Sian Berry MP said:
“While some consideration seems to have been given to the utter impracticality of implementing the previous version of this code, under the demands of the Supreme Court judgment, the Government is still leaving public services, groups and businesses that want to be welcoming to all people with a huge legal minefield to negotiate, and leaving trans people with a real fear of being excluded from essential services and public spaces.

“The draft guidance will mean trans people are barred from services they have previously had no issue accessing, and service providers who want to be inclusive will be putting themselves at legal risk.

“The Government has failed so it is now up to Parliament to reject this document and instead create a legal framework with clear and equal rights for all, which protects trans people’s rightful place in society.”

The Green Party has this evening announced that Chris Kennedy has been elected as its candidate for the upcoming Makerfield by-election. Chris, a registered nurse and children’s safeguarding specialist, is a committed local campaigner. Chris will champion the priorities of local communities – tackling the rising cost of living and protecting local green spaces.  

Chris Kennedy was elected through a ballot of local members after a hustings.   

Chris said:  

“I am proud to have been selected to stand as the Green Party candidate for Makerfield at such an important time for our community. We want to defend our area against the politics of hate and division and bring people together around a positive vision for the future. At the same time, we can’t let this election be dominated by a Westminster psychodrama. It must be about protecting what makes Makerfield special. People here are feeling the pressure of the cost-of-living crisis, and they deserve real support. Greens will fight for warmer homes, lower bills, and a fairer economy. And we will always stand up for our NHS, properly funded, publicly owned, and there for everyone when they need it.”    

Green Party leader Zack Polanski said:    

Chris will be a fantastic candidate and representative for Makerfield. This election is about who is making the case for lower bills, warmer and more affordable homes and a greener and fairer economy. In a democracy, people must have the choice to vote for the candidate of their choice. The greatest threat in this by-election is the Reform Party, which, while presenting itself as a change to the status quo, is just more of the same and worse. It is in hock to corporate interests and seeks to divide our communities rather than uniting them. We have shown we can take votes from Reform in a way Labour just can’t. We know there are many voters fed up with the status quo who will only choose between Reform and Greens.   

“We will also use the byelection to press Andy Burnham on what kind of MP and Prime Minister he would be, given his mixed track record, and interviews this week suggesting he isn’t committed to fair voting, public ownership and a genuinely new economic settlement.  We’d like to know which version of Andy Burnham is going to show up.”  

Responding to the vote at Brent Council’s AGM that has seen the Labour administration enter into a deal with Conservatives to stay in power, Green Group Leader, Mary Mitchell, said: 

“Brent residents voted clearly for change on May 7th. After losing twenty-four seats and control of the Council, Labour had a choice: embrace a new era of collaboration and accountability, or cling to the status quo. Instead, they’ve chosen to cling to power through a deal with the Conservatives.

It didn’t have to be like this. The Green Party was ready to come to the table, do the hard work of negotiation and collaboration, and build a formal arrangement that included the need for new leadership. Instead, Labour has chosen to ignore the progressive values of its supporters and have prioritised protecting party power.

This stitch-up delivers no meaningful reform for residents. It is old-party politics at its worst, and deeply disappointing for everyone who voted for change. We remain ready to work with anyone committed to transparency, collaboration and putting Brent residents before party interests.”

Hannah Spencer MP said: 

My Green colleagues and I are so incredibly disappointed in this King’s Speech, but it’s not a surprise. In the wake of a devastating set of local election results for the Labour Party, the Prime Minister and the government should have used this opportunity to lay out an urgent, transformative, progressive programme to redistribute wealth, tackle the nature and climate crisis and make life affordable for everyone. 

My Green colleagues and I will seek to amend the government’s plans to include the urgent action needed to bring down people’s bills – rent controls, nationalising water, freezing energy prices, and taxing wealth. We need to see these measures despite the Labour Party’s drama, and even if there’s a different Prime Minister this time tomorrow!

I’m disappointed that instead of using this opportunity to get behind the Green Party’s demands, the government has laid out more of the same fiddling around the edges. There’s some positive movement on democratic reform and EU alignment, but also worrying double-downs on airport expansion and their cruel, unworkable immigration policy.

I was elected to give a voice to a politics that represents everyone. This is the first King’s Speech I have been in Parliament to hear, and I haven’t heard anywhere near enough to make meaningful changes to people’s lives. It’s a missed opportunity, it’s disappointing, and it’s out of touch. The people of this country deserve so much more.

The amendment will include: 

• Freezing energy prices in July to stop them going up by over £300
• New powers to control rents
• Funding for councils to buy existing homes from private landlords
• Water utilities to be brought back into public ownership
• Free bus passes for under 22s
• Universal free school meals
• Further measures to tax fossil fuel companies and the extreme wealth of billionaires and multimillionaires

ENDS