WGP Leader Urges Voters To Think About What They Are Really Voting For

With a General Election like no other in recent memory there has been a strong emphasis on tactical voting all across the country. Wales Green Party Leader, Pippa Bartolotti, urges voters to consider what this really means.

“There are many reasons why I am asking you to vote Green. It’s not just because the Greens are the only political party championing the rights of women to take home equal pay, and it’s not just because we value health and the NHS firmly in public hands, or because we would take transport back into public ownership, but because of all the other political parties we have a clear vision for a safer and more equal society, and we can pay for it.”

A Green Vote is a vote for:

Investing In Public Services. Protecting The NHS & Re-nationalising The Railways.

We have been cheated of good public services. Privatisation means almost all of the profits from the railways and bus services go to shareholders. Unprofitable services have been cut to the core. Greens see our public services, like the NHS as a valuable common good, which should work for the people, not for profits. Greens would bring all our valued services back into public ownership.

Reversing austerity and stopping the cuts to services

Austerity has been an ideological choice, and has failed on its own terms – the deficit is greater now than it was 5 years ago. The change in our society has been stark. The rich have become vastly richer, the poor have been funding it. Please do not vote for more of the same.

Equal pay for women

Half the world are women, and we have had a terrible deal. We pay half the taxes, do a huge proportion of unpaid work, and very often manage the poverty budget at home. I am passionate about women having a fair deal.

A Democratic Reform To The Voting System

We are seeing the death throes of the 2 party system. The Labour vote in Wales has weakened; smaller parties like the Greens are gaining ground. Your vote will matter because millions more Green votes will start the process for true Proportional Representation.

The big parties have had their day. They are throwing millions of pounds at this election to keep their stranglehold on society, and to keep their big backers in the fossil fuel industries in business.

Climate change. No to Fracking and No To Nuclear Power. Investment In Renewable Energies

Climate change is getting worse. 50 communities in Wales will be abandoned to the rising seas. We need to help these people. Wee need to stop more joining them. A vote for any other party is the death knell for coastal communities. We must quickly harness and export our incredible and inexhaustible renewable energy supplies. Nuclear is not needed and fracking must be stopped if we are to meet any sensible reduction in polluting climate change gases, and keep this planet fit for human habitation. 

"The Greens have a bold vision for a more equal and sustainable country, and we don’t apologise. We stand for new jobs, fair taxation, a clear signal to industry to invest in clean energy, closing tax loopholes and greater equality. We have to change politics fast. Vote Green." Bartolotti urged.

Wales Green Party has seen a six fold increase increase in their vote share demonstrating the importance voters place on protecting the environment and fighting for social justice. In 2010, Greens in Wales received 6293 votes compared with 38,344 this year.

Wales Green Party Leader, Pippa Bartolotti, said: “We have been overwhelmed by the increase in support for Greens in Wales over recent months. Our membership has increased by more than 115% since January, and the Green Surge has been reflected in votes. The public have shown they support our message to reverse austerity and build a safer, fairer future for Wales. We will build on this support over the next year in order to win seats at the Assembly elections.”

Across the UK, the Green Party received over a million votes, and returned Caroline Lucas to her seat in Brighton Pavilion. Barolotti argues that this reveals problems at the heart of the voting system: “With over a million votes for the Greens but just one elected representative, it is clear that our voting system needs reform. First Past the Post only works for the bigger parties, and we must review this urgently to ensure true democracy.”

Wales Green Party stood in 35 out of the 40 constituencies in Wales and were pleased to see burgeoning support in areas such as Cardiff Central, Cardiff South & Penarth, Ceredigion and Swansea West. Chris Von Ruhland, candidate for Cardiff Central, who received 6% of the vote, said: "I'm delighted that people in Cardiff Central are beginning to get the strong, positive message that the Green Party stand for. This election has been mostly about fear, courtesy of the larger Parties. Positive politics, that places people and planet before profit, is long overdue. Our time is coming."

The People's Assembly have called upon all Welsh political parties which oppose austerity to work toward joint action and policies, including support of trade union and anti-austerity action and campaigns. Wales Green Party are taking a lead in supporting this action.

Wales Green Party Leader, Pippa Bartolotti, said: “Grassroots organisations such as the Greens and the People’s Assembly are sticking together in the face of increasing austerity and cuts which we know will hurt the poorest and most vulnerable hardest. Together we are the true opposition to the excesses of Tory rule, and together we will work for a more just society."

