GREEN WEST CHESHIRE

Yes to a referendum on the EU!

2011-10-23T03:44:00.001-07:00

According to Paul Cotterill on the Liberal Conspiracy blog Caroline Lucas, the leader of the Green Party, has outflanked Labour on the issue of a referendum on the EU. He is right. Outflanking a gauche and leaden-footed Labour leadership isn't difficult these days. Labour is completely hamstrung by its New Labour legacy, and because of its complicity in privatisation and austerity it is incapable of challenging the most dangerously reactionary government in a century.

Caroline said: "I support a referendum on our membership of the EU because I am pro-democracy, not because I'm anti-EU - and because I want to see a radical reform of the way Europe operates. The EU has the potential to spread peace and make our economies more sustainable, and to promote democracy and human rights, at home and throughout the world. But it must urgently change direction, away from an obsessive focus on competition and free trade and towards placing genuine co-operation and environmental sustainability at its heart."

Caroline has called this exactly right. We need to challenge the lack of democratic accountability and neoliberalism of the EU. Most people don't want us to leave, but this is a Europe of austerity, dominated by the ECB. The way the Greeks and Irish have been humiliated is appalling, and all to bail out French and German banks. That is unacceptable. We need start a movement to liberate the EU from the dead hand of neoliberal failure, and make sure that the Green Party is at the forefront of that movement.

Green Party make further gains in local elections

2011-05-10T13:14:00.000-07:00

Locally we had a good series of results in the four wards in which we stood, coming second in Gowy from nowhere. We still have a lot of work to do and we need to build up a stronger local campaigning party.

In the wider North West, Hilary Robinson was elected to Alsager Town Council; our first Green Councillor in Cheshire, and John Coyne retained his seat in Liverpool which had seemed vulnerable to a resurgent Labour. In Lancaster we had a disappointing result losing 4 councillors to Labour who had a good result in the north of England - totally underserved given the cuts they had planned in public services and the privatisation of the NHS which they had already started upon before the general election last year.

Nationally, we went into our election campaign with 116 councillors on 42 councils and have come out of it with 130 on 43 councils, a gain of 14 seats.

Norwich fought off Labour in two wards, as well as gaining an additional seat in Thorpe Hamlet, to bring their total seats on the council to 15 - adding to its tally of city councillors at every election since 2002. We also gained seats in Bolsover, Bristol, Herefordshire, Kings Lynn and West Norfolk, Malvern Hills, Mid Suffolk, Reigate, Solihull, South Hams, Stafford and St Albans! The outstanding Brighton results were also a real highlight: we gained 10 more seats, taking our total to 23 and making the Greens the largest party on the council.

Greens fighting hard in West Cheshire elections

2011-05-02T10:46:00.000-07:00

Members of the Green Party in Cheshire West and Chester have been working hard in our target wards of Gowy and Davenham and Moulton. We have been busy talking to voters and delivering election flyers over the past week and the weather has been very kind to us. By the 5th of May we will have delivered over 7500 flyers in the two wards.

Our campaign is focussed on fighting the cuts imposed in Cheshire by the Coalition government. George Osborne's £81 Billion cuts package is totally unjustified and genuine threat to the welfare state which will cause suffering to the weakest members of our society, including the poor, disabled and unemployed.

We have seen the effect that cuts have had in Ireland where the economy has been devastated. You can't cut your way out of a recession - that is what happened in the 1930s and it lead to a decade of economic stagnation and conflict which cost millions of lives.

The Green Party has a fully costed economic programme which will protect public services and create jobs, lifting us out of economic stagnation and building a future for a sustainable economy which will help us deal with the consequences of climate change. A couple of Green councillors in West Cheshire would make all the difference - wherever you are vote Green on 5th May!

SAY YES to AV!

