Since Jean Lambert MEP is no longer in office, this website is now an archive and will no longer be updated.

Please feel free to browse:

1. This website outlining Jean’s work from 2007-2019
2. Jean’s former website covering the years 2001-2007
3. Jean’s new personal website

All the best,

Team Jean

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​On the UK’s Earth Overshoot Day, Green MEPs have slammed the Government’s new aviation strategy for “making a mockery of the need for environmental and social sustainability”.

In his response to the Government’s aviation strategy consultation, Keith Taylor – Green MEP for South East England – argues that the Government’s plan to expand the air travel industry is “reckless at best, dangerous at worst” and does not respect the needs of future generations.

This year, Earth Overshoot Day falls on 17th May, meaning that if everyone on the planet lived as we do in the UK, we would use a year’s worth of the Earth’s ecological resources in just 128 days. If we want to protect our ecosystem for future generations, humanity must immediately reduce its ecological footprint and curb its use of fossil fuels.

You can read the full consultation response here.

Keith Taylor, Green MEP for the South East, says:

“Given that our planet is in the midst of a climate emergency, it’s a disgrace that the Government would consider expanding the aviation industry – a sector which is currently responsible for 25% of the UK’s total emissions.

Its new aviation strategy shows utter contempt for people and the planet – even seeking to scrap the critical safety measures currently in place, such as limits on night flights and caps on runway traffic.

Today marks the UK’s Earth Overshoot Day, meaning that if the whole world lived as we do in the UK we would already have used up the Earth’s natural resources for the year. The Government should be doing everything in its power to push back this date by limiting the toxic emissions pumped into the air we breathe.

Instead, it continues to turn up the heat. This strategy makes it frighteningly clear it does not care about living within our ecological means. It wants more planes, more routes, more freight, more passengers – whatever the cost.”

Jean Lambert, London’s Green MEP, says:

“This aviation strategy is not just a blow to the millions of people living near airports in the UK, but for the planet and future generations.

My constituency, London, already suffers some of the worst levels of air pollution in Europe. Breathing in this filthy air poisons our children’s classrooms, damages our lungs, and leads to thousands of premature deaths every year.

The Government has already been referred to the European Court of Justice over its continued failure to tackle illegal levels of air pollution. Yet, this strategy is more evidence of the Government clinging to policies of the past instead of facing up to today’s reality.”

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This afternoon, the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favour of the continued recognition of citizens’ social security contributions and acquired entitlements in the case of a ‘no deal’ Brexit.

In total, 652 cross-party MEPs passed the regulation, while just 8 voted against. A further 18 MEPs chose to abstain, including a number of UK members such as Nigel Farage and Gerard Batten.

The co-rapporteurs on the rapport were Jean Lambert (UK, Greens/EFA) and Marian Harkin (Ireland, ALDE).

If the UK leaves the EU without a deal, the regulation will safeguard entitlements to social security benefits based on insurance, employment or residence acquired before the UK’s exit from the EU. Read the full text here.

These contingency measures would apply to EU citizens living in the UK and UK citizens living in the EU27, who have acquired social entitlements while exercising their free movement rights. It means citizens’ contribution history will still be counted by EU Member States, and guarantees they do not lose these entitlements in the event of a ‘no deal’ Brexit.

The measures will be adopted unilaterally by the EU, and enter into force only if the UK leaves the EU without a withdrawal agreement in place.

Jean Lambert, London’s Green MEP and co-rapporteur on the regulation, said:

“Given that the UK Government has failed to offer concrete guarantees on citizens’ rights, I’m very pleased to be able to provide a small piece of reassurance to people caught up in this Brexit mess. The safety net we have provided today will ensure the contributions in the UK will still be counted by the EU27 if the UK leaves without a deal.

While this regulation covers the essentials of social security rights, it does not touch on other important protections such as reciprocal healthcare and continued rights for posted workers. Providing safeguards on these issues would require cooperation with the UK Government. This regulation is in place for a situation where there would be no cooperation with the UK, which would be the reality of a ‘no deal’ Brexit.

We hope this contingency regulation will bring some peace of mind to the 5 million citizens whose lives have been thrown into limbo due to Brexit.”

Notes:

Background
In the case of a ‘no deal’ Brexit, there will be no transition period and EU law on social security coordination will no longer apply in the relations between the EU and the UK. Under this new contingency regulation, Member States will be required to recognise contributions and entitlements gained up until the exit date and ensure that both UK and EU citizens do not lose out on historic rights. The expectation is that the UK reciprocates – although this isn’t required for the EU to continue with this legislation.

What is included?
There is a need to ensure that those persons who exercised, as EU citizens, their right to free movement within the EU before the withdrawal date, maintain their social security entitlements acquired before the withdrawal date.

What is not included?
As the UK will be a third country, other principles and rights of social security coordination will not continue to apply as of the withdrawal date, such as the exportability of cash benefits, the continuous provision of sickness benefits in kind (EHIC), and the rules on applicable legislation (going to an EU Member State for work purposes). This contingency regulation only ensures those matters the EU can unilaterally guarantee without cooperation with the UK, namely the social security entitlements of persons who exercised their right to free movement prior to the withdrawal date. The Withdrawal Agreement ensures many more rights and has the benefit of a transition period.

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CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD ‘GREENS FOR A BETTER EUROPE’

· Led on crafting EU air pollution laws which have landed the UK Government in court three times for breaching toxic air limits

· Helped to establish European Health Insurance Cards (EHIC) which give citizens access to emergency healthcare across the EU

· Secured a VAT exemption for small businesses across the EU

​· Banned illegally logged timber from being sold in the EU

Over the past 20 years, the UK’s Green MEPs have been hugely influential in the European Parliament. Everyone living in modern Britain – and the rest of the EU27 – will have been touched by the causes they have campaigned for, and the progressive policies that have resulted. Should Brexit go ahead, UK citizens look set to lose many of these rights and protections.

A new book, Greens for a Better Europe: Twenty Years of UK Green Influence in the European Parliament, 1999-2019, reveals the untold story of the UK’s current and former Green MEPs: Caroline Lucas, Jean Lambert, Keith Taylor and Molly Scott Cato.

The book – which can be downloaded for free – brings together academics, journalists, campaigners and Green MEPs from across the EU to chart and analyse two decades of Green achievements. Contributors to the book include environmentalist Tony Juniper, the University of Strathclyde’s Wolfgang Rüdig, Make Votes Matter’s Klina Jordan and Owen Winter and former Green Party leader Natalie Bennett.

Caroline Lucas, Green Party MP for Brighton Pavilion, said:

“I am proud of the contribution that Green MEPs from the UK made to the European Union in our 20 years there. In an increasingly divided political world, we fought for what was right, and we did so while swimming against the tide more often than not.

Greens for a Better Europe highlights what our Party can achieve when the electoral system is not stacked against us, and when we work closely with our European neighbours in pursuit of shared, ambitious, green goals.”

Jean Lambert, Green MEP for London, said:

“Over the past two decades, the UK’s Green MEPs have led on many issues that other parties have only just begun to recognise, and on which they are still far behind.

This book gives an insight into how the Greens have worked with colleagues, across party lines, to make Europe a safer, healthier and greener place.

These pages also make it dazzlingly clear that the British political system is broken. The UK’s approach, which treats compromise as a dirty word, now threatens to undermine the rights and protections we have fought so hard for. British politicians have a huge amount to learn from their European neighbours about how politics can, and should, be done.”

Keith Taylor, Green MEP for the South East of England, said:

“UK Greens have been making a difference in the EU for two decades now. That we’re reflecting on that fact as Britain hurtles towards a catastrophic Brexit is beyond bittersweet.

Greens for a Better Europe is loaded with success stories that demonstrate what we can achieve when we work together with our European partners and friends to improve the lives of 500 million citizens across Britain and the EU.

Brexit is a disaster. This book will inevitably put the spotlight on exactly what we have to lose. But it also sets out a vision for how Greens can maintain our internationalist efforts to collaborate with our allies across Europe, and the world, to tackle the biggest crises facing our planet today.”

Molly Scott Cato, Green MEP for South West England and Gibraltar, added:

“Greens in the European Parliament have always punched well above our weight. Our influence has far exceeded the size of our electoral support. This is proof that the radical ideas we put forward on a green economy and sustainable finance; the precautionary principle and a more equal society, are in fact common sense proposals that work for the common good and are therefore hard to oppose.

It is also fair to say that we would not have witnessed the influence of the UK’s Green MEPs had it not been for the proportional system used for European elections. It is ironic that ‘take back control’ could end the most democratic national elections the UK has ever seen.

We live in a world that is increasingly interconnected. We cannot solve global problems like climate breakdown and corporate tax avoidance as one country. In our globalised economy we need to work together, as Europeans and as global citizens, to find just and sustainable solutions.”

“If we don’t change we will perish. Only the Greens truly recognise this. Strong Green Party voices at every level of government are vital.”

Sir Mark Rylance (Actor, theatre producer and director) – “I can say with confidence that the power of Greens and their ideas in politics have never been more essential.”

Tony Juniper (Campaigner and environmentalist) – “England’s Green MEPs have been among the highest profile and most effective MEPs, so far as civil society is concerned.”

Nick Dearden (Director, Global Justice Now) – “England’s Green MEPs have been among the highest profile and most effective MEPs, so far as civil society is concerned.” 

Notes:​​

Title: Greens for a Better Europe; Twenty Years of UK Green Influence in the European Parliament, 1999-2019
Editor: Liam Ward
Publication: 7th March 2019
Formats: Paperback, ePub and iPDF
ISBN: 978 1 907994 88 3
Price: FREE

Authors: Caroline Lucas, Tony Juniper, Keith Taylor, Molly Scott Cato, Jean Lambert, Reinhard Butikofer, Wolfgang Rudig, Samir Jeraj, Natalie Bennett, Klina Jordan, Owen Winter.

Distributors: Barnett’s of Wadhurst; Griffin Books, Penarth; Philip Howard Books, Leeds; Chepstow Books & Gifts; News from Nowhere, Liverpool; Five Leaves Bookshop, Nottingham; Stoke Newington Bookshop, London; The Book House, Oxfordshire; Warwick Books; Housmans, London; City Books, Hove, Five Leaves Bookshop, Nottingham

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Jean Lambert, London’s Green MEP, has written a blog post for Heinrich Boell Stiftung Europe: ‘Staring into the Brexit Void’.

In the article, Jean explores the current state of play of Brexit, possible next steps, and what the EU can do to help.

Read the blog post in full below, or on Heinrich Boell Stiftung’s website.

Staring into the Brexit void

Next week, on 14th February, MPs are expected to return to the House of Commons for another ‘meaningful vote’ on Theresa May’s vision for Brexit.

It’s hard to fathom a less fitting way to mark Valentine’s Day. If the Prime Minister gets her way, the UK will finally embark on an agreed pathway towards ending its mutually beneficial relationship with the EU – an arrangement which has helped bring relative peace to Europe, and enabled millions to live, love and work in 27 other countries.

The debate will also once again focus the attention of the world’s media on the UK’s deep-rooted domestic problems. It will expose the tribal nature of British politics, the vulnerability of our electoral system to abuse and manipulation, and the deep cracks in our unwritten constitution.

Yet, at the end of the day, the event is likely to leave us with more questions than answers. Here’s why.

What is the current state of play?

Brexit is stuck in a rut, with Parliament unable to find a majority for any single route ahead.

During the last ‘meaningful vote’, on 15th January, MPs overwhelmingly rejected Theresa May’s Brexit deal – the only agreement she could possibly have reached within the confines of her self-imposed red lines.
For a brief moment, it was encouraging to see a slim majority of MPs vote to take a catastrophic ‘no deal’ off the table. Yet they failed to turn this sentiment into action, voting against another proposal which would have granted them the power to make it a reality.

Meanwhile, the Tories united around an amendment seeking to replace the Irish backstop with “alternative arrangements”, and secured a majority of the House. Yet in failing to outline what these “arrangements” might look like, their only achievement is to push the UK closer the precipice of a ‘no deal’ cliff edge without a defined plan of action.

What happens next?

The EU has been extremely consistent in its message: it is not prepared to reopen negotiations over the Withdrawal Agreement or make any concessions over the Irish backstop.

Once Theresa May finally takes this on board, she will be left with just three options: exit the EU with ‘no deal’, revoke Article 50 altogether, or extend Article 50 to buy more time.

In any sensible world, the Government would immediately rule out leaving the EU without a deal. Yet, sadly, any semblance of ‘sense’ appears to have departed from our Conservative Government years ago. With each day that passes, it looks increasingly likely that Theresa May will plough the country off a ‘no deal’ cliff edge on 29 March, despite the immense (and rapidly growing) body of evidence proving this would be an immense act of self-harm.

Meanwhile, any Government that was truly acting in the national interest would heed the results of its own impact assessments, hold its hands up, and admit that Brexit was an ill thought-out project that will cause irrevocable harm to the country and its citizens. It would immediately revoke Article 50 and stop this madness.
Unfortunately, given that neither of these options appears likely, there is only one viable path ahead: pressing the ‘pause’ button on Brexit by extending Article 50.

Contrary to what you’ll hear from some British MPs, the UK can’t simply demand an Article 50 extension. It will have to ask the European Council for one, and all 27 Member States must agree to the request unanimously.
At this juncture, it would be entirely understandable if some Member States just wanted the troublesome UK to take its coat and leave the club, regardless of the storm brewing outside. Yet, throughout this Brexit saga, the EU’s 27 Member States have shown incredible unity and the will to reach an agreement. The bloc seems unlikely to give up on this now.

However, Member States have also been clear that they will only consider extending Article 50 if it fits with their own strategic interests. In other words, the EU is unlikely to grant an extension so that the Government can continue searching for unicorns on the Irish border. It will want to see the UK Parliament agree on a workable blueprint to solve this impasse. This could look like more time to prepare for leaving the UK with ‘no deal’, to implement new technologies on the Irish border, a general election, or – what I believe is now the only viable option – putting the question back to the electorate in the form of a People’s Vote.

What can the EU do to help?

When it comes to big questions about the future relationship between the UK and the EU, it’s worth bearing in mind that both are restricted by Theresa May’s red lines – a set of rules heavily influenced by the most hard-line Leavers in the Tory Party. This leaves very little leeway for the “creative” response that the Prime Minister has demanded.

Yet, on a practical level, the EU has been working consistently to try and buffer the damage that will be caused by Brexit – regardless of whether there is a deal or not. For example, last week the Commission published its latest set of contingency measures which could guarantee that those who are covered by EU Social Security Coordination will have their acquired rights upheld by the EU (for example, Brits who spent time working in Germany will not lose out on any pension funds acquired during that time). I am now co-leading on the effort to push this through the European Parliament as quickly as possible, and trust that Member States will cooperate on that. The European Parliament also last week backed rules allowing British nationals to enter the EU visa-free for a stay of up to 90 days, so long as EU nationals travelling to the UK enjoy the same conditions.

But looking at the broader picture, I believe the EU also has an important role to play in seizing control of the conversation around Brexit – pulling it away from the fantasy world inhabited by so many Leavers, and back into the realms of reality.

Despite their swashbuckling talk of “regaining our sovereignty” and “taking back control of our borders”, most British cabinet ministers have spectacularly failed in their duty to outline how Brexit will tangibly impact people’s lives and their futures.

It would not only benefit the UK, but other countries in the run-up to the European Parliament elections in May, if the EU can shout from the rooftops about its immense contribution to citizens’ freedoms, rights and protections.

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Last week, the Home Secretary declared the attempts by desperate refugees to cross the English Channel a ‘major incident’, posing the question: “If you are a genuine asylum seeker why have you not sought asylum in the first safe country that you arrived in?” [1]

Jean Lambert, London’s Green Party MEP, has written an open letter to Sajid Javid to provide some clear answers to this question, and urge him to open more safe, legal pathways for refugees to claim sanctuary in the UK.

Ms Lambert writes: “As Brexit threatens to tear this country apart at the seams, the arrival of a few hundred asylum seekers in Dover does not constitute a ‘major incident’ for the UK. It is, however, a ‘major incident’ for the people who have risked their lives to reach our shores. It’s time that UK policy reflected that.” ​

​Read the letter from Jean Lambert MEP in full below, or in PDF format here.

You can also read the open letter on Metro.co.uk here.

Dear Home Secretary,

Last week, you asked: “If you are a genuine asylum seeker why have you not sought asylum in the first safe country that you arrived in?”
​
As an MEP who has worked on asylum issues for almost 20 years, I can offer an insight into why people are prepared to risk their lives, crossing the Channel in a leaky rubber dinghy, to reach the UK.

Why are refugees coming to the UK?

Some asylum seekers have family members or close friends here in the UK, and are willing to put themselves in harm’s way to be reunited. Many speak English, and hope that their language skills will help them integrate into their new home, find work, and contribute to society.

Others have received an extremely hostile welcome in Europe – whether left to languish in a squalid camp in Greece without adequate medical care, or forced to squat in a disused building in Italy. In northern France, just 21 miles from UK shores, refugees are exposed to regular police violence and brutality – their tents seized, their bones broken, and their faces sprayed with teargas.

While these countries may be considered ‘safe’ for lucky individuals such as you or I, they are not always safe places for people who are forced to flee their homes and arrive in Europe via irregular routes.

The UK has consistently sought to project an image of itself as a place where human rights will be upheld and defended. You, as Home Secretary, have a moral duty to ensure this is the case.

How should the Home Office respond?

Firstly, the response to this incident must be proportionate. While some 312 refugees arrived on the coast of Kent in small boats in 2018, a total of 116,295 arrived by sea to Italy, Greece, Spain and Cyprus. Tragically, more than 2,000 didn’t make it – reported dead or missing. These stark figures make it clear there is no ‘refugee crisis’ in the UK, and Home Office rhetoric must reflect this.

Secondly, if the Home Office truly prioritises the safety of people making these dangerous journeys, it should take full advantage of its resettlement schemes – currently the only safe, legal routes to claim asylum here in the UK.

It is extremely alarming that only 20 unaccompanied children have been resettled in the UK over the past two years under the Vulnerable Children’s Resettlement Scheme, which allows for the transfer of 3,000 vulnerable young people from conflict zones. Meanwhile the Dubs scheme sits collecting dust, having transferred just 220 of its target 480 children to safe homes here in the UK.

The UK can and should do better than this, as evidenced by the resounding success of the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme, which has found new homes for more than 11,000 people displaced by the conflict in Syria.

Additionally, the UK could show solidarity with the EU Member States who are under particular pressure, such as Greece, Italy and Spain. There is no requirement under the Dublin III Regulation to return people to the first ‘safe’ country they arrived in – a Member State can say it will deal with the claim of asylum seekers who have moved on, rather than return them. The UK could also have offered to participate in the EU’s relocation proposals, which would have helped reduce the waiting time for a decision on an individual’s asylum application, rather than forcing them to put their lives on hold in refugee camps.

Finally, the Home Office needs to think innovatively in order to prevent vulnerable people dying at sea. For example, it could introduce a humanitarian visa system – as the European Parliament voted to establish last month – which would allow asylum seekers to apply for visas at embassies and consulates, rather than embarking on treacherous journeys in rickety boats.

I enclose two of the Greens/EFA’s recent publications on these issues:

1) ‘The Green Alternative to the Dublin System’ (which has helped inform the European Parliament’s proposals for a revised Dublin system)

2) ‘The EU-Turkey Statement and the Greek Hotspots’ (which explains why some asylum seekers feel they cannot stay in their first country of arrival, ands set out our proposals for a new, humane EU asylum policy).

As Brexit threatens to tear this country apart at the seams, the arrival of a few hundred asylum seekers in Dover does not constitute a ‘major incident’ for the UK. It is, however, a ‘major incident’ for the people who have risked their lives to reach our shores. It’s time that UK policy reflected that.

Yours sincerely,

Jean Lambert MEP

Notes:

[1]  https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jan/02/people-crossing-channel-not-genuine-asylum-seekers-javid

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Today the Cabinet approved Theresa May’s negotiated Brexit deal. [1] Jean Lambert, London’s Green MEP, slammed the “Frankenstein’s monster of a deal”, warning it will roll-back citizens’ rights, workers’ rights and an array of other protections.

Jean explained:

“We now know what Theresa May really wants to achieve from leaving the EU. It’s not growing the UK’s economy, striking new trade deals, or providing a brighter future for young people – it’s ending free movement, despite the immense body of evidence confirming this is neither logical nor practical.
 
As a direct result, we’ve ended up with a Frankenstein’s monster of a deal, stitched together under two different Brexit Secretaries – both of whom have now dismissed it as an abject failure. It’s a deal that has been carefully crafted to appease the conservatory deregulatory interests that have been driving this entire process from within the Tory Party. Yet, it doesn’t even achieve that.
 
If this agreement is implemented, it will roll-back citizens’ rights, workers’ rights and an array of protections we have fought hard to secure for all EU citizens, in exchange for a flimsy free trade agreement that satisfies no one.
 
Meanwhile, the Labour Party continues to bicker and stare at this open goal rather than doing its job, and providing an opposition.
 
The British people deserve better than this. I stand with the growing proportion of the population who demand a People’s Vote.”

Notes:

[1] https://www.politico.eu/article/draft-uk-cabinet-approves-draft-brexit-deal-free-version/

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Today Jean joined an estimated 700,000 people in London to march for a People’s Vote on the final Brexit deal.

The march is thought to be the largest anti-Brexit demonstration since the referendum in 2016, and the biggest since a million people took to the streets to protest against the Iraq War in 2003.

The demonstration set off from Park Lane and finished at Parliament Square, where politicians including Green Party MP Caroline Lucas addressed the crowd.

Jean Lambert, London’s Green Party MEP, said:

“With each day that passes, it becomes increasingly clear that much of Vote Leave’s campaign was pure theatrics – built on nothing but lies and false promises. The curtain has now been pulled away to reveal the brutal reality of Brexit. Nobody voted to be poorer, to have their access to life-saving medicines restricted or for workers’ rights to be snatched away.
 
As a result, the impetus for a People’s Vote is growing stronger and stronger each day. Together, we can revive British democracy, and ensure that the Tory Government prioritises the national interest rather than its own survival.
 
I urge everyone to sign the petition, and to write to your MP demanding a People’s Vote on the final Brexit deal. I’ll have a vote on this in the European Parliament. It’s only right that you also have a say on a deal that will change the face of this country for generations to come.”

Please take two minutes to email your MP and urge them to support a People’s Vote using the template provided.

You can also sign the petition calling for a People’s Vote here.

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Jean Lambert – Green MEP for London – this morning received a standing ovation at Green Party Conference following her warning that a “dangerous mix of big government, big money and bad science is putting the future of our planet on the line”.

In what may well be Ms Lambert’s final Conference speech, after nearly 20 years as London’s Green MEP, she reminded the Party how much is at stake in the next European Elections (23-26 May 2019), explaining: “Whether we are still within the EU or have committed this act of total political folly and left: we will be affected by the outcome, as will millions of others.”

As the UK prepares to lose its 73 seats in the European Parliament (of which 6 are within the Greens/EFA group), Ms Lambert encouraged the Party to support its Green colleagues in Europe in order to fight the “forces of narrow nationalism and right-wing populism” which threaten the cohesion of our societies and the very future of our planet.

She added: “I do not want to see more seats going to populist, right-wing, xenophobic parties that claim an ethno-superiority and that climate change is a hoax. I want more seats going to Greens who believe we can have a positive common future based on solidarity and respect for ourselves and the planet. I want our Party to play its role in helping that happen.”

Jean Lambert MEP’s full speech to the Green Party Conference, October 2018:

This is possibly my last speech to a Green Party Conference.

I want to thank those who work for us, worked to get us elected, and the voters who put their trust in us.

My speech usually takes place just before a European Election, which will be held next year from 23rd to 26th May. I would have loved to hand over my speaking slot today to a probable successor after my 20 wonderful years in the European Parliament.

Unfortunately, this won’t happen, thanks to a referendum held to save the Tories from UKIP. It’s thanks to a totally incompetent Government, backed by a weak Parliament, and a campaign built on lies. For example, there’s no Brexit dividend for the NHS. Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn please take note: the NHS is already paying a penalty in terms of staff lost, it faces a shortage of life-saving treatments because of the Government’s failure to sign-off on a patient-first approach, and now big pharma is sniffing around future trade deals.

As an outcome of that referendum result, Keith, Molly and I recently found ourselves voting on the proposals as to how to distribute the UK’s 73 seats in the European Parliament after we are due to leave on March 29th next year. It was one of the saddest votes I’ve ever taken part in.

This poses difficulties for the Greens/EFA Group, which will also lose 6 of its 52 members in the European Parliament – the 3 of us, plus Plaid and SNP.

It also poses challenges for The Green Party of England and Wales. We will need to do some serious thinking as to how we replace the political weight and profile we have had through being in the European Parliament.

The Green Party will want to support our Green colleagues in those next European Parliament elections. One way we could help is by engaging with the many EU27 citizens living in the UK, who will be able to vote in their former home countries next year. We can persuade them to vote Green.

The Party will also need to work on keeping and developing the strong links we have with Green parties across the EU and beyond. After all, we did help found the European Green Party. We will rely on the International Committee and the Association of Green Councillors, amongst others, to continue developing these strong international connections. We should remember that Andy Cooper will also have to step down from his role on the EU’s Committee of the Regions.

