Public should also be applauded at tonight’s Clap for Carers, says Green Party MP Caroline Lucas
28 May 2020
- Caroline Lucas MP calls for tonight’s Clap for Carers to also be for the public, in recognition of the huge sacrifices people have made to keep others safe
- Lucas says coronavirus crisis has shown our extraordinary capacity for compassion and generosity as she calls for green recovery and renewal
- Lucas: “If we the people show the lead, we can force even this Government to do the right thing.”
Green Party MP Caroline Lucas has said the public should also applaud each other at what is expected to be the final weekly Clap for Carers tonight [Thursday 28 May], in recognition of the huge sacrifices people have made to keep others safe.
In a speech to launch the party’s campaign for a green recovery from the coronavirus crisis, [1], Lucas said that the courage and solidarity of the British public throughout the crisis has stood in sharp contrast to the country’s leadership.
The coronavirus crisis has seen people make huge, often harrowing, personal sacrifices. And it has also seen hundreds of thousands of volunteers willing to risk their lives to help out millions of key workers putting duty and compassion above their own safety and the mutual aid movement bringing together communities up and down our land.
Lucas said this collective effort has changed us as a nation and shown we can build the better future the public deserve, one where the climate is safer. The inclination to goodness is hard wired in humanity. Despite the danger, fear and terrible sadness caused by the pandemic, we can now finally demolish the miserable mythology of human selfishness. And we can harness this new energy to tackle the even bigger crisis we face, the climate crisis.
In the speech Lucas said:
“The courage and solidarity of the British people stands in stark contrast to the leadership our country has suffered during this crisis.
“And I think that’s why we all feel so angry over the actions of Dominic Cummings. It’s as if all those sacrifices are being thrown back in our faces.
“I share your fury in the face of the complacency, incompetence and dishonesty we have endured.
“But just as we have changed as a nation, as communities, as individuals we have to believe that if we apply the right pressure, if we the people show the lead, we can force even this Government to do the right thing.”
The Green Party will be setting outs its proposals in the coming weeks as part of the campaign. It is calling for:
- A commitment to a green recovery including investment energy efficiency and clean transport in order to get people back to work and to modernise our economy
- Tapping into the energy and generosity shown by the people of Britain to give every part of the country the tools they need to build inclusive and sustainable places and communities.
- Putting people back at the heart of our democracy by ensuring all of us are partners in designing a better future for our nation.
- Extending the connections we have made in our communities so that we work together whatever our political beliefs
ENDS
Notes
1
The speech is available to watch on the Green Party’s Facebook page.