Green Party

8 May 2017

*Co-leader Jonathan Bartley: “This is getting beyond a joke. The BBC’s love affair with UKIP is getting embarrassing” 

The Green Party has reacted with anger to an announcement today (May 8) that the BBC will feature the leader of UKIP in two dedicated election programmes but will not extend the same invitation to the Green Party. 

Today’s announcement came just days after the BBC breached its own guidelines [1] by giving disproportionate coverage to UKIP when reporting the results of local elections last Thursday. The Green Party has already lodged a formal complaint over the BBC’s failure to give the Green Party coverage “proportionate to the larger parties” and “more than those parties with less evidence of past or current electoral support or fewer candidates”.

Today the BBC announced [3] that Paul Nuttall will be interviewed by Andrew Neil in one of a series of prime time programmes each evening at 7pm throughout the week of 22 May. In addition Mr Nuttall will also be the subject of an ‘Election Questions’ programme on BBC1 on 4 June. 

Jonathan Bartley, Green Party co-leader, said:

“This is getting beyond a joke. The BBC’s love affair with UKIP is getting embarrassing” and it is time it recognised that the Green Party is entitled to a fair hearing in its election programming.”

“As the local election results, in which 150,000 people voted Green compared with less than 100,000 for UKIP [3], demonstrated, when people see what we stand for, they support the Green Party. It’s time the BBC recognised the strength of the Green movement and the widespread support for our positive vision for Britain as a confident and caring country. It is time to stop giving so much air time to UKIP.”

Notes:

1. http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/guidelines/editorialguidelines/pdfs/2017localelectionguidelines.pdf

2. http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2017/general-election?ns_mchannel=social&ns_campaign=bbc_press_office&ns_source=twitter&ns_linkname=corporate

3. http://britainelects.com/results/may2017/

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8 May 2017

The Green Party has condemned the alleged Conservative Party manifesto pledge to cut net migration to tens of thousands [1].

Jonathan Bartley, Green Party co-leader, said:

“The Tories have repeatedly failed to reach this target since it was first in their manifesto in 2010 but in the process have split up families and encouraged hostility towards migrants.

“It’s time the Conservative Party stopped trying to pin the blame for unemployment, the housing shortage and NHS overcrowding on migrants and acknowledged the abject failure of its own policies, cuts and severe underinvestment.”

Notes:

1. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-39840503

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8 May 2017

*Letter accuses BBC of breaching its fair coverage guidelines

*Greens won 40 seats while UKIP won just 1

*Co-leader Jonathan Bartley: “It’s time the BBC recognised the widespread support for our positive vision for Britain”

The Green Party has today (May 7) sent the BBC a letter of complaint over the broadcaster’s coverage of the May 4 local elections results.

The BBC’s guidelines [1] state the Green Party should receive coverage “proportionate to the larger parties” and “more than those parties with less evidence of past or current electoral support or fewer candidates”.

The Greens fielded a record number of candidates in this round of local elections, overtaking UKIP, [2] and 40 Green councillors were elected, compared to UKIP’s one. However, with the exception of a few items, most of the BBC’s coverage failed to report the Green Party’s results, while giving disproportionate coverage to UKIP.

Jonathan Bartley, Green Party co-leader, said:

“It’s time the BBC recognised the strength of the Green movement and the widespread support for our positive vision for Britain as a confident and caring country. When people see what we stand for, they vote Green.

“While UKIP makes cheap attempts to win headlines with blatantly Islamophobic policies [3], Greens are out making a difference to their local communities and this contrast was made clear in Friday’s election results. The Green Party is making gains across the country – from the Orkney Islands to the Isle of Wight – and it’s only fair we’re given proportionate coverage by our national broadcaster.”

Notes:

1. http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/guidelines/editorialguidelines/pdfs/2017localelectionguidelines.pdf
2. http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/ukip-overtaken-by-greens-in-english-council-seats-contested-big-drop_uk_58e68cb2e4b0773c0d3f1e26
3. http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/ukip-muslim-face-veil_uk_58fdfd2ae4b018a9ce5cdd3b

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6 May 2017

The Green Party has pledged to invest £2bn in renovating and creating safe cycling and walking routes. The funding will be drawn from a cancellation of the Government’s new roads programme which was expected to cost £1.2bn and from environmental taxes which will be used to fight climate change.  

