A report published this week shows that AI lobbyists have had an huge and unequal access to government over the last two years compared to any others. 84% of ministerial stakeholder meetings on data centres were with business or private-sector trade associations whereas ministers met with no environmental NGOs and not a single community group prior to designation of an AI Growth Zone.
The report comes as questions remain about the protections for water, energy and climate impacts contained in Chancellor John Healey’s announcement of a data centre covenant which was broadly welcomed by the AI industry in a context of escalating opposition to data centres across the UK.
Rachel MiIlward, deputy leader of the Green Party of England and Wales. CC image.
Rachel Millward, Green Party Deputy Leader said:
“Labour is diving headfirst into AI without a roadmap, charmed by corporate lobbyists while community and green voices are shut out. We need to slam the brakes on new data centres before they drain our water supplies and wreck the UK’s carbon budget.
“When policy is written by corporations, decisions benefit shareholder profits rather than the public good. It’s a dangerous lack of oversight, proven by a recent FOI showing the government doesn’t even know what current data centres are being used for.”
Report authors Spotlight on Corruption also highlight that not a single environmental group sits on the government’s AI Energy Council even though the group has a mandate “to support the use of sustainable energy to power AI” and that the group met only once in the 17 months from its establishment in January 2025 to July 2026.
Green party leader Zack Polanski (Green Party of England and Wales). Image: Bristol Green Party Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.
Greens call on government to remove datacentres from full expensing tax relief scheme to bring forward an additional £5 billion in corporation tax across 2027-2029
They say this could be used to increase the Warm Homes Discount by up to £500 for those with highest energy needs
Leader Polanski says the government should be prioritising lowering bills over handouts for big tech at Autumn Budget next week
The Green Party has called on the government to end certain tax reliefs for datacentres and use the money to fund support for energy bills this winter, as households are expected to see bills rise by over £271 in January – the biggest jump in four years.
The Greens say that by removing datacentres from ‘full expensing’ tax relief, the Treasury could bring forward an additional £5 billion extra in corporation tax across 2027-2029. This could be used to increase the Warm Homes Discount from £150 to up to £650 to support 5.6 million households facing a spike in their energy bills.
There are currently around 500 datacentres in the UK but their number is expected to expand by more than a third. Last week, the Chief Executive of Ofgem warned that datacentres could push up household energy bills even further.
Earlier this year the Green Party called for an immediate end to the blanket designation of new datacentres as ‘critical infrastructure’ and tighter planning rules to prevent a rash of new datacentres taking precedence over households for water and energy usage.
Green Party leader Zack Polanski said:
“Right now the government is allowing big tech giants and energy-guzzling datacentres to kick their tax obligations down the road while families are being stretched to breaking point by ever-rising energy bills.
“This is wrong. The government’s priority at the Budget next week should be supporting families this winter as temperatures drop and bills spike.
“Ending full expensing tax relief for datacentres would free up £5 billion – money that could be used to fund immediate support for households struggling with their energy bills.”
This is part of a broader package of measures the Green Party are calling for at the Autumn Budget, which they say could raise over £60 billion to fund urgent cost of living measures. The Green Party Leadership, MPs and Peers have today written to the Chancellor laying out their full proposals, which include:
Aligning rates of Capital Gains Tax with Income Tax and closing loopholes, to raise an additional £19.7 billion annually by 2030.
Applying National Insurance to investment income, in line with employment income, to raise at least £6.1 billion per year.
Introducing an annual wealth tax of 1% on assets over £10 million, and 2% over £1 billion, to raise at least £14.8 billion.
Introducing a proper windfall tax of 38% on the UK’s biggest banks, to raise at least £19 billion.
ANDY BURNHAM was warned against pushing young people into “any job available” today after he pledged “big changes” to reduce the welfare bill.
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Writing in The Times, he said that every young person will be guaranteed a “high-quality technical pathway, work placements, apprenticeships and the skills and experience they need to secure a good job” with “timely, high-quality mental health support” available.
