Green parliamentarians were in the thick of it this week, with Hannah Spencer sworn in the same day MPs questioned Keir Starmer on the US and Israel’s war on Iran, which has engulfed the Middle East and threatens to deepen cost-of-living woes.

Here’s a wrap-up of key remarks in the House of Commons and the House of Lords for the week of March 2.

Ellie Chowns MP: US-Israeli attack on Iran

Ellie Chowns said Monday Britain must “unequivocally” oppose the US and Israel’s “reckless” attack on Iran, two days after the Western countries started a new Middle East war.

“My party and I stand with all the brave Iranians who condemn the vile regime in Iran,” she told parliament. “We also condemn the deeply irresponsible and illegal attack by the US and Israel on Iran, which was launched in the middle of nuclear negotiations and led by [US President Donald] Trump — a clearly unstable loose cannon — and [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu, a war criminal.”

The MP for North Herefordshire asked whether Prime Minister Keir Starmer would publish legal advice on the initial US and Israeli strikes that sparked the war. The government had already released a summary of its legal position on what Chowns called “the defensive posture”, under which Britain has authorised US use of its bases to attack Iranian missile launchers and storage sites. She also asked whether Starmer would give MPs a vote on “any UK involvement” in the war.

The PM said Britain was “not at war” and “not getting involved in offensive action that the US and Israel are taking”. It is “not practice” to publish legal advice or summaries regarding “defensive action”, he added.

Green defence and foreign affairs spokesperson Chowns introduced Tuesday a bill that would require the government to secure Commons approval before deploying military forces for armed conflict. She wrote to Starmer about the proposed legislation, saying US use of British bases in the Iran war “risks drawing the UK into a dangerous conflict”.

Polling shows 60% of voters would want parliamentary authorisation before any direct military action, with just 21% content for the government to move without first seeking approval. Half of people oppose the decision to permit US use of British airbases for attacks on Iranian missile sites, with 32% in favour.

Baroness Natalie Bennett: International Women’s Day

Baroness Natalie Bennett raised the alarm Friday on aid cuts impacting United Nations organisations, calling it a particular issue for women during an International Women’s Day debate.

She pointed the finger especially at US cuts but also mentioned British reductions in development aid. She “saw how much” UN organisations have been “hollowed out” during a weeklong visit to Geneva in Switzerland, she said, with the World Health Organization “slashed” and its African regional office “majorly affected”.

Bennett addressed antimicrobial resistance — where medicines lose their effectiveness against bacteria, viruses, or other causes of infection. A lack of running water at many maternity facilities, especially in Africa, creates an infection risk and requires preventative use of antibiotics, threatening to hasten resistance, she said.

“As we talk today, we might think about the women at this moment in labour in those maternity clinics — their lives and their babies’ lives at risk because of inadequate resources, because some people in this world are taking far more resources than they should have the right to, while those women suffer,” Bennett told lawmakers.

“The cutbacks will only mean that that situation continues, which makes not only those women and babies less safe, but all of us less safe.”

Labour women’s minister Baroness Jacqui Smith said she “recognises” the issues highlighted by Lords on cuts to overseas development aid. The government is “committed to embedding equality meaningfully”, she added, and “will share details on strengthened measures for women and girls in due course”.

Baroness Jenny Jones: Gorton and Denton byelection

Election experts have said there is no chance the Green victory in the recent Gorton and Denton byelection was down to alleged voting irregularities, Baroness Jenny Jones told Lords Wednesday.

“In view of the size of the victory of the Green Party over the Reform party, I am assured by psephologists [election experts] that there is absolutely no case to be answered that the result could be changed by these alleged breaches of electoral law,” she said, asking whether this was also the government’s advice.

Labour local government minister Baroness Jane Taylor replied: “We don’t want to see breaches of electoral law at any time, whatever the outcome of the election is,” adding that it is “very important” voters can have “complete confidence in the system that’s operating”, whether it affects the result or not.

Green candidate Hannah Spencer, sworn in as an MP Monday, won the Gorton and Denton byelection with 4,402 more votes than second-place Matt Goodwin of Reform UK. Labour finished third.

