Wirral Green councillor Jo Bird has been appointed the spokesperson on Business and Trade for the Green Party of England and Wales. 

Jo will be pushing for fairer and greener business policies that meet the needs of people and planet for a sustainable future. 

Jo Bird said: 

“The Green Party has shown that there is a different way of doing business that is kind to people and the planet.  

“It includes supporting small and local businesses that serve their local communities and offering consumers the chance to choose quality, ethical products at affordable prices. 

“That’s all made a lot harder when business and trade is largely run by and for big business focussed only on the profit motive. 

“I know from decades working as a co-operative and fairtrade business consultant that there is a hunger amongst entrepreneurs and customers for the real change that will deliver for business, people and planet. 

“Whether its local councils sourcing goods and services from local suppliers, making it easier for farmers to supply schools with fresh, seasonal produce or governments ensuring the highest environmental standards are included in international trade deals, we can make change happen.” 

Short biography: Jo Bird co-led Wirral Green group of 14 councillors and came a strong second in Birkenhead in last year’s general election. Jo is keen to speak for fairer, greener business and trade, having decades of experience as a co-op and fairtrade business consultant and having proposed no-cuts, pro-nature amendments to Wirral Council’s budget. See her video here. 

Responding to former Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s call for a gambling industry levy to fund tackling child poverty, Green Peer Natalie Bennett said:

“Having been at the heart of the New Labour government, which unleashed the toxic, destructive gambling industry that we have today with the 2005 Gambling Act, it is good to see Gordon Brown now calling for fair taxation of the massive cash cow.

“And excellent that he is calling for that to money to be used to end the two-child benefit cap, a policy deliberately causing child poverty that is astonishingly still in place a year into this Labour government.

“But a tax is only the start. We cannot allow predatory firms to continue to fill our high streets and our computer screens, to barrage us with a flood of advertising, acting as a tax on desperation, doing enormous damage to individuals and communities, particularly the poorest communities.”

Ahead of more planned demonstrations this weekend outside hotels housing asylum seekers, Green Party spokesperson on Policing and Domestic Safety, Amanda Onwuemene, said:

“The unrest we are seeing outside hotels housing asylum seekers and in our communities is unacceptable. The protests are the result of the deliberate spread of myths and lies about asylum seekers and refugees and are being stoked by the far right.

“The Green Party stands in solidarity with all those who are using their right to seek asylum and who must be feeling unsafe and frightened at this time.

“We must remember our basic humanity. Those coming to this country to flee violence include mothers with their children, as well as people of all ages who have endured unimaginable trauma. We have a duty to offer compassion and sanctuary, not fear and intimidation.

“Our political leaders also have a duty to show moral backbone and stand firm against the divisive demands of the far right on migration which will only foster racism and Islamophobia in our communities.”

As delegates from around the world meet in Geneva to discuss a UN Global Plastics Treaty, co-leader of the Green Party, Adrian Ramsay, said:

“The UK must push for the most ambitious plastics treaty possible and stand firm against attempts by oil producing states and fossil fuel and chemical corporations seeking to trash any deal on curbing the scourge of plastic pollution. Scientists and campaigners must be able to speak out without fear of intimidation from powerful lobbyists and the UK delegation must do everything in its power to ensure the highest standards of openness and transparency.

“The treaty must include a ban on known hazardous chemicals and a phase-out of harmful plastic products. There must also be agreed global design standards to help maximise reuse and recycling. 

“Plastic pollution contaminates every corner of our planet from the highest mountains to the deepest oceans. It is also severely impacting the health of humans and other species, being responsible for at least one trillion pounds a year in health-related damages. An ambitious treaty which leads to decisive action is absolutely essential for the future of life on earth.”

Reacting to news that the Housing Secretary Angela Rayner has given the green light for councils to sell off allotments to raise funds, Green peer and keen allotment holder, Jenny Jones, said:

“It seems there are no green spaces that are safe under this Labour government.

“Allotments are valuable spaces to promote physical and mental health, help with local food security, encourage a gift culture amongst allotment holders and their neighbours, and offer a sanctuary for nature. Labour should know that they are especially important for people who don’t have the privilege of their own garden, i.e. many of those who vote – or used to vote – Labour.

“This policy is another sign that Labour knows the price of everything but the value of nothing. Cash-strapped councils need to be offered proper funding by central government, not pushed into selling off these vital community assets.”