Wales can become “powerhouse of Britain”, Amelia Womack tells Green Party conference

3 October 2020

Wales can once again become the “powerhouse of Britain” by investing in Green jobs and renewable energy, the Green Party’s deputy leader Amelia Womack has said. [1]

Speaking on the second day of the party’s first ever online Autumn Conference [2], Womack set out how a Green New Deal for Wales will stimulate the economy across the country and create opportunities for young people.

Womack, who was re-elected as deputy leader for a fourth time earlier last month, is standing to become the first Green member of the Senedd next year as the party's lead candidate for the South Wales East region.

She told conference:

“Our Green New Deal for Wales will create a wave of good Green jobs, stimulating the economy in every corner of the country, and offering real opportunities for young people through decent apprenticeships, skills training and education. 

“Wales was once the powerhouse of Britain, and it can be again. 

“Obviously, we can never go back to coal. But we can lead the world on renewables. We can lead the world on wind energy. We can lead the world on pioneering technology like the tidal lagoon.

“Wales led the first industrial revolution and we can lead the second. And where we lead, the rest of Britain, the rest of Europe, and the rest of the world will follow.”

Womack also said the rest of the UK should follow in Wales' footsteps by implementing a Future Generations Act. [3]

This law currently puts the rights and wellbeing of future generations at the centre of Welsh government decision-making

Womack said:

“This is a policy we as Greens campaigned for in the 2019 General election, and fundamentally shifts a short-termist way of thinking that has deeply damaged our society. 

“From austerity and poverty to supporting fossil fuels and plastics, disregarding children and generations yet to be born has caused irreversible destruction to our communities, atmosphere and habitats.”

ENDS

Notes

1

Amelia Womack’s speech to Autumn Conference 2020 will be available to watch live on the Green Party’s YouTube channel.

2

The Green Party Autumn Conference 2020 will take place online from Friday 2 October to Sunday 11 October.

https://www.greenparty.org.uk/conference

3

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/anaw/2015/2/contents/enacted

 

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