Green Party react to ‘extreme, inhumane’ immigration proposals


/ by Green Party

Green Party MP, Carla Denyer, has responded to changes to the UK’s asylum policy, that would see asylum seekers having to wait 20 years to apply to settle permanently, and be subjected to regular reviews every two-and-a-half years, meaning people could be returned to their home nation if it is deemed safe.

Denyer said:

“This is a new low from this government – plumbing the depths of performative cruelty, in hopes that the public won’t notice they have no answers to the real issues facing communities across this country.

“Confiscating the belongings of people fleeing war and violence, and trapping refugees in perpetual limbo, where even those who have been granted asylum would have the constant threat of deportation hanging over their heads, undermining integration and making it impossible to put down roots. These are extreme, inhumane proposals from a desperate and failing government.

“The only way to prevent people making dangerous crossings by small boats is to open safe and managed routes for people to claim asylum in the UK. There are hints Mahmood could introduce such schemes – a sensible government would focus on this workable policy rather than divisive gimmicks.”

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Wales Green Party responds to new nuclear power plans


by Green Party

Responding to the announcement of plans for new nuclear power generation on Ynys Môn, leader of Wales Green Party Anthony Slaughter, said:

“It’s Groundhog Day yet again. Gordon Brown declared a bold future for nuclear power back in 2009, showing us nuclear is of no help in fighting the climate crisis.

“New nuclear power at Wylfa would be nothing but an expensive distraction from the clean, fast and cheap renewables already available to us. We need to cut emissions fast, but even the most optimistic backers admit it’ll take a decade for new nuclear to be up and running. 

“And there is still no answer to the safe disposal of nuclear waste.

“What Wales needs is a fast, ambitious roll-out of solar, wind and wave energy that will create jobs and cut energy bills.”

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Welsh Greens welcome first ever councillor defection  

Former Labour group leader on Carmarthenshire County Council Cllr Robert James has defected to the Green Party. 

Green Party leader Zack Polanski has welcomed Robert, who represents Lliedi ward on Carmarthenshire County Council, to the Green Party.  

The defection comes as the party meets in Cardiff to celebrate almost tripling its membership in two months and to plan a Senedd breakthrough in 2026. 

Announcing the defection at Wales Green Party conference, Zack said:

“I know this will be the first of many councillors who we will be welcoming to the Wales Green Party.  

“I’m delighted to be welcoming Robert in person at this historic Wales conference where members are planning how to break through into the Senedd in the elections in 2026. 

“This defection of a country councillor shows that the momentum is building and more breakthroughs will follow. 

“Rob is a pioneer – he was the youngest Labour group leader in Wales, and now the first councillor in Wales to join the Green Party from Labour. 

“He won’t be the last – I know there are many more weighting up their decision.” 

Cllr James said:

“During a time when our communities are the most divided in decades and the struggles our residents face continue to grow, I have joined a party that puts people and this planet first – by tackling crippling inequality, protecting public services and safeguarding the future of our environment. 

“As a Green Councillor I will continue to fight for the interests of those living in Lliedi and Carmarthenshire, more widely, to get the changes we desperately need.” 

Rob has led campaigns to divest pension funds from fossil fuels, for a locally owned bus company for school pupils and against cuts to local public services. 

Anthony Slaughter, Wales Green Party leader, said:

“The moral courage Rob has shown is exactly why he makes a brilliant Green councillor. It also shows the political tectonic plates are shifting in Wales. Our membership in Wales has nearly tripled in two months, closing in on six thousand.  

“Our call to make hope normal again has galvanized the public to action, and the momentum around the party is going to carry us into the Senedd in May. We’ll be there to shake up the complacent and tired government that has forgotten the people it’s supposed to serve.” 

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Greens will make new Welsh government bolder, says leader

Anthony Slaughter will use his Wales Green Party conference leader’s speech on Saturday to lay out how Greens in the Senedd will ‘improve people’s lives’, and warn that the country must make the most of a ‘once in a generation’ chance to elect a new government.  

Anthony Slaughter will say:

“We’ve been waiting for this opportunity for many years. We can finally replace this tired, clapped-out, complacent Welsh government with one that’s buzzing with excitement about making Wales better.  

“But we also need to be bold – to make sure we don’t replace one cautious, timid government with one that still won’t stand up to vested interests. We need a government that won’t bow down to landowners, landlords and corporations.  

“Caution is the last thing we need right now.”  

