Some of these are news items, others are commentary and opinions. I thought they were all interesting, but inclusion here doesn’t mean I fully agree with everything. (I hate that I feel the need to include a disclaimer for something so obvious to a sensible person!)
Dentists: the Green Party has pledged to restore full access to NHS dentistry, ending "dental deserts". Elected Greens would push for a new contract for NHS dentists that is backed by an additional £3bn for the dentistry budget by 2030. Co-leader Adrian Ramsay said it's a "national outrage" that children are being admitted to hospital for tooth decay, adding that "prevention is much better than treatment". [Note: of some personal interest to me!]
Crime: jails will run out of space within days, putting the public at risk, the body representing 95% of prison governors in England and Wales is warning political leaders. [Note: the Green Party manifesto wants a massive increase in restorative justice rather than imprisonment for minor crimes. Graffiti a wall? You have to repaint it. “Green MPs will expand restorative justice when crimes do take place, both to give victims a voice and to help offenders take responsibility for the harm they have done”]
Assange: “You Saved Julian Assange” and “It was the media, led by the Guardian, that kept Julian Assange behind bars”
Cruelty: the UK faces the prospect of more polluting US-style “megafarms” under a Labour government, after the party failed to make any manifesto pledges to restrict their growth. Only the Green Party has a clear pledge to ban factory farming in its manifesto, inews reports.
Palestine: “Dear Child: Full Short Film” and “Gaza pier: The $320 million sadistic American Rube Goldberg machine”
Environment: at least 97% of corals on a reef in the Great Barrier Reef’s north died during one of the worst coral bleaching events the world’s biggest reef system has ever seen, according to new analysis.
Environment: protecting just 1.2% of the Earth’s surface for nature would be enough to prevent the extinction of the world’s most threatened species, according to a new study.
Politics: former Green MP Caroline Lucas appeared on BBC News at Ten (10.15 in) to respond to the leaders' debate. Caroline said: "I think it was the narrowness of the debate which was most shocking and that is what happens when you leave out all the other parties from the debate. We had a conspiracy of silence from the two main parties on some of the key issues like the climate crisis, like the situation in Gaza, nobody standing up for free movement. What we had was two men basically tying to out compete each other to be as cruel as possible to some of the most vulnerable people." Caroline’s comments were carried across the BBC local radio morning headlines.
Propaganda: “The Exercise Of Imagination” and “There’s No New Cold War”
Farming: the Farmers Guardian takes a look at the party manifestos and noted the Green party "had outlined seven ways it could support NFU's manifesto". It said the Greens offered "financial support for farmers to be almost tripled to support their transition to nature-friendly farming."
Ukraine: “If Everyone Understood That The US Deliberately Provoked This War”
Environment: the number of climate lawsuits filed against companies around the world is rising swiftly, and a majority of cases that have concluded have been successful, according to the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment. Here are a few examples I received from Friends of the Earth: Horse Hill: “Historic win as Supreme Court upholds landmark climate case”; “Gas caverns: N Ireland campaigners win Larne Lough legal challenge”; “Landmark High Court judgment finds government’s climate plan ‘unlawful’ – again”.
Promoted by Harriet King on behalf of the Green Party both at The Gate, Keppoch Street, Cardiff CF24 3JW.