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  • Michael Fabricant – 2022 Comments Changing Support to Penny Mordaunt in Conservative Leadership Contest

    Michael Fabricant – 2022 Comments Changing Support to Penny Mordaunt in Conservative Leadership Contest

    The comments made by Michael Fabricant, the Conservative MP for Lichfield, on Twitter on 23 October 2022.

    I am deeply disappointed that Boris [Johnson] has chosen not to stand.

    I shall now nominate Penny Mordaunt to let the members of our great Party decide who should be our Leader and next Prime Minister. I abhor political coronations. They invariably get it wrong.

  • Gavin Newlands – 2022 Comments on Boris Johnson Withdrawing from Conservative Leadership

    Gavin Newlands – 2022 Comments on Boris Johnson Withdrawing from Conservative Leadership

    The comments made by Gavin Newlands, the SNP MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, on Twitter on 23 October 2022.

    As suspected, the 100 was always just bluff and bluster. Didn’t want to be embarrassed that he couldn’t make the start line.

    One of life’s serial charlatans.

  • David Morris – 2022 Comments Changing Support to Rishi Sunak in Conservative Leadership Contest

    David Morris – 2022 Comments Changing Support to Rishi Sunak in Conservative Leadership Contest

    The comments made by David Morris, the Conservative MP for Morecambe and Lunesdale, on Twitter on 23 October 2022.

    Now Boris Johnson has pulled out of the contest, I will be joining Rishi Sunak’s team. Rishi is experienced, competent and will make a great PM. He has the support of all wings of the Conservative Party and will be able to unite the Party and provide stability for the Country.

  • Chris Clarkson – 2022 Comments on Rishi Sunak Becoming Prime Minister

    Chris Clarkson – 2022 Comments on Rishi Sunak Becoming Prime Minister

    The comments made by Chris Clarkson, the Conservative MP for Heywood and Middleton, on Twitter on 23 October 2022.

    Tomorrow our party faces a choice – I was proud to back Rishi Sunak in the leadership contest this summer because he was being truthful about the challenges ahead and had a realistic plan to tackle them.

    He’ll have my vote again, tomorrow.

  • Felicity Buchan – 2022 Comments on Rishi Sunak Becoming Prime Minister

    Felicity Buchan – 2022 Comments on Rishi Sunak Becoming Prime Minister

    The comments made by Felicity Buchan, the Conservative MP for Kensington, on Twitter on 23 October 2022.

    I will be voting tomorrow for Rishi Sunak in the Conservative leadership election. This country needs unity, stability, confidence and competency. He can deliver that.

  • Boris Johnson – 2022 Statement Confirming Not Standing as Conservative Party Leader

    Boris Johnson – 2022 Statement Confirming Not Standing as Conservative Party Leader

    The statement made by Boris Johnson on 23 October 2022.

    In the last few days I have been overwhelmed by the number of people who suggested that I should once again contest the Conservative Party leadership, both among the public and among friends and colleagues in Parliament.

    I have been attracted because I led our party into a massive election victory less than three years ago – and I believe that I am therefore uniquely placed to avert a general election now.

    A general election would be a disastrous distraction just when the government must focus on the economic pressures faced by families around the country.

    I believe I am well placed to deliver a Conservative victory in 2024 and tonight I can confirm that I have cleared the very high hurdle of 102 nominations, including a proposer and a seconder, and I could put my nomination in tomorrow.

    There is a very good chance that I would be successful in the election with Conservative Party members – and that I could indeed be back in Downing Street on Friday.

    But in the course of the last days I have sadly come to the conclusion that this would simply not be the right thing to do. You can’t govern effectively unless you have a united party in parliament.

    And though I have reached out to Rishi and Penny – because I hoped we could come together in the national interest – we have sadly not been able to work out a way of doing this.

    Therefore I am afraid the best thing is that I do not allow my nomination to go forward and commit my support to whoever succeeds.

    I believe I have much to offer but I am afraid that this is simply not the right time.