But that will be matched by an “expectation that young people will take up the opportunities made available to them”, Mr Burnham said.
Public and Commercial Services union general secretary Fran Heathcote told the Morning Star: “Creating opportunities for young people is welcome, but apprenticeships and placements are only meaningful if they lead to decent, secure jobs with proper pay and progression.
“Young people need more than a foot on the career ladder — they need a realistic chance to build a future.
“The answer to youth unemployment cannot be to cut benefits and push people into any job available.
“The government must invest in genuine employment support, good-quality jobs and the public services that provide thousands of career opportunities for young people.”
Green Party deputy co-leader Mothin Ali also accused Labour of planning a “welfare cuts charter that would take support away from young people who are already struggling and vulnerable.”
The Green Party’s revised transport policy, approved at its Autumn Conference, sets out a radical programme to transform transport in England & Wales. The proposed measures would aim to reduce carbon emissions by around 75% within a decade by reducing travel and expanding electrification of all modes. The party says the measures would also hugely reduce transport’s impacts on road danger and health while delivering a more equitable society.
Among a raft of ambitious initiatives, the policies include:
Transforming road and public transport – A step change away from car dependency, with major investment in better buses and rail. It aims for a 50% increase in rail travel and more frequent and reliable bus services, connecting homes with jobs, education, shops, healthcare. The policy also opposes almost all new road building.
Making Active Travel the natural choice – Safe, high-quality walking, wheeling and cycling networks, using road space reallocated from private motor vehicles. The policy aims for at least half of journeys in England’s towns and cities to be by active travel within five years, compared to a third in 2025.
Fairer and cleaner aviation – Reduce demand for passenger and freight flights, halt airport expansion, and ensure those who take the most polluting and unnecessary flights contribute the most. The policy specifically targets private jets, premium-class travel, and frequent flyers, while supporting cleaner alternatives and sustainable aviation.
Green Party parliamentary spokesperson on transport, Sian Berry MP, said:
“For too long transport policy has focused on moving vehicles rather than enabling people to get where they need to go. Our new policy is about giving everyone genuine choices – reliable and affordable public transport, safe walking, wheeling and cycling, and communities where owning a car isn’t a prerequisite for participating fully in society.
“We also need to tackle transport’s contribution to the climate crisis in an equitable and fair way. That means providing attractive alternatives to car and air travel, moving more freight onto rail and electrification. Those responsible for the most polluting and unnecessary journeys, including users of private jets and frequent flyers, will make the greatest contribution.”
Co-convenors of the policy, Jeremy Drew and Mark Strong, said:
“We have worked hard with an expert team of professionals and academics to revise our policy. It sets out measures to achieve a 75% reduction in transport carbon emissions within ten years, while making it easier for people and businesses to choose cleaner and healthier alternatives, which will improve not just transport but wider society.”
The Green Party passed a landmark motion defining Zionism as a form of racism at their national conference in Brighton. | Gary Roberts/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images
The Green Party’s ‘Zionism is Racism’ motion proves that uncompromising left-wing pressure is successfully shifting Labour’s stance on Gaza.
Taking aim at those campaigning against the genocide in Gaza, the new foreign secretary, Ed Miliband, declared at the Labour Party Conference: “You were right”. This acknowledgement followed a promise to “reset” the government’s stance on Israel, including taking bolder action on illegal settlements in the West Bank.
Many of us know this is not nearly enough – for instance, there has been no halting or slowing of arms exports to Israel – but it is, at least, a welcome change in rhetoric from that of the unflinchingly genocidal Starmer government. And it has only happened because there is now a substantial threat to Labour from the left: the Greens.
The extent to which this threat has spread fear amongst the media and political establishment can be seen in the backlash against the Green Party’s ‘Zionism is Racism’ motion. No matter that the motion was voted in by rank-and-file party members through a democratic process – something that could never currently happen in the other major parties – it has been used by the right against Zack Polanski during the Holborn and St Pancras by-election.
