Responding to the announcement from the Justice Secretary, David Lammy, that jury trials in England and Wales for crimes that carry a likely sentence of less than three years are set to be scrapped, Green Party MP, Siân Berry, said:

“The focus on victims’ rights is appreciated, but this Labour Government is taking the wrong steps to try to serve us better, and laying the groundwork for further crackdowns on dissent, whistleblowing and protest if it removes juries from so many charges that have state or corporate victims.

“Juries are also a safeguard against creeping bias and discrimination. Judges are not currently representative of our wider communities and, under these plans, individual decisions will be at risk of damaging politicisation, while individual judges who are women or from minoritised communities risk attacks from the far right.

“More than fifteen years of continuing austerity has caused a backlog in the courts, not juries. Instead of dismantling a centuries-old fundamental legal right, the Government must reverse the neglect and cuts that created this mess in the first place.”

Reacting to the Autumn Budget statement delivered by the chancellor Rachel Reeves today, Green Party Treasury spokesperson, Adrian Ramsay MP, said: 

“Instead of delivering a transformational Budget to tax extreme wealth fairly and tackle the cost-of-living crisis, this Labour Government has once again chosen to paper over the cracks – with half-measures that won’t do enough to fix the deep-rooted problems in our economy that are keeping ordinary people in poverty while the super-rich get richer.

“The Chancellor spoke about asking everyone to make a contribution, but it is frankly inexcusable that she has made the political choice to squeeze households already struggling with the cost of essentials, whilst letting multimillionaires and billionaires off the hook. 

“It is indefensible that the Chancellor is cutting vital home insulation funding, one of the best ways to lower bills. 

“And whilst scrapping the cruel two-child benefit cap will be a huge relief to families across the country, it is unforgivable that it has taken 18 months for the Chancellor to acknowledge the terrible harm and distress this cap has caused to so many families. Far more action is needed to end the scandal of child poverty.”

ENDS

Green Party budget demands here. 

Reacting to the Autumn Budget statement delivered by the chancellor Rachel Reeves today, Green Party Treasury spokesperson, Adrian Ramsay MP, said: 

“Instead of delivering a transformational Budget to tax extreme wealth fairly and tackle the cost-of-living crisis, this Labour Government has once again chosen to paper over the cracks – with half-measures that won’t do enough to fix the deep-rooted problems in our economy that are keeping ordinary people in poverty while the super-rich get richer.

“The Chancellor spoke about asking everyone to make a contribution, but it is frankly inexcusable that she has made the political choice to squeeze households already struggling with the cost of essentials, whilst letting multimillionaires and billionaires off the hook. 

“It is indefensible that the Chancellor is cutting vital home insulation funding, one of the best ways to lower bills. 

“And whilst scrapping the cruel two-child benefit cap will be a huge relief to families across the country, it is unforgivable that it has taken 18 months for the Chancellor to acknowledge the terrible harm and distress this cap has caused to so many families. Far more action is needed to end the scandal of child poverty.”

ENDS

Green Party budget demands here. 

Reacting to proposals from the Justice Secretary, David Lammy, to massively restrict the right to a jury trial, Green MP Siân Berry said:

“This is yet another assault on our rights from an increasingly authoritarian government. This proposal would scrap a fundamental cornerstone of our justice system which has been in place for 800 years. 

“For David Lammy to describe the right to trial by jury as ‘not a right’ is a disgrace. The Government must fund our justice system properly – not make people pay for Labour and Conservative austerity with their fundamental rights. The Green Party will fight these proposals all the way.”

Responding to news that the government is backing Heathrow’s £49 billion proposal that will require the M25 to be moved, Green MP Siân Berry said:  

“This Government is so pathetically in the pocket of Heathrow bosses and the most wealthy frequent flyers, that it will support this ridiculous and costly plan for expansion, despite the miserable disruption it will cause to everyone else’s daily lives.

“These plans will trash our vital climate targets, and meanwhile cause misery on the roads, all for the benefit of the very richest people.

“This Labour Government must fix its twisted priorities, ditch the aviation obsession, and invest its effort instead in a real green future with high-paid green jobs, warmer homes, and cheaper bills.”