💚 I am proud to have been selected as the Green Party candidate for
#Bradford
South.
🗣️ "I have shown that I can be trusted to listen to people across Bradford and be stand up for what is right. That's why I am standing to be MP."
🗳️
#VoteGreen
on 4th July
#GetGreensElected
Absolutely shameful from
@UKLabour
They would rather see a council run by the Tories then form an administration that involves
@TheGreenParty
councillors
Vote Labour. Get Tories.
The figure £1.6billion is being used to refer to the fiasco linked to the
#BibbyStockholm
.
But surely this isn't how much the government is paying to hire a single barge?!
Well. It's not.
The reality is worse.
A short 🧵
#asylum
🗣️ "We’ve had 13 years of austerity, and a government that frankly is made up of millionaires and is running the country for the millionaires, and doesn’t much care about the rest of us."
💚
@CarolineLucas
absolutely nailed this on
#bbcaq
#ToriesOut
🚨 In the last week, a national paper blames cyclists for a rise in drivers being caught breaking the law.
🗞️ Another local paper's held a poll on registration plate + insurance for
#cyclists
🚲 The anti-
#cycling
narrative is irresponsible and dangerous.
⚠️ £1.7 BILLION for a single road.
🚫 One that will cause significant harm to one of our country's most important landmarks.
🛑 Meanwhile the government is destroying our
#railways
, not supporting buses and investing a fraction of this in
#ActiveTravel
"My main concern is that Joshua didn't have a helmet on."
This is appalling victim-blaming from
@gwentpolice
Your police officers "main concern" should be a speeding motorist.
Liz Truss claimed
📦 £79 for Amazon Prime
🇯🇵 £2000 for food expenses on a trip to Tokyo
🍾 £3000 for a single lunch
It turns out she isn't against handouts ... Only handouts for those who need them
#CostOfLivingCrisis
#ToryChaos
#ToryLeadershipRace
🇫🇷 Paris is leading the way in reversing decades of car dominance.
🚲 It's build 1000s of kilometres of new cycle lanes in just a few years.
🚙 Now it plans to charge bigger cars like SUVs more for parking.
❓ Should SUV drivers pay more for parking?
🇳🇴
#Oslo
recorded ZERO pedestrian or cyclist deaths in 2019 (and just one car driver died).
⛔ They did it by reversing decades of putting cars at the centre of transport policy.
🚸 Safer roads are possible if local politicians choose to make it happen.
🪙 £1.7 BILLION on
#Stonehenge
Tunnel
🪙 £2 BILLION on Silvertown Tunnel
🪙 £9 BILLION for Lower Thames Crossing
🏗️ There's always money for new roads.
🚫 Meanwhile cuts to buses, to railways and not enough for
#ActiveTravel
🚨 What
#ClimateEmergency
?
Thames Water made operating profit of **£488 MILLION** last year
Despite that:
🚱 It dumped sewage in local rivers
💦 It won't turn on it "Emergency Drought Plant" because it costs too much to run
We need to take control of our public services.
🚗 FUN FACT - SUVs are the world's 6th largest polluter (if they were ranked as a country)
😷 Total emissions of all the SUVs globally is more than Germany, Saudi Arabia and South Korea
🌍 But despite the fact we are facing a
#ClimateEmergency
, car makers are still pushing SUVs
🚙 SUVs are now the most popular type of car you can buy in the UK.
⚠️ They have higher emissions and are more dangerous for other road users.
🅿️ Whether petrol, diesel or electric -
#SUVs
also take up too much space.
🚫 It's time to pass on the true cost of SUV ownership.
This is an absolute joke ...
The government won't negotiate a pay deal with workers but the managers running this failed franchise get £6.5m in bonuses. Great! 👍
Nationalise the railways now!
🇳🇴
#Oslo
recorded ZERO pedestrian or cyclist deaths in 2019 (and just one car driver).
⛔ How did they do it? By reversing decades of putting cars at the centre of
#transport
policy.
🚸 Improving
#RoadSafety
is possible if local politicians choose to make it happen.
🇫🇷 France is the latest country to introduce cheap monthly passes for
#train
travel.
