This week only a small number of items for discussion Parliament are proposed by Sussex MP’s. Sadly last week there was another event which was entitled as “e-petition 643216, relating to the Groceries Supply Code of Practice” and none of the Sussex MPs took part in that session. Two Committees are planned for this week. On Tuesday morning there is an Education Committee with the subject of “Financial Education” with Caroline Ansell, from Eastbourne taking part. On Wednesday morning the Home Affairs Committee will meet which will include Tim Loughton from East Worthing and Shoreham. In addition, on Tuesday morning there is a statement in the main chamber of commons which Caroline Lucas the MP for Brighton Pavilion will contribute entitled “Fossil fuels and political lobbying”.

The event that clearly reflects the interests of a considerable numbers of Sussex MP’s will take place this afternoon at 4.30pm. This discussion entitled “e-petition 641904 relating to the next general election” arranged by Tonia Antoniazzi, the South Wales MP for Labour.  The event is “e-petition 641904 Call an immediate general election” that is still active and so far it has over 286,000 signatures in the UK. There are more than 4,000 signatures from West Sussex, more than 2,600 in East Sussex and more than 3,100 signatures in Brighton and Hove. The most significant group is Brighton Pavilion with more than 1,300 people which makes it the largest area in the UK. This petition is described as “The Prime Minister should call an immediate general election to allow the British public to have their say on how we are governed, we should not be made to wait until January 2025.”

Just over a week ago, two events took place in Parliament which both involved the MP for Brighton Pavilion and both of them are important for us all. On Wednesday 17th January Caroline Lucas published a Bill, entitled, “Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill” and she has been offered the opportunity to discuss it as the second discussion later this year on Friday 14th June. Clearly this is very significant given the potential that the General Election could occur before June and given that she is retiring during the next General Election it is vital for other MPs to endorse it. So far five other MPs have endorsed her Bill. Two of which are Liberal Democrat and the other three are Labour MPs. I hope that more MP’s across the UK will see its vital importance.

This Bill is needed because, to put it simply, the state of our filthy air is a public health emergency. Air pollution is associated with conditions such as asthma, heart disease and cancer, and has been shown to have an impact on our mental health too, leading to an increased risk of schizophrenia, depression and anxiety. Its impacts are not equally felt, however, with those on low incomes and from black and ethnic minority backgrounds far more likely to live in polluted areas. It is children’s health that is affected most of all.

The beginning of the text was

That leave be given to bring in a Bill to establish the right to breathe clean air; to require the Secretary of State to achieve and maintain clean air in England; to involve the UK Health Security Agency in setting and reviewing pollutants and their limits; to enhance the powers, duties and functions of various agencies and authorities in relation to air pollution; to establish the Citizens’ Commission for Clean Air with powers to institute or intervene in legal proceedings; to require the Secretary of State and the relevant national authorities to apply environmental principles in carrying out their duties under this Act and the clean air enactments; and for connected purposes.

A couple of days after her Bill was published, Caroline created an Early Day Motion and its contribution was noteworthy. It is entitled “Right to Buy’’ She states

That this House notes that around 2 million council homes in England have been sold off to private individuals well below market value since the inception of the Right to Buy in 1980; further notes these homes were built using public money to create an essential collective asset fundamental to the post World War Two settlement; believes Right to Buy has been abused by property speculators and has decimated precious social housing stock as successive governments failed to replace the social homes being lost; supports the 2022 UK Housing Review conclusion that Right to Buy was a strategic failure; is concerned that the state is now giving billions in housing benefit to private landlords that should be invested in building new council housing; recognises the link between Right to Buy and the harmful commodification of housing, housing inequality and shortages for people on low incomes, the current homelessness crisis and record rates of children living in temporary accommodation; further believes that council housing needs to be provided and safeguarded for the housing needs and wellbeing of current and future generations; welcomes the abolition of Right to Buy in Scotland and Wales; and calls on the Government to protect and strengthen social housing by following suit in England, starting with an immediate suspension of all discounts, at the same time as investing in an ambitious programme to build new council homes.

This item deserves all party support and these events indicate the significance that the Green Party has held in Parliament.