Reacting to Keir Starmer’s plans for the NHS in which he confirmed there will be greater use of the private sector to help reduce hospital waiting lists in England, co-leader of the Green Party, Adrian Ramsay MP, said:

“The Green Party has long argued for a shift towards community focused health provision, and this approach is welcome. However, Keir Starmer is now talking about a “new agreement” to expand the relationship between the NHS and the private healthcare sector. We need clarity on exactly what this means for the long term as we do not need more backdoor privatisation. 

“It is vital that NHS capacity is built up, and that the promised Community Diagnostic Centres and surgical hubs are publicly run and GPs properly resourced to see their patients. We also need restored budgets for public health and clear long-term funding commitments for hospital trusts, so that they can better plan to deliver better care for us all.

“The Green Party has always proudly defended the NHS against creeping privatisation. We are committed to a fully public health service and to keeping the profit motive well away from our NHS.  

“With an ageing population and ever greater demand, it is more important than ever that we restore NHS founding principles and champion services that are publicly delivered as well as publicly paid for.”

Green Peers Jenny Jones and Natalie Bennett respond to news that new Peers have been appointed to the House of Lords:

“We are the two Green Party peers who have campaigned for the Lords to be replaced with an elected second chamber. We hope these new peers will join us in doing the same. 

“If the second chamber matched the votes at the general election, there would be more than fifty greens under a fair votes system. Instead, we have the establishment parties constantly appointing people and increasing the size of the house for their own purposes.”

Responding to Ofwat’s announcement of planned water bill rises over the next five years, co-leader of the Green Party, Adrian Ramsay, said: 

“England has one of the only fully privatised water networks in the world, and we are all paying a high price for this.  

“Privatisation has resulted in £80bn being leaked out to shareholders in dividends since 1990 and some water companies paying out more in dividends than they’ve made in profit. This shortfall has been made up through borrowing, leaving companies in serious debt.  

“Meanwhile, water companies were responsible for releasing raw sewage for 3.6m hours last year, double the amount recorded the year before.  

“Yet despite this record of public failure and private reward, water companies have pressed Ofwat to allow eye-watering rises in water bills so they can give even larger returns to private investors. 

“The way to end this model of failure and ensure money is invested in improving the quality of services provided, infrastructure improvements, and protecting our environment is to bring water back into public ownership.” 

Reacting to the government’s financial settlement for local government announced today, Green Party co leader Adrian Ramsay MP said:  

“The funding settlement is barely enough to keep councils ticking over. It does very little to ease the underlying financial stresses that local authorities are facing after years of rising costs around social care, special educational needs and reduced government grants.  

“The government’s planning reforms and stated intentions for local government re-organisation mean stripping local people of a democratic say in how local services are delivered, while this latest funding round deprives councils of the means to deliver quality services for all.  

“We need a real change in local government finances that enables councils to use money raised from those with the broadest shoulders to deliver quality services that people need and want.”

Reacting to news that government and regulators have broken the law by being too lenient on water companies that spill sewage, and on the day Thames Water seeks a £3bn bailout, Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay MP said: 

“For too long billions have been leaking out to shareholders instead of going into fixing our broken water system. But it will be water customers who are expected to bail out this failed model of privatisation through steep hikes to water bills.  

“The way to end this fiasco and ensure government and regulators keep within the law is to put failing water companies into special administration and ultimately to bring water back into public ownership.”