Greens slam Hughes for gutter politics
08 June 2004
On the eve of the election Simon Hughes has claimed the Green Party is "in the pocket of the No Euro campaign", which is anti-European and "one of the party's biggest sources of funds."
Darren Johnson said, "This slur is amazing. The No Campaign has never given the Green Party money. It did pay for a leaflet for the Green Party to advertise its pro-European stance but its anti euro currency policy as it did for Labour against the Euro. The campaign was led by Dr David Owen, that well known Lib/Dem Peer that shared the leadership of the Lib/Dems with that other well known Peer, David Steel."
Paul Ingram, No 2 on the list for the European Parliament and who lives in the same constituency as Simon Hughes said, "The Lib/Dems are well known for dirty campaigning based on half truths. Far from being the party of pavement politics, they have resorted to gutter politics."
The No to the Euro campaign has suspended active campaigning after the Budget announcement that ended the prospect of a referendum in the foreseeable future.
The Green Party has never disowned the fact that it was part of the Europe Yes, Euro No campaign alongside Bob Geldolf, Diane Abbott, Harry Enfield, Lord Owen, Sir Malcolm Riffkin and other prominent political and national figures.
Penny Kemp who sat on the steering committee for the Europe Yes/Euro No campaign said,"The Greens mounted a strong environmental case against the Euro. The Euro is meant to facilitate an increase in trade. That means more transport and more environmental impacts. Ever-increasing trade means an ever-harder job trying to tackle climate change."
"Climate change has huge economic costs. These are borne by society as a whole, while the trade which exacerbates those costs results in bigger profits for the transnationals".
"What society needs is a sustainable economy - an economy which promotes both prosperity and environmental protection. That is not what the Euro is about.
"The Euro is a tool of the political and economic centralisation which goes with globalisation. Globalisation is about putting corporate interests first.
"Greens put people and planet before profit, which is why we're opposed to globalisation and its European offshoot, the Single Currency."