2011-04-24T12:45:00.001-07:00

For the record - I don't agree with Nick. Like many people in this country I'm appalled by the role the Liberal Democrats (LDs) have played in propping up a reactionary, class war Tory government which is seeking to return us to the inequality and public squalor of the 19th century. £81 billion pounds worth of cuts which will hit the poor, low paid, unemployed, disabled and women hardest would be bad enough in itself but what accompanies it makes it much, much worse - the privatisation of the NHS, the bogus 'Big Society', the sell off of forests, student loans at £9,000 a year, the scrapping of environmental bodies, the attack on the public sector and pensions, the support for bankers who created the economic crash, nepotism for neighbours by Cameron, and the absurdity of calling environmental protection legislation 'red tape' all add up to a nightmare for the British people. Those of us who lived through the Thatcher era never thought we could be shafted to such an extent again - but that is what is happening as I type this.

We should never have been so surprised at LD support for this Tory government and its cuts agenda. In 2004, prominent LDs including Clegg, Laws and Cable contributed to the 'Orange Book' which was essentially a neoliberal manifesto. The reactionary take-over of the LDs had begun. Just as with New Labour The LDs swung to the right abandoning the social democratic approach the LDs had been found on.

So what has this got to do with the referendum on the Alternative Vote (AV)? Given the above - its not surprising then that many on the left now want to punish Clegg and the LDs by voting down AV. The theory is that if the referendum is lost the Coalition government will split, forcing an election in which Labour and Ed Milliband will ride to the rescue of the nation. In my view this is very short-sighted for several reasons; firstly, there is no guarantee that the Coalition will split. The LDs are in a very vulnerable position at the moment and they don't want an election. Not only do they fear meltdown but they have no funds to fight a campaign; secondly, even if the Coalition does split there is no guarantee that Labour will win or the Ed will ride to the rescue if they do. New Labour may be dead but it certainly hasn't been buried; finally, and most importantly the AV referendum offers us something very rare in British politics - a chance to bring about progressive electoral reform.

AV isn't perfect, its not as good as proportional representation (PR), but it's a hell of a lot better than what we have at the moment - a rotten voting system well past its sell by date. If the referendum is lost it will put back electoral reform for a generation. The beauty of AV is that it increases voter power and makes MPs more accountable to their electorate - so what if it slightly benefits the LDS? - that is the popular view based on previous voting patterns, but it assumes that many will put the LDs down as a second preference - now that is much less likely. Neither will it benefit the BNP as has been suggested - it will benefit you the voter by putting more power in your hands. Don't believe the outrageous lies put about by the No campaign. Vote YES on May 5th and help to break the mould of British politics. AV now PR later!

Green Party Local Election Broadcast

2011-04-21T11:48:00.000-07:00

Green Councillors working for you

2011-04-17T10:41:00.000-07:00

Cuts where they are needed, not where they hurt

2011-04-14T11:20:00.000-07:00

The greenest government ever - huh?

2011-01-08T07:04:00.001-08:00

So, this is the greenest government ever? I guess quite a few of us are scratching our heads on this one. As the Tory (nasty) Party went thorough it's re-branding with Blairite poster boy and PR man David Cameron, we saw Dave cycling to work, followed by a car carrying his suit and briefcase, installing a wind turbine on his house, and cuddling polar bears at the North Pole (OK, not quite be he would if he could have - no doubt).

Of course, this was all a PR con, or as these things are known these days - greenwash. Lets get down to the facts. The Tory-led government is in thrall to the corporations, and if there is one thing corporations hate its environmental regulation which prevents them dumping costs onto the environment in the form of pollution. It's not difficult to work out that we are going to see a weakening of environmental regulation and a knock down sale of our environmental assets.

So what is the "greenest government ever" doing? Well, its scrapped the Sustainable Development Commission and the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution for a start. It's downsizing the public bodies which protect the environment like the Environment Agency and Natural England. It's planning to sell off our forests, its scrapped the fleet of emergency tugs which are there to protect the marine environment, and it wants to start building new uneconomic and unsustainable nuclear power stations - like the Olkilouto plant in Finland which has been an outrageously expensive botched cock-up.

Behind much of this is the disaster of The Public Bodies Bill which gives the government powers to scrap public bodies at will. The bill is audacious, mendacious and dangerous for the environment. These bodies were created by parliament but parliament will have no say in their merger or removal.

