3 July 2019

The Green Party is strongly backing the March for Change, which is saying “stop the Brexit chaos”,  in London on July 20th, with many members from around the country expected to travel to the capital to show their passionate support.

Sian Berry, co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, said:

“With the Tories careering the country towards a disastrous no-deal Brexit, it’s never been more important to come together to celebrate our place in the European Union, and show the next Prime Minister that there’s no public mandate for crashing out.

“The levels of inequality and injustice across Britain are unforgivable, and millions were right to demand change. But Brexit is not the solution.

“Greens have been unwavering in our support of Britain’s place in the European Union. We won’t apologise, we won’t compromise and we won’t capitulate to the far right.

“On July 20th, we are proud to march in solidarity with millions across the continent who know we are all citizens of the world.”

Notes

(1) https://www.marchforchange.uk/

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2 July 2019

 Jonathan Bartley, co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, will tonight join representatives from many other parties and civil society groups at Westminster to sign the party up to the Good Systems Agreement (1) prepared by Make Votes Matter.

Jonathan will say: 

“In 1867, the Representation of the People Act saw a massive expansion of the male franchise. That came about after an unusual parliamentary event: opposition amendments to a Tory government bill were not resisted. This was a cross-party effort that led to a shifting of the tectonic plates under British politics.

“People in the future might well look back to this event and see in it the seeds of the same scale of transformation, with a similar approach.”

He added:

“It is very tempting to blame individuals for the disastrous state of Britain today, the Brexit chaos, the poverty and inequality, the insecurity and mental health crisis, the dreadful state of our natural world and the climate chaos.  But it is clear that the failure is systemic. 

“That the people are desperate to “take back control” of their communities, their lives, their futures, is no surprise at all. Our antique, undemocratic system has shut so many out of politics for so long.”

Note:

(1)https://www.makevotesmatter.org.uk/good-systems-agreement

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29 June 2019

Marking Armed Forces Day, Jonathan Bartley, co-leader of the Green Party said:

“Today’s focus very much should be on the people who make up our armed forces, both those now serving and those who have contributed in the past.

“My father served on D-Day. My uncle was a Spitfire pilot in the Battle of Britain.

“I think they’d both be horrified by yesterday’s report from the Public Accounts Committee saying that still a third of service personnel are not happy with the quality of their housing, and by the statistics showing that at least 50,000 former servicepeople are coping with mental health conditions and 6,000 have no permanent address.

“It is also disappointing that in provision of accommodation there is still discrimination between those who are married or in civil partnerships and those in long-term relationships.

“People serving their country deserve better treatment.”

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25 June 2019

Responding to the announcement from the UK Plastics Pact that its members will remove eight unnecessary plastic items from stores by the end of 2020 and “actively investigate” a second list of 19 items for sustainable alternatives by six years’ time (1),

Amelia Womack, deputy leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, said:

“Companies produce and sell about 76 kilogrammes of plastic that goes to waste each year in the UK for every women, man and child in the country.

“Today’s response from industry and retailers is wholly, ridiculously, inadequate and doesn’t address public concern on plastics or effectively protect the environment.”

“Again and again the model of self-regulation has failed. This is one more area in which the government needs to step in with strong action.”

“The Green Party is calling for a ban on all unnecessary single-use plastics. That would address almost all of the throwaway plastics on our high streets.

“It is up to the companies who sell products, and profit from them, to find alternative forms of distribution and packaging and take responsibility for the impact of their actions in our oceans, food chains and landscapes.”

(1) https://www.itv.com/news/2019-06-25/eight-plastic-items-marked-for-elimination-from-shelves-by-end-of-2020/

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22 June 2019

With tomorrow marking the third anniversary of the Brexit referendum, the co-leaders of the Green Party have reflected on two key aspects of the last three years.

Sian Berry said: “Our politics has become entangled in what has been rightly described as Brexit chaos over the past three years.

“We could, and should, have been dealing with the fast-rising issues of poverty and homelessness, with the collapse of bus services and the causes of the filthy air we breathe, with the state of our nature-deprived countryside and the struggles of our small farmers to survive.

“Instead we have been bogged down in party infighting, in fact-free debates about non-existent Brexit options and arcane struggles over parliamentary procedures.”

Jonathan Bartley added: “I’m thinking particularly about our young people.

“It should be a basic aim of politics that young people shouldn’t have fewer freedoms and opportunities than their parents, but if we do Brexit, and lose the treasure of free movement, our young will see their choice circumscribed, their options narrowed.

“More than two million young people have become voters since the 2016 referendum. Well over another million are aged 16 and 17, seeing society wrestling with issues that will have a huge impact on their futures.

“That’s more than 3 million people who deserve a say on their own future through the democratic option of the People’s Vote.

“Parliament has shown itself to be unable to find a way forward. The answer is democracy, and giving those young people the option to have their say.”

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