🎫 For €49, passengers get a month of unlimited travel on regional services.
🇬🇧 Meanwhile, in Tory Britain,
#rail
passengers are set for another massive hike in fares.
🥀 What exactly is the point of
@UKLabour
?!
Just this week:
🤐 Refused to join others to block the dangerous
#PublicOrderBill
⤴️ More U-turns on their policy promises
🟢 But there is one party that will challenge this nasty Conservative government >>
💸 Millions of people in the UK can't afford to own cars, or can't drive for whatever reason.
🛑 The lack of non-car options means they are trapped around where they live.
🚍 Getting around needs to more affordable, which means less focus on cars.
🧵👇
Rishi Sunak bragged about rigging the Council funding criteria to benefit the most wealthy parts of the country.
Now Liz Truss is saying it's fair to cut taxes that benefit the most wealthy.
Don't let Tories tell you "we are all in this together". We aren't.
#ToriesOut
"[Is it] fair to give the weathiest people more money back?"
#BBCLauraK
asks Tory leadership contender Liz Truss about her plans for a National Insurance cut
"It is fair" says Truss
#BBCLauraK
🚙 SUVs have a significant environmental, health and safety in our urban areas.
📊 Households in the top 20% income bracket are 81% more likely to own a SUV.
🚫 There is no need for such large cars in our cities and it's time to pass on the true cost of SUV ownership.
🇫🇷 In France, the government is investing £2billion to promote
#cycling
.
🚧 A massive programme to build new cycle infrastructure.
🚲 Subsidies to buy bikes.
📒 New rules to give cyclists priority.
🇬🇧 Meanwhile, The Tories have offered just £200million.
Starting the day with a discussion of Trans-European Transport Networks with
@GreensEFA
colleagues. Connecting EU Member States crucial, particularly for Ireland post-Brexit
The government has pledged £72million for trains in
#Manchester
. Great.
But. For context:
🚄 The Elizabeth Line cost £20BILLION
🚗 The Lower Thames crossing will cost £9BILLION
💰 Michelle Mone's firm netted £100million in profit after their PPE deal.
🚲 Reasons registration and insurance for
#cyclists
is a BAD idea:
- It would be expensive
- It would be nearly impossible to administer
- What would the age limit be? Would a 6 year old need insurance?
- It would put people off
#cycling
- This is a
#ClimateCrisis
Any more?
Why not give every Londoner with a non-ULEZ compliant car the option of free public transport?! Or an e-bike? Or BOTH!?
Why are we encouraging the status quo with the numbers of cars on the road?
ULEZ-Compliant cars still cause congestion!
🚨 BREAKING: The Mayor of London has announced that from the 21st August, EVERY LONDONER with a non ULEZ-compliant car or motorcycle will be eligible for a £2,000 grant (£1,000 for a motorcycle) to replace their vehicle.
🔵 Two Conservative-run councils facing bankruptcy.
📉 The lie that they are the party best for the economy is unraveling further.
💼 It's time for the government to provide a proper funding deal for local councils to protect local services.
🇫🇷 Montpellier is the latest place to offer free
#PublicTransport
to reduce emissions.
🚊 Policies like this tackle inequality, reduce congestion and bring down emissions.
🟢 It's good for society, our health and the planet.
🇳🇱 In the 1970s,
#Utrecht
built a 12 lane road on top of one of the historical canals.
🛥️ In 2020, the Catharijnesingel was restored removing the scar from the city centre.
🏗️ It's not impossible to undo the
#UrbanPlanning
mistakes of the past.
Tweet inspired by
@BicycleDutch
🚘 Millions are forced to spend large %s of their income on car ownership.
🚧 Tory and Labour councils continue to spend £millions on new road building schemes.
🚌
@TheGreenParty
would invest in
#PublicTransport
and good quality
#cycling
infrastructure.
✂️ Nearly half of
#bus
services have been lost under this Tory government.
⚠️ Nearly 1 in 4 people don't drive and they are being abandoned by car-centric transport policy.
🚌 We must invest in
#PublicTransport
, make it affordable, and a real option for people to get around.