Monitoring group Democracy Volunteers said it observed in Gorton and Denton the “highest levels” of “family voting” ever in its 10 years’ experience at British elections. Manchester City Council said “no such issues” were reported on election day and this week added that it had requested from the group “a report detailing their claims and any evidence supporting them”. Reform has referred the voting allegations to authorities, while police continue to investigate.

Family voting occurs “when two people enter a polling booth together or one oversees the behaviour of another so that they know their voting choice”, according to Democracy Volunteers.

The organisation reported a higher rate of family voting in Tower Hamlets mayoral and council elections in 2018, the Byline Times magazine noted.

Green politicians’ parliamentary work has probably been overshadowed this week by the addition of a new member to their ranks: Hannah Spencer, who won a stunning byelection victory to become Gorton and Denton’s new MP.

So, to get you back up to speed, here’s a wrap-up of key remarks in the House of Commons and the House of Lords for the week of February 23.

Baroness Jenny Jones: Hillsborough law

Jenny Jones asked the government on Thursday why the proposed criminal offence of misleading the public presently excludes MPs and members of the Lords.

The offence is part of the government’s Public Office (Accountability) Bill, also known as the Hillsborough law, which is currently in the Commons. Jones noted that the offence applies to the prime minister and other ministers and said there may be procedural and constitutional reasons for excluding other parliamentarians.

“But, I just wonder what the public is going to think. They will see a law that criminalises deception by nearly every category of public official, except the very people who are making this bill become law,” she said in opening a debate on the issue.

“Will the government now give serious consideration to removing [the] exclusion, so that this bill may stand as a testament to integrity, rather than a monument to hypocrisy?”

Labour minister Baroness Alison Levitt told peers that parliamentarians were not included as they “do not directly take decisions on behalf of the state, nor do they have access to the kind of government information that would be available to ministers”. Judges are also excluded — but other offences contained in the bill do apply to them and to MPs and peers, she said.

See this Sky News article for further information.

Siân Berry MP: Royals and freedom of information

Siân Berry spoke in a Tuesday debate on a motion to compel the government to release documents concerning then-Prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s 2001 appointment as a British trade envoy.

She told lawmakers that Green MPs supported the Liberal Democrat motion, which passed with the government’s backing, but added that the royal family is “sheltered from scrutiny in too many ways”.

Pointing to a legal provision that exempts public authorities’ communications with royals from freedom of information requests, Berry said: “Now, that really is one rule for the rich and powerful and one rule for the rest of us.”

“I believe this is a serious transparency loophole for royals that must be closed,” the MP for Brighton Pavilion added, saying it may make it tougher to scrutinise any future appointments of royals as trade envoys and to obtain details when serious problems occur.

Public authorities’ communications with some royal family members, including the king, are always exempt from freedom of information requests. Correspondence with other royals may be released if disclosure is deemed of enough benefit to society.

Baroness Natalie Bennett: Dual national passport rules

Natalie Bennett said new passport rules for British dual nationals were “extraordinarily discriminatory” against women on Thursday.

The rules require dual nationals to travel to Britain using a British passport. The government is temporarily allowing carriers to accept valid passports from many other countries if the holder also has an expired British passport issued in or after 1989. But personal details must match.

“Britons in Greece are among the organisations highlighting the fact that this is extraordinarily discriminatory against women,” Bennett said. Greece and other countries impose naming rules when issuing passports, with Athens requiring women “married to a Greek… to have their maiden surname [included] as well”, she added.

Bennett asked Home Office minister Lord David Hanson whether an exception available in extraordinary circumstances would cover this situation, “where people literally have no choice but to have two different names on their passport”.

Hanson said he would “look at the specific instance… with regard to Greece, because that hasn’t been drawn to my attention to date”, and contact Bennett directly. But he added that there are support mechanisms to ensure people “get their proper access” to Britain during the transitional period.

According to government guidance on name changes on official documents, the Home Office will “exceptionally consider” permitting people to use a different name on British documents if they can show they cannot alter their foreign-issued ones. This “may include married naturalised British citizens” where legal requirements mean they can’t change the family name displayed on their foreign passport.

See this Guardian report for further information.