Bartolotti joined Charlotte Church and over 500 protesters on Saturday at an anti-austerity march organised by the Cardiff People's Assembly. Wales Green Party members will also be attending the UK march in London on June 20th.

“The Greens in Wales have experienced an unprecedented growth in membership, and we know we are heading for up to three Assembly seats in the next election. We are reaching out to all who know there is another way forward for Wales, a way which will produce a  fertile environment for jobs and growth, for compassion and community, and for services in education, transport and healthcare which every Welsh man and woman can be proud of.”

The People's Assembly declaration and petition can be found here: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/referendum-stop-austerity-cuts-in-wales-datganiad-rhowch-stop-ar-doriadau-llymder-yng-nghymru

The Wales Green Party is concerned that the Environment (Wales) Bill, shortly to go through the Senedd, falls far short of what we need to be a truly carbon neutral and sustainable society.

Wales Green Party leader, Pippa Bartolotti said, “It is not the fault of ordinary people, who are struggling to recycle and minimise their own pollution, it is a fault of governance. Clean energy is so obviously available in this land of abundant natural resources such as water, solar and wind, that it verges on the criminal that we do not make more use of it.”

Pollution in Wales was up 14% in 2009-2010, and is 12th highest in the world. In 2011 – 2012 carbon pollution went up 5%.

Pippa Bartolotti added, “Greens are very disappointed that carbon targets in Wales have consistently been missed, despite the sterling work of industry which have reduced their own carbon emissions by 41%. What we need now is for government to stop allowing dirty power stations to continue to operate and swiftly switch to carbon free energy.

“Greenhouse gas emissions in Wales can be rapidly reduced to zero using the technology we already have. We can clearly maintain a modern standard of living, and the bonus is that 1.5 million jobs would be created across the UK. That would be roughly 200,000 jobs in Wales.”

Wales has a long uphill struggle to bring greenhouse emissions down to even the unambitious figure of 80% of 1990 levels by 2050.

The leader of the Wales Greens also said “We must urgently stop plans which increase carbon emissions such as the £1billion M4 across the Gwent levels, and spend the money on carbon reduction plans such as the South Wales Metro.

“In the final analysis, there is little point in having a Bill of measures intending to reduce carbon emissions by even 3% a year, if the country does not stick to them. The Welsh Government needs to up their ambition and make us a truly sustainable society to be proud of.”

Worldwide, fossil fuels are subsidised by $100million a minute – more than the combined spending on healthcare of every country in the world. If the costs of damage to the ecosystem was added in, the subsidy would be far greater. Removing these subsidies would put clean energy on a level playing field with harmful fossil fuels.

The tragedy of the projected closure of Aberpergwm coalmine is the same tragedy which has been present every time a dirty energy industry closes. And that is the tragedy of inaction.

For decades we have known that there is a vast untapped potential for clean energy in Wales which will create thousands of jobs. Yet it has remained largely untapped.

Greens are very clear that re-training and investment in new energy would bring a huge bonanza in jobs and industry, especially amongst our more impoverished communities still struggling to recover from the mine closures.

Pippa Bartolotti, Wales Green Party leader said, “We should not just be harnessing the energy, but manufacturing the kit as well. Added to the tragedy of job losses, is the fact that overseas companies are setting up in the UK to make wind turbines. These should have been Welsh companies building wind mills for Welsh communities and providing good Welsh jobs.”

Siemens, the world's largest maker of offshore wind turbines, has won an order worth between £750 and £850 million from British utility Scottish Power, to build more than 100 turbines for the East Anglia One project, the first order for Siemens' new UK factory in Hull.

Pippa Bartolotti added, “We are talking about generations of missed opportunities. Unemployment and underemployment in Wales should never have happened. In Scotland, where the challenge of clean energy has long been met, they are producing almost 100% of their electricity from renewables, unemployment is low and female employment is at its highest on record.”

Wales Green Party is supportive of the Swansea Bay Tidal lagoon, and very much hopes the project will go ahead so that we all can evaluate the benefits of tidal energy generation.

The UK government has given the go-ahead for Swansea Bay Tidal lagoon. This will in effect be a £1billion investment in the future of Swansea, and work could start in March 2016. The lagoon could power 90% of all Swansea’s electricity needs. With savings in energy waste across the city, that figure could easily become 100%.