Greens are really needed now, when you look at what is happening within the EU and across the world.

As a truly international movement, we know that tackling many of today’s challenges requires co-operation and action across borders: climate change;
protecting our environment from waste and pollution; safeguarding the global commons; promoting and upholding human rights; tackling transnational corporations and international finance; promoting democracy, good governance and the rule-of-law; protecting those affected by war or natural disasters; fighting organised crime, including human trafficking; and closing the gaps between rich and poor, within and between different countries.

This does not mean Governments bear no individual responsibility. After all, if the UK Government wanted to make the world a safer place and find millions to invest in the NHS or in improving public health, unilateral nuclear disarmament would be a good place to start.

We have only to look at the Sustainable Development Goals, which are our national goals – whether in the EU or not – and ask how many of them will be met by unilateral action alone.

Yet Greens are under attack by forces of narrow nationalism and right-wing populism who consider that our views on inclusive, open societies threaten national culture and identity.

One of the clearest examples of this is taking place in Hungary right now, in the Hungarian Government’s 20 million euro press campaign against Guy Verhofstadt, George Soros and Judith Sargentini – the brilliant Dutch Green MEP who drafted the European Parliament’s critical report on the failure of the Hungarian Government under Viktor Orban to uphold key democratic rights and freedoms. The vast majority of the European Parliament voted in favour of this report, and taking meaningful action against Orban’s Government. It’s shameful that most Tory MEPs chose to support his repressive, autocratic regime.

What Orban and others like him fail to admit is that culture is not static, nor is it frozen in time and power relationships. As I reminded a Swedish Democrat recently (who now sits with the Tories in the European Parliament!) if culture didn’t change, no women – including her – would be sitting in any Parliament in Europe.

These right-wing populists tell us that migration contaminates national identity. They accuse the Greens of welcoming refugees. This is true, we’re proud of it. We should welcome people who need to flee oppression and violence. But we certainly don’t welcome the circumstances that force them to move. Greens passionately believe that we should be creating a world where no one is forced to leave their home.

Yes, we are pro-migration as a genuine choice: because we need to see people treated with dignity and on an equal basis. Free movement in the EU (and similar developments in other parts of the world) makes this an option and marks a real shift in the power relationship between migrants and the state. People choose to move, people choose their employer, people choose to change their employer, people choose to bring (or start) a family, and they don’t have to meet a salary threshold to do it. This is a reciprocal right. Millions from the UK exercise those rights elsewhere in the European Union because they choose to.

That’s not to say everything works perfectly – it’s certainly not helped by a Government who didn’t recognise early enough that free movement needs management, and who choose not to protect low-paid workers, who slash local authority resources and deliberately create a hostile environment that poisons people’s lives and our communities. We’re now seeing deliberate efforts to splinter our societies and split groups apart.

It’s a populist tactic. You try and split off those who are seen as different in some way – whether that’s migrants, homeless people, minorities in general – and attack the organisations that defend them. Then you politicise the organs of the state that should be impartial and stifle the independence of the press. It’s a checklist to bear in mind.

As Greens, we should also be concerned about those alt-right, populist movements who portray climate change as contested science and a conspiracy of the liberal elite – that’s us. Trump’s decisions to take the USA out of the Paris agreement, strangle the powers of the Environmental Protection Agency and let big fossil fools (sorry, fuels) rip been described as a potential crime against humanity (I will not start a chant of ‘lock him up’).

But Trump is not alone in looking after the interests of the fossil fuel and nuclear industries (we also have our problems in the EU). My Hungarian Green colleague Benedek Javor, has pointed out that: “We see a pattern of populist governments clearly opposing ambitious climate and energy regulations, which is in line with the primary Russian economic interest: exporting fossil fuel and nuclear technology.”

Sounds melodramatic, doesn’t it?

But this dangerous mix of big government, big money and bad science, is really putting the future of our planet on the line. Our populist colleagues cooperate across borders, and so must Greens in our work for the common good.

We can do this in a number of ways, some of which I’ve already mentioned: but we need to really use the information and expertise we have between us – not just in publicising our successes as the European Green Party’s excellent latest short film does, but in terms of our policies and how we express our ideas.

We need to win the arguments for renewables, energy and water conservation, and “green” towns and cities. We need to show that we care about decent jobs and “a just transition” in our workplaces, as advocated by the UN. We need to show that inclusive societies are the way forward, and that means cooperation not division. And we have to do this locally and internationally.