The reality is that this is likely to be the least green government ever with falling environmental standards and failure to tackle our greatest problem - climate change. This won't be a surprise to anyone in the Green Party. It's exactly what we expected. We had the right policies to create a green economy whilst providing a million new jobs and protecting public services. We now have to face five years of going backwards environmentally with nothing being done to deal with the most serious issues that face us.

Green Party Benefit Gig! - 9th January

2011-01-03T09:50:00.000-08:00

There will be a benefit gig for the Party at Alexander's in Chester on Sunday 9th January. All very welcome. Try and come along if you can and pass this on to all your friends!

Can't pay won't pay

2010-08-08T09:38:00.000-07:00

Caroline Lucas speaks out against the cuts.

The Green Queen's Speech

2010-05-25T07:38:00.001-07:00

This is what we could have had if we'd elected a Green government - a positive programme which would have created hope for the future, and an alternative to the mire which we are in. Well done Channel 4.

Green MP's alternative Queen's Speech

By Channel 4 News

Updated on 25 May 2010

As the Queen prepares to travel to Westminster to make her first speech setting out the coalition's planned laws, the country's first ever Green MP Caroline Lucas writes for Channel 4 News to describe what her alternative Queen's Speech would look like.

My government's overriding priority is to modernise the British economy for a low-carbon future, to create an economy more balanced between manufacturing and services, more resilient in the face of financial crises, where wealth is more equitably distributed and the more vulnerable in society are offered greater protection.

My government will bring forward a bill to initiate an emergency investment package, to cost £44bn, which will be intended to create over one million new jobs and training places.

This investment programme will result in significant improvements to public transport, including fare reductions of up to ten per cent. It will provide free insulation for all British homes. It will transform Britain's renewable energy sector into a world leader, which in turn will support the restoration of domestic manufacturing industry. It will also set our country firmly on the road to a zero waste economy.

In parallel with this bill, my government will continue the previous government's efforts to tackle Britain's budget deficit by 2014, but with greater emphasis on raising tax levels on the wealthiest thirteen per cent of earners.

The redistributive tax measures will ensure that a non-means-tested citizen's pension may be introduced at the level of £170 for individual pensioners and £300 for couples. This will ensure that no British pensioner is living below the poverty line.

My government will cancel new road building plans and transfer £30bn from the road building budget towards public transport and measures to promote and facilitate cycling and walking, including safe routes to school programmes.

Other fiscal measures my government will bring forward will include measures to ensure that the costs of high-carbon modes of transport better reflect their costs to society.

My government will introduce a bill to prevent any further private finance initiatives, and to keep the Royal Mail in public ownership, as the first step towards reversing the privatisation of public services.

My government will seek effective global and European collaboration to combat climate change, in a globally equitable manner, which will involve 90 per cent cut in UK CO2 emissions from 1990 levels by 2030, starting with a ten per cent cut in the coming year and following with successive year-on-year cuts to ensure the overall target is met.

My government will complete the reform of regulation of the financial services industry to ensure greater protection for savers and taxpayers, but will bring forward further legislation for the establishment of a nationwide network of not-for-profit community banks, and to separate retail from investment banking. Those banks which are wholly or partly state-owned will pay no bonuses above £25,000, and a permanent tax on bonuses will be introduced. A "Robin Hood tax", a tax on financial transactions, will also be established.

Recognising the international nature of the problems in financial services, my government will actively pursue with our European partners regulation at an EU level.

My government will introduce legislation to bring about wide-ranging political and electoral reform, including a fair and inclusive voting system which will be extended to a fully-elected second chamber.

My government is committed to making Britain a fairer and more inclusive society, and to this end will bring forward legislation to promote this. This will include a requirement for all companies to have at least 40 per cent of their boards of directors made up of women, and to penalise employers who implement unequal pay. The same legislation will strengthen the protection of disabled people and those with mental health problems against discrimination.

My government will bring forward plans for a very early withdrawal of British forces from Afghanistan. At the same time it will seek international support for the establishment of a peace conference involving all Afghanistan's neighbouring countries, and measures to enhance economic and political stability in Afghanistan.

