Responding to jubilant scenes in London where the Lionesses were seen parading the streets after winning the Euro 25 cup, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, Siân Berry, said now was the time to “build on this momentum.”

“The historic and dramatic Lionesses Euros win has been such a boost and inspiration for budding footballers and for all sport. It is a reminder of how important sport is for our health, community cohesion and joy. We must build on this momentum,” she said.

Berry added:

“The Green Party wants to see more of these sporting victories in the future, and for local authorities to be properly funded so we can maintain key grassroots sporting infrastructure including pools and playing fields. Sport is a good tool for our public health and an important measure in tackling obesity.

“We also need to ensure sport is more accessible, and that opportunities to participate reach into our diverse communities. School playing fields must be protected from development and, outside school hours, school sporting facilities should be open for local clubs and teams to use.”

Responding to jubilant scenes in London where the Lionesses were seen parading the streets after winning the Euro 25 cup, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, Siân Berry, said now was the time to “build on this momentum.”

“The historic and dramatic Lionesses Euros win has been such a boost and inspiration for budding footballers and for all sport. It is a reminder of how important sport is for our health, community cohesion and joy. We must build on this momentum,” she said.

Berry added:

“The Green Party wants to see more of these sporting victories in the future, and for local authorities to be properly funded so we can maintain key grassroots sporting infrastructure including pools and playing fields. Sport is a good tool for our public health and an important measure in tackling obesity.

“We also need to ensure sport is more accessible, and that opportunities to participate reach into our diverse communities. School playing fields must be protected from development and, outside school hours, school sporting facilities should be open for local clubs and teams to use.”

On the need to recognise the state of Palestine, Green Party Co-Leader, Carla Denyer MP, said,

“Recognising the state of Palestine is a bare minimum that governments across the world can do to help bring an end to the genocide being carried out by the Israeli government in Gaza – and yet the UK government is falling behind other nations in taking even this most basic step.

“The UK government must join France in recgonsing the state of Palestine – as well as enacting a full arms embargo, widespread sanctions, a ban on the import of settlement goods, and funding for evidence collection for prosecutions.

“Time and time again our leaders have called the situation ‘intolerable’ and yet continue to tolerate it – we must see real action to end the genocide.”

Reacting to the International Criminal Court’s first-ever ruling on climate change, co-leader of the Green Party, Carla Denyer MP, said:

“In a landmark ruling today the ICJ has made clear that failure to take decisive action to protect the climate, through continued fossil fuel production and consumption and granting fossil fuel exploration licences, can be considered as acting ‘wrongfully’. This means the UK has a legal duty to speed up the transition towards a cleaner, greener economy and block any new licences for the extraction of fossil fuels. 

“The ruling also made clear that human rights must be at the heart of climate action because climate breakdown affects our rights to health, homes, and livelihoods.

“The court has recognised that rich countries like the UK, responsible for ongoing and historic pollution, have a special responsibility to act, and to offer compensation to countries and communities already suffering from floods, droughts, and rising sea levels.

“Today’s ruling should be the moment we draw a line. Governments that fail to act and polluters that refuse to clean up their act must no longer be allowed to harm communities either at home or across the globe with impunity.”

Commenting on news that the Government has struck a deal with private investors to progress the Sizewell C nuclear power plant in Suffolk – a deal in which the government will have a 45% stake – co-leader of the Green Party and Waveney Valley MP, Adrian Ramsay, said:   

“The tax-payer will pick up nearly half of the estimated £38bn bill for Sizewell C but see not a single watt of electricity from it for at least a decade. Bill-payers will also have to stump up the cash for this plant through an increase in their energy bills by around £12 a year.  

“New nuclear is a vastly more expensive way to produce electricity than renewables, with electricity from Sizewell C estimated to cost around £170 per megawatt hour compared to offshore wind at around £89/MWh. Hinkley C has also shown how the costs of developing nuclear power plants mushroom and are beset by endless delays.  

“The billions of our money being squandered on this nuclear gamble would be far better spent on insulating and retrofitting millions of homes, which would bringing down energy bills and keep people warm in winter and cool in summer. We should also be investing in genuinely green power such as fitting millions of solar panels to roofs, and in innovative technologies like tidal power. All this would create many more jobs than nuclear ever will and deliver clean electricity much more quickly.”