“People must be allowed to vote at the local elections in May. It would be an outrage if the first outcome of a plan the government claims will devolve power from Westminster to local areas is to see democracy cancelled. Our fragile democracy can’t afford that.

“Behind the rushed and undemocratic pleas from County Council leaders to deny their electors a vote, is the fact that many of those closer to the voters – district and borough council leaders – are opposed.

“With a five-fold increase in Green councillor numbers over the last five local elections, it does look like the two big parties are running scared of facing the voters.

“Indeed, how can the government claim an electoral mandate for these major local government changes if those most impacted see their elections postponed?

“The Green Party is urging the government to save our democracy, allow these long-planned elections to take place and get around the table to discuss how to make devolution work for people in local areas across the country.

“The imposition of large unitary authorities doesn’t help people engage with decisions being made locally. We want decisions made closest to where they have the greatest impact with significant devolution of powers and funding from Westminster. Without that, people will grow ever more cynical about politics.”

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“This news comes as uncontrollable wildfires rage in Los Angeles, and just months after unprecedented flooding in Spain killed over 200 people.

“The target of limiting warming to below 1.5 degrees was an attempt to prevent the deadliest effects of the climate crisis. Breaching that limit is catastrophic for humanity – and yet our leaders are sleepwalking into this deadly new future.

“We need to massively speed up the transition away from fossil fuels – that is the bottom line. In a world of 1.5 degree warming it’s unconscionable that the government is still letting some new North Sea oil and gas drilling go ahead – Starmer must revoke those consents and licenses immediately.

“But we also need to start thinking about how we make our communities more resilient in the face of the extreme weather that is now unavoidable. From flooding to extreme heat, our homes and neighbourhoods need to be fit for the future.”

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“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.”

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“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.” 

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“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.”

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Reacting to calls for the COP process to be reformed (1), Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer MP said: 

“This is a timely call for reform of an international forum that has achieved a great deal but now needs to drive action in the face of the dire climate crisis the world faces. 

“COP has brought the world together and succeeded in putting scientific evidence at the heart of policy making. 

“It has set out the scale of the crisis the world faces and has agreed, in principle, that those countries which have caused the crisis should be funding the loss and damage experienced by those who are bearing its costs. 

“In addition, the international agreement to phase out fossil fuels is vital and urgent. 

“However, the crucial next phase of making change happen is being derailed by the fossil fuel lobby and complicit nation states. 

“The election of a climate change denier as US President whose election call was ‘drill, baby, drill’, underlines the need to reform the COP process. 

“We need to move urgently to a new phase of implementation, where COP becomes the forum to hold governments to account and push forward a change agenda, including supporting countries to adapt to the impacts of the crisis already being felt. 

“To achieve this, we must exclude the fossil fuel companies and their lobbying arms and strengthen the representation of those countries and indigenous peoples most impacted by climate change. 

“COP has succeeded in highlighting the need for urgent change and has laid the foundations for achieving that, but it must now reform and refocus on making change happen.” 

NOTES TO EDITORS 

1. https://www.clubofrome.org/cop-reform-2024/

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Ellie Chowns said:

“The UK has an obligation to prevent genocide under international law. We know the Government has not described the Israeli government’s assault on Palestinians in Gaza as a genocide – the Prime Minister keeps telling us. But has it actually assessed the risk? And what will it take for the Government to recognise that obligation and act on it to prevent genocide? The Green MPs have written to David Lammy to get answers.

“The humanitarian and human rights situation in Gaza is dire. Israel’s government has cut off aid in Northern Gaza, and is now forcibly displacing the population from the North. The huge numbers of civilian deaths and the prospect of widespread starvation are intolerable.

“The Government must recognise that its approach has failed. It must take seriously the risk of genocide. And it must consider far more direct measures to incentivise a ceasefire including an end to arms sales, the introduction of divestments, boycotts and sanctions, prosecutions for all those who have committed war crimes and a plan for a viable Palestinian state.”