Legislation will be brought forward to decommission Britain's nuclear weapons.

Other measures will be laid before you.

I pray that the blessing of almighty God may rest upon your counsels.

A great night for the Greens!

2010-05-08T10:11:00.000-07:00

Election night was a very long night in the Memorial Hall but well worth staying up for in the end. Caroline Lucas was elected as MP for Brighton Pavilion - a historic moment for the Green Party and one which we have been waiting for far too long.

I'd like to thank the friends and party members who helped me throughout my campaign and the people in Weaver Vale who voted for a radical progressive programme based on hope not fear. I'd also like to thank the returning officer, the people who worked so hard to count the votes, and the other candidates and agents who were all helpful, friendly and considerate.

One of the outcomes of this election is that it has become clear to all that we can no longer continue with an eighteenth century electoral system in a modern democracy. There is an urgent need for electoral reform including fixed term parliaments, proportional representation and an elected second chamber. Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats must now seize the historic opportunity to make this happen.

10 good reasons to vote Green tomorrow

2010-05-05T11:02:00.000-07:00

The Green Party has policies that are distinctive from the other parties. We would protect social services and create 1,000,000 jobs in energy conservation, renewable energy and social care to fight climate change and save you money. Here are ten good reasons to vote Green tomorrow:

1. Stabilising the economy

Regulate the financial sector, permanently tax bankers’ bonuses and introduce the Robin Hood tax on international financial transactions, while reducing corporation tax for small firms.

2. Creating jobs

Create one million jobs in areas such as local manufacturing and food production, public transport, renewable energy, home insulation and repairing and recycling goods.

3. Education

Abolish formalised SATs testing for 11 year olds and reduce the huge paperwork burden on teachers. Protect schools and universities from cuts and privatisation, and abolish university fees.

4. Protecting public services

Protect public services from cuts and privatisation: keep the NHS public, protect Sure Start nurseries, re-open Post Offices, abolish charges for prescriptions and dentistry.

5. Pensions and care for the elderly

Introduce free social care for the elderly as in Scotland and raise the basic state pension to £170 a week.

6. Affordable housing

Take action to ensure that the million empty homes nationwide are brought back into use; introduce free home insulation for all homes within 5 years; and enable local councils to build new council housing again.

7. Transport

Redirect transport funding towards public transport, regulate the buses and renationalise the railways to ensure we have affordable and reliable public transport in the future. Improve cycle routes and pedestrian safety measures.

8. Youth facilities

Double spending on out of school services for young people to give them something to do and somewhere to go and introduce a national youth volunteering programme for the under 18s.

9. Climate change and energy security

The UK should lead the world by example in tackling climate change: energy efficiency measures in buildings, reducing travel miles by providing services like Post Offices locally and localising the economy, investment in renewable energy rather than nuclear power.

10. Democracy and Parliamentary reform

Replace the House of Lords with a fully elected second chamber; decentralise power to local councils and communities; restrict the lobbying power of big business over MPs; prevent MPs from holding directorships and consultancies that stop them being full-time MPs and may result in conflicts of interest.

VOTE GREEN PARTY ON 6TH MAY FOR WEAVER VALE!

Weaver Vale campaign update

2010-05-03T08:54:00.000-07:00

Last week things really began to feel like they were speeding up and I had an unexpected disaster when my WiFi packed up causing me to miss a couple of important emails but now I'm back campaigning online. I've been answering as many emails as I can and tramping the streets of Northwich delivering about 750 election flyers - mainly in Kingsmead. The biggest disappointment and frustration of this election for me has been not being able to spend much time talking to constituents. If I had done this, as I would have liked to, I wouldn't have been able to get my flyers delivered.

The big event of the week was the candidate's debate at Mid Cheshire College. All the candidates - Tory, Lib Dem, Labour, UKIP, Green and 3 independents - except the BNP - turned up. For such an important election the turnout was disappointing with the venue being about half full. Although advertised as a debate - it really consisted of us answering a series of questions in turn. Given that there were eight of us this was quite a cumbersome process. I missed the email with the questions and was probably less prepared than the others although I thought I made a reasonable job of it given that it was my first hustings. I managed to ask the Tory candidate Graeme Evans why the Tories were planning to give away £7 billion in tax cuts to the rich at a time when they are planning to cut public services but predictably I didn't get an answer!

