27 March 2024

Responding to a British Social Attitudes survey which finds public satisfaction with the NHS is at its lowest ever level [1], co-leader of the Green Party, Adrian Ramsay, said: 

The high levels of dissatisfaction with the NHS are a direct result of the Conservatives deliberately running down health services and using this as grounds for privatisation. I hear all the time from people struggling to get an appointment with their GP; unable to see an NHS dentist, while overstretched wards mean people are left in corridors and staff are overwhelmed.  

“Yet it is very clear that people overwhelmingly want the NHS to remain free at the point of use and available to all. They don’t share the Conservative or Labour appetite for creeping privatisation. 

“The public also unequivocally backs the NHS being funded by tax, with almost half believing taxes should rise so more can be spent on health services.  

“The Green Party has never had any truck with the profit motive in health care and believes in a fully publicly funded NHS. We can find the billions the NHS desperately needs to improve its services and to pay health workers properly. A tax on the super-rich billionaires and multi-millionaires can provide the funds needed to fix the NHS and so rekindle our love affair with our most cherished public service.”  

Notes 

[1] Public satisfaction with the NHS and social care in 2023 | Nuffield Trust 

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27 March 2024

Reacting to Environment Agency figures showing water companies increasing sewage discharges into rivers, Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer said: 

“Water companies continue to be allowed to dump ever more sewage into our rivers, waterways and coastal waters while splashing funds at shareholder dividends and fat cat salaries for water bosses.  

“The £57bn in payouts from the water industry over the last 30 years should have gone towards improving standards.   

“Greens would end this failed experiment in privatisation, bringing the water companies back into public control so we can clean up this industry.” 

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26 March 2024

Reacting to news that the UN Security Council has called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, without the US using its veto to block the resolution, co-leader of the Green Party Carla Denyer, said: 

“The Green Party has been calling for a ceasefire since last October, so this vote is hugely welcome if long overdue. With Israel’s greatest ally the United States abstaining, the Netanyahu regime is more isolated than ever – and rightly so.  

“This Security Council resolution comes too late for hundreds of thousands of people who have seen their families and friends killed, maimed, or seriously injured and their homes, hospitals and schools destroyed. Nonetheless, it ramps up international pressure on Israel to end its deadly assault on Gaza. 

“However, Netanyahu is not listening – the attacks continue. The UK government must now further pressurise the Netanyahu regime by immediately suspending export licenses for arms to Israel. The Green Party also calls for further leverage through boycotts, divestment and sanctions. This means withdrawing all public money from funds with investments in Israel and suspending beneficial trade arrangements with the country.  

“Only a full bilateral ceasefire and release of all hostages can stop more people dying. Israel must immediately stop blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza, where their blockade on aid is causing famine and intolerable suffering. And only a ceasefire can allow talks to begin on the long-term political solutions that will bring peace and security to everyone in the region.” 

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25 March 2024

Responding to Labour’s announcement in Anglesey about Great British Energy, the new energy company the Party plans to set up if they become the government, co-leader of the Green Party, Adrian Ramsay, said: 

“The announcement today of £8 billion for Great British Energy over the course of the whole parliament, which would prioritise investment in floating offshore wind, is a drop in the ocean. Especially since it follows the Party ditching its £28bn a year green investment plan. The Green Party would invest whatever is needed to turbocharge the move to renewables, ensuring wind provides around 70% of the UK’s electricity by 2030.  

“We would also create an environment where communities can genuinely own their own energy, keeping bills down while allowing those communities to benefit from any profits made. By contrast, Labour seems all at sea when it comes to what sort of venture Great British Energy will be. Will it be a fully publicly owned company, as originally promised, or will Labour simply spin it as such when really it is another way for private energy companies to max out their profits?” 

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14 March 2024

Reacting to Michael Gove’s statement on a new definition of extremism, deputy leader of the Green Party, Zack Polanski, said: 

“Is this government seriously asking us to trust them to define extremism? In a week when they failed to condemn blatant racism and a death threat from a major Conservative Party donor? In a month when they are pushing through the Rwanda Bill which demonises the most vulnerable people seeking refuge, asylum and safety in this country? And after years attacking civil liberties and undermining our democracy? 

“Our fundamental and democratic rights are under threat from extremists. The problem is, they’re running the country.” 

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