In a dark and stormy year, one sunny news story has been the continued growth of solar power around the world. It’s now coming in cheaper than coal and gas in the sunniest parts of the world, and prices are still dropping in the UK too. Continue reading “Community energy still in the dark over its future”
Author: jonesjb
Human Rights Day Reception
On 10th December Jenny attended a reception in Speaker’s House hosted by Amnesty International to mark International Human Rights Day. The event was a great success with Amnesty activists, school groups and parliamentarians all taking part in the Write for Rights campaign, writing letters and other messages to individuals at risk around the world. As a result of the event, Ann Clwyd MP has secured an adjournment debate on Tuesday 13th December where she will be referring to some of the specific cases from the Write for Rights campaign as well as the wider human rights contexts in some of those countries.
Heathrow is now the litmus test for action on climate change
The government’s advisory body on Climate Change has pointed out the obvious; you can’t expand Heathrow if you are serious about meeting the climate change targets that all mainstream political parties are signed up to. The Davis Commission relied upon the Committee on Climate Change and a huge hike in fares as its way of justifying the Heathrow option. That fig leaf has now disappeared. We should be clear that MPs who vote for Heathrow expansion can’t ever claim to be taking climate change seriously.
Continue reading “Heathrow is now the litmus test for action on climate change”
Budget fuel duty freeze is bad for climate change and air pollution
“The Chancellor’s decision to freeze fuel duty for the seventh year running is bad news for climate change, air pollution and public health. Our country has returned to the bad old days of rising traffic growth and the main political parties are competing over who will build more roads. It’s like the anti-roads campaigns of the early 1990s never happened and our pollution crisis doesn’t exist. Continue reading “Budget fuel duty freeze is bad for climate change and air pollution”
Drink driving limit- another sensible bit of law reform
“I don’t understand why England and Wales have one of the highest drink drive limits in Europe and I’ve asked the Transport Minister in the Lords to explain exactly how this doesn’t make our roads more dangerous than other people’s?
Continue reading “Drink driving limit- another sensible bit of law reform”
‘Brilliant’ Client Earth victory on air pollution
The Green Baroness welcomed Client Earth’s latest legal victory over the government regarding its inadequate plans to protect human health by reducing air pollution. Continue reading “‘Brilliant’ Client Earth victory on air pollution”
Save our pubs
“This is pub week and that’s where I’m headed this afternoon. Along with other Parliamentarians, I am paying a visit to the ancient Red Lion pub. My favourite pub, out of the dozens I really like, is The Royal Oak in Cerne Abbas, Dorset. It combines cosiness with good food and good beer. Continue reading “Save our pubs”
Jenny protests at the Lords acceptance of the Investigatory Powers Bill
This is a quote from Edward Snowden that Jenny yesterday read out in the Lords as the Labour Party allowed the Government to pass the third reading of Investigatory Powers Bill:
Edward Snowden is a former NSA contractor and whistleblower
There were boos when she declared the source of the speech and she finished by saying she believed the House would regret it’s failure to stop the Bill.
Jenny speaks out against the detention of pregnant women
Jenny initiated an hours debate (Question for Short Debate) on the detention of pregnant women. The debate takes place today in Grand Committee. The government is failing to tell support groups how many pregnant women are currently being detained. Jenny believes that NO pregnant women should be detained. The terrible stress, anxiety and hardship associated with detainment can only injure mothers and unborn children and should not be tolerated by a civilised society. Here she explains her views
Police officers, like the rest of us, deserve more legal protection from drivers
The severe injuries inflicted on a woman police officer and her colleague on Sunday night, by someone driving a car are terrible and awful, but not exceptional. In the last seventeen years, seven police officers on foot have been killed while doing their duty and the drivers jailed. A further two officers died horribly when their car was deliberately rammed by a drunk driver. I am excluding all the deaths in road traffic incidents that come from misjudgments and have been classed as so-called ‘accidents’. The nine deaths were the result of officers trying to stop criminals who used half a ton of metal as a weapon.
Continue reading “Police officers, like the rest of us, deserve more legal protection from drivers”
Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb 