APPG members Lord Bird and Caroline Lucas MP have launched a campaign—Today for Tomorrow—to call for new legislation that tackles short-term thinking, and focuses on Britain’s wellbeing.
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On 14 October, the date of the State Opening of Parliament, cross-bench peer and Founder/Editor-in-Chief of The Big Issue, Lord Bird, has tabled the Future Generations Bill as a private member’s bill in the House of Lords. Caroline Lucas MP marked the campaign launch with an exclusive guest edit of The Big Issue, pledging to sponsor the Bill in the House of Commons.
The aim of the Bill is to revolutionise how laws and policies are made in the UK by requiring policies to enhance the environmental, economic, social and cultural well-being of current and future generations, making life better for all people in the UK. At the heart of the mission is the drive to dismantle the root causes of poverty, and promote preventative action.
Caroline Lucas MP said: “The views and concerns of young people are too often ignored by government, whether it’s the climate emergency, housing or job security. We need to counter the inherent short-termism of our financial system and of government policies which are drafted only to get a party re-elected, and not to tackle the long-term needs of our country and its people.
“If the well-being of future generations is embedded in all legislation and policies, it will make all public bodies consider the long-term impact of their decisions, bringing communities and generations together to address the biggest issues of our time.”
Lord Bird said: “This is politics for the people. For once, it’s not about what is in the interest of political parties or big business. Our Future Generations Bill is a direct response to those calling for urgent reform to our democracy and society, and action on climate.
The Bill is inspired by the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, which has at its heart a duty on all public bodies, including Welsh ministers, to act in accordance with a sustainable development principle, which seeks to ensure that the needs of the present are met without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
As well as creating a ‘future generations test’ for all new policy changes, the Bill calls for national well-being goals for the whole country to work towards, creates a UK Future Generations Commissioner to act as a guardian for the unborn, sets up a Joint-Committee on Future Generations in Parliament, and requires budgets to measure and increase their preventative spending.
For more information, visit www.todayfortomorrow.org.uk; see updates on Twitter via #TodayForTomorrow; and/or contact Lord Bird’s office via email (sidorczuko@parliament.uk) or phone (07923-892-040).
Related Links
- The full bill can be accessed in pdf.
- Essay | Democratic Reform, Intergenerational Justice and the Challenges of the Long-Term—By Simon Caney