📈 Who would have thought it? When you make
#PublicTransport
cheaper, people use it.
🎫 This is the type of policy we need in the UK.
🚉 But if we want to get more people onto trains and buses we need to expand services to make them more convenient.
🎫 £2 single fares have proven that if you make
#PublicTransport
affordable, people will use it.
🚏 But cheaper fares are no use on
#buses
that have been cancelled.
🚌
@TheGreenParty
would invest in better
#bus
services and make the cap £1.
💚💚💚💚💚 TONG WARD WE DID IT!!!!!
I am so proud of everything we've achieved this year.
I'll have more to say when I can think again!!!!
#BradfordElections
#TongWard
🚙 SUVs are now the most popular type of car in the UK.
😷 They contribute more to
#AirPollution
, make our roads more unsafe - especially for Children - and contribute more to potholes.
🪙 Despite this, the the UK government continues to subsidise them with low taxes.
💰 The government has wasted £billions on "smart" motorways.
🚗 Instead of creating more space for cars on our road, we need to make it easier to get around without a car.
🚌 We should invest in
#PublicTransport
,
#cycling
and safer walking routes.
🚌 The £2 fare cap is encouraging more people to use
#publictransport
.
🟢
@TheGreenParty
would go even further and make this £1.
🚏 But we need to make
#buses
more reliable and reverse the cuts to local services that have happened over recent years.
⭕ A 20mph limit will make our roads safer. This should be a no-brainer.
🚘 Road traffic incidents are the single biggest cause of severe injury in children.
🚸 This will start to reverse the damage that building our communities around cars has caused.
🚙 Bigger cars are less efficient and more dangerous to other road users.
🅿 Car-centric governments have fueled (literally) this trend for decades.
🚍 Instead, we should be developing good quality, affordable
#PublicTransport
and better
#ActiveTravel
.
🚙 SUVs are now the most popular type of car you can buy in the UK
🚙🚙 Over HALF of all new car sales are SUVs
🚙🚙🚙🚙 But, SUVs are less safe and worse for the environment than a regular cars.
🧵 Why you ask? A short thread 👇
🇳🇱 The Dutch have spent decades and £billions redesigning their cities to promote
#walking
and
#cycling
.
🚲 It's great UK councils want to do this but it won't be easy.
💰 We need a government that will give our councils the funding to make this happen.
🚙 Paris will charge
#SUV
drivers more to park to tackle
#congestion
and
#airpollution
📈 SUVs in the city has increased by *60% * over the last four years.
⚠️ SUVs are less safe and worse for the environment than a regular cars.
🧵 A short thread /1
🔴 20mph is much safer than 30mph. It is proven to reduce injuries and fatalities.
📊 Risk of serious injury is much lower and stopping distances are halved.
🚸 Lower speeds also mean that people feel happier and safer walking and
#cycling
.
#20isPlenty
🗣️ "If you want to change people's habits, then you need to make sure the alternatives work."
🚌 Luxembourg has FREE
#PublicTransport
and made sure it is comfortable and reliable.
🟢
@TheGreenParty
would invest in a Public Transport to make it a real alternative to the car.
🚗 Prioritising electric cars is not the solution to
#netzero
transport.
🚲 We need to invest in good quality footpaths and cycleways to make
#ActiveTravel
the most convenient way to get around.
🚌 And good quality, affordable
#PublicTransport
No Rishi. The North does not need more road links.
Our towns and cities are already congested - new roads will not improve things for the millions of British people that do not drive.
We need proper investment in public transport, active travel and safer roads.
✈️ Private jets are 14x more polluting than commercial planes per passenger.
📈 But the number of
#PrivateJet
flights in Europe rose by 64% last year even though this is a
#ClimateCrisis
🇳🇱 Amsterdam Schiphol wants to ban them but in the UK - nothing.
A reminder:
💰💰💰 £37BILLION for a track and trace system - which failed
💰 £347m Covid-19 testing contract to Randox - which have links to the Tories
💰 £200m to PPE Medpro - which saw Tory Peer Michelle Mone take £millions in personal profit.
/8
This Tory government are obsessed with conspiracy theories rather than governing.
