Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill

There is absolutely no techno fix for the pollution that aviation causes and the Royal Society worked out that to reach net zero for aviation fuel we need at least half the UK’s agricultural land to grow the raw materials. That means less fodder for livestock and higher prices for cereals and food. Last year, the 2025 UK harvest was the second worst on record. If the Government want farmers to grow jet fuel instead of food, prices in the shops are going to rise in order to keep the planes flying. As we enter the era of climate crisis impacting on world food production, our country will have less farming land available but will want more of it devoted to support the oxymoronic idea of sustainable aviation Continue reading “Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill” →

Public Transport: Expansion and Electrification

Continue reading “Public Transport: Expansion and Electrification” →

Passenger Railway Services Bill Committee Stage

The Green Party has long supported the public ownership of rail, along with other natural monopolies such as the NHS and water, and we therefore support this Bill. There is hope for a public transport revolution under this Government, but the only way we will get people out of their cars and on to public transport is if it is integrated Continue reading “Passenger Railway Services Bill Committee Stage” →

Electric Vehicle Strategy

The fact is that electric vehicles will not help with climate change emissions unless all those charging points are run from renewable energy. Electric vehicles will not completely cut roadside pollution. They will not, for example, cut the particulates coming off tyres and brakes, which is quite a big factor in air pollution. Electric vehicles will not stop congestion or cut the number of people killed or injured on our roads—the statistics are horrifying at the moment. There are also environmental trade-offs. Building any car takes raw materials, sometimes toxic materials, and adds to the planetary burden that we humans create. Continue reading “Electric Vehicle Strategy” →

Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill Second Reading

Privatisation of rail has given us higher fares and generated a fat profit for all the state-owned German and French rail companies, which took advantage of UK taxpayers. I congratulate Labour on bringing this to an end. But why not end the disastrous mistake of water privatisation that will cost £12.5 billion in this Parliament alone, only to pay shareholders and creditors, but which will still result in waterways full of faeces, agricultural run-off, other chemicals, drugs, paint, bleach and plastic? If water companies collapsed, we could buy them for pennies and run them ourselves. Continue reading “Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill Second Reading” →

Regulation of cycles debate

For those suggesting a registration scheme for cyclists, I say that experience has shown that it would soon become impossible to enforce and the main impact would be to put another big barrier in the way of people who want a cheap, convenient, environmentally friendly and healthy way of getting around. If we want a culture of safe and law-abiding cyclists, making cycling easy, safe and segregated from cars is the way to do it.  Continue reading “Regulation of cycles debate” →