Pippa Bartolotti, leader of Wales Green Party said, "We need to get the idea of lagoons properly tested. Swansea will be hosting the first lagoon of its type in the world, and this will be a terrific draw to the area. Environmental tourism is in its infancy, and Swansea will reap significant financial benefits if this project goes ahead.”

"Yes we need to concern ourselves with all local environmental impacts, but this must be in the context of chronic overfishing of the seas, and the harmful greenhouse gas emissions gushing out from dirty power stations. Low carbon energy is the only way forward, and this is why lagoons make so much sense. Collecting energy from the tides is a very sustainable way forward."

The Wales leader added: “With the advent of more wind and solar energy in the area, serious fuel saving mechanisms such as better insulation in homes and offices, more frequent public transport and more efficient consumer goods, Swansea will be well on the way to being Wales’ first zero carbon city. “

Wales Green Party leader, Pippa Bartolotti and Natalie Bennett, leader of England and Wales Green Party are getting together to help celebrate the unveiling of the Blue Plaque at Risca Road in Newport on 12th June. Later in the day they will attend a drinks reception and lecture at Newport University.

Pippa Bartolotti said, “Lady Rhondda was a remarkable woman and she would not settle for second best. She fought much of her life with the Suffragettes for women to have an equal place in society. It was a desperate struggle against the establishment of the day, and that struggle continues. Today women managers in Wales earn almost £4000 less than a man for doing the same job, and a woman working part-time will earn almost 19% less.

“The Wales Green Party is taking up that struggle and demanding that every company publish their pay data. Inequality on any level is intolerable, so let’s have some transparency and treat our women as equals in every respect.”

Natalie Bennett, the England and Wales Green Party leader added, "I'm delighted to be taking part in events to commemorate the life of Viscountess Rhondda. She's an inspiring example of commitment to political struggle, to real change which she lived to see after many decades of hard work and determined direct action.

"It is important that we remember our foremothers and forefathers in political struggles, while also highlighting how important continuing activism is today. Viscountess Rhondda would surely have been horrified that still, in 2015, fewer than 1 in 3 MPs is female."

The Blue Plaque for Lady Rhondda Project Group launched a successful crowdfunder earlier this year to pay for the commemoration.

On 13th June there will be a mass demonstration and March in Swansea to highlight how badly Westminster cuts are hurting the most vulnerable in society.

The march begins at 12.30 at the Guildhall and there will be speeches from Natalie Bennett, Leader of the Greens in England and Wales, and Pippa Bartolotti, Wales Green Party, among others. 2000 people are expected to attend. The rally at the end of the march will be in Castle Gardens.

Wales Green Party leader, Pippa Bartolotti said, “Grassroots organisations such as the Greens and the People’s Assembly are sticking together in the face of increasing cuts which we know will hurt the poorest and most vulnerable hardest. Together we are the true opposition to the excesses of Tory rule, and together we will work for a more just society.

Cuts in public services, benefits, wages and conditions at work are being imposed in the name of austerity. These cuts are causing permanent damage to people’s lives, to their health, families and communities, degrading the very structure of civic and cultural life.

Pippa Bartolotti added, “How we walk with the broken speaks louder than how we sit with the great. Ordinary people are being punished for the crimes of an immoral banking system. It is not tolerable for so many in our society to be crushed by this callous indifference.”

“ The Greens in Wales are reaching out to all who know there is another way forward for Wales, a way which will produce a  fertile environment for jobs and growth, for compassion and community, and for services in education, transport and healthcare which every Welsh woman and man can be proud of.”

Wales Green Party Leader, Pippa Bartolotti, is urging the Welsh government to take action following a damning report into poverty in Wales. A National Assembly report has revealed that the numbers of people relying on food banks has doubled in a year and criticises ‘lack of progress’ regarding 23% of Welsh population living in poverty.

Bartolotti said: “No matter how many years we give this Welsh Labour government, it will not address the generational poverty in this land. In fact we are going backwards with almost a quarter of Welsh citizens living in poverty. It is shameful, neglectful and pompous of this government to allow poverty to gain such a foothold in Wales.

“The Minister for Communities and Tackling Poverty seems to have misread her brief. The objective is to eradicate poverty, not increase it. Women are particularly badly affected and the knock on effect to children must not be underestimated. This introverted government needs to grab some initiative and pull Wales out of this spiralling decline. We need bold imaginative policies to create jobs for the future, jobs to minimise energy usage, jobs in the construction industries and the much promised light rail network for SE Wales.”

The Green Party in Wales has real, workable solutions to address poverty. They pledge to invest in sustainable jobs, increase the minimum wage to a living wage and work towards a citizens’ income to cover people's basic needs.

Bartolotti continued: “When almost 90,000 people a day are commuting across the border to England for work, you know there is a problem with the economic management of Wales.”

Amber Rudd announced today that she was cutting on shore wind energy subsidies because she wanted ‘renewable energy to stand on its own feet.’

Wales Green Party leader, Pippa Bartolotti said, “This announcement underlines the hollow values of the Tory government. If renewables are expected to stand on their own financial feet, why not the oil industry and the fracking game? The oil industry is subsidised by £2.6 billion a year, and frackers will have their taxes halved. This Tory government is subsidising the very industries which are leading us to irreparable climate change.”

A report by the OECD suggests global subsidies to fossil fuel producers totalled $523bn a year in 2011 – dwarfing subsidies to renewable energies. For every £1 spent to support renewable energy, another £6 were spent on fossil fuel subsidies, says the report.

Pippa Bartolotti added, “One could be forgiven for thinking that the government has more friends in the fossil fuel industry than in the renewables sector. Short term gain will lead to long term pain. The trickle of climate refugees will soon become a flood of people on the move, fighting for survival as their land and water becomes unusable. Encouraging dirty fuel producers to fill the atmosphere with yet more greenhouse gasses, whilst making it ever more difficult and expensive for clean energy to be produced is irresponsible in the extreme.

“Onshore wind energy might be a blight on Tory landscapes, but it is the cheapest and most efficient method of harnessing the renewable energy we need if we are to avoid a warming of less than 2 degrees. This decision shows the government has no legitimate environmental intent.”

• Bartolotti challenges Labour to oppose welfare cap
• Decisive action on climate change needed
• Government must make good on its commitment on tax dodging

Pippa Bartolotti, Wales Green Party leader, is calling for a budget ‘fit for the future’ as George Osborne prepares to announce his Government’s spending plans tomorrow.

‘A challenge to Labour’

Bartolotti challenges Welsh Labour to oppose the proposed ‘benefits caps’ which do not take into account the number of mouths a household has to feed, and will lead to yet more child poverty.

She said: “The Greens are the only opposition party fighting for a more just society in the face of increasing austerity and cuts which we know will hurt the poorest and most vulnerable hardest. The welfare state is faltering under the weight of Tory ideology intent on driving millions more into poverty and debt, yet the so-called opposition, and the Government of Wales, do not seem to have the spine to stand up to this cruel onslaught on our values of fairness and compassion.

 “The welfare state should be there to help all who need it. It is not meant to be a massive subsidy for businesses paying less than a living wage.

According to  Citizens UK Supermarket employees do not get paid enough to live on and national minimum wage earnings are topped up by in-work benefits that total £11billion a year.

“Progressive politicians must come together to oppose the lowering of the welfare cap – and to fight for a welfare state that serves all of us when we need it. There is simply no excuse for Labour supporting this proposal.”

‘A tough new law on tax dodging’

The Green Party is also calling for Osborne to honour his Government’s commitment to cracking down on tax avoidance. Caroline Lucas, Green MP said:

 “This budget must include a very clear road map on tackling tax avoidance. Indeed if the Government is serious about recouping the billions of pounds lost through tax avoidance it should urgently introduce a tax dodging bill which enshrines into law a commitment to a global tax system that’s fair for everyone.”

 ‘Decisive action on climate change’

The Wales Greens are calling for ‘decisive’ action on climate change ahead of a global summit in Paris later this year. The Wales Green Party leader said:

 “Climate change represents a huge threat to our economy and our security.  This budget should rightfully give the green economy the highest priority, and not give further tax breaks to fossil fuel companies intent on burning every drop of oil in the ground. With job creation at the heart of clean energy creation, there is scope to give industry the clear investment lead it has been waiting for.

