In light of a recent speech by the Irish President critiquing the ‘obsession’ with economic growth, the Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Limits to Growth just tabled an Early Day Motion (EDM), calling on the Government to support the transition to a Wellbeing Economy:
That this House welcomes the call made by President Michael D Higgins of Ireland, on 28th April 2023 at a reception for the Think-Tank for Action on Social Change (TASC), to look beyond the current obsession with economic growth and rebalance economy, ecology and ethics; notes that this call is well-aligned with the aims of the European Parliament’s examination of the Beyond Growth agenda; further notes that such a call has far-reaching implications for the teaching and practice of economics in which the obsession with perpetual growth has left society blinkered to the ecological catastrophe we now face; agrees with President Higgins that an alternative paradigm of social economy within ecological responsibility is already within reach; further agrees that this new paradigm must now find its way onto the curricula where economics is taught and into the board rooms and government ministries where economics is practised; and calls on the UK Government to match the ambition and leadership shown by the Irish President and the European Parliament by supporting the development of a post growth economics, conducting a review of the growth dependency of the UK economy and developing a comprehensive strategy to transition to a wellbeing economy.
Sponsors of the motion are Caroline Lucas, Clive Lewis, Deidre Brock, Claire Hanna, Ben Lake and Ronnie Cowan. The full and developing list of parliamentary supporters can be accessed on the Parliament EDMs website.
This motion is supported by MPs across the political spectrum. If you think your MP should sign it too, consider writing to them with the EDM link: https://edm.parliament.uk/early-day-motion/60872, or tag them on social media.