The Greens made the case for staying in the European Union at an event on Brighton beach this morning (Saturday 2 April).
South East England MEP Keith Taylor, a former member of Brighton and Hove City Council, was joined by Brighton Pavilion MP Caroline Lucas and councillors and campaigners from across the area.
Dr Lucas, a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) before she was elected to the House of Commons, said that the Greens would be “loud and proud” in championing the case for Britain to remain in the EU.
She said: “The Green Party has a unique voice in this debate. We’re going to run a bold, positive campaign in the south east that celebrates what the EU has delivered for the region.
“Here, and across the UK, Green supporters could tip the balance of a referendum that is likely to be very close and that’s why this campaign is so important.
“Not only has the EU brought us key environmental protections and rights at work but it’s been central to securing a lasting peace with this continent after centuries of conflict.”
Mr Taylor, who was in Falmer earlier this week meeting researchers at Brighton University’s state-of-the-art air pollution monitoring station, said: “I am campaigning for the south east to vote remain because I believe that the best way to tackle the collective challenges the UK and Europe face is to work together on shared solutions.
“Issues such as climate change, the health of our oceans and air pollution are particularly relevant here in the south east.
“Crucially, they are issues that show no respect for borders and require collaborative and co-operative solutions.”
South East Green Party chairman Jonathan Essex, a councillor in Surrey, said: “The EU has done such a lot for us – protecting our air quality and cleaning up our beaches, supporting farmers and local businesses, providing funding for our beautiful landscapes and wildlife in the south east.”
Mr Taylor said that the latest statistics suggested that European investment in the region had supported 431 new jobs, improved the performance of 1,911 businesses and allowed 1,826 businesses to make financial savings from improved energy efficiency.
He said that it also helped 1,211 small and medium-sized businesses reduce energy, waste and water usage by 10 per cent and reduced overall CO2 emissions by 40,937 tonnes.
EU investment, he added, was worth a net £14 million to the regional economy.
Voting in the referendum on whether Britain should remain in or leave the EU is due to take place on Thursday 23 June.
They ballsed Brighton up to the point they lost over 50% of their seats on the council while the media junkie increased her vote share , where did they get the money from to put Brighton and Hove in to the top 5 worst places to drive , ? so bad they moved the air pollution monitors – THE EU The dimwit that vowed to “cause havoc ” at work is she ? – OUT OUT OUT
Or rather, the only way that the greens in the UK can have any real impact at all is via the MEPs that are elected by proportional representation. If we leave Europe then the only, solitary, voice of the greens in Parliament will still be just Caroline Lucas – one MP in a group of over 600, and then only likely to keep her seat via the deals being struck with Jeremy Corbyn.
Unfortunately the greens support for staying in Europe is, for me, another reason for voting for a BREXIT.
Easy to hear the Sheeple as they bleat for One World Government and the New World Order drugs/Endless War/Oil terror. Step up Green Party; the modern day equivalent of the EUSSR, bank heist. An organisation so Socialist you can spot the pork barrel in Brussels from Turkey. If you had told people Seventy years ago that graduates of Karl Marx University held power over Britain they would say the UK “defeated the wrong enemy” Maybe they should have just moved the Berlin Wall to Brussels.
It is YOU with a brick wall in your head! I’m not really sure what you are on about but i can read a lot of negativity in your sentences. I wish to see an EU open and inclusive and enriching but Brexit seems to want tall walls and narrows minds…..nah …. shutting the doors and hiding away in a small dark cupboard ….. YUK….. I’m voting REMAIN because …. The Sky stretches on for miles and miles and miles
@Frank – BTW – please can you stop giving Caroline’s title as ‘Dr’ – she is only a doctor of English which she got for writing a thesis on feminism and this has little to do with her ability to stand on the beach and talk to seagulls.
Perhaps you should also highlight that she had a highly privileged upbringing having been educated at a public school followed by many years in academia; never having had a real job; and being a firm supporter of quackery such as homeopathy and crystal magic?
Good points, well-made. I’ve written and asked Frank a number of times to kindly stop referring to the Lucas woman as ‘Dr’, but he continues to do so
What difference does it make where Caroline Lucas was educated ??? What matters is what she does NOW and what she has done in her profession career and what she is going to do in the future as an elected MP, it matters not where her parents sent her to school. MP’s are democratically elected. The Green Party does NOT have a rule where someone cannot join them because of where they were sent to school when they were a child! Don’t be so ignorant!