 “Governments in Westminster and Wales are running out of time to project a managed transition to a low carbon economy. This is the moment when we can realistically take steps to cut fuel bills and roll out our own home grown energy supplies. This is the moment to reduce VAT on house renovation and to bring in the type of building standards which will reduce fuel bills to £20 a year.

“We must get serious about leaving the vast majority of fossil fuels in the ground and stop giving tax breaks to polluters. Cutting greenhouse gasses is the existential threat of our time.”

Wales Green Party leader, Pippa Bartolotti, spoke out in Newport about the Budget and its effects on the people of Wales.

"Climate change is here to stay, and we should morally and practically be doing our bit to stop its worst effects. But Money is God, ethics and morality have become unaffordable."

Full speech

If the budget was about working people, it was only about rich working people. Those on low incomes are going to lose billions from tax credits. Some of those tax credits will be halved.

You never want to be poor under a Tory government, or young, or disabled.

The National Living Wage (new national minimum wage by another name)– sounds good, but not if you are under 25. Let’s remember the Living Wage Commission included Tax Credits in their calculation, so this is not the gift it seems at first sight. In fact it could make some families up to £3000 a year worse off.

Welfare spending cuts will hit Wales hard, Climate Levy abolition and more road building will make it almost impossible to cut carbon emissions. It certainly won’t help the 50 coastal communities in Wales already earmarked by the WG to be abandoned to the rising sea.

This was an awful budget for the Under 25's. No wonder the Tories don’t want to lower the voting age. The scrapping of student maintenance grants on top of exorbitant tuition fees, will bring a depressing new level of debt. Young people courageous enough to invest in their own education will be paying too much for an education from which society will ultimately benefit.

This was a budget for rich people running rich companies. Nothing for carers who save the Health Service billions a year; nothing to give us good public transport and help us lower our carbon emissions.

It was a definite heads up to roadbuilding, yet the £1b to be spent on the M4 in Newport is just creating more emissions and devastating the Gwent levels. The money should be diverted to the SE Wales Light Rail network where it will help us all, and the climate.

If the budget was about security, it failed on every count. Pouring more money into warfare and weapons of mass destruction has a horrible habit of backfiring into violence on our doorstep. Pouring no money into climate change measures will increase the tide of immigration from war zones as other countries become inhabitable.

Climate change is here to stay, and we should morally and practically be doing our bit to stop its worst effects. But Money is God, ethics and morality have become unaffordable.

The Greens stood up to be counted, and costed a manifesto which not only mitigated the effects of Climate Change , not only put in place a £10 Living wage, not only decreased the deficit, but kept our precious welfare system intact whilst improving and expanding our Health Services.

Wales is a poor country. £1m Inheritance tax thresholds are not going to affect us, but we are not going to let the poor take the pain again. Where is the opposition? Where is Welsh Labour when it’s not busily doling out the Tory cuts?

There is an election next year. Look at our manifesto. Next time vote for a party with a bit of spine, and Vote Green.

We have heard the howls of pain as the Chancellor slashed welfare in the July budget, but more muted, but just as agonising is the pain felt by many as the Climate Change Levy on polluting companies is removed.

Pippa Bartolotti, Wales Green Party leader said “News of methane plumes and record ice melt in the Arctic should be worrying us. The physical evidence of climate change becomes more dramatic every year: forests retreating, animals moving north, glaciers melting, wildfire seasons getting longer, higher rates of droughts, floods, and storms – the list just keeps on growing.

“The displacement of 100 million people in low lying countries should be top of the list in our concerns, yet the Tory government is expanding North Sea oil investment and riding roughshod over homeowner rights to frack yet more fossil fuels which will increase greenhouse gases at the very time we should be reducing them. Climate change will exacerbate human displacement in war zones and bring many more immigrants to our shores.

“If that is not enough, we already have 50 coastal communities in Wales abandoned by the Welsh Government to the rising seas. Householders who cannot get insurance, who will find it difficult to sell their houses, who wait in dread for the next winter gale, should be in our minds every day. It is time we helped these people, and the many who will sadly follow as a result of ever more biased decisions in favour of fossil fuel companies.”

Climate scientists have been ridiculed and hunted down by the fossil fuel lobby, yet in the face of a barrage of personal attacks, their message remains stark and clear. We are heading for in excess of 4 degrees of global warming.

