NEWS AND VIEWS FROM THE GREEN PARTY IN THE LONDON BOROUGH OF BRENT

18 Apr 2024

Green Mayor candidate Zoe Garbett on how she would change London if elected

 Zoe Garbett, Green Party London Mayor candidiate, was asked by BBC London how she would change London if elected

 

17 Apr 2024

Brent Green Party backs Save Byron Court Campaign

 

Martin Francis spoke briefly at Monday's demonstration outside Byron Court Primary School to back the campaign to save the school from  being forced to become an academy.

Government policy is that all schools should eventually become party of a MAT (Multi-Academy Trust) and are assisted in this policy by a law requiring forced academisation of local authority schools if they are judged Inadequate by Ofsted.

This is what has happened to Byron Court but campaigners argue that there were particular circumstances that led to the Inadequate judgement that are now being addressed by a Rapid Improvment Group (RIG) that involves the Brent School Improvement Team. They want the school to be given a chance to make the necessary changes and improvements and then be reinspected to demonstrate that progress has been made.

Parents are very clear that they want to remain a community school and not part of the Harris Federation of schools founded by a carpet boss with a CEO on half a million pounds a year. In a Federation local democratic oversight would be lost.

Martin told campaigners that the Green Party had long opposed academies as representing a democratic deficit and a form of privatisation. Greens also want to abolish Ofsted which has become an instrument of government policy and with its summary one word judgements and stressful inspection regime that contributes to destabilisation of schools. Exams of different types now dominate primary schools making pupils some of the most examined in the world - early years asseement, phonic tests, multiplcation tests and SATs at aged 7 and 11. The tests are 'high stakes' because they determine much of curriculum time and narrow the curriculum in many schools pushing out more creative subjecrs such as drama and music.

Green Party policy would abolish SAT tests entirely and establish an Entitlement Curriculum so that all pupils would have a broad and creative curriculm - education for life, not test scores. 

SAT scores are used by Ofsted, even before they visit the school, to establish an initial view of the school and so play a part in the inspection process, leading to schools feeling they have no choice but to concentrate on teaching for the tests, often against their professional judgement of what pupils really need. Behind this is the fear of 'failing' an Ofsted inspection leading to an Inadequate rating and forced academisation. 

So bringing all schools back under local authority oversight, abolition and replacement of Ofsted by a more collegiate system, abolition of SATs to allow for the creative curriculum that children will thrive on are all part of a distinctive new policy for education.  Schools will establish their own assessment systems aimed at improving individual pupils' learning rather than providing a data set.


15 Apr 2024

Green Party expresses 'deep concern' at increased UK involvement as potential Middle East war looms

Statement from the Green Party of England and Wales

Following news of the Iranian attack on Israel and the involvement of UK aircraft in Israel’s defence, Green Party co-leader, Carla Denyer, has urged the UK not to be dragged into a Middle East war. She said: 

The Green Party condemns Iran’s attacks against Israel, which were targeted on civilian as well as military targets.  This represents a concerning escalation of the current conflict in the Middle East. We call on all parties now to find ways to de-escalate this conflict, which risks spreading across the region. 

We are concerned by the use of British aircraft in the night’s events.  We question why Britain should be involved in this confrontation, where there is a risk that we could become embroiled in a regional war.  The record of Afghanistan and Iraq suggests that involvement in such conflict brings great risks, especially when the military and strategic objectives are unclear.

Denyer also questioned at what level the decision to engage UK defence forces was made: 

I am deeply concerned about how this decision to deepen our involvement was made and in what further action the government proposes to involve UK armed forces. Britain’s military involvement must be scrutinised and debated by parliament. We should not allow ourselves to be dragged into a Middle East war. 

Last night's violence demonstrates again that there must be resolution to the interconnected conflicts of the Middle East, including in Gaza where a ceasefire remains urgent. We are at a moment of grave peril and it is incumbent on all countries, including the UK, to find ways to reduce rather than contribute to conflict.


8 Apr 2024

Read the Green Manifesto for London here: A plan for a greener, more affordable London

 

The London Green Party's Manifesto for London was published today. If you like a lot of what it says please vote three times for the Green Party in the GLA Election on May 2nd. Vote for Zoe Garbett for Mayor, Nida Al-Fulaij for Brent and Harrow Constituency and Green Party for the London List.

 

Click bottom right X for full view

 

Six months on Greens call for a full bilateral ceasefire, the release of all hostages, the suspension of arms exports to Israel, and for key players in the Netanyahu government to be held accountable for possible war crimes

 


The Green Party has repeated its call for a full bilateral ceasefire, the release of all hostages, the suspension of arms exports to Israel, and for key players in the Netanyahu government to be held accountable for possible war crimes, six months on from the 7 October attacks by Hamas.  

