Green Party mailing
THE GAS CRISIS AND SOARING BILLS

The rise in the energy price cap announced by Ofgem was even higher than
predicted and leaves millions of people in fuel poverty. High energy bills
are not inevitable, they are a political choice especially when set against
the huge profits being made by Shell and BP in the last year. The
Government could ease people's hardship with a windfall tax on those
profits - it has refused to do so. The Chancellor's response of a £200
"loan" to be repaid over the following five years and a rebate on some
council tax bills is totally inadequate.

It's also deeply worrying to see right-wing Tory MPs try to exploit the gas
crisis to derail our climate targets and abandon the transition to net zero
emissions. The answer to high gas prices is not to increase our reliance on
gas, which is what they are pushing for.

As well as more generous short term measures designed to keep people warm,
cut energy bills and tackle the climate emergency, we urgently need to
address energy demand with a massive energy efficiency programme, focusing
on home insulation.

I wrote about the gas crisis, the Chancellor's response and the threat to
our climate targets for the Independent [1] and in my Metro [2] column.

GOVERNMENT GREENLIGHTS NORTH SEA OIL & GAS PROJECTS

Only a few weeks after the UK hosted the UN climate summit in Glasgow, the
Government has greenlit six new oil and gas projects in the North Sea -
ignoring the warning from scientists and the International Energy Agency
that there must be no new oil and gas development if we are to stay within
1.5C of global heating. The timing of this is so cynical - and kowtows to
the climate action delayers in the Tory Party. I raised this as an Urgent
Question [3] in the House of Commons and got a totally inadequate response
from the minister.

BHCC AND AN END TO FOSSIL FUELS

On a more positive note, it was brilliant to see Brighton & Hove Council
join the growing list of cities and regional governments around the world
who have endorsed the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, and for once
again calling on the East Sussex Pension Fund to divest from fossil fuels.

THE WELLBEING OF FUTURE GENERATIONS BILL

I was really pleased to see the Wellbeing of Future Generations Bill,
introduced in Parliament by Big Issue founder Lord John Bird, complete its
stages through the House of Lords. I championed it in the House of Commons
in the last parliamentary session and look forward to working with Simon
Fell MP as he now takes up the bill in the Commons. You can read more about
why I support this bill here. [4]

THE PRIME MINISTER’S SLUR AGAINST KEIR STARMER

I've written before about how Boris Johnson is debasing our politics with
his repeated lies and misleading of Parliament. He struck a new low with
his slur against Sir Keir Starmer. Words have consequences as we saw a week
later when Sir Keir was attacked outside Parliament. Johnson's refusal to
apologise or fully withdraw his comments, and ministers' readiness to
defend them, are straight out of Donald Trump's playbook and a real threat
to our democracy. I was asked about this on BBC2 Newsnight [5] and said
Johnson is poisoning our politics and should apologise or go.

BANNING SNARES

Snares are a horrifyingly cruel and indiscriminate way of killing wildlife
and other animals and a motion in Parliament called for them to be banned
six years ago. But nothing has happened since then. A statement organised
by Animal Aid and supported by 23 other animal protection groups and
academics is urging action to ban them. I have tabled an Early Day Motion
[6] in Parliament calling on the Government to outlaw the manufacture,
sale, possession and use of all snares, which is drawing cross-party
support.

CONCERNS ABOUT ROYAL MAIL IN BRIGHTON

Last week I meet with representatives from Royal Mail to raise concerns
that many constituents have about the proposal to relocate the delivery
office from North Road to Patcham. There are worries about the transport
impact on Patcham and the longer term plans for the site in North Road.
Royal Mail told me a transport assessment was underway and local residents
would be able to have their say when a planning application is submitted to
Brighton and Hove City Council next month. I will keep up the pressure for
greater transparency and accountability.

BRIGHTON TRAIN SERVICES

A number of constituents have contacted me about train services in and out
of the city, particularly the London-bound route. Just at the moment when
more people are returning to their offices and needing to use the trains,
the services have been drastically reduced. It also seems likely that
people will continue working from home at least part of the time so need a
part-time season ticket which offers the same saving as a full-time one.
Currently there's no saving at all for part-time season tickets. I've asked
the transport minister to address this issue [7].

I have also called for the GTR franchise to be brought into public hands
when its contract expires on April 1st.

BRITISH LIVER TRUST

I've been in contact with the British Liver Trust who are lobbying for more
to be done to improve early diagnosis of liver disease, which is the third
biggest cause of premature death in the UK. Hospital admissions for liver
disease in Brighton and Hove are above the regional average, as are deaths
in the city. I've raised this in Parliament to try to highlight the need
for liver disease scanning and testing to be made available in the
Government's proposed community diagnosis centres.

PHOENIX ART SPACE

I was delighted to visit the Phoenix Art Space to see a moving and
inspiring exhibition by Louise McCurdy and Steve Geliot, Undercurrents. It
explores the wild secrets of Brighton's famous murmuration of starlings,
featuring sculptures, a surround sound installing with the recoded
wingbeats of ten thousand birds, photographs and insights from literature
and science. The artists explore the relationship between starlings and
peregrine falcons and how the phenomenon of the murmuration is a co-evolved
spectacle of these beautiful species interacting with each other. They show
how efforts towards increasing biodiversity across the city, making space
for wildlife to feed and nest in our gardens and public spaces, and
reducing the use of toxic chemicals such as pesticides, can create an urban
stronghold for these spectacular birds.



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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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