Reacting to the last knock-out round in the Tory leadership contest, resulting in Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss going forward to a vote by Conservative members, co-leader of the Green Party Adrian Ramsay said:
“Finally we are left with two candidates, after seemingly endless hours given over to a contest whose result will be determined by a tiny unrepresentative minority of the population.
“Both have voted for cuts to welfare benefits, against free school meals and for harsher asylum policies. And both seem more interested in pandering to the fossil fuel lobby and climate sceptics in their own ranks than actually addressing the climate crisis. A pledge on committing to net zero by 2050 had to be extracted from them under duress.
“We need firm leadership on cutting emissions and making sure the country is adequately prepared for future extreme weather events. And we need a politics of compassion towards the most vulnerable in society, not a competition in nastiness.
"In recent months we've seen public trust in politics undermined and a dereliction of duty in addressing the cost of living and climate crises. This government has lost its legitimacy. We need a general election.”