The party argues that Government’s walking and cycling investment strategy [1] does not go far enough. The Greens would make a proper commitment to enabling walking and cycling, while redesigning dangerous junctions and roundabouts.

The party’s announcement, its second major announcement on environmental legislation, comes after a plan for cleaning up Britain’s air [2] was launched yesterday (May 5).

Amelia Womack, Green Party deputy leader, announced the policy at an event in Totnes today, where she also launched the South Devon Green Party’s election campaign.

Womack said:

“While the Government dithers around with half measures and evasion, the Green Party is promising to invest in the solutions we know will clean up our air. We want a walking and cycling revolution to replace the diesel fuelled congestion that’s choking Britain.

“The air quality crisis in the UK is now a public health emergency, costing the NHS billions of pounds. But the Green Party has clear policy solutions which will transform our transport system to take us away from diesel, make polluting companies pay, and rapidly roll out renewables.

“It’s a time to be bold and hopeful – yesterday in the local elections we saw the absolute collapse of UKIP while the Green Party won seats up and down the country. People are ready for something new and only the Greens will build the confident and caring country we need to be.”

The party’s general election candidates are Kathryn Driscoll, Andy Williamson, Win Scutt and Jacqi Hodgson, who was also elected as a councillor in yesterday’s local elections.

Notes:

1. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cycling-and-walking-investment-strategy
2. https://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/2017/05/05/greens-release-air-pollution-challenge-as-government-unveils-plan/

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5 May 2017

* Greens reveal ten-point checklist for Government’s air pollution plan

* Caroline Lucas: “We must have a new Clean Air Act to protect the health of future generations”

The Green Party has today (May 5) unveiled an ‘air pollution challenge’ as the Government is due to release their own plans to tackle the high levels of toxins in the air.

Party co-leader, Caroline Lucas, was in Bristol highlighting what she calls a ‘catastrophic failure’ by a Government ‘trying its best to shirk its responsibilities on air pollution’.

Notes: 

1. Caroline Lucas’ full speech (check against delivery):

Good morning everyone. Thank you for coming down here this morning to talk about the air pollution crisis.

After seven years battling environmental lawyers in the courts, the Government has now been forced to publish a plan to tackle illegal levels of air pollution in towns and cities across the UK.

The facts around dirty air are widely known, but worth repeating.

Each year in the UK, around 40,000 early deaths are attributable to air pollution.

It affects us all – but its impacts are not felt evenly.

You’re more likely to suffer if you’re young or old. If you live in poverty. If you’re not white. And people who are already ill suffer disproportionately.

This is a national public health crisis.

The air quality plan – expected today, and due by Tuesday at the latest – comes after a totally shambolic week for Ministers.

First they tried to delay its publication, claiming that to do so would unfairly influence local and national elections.

That last ditch attempt at inaction was rightly rejected.

In a strongly worded judgment, the High Court noted that Ministers had plenty of time to act, having known about the deadline for over six months.

Less than a week later, and the day before people across the country went to the polls in local elections, the details of the Air Quality Plan were leaked to The Telegraph by the Conservative party.

So much for election rules.

As we wait for the Government’s long overdue policy to be released, the Green Party has today release a ten-point checklist for what a serious plan would include.

First and foremost, it must announce a new Clean Air Act – enshrining the right to breathe clean air into UK statute – protecting the health of future generations forever. 

It must strengthen and expand the network of Clean Air Zones – including here in Bristol. 

It must overhaul our transport policy – investing in walking, cycling, and clean, public transport. 

To help fund comprehensive action, the plan should also set out how car companies who cheated vehicles emissions testing over many years, will pay for the damage they have caused to our health and the environment.

Despite a 14 billion dollar fine being levied by the United States government on one car company alone – here in the UK, not a single penny has been paid by the car manufacturers who deliberated cheated the system at the expense of people’s lives across the UK.

And whilst the Government – supported by opposition parties – continue to invest in the dirty fuels of the past – credible action on air pollution must include a huge programme of investment in the clean, renewable energy that we have in abundance.

Anything short of wide reaching action on the air pollution emergency is utterly unacceptable. 

If the plan is as weak as expected, it will condemn thousands of children and families to continue to suffer the deadly effects of this preventable crisis.

The Green Party has the plan – and if we act now, we can create a healthier future for children across the country – and build a more caring, confident country for everyone.

Ends

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