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Green Party calls for inquiry into death of schoolboy as ‘Hillsborough Law’ Bill reaches Parliament

28 March 2017

The Green Party has joined calls for an independent panel inquiry into the death of seven-year-old Zane Gbangbola, who died in 2014 after his home in Surrey was flooded.

Zane’s family believes he was killed by hydrogen cyanide carried by floodwater from a nearby landfill site, despite the coroner ruling his death was caused by carbon monoxide poisoning.

The family was denied legal aid and is now supporting the Public Authority (Accountability) Bill, dubbed the ‘Hillsborough Law’ [1], which will be presented to parliament tomorrow, on March 29.

Caroline Lucas MP, Green Party co-leader, is co-sponsoring the bill.

Zane’s parents Kye Gbangbola and Nicole Lawler are requesting an independent panel of inquiry, as in the Hillsborough inquest, to review all documentation around Zane’s death. More than 30,000 people have signed a petition [2] to support their call.

Jonathan Bartley, Green Party co-leader, met Kye and Nicole earlier this month.

Bartley said:

“I was struck by Kye and Nicole’s determination and resilience in terrible circumstances. They’ve shown enormous courage to continue fighting for justice in the face of a huge bureaucratic machine and vested interests weighted against them.

“I fully support their call for an inquiry and tomorrow we’ll take an important step forward with this bill reaching parliament. It’s crucial there’s a level playing field for families seeking answers about their loved ones’ deaths.

“The implications of Zane’s death are enormous, not just for his family, but potentially for everyone who lives near a landfill site, particularly as many of these sites are unrecorded. The authorities involved in the investigation must be accountable so we can make sure the truth emerges and that a tragedy like this never happens again.”

Notes:

  1. https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/sep/08/hillsborough-law-launched-to-ensure-officials-act-with-candour
  2. https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/call-for-a-public-debate-into-the-death-of-7-year-old-zane?bucket=+via+%4038_degrees
  3. More information about the campaigns are available at http://www.truthaboutzane.com/ and http://www.thehillsboroughlaw.com/.

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Greens ready to take fight for Manchester Gorton to Labour on May 4

28 March 2017

The Green Party has responded to news the Manchester Gorton by-election will be held on May 4 saying it is “ready to take on Labour”.

Jess Mayo, the Green candidate for Manchester Gorton, said:

“The Green campaign for Manchester Gorton has already started. We are the only party to take on Labour here and give voters a real alternative to the status quo. Whereever Greens are elected they make a difference, and we will fight hard to make sure Gorton is never overlooked for left behind.”

Jonathan Bartley, co-leader of the Green Party, visited Gorton today (Tuesday 28 March) to join the campaign trail and visit Northmoor Community Centre, as well the constituency’s Curry Mile.

Bartley said:

“On May 4 Manchester Gorton could make history by electing a Green MP. It’s a privilege to visit this community and meet the people who call it home, and a Green MP would mean there is always someone fighting their corner and defending public services.

“We are ready to take on Labour for this seat.”

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Greens reaffirm opposition to cruel badger cull ahead of debate

27 March 2017

Keith Taylor MEP: ‘Badger cull is a spectacularly expensive, ineffective and inhumane policy justified by a poor understanding of the science’

Keith Taylor, Animals spokesperson for the Green Party, is calling on the Government to end the ineffective, expensive and inhumane badger cull ahead of a debate on the divisive programme in the House of Commons.

More than 100,000 people signed a petition calling for an end to the badger cull and cancellation of plans to expand the slaughter to new areas. Since 2013, thousands of badgers have been killed in a Government cull aimed at controlling bovine tuberculosis.

Keith Taylor, Green MEP for the South East and Vice-Chair of the European Parliament’s Animal Welfare Intergroup, said:

“The badger cull is a spectacularly expensive, ineffective and inhumane policy justified with a poor understanding of science. Over the past four years, the Government has spent £40 million of taxpayers’ money killing 15,000 badgers in England. The so-called ‘free shooting’ method employed sees badgers subjected to slow and excruciating deaths. The practice is considered cruel and ineffective by the Government’s own experts and the British Veterinary Association.”

“Despite the expense and extensive cruelty, not to mention the systematic destruction of a protected species, the Government has provided no evidence to prove that killing badgers is having any impact on lowering bovine TB around badger cull zones. Ministers also refuse to accept a growing mountain of scientific research, which indicates that badgers largely avoid interaction with cattle and reveals just how difficult it is for badgers to transmit bovine TB to a cow.”

“The scientific evidence and economic analysis tell us that the cull is an irrational and failed project. In fact, the latest government-funded report concluded that the UK’s bovine TB ‘control’ programme is nothing more than mass cruelty supported by a bad reading of the science.”

“Rather than condemning thousands more badgers to long, painful and unnecessary deaths, the government needs to re-focus its efforts on humane and evidence-based controls.”

“I’m calling on MPs and the Government to make the compassionate, scientifically sound and economically literate choice and put an end to the cull once and for all.”

 

 

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Green MEP slams government over failure on ‘cheap’ renewables

23 March 2017

Molly Scott Cato, Green MEP for the South West, has accused the government of failing consumers and the environment over energy policy. The accusation follows new projections from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) which estimate that onshore wind and solar will be as cheap or cheaper than gas by 2020 [1]. BEIS now acknowledge an increased role for renewables, particularly due to potential improvements in battery storage. Molly Scott Cato said:

“Having hammered the renewables sector for ideological reasons, the government now discovers that wind and solar are set to become the cheapest ways to generate electricity.

“Government energy policy supposedly seeks to deliver secure, affordable and low carbon energy. They have failed on all three counts. But in particular we now see that by failing to pursue a transition to renewable energy they have missed the opportunity to provide electricity for the consumer at the lowest cost.”

Two years ago, Dr Scott Cato commissioned a report which concluded that the South West could generate over 100% of its energy needs from a mix of renewable sources and create 122,000 new jobs through a renewable energy transition [2]. She said:

“The UK has some of the best potential for renewable energy generation in Europe. It is clear that renewable energy should form the backbone of our economic strategy post-Brexit. This will not only be good for the economy and for creating thousands of new jobs, it would, by the government’s own belated acknowledgement, be good for consumers too.”        

[1] https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-dramatic-shift-uk-government-outlook-gas-clean-energy

[2] http://mollymep.org.uk/2015/04/17/power-to-transform/

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Statement from Caroline Lucas on the Westminster attack

22 March 2017

Caroline Lucas, the co-leader of the Green Party, has responded to Wednesday’s attack in Westminster. 

She said:

“Our thoughts go out to all those affected by today’s attacks and we send deep thanks to the public servants who responded so quickly, bravely, and with care to treat the injured and minimise the number of casualties. We pay tribute to the lives that were so sadly lost and in particular to the police officer who died in the line of duty – we are truly in his debt.

“The response to such a heinous attack must be to strengthen our democracy, and refuse to give in to those who would harm it.”

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