibly displacing the population from the North. The huge numbers of civilian deaths and the prospect of widespread starvation are intolerable.

“The Government must recognise that its approach has failed. It must take seriously the risk of genocide. And it must consider far more direct measures to incentivise a ceasefire including an end to arms sales, the introduction of divestments, boycotts and sanctions, prosecutions for all those who have committed war crimes and a plan for a viable Palestinian state.”

NOTES

Full text of the letter: https://elliechowns.org.uk/2024/11/13/letter-to-the-foreign-secretary/


by Paul Corry

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