Pippa Bartolotti added, “Climate change is a creeping sickness, and the most important issue of our times, but if we move to cut greenhouse gases, rebalance our economy towards waste reduction, and tax the biggest polluters, we could reduce emission by 70% in 2030.

A house built to passivhaus standards reduces fuel bills to a staggering £12 a year. Addressing climate change can be a win-win, taking us all out of fuel poverty, slashing bills and reducing pollution.

“There is a clear route for every country to take which will remove this terrible threat to our lives, and give other species a fighting chance for survival. There will not be social justice or anything else of value on an uninhabitable planet.”

Carbon emissions in Wales have risen by 10% in just one year, and this is why Wales urgently needs to tap into its excellent renewable potential.

The Wales Green Party welcomes the statement from Plaid Cymru to put forward a plan for Wales to generate 100% of electricity from renewables, and elected Greens in the National Assembly will certainly work with them to make sure it happens.

Wales Green Party leader, Pippa Bartolotti said today, “The Greens in Wales have been pushing hard for a greater renewables generation capacity in Wales, and it’s good to see other parties joining our battle. Together we can achieve a progressive step change in the fortunes of Wales.

” Plaid Cymru had previously been under the impression that Wales would have jurisdiction over all its renewable energy supplies, however, it seems that the Welsh Government has allowed the Westminster government to restrict it to 350MW. At a generation of 320MW, Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon only just comes into that bracket.

Bartolotti added, “Crucially, the overall strategy for 100% renewable energy requires current grid restrictions to be lifted, and I am concerned that Plaid does not understand the magnitude of this task. Unlike Germany, our grid prioritises fossil fuels over renewables.

“ Wales urgently needs to drive forward investment in renewables and the grid which carries this energy. It is clear the pace and scale of change in the way we transport our electricity must accelerate over the coming years. With carbon emissions in Wales massively missing their reduction targets, the Welsh Government must bite the bullet and invest in a grid system fit for the future if we are not to be the most polluting country in Europe.”

The privatised grid in much of rural Wales is owned by Western Power Distribution (WPD), whose parent company is US coal giant Pennsylvania Power and Light Corporation.

The Wales Green leader said, “The mockery of a coal based industrial giant like the Pennsylvania Power and Light Corporation restricting accessibility of renewable energy to the grid in Wales should not be lost on anyone. The best way forward for us will be to bring the grid into public ownership, and Ofgem should be given a mandate to facilitate that.

“Right now even micro generators on hill farms in Wales are being prevented from accessing the grid, and this simply has to change. Wales has twice the renewable energy it could ever use, and we should be exporting it for a steady income for future generations. We can’t allow fossil fuel based corporations to call the tune on our clean, home grown energy.”

Wales Green Party have set up a dedicated group to advance the rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Intersex & Queer (LGBTIQ) people. ‘Welsh Green Pride’ will be launching their manifesto at Pride Cymru in Cardiff and will be joined by world-renowned gay rights activist and human rights campaigner, Peter Tatchell.

Tatchell commented: "I commend the LGBTIQ manifesto of the Wales Green Party. It offers inspiring, far-reaching policies on education, criminal convictions, the blood ban, trans issues and mental health. Yet again, the Greens are leading the way on policies for LGBTIQ equality and human rights. Bravo!"

Welsh Green Pride will also be joined at the launch by Pippa Bartolotti, Wales Green Party Leader; Anthony Slaughter, Wales Green Party Deputy Leader and Amelia Womack and Shahrar Ali, England and Wales Green Party Deputy Leaders.

Adam Smith, who initiated Welsh Green Pride said: “We have been overwhelmed by support from both within and outside the LGBTIQ+ community, proving that Wales Green Party will fight for equality for all. Our manifesto launch will be a momentous occasion and one we will be celebrating with pride.”

Welsh Green Pride are campaigning on the discriminatory blood ban that is affecting gay men and women with bisexual partners, and against the nuclear plant in North Wales and fracking in Wales. Welsh Green Pride will be working on a number of equality issues over the coming months, including pension rights.

Pippa Bartolotti, Wales Green Party leader said: “We have a lively and active LGBTIQ+ community within the Wales Green Party, and Greens from across Wales will be marching in solidarity at Pride Cymru for full equality for gay couples under the law.

