+1,000 Candidates Signed the CEE Bill Pledge this Election

The CEE Bill Alliance have rounded off our Elections 2021 campaign. Thank you to all our campaigners who emailed their candidates—from town and parish councillors, to police and crime commissioners and mayors—asking them to sign the CEE Bill Pledge.

We set a goal of 1,000 candidates signing the pledge at the start of the campaign. With your help, over 1,400 candidates from 11 parties have all signed up! You can see the full list of candidates by region, here. The support for the CEE Bill at all levels of election, in all corners of the UK demonstrates the real desire for concrete legislation in Parliament to tackle the climate and ecological crisis. It also shows the strength of the CEE Bill campaign in towns, villages and cities across the nation.

We asked some of those candidates from across the parties why they backed the CEE Bill, and why if elected they will work to make it law. Here is what they had to say.

Katherine Lewis, Green Party candidate for Cornwall County Council, kindly offered these words of support:

“As Green Party candidate for Helston North in the Cornwall Council elections, I am backing the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill. The CEE Bill provides the bold legislation that we need to do this. It requires that we take responsibility for our real fair share of emissions (those in the UK and overseas) and give ordinary people a real say on the way forward – this will be crucial in overcoming political hurdles and facilitating a just transition to a carbon neutral future. We can – and must – do more to safeguard our beautiful planet for our children and future generations.”

We are also proud that Conservative Party candidates in areas of the UK also signed the pledge. Here’s one such champion, Zakir Hossain, Conservative candidate for East Ham Central by-election:

“As a supporter of the CEE bill, I want to ensure that discussions brought to a local level and not just at government level. Only by making everybody consciously aware of climate change can we really be serious. Therefore, I propose an assembly should also be set up locally such as the type of assembly mentioned in the Bill. This local assembly should take into consideration the views and opinions of local people and assist the local council in making Newham achieve the best possible carbon footprint. We now have to move from ideology to practicality. Thinking about it, talking about it is not enough. We have to actively come together to achieve objectives and make it work for everybody.”

Labour Party and Labour & Co-op Party candidates across the nation also signed the pledge, including Duncan Enright, Labour & Co-op candidate for Oxfordshire County Council:

“Witney Town Council became a Labour-led council in May 2019 and one of its first acts was to declare the climate emergency and begin the move to zero carbon by 2028. As a former mayor, and leader of the Labour and Cooperative Group on West Oxfordshire District Council (which has also declared the climate emergency) I am pleased to back the CEE bill which is a bold but realistic move towards what we know we have to do to save our planet. Witney has backed the bill, and I urge everyone to do so.”

As well as council elections across the country, there are also elections taking place for mayors in cities across England, including London. Liberal Democrat candidate for Greater Manchester Simon Lepori signed the pledge, and celebrated the Liberal Democrats championing the CEE Bill:

“The Liberal Democrats for 33 years, and 20 years before as the Liberals, have always championed the environment. We warned about it for years and campaigned about the damage we were doing to our planet. Now we find ourselves in a true climate and ecological emergency. We need to show leadership and we need to step forward yet again, not just as Lib Dems, but across the parties in order to save our environment for future generations. The CEE Bill is the Bill that would safeguard our climate and ecology over the years to come and set a benchmark for us all to aim for.”

The climate and ecological emergency also impacts security and policing, and the CEE Bill pledge was signed by Police and Crime Commissioner candidates such as Alison Hume, Labour Party Candidate for North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner:

“I signed the CEE Bill Alliance pledge because I think that the climate emergency is the most important challenge facing the world and that we in Yorkshire are not immune to its effects. I am proud to join my colleagues in the Labour Party in publicly supporting the Climate & Ecological Emergencies Bill. If I am elected, I will work to make the Bill law and one of my early actions will be to ask the Chief Constable and Chief Fire Officer’s to review their environmental strategies and policies, to ensure that we are doing all that we can to help tackle the climate crisis”.

As well as the major parties, candidates from the other parties also pledged their support, from the Yorkshire Party to the Trade Union and Socialist Congress, as well as many Independents. Helen Spiby-Vann, London Assembly candidate for the Christian People’s Alliance, signed the CEE Bill pledge and had this to say:

“The CEE Bill needs to be implemented as soon as possible. God has given us completely natural processes for storing carbon such as peat bogs, forests and vegetation so we should be getting with the program. I believe we should be aiming for zero non-circular recyclable plastics as soon as possible. There’s available alternatives such as paper, metal, glass, natural fibres and food waste (soil symbol) bags which are part of a circular economy. The first precept God gave us was to steward the planet equitably and compassionately.”

Thank you to all the candidates who signed the CEE Bill pledge this election—we would like to wish them all the best of luck on election day.

Thank you as well to all of you, our wonderful campaigners, for taking the time to ask your candidates to sign the pledge. Without your help it would not have been possible to get +1,400 candidates to put climate and nature first this election.

Election Day is tomorrow Thursday 6 May. Make a plan to cast your votes. To find out about your candidates visit this website, Who Can I Vote For? For more information on the elections in your area visit the Electoral Commission Website.

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