NOTES

Full text of the letter: https://elliechowns.org.uk/2024/11/13/letter-to-the-foreign-secretary/

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“Chancellor Rachel Reeves needs to quickly set out the details of her headline-grabbing plans to create mega-pension funds to ensure that they provide the investment we need to urgently transition our economy beyond fossil fuels, as well as offering members who rely on them full financial, environmental and ethical protections. 

“The legal changes being proposed are aimed at freeing up billions to invest in infrastructure. We need to ensure that this is directed towards the climate-resilient infrastructure we so urgently need, particularly renewable energy, the national grid, the electrification of our railways and nature restoration. 

“Many local authority pension schemes have developed sophisticated ethical policies aimed at protecting members’ money from being invested in environmentally harmful industries. The new megafunds must enshrine these existing policies as minimum standards. 

“If and when different schemes are brought together, legislation must ensure that merged schemes deliver stronger environmental and other ethical protections and are not dragged down into investments in climate-damaging infrastructure such as airport expansions or fossil fuel companies’ greenwashing schemes. 

“We will also be looking for security for all the pensioners who rely on these funds. We must remember that pension funds are essentially made up of people’s hard-earned wages deferred to retirement. We cannot afford to have a handful of so-called mega-funds that increase risks.” 

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“COP29 has set itself the goal of “deep, rapid and sustained emission reductions now to keep temperatures under control and stay below 1.5˚C, while leaving no one behind’.  

“But it won’t achieve that without the international leadership needed from Heads of State, Presidents and Prime Ministers.  

“I welcome the fact that Sir Keir Starmer will attend. The UK has the opportunity and responsibility as the first industrial nation on Earth to provide the leadership for a just transition. 

“We need the Prime Minister to show leadership on the world stage, by ensuring COP29 commits to: 

• Urgently transition away from fossil fuels 

• Provide the equitable and just finance promised for adaptation and mitigation, and to fund the loss and damage many are already experiencing as a result of climate impacts 

“Unfinanced is unprepared and we are both.  

“Of course, these are incredibly difficult times internationally, with the European Union stalling on its actions and President-elect Trump, a climate crisis denier, once again stalking the world stage. 

“But that is why it is so important that the UK steps forward to remind the world what is at stake if co-ordinated international action does not take place now. 

“New scientific evidence shows global average temperatures are on track this year to end up more than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, making 2024 the first calendar year to breach this crucial target.  (1)l 

“We need international leadership now more than ever to tackle the climate crisis. We are getting leadership from the scientists, but too many of the world’s political leaders are ducking their responsibility.” 

Among national leaders not attending the UN conference in Baku, Azerbaijan from 11- 22 November are those from the US, China, France, Brazil, South Africa, Japan and Australia, and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. 

NOTES TO EDITORS 

(1) https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1dpnxnvv2go 

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“The collapse in Starmer’s popularity since taking office has been remarkable. It was clear to me during the election campaign that voters across the country wanted change. After 14 years of Tory failure, they expected Labour to deliver it. The public’s sense of disappointment is palpable. 

“Instead, we have a government aligned with Tory austerity. The two-child benefit cap and the scrapping of the Winter Fuel Payment for millions of pensioners are both examples of how this government’s default has been to make the most vulnerable in our society pay. The ‘black hole in our finances’ should, and could, be solved by asking the wealthiest to pay just a fraction more. Instead, Labour seems content with letting the poorest bear the brunt. 

“It doesn’t have to be this way. We are one of the richest countries in the world, yet deeply unequal. The Chancellor has hinted that she is willing to borrow more to invest in much-needed infrastructure, which is welcome. But we also need to address the source of everyday revenue spending. 

“The last fourteen years have seen the rich get richer, with the top fifth now owning a third of the country’s wealth. It’s only fair that those with the broadest shoulders should now pay a bit more to help our NHS, rebalance society, and improve living standards for everyone. A wealth tax, alongside other changes to the tax system, could deliver this. 

“We as a country, and particularly the Labour government, face a political choice. Will they tax more fairly to properly invest in our crumbling frontline services, or will they continue to oversee managed decline and austerity economics? The Greens will, every day, keep pushing for them to properly invest in Britain.” 

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