 “We have much further to go if gay married couples are to be treated with true equality. I am particularly concerned that pension rights upon death are still very discriminatory, with gay spouses often getting only a tiny fraction of the pension a heterosexual couple would get. This is exceedingly unfair. Gay couples pay into their pensions just like the rest of us. Their benefits upon death of a spouse should also be exactly the same”

In the same week that it was announced that the UK’s first carbon neutral house had been built near Bridgend, the Cameron government slipped through the fact that they were abandoning their pledge to build low carbon houses.

Pippa Bartolotti, Wales Green Party leader commented, “ Building houses so that they create more power than they use is the one sure way to take everyone out of fuel poverty. These houses are so well designed and insulated that fuel bills can be as little as £12 a year. In actual fact we are already aware that zero carbon houses have reduced fuel bills down to £8 a year”

“Whilst pushing against the will of the people for fracking operations, the Tory Government is at the same time forcing us to use more fossil fuel energy and pay more for our heating bills through poor housebuilding standards. We don’t need fracking and we don’t need frightening fuel bills.”

The Energy Saving Trust say Welsh building regs are devolved but it’s not a power the Welsh Government has taken advantage of.

Pippa Bartolotti said, “Wales can and should take the lead in reducing fuel bills in new build homes, and they should start with social housing where the savings will make the most difference to ordinary people. According to Professor Phil Jones at Cardiff School of Architecture, these houses cost no more to build than their equivalent high energy homes. It’s a no brainer!”

The Chartered Institute of Housing also promotes carbon neutral building standards, also known as Passivhaus.

The Wales Leader added “It is almost unbelievable that the Welsh Government has made no announcement on this. It is within their power to move away from England on this matter and build to a standard already widely used on the continent. Greens know that with low fuel consumption comes low CO2 emissions and tiny fuel bills. It’s a win-win.”

The Wales Green Party is today celebrating the move by twenty four of the UK’s most respected academic and professional institutions in calling for governments to take urgent action on climate change. The Climate Communique was issued by a diverse group of organisations including the Learned Society of Wales, which comprises over 350 distinguished Fellows in the fields of science, engineering, medicine, arts, humanities and social sciences.

Wales Green Party member, Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales, and Professor of Swansea University Medical School, Gareth Brenton said:

 “Climate change is one of the greatest challenges to mankind.  The Learned Society of Wales has joined other leading institutions to call on governments to act now.  Wales and the Welsh government must grasp this opportunity to lead the way with policies for a zero carbon future, to mitigate climate change effects.  This will require new economic and social models for a sustainable society.”

The Climate Communique says that to tackle climate change, governments, including that of the UK, must seize the opportunity at climate talks in Paris in December to negotiate an agreement based on the latest scientific evidence. The evidence states that we must transition to a zero-carbon world soon after 2050.

Anthony Slaughter, deputy leader of Wales Green Party, supports the statement: “We know that climate change is one of the worst environmental hazards facing human society and welcome this evidence based statement from renowned institutions such as the Royal Society, Royal Geographical Society, Wellcome Trust and LSW. Talks in Paris later this year give governments an opportunity to transition to a low carbon economy. We urge the Welsh and UK governments to show leadership and ensure global environmental cooperation.”

The Wales Green Party call for protection of schools and urgent investment to reduce child poverty, in response to the 2014-15 progress report on the Welsh Government’s “Building a Brighter Future” plan.

Deputy Leader, Anthony Slaughter said: “While welcoming any achievements and aspirations that improve the lives of our younger people, Wales Green Party find the Welsh Government claims of a bright future for Welsh children both irresponsible and misleading. Closer study of the situation in Wales reveals a depressing picture of cutbacks within the Welsh Education system with dozens of schools closing or threatened with closure. Rural schools, often the backbone of a community, are particularly vulnerable with almost 70 being closed between 2009 and 2014. How is the wellbeing of our children improved by expecting them to travel huge distances for their education, often in areas poorly served by public transport?

In order to properly invest in our children's futures we must protect small schools as they are crucial to community resilience, health and wellbeing.”

A report last month revealed that 23% of people in Wales are living in poverty, and that the Welsh Government is failing to tackle deprivation. Slaughter continued: “It is also impossible to present any report into the health and wellbeing of young people in isolation from the stubbornly high rates of child poverty in Wales. With one in five Welsh children living in poverty it is crucial that we see real investment and a coherent strategy across all departments to ensure a fair and healthy future for all our children.”

