Four Green Party members of the European Parliament today participated in protests outside the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) arms fair in London.
Scott Ainslie (MEP for London), Ellie Chowns (MEP for the West Midlands), Gina Dowding (MEP for the North West) and Catherine Rowett (MEP for the East of England) joined hundreds of protestors outside the ExCel centre to voice their concern about the UK government’s continued support for the world’s biggest arms fair.
UK-made arms are being used to perpetrate human rights abuses. Our government is prioritising profit over people. The UK’s involvement in the arms trade – we are the second largest arms exporter in the world – is a matter of shame for our country.
That’s why I’m joining protestors today to demonstrate against the UK government’s role in selling arms to Saudi Arabia, and against your tax money being used to support this week’s arms fair.
If you can get to the ExCeL exhibition centre in London over the coming days, join the protest. If you are not able to demonstrate in person, make your voice heard via social media, by writing to your MP and by signing this petiton.
Dear Ms Truss
We are extremely disturbed to see once again that the UK is set to host the world’s largest arms fair and your guest list includes highly controversial representatives from Saudi Arabia.
Just two months after the Court of Appeal ruled that British arms sales to Saudi Arabia were unlawful because of the conflict in Yemen, the UN has this week recognised the UK’s complicity in war crimes in the region, due to its provision of arms and logistical support to a Saudi-led coalition.
Ellie joined the crowds at Moseley Folk Festival. Great conversations with local people of all ages.
Ellie started the day at Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership to discuss carbon reduction. She then travelled to Sandwell Valley nature reserve, where she met Alastair Taylor, Biodiversity Policy officer for the RSPB and Andy, a volunteer at the reserve for 50 years.
Ellie squeezed visits to Dudley Council, Walsall Council and Warwick University into one day, then rounded it off by joining the first #StopTheCoup protest in central Birmingham.
Ellie chatted with festival goers and enjoyed the music, including a great Skerryvore set!
“It was just wonderful to see Stoke-on-Trent full of such amazing creativity! Acrobatics, theatre, dance, music, marching bands parading through the city centre with people following on behind – what a great day!”
“Farmers would face a double whammy: cheap imports undercutting home-grown produce, and greater difficulty exporting to the EU, which is by far our biggest external market. Many farmers have said they would be simply forced out of business, resulting in devastating job losses and tens of thousands of acres of land with nobody to farm them.”
“While I’m pleased that Staffordshire County Council has joined over 200 other local authorities in declaring a climate emergency, Cllr Atkins and his Conservative colleagues must now deliver on the commitments they have signed up for. Today, I asked Cllr Atkins for details of the Council’s plans for transitioning to zero carbon and underlined that warm words need to be translated into concrete action.”