Greens call for dedicated Climate Protection Unit

Green Party MP Adrian Ramsay has called for a dedicated Climate Protection Unit in Number 10 in response to the latest report by the Climate Change Committee (CCC) which warns our way of life is under threat from heat, flooding and drought. The report, ‘A Well-Adapted UK’, sets out a package of recommendations on adapting to the growing impacts of climate change on life in the UK.

Adrian Ramsay said: 

“The most fundamental duty of any government is to keep the public safe, and yet today’s CCC report shows we are sleepwalking towards catastrophe and the government is failing to meet the moment. 

“The impacts of the climate and nature emergency are already being felt by communities across the UK, with increased food prices, more severe flooding and dangerous heatwaves. From our food and water supply to daily essential services, continued inaction is putting us all at risk. By 2050, the CCC’s report warns that up to 92% of homes could face overheating, peak river flows could rise by up to 45%, and water supply shortfalls could exceed 5 billion litres a day. Our children will not forgive us if the government and Parliament fail to take these fundamental risks seriously due to being distracted by current political dramas. 

“That is why today I am calling on the Prime Minister to establish a dedicated Climate Protection Unit in Number 10, with the sole purpose of working cross-department to drive forward the recommendations in this report.

“Because this report must mark a turning point. The Government must take concrete steps now to protect people’s lives and ensure our country is properly prepared for the growing risks posed by extreme heat, flooding and food shortages.

“That means investing in flood defences and nature-based solutions, preparing for extreme heat with a big focus on adapting our homes and workplaces, providing tangible support for farmers to ensure farming remains viable, and urgently adapting our infrastructure to prevent snowballing disruption across every facet of daily life.

“If ministers fail to take real action and deliver before the next general election, they will knowingly be putting lives at risk. The Government has been handed a plan. It is now vital they deliver it.”

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Green Party MPs seek to amend King’s Speech to include measures to tackle the cost-of-living, climate change and inequality


/ by Green Party

Hannah Spencer MP said: 

My Green colleagues and I are so incredibly disappointed in this King’s Speech, but it’s not a surprise. In the wake of a devastating set of local election results for the Labour Party, the Prime Minister and the government should have used this opportunity to lay out an urgent, transformative, progressive programme to redistribute wealth, tackle the nature and climate crisis and make life affordable for everyone. 

My Green colleagues and I will seek to amend the government’s plans to include the urgent action needed to bring down people’s bills – rent controls, nationalising water, freezing energy prices, and taxing wealth. We need to see these measures despite the Labour Party’s drama, and even if there’s a different Prime Minister this time tomorrow!

I’m disappointed that instead of using this opportunity to get behind the Green Party’s demands, the government has laid out more of the same fiddling around the edges. There’s some positive movement on democratic reform and EU alignment, but also worrying double-downs on airport expansion and their cruel, unworkable immigration policy.

I was elected to give a voice to a politics that represents everyone. This is the first King’s Speech I have been in Parliament to hear, and I haven’t heard anywhere near enough to make meaningful changes to people’s lives. It’s a missed opportunity, it’s disappointing, and it’s out of touch. The people of this country deserve so much more.

The amendment will include: 

  • Freezing energy prices in July to stop them going up by over £300
  • New powers to control rents
  • Funding for councils to buy existing homes from private landlords
  • Water utilities to be brought back into public ownership
  • Free bus passes for under 22s
  • Universal free school meals
  • Further measures to tax fossil fuel companies and the extreme wealth of billionaires and multimillionaires

ENDS

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Greens set sights on bigger parliamentary election wins after record-breaking locals results 

Green Party Parliamentary leader Dr Ellie Chowns MP said: “New records have been broken across England and Wales and hope has arrived back in our communities. 

“Today, our new councillors have started work to deliver on our campaign promises and we are redrawing our ambitions for the next Westminster parliamentary elections. 

“From Norwich, Hastings, Hackney, Waltham Forest, and all across London, to Birmingham, Newcastle Norfolk, Manchester and East Sussex, there is a real demand for Green representation. 

“Two party politics is finished, and voters are demanding bold policies to deliver real change. 

“MPs return for a new session of Parliament this week and a King’s Speech setting out the government’s programme. 