We know that we need to make getting around easier, safer and more affordable.
Instead they are trapping people in
#CarDependency
.
We should be focusing on walking,
#cycling
and
#PublicTransport
.
✈️ Private jets use is on the rise in the UK.
🌍 They are up to 14x more polluting, per passenger, than commercial
#flights
- and 50x more than trains.
❓ Is it time to ban
#PrivateJets
- and stop the hyper-wealthy from trashing our planet?
📈 Public Transport usage in
#Spain
is now higher than it was before the pandemic.
🇪🇸 The Spanish government has slashed fares (in some case made services free!) meaning more journeys are happening on
#PublicTransport
.
🌍 Great news for our planet!
Surely with a track record like this, the government will have tendered this incredibly large contract?
Well. No.
⚠️ The contract was awarded directly to CTM ** WITHOUT ** a competition.
/6
We are told that the economy is broken.
That there is no money for fair pay for teachers, nurses, doctors, etc.
But, the Tories have committed taxpayers to a £1.6 BILLION contract to fix the mess they created.
See this from
@scotrefcouncil
👇
/11
✈️ Its frankly ridiculous that in a
#ClimateCrisis
, the government has decided to half Air Passenger Duty for internal flights.
🚄 Instead of subsidising air travel (and more road building) we should be investing in better low carbon
#PublicTranpsort
🎟️ The sheer volume of different fares on our
#railways
is unacceptable.
🧮 You shouldn't have to do a maths exam to work out the cheapest ticket to buy.
🚅 To get more people on to
#trains
, we need a simple fares system and trains that run on time.
🤯 We are now THREE YEARS on since the consultation into
#PavementParking
in England closed.
🚘 Pavement Parking is selfish. It's dangerous - especially for disabled people and people with push chairs.
⚠️ The UK government needs to act to keep pavements for pedestrians.
🇬🇧 British shopping streets are struggling with lower footfall.
🇭🇷
#Zagreb
is the latest city to return the centre to people by removing most private cars.
🌳 By making city centres safer and reducing
#AirPollution
they can become destinations people want to visit.
📈
#Rail
fares haven't gone up this January - but will be going up nearly 5% in March.
⛽ Meanwhile fuel duty remains frozen.
🎫 Traveling on our
#railways
is already too expensive.
🟢
@TheGreenParty
would cut fares for
#PublicTransport
and invest to improve services.
Many people loose hundreds of hours a year to
#congestion
.
🚙🚗🚛🛻🚗🚙🚚🚕🚙🚛🚗
For generations, government and council have tried to solve this problem by building more roads.
It hasn't worked.
It's time to rethink our approach to getting around our urban areas.
A 🧵 /1
But this is just another example of this Conservative government giving eye watering contracts to firms who often don't have any track record all without any scrutiny.
Many of these firms end up having links to the Conservative Party.
/7
Well Corporate Travel Management were awarded the contract to manage the government COVID-19 Quarantine Hotels Scheme.
Remember the one with countless complaints about poor management, poor service and prison-like conditions.
Just like this one 👇
/5
🇩🇪 Germany is extending it's popular €49 a month ticket for unlimited local
#PublicTransport
.
🚌 Cheaper fares on
#buses
,
#trains
and
#trams
help those on the lowest incomes and encourage others to ditch their cars.
👏 This is what
#Climate
and
#Social
leadership looks like!
Asda: soup, a roll and unlimited tea and coffee for pensioners for £1
Also Asda: despite being owned by two of the richest people in the UK, we pay our staff so little they have to use benefits to get by. Oh and we are trying to cut pay for our drivers.
✈️ A private jet took off from the UK once every six minutes.
🤑 We are facing a
#ClimateCrisis
but the super wealthy - including the Prime Minister - are living life like there's no tomorrow.
🛑 It's time to ban
#privatejets
🛑 Thousands of people are injured or killed on our roads every year.
🚸 But instead of trying to make our roads safer - especially for children - Sunak is playing
#CultureWars
politics.
🚧 They should be working to make our roads safer for everyone.
🚲 Last week, Active Travel England announced £200million for
#ActiveTravel
across the whole country.