The Greens did not win the by-election, but they did well against an entrenched Labour Party machine in Camden. Indeed, they built on the work done by my independent campaign in 2024 to further eat away at the Labour majority. The cooperation between the Camden People’s Alliance and the Greens has confirmed that Holborn and St Pancras is no longer a safe Labour seat. We have proved that the tireless campaigning of local people, independents, small parties and groups working ecumenically can have a considerable electoral impact.
Of course, the motion has created strategic difficulties for the Green Party, and an ideological distance has been created between a number of Green elected representatives, especially the MPs. This is the difficulty of a growing party, and one finding its place in the political landscape.
The Greens have engaged in an identity shift since Polanski was elected leader last year. Many ask whether the Greens should be a party focused exclusively on electoral gain, or primarily be a political megaphone? This is too simplistic an analysis.
The Green Party’s position on Palestine has reflected a wider debate in the country, which questions the validity of the Starmer government’s attitude to the genocide. The Greens are helping to push the new Labour government’s position further: the government’s rhetoric has changed, but the substance of the policy has not (yet). It is not an easy debate to have, but the debate around the motion has had an impact in shifting public opinion. The shift on the genocide mirrors debates around rent controls, wealth taxes and public ownership.
What is clear is that as the public is repeatedly let down by the major political parties, politics continues to fluctuate. The political establishment knows this, but does not have a convincing answer to it. And so, they tried to use the ‘Zionism is Racism’ motion to smear Polanski as he stood in the key by-election in Holborn and St Pancras.
The reality is that, as the only Jewish candidate, Polanski had already identified himself as anti-Zionist in a recent hustings held by the Board of Deputies of British Jews. This also resulted in a backlash, one which no doubt impacted who voted for him. In addition, there are some on the left who simply will not support the Greens, regardless of Polanski’s stance on the motion.
All these factors make it difficult to predict how the current trajectory of the Green Party will express itself electorally, and what position it will occupy in the political landscape going forward. Of course, the focus on electoral gains has made many green parties across Europe part of the political establishment. Equally, concentrating on being only a “megaphone” does not go far enough to change the character of state power. I would like to see the emergence of a class politics which takes a national form – something that the Labour Party has historically claimed to do, but failed. Whether or not the Greens can succeed in fulfilling this aim is for time to tell.
We must not forget that Zionism as a political project has been used to justify over a century of Palestinian dispossession and continues to underpin Israel’s genocide in Gaza today. What many people conveniently ignore (particularly the mainstream media and political establishment) is that anti-Zionism is as much, perhaps even more, a Jewish creation than Zionism. To label anti-Zionism as antisemitic is absurd, and intended to shut down meaningful debate about Israel’s indefensible conduct.
Whilst the Green Party establishes its position in British politics beyond a so-called minority party, it is worth remembering that political parties can have influence both within and outside of electoral politics. In fact, it is essential to do both. Capitulating to the current status quo on what is deemed politically “acceptable” is not going to bring about the systemic change that is needed. A parliamentary democracy should respond to voters, not speak to itself and suppress debate.
Whatever your thoughts on the ‘Zionism is Racism’ motion, we have to accept that democracy can be uncomfortable, and these discomforts are a necessary part of progress and of the democratic process itself.
Andrew Feinstein was the Independent Candidate for Holborn and St Pancras constituency in the 2024 General Election. He is Executive Director of Shadow World Investigations and has a new book out, ‘Making a Killing: How the West Profits from Slaughter in Gaza and Yemen’. He is a member of Camden People’s Alliance.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel. New Labour UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham continues Labour party policy of active support and complicity in Israel’s genocide.UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham admits to blatently lying and engaging in deception to become leader of the UK Labour Party and Prime Minister.Ed Miliband says that he and the Labour Party are full of shit criminalising people holding signs as terrorists despite anything he says.
