27 June 2023

• Deputy leader Zack Polanski: “The ban on LGBTIQA+ people serving in the military was wrong 20 years ago, and it is unacceptable that it has taken over 20 years to address the harm done to people serving before that.”

• Cade Hatton, Co-Chair of LGBTIQA+ Greens: “It’s Pride Month. This is the time to act.”

The Green Party has demanded that the Government immediately release the report it commissioned [1] into the experiences of LGBTIQA+ veterans who served in the Armed Forces before 2000 – the year the ban on homosexuality in the Armed Forces was finally lifted.

The call comes during Pride Month, with the completed report – commissioned by the Government in 2021 – now with ministers. [2]

Green Party deputy leader Zack Polanski said: 

“If the Government is serious about addressing this historic injustice, it must release the report immediately. The ban on LGBTIQA+ people serving in the military was wrong 20 years ago, and it is unacceptable that it has taken over 20 years to address the harm done to people serving before that. 

“The Government was absolutely right to finally commission this review in 2021, but there is now no reason to delay publishing a report that has been completed and is sitting on the Minister’s desk.

“Let’s listen to the testimonies of the LGBTIQA+ people who served in the Armed Services under the ban, and hear from the government about what it will do to address the report’s recommendations in full.”

Cade Hatton, Co-Chair of LGBTIQA+ Greens, said:

“The pre-2000 ban on homosexuality in the Armed Forces is just one example of the shameful and targeted discrimination of the LGBTIQA+ community by successive governments.

“This review was long overdue, but I am pleased the report is now complete. We need it published immediately, so that we can read the testimonies of LGBTIQA+ service personnel and finally put on public record their experiences under the Government’s discriminatory ban on homosexuality in the military.

“While we cannot ignore the harm done by the military industrial complex of the west to the rest of the world, we also cannot ignore the harm done to those who have served under a discriminatory organisation that has caused people to hide who they are or risk unemployment or worse. This report must be made public.

“For the sake of transparency, the Government must release the report and its full recommendations without any further delay, and commit to taking the action needed to restore justice for our community.

“It’s Pride Month. This is the time to act.”

ENDS

Notes

1

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/lgbt-veterans-independent-review/about

2 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65846492

Adblock test (Why?)

22 June 2023

Responding to the news that the Bank of England has raised interest rates by 0.5% to 5% [1], Molly Scott Cato, Green Party finance and economy spokesperson, said:

“Today’s decision from the Bank of England will have a devastating impact on people across the country and shows once again how this Conservative government has failed to deal with this economic crisis.

“It’s no surprise the government is willing to take such a callous approach of doing nothing to help those who need it most when both the Chancellor and Prime Minister are millionaires. They seem to be completely out of touch with the impacts of inflation and interest rate rises on working people.

“It should be totally unacceptable for people on the receiving end of falling wages and rising prices to be told that they are the problem. 

“And that is why Greens would be looking for ways to support the economy without fuelling inflation by shifting consumption from the wealthy to those on lower incomes. 

“A first step would be to pay public sector workers in line with inflation. Since their output is not sold in a market it would only add indirectly to inflation.

“This could be funded by taxing the super-rich, whose consumption does contribute to inflation. Profiteering companies, financial speculators and the wealthy need to bear the burden of dealing with a crisis that is rooted in misguided ideology and Tory unfairness.

“And we would increase Universal Credit by £40 per week to help those who are in the most need right now.”

ENDS

Notes

1

https://twitter.com/bankofengland/status/1671835716840480769

For more information or to arrange an interview contact the press office on press@greenparty.org.uk or call 0203 691 9401

Adblock test (Why?)

19 June 2023

The Green Party has criticised the Labour Party’s announcement that it will not rule out the new Rosebank oil field if it is given the go ahead before the next election. [1]

Ahead of a speech by Keir Starmer in Edinburgh today, the Greens have urged the Labour leader to do another u-turn and announce he will oppose any new oil fields that get the green light between now and the election, in order to make any investments non-viable and avoid the dangerous impact on the climate.

Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay said:

“It is simply unforgivable that a Labour Party looking to build its green credentials is effectively giving its backing to the biggest undeveloped oil field in the North Sea, when it knows full well that we are in the middle of a climate emergency.

“The Green Party is clear we would not support the new Rosebank oil field. If Labour had the courage to take the same approach if it comes into government, it could make the investment completely non-viable and the dangerous climate impact would be avoided.

“Instead, Starmer’s promises of clean power by 2030 sound completely hollow when he accepts that oil and gas will be part of the mix ‘for decades to come’.

“By rowing back on their £28bn climate pledge and now signalling it will allow new oil fields approved by the Conservatives to go ahead, it is becoming increasingly clear that Labour are simply not offering the sort of climate leadership the urgency of the climate crisis demands.

“Compared to the Green Party’s policies, Labour are going nowhere near far enough. 

“The Green Party has pledged to invest almost £100bn each year for ten years to decarbonise our economy, including £25bn alone on insulating people’s homes, £12bn on increasing our renewable capacity and £14bn on rail and walking and cycling. 

“By investing in the green economy we can tackle the cost of living crisis and the climate emergency at the same time, creating a fairer, greener country which will leave no one behind.

“Whatever happens at the next election, it is vital we have a group of Green MPs fighting for the environment and those who have been ignored for too long by the main two parties.”

ENDS

Notes

1

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-65945214

For more information or to arrange an interview contact the press office on press@greenparty.org.uk or call 0203 691 9401

Adblock test (Why?)

14 June 2023

The Green Party has accused Shell of betraying people and planet after it announced it was abandoning its plans to cut oil production each year for the rest of the decade [1].

Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer said:

“Shell’s abandonment of its plans to cut oil production is a betrayal to our planet and everyone living on it, in the interests of greed.

“We are in the middle of a climate crisis and we know there is one way, and one way only, to protect us from its most devastating consequences – and that is to leave fossil fuels in the ground. 

“We also know that reducing our reliance on fossil fuels would be the most effective way to tackle the cost of living crisis which so many people across the country are struggling with day to day.

“For Shell to target more fossil fuel production and to increase payouts to shareholders is pure climate vandalism, and a sign that fossil fuel companies will not steer us to the greener future we all crave without political leadership from national governments.

“That is why the Green Party’s ‘dirty profits tax’ [2] would force the biggest polluters to pay for the damage they cause while protecting everyone else as we transition to a carbon-free future

“We would make this windfall tax a stepping stone towards a permanent carbon tax on polluting industries.”

ENDS

Notes

1

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/shell-boost-dividend-cut-spending-new-ceo-plan-2023-06-14/

2

https://greenparty.org.uk/news/2022/02/08/greens-call-for-dirty-profits-tax/

For more information or to arrange an interview contact the press office on press@greenparty.org.uk or call 0203 691 9401

Adblock test (Why?)

9 June 2023

The Green Party has accused the Labour Party of failing the climate and the people of the UK after watering down its pledge to invest £28bn a year in green industries if it wins power at the next general election [1].

Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay said:

“This highlights more than ever why it is necessary to have more Green MPs elected at the next General Election.

“We are witnessing environmental breakdown at an increasingly alarming rate, so you would have thought the Labour Party would understand that we need to see a transformational change if we are going to tackle the climate emergency along with the cost of living crisis that is causing so much harm in our society.

“Yet once again we see them offer a policy that does not go far enough, and then row back at the first sign of any difficulty.

“The Green Party has pledged to invest almost £100bn each year for ten years to decarbonise our economy, including £25bn alone on insulating people’s homes, £12bn on increasing our renewable capacity and £14bn on rail and walking and cycling.

“Only the Green Party is coming forward with the practical and sensible solutions to the crises this country faces and whoever wins at the next general election, it is vital we have a group of Green MPs fighting for the environment and those who have been ignored for too long by the main two parties.”

ENDS

Notes

1

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65853872

For more information or to arrange an interview contact the press office on press@greenparty.org.uk or call 0203 691 9401

Adblock test (Why?)