A failing police service given draconian powers

Baroness Jenny Jones, issued this statement in response to the conviction of Elite Metropolitan police officer David Carrick, as a serial rapist.

“The police service is finally coming to terms with having significant number of rapists and domestic abusers in its ranks. From the state sponsored abuses of the spy cops scandal, to the murder of Sarah Everard and the arrest of those at her vigil, the police have failed to deal with misogyny in their own ranks. The turning of a blind eye when women reported that their police officer partners were abusing them, is also part of this pattern of failure that has led to record low conviction rates for crimes of sexual violence against women. 

With six police services in special measures and hundreds of thousands of every day offences not being investigated as they are ‘no crimed’; the government is obsessed with passing draconian laws aimed at peaceful protestors, who commit no violent acts. The distorted priorities of Ministers who are afraid of protest against corruption, austerity and right wing policies, means that they wish to hand a mistrusted and failing police service the ability to arrest people who are thinking about protesting peacefully.” 

The cost of not going Net Zero

My next oral question is on February 8th, when I ask:

“Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb to ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) Cost of Not Net Zero in 2022, published on 30 December 2022; and in particular, the finding that the delay in switching to renewables and improving energy efficiency resulted in some households paying around £,1750 extra on their bills last year.”

Continue reading “The cost of not going Net Zero”

Police review on slow track as draconian powers accelerate

The government has pushed through more and more draconian powers for the police to use against peaceful protestors. Yet trust in police integrity, standards and culture has never been lower. There are now six police services (including the Metropolitan Police) who are in special measures. Plus the government has launched their own review after numerous scandals have exposed issues with police recruitment and attitudes:

Continue reading “Police review on slow track as draconian powers accelerate”

Smog Babies


Green Party Baroness Jenny Jones and Labour Lord Alf Dubs were among a cross-party group of venerable peers – all born before the 1952 Great Smog of London – who gathered today in Westminster to mark the 70 th anniversary of the Great Smog, which killed some 12,000 people and led to the passing of the first Clean Air Act in 1956.

Continue reading “Smog Babies”

Overcrowding at the Manston processing site

The government’s minister said yesterday: if these people were not crossing the Channel illegally, the situation would not have occurred. This ignores the cuts in staffing, the impact of privatisation and the general collpase of the immigration processing system. Rather than addressing these issues and the complete lack of legal routes, the Minister just ignored my question and showed no remorse or sense of shame. Continue reading “Overcrowding at the Manston processing site”

Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill passes Report Stage in the House of Lords

The bill will now have its Third Reading this Friday 2nd December before passing to the Commons where Caroline Lucas MP will pick it up. Although it will then go into the bottom of the pile of Commons Private Member’s Bills this is ready to go legislation that could be picked up by the government, it has been painstakingly tailored over a number of years and would put us at the forefront of tackling air pollution. Continue reading “Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill passes Report Stage in the House of Lords”

Natural state

The water framework directive was a very precise, scientifically based measurement of ecological well-being that the Government quietly dropped in 2017. They have replaced that with this talk of “natural state” for 75% of rivers. What does “natural state” mean in scientific terms? I would argue that it is incredibly woolly and totally meaningless and that this Government do not have a suitable plan. Continue reading “Natural state”