🚧 Meanwhile, UK Government has just given the green light for £950M on a SINGLE JUNCTION.
🤦 The Tories have their
#transport
properties all wrong.
🔥
@carla_denyer
owning it on
#BBCNewsnight
tonight.
🥀 The public want more action on the
#ClimateCrisis
but Tories and Labour fail to grasp the seriousness of the situation.
💚 One more reason why we need to get Carla elected >> and make it happen!
🇫🇷 Residents in
#Paris
have voted to charge
#SUV
drivers more to park their cars.
🚙 This will help tackle
#congestion
and
#AirPollution
across the city.
⚠️ SUVs take up more space, are less safe for other road users, and worse for the
#environment
than regular cars.
🔎 The more you look at
#NetworkNorth
the more you realise this is not new spending.
🚧 Pothole Fund - Already Announced
🚉 Metro link extension to MAN - Already Completed
🚌 Funding for buses - Already in place
This is short term politics at its worst.
🚌 Private bus companies are letting down passengers on a daily basis.
🚏
@TheGreenParty
would bring buses back under public control and run services for passengers - not shareholders.
😶
@carla_denyer
is right - the response from Labour is inadequate.
✈️ Private jets use is on the rise in the UK.
🌍 They are up to 14x more polluting, per passenger, than commercial
#flights
- and 50x more than trains.
🤑 The uber-wealthy are disproportionately responsible for the
#ClimateCrisis
.
🛑 It's time to ban
#PrivateJets
.
🚂 Now
#TranspennineExpress
has been taken off First, we need to accept that privatisation has failed.
🚄 We must stop trying to run trains like a business and more like a service.
🎫 We need to invest to make services frequent, affordable and reliable.
🇩🇪 The new Germany
#ClimateTicket
is to be introduced on May 1st.
🚌 Cheaper fares for
#PublicTransport
will help those on the lowest incomes and encourage others to ditch their cars.
👏 This is what
#Climate
and
#Social
leadership looks like!
✂️ Nearly half of
#bus
services have been lost under this Tory government.
⚠️ Nearly 1 in 4 people don't drive and they are being abandoned by car-centric transport policy.
🚌 We must invest in
#PublicTransport
, make it affordable, and a real option for people to get around.
🚘 Millions of Brits want to ditch their cars.
💸 They are expensive, bad for the
#environment
and cause
#AirPollution
.
🚏 But the lack of affordable, reliable
#PublicTransport
and safe routes for
#Cycling
is holding them back.
⚠️ We need to fix that.
🚰 When water companies like
#ThamesWater
were privatised, they had no debt.
💰 They have borrowed £53 BILLION, failed to invest in our infrastructure and paid out £72BILLION to shareholders.
🗣️
@CarolineLucas
nails this - "Privatisation of water was a serious mistake."
💚
@TheGreenParty
came third in all three
#byelections
📈 The only party to increase vote share in all three contests beating Labour in Somerton and Frome and Lib Dems in both
#Selby
and
#Uxbridge
.
👇 We are the only party offering a real alternative.
🚸 2,456 children killed or injured on our roads last year.
✅ More 20mph zones, low traffic neighborhoods, better
#cycling
infrastructure will all make roads safer.
🤦 But, the Transport Minister is too busy worrying about "the freedom of motorists".
🚲 Very pleased with myself this morning as I commuted into
#Bradford
City Centre on my
#bike
for the first time today!
💪 I would say it's fair to say I'm not a beacon of health but to do this quicker than the bus is a bit of a feat (for me)!
#cycling
#cyclingnewbie
✈️ The Tories are happy to increase subsidies for domestic flights.
🚏 Meanwhile bus services are being scrapped due to lack of financial support.
🚄 We need to invest in affordable, reliable
#PublicTransport
- not
#Climate
wrecking internal flights.
Cars take such a vast amount of space in our towns and cities.
We need to really rethink how we use the space on our streets to make sure everyone can get around - not just the privileged who own their own car(s).
🤩 I appear to have booked a hotel with views of the main route into the world famous bicycle garage at
#Utrecht
Centraal.
Looking forward to using that later this evening!
