Zac Goldsmith’s resignation last night has prompted the Green Party’s Andree Frieze to express her interest in running for the Richmond Park by-election.
Ms Frieze, who ran for the constituency in 2015, claims Boris Johnson, Justine Greening, James Berry and Tania Mathias should all resign as MPs if they are serious in their fight against the Heathrow expansion.
They all made statements in parliament yesterday following Transport Secretary Chris Grayling’s announcement for Heathrow expansion and Ms Frieze said ‘They should all resign!’.
Mr Johnson, MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip, Greening for Putney, Roehampton and Southfields , Berry for Kingston and Surbiton and Mathias for Twickenham
She said: “They won’t stand up. This is a time for action. If they are all against Heathrow then they should make an actual statement and resign.”
Ms Frieze was disappointed with the news on Heathrow but said she was not surprised.
“We’ve know for a few days now as it had been leaked,” she said. “It’s completely wrong in terms of climate change.
“In terms of their plans on climate change, David Cameron and Theresa May have lied to us. We can’t trust them.
“No airport at all should be changed. There is no way CO2 emissions will go down after this decision.”
Speaking to the commons earlier Mr Grayling said the decision would reduce carbon emissions and would not be at just any cost to local people.
He described the news as ‘a momentous step for our country’ and declared that ‘this country is open for business’.
Ms Frieze disagreed and went on to describe the decision as ‘hypocritical’ stating it went against the Paris Climate Agreement which aims to tackles climate change and the United Kingdom is a part of.
She accused the Conservative party of focusing on London and making a business decision over a sensible one.
“They are subsidising a business to make money for itself,” she said.
“Tories are all about big business. If Labour were in power they would have backed it as well and said it was for the jobs.
“No party can be trusted with climate change. We are the only ones who understand long term affects.
“The rest of the country has once again been left behind as the government focuses its attention on London.”
Instead of a decision between Heathrow or Gatwick for a third runway, Ms Frieze argues that the debate had been changed due to the power of advertising.
She added: “They changed the conversation from do we need a new runway to where should it be?
“Heathrow and Gatwick has had millions invested into advertising lobbying for a new runway.
“As soon as you step outside of Westminster there are massive signs campaigning for either side. I’m so angry.”
In reaction to Mr Goldsmith’s resignation, Ms Frieze declared her desire to run again but also talked of a failed idea of an alliance with Labour and the Liberal Democrats.
“I’m planning to seek election again and an announcement will be made next week,” she said.
“We’ve approached the idea of running a progressive alliance with Labour and the Lib Dems but if we don’t have partners to work with we can’t make it happen.”
Boris Johnson famously said that he would ‘lie in front of the bulldozers’ if Heathrow was chosen for a third runway but Ms Frieze had a different message: “The government have said yes but it will never happen.
We will be fighting this – I won’t stand in front of the bulldozers because they won’t get there!”
A public consultation will now be held on the effects of a third runway at Britain’s busiest airport before the final decision is put to MPs for a vote in the winter of 2017/18.
