Ellie Chowns slams both 'vile' Iran regime, 'reckless' US-Israel attack
Ellie Chowns said the Greens stand with 'all the brave Iranians' who 'condemn the vile regime'. She also slammed the US and Israel's 'deeply irresponsible and illegal' attack on Iran.
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 voter 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 police, who are investigating.
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.