He will also point to Scotland as an example of how Greens have “changed people’s lives for the better.” He will say:

“A few weeks ago, I was in Scotland listening to how our colleagues there won rent controls. How they cut child poverty. How they scrapped peak rail fares, and made buses free for young people. How they won record funding for climate and nature.  

“Scotland shows it takes Greens, it takes bold politics to deliver the best deal possible for people.  

“So imagine what we can do here with Greens putting pressure on a new government.  

He will also announce a series of priorities for Green Senedd members:

“We will make your life better. We’ll bring wealth taxes to Wales – by replacing council tax with a system where wealthy property owners pay more. We can start putting money back into our councils to provide better local services.  

“We can build tens of thousands of new council homes. We can nationalise water, so we can cut bills and clean up our rivers.  

“We can create good jobs across Wales in clean energy and insulating our cold and damp homes.”  

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Green MP calls on chancellor to end £2.7bn tax breaks for fossil fuel companies after BP posts $2.21 billion quarterly profit  

Green MP Carla Denyer has called on Rachel Reeves to end tax breaks for fossil fuel companies amounting to £2.7 billion a year and instead fund a ‘jobs guarantee’ to support workers currently employed in oil and gas to move into jobs in renewable energy. 

As figures showed that energy giant BP made a profit of $2.21 billion in the 3rd quarter of 2025, Denyer wrote to Reeves and launched a petition calling on the chancellor to make the change.  

In her letter [1], Denyer wrote:  

Tax breaks on fossil fuel production is currently estimated to amount to £2.7 billion per year. Meanwhile these same companies continue to provide billions of pounds worth of shareholder payouts, all whilst laying off large sections of the workforce. 

Speaking about the issue, Carla said:  

“Right now, the government is propping up the declining oil and gas industry by giving oil and gas producing companies massive tax breaks – to the tune of £2.7 billion every year. Meanwhile these same companies have paid billions of pounds to their shareholders, all whilst laying off large sections of the workforce. 

“This scandal has to end. Instead of wasting money supporting an industry in decline, the government should invest in creating jobs and supporting workers instead. This should include a Jobs Guarantee for those currently working in high-carbon industries like oil and gas, that ensures they can find equivalent alternative employment or funded retraining. 

“It’s time for the government to take real action – end tax breaks for fossil fuel companies, and back workers instead.” 

Notes

  1. The full text of the letter:  

    Dear Chancellor,  

    I am writing to you ahead of the Autumn Budget to request that you end tax breaks for fossil fuel production and direct part of the additional revenue this would generate to provide a targeted jobs guarantee for oil and gas workers. 

    Tax breaks on fossil fuel production is currently estimated to amount to £2.7 billion per year. Meanwhile these same companies continue to provide billions of pounds worth of shareholder payouts, all whilst laying off large sections of the workforce. 

    So, while I welcome the increase and extension of the Energy Profits Levy (EPL), including scrapping the oil and gas investment loophole, and the Government’s decision to join the ‘Coalition on Phasing Out Fossil Fuel Incentives Including Subsidies’ – more can and must be done. 

    Last month the joint intelligence committee warned that the climate crisis is a national security threat, and earlier this year, in one seven-day heatwave alone, an estimated 570 people died from heat-related deaths in England and Wales. It’s clear that there is no other option but to transition away from fossil fuels, and towards renewables, at speed. 

    Further, the North Sea basin’s reserves are in terminal decline and as a result the number of jobs supported by the oil and gas industry in the UK has halved in the last decade. This is despite the UK government continuing to provide tax breaks to the industry and issue new drilling licences. 

    It is clear that providing tax breaks for fossil fuel production is not protecting jobs. Nor is it compatible with the UK’s climate goals.  

    Whilst we all recognise that fossil fuels will have a temporary role to play in this transition, continuing to prop up the declining fossil fuel industry will only slow progress towards building the renewable energy system of the future, creating secure, unionised jobs here in the UK. 

    Part of the additional revenue created by ending these tax breaks could fund an emergency package of measures for oil and gas workers, such as those outlined in my Private Members Bill: the Energy and Employment Rights Bill. These include jobs and rights guarantees, public investment to create good quality jobs, and free training to enable workers to move into them. 

    With COP negotiations fast approaching, it is vital that you use the opportunity of the Autumn Budget to show global leadership: end financial support to fossil fuel production and fund a workers transition package. 

    Yours sincerely,  

    Carla Denyer  

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