The election is getting really close and I'm hoping this will be a real breakthrough for us. If things go well we could get 3 0r 4 MPs elected. After the huge let down of the European elections I'm not building my hopes too high because there is a danger that now, as then, our candidates will get squeezed out because people who would like to vote for us know we can't form a government. You should vote for the party you believe in and whose policies you find best. That is the only way we'll get real change in the UK.

The Green Party is the only party that is offering a economic alternative to the failed policies supported by the main parties. We want to get people back to work and give the economy a real boost at the time of recession. Our plan to create 1 million jobs and protect public services is far more ambitious than anything the other parties have to offer and would be good for the people of Weaver Vale. We have plans for a Citizens Pension that would end pensioner poverty and overall our policies are the best according to the 226,000 people who have visited http://www.voteforpolicies.org.uk. Why not take a look at this site yourself. You may be surprised to find out you are a Green voter after all.

As the General Election approaches

2010-04-24T12:35:00.001-07:00

The Green Party campaign in Weaver Vale

2010-04-24T11:50:00.000-07:00

I must have been one of the first candidates to arrive at the Forum in Chester to get my nomination papers confirmed. This is an anxious time for candidates because a mistake on the forms could mean that you have to re-submit. That would be no fun for me as I live 20 miles away and had to take a day off work to get there, plus the window - just 4 days between 10.00 am and 4.00 pm - is ridiculously short. I met up with Tom Barker the Green PPC for City of Chester. Our nominations went OK and we retired to a nearby pub for a celebratory drink. Our campaigns had begun in earnest.

So what do you do if you are a GP candidate in a constituency where there has never been a GP candidate before and you have no well oiled party machine to give you support? You make the most of the resources you have. I have had help from the few members we have here and some good local friends and supporters all of whom have made a great contribution by tramping the streets delivering our flyers. But we have only 3000 flyers for a constituency where we could have done with at least 30,000!

My employer has helped by allowing me to take unpaid leave which I will have to make the most of in the coming days until the election. Part of the deal is that I have to resign if elected! Well, I think that is unlikely. So far I have delivered the best part of 1000 flyers myself - thank goodness the weather has been fine - although the barmy June-like weather we are having is only another reminder of climate change. Most of my campaigning has been through the web. Is this the best approach? Should I be spending my time knocking on doors or replying to the many emails I've received ? The simple answer is I don't know. The target I'm setting myself is 1000 votes. Depending on turnout that probably won't be enough to save my deposit but it would be a respectable start.

This is a potentially a momentous election and it's a privilege to be taking part. I joined the Green Party because I believe in its policies and principles. Like many others I used to be a Labour supporter. But when they abandoned their core beliefs - I abandoned them. Ultimately you have to vote for what you believe in. If you want change for the better you have to engage in the political process. Apathy only benefits the ruling elite who have been exploiting the British people for far too long. The Green Party has policies which are fair and just and it is the only party which has the policies to tackle social injustice and climate change.

Green Party Election Broadcast

2010-04-12T09:33:00.000-07:00

My priorities for Weaver Vale

2010-04-11T07:37:00.000-07:00

David Cameron is asking the electorate to vote for change but if voters back him, New Labour or the Liberal Democrats, they will get more of the same – business as usual. The same failed economic policies that have lead to the current economic crisis and the banker’s bonus bonanza will be followed. The Green Party has policies that will create jobs, protect vital public services and tackle the current economic crisis in a way that is fair to everyone. That’s real change

My priorities are jobs and public services. We are still in an economic crisis and there will be savage cuts and job losses in public services if New Labour or the Tories come to power. The Green Party policies include the protection of public services and the creation of one million jobs in insulating homes and renewable energy. These jobs will help the one million young people who are unemployed find meaningful work and learn new jobs and skills, as well as saving families money on their energy bills and reducing our carbon outputs.