“Prime Minister Keir Starmer – if he is still Prime Minister – must get behind the Green Party’s demands for strong climate and nature action, alongside crucial measures to make life affordable for all, including rent controls, water nationalisation, and wealth taxes on multimillionaires and billionaires.  

“If he doesn’t, our Green MPs will be holding him to account in Parliament and tabling an amendment to the government’s plans and calling on all Labour MPs who want to end the cost of living crisis to get behind it. 

“And we now have the backing of record numbers of Green councillors, running a record number of Green councils because we have listened to our communities. 

“In the coming weeks, we will be setting our sights on new parliamentary targets across the country. These local election results show there is a huge demand for the hope we offer.”

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Our ‘Green objectives’ will be the price of any support for new government say Wales Green Party – as they welcome the defeat of Reform 

Wales Green Party will be looking to achieve the key manifesto pledges it promised to voters in any forthcoming arrangement with Plaid Cymru, their leader Anthony Slaughter announced today. At the same time, Slaughter welcomed the defeat of the ‘divisive, Trumpian’ Reform Party. 

Anthony Slaughter said: “We welcome the defeat of Reform and congratulate Plaid Cymru on their result – this is a victory for everyone who wanted to keep out Reform’s divisive, Trumpian politics out of Wales. We are a welcoming nation – and Wales needs to stay a place where everyone is treated with respect and dignity and can thrive. 

“When it comes to the next government of Wales, we are open to having conversations, but no decisions have been made at this point. In any negotiations we will be looking to deliver on the Green objectives that people voted on in this election – including action to address the cost-of-living crisis, protecting our NHS, fixing the renting crisis, and restoring our natural environment.” 

The declaration comes after Wales Green Party celebrated its historic breakthrough onto the Senedd with the election of their first ever two MSs – Leader Anthony Slaughter in Caerdydd Penarth and environmentalist Paul Rock in Caerdydd Ffynnon Taf.  

Wales Green Party’s key manifesto pledges include: 

  • Replacing council tax with land value tax paid by landlords not tenants 
  • Freezing rents, building 60,000 social homes and ending no-fault evictions 
  • Ending corridor care, addressing the mental health pandemic and putting the NHS on a sustainable footing 
  • Free bus fares for the under 22s, £1 for adults, more bus routes 
  • Extending free childcare from nine months to four years 
  • Taking back control of water to clean up our rivers and bring down bills 
  • Making sure every government decision supports climate and nature recovery 

Paul Rock was the second Green Party candidate to win a seat in the Senedd. He will serve in the Caerdydd Ffynnon Taf constituency where he has lived for 30 years. Paul is committed to the sustainability and resilience of Welsh communities, serving as UCU branch Environmental Officer at Cardiff University, and helping create the Gabalfa Library of Things. He has a long history of activism, with interests in sustainable transport, renewable energy and public access to land. 

Zack Polanski, Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales said: 

“When myself and my deputies Rachel Milward and Mothin Ali were elected a year ago we were very clear that breaking through and gaining representation in the Senedd was our number one priority. If you asked us six months ago no one expected us to get more than one seat but we have doubled that.” 

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Wales Green Party leader Anthony Slaughter makes historic breakthrough to the Senedd 


/ by Green Party

Wales Green Party has made an historic breakthrough winning its first ever seat in the Senedd with the election of Anthony Slaugher in Caerdydd Penarth.  

Wales Green Party leader Anthony Slaughter said: 

“I am honoured to be the first Wales Green Party candidate to be elected to the Senedd. This is an historic moment for the party. Welsh politics has changed forever today and Wales Green Party will now be playing a key role in that. 

“Having a Green voice in the Senedd for the first time will make a huge difference to the political conversation in Wales and I look forward to working with others to achieve our campaign including the helping with the cost of living, fixing the housing crisis and protecting the natural environment of Wales.” 

Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, Zack Polanski, gave his reaction to the news:

“I’m so proud to see my friend Anthony play a central role in our historic breakthrough onto the Sennedd. I know he will work every day with determination, vision and integrity for a fairer, greener Wales.”

Slaughter gained the fourth seat in the constituency winning 14% of the vote ahead of Labour on 12%.

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