Keith Taylor MEP for the South East Weekly Update

25 May 2018

25th May

Greens condemn UK appeasement of Israeli forces’ massacre of unarmed Palestinians

Green MEP Keith Taylor, a member of the European Parliament’s Palestine Delegation, has responded to the UK Government, White House and other prominent actors’ responses to the Israeli security forces’ “massacre” of more than 50 unarmed Palestinian people on Monday, 14 May.

The senior Green politician said: “That the Israeli state marked the 70th anniversary of its creation and the US’s deliberately provocative decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem by massacring more than 50 unarmed Palestinian protesters is nothing short of an atrocity. It is being described as a clash, but without a single casualty on the IDF side, it is more like a one-sided attack.”

Read on: http://www.keithtaylormep.org.uk/2018/05/15/greens-condemn-uk-appeasement-of-israeli-forces-massacre-of-unarmed-palestinians/

 

Green MEP backs Arundel campaigners A27 bypass legal bid, urges support for SCATE alternative

Green MEP, Keith Taylor, is backing local campaigners’ bid to fight the “hugely damaging” decision by Highways England to make a route through the South Downs National Park, ancient woodland and villages near Arundel its preferred option for an A27 bypass.

On the announcement that the Arundel Bypass Neighbourhood Committee (ANBC) is planning to seek a judicial review of the decision, based on the “errors and bias in the consultation”, Mr Taylor, a member of the European Parliament’s Transport Committee, said: “I offer my support to not only the ABNC but the wealth of local groups and opposition to this destructive decision that will lay waste to some of the most beautiful and important landscape that Arundel and the surrounding area has to offer. In return for decimating our countryside and the historic village of Binsted, the bypass promises to fail even on its own terms.”

Read on: http://www.keithtaylormep.org.uk/2018/05/16/green-mep-backs-arundel-campaigners-a27-bypass-legal-bid-urges-support-for-scate-alternative/

 

‘Time to end privatisation experiment’, Green MEP on East Coast Mainline return to public ownership

Green MEP, Keith Taylor, a member of the European Parliament’s Transport Committee, has responded to the news that Chris Grayling has returned the East Coast Mainline rail route to public ownership by calling for an end to the ‘privatisation experiment on our rails’.

The senior Green Party politician said:  “Returning East Coast mainline to public ownership is just the latest smack-you-in-the-face, unavoidable reminder that the privatisation experiment on our railways has failed taxpayers and passengers alike.”

Read on: http://www.keithtaylormep.org.uk/2018/05/16/time-to-end-privatisation-experiment-green-mep-on-east-coast-mainline-return-to-public-owenership/

 

EU air pollution lawsuit exposes danger of UK plans for a post-Brexit environmental ‘lapdog’, say Greens

UK Green Party MEPs and the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament have welcomed the decision of the European Commission to refer several EU countries, including Britain, to the European Court of Justice over their failure to take action on air quality.

Keith Taylor MEP, a member of the European Parliament’s Transport and Environment and Public Health Committees, said: “The European Commission is being forced to take legal action against the UK because the Government remains steadfastly apathetic in the face of a public health crisis that is linked to the deaths of 50,000 British citizens every year.”

Read on: http://www.keithtaylormep.org.uk/2018/05/17/eu-air-pollution-lawsuit-exposes-danger-of-uk-plans-for-a-post-brexit-environmental-lapdog-say-greens/

 

‘Fracking statement cements Tories’ disregard for evidence-based policy-making’, says Green MEP

Responding to Greg Clark Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s announcement that the UK Government accelerate its plans to fast-track fracking across England, by relaxing planning laws and overriding local democracy, just seven days after a consultation on the proposals closed, Keith Taylor, Green Party MEP for the South East, European Chair of the Climate Parliament and a member of the European Parliament’s Environment Committee, said:

“This process has been a sham; the Government can’t claim with any credibility that it has assessed even a handful of the responses to the hefty consultation on these anti-democratic plans that it closed only last week.”

Read on: http://www.keithtaylormep.org.uk/2018/05/17/fracking-statement-cements-tories-disregard-for-evidence-based-policy-making-says-green-mep/

 

Green Animal Spokesperson: ‘Live exports are barbaric, it’s time to take action’

As the Government’s consultation on live exports is set to close, official figures reveal the most recent annual figures for live exports exceed 400,000 animals, with 43,000 being transported from the UK to the continent.

In response, Keith Taylor MEP, the Green Party’s Animals Spokesperson, is calling for every option to be explored to ensure live farm animals do not leave our shores. The senior Green politician said:

“Live exports are barbaric. I continue to stand alongside the passionate and dedicated campaigners calling for an outright ban on this cruel and unnecessary trade.”

Read on: http://www.keithtaylormep.org.uk/2018/05/18/green-animal-spokesperson-live-exports-are-barbaric-its-time-to-take-action/

 

Gove’s LATEST feeble air pollution strategy exposes post-Brexit toxic air crisis danger, say Greens

UK Green Party MEPs have slammed the UK Government’s latest ‘feeble’ air pollution strategy and warned it is a signal the ‘toxic air pollution crisis’ will only get worse post-Brexit.

Keith Taylor MEP, a member of the European Parliament’s Transport and Environment and Public Health Committees, said:

“Michael Gove’s latest, long-delayed attempt at a clean air strategy is once again dangerously inadequate. It seeks, yet again, to pass the buck to cash-strapped local authorities while ignoring the primary source of toxic air pollution: road transport.”

Read on: http://www.keithtaylormep.org.uk/2018/05/22/goves-latest-feeble-air-pollution-strategy-exposes-post-brexit-toxic-air-crisis-danger-say-greens/

 

Greens welcome Ivory Bill despite failings

Responding to the introduction of the Ivory Bill in Parliament today, Keith Taylor MEP, the Green Party’s Animal Spokesperson, said:

“As a Green, I wanted to see a loophole-free bill. But considering the dire situation for elephants across the world and the need for urgent action, it would be counterproductive to carp over its minor failings. Ultimately, if it passes undiluted and is properly enforced, this bill will be hugely important.”

Read on: http://www.keithtaylormep.org.uk/2018/05/23/news-release-greens-welcome-ivory-bill-despite-failings/

 

Happy GDPR day. What does it all mean?

Today, the EU’s new data privacy law (GDPR) comes into force, as you’ll no doubt be aware from the number of emails you’ll have received on the issue. Who knew you’d signed up to so many mailing lists? Well, the probability is: you didn’t. At least not explicitly. And that’s the point. EU GDPR gives you greater control over your data and who you allow to process it on your behalf.

The legislation is particularly important in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica/Facebook scandal. Keith Taylor, Green MEP for the South East, says:

“The Cambridge Analytica scandal begs an important question about the ease with which democratic processes can be hijacked in a social media age where a handful of firms control the entire virtual public sphere.”

Read on: http://www.keithtaylormep.org.uk/2018/05/25/happy-gdpr-day-what-does-it-all-mean/

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