Lyn Bliss a long standing Green Party member, activist and councillor candidate was interviewed on BBC 3 Counties radio this week and was also a feature in the Green Party press office morning briefings. Which was reported as follows. Thank you to the press office for making the job of local party officers easier.
Luton and Bedfordshire Green Party member, Lyn Bliss, tells Three Counties Radio (14:20) that the Conservative Party has failed over 12 years to insulate homes and invest in renewable energy and is now blaming others for the cost-of-living crisis while backing “frightening” nuclear options.
Luton and Bedfordshire falls under the jurisdiction of the Eastern Region Green Party so another feature in the briefing today is Caroline Lucas's reaction to Sizewell C.
Reacting to the government’s decision to spend £30 billion of public money on Sizewell C nuclear power station, Caroline Lucas said:
“There are hundreds of energy-saving options and clean, cheap and home-grown renewable projects ready to go – yet solar farms are being refused at their highest rate for five years, the Government has utterly failed to adopt a retrofit revolution to slash energy bills, and now Tory leadership candidates are vowing to block onshore wind power which could be operational within days. Rubber stamping Sizewell C is simply Boris Johnson’s woeful final attempt at making his Prime Ministerial mark – it’s befitting of him that this vanity project is the wrong answer at the wrong time.”
Caroline’s statement is quoted on BBC News: Sizewell C is "massively costly, achingly slow, and carries huge unnecessary risks". She adds that the "enormous upfront cost" would be passed on to consumers. The quote was also picked up on Sky News.
Green Party Cost of Living News
The pound slid about 5 per cent against the US dollar in August. The last time the pound fell so much against the dollar was in October 2016, in the aftermath of the Brexit vote.
Ovo Energy, the country’s third largest energy supplier, urged government to allow energy firms to borrow from a state-backed fund, and then use the money to subsidise bills. Everyone would get some assistance, but higher earners would see the amount of money received reduce, the more energy they used, the company said.
RMT members at Network Rail and 14 train companies will strike again on 15 and 17 September. The first day of these strikes over pay coincides with a walkout by train drivers at 12 rail companies.
Climate and Environment
The International Monetary Fund says that UK households face higher energy prices and greater inequality than any other country in western Europe because of the government’s reliance on gas.
England had its joint hottest summer on record, the Met Office says. This year's summer tied with 2018 for the warmest, according to records stretching back to 1884.
Health News
The Green Party reports the staggerring number of vacant posts within the NHS.
Almost one in 10 posts across the NHS in England are vacant - a “staggering” record high of 132,139 posts unfilled.
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