Because it’s not a choice, Prime Minister. We must act local, think global – and vice versa. As Greens, we see how these connect. I consider myself a citizen of the world – a citizen of everywhere.

So, I say again, the next European Parliament elections really matter. Whether we are still within the EU or have committed this act of total political folly and left: we will be affected by the outcome, as will millions of others.

I do not want to see more seats going to populist, right-wing, xenophobic parties that claim an ethno-superiority and that climate change is a hoax. I want more seats going to Greens who believe we can have a positive common future based on solidarity and respect for ourselves and the planet. I want our Party to play its role in helping that happen.

We have an old slogan worth re-using – Join together: Make a future.

The post Jean Lambert MEP warns Party Conference that populism “puts our planet on the line” appeared first on Jean Lambert MEP.

Green MEPs have written to the Environment Secretary Michael Gove calling for a ban on the country’s most-used weedkiller after a scientific study reveals the harm it causes to precarious bee populations.

A groundbreaking study by biologists from the University of Texas demonstrated how glyphosate, the active ingredient in the most widely used pesticides in the world, is linked to increased mortality of honey bee colonies [1].

Glyphosate has also been classified as ‘probably carcinogenic’ [2] to humans by the World Health Organisation, and Monsanto, the world’s biggest glyphosate producer, was recently forced to pay out a record £300m in compensation to a US man who developed cancer after being exposed to the weedkiller [3].

The latest available stats show that more than 2,000 tonnes of glyphosate-containing pesticides were sprayed on crops across the UK in 2016 [4]. Meanwhile, bee populations in Britain, which provide a vital pollinator function, have shown a marked decline over the last thirty years.

The overwhelming scientific evidence linking another pesticide, neonicotinoids, with bee mortality led to a push by the EU to ban the use of substances and prompted Michael Gove to commit to banning its use in Britain [5].

UK Green MEPs have written to Mr Gove in light of the latest evidence, asking on the Defra Secretary to also urgently ban the use of glyphosate [6]

Jean Lambert, MEP for London, said:

“It is time to listen to the science and listen to the citizens. Just a few weeks ago, thousands of people joined the ‘Walk for Wildlife’; people in Britain and across the EU are no longer willing to stand by as our precious wildlife is destroyed. For that reason, glyphosate is another bee-killing pesticide that must go the way of neonicotinoids. And that is to say nothing of the carcinogenic threat the toxic weedkiller poses to human health.”

Keith Taylor, MEP for the South East, the animal rights spokesperson for the Green Party of England and Wales and a member of the European Parliament’s Environment and Public Health Committee, said:

“It is shameful that the evident risk to human health and the already established threats to soil health hasn’t yet moved the government to take action to end the use of glyphosate. Quite the opposite, in fact; the UK has consistently blocked attempts by MEPs to block the deadly pesticide.”

“But with Michael Gove’s fondness for bees, we can only hope this latest study will be the turning point and be the final nail in the coffin for this toxic weedkiller.”

More than one million European citizens have signed a petition calling for a ban on glyphosate [7]. Molly Scott Cato, MEP for the South West and a member of the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee, added:

“So far Michael Gove’s so-called ‘Green Brexit’ plans have not involved any suggestion of phasing out glyphosate. In fact, the emphasis on increasing yield while reducing carbon emissions suggests that Gove may favour the ‘min-till’ system of agriculture that abandons ploughing and relies heavily on glyphosate. But there is nothing green about the use of a chemical associated with a wide range of adverse health effects in humans, farm animals and wildlife. This latest study only proves the importance of an urgent transition towards non-chemical methods of dealing with weeds and pests. It would bee [sic] remiss of Mr Gove not to act.”

Notes to the editor

[1] DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1803880115
[2] https://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/iarcnews/2016/glyphosate_IARC2016.php
[3] https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/aug/10/monsanto-trial-cancer-dewayne-johnson-ruling
[4] Pesticide Usage Stats, Fera https://secure.fera.defra.gov.uk/pusstats/myindex.cfm
[5] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/nov/09/uk-will-back-total-ban-on-bee-harming-pesticides-michael-gove-reveals
[6] http://www.jeanlambertmep.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/document.pdf
[7] https://greennews.ie/petition-signed-1-3-million-calling-ban-glyphosate-delivered-european-commission/

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