The EU has its merits but it is a top-down dogmatic project promoting endless industrial development and growth which doesn’t fit with the Green vision of a future lived on a more human scale
Jenny wants a Green ‘Brexit’ – power passed down from Brussels and Westminster to local communities and putting nature back at the heart of farming
Read on for her latest posts on this topic
Unlike MPs, who receive state funding, members of the House of Lords don’t receive any financial support to employ staff or fund office costs.
As the only Green in the House of Lords, covering as many issues as I can, I need staff to help me with research and press work. I have a small, part time team (equivalent to one full time person) who are paid for from donations from people like you. Continue reading “Crowdfunder to support Jenny’s work”
The National Audit Office has today published its report on “The Packaging Recycling Obligations”
The report proves that our recycling system is broken and we really need to focus on producing and consuming less. We have relied on exporting our waste to foreign countries and using them as our dumping grounds. We are exporting waste that is wrongly being recorded as being for recycling, when it contains so much non-recycling material that it will have to go to landfill or incineration. Continue reading “Rethinking recycling”
July 5th is the 62nd anniversary of the first Clean Air Act becoming law
Local people and communities around the country would be able to take legal action to defend their right to clean air if the Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill I introduced today became law. This week’s air pollution episode throughout England and Wales illustrates how widespread the legal actions could become, as people seek to get corporations to change their behaviour and to force councils and government bodies to reduce pollution. Continue reading “Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill launch”
I love watching a good game of football, but I would never let that stand in the way of voting through environmental protections in the Lords. I’m furious that a ‘cross party’ group of peers have convinced Lord Krebs to drop the amendment to the EU Withdrawal Bill today, just so that we can reach the amendment on giving the commons a meaningful vote before the game starts. Quite simply, the opposition whips were afraid that their peers would leave, while the Rugby and Cricket loving Conservatives stayed. This is no way to run Parliament and it’s time we replaced the Lords with an elected second chamber. Continue reading “Football scuppers Lords vote on environmental protection”
Amendments to the EU Withdrawal Bill come back to the Lords today and while the media is focused upon giving the Commons a meaningful vote over the EU negotiations, a lot of other critical issues are at stake. Deleting the Henry 8th powers is crucial if Parliament wants to genuinely take back control of power from the executive. Retaining the charter of Human Rights would show that we intend to remain a progressive and democratic country. Continue reading “The Lords take a second bite”
MPs will vote on 15 key Lord’s amendments to the EU Withdrawal Bill on Tuesday and all of them are crucial to the post Brexit future of the UK. While a lot of focus in the media is on the Lords’ amendment giving Parliament a final say if the negotiations break down, there are other issues that only greens will make a priority. Continue reading “Tuesday’s crucial EU vote in the Commons”
Tomorrow is a crucial day in the House of Lords for environmentalists. I shall be backing an amendment to the EU Withdrawal Bill to ensure that the government’s promised new enforcement agency will not reduce any of “the rights, powers, liabilities, obligations, restrictions, remedies and proceedures that contribute to the protection and improvement of the environment.” Continue reading “Crucial vote in Lords on new environmental enforcement agency”
Brexit is turning our world on its head. It will dominate our political, economic and social future. It’s certainly dominating Parliament’s attention at the moment, and we have got dozens of Bills coming up over the next few years to facilitate our smooth exit from the EU.
I’m worried about what Brexit means for our rights. I voted for Brexit, even campaigned for it, but I feel cheated now by the Government with some of the things they are trying to get away in the EU Withdrawal Bill. Continue reading “Equality laws post Brexit”
At yesterday’s debate in the House of Lords on the EU Withdrawal Bill I had to drop my amendment to retain the EU’s rules on Animal Sentience, as part of the Withdrawal Bill, because Labour withdrew its two line whip just as I was about to push it to a vote. My amendment was the same that Caroline Lucas put to the Commons and received a lot of support. Continue reading “No three line Labour whip for Animal Sentience”
One of the surprises of life in the Lords is that our laws are partly decided by the bar room stamina of government supporting peers. The Lords defeated the government three times yesterday over the charter of fundamental rights and also earned a good concession from them over the protection of public health. The Opposition was on a roll and not one of the peers in the chamber got up to speak against the amendments sponsored by green NGOs to retain the EU’s environmental protections and principles. No one opposed, but vast numbers of Conservative peers were hanging out in the bars and restaurants, waiting for their whips to call them to vote. In the end, the Minister rose, made concessions and the amendment was withdrawn. Continue reading “Withdrawal Bill debate shows why we need Lords reform”
