- Post author:dizzy
- Post published:30 January 2026
- Post category:Airstrip One/Green Party/Neo-liberalism/new authoritarianism/plutocracy/politics/USUK
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Scottish Greens restore links with England and Wales
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/scottish-greens-restore-links-england-and-wales
Green Party leader Zack Polanski (left)attends a protest taking aim at Rachel Reeves’ wealth tax at Parliament Square in London, November 25, 2025SCOTTISH GREENS announced today the party will re-establish formal ties with the Green Party of England & Wales.
The move overturns a 2022 conference decision to step away from the relationship amid a row over alleged transphobia and a lack of respect for devolution among colleagues in England and Wales.
The move to restore formal ties follows a motion to the party council in December in the wake of the election of Zack Polanski as leader down south.
Scottish Green co-leader Ross Greer said: “Zack has made his position on Scottish independence and trans rights absolutely clear and has put equality and democracy at the heart of his leadership.
“Our team are looking forward to working with him to elect a record number of Greens in Scotland, Wales and England next May.”
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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/scottish-greens-restore-links-england-and-wales
BP raking in obscene profits at expense of people and planet
Fossil fuel giant BP is profiteering at the expense of people and planet, say the Scottish Greens. The comments from the party’s climate spokesperson, Patrick Harvie, come as BP has published its profits for Q3 2025.
Earlier this year BP announced that it would cut its renewable energy investments and instead focus on increasing oil and gas production.
Patrick said:
“It has been yet another year of climate chaos around the world, with wildfires and flooding taking a deadly toll.
“Yet times have rarely been better for the polluters and fossil fuel giants who are raking in eye-watering profits while our planet burns and households and families are hammered with escalating bills.
“What makes BP’s profiteering particularly obscene is that they know the damage they are doing and are doubling down on it by rolling back on the few climate commitments that they had made.
“Our energy market will never be fit for purpose as long as it is run by and for multibillion pound corporations like BP and those who are determined to exploit every last drop of oil at the expense of people and planet.”
Patrick added:
“The UK government has a major decision on its hands when it comes to Rosebank. Will they keep the ban in place, or will they cave-in to pressure from the polluter lobby?
“Scotland has a huge renewables potential, but we need our governments to step up, do the work and make the investment that is needed in workers and green jobs.”
UK Green Parties demand BBC withdraw from Eurovision coverage if Israeli state broadcaster participates
The Green Parties across the UK, the Scottish Greens, the Green Party of Northern Ireland, the Green Party of England and Wales, and the Welsh Green Party have today issued a rare joint call on the BBC to withdraw from the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest coverage if Israel’s state broadcaster is permitted to participate.
In a letter to BBC Director-General Tim Davie, the four Green Parties warn that Israel’s assault on Gaza since October 2023 has left more than 64,000 Palestinians dead, over 160,000 injured, and entire neighbourhoods reduced to rubble. UN officials have repeatedly said Israel’s actions bear the hallmarks of genocide. British Green Parties have repeatedly called on the British state to act in line with the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
The leaders also highlighted Gaza as the deadliest conflict for journalists ever recorded, with more reporters killed there in the last two years than worldwide in the three years before combined.
Zack Polanski, Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, said:
“Eurovision is supposed to stand for peace, shared humanity and a lot of fun. Those values cannot coexist with complicity in genocide. By standing alongside Israel’s state broadcaster, the BBC would not just be ignoring the mass killing of civilians, it would also be turning its back on journalists being silenced and murdered for telling the truth. That is indefensible.”
Broadcasters across Europe are already taking action. Ireland’s RTÉ and Slovenia’s RTVSLO have pledged to withdraw if Israel participates, while Spain’s Culture Minister has raised the same, and Iceland is consulting the public. The BBC cannot stay neutral in genocide.”
Ross Greer, Co-Leader of the Scottish Greens, said:
“We’ve been here before. In the fight against apartheid South Africa, cultural boycotts were vital in telling oppressive regimes they would not be normalised. The same principle applies today. Israel must not be allowed to use Eurovision as a platform to launder its reputation while committing atrocities.”
Malachai O’Hara, Leader of the Green Party of Northern Ireland, said:
“This is a moment for moral clarity. Either the BBC stands on the side of peace, justice and international law – or it lends legitimacy to a state committing mass human rights abuses. The choice could not be starker.”
Anthony Slaughter, Leader of the Welsh Green Party added:
“The UK cannot look away while children starve, while families are bombed from their homes, while an entire people are brutalised. The BBC has a responsibility to act, and the time to act is now.”
The joint letter concludes:
“The Eurovision Song Contest is supposed to celebrate peace, unity, and shared humanity. Those values cannot coexist whilst arming a genocide. We therefore call on the BBC, in the strongest possible terms, to withdraw from the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest if Israel’s state broadcaster is permitted to participate. In the face of genocide, we urge you to act.”
Scottish, Wales and Irish MPs call on Starmer to recall Parliament and ‘impose sanctions’ on Israel
Palestinians struggle to get donated food at a community kitchen in Gaza City, northern Gaza Strip, August 16, 2025PRIME Minister Sir Keir Starmer was urged today to recall Parliament to “impose immediate sanctions” on Israel in a joint letter signed by politicians in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
The appeal, backed by senior figures across multiple parties, calls on the Prime Minister to take decisive action to end the crisis in Gaza amid long-standing demands for sanctions against Israel, growing international outrage at the genocide, and anger over the government’s crackdown on pro-Palestine protests.
Campaigners have raised a contempt of court complaint against Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, claiming she misled the public by saying that Palestine Action had been proscribed due to violence against people, when legal documents show the decision was based on property damage.
Signatories to the letter include Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O’Neill, SDLP leader Claire Hanna, SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn, Scottish Greens co-leader Lorna Slater, Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth and Plaid Cymru’s Westminster leader Liz Saville-Roberts.
The letter says: “The humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza is both man-made and avoidable.
“It is characterised not only by relentless bombardment and destruction, but by the deliberate creation of conditions that are starving a civilian population.
“The blocking of food, water and medical supplies has precipitated what UN agencies and humanitarian experts describe as a man-made famine; one that is rapidly claiming lives and inflicting irreparable harm on an already traumatised population.”
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Article continues at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/scottish-wales-and-irish-mps-call-starmer-recall-parliament-and-impose-sanctions-israel
