29 June - 5 July

Here is a summary of my work for Brighton Pavilion locally and in Parliament from June 29 - July 5. As always, please do not hesitate to get in touch if you need my help with anything.

Saving our NHS 

On Wednesday I presented the NHS Reinstatement Act to the House of Commons. This piece of legislation, which has cross-party support, would reverse 25 years of marketisation in our health service and reinstate the Secretary of State’s responsibility for the health of UK citizens, something the Health and Social Care Act of 2012 removed.  Critically, in reinstating the NHS, from the bottom up and without imposing yet another top-down reorganisation, the Bill tackles the waste inherent in administering the artificial internal market that has been created over the last 25 years and the situation post-2012 which forces NHS contracts out to tender.  I set out more of the details in this piece for Open Democracy: https://www.opendemocracy.net/ournhs/caroline-lucas/i%E2%80%99m-proud-to-have-presented-crossparty-nhs-reinstatement-bill-in-parliament

Solidarity with Greece 

Yesterday the Greek people voted 'no' in the Referendum on accepting the terms of an international bailout. My response to that decision is here: http://www.carolinelucas.com/latest/greek-referendum-an-opportunity-to-move-forward

I’ve been calling for Europe to come together at a debt conference, similar to the one which happened after the Second World War to allow Germany to be rebuilt. The Troika (the EU, IMF and ECB) has been trying its best to undermine Greek democracy, as I argued in this piece in the Independent, but the Greek people have rejected their bailout conditions and now all side must come together to find the best way forward for the country.

 

Calling for a fairer tax on flying

The long-awaited Davies Commission on airport expansion finally released its findings last week. The proposal: further expansion at Heathrow airport. I’ve been long-opposed to further airport expansion both because of the local environmental damage it would cause and because more runways being built will set us back hugely in the fight against climate change. In  a piece on the Huffington Post and in the House of Commons I called for a new frequent flyer levy to ensure that those who fly the most pay the most tax. This proposal is based on the fact that the majority of people do not even fly once a year, while just 15% of UK residents account for 70% of all flights taken.

 

Fighting Fracking

On Monday Lancashire County Council rejected a planning application for fracking in the area. This decision, which followed months of campaigning by local people, was a real boost for those of us opposed to fracking. You can read my response to the decision in the Financial Times here: http://www.ft.com/fastft/351631/uk-fracking-application-rebuffed-councillors

At long last the Government released a secret report on fracking that they’d been hiding away for months. The evidence in the report shows that local communities near fracking sites could suffer from deafening noise pollution, surface water contamination and hikes in insurance costs - and adds further weight to the growing case against fracking in Britain. Upon the release of the report I called on the Environment Secretary to make a public apology for holding back this important evidence:https://uk.news.yahoo.com/truss-held-back-fracking-risk-123400643.html#diigxxP

 

The Daily Politics

On Tuesday I was on the BBC’s Daily Politics programme. It was an interesting show in which I debated the Shadow Chancellor on Greece and Welfare cuts, and a Tory MP on Fracking. I also talked about a key issue for Brighton, the shutting down of music venues due to noise complaints. You can watch the episode here:http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b06172r7/daily-politics-30062015

HIV Awareness 

I was one of 18 parliamentarians who took an HIV test this week in the House of Commons as part of the Halve It campaign. HIV awareness is particularly important to me because Brighton has the second highest HIV rate of anywhere in the UK outside of Brighton – with 8 in a thousand adults living with HIV. It was inspiring to meet campaigners and experts on the issue who are working together to cut Britain’s HIV rate.

 

Artists against TTIP

I spoke alongside John Hilary from War on Want and Nick Dearden from Global Justice Now at an event called ‘Artists against TTIP’. The group - made up of actors, painters, theatre directors and more – joins the many organisations that have been working together across the UK, the EU and the USA to raise awareness of TTIP. Over 2 million EU citizens have signed a petition calling on TTIP negotiations to stop – the largest of its kind in history. There have been vibrant days of action and local TTIP action groups springing up all around the UK. You can see a video from Artists against TTIP here: http://www.theguardian.com/business/video/2015/jun/09/why-artists-are-saying-no-to-ttip-video

 

Synergy Centre

On Saturday I attended the launch of The Brighton Synergy Centre. The Centre, located in Brighton’s West Street, is a community arts venue designed to offer affordable creative space to any organisation working towards a positive, conscious-minded, socially inclusive and environmentally friendly society. The event came to a climax with a performance from Seize the Day, who have long supported the aims of the Synergy Centre.

 

Brighton Women’s Voices

Saturday also saw a fundraiser at the Emporium for Brighton Women’s Voices, a growing network of women’s organisations and services,  and individual women in the city, coming together to share information, promote inclusion and tackle inequality.  The funds raised will help pay for a website which will form a comprehensive, one stop shop, for all the vital info and campaigns happening locally.

 

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