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.”
Ellie tucked into a delicious lunch at the Real Junk Food project in Ladywood, Birmingham today. It’s a brilliant community project, run by fabulous volunteers. Waste food is used to create tasty meals on a ‘pay what you can’ basis.
“While I’m pleased that Warwickshire County Council has joined over 200 other local authorities in recognising the climate emergency, I’m disappointed that the Council has not yet set any targets for emission reduction. Warm words need to be translated into concrete action. Today, I asked Cllr Seccombe to prioritise making plans for achieving zero carbon, otherwise Warwickshire risks being left behind.”