  • Volodymyr Zelenskyy – 2022 Statement on the Situation in Ukraine (24/10/2022)

    Volodymyr Zelenskyy – 2022 Statement on the Situation in Ukraine (24/10/2022)

    The statement made by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, on 24 October 2022.

    Good health to you, fellow Ukrainians!

    Today we can already report that in all our regions, which became the target of yesterday’s Russian terrorist attack, the technical possibility of electricity supply has been restored.

    I am thankful to each and every one who worked tirelessly to bring light to people.

    Of course, in many cities and districts, our energy companies have to apply stabilization shutdown schedules. This is done so that all our people have access to energy – in conditions where it is not possible to produce it in sufficient quantities.

    Restoring energy facilities destroyed by terrorist attacks is a much longer and more difficult task. But over time, we will provide that, too. Over time…

    This time must be passed. Therefore, today and in the future, as before, we should consume electricity very consciously. Please remember to limit the use of unnecessary and energy-consuming appliances.

    Separately, I want to address community leaders and mayors of our cities: please make sure that energy is not wasted. Now is definitely not the time for bright shop windows and signs. It is necessary to be really frugal with energy consumption in public space.

    Reconstruction continues in the de-occupied territory. Every day I receive new reports about the connection to gas, water, electricity of hundreds of households in liberated areas. In particular, just today in only two districts of the Kharkiv region, 346 households have gas again. The city of Vovchansk – 750 more households with electricity. The city of Izyum – 300 more households with electricity. This is constant work that does not stop for a single day and continues throughout the liberated territory of Ukraine.

    Wherever Russia has brought death and degradation, we are restoring normal life. This is precisely about Ukrainians. Where Ukraine is, life is never destroyed. But wherever Russia comes, it leaves behind mass graves, torture chambers, destroyed cities and villages, mined land, destroyed infrastructure and natural disasters.

    So when today the Russian Minister of Defense organizes a phone carousel and calls foreign ministers with stories about the so-called “dirty” nuclear bomb, everyone understands everything well. Understands who is the source of everything dirty that can be imagined in this war.

    It was Russia who blackmailed with the radiation disaster at the Zaporizhzhia NPP.

    This is the trajectory of Russian missiles that goes, in particular, over Ukrainian nuclear facilities.

    Those are Russian troops who mined the dam and aggregates of the Kakhovka HPP and are blackmailing with their detonation.

    It is Russia that uses phosphorous munitions, banned anti-personnel mines and the entire range of weapons against civilian infrastructure.

    Ukraine is always about recovery. Always about life. And there’s only one subject who can use nuclear weapons in our part of Europe, and this subject is the one who ordered comrade Shoigu to call somewhere.

    If Russia calls and says that Ukraine is allegedly preparing something, it means one thing: Russia has already prepared all this. I believe that now the world should react in the toughest possible way. If Russia has prepared another round of raising stakes and another escalating step, it must see now, preemptively and before its any new “dirt” that the world will not swallow that.

    Even the very Russian threat of nuclear weapons – and even more so against our country, which has given up its nuclear arsenal under promises of security from the largest nuclear powers – is a reason for both sanctions and even greater strengthening of support for Ukraine. Because the stronger the support for us is, the sooner this war and any possible Russian threats will end. When a terrorist state raises the stakes, it must feel that it won’t work.

    During the upcoming week, this will be the number one task for our diplomats – to explain what is happening. And I am sure: the world will be with us. The world will understand.

    It is very important that today the sixth ship with food chartered in the framework of the UN World Food Programme left our port. This vessel is bound for Yemen, with wheat. Ethiopia, Yemen and Afghanistan are three countries that have already received food thanks to our exports and the UN food program.

    Such programs are exactly what we in Ukraine are thinking about. How to help get out of the crisis – not how to create a crisis. How to help solve a problem – not how to drive someone into a problem. How to restore the destroyed – not to destroy even more.

    This is what distinguishes Ukraine from Russia. This is what will help us win in the end. Because we fight and work for life.

    Glory to Ukraine!

  • PRESS RELEASE : How the Climate Change Act helped the Friends of the Earth hold the government to account [October 2022]

    PRESS RELEASE : How the Climate Change Act helped the Friends of the Earth hold the government to account [October 2022]

    The press release issued by the Friends of the Earth on 17 October 2022.

