Green mayoral candidate Sian Berry today joined the capital’s long-standing MEP Jean Lambert to launch the London Green Party’s campaign for the UK to remain in the EU.
The party intends to make a positive case for why EU membership is important for London, and will urge Green-minded Londoners to vote to stay in the referendum on 23 June.
Jean Lambert said: “London benefits from being in the EU. We have the freedom to live, work, and travel across the EU’s 27 other member states, and hundreds of thousands of Londoners have benefited from these rights. London is not an insular place, and many of us have links to other European countries. Leaving the EU will threaten these rights and freedoms, and will hurt London economically and culturally.
“EU funding has also directly benefited London. Investing in skills and employment, especially for young people; reducing the energy use of London’s housing and public buildings; investing in education and research; funding projects to address climate change and protect the environment. These are just some of the way EU money has been used in London.”
Sian Berry added: “I’m firmly for a vote to stay in Europe. London has hundreds of thousands of EU citizens who contribute to our communities and culture as well as our economy. Like so many of my generation, I’m used to Europe’s countries being united, working together and deciding some things collaboratively at a European level.
“One of the reasons we have such appalling air pollution in our city is that we’ve failed to take action on a European directive we’ve signed up to – and obeying that directive will be part of the solution. Certainly I want the EU to be more democratic and more accountable to all the citizens of Europe, but I don’t understand the desire to leave at all.”