•  Labour’s Clive Lewis Was in Plymouth Today Talking About the Climate Emergency
•  Lewis: “This is the most transformative manifesto, ever!”
•  Luke: “Plymouth led the way in declaring the climate emergency.”

Labour’s Clive Lewis made a whistle-stop tour to Plymouth today. The Shadow Treasury Minister joined Luke Pollard and Charlotte Holloway, Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate in Plymouth Moor View, at Labour HQ in Plymouth. Clive spoke to Labour activists about the climate emergency before heading out to canvas in Peverell this afternoon.

The General Election is as much a climate election, as anything else. The Labour Party manifesto seeks to ensure that it is entirely possible to have a fairer society and a more sustainable society. Labour seeks to see environmental justice goes hand in hand with social justice so everyone can go green, not just those on high incomes.

Luke Pollard, running for re-election as the MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, said:

“I don’t want the poorest in our society to blame because they can not afford to go green. The only party that have real transformative solutions is the Labour Party. The climate crisis is happening here and now. When it comes to the climate emergency, the reason Parliament declared that, climate emergency was because of young people in Plymouth who protested outside my office. I took that message to Westminster; alongside Labour MPs, we put pressure on the Government, and eventually, we became the first Parliament to declare a climate emergency anywhere in the world. Young people have a powerful voice in this election.”

Clive Lewis, Labour’s Shadow Treasury Minister, said:

“The Labour Manifesto, which Luke, Charlotte, and myself are all standing on, is the most transformative we have ever had. We have put the environment front and centre. However, this does not mean that you have to pay for it yourself. The people that are doing most of the polluting are the very wealthy and so we will squeeze those at the top who do most of the polluting and bring up those at the bottom. This manifesto is about revolutionising the lives of working people.”

Charlotte Holloway, Labour’s Parliamentary candidate in Plymouth Moor View, said:

“When I am on the Labour doorstep fuel poverty comes up over end over again, people have to choose to eat or heat their homes, this is not acceptable in the 21st Century. More and more people are waking up to the situation. What is excellent about this manifesto is that it is practical, we can point to things that will make such a difference in peoples lives, alongside the transformative solution to the climate emergency.”

The Labour Party has pledged to cut Net Zero emissions from 2050 to 2030. The manifesto has real solutions to tackle the climate emergency by shifting to renewable energy, investing in rail and electric cars, and making housing energy efficient, to reduce fuel poverty and excess winter deaths.

You can view the Labour Party manifesto here.