    What’s the Climate Change Act?

    The UK’s Climate Change Act became the world’s first national law to require cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, and hold the government accountable for these cuts. Under the Act, a scientifically informed, long-term, legally binding target was adopted, to achieve an 80% cut in emissions by 2050. In 2019 this long-term target was revised to the still more ambitious Net Zero target.

    Since the pioneering UK Act was passed, there’ve been many new climate laws enacted around the world. The UK can’t claim credit for all of these, but it’s been influential: those in Northern Ireland, Sweden, Denmark, Ireland and Finland were all closely modelled on the UK Act.

    How does the Climate Change Act help us hold government to account?

    The Climate Change Act and its implications have never been more important. Despite the chaos in Westminster, we can still make government accountable for its actions. The Act is powerful as it creates a framework in which action can and must be taken by the government.

    Most significantly, the Act can be enforced through our court system if government doesn’t comply with its legal duties. This is something we’ve proved through our pioneering Net Zero Strategy legal case. The Climate Change Act may have been established in 2008, but we’re still seeing its benefits today. It’s enabled us to hold government accountable, years later, and has allowed us to carry out vital and successful legal challenges against government’s inaction.

    Net Zero Strategy court case win

    Alongside ClientEarth and the Good Law Project, we recently took the government to court and won. In a landmark victory, the High Court ruled in July that the UK government’s Net Zero Strategy is unlawful. This strategy is supposed to explain how emissions targets will be achieved, but we argued successfully that it was legally inadequate and didn’t contain sufficient detail. The government sought an appeal, but we’re delighted to confirm that it recently decided not to pursue this after all. That means our win in the High Court stands. Now the government has to revise its strategy and lay out a credible plan for meeting emissions targets.

    The Climate Change Act directly enabled this victory. It was this very Act that allowed us to hold the government to account over its Net Zero Strategy. This is the kind of good news we desperately needed while seeing the impact of the climate crisis, through record-breaking heatwaves and fires sweeping across the country and around the world.

    A lasting legacy

    The journey for climate action can sometimes feel long, but we need to take a step back and celebrate our victories. The Climate Change Act has enabled us to hold government accountable for its climate inaction and win campaigns that have a lasting legacy. The Act has also enabled policy changes across the board, like the government banning the sale of fossil fuel cars beyond 2030. Thanks to a law we campaigned for and succeeded in establishing back in 2008, we’re winning more battles today.

    Change doesn’t happen overnight. It’s the result of collective action over many years of sustained campaigning. Our latest Net Zero Strategy win against the UK government can point the way to a more climate-friendly economy and a greener and healthier world for all. This win is proof that our actions can have a big impact, even if you have to wait a while to see it happen.

  • PRESS RELEASE : Statement on Defence Secretary’s call with Russian Defence Minister [October 2022]

    PRESS RELEASE : Statement on Defence Secretary’s call with Russian Defence Minister [October 2022]

    The press release issued by the Ministry of Defence on 23 October 2022.

    At the request of the Russian Ministry of Defence, the Secretary of State for Defence spoke with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu, this afternoon. Minister Shoigu alleged that Ukraine was planning actions facilitated by Western countries, including the UK, to escalate the conflict in Ukraine.

    The Defence Secretary refuted these claims and cautioned that such allegations should not be used as a pretext for greater escalation.

    The Defence Secretary also reiterated UK and wider international support for Ukraine and desire to de-escalate this conflict. It is for Ukraine and Russia to seek resolution to the war and the UK stands ready to assist.

    The Secretary of State observed that both Ministers were professional and respectful on the call.

  • Guy Verhofstadt – 2022 Comments on Rejoin March in London

    Guy Verhofstadt – 2022 Comments on Rejoin March in London

    The comments made by by Guy Verhofstadt on Twitter on 23 October 2022.

    Felt so good to see thousands and thousands of Brits marching to #RejoinEU with @youngeuromove yesterday. Some day soon we will bring back what belongs together: the whole European family ?? ??