Wales Green Party will be hosting a democracy debate at this year’s Green Gathering Festival in Chepstow on Sunday 16^th August. Mark McGowen, known on Youtube as ‘The Artist Taxi Driver’ a political video-blogger, will be speaking at the debate. The debate is titled: ‘The UK establishment, our Broken Democracy 'THE WESTMONSTER'. Where do we go from here?’ paying homage to Mark’s most recent online film: WESTMONSTER.

Other panellists include Rob Griffiths, General Secretary, Communist Party of Britain & co-signatory of The People's Assembly; Anthony Slaughter, Deputy Leader, Wales Green Party; and Liz Payne, Secretary, National Assembly of Women.

The debate is organised by Jim Scott from Wales Green Party, who will also chair the debate.

Jim Scott said: “I am thrilled to have organised this debate for Green Gathering where so many political activists put their heads together each year. It is fantastic that Mark McGowen and the other panellists have agreed to bring this important topic to the wider debate. The Westminster bubble has become an uncontrollable monster in its own right and Mark’s latest film highlights this.

76% of the UK electorate did not vote for Austerity, Fracking, NHS privatisation or tax breaks for the super-rich in May, yet we all now have to suffer and endure the onslaught which this government will continue to inflict on our society with renewed gusto. We are the only nation in Europe which clings on to this undemocratic and unrepresentative ‘First Past the Post’ voting system. I am glad that people will get a chance to discuss this on Sunday and address the reality of our predicament. It seems increasingly clear that it is going to take a mass movement and well organised civil disobedience to resist this government’s ideological war on the poor and further dismantling of citizen’s rights until a genuinely democratic voting system is put in place.”

Mark McGowen, who said he is looking forward to the debate, has spent several years building up a large following on his Youtube channel. McGowen has created three full length films, comprising of his interviews with social and political commentators as well as political activists including Russell Brand, Frankie Boyle and Caroline Lucas, as well as those affected by austerity, privatisation and war. McGowen has become an inspiration to tens of thousands of people on the left of politics who follow his daily videos as ChunkyMark ‘The Artist Taxi Driver’.

Anthony Slaughter from Wales Green Party, who is also participating at the debate, said: “Our democracy is broken. Millions cast their vote recently with no hope of any representation. Countless more have given up completely on participating in this sham. Yet time and time again we see a real public hunger for political engagement and meaningful participation. From the Occupy movement through to the Scottish independence referendum to the Green Surge, this growing desire is becoming far too visible to be ignored by the stale, tired status quo. It is vital that we continue to move forward together to create a truly representative democracy that works for all at every level of government.”

Jim Scott added: “I hope that this debate will be an opportunity for people who feel disenfranchised by the current democratic system to get stuck in and discuss how they can take back the power and join the growing movement for change.”

The Artist Taxi Driver interviewing Frankie Boyle

Dear Mr Cameron

This is not a migrant crisis, this is a refugee crisis.

You withdrew British support from the rescue efforts in the Mediterranean last year. Your message seemed to be “Let the refugees drown - it will discourage the others.” What a dereliction of moral authority.

Our country is a safe and secure place for those fleeing war. Many of these conflicts were started or exacerbated by rich western countries. If we can't accept the consequences of our actions, we shouldn't have taken the action in the first place. In this case, the consequences of wars we have either started, fuelled or contributed to are more than a million refugees and the harrowing sight of innocent little bodies being washed up on the shores of the Mediterranean.

We should take our share of these refugees in with open arms. All of them. Instead you order more razor wire to keep them out.

Millions are on the move. War is not the only contributing factor – climate change is tightening its grip on the planet, and the industrialised west continues to burn fossil fuels while poorer countries pay the price. The UK has to play a significant part in alleviating the suffering.

The mass movement of civilians trying to escape death and destruction is our problem. Mr Cameron, you should be quite sure that this human tragedy is not going away, no matter how high you string the razor wire.

In Swansea, Welsh Greens have got together with Citizens UK to take 20 Syrian families seeking refuge. 20 families is not a lot to ask. In Newport, Greens are also asking for the city to take 20 Syrian families, and offers of practical help from residents are already coming in.

Whatever it takes, the Wales Green Party stands ready to support refugees in crisis.

Pippa Bartolotti

Leader, Wales Green Party