Any politician who is serious about tackling sexual abuse and exploitation of girls in this country must put the victims and their needs front and centre – not use the issue as an excuse to push their own agenda and try to make political capital.

I hope to see senior Conservatives distancing themselves from Badenoch’s comments this morning – as politicians we all have a responsibility to our communities to stop a dangerous race to the bottom in how we speak about these issues.”

The post Greens respond to Badenoch’s “shocking” comments appeared first on Green Party.

The post There is a green elephant in the room with government’s AI plans appeared first on Green Party.

“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.”

The post Greens call for council elections to be held as planned appeared first on Green Party.

“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.”

The post Greens urge faster transition away from fossil fuels appeared first on Green Party.

“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.”

The post Green Party reaction to Keir Starmer’s NHS plan appeared first on Green Party.

“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.”

The post Green Peers respond to House of Lords appointments appeared first on Green Party.

“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.” 

The post Greens respond to Ofwat price rise green light appeared first on Green Party.

“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.”

The post Green reaction to government’s financial settlement for councils appeared first on Green Party.

“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.”  

The post Green Party reaction to government and regulators ‘breaking law’ over sewage spills appeared first on Green Party.

“There is much to be welcomed in this White Paper including strengthening the rights of communities to purchase cherished local assets such as youth clubs, libraries or sport facilities; increasing powers over control of local transport, better alignment of public services including police, health and probation and removing the need for government to sign off decisions for locally specific things like cycle lanes.    

“The big gap is the democratic deficit in Labour’s plans. This risks being devolution that steals power away from local people. We have to ask, how will local communities get heard? And who will hold mayors to account?  

“We need to keep the local in local government. That means decision making as close as possible to the people most impacted; it involves trusting local communities to know what is best for them and supporting them with investment to deliver real change. And true democracy must include a fair proportional voting system for local elections, which seems to be a glaring omission from this White Paper.” 

The post Green Party reaction to launch of Devolution White Paper   appeared first on Green Party.