Responding to £1bn in funding which the government says will deliver a London-style bus service across England [1], co-leader of the Green Party, Carla Denyer MP, said: 

“It is encouraging to hear that councils will be empowered to take control of bus services. Tory deregulation of services was a green light for axing routes, running down services and a focus only on those routes which generated a profit.  

“It is also right that funding be based on need. However, the idea that Labour’s £1bn will mean a London style bus service arriving to all corners of the country is questionable. 

 “Also, increasing the single bus fare by 50% while freezing fuel duty definitely wasn’t the ticket. Keeping the £2 bus fare cap in England would have cost just a tenth of the money the government squandered by freezing fuel duty [2]. And too often bus reliability is affected by traffic, so we will need some bold moves on bus priority so buses can actually turn up when they are meant to.” 

Notes 

1. ‘London-style’ bus services planned for England with £1bn boost – BBC News 

2. Keeping £2 bus fare cap would have cost a tenth of fuel duty freeze, says think tank | The Independent 

Reacting to planned protests this week by farmers over changes to Inheritance tax [1], Green Party Food, Agriculture & Rural Welfare spokesperson, Emily O’Brien, said: 

“Farmers are feeling abandoned. They have suffered badly from Brexit, both via detrimental trade conditions and reduced subsidies. And tax breaks for agricultural land have inflated land values, making it harder for both new entrants and existing farmers.  

“It is right to clamp down on those who buy farmland to avoid tax and the Green Party strongly supports wealth taxes. But we also need the government to take action to ensure that hard working farmers can earn a decent income. In particular, in the face of our climate and nature crises, we need subsidies to focus on encouraging farmers to shift to nature-friendly farming. This will protect our food security and support the rural economy while allowing wildlife to recover.” 

Notes 

1. Starmer doubles down on ‘tractor tax’ claim ahead of huge protest | The Independent