Co-leader of the Green Party, Carla Denyer, said:  

This isn’t just a far away conflict that we have nothing to do with. By consistently refusing to call for a ceasefire and continuing to supply arms, the UK Government has been complicit in the deadly assault on Gaza by the Israel Defence Forces.  

Six months on from the horrific Hamas attacks on Israeli citizens, it is clear that the Netanyahu government's response has been totally disproportionate. Over 33,000 innocent Palestinian civilians have now been killed, the majority of them women and children. This is not an act of self defence. As the UN’s Human Rights Council has resolved, the actions by the Israeli government are possible war crimes and crimes against humanity. Indeed, the UK Government itself has reportedly concluded secretly that Israel is breaking international humanitarian law.  

It is time for our Government to end their complicity and start leading efforts towards peace. They must finally call for a ceasefire, immediately suspend arms exports to Israel and back the UN Human Rights Council’s call for accountability for all violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law.


In the six months since October 7th, the Green Party of England and Wales has called for:  

  • A full bilateral ceasefire  
  • The release of all hostages  
  • A suspension of all arms export licences to Israel until the violence stops 
  • The cessation of all military collaboration with Israel, including use of British bases by Israeli forces, and intelligence sharing 
  • Targeted Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against individuals and institutions supporting or facilitating Israel’s occupation of Palestine 
  • An investigation by the Metropolitan Police and Director of Public Prosecutions of war crimes committed against UK citizens, or where UK citizens are potential perpetrators 
  • The UK government to use its position as a permanent member of the UN Security Council to vote for, rather than abstain on, ceasefire votes 
  • Targeted sanctions against key individuals in the Israeli leadership, including travel bans and asset freezes on Israel’s government ministers 
  • An end to occupation of the Palestinian territories 
  • The UK government to return to international law being the benchmark for UK policy, and repair the UK’s international reputation as a defender of the international rules-based order. 


The Green Party has never had any truck with the profit motive in health care


 

Responding to comments by the Shadow Heath Secretary saying that under a Labour government investment in the NHS would be dependent on reform and that there would be an increased role for the private sector [1], co-leader of the Green Party, Carla Denyer, said: 

Wes Streeting says that if the NHS doesn’t change, it will die. But it is inadequate funding that has left our NHS in a poor state of health, not lack of reform.  

Between 2010 and 2019 the UK had a lower level of capital investment in health care and 18% lower average health spending than 14 EU countries [2]. 

So to say that the public is paying a heavy price for failure is an insult to hard-working NHS staff, who are doing their level best despite being overworked and underpaid. It is the failure to invest adequately and pay staff properly that is at the root of dissatisfaction with the NHS. 

The public agrees. They don’t want endless reforms; neither do they share the Conservative or Labour appetite for creeping privatisation. They want the current model to work and to see the NHS available to everyone free of charge and primarily funded through taxes [3]. A tax on the super-rich billionaires and multi-millionaires can provide the funds needed to fix our cherished NHS.    

The Green Party has never had any truck with the profit motive in health care and will continue to push for a fully publicly funded NHS.

Notes 

[1] Wes Streeting warns NHS that there'll be no additional funding without 'major surgery' under Labour | The Sun 

[2] How does UK health spending compare across Europe over the past decade? - The Health Foundation  

[3] Public satisfaction with the NHS and social care in 2023 | Nuffield Trust 

4 Apr 2024

Green Party repeats call for UK Government to cancel all arms export licences to Israel


In the wake of the attack on the World Central Kitchen convoy, which killed seven aid workers, the Green Party have repeated their call for the UK government to cancel all arms export licences to Israel.  

The Party’s Global Solidarity spokesperson and former Middle East diplomat, Carne Ross, said: 

The death of compassionate humanitarian volunteers was an outrageous and avoidable tragedy. The cynical attempts by the Netanyahu government to portray the attack on World Central Kitchen (WCK) as an accident have been dismissed by those agencies trying to feed the starving in Gaza. Under international humanitarian law, this humanitarian aid is the responsibility of the Israeli government, yet they are keeping routes closed and not ensuring that those emergency routes operated by aid agencies are safe.  

It is clear that the Israeli government is violating the terms of the licences under which arms are exported and is failing to abide by basic international humanitarian law. It is a national shame that we are arming the Israel defence forces who are responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians. It appears that the deadly Israeli strike on the aid workers used a drone produced in the UK. This only strengthens the case for an immediate arms embargo.

It is hugely disappointing, but sadly predictable, to hear calls to end arms exports coming only after Western lives have been lost. It comes too late for the thousands of Palestinian children slaughtered by western supplied bombs and bullets.  

Foreign Secretary Cameron can show global leadership during his talks with NATO leaders today by first ending UK arms sales and then persuading other NATO countries to follow suit. We cannot allow the humanitarian calamity in Gaza to continue a day longer.