Green Party mailing
A NEW COVID VARIANT

The rapid spread of the Omicron variant of Covid is causing real concern
among public health experts. No-one is safe until everyone is safe and the
continent of Africa, where this variant was first identified, has been
shamefully left to pick up the crumbs in the global vaccine rollout. While
the UK has procured enough doses to vaccinate the population more than six
times over, the whole of Africa doesn't even have enough to vaccinate the
vulnerable and front-line health workers.

The vast majority of countries are asking for a waiver on intellectual
property for Covid vaccines, so they can be manufactured in the Global
South and made more widely available but - shamefully - our own Government
is resisting this. When I raised this with the Health Secretary in the
Commons, he said it wouldn't be "helpful" - an unbelievably arrogant
response. It's time Covid vaccines were made available to everyone, and
public health was put before the profits of big pharma. You can see our
exchange here [1]. I also wrote about the inequity of the Covid vaccine
rollout in my column in Metro. [2]

THE DROWNINGS IN THE CHANNEL

My heart goes out to the families of the 27 people who drowned trying to
reach our shores in a small boat. We've seen a lot of hypocritical
hand-wringing from ministers and talk about "breaking the business model"
of the people smugglers, but nothing about really addressing the issue by
providing safe, legal routes to asylum so people don't have to risk their
lives to claim asylum here. Virtually all legal routes, including the Dubs
scheme for unaccompanied children, have been closed down forcing people on
to the small boats. The Government's approach to refugees is cruel and
inhumane, and about to get even worse with the Nationality and Borders Bill
criminalising all those who reach our shores this way.

WHY WE NEED A WELLBEING ECONOMY TO DELIVER CLIMATE GOALS

In my last newsletter, I wrote about the COP26 UN climate summit and what
it had, and hadn't, achieved. One of the glaring omissions at the summit
was any discussion about the real driver behind the climate and ecological
crisis - the way we run our economy. The pursuit of endless GDP growth on a
planet of finite resources is driving us towards climate breakdown and
ecological disaster which is why we need to rethink our economic model and
move to an approach focused on health and wellbeing.

I had supported a parliamentary petition for a wellbeing economy started by
a young constituent - it secured nearly 70,000 votes but that wasn't enough
to guarantee a debate via the Petitions Committee. But I was lucky enough
to secure a debate in the ballot. You can read my speech, and the other
contributions, here. [3]

SUPPORTING THE LOCAL ELECTRICITY BILL

Just prior to the wellbeing economy debate, I spoke in support of the Local
Electricity Bill which would enable the local supply of renewable
electricity, and allow community generators to become local suppliers,
breaking the monopoly of the national grid and offering greater incentives
to people to install green energy solutions.

QUESTIONING THE MINISTER ABOUT COP26

Ten days after the end of the climate summit, the COP president Alok Sharma
was in the Commons to answer questions about the Glasgow Climate Pact. I
challenged him on the Government's failure to support a separate finance
stream for loss and damage, to compensate climate-vulnerable countries for
the devastating losses they are suffering now as a result of extreme
weather events. Scotland has made a finance commitment and the UK
government should do so too. You can read our exchange here [4].

PRIME MINISTER’S QUESTIONS

I also had the chance to question the Prime Minister [5] about his
commitment to climate action, picking him up on his comment that COP26
showed we could end our reliance on fossil fuels. I asked him if we would
commit to leaving fossil fuels in the ground, and cancel the licence for
the Cambo oil field off Shetland and the 39 other oil and gas exploration
licences agreed by the Government. The answer was his usual bluster and
evasion of the question. Since then, we've had the good news that Shell is
pulling out of the Cambo oil field, which might just be its death knell.

HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE

The Government's plan for the social care system is deeply unfair - it
would mean those living in houses worth around £100,000 face losing nearly
all their assets to pay for social care, while those living in houses worth
£500,000 would lose just 17%. The injustice is so stark that it was deeply
depressing to see the vast majority of Tory MPs troop through the lobby to
vote for it.

It was also depressing to see the disastrous NHS Bill voted through its
final stages in the Commons, giving private health companies, including US
health giants, a foothold in our NHS. Ministers repeat the refrain that the
NHS is not for sale, but that's not what's happening in reality.

A NATURAL HISTORY GCSE

Many of you will know that I've campaigned for some time for a new GCSE in
natural history. I spoke in a parliamentary debate [6] about why this would
be such an important addition to the curriculum, not least because it aims
to give pupils an intimate knowledge of nature and first-hand of experience
of working with nature in a very different way from desk-based learning.
I'm planning to follow this up with a meeting with the Minister next week.

OPENING THE STARLINGS ROOST ON BRIGHTON PIER

I was delighted to officially open the Starlings Roost, the first dedicated
viewing point on the south coast for the fabulous starling murmurations.
Right on cue, these incredible birds appeared in their thousands with their
famous winter murmuration.

Watching them twist and turn in huge numbers can give the impression that
starlings are in good health, but in fact their numbers have declined by
about two thirds in the last 50 years. I hope the Starlings Roost will help
people better understand these wonderful birds and do what they can to
protect them. A live webcam means you can watch them roost under the Pier
via the Pier's website [7]. Many congratulations to animal rights
campaigner and celebrity vet Marc Abraham (pictured with me) for conceiving
the idea and Anne Ackford, CEO of the Palace Pier, for facilitating it!



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Contacting Me

If you are a local resident and need help with case work or to find out more about my activities locally please do contact me at the office of: Caroline Lucas MP, Brighton Media Centre 15-17 Middle Street, Brighton BN1 1AL.
Tel: 01273 201 130. Email: [email protected]

I hold regular surgeries across the constituency. If you would like to book an appointment at a forthcoming surgery please call Liz Collis on 01273 201130.
She coordinates my constituency office and is able to help with most local enquiries.

If you would like to know about my parliamentary work please get in touch at the House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA.
Tel: 020 7219 7025. Email: [email protected]

You can also keep up to date with my news on:

Twitter: @carolinelucas

Facebook: /carolinelucas.page

My Website: www.carolinelucas.com

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