Some facts:
1️⃣ There are 32m cars on UK’s roads - and they are growing in number and size.
2️⃣
#Transport
is the country’s largest producer of
#carbon
emissions (24%).
3️⃣ Building new roads will not help us tackle
#AirPollution
or the
#ClimateCrisis
☠️ 1000s of people are killed on Britain's roads each year
📈 Most of these are caused by car drivers - and this figure is increasing
🚲 But Grant Schapps is continuing to use
#cyclists
to deflect from the catalogue of
#ToryFailures
#cycling
#roadsafety
Which leads us back to
#BibbyStockholm
.
The conditions on board - in normal configuration - are “cramped” and “claustrophobic”.
That's from someone who already lived on board.
But more beds have been crammed in and communal spaces closed.
/9
⬆️ On Sunday,
#RailFares
went up by nearly 5%.
❄️ Meanwhile, yesterday The Chancellor's announced another freeze on
#FuelDuty
⚠️ The Conservatives have shown once again they don't care about people that don't drive.
🟢
@TheGreenParty
would invest in cheaper
#PublicTransport
.
🚆 Mick Lynch is right, privatisation and fragmentation of our
#railway
has been a disaster.
🗣️ "For passengers [this] has meant rising costs, timetable chaos, endless different fares, cancellations ..."
🟢
@TheGreenParty
would bring our railways back under full public control.
🌎 To achieve
#NetZeroCarbon
we can't keep building new roads and planning our lives around cars.
🚌 We need serious investment in
#PublicTransport
to make it reliable, comfortable and a lot cheaper (than cars)
🚲 And investment in active travel.
🇧🇪 In just over a year,
#Brussels
has cut traffic in its centre by 27%.
🥕 They have invested in new
#cycling
routes to work with excellent
#PublicTransport
.
🛑 And also made it harder to drive through the city centre.
✅ That's how it's done!
🤐 Staggering to watch the BBC election coverage and their studio doing everything to not mention
@TheGreenParty
Despite:
🗣️ A summary of
#LE2023
so far by John Cutice (inc Greens)
💚 Greens becoming the official opposition on Worcester
💚 Big Green wins across the country
💚 Our newly expanded
@bradfordgreens
councillor group celebrating our historic results in
#LE2022
.
💪 Thank you for all the support across Bradford.
🖱️ Want to join us and get more Greens elected >>
⚡ Electric Cars aren't a solution to many of the problems we face in urban areas.
🚗🚗🚙🚗🚙
#ElectricVehicles
still cause congestion and pollution.
🚌 We need invest in good quality
#publictransport
and make it easier for people to walk and
#cycle
🚙 The rise of
#SUVs
is bad for our towns and cities.
They are:
- bad for
#RoadSafety
.
- linked to the increased number of potholes.
- bad for the environment.
🟢 Great work by
@CllrChasBooth
and
@EdinburghGreens
highlighting this.
Dangerous Legionella bacteria has been discovered in the water supply on an
#BibbyStockholm
Test results came back on Monday - the same day
#AsylumSeekers
were moved on.
The government repeatedly said it was safe. But it's clearly not.
/10
📉 The Tories have tanked our economy and we are facing more massive cuts.
💡Scrapping 5 biggest road schemes would ‘nearly halve budget deficit'
🧵 A thread on why we need to scrap road building plans for the sake of our economy AND our environment 👇
💚 I am delighted to be the new Transport & Healthy Streets spokesperson for
@TheGreenParty
🚌 Transport is a massive issue in my ward
🚄 And Living in
#Bradford
- the most left behind city for transport - gives me unique perspective of challenges, esp in the North
🚌
#Buses
are a lifeline for many people across the country.
✂️ But thousands of bus services have been cut under the Tories.
🟢 The
@TheGreenParty
would invest in
#PublicTransport
, reintroduce cut services, make them more reliable and affordable.
✈️ 23 internal flights in 187 days (1 every a week on average) - all paid for by the taxpayer.
👛 Millions are struggling in a
#CostOfLivingCrisis
🌎 This is a
#ClimateEmergncy
- flights one of the biggest source of emissions.
🎩 Sunak is out of touch.