Brighton MP secures first Commons debate on a ‘wellbeing economy’

Brighton Pavilion’s Green MP Caroline Lucas has secured the first ever parliamentary debate on a “wellbeing economy”.

She said: “It is crucial that we shift to an economy that puts a stop to growth at the expense of our health, happiness and safety.

“We urgently need a wellbeing economy – one designed with the purpose of serving the wellbeing of people and the planet first and foremost. One that will deliver social justice on a healthy planet.”

The hour-long debate has been scheduled to take place in Westminster Hall tomorrow (Tuesday 30 November) from 4.30pm to 5.30pm.

It follows an e-petition to Parliament calling for a shift to a wellbeing economy signed by almost 68,000 people.

More than 2,400 of those who signed the petition were from Brighton and Hove’s three Commons constituencies, with more than 2,600 people from other Sussex constituencies adding their support.

Caroline Lucas said previously: “At the root of the climate and nature crisis, we face an economic system which prioritises short-term profit and GDP growth above anything else.

“As an economic model, continuous GDP growth clearly isn’t working. It needs to change to one whose primary goal is the health of people and planet, which is what most people want in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We can do that by setting aside GDP growth as the key target of government policy-making and making wellbeing our main economic goal – of people, communities and our natural world.

“A radical Green New Deal would transform our economy and society so that we can simultaneously avert the climate and nature crises, redistribute wealth and reverse inequality. It is the best way to build back better after coronavirus.”