We would also intoduce a living wage of £8.10 per hour to replace the minimum wage and a citizens pension of £170 pw for single people and £300 pw for couples to end pensioner poverty.

This programme is fully costed and will be paid for by fairer taxation including the removal of the ceiling on national insurance contributions and scrapping Trident and ID cards. It would be wrong, when our economy is so fragile, to introduce the kind of savage cuts proposed by the other parties.

If you want to find out more about our policies take a look at the previous post on this blog.

Green Party Policies

2010-04-11T07:18:00.000-07:00

Green Party policies

The banking system

When it comes to the banking system The Green Party believe the government has acted completely irresponsibly. They have forced us, the tax-payer, to bail out the bankers. Yet they have failed to ensure that the same banks give desperately needed credit to families and independent businesses.

We will fight for a fair financial deal, with community banks, credit unions and mutuals. This will ensure those who need financial help are given realistic loans, so they can survive the current economic hardship that we are facing today.

We also believe it’s unfair that these irresponsible bankers continue to earn extortionate salaries and bonuses, while 330,000 hard working people still earn less than the low minimum wage. Which is why we will fight to introduce a High Pay Commission to ensure bankers and other highly paid executives in the private and public sectors are not rewarded for their failure.

Health and the NHS

The Green Party think it's unfair that public money is wasted on botched privatisation schemes.

The yearly cost of these privatisation schemes is over £1billion pounds and we are the ones left to foot the bill.

The government tells us that the schemes will provide us with choice. In reality it does nothing to ensure that efficient and effective health care is provided and it actually reduces some of the many health benefits we currently enjoy. It's unfair that quality of care suffers when hospitals and surgeries are treated like profit-driven businesses rather than public services.

We will fight for a fair deal for those needing health care by opposing cuts, closures and privatisation and by demanding a full programme of locally accessible services. In particular, we will maintain the principle of a free NHS by implementing in England and Wales the scheme that provides free social care to the elderly in Scotland.

We believe in keeping the health service free – we would abolish prescription charges, re-introduce free eye tests and ensure NHS chiropody is widely available. We will also fight to restore free dental care and provide everyone with the choice of an NHS dentist.

Pensions

The present pension system is a disgrace. We think it's unfair that people who have worked hard all their lives are eventually denied the pension they were promised, leaving many facing poverty and hardship.

The Green Party in Parliament will fight for a fair deal for older people. We would ensure all pensioners receive a basic non-means tested £170 a week. We would also ensure they receive free care and support for those living independently, at home, in sheltered and extra-care housing or in residential care.

The Green Party would introduce a free home insulation programme for all homes that need it, with priority for pensioners and those living in fuel poverty. We aim to insulate 4 million homes every year.

Housing

Right now Britain has a shortage of affordable and good quality housing to buy or rent. At the same time many home-owners are in danger of losing their properties in the recession and homelessness is still affecting thousands of people.

The Green Party will fight for a fair housing deal for all. We want to make it easier for people to get on the property ladder, to protect home-owners and to eradicate homelessness for good. Our comprehensive proposal includes:

Building a new generation of quality council homes
Supporting the development of housing co-ops
Bringing back into use Britain's 300,000 long-term empty private sector homes
Renovating Britain's 37,000 empty council homes to help cut waiting lists
Giving social housing tenants greater control over the management of their homes and neighbourhoods
Improving the quality of housing stock to help reduce household bills
Helping people at risk of repossession keep their homes via a Right to Rent scheme.

Jobs and a living wage

Right now unemployment is skyrocketing and the government is doing little about it. Our policy is to fight for a fair, stable and sustainable economy.

Top bankers continue to pocket your money in the form of unearned bonuses, while factories, firms and farms are forced to lay off more and more workers by the day, week and month.

This must end. Our major and immediate priority is the creation of an extra million jobs and training places. An immediate £44bn package of measures would include workforce training, investment in renewables, public transport, insulation, social housing and waste management.

These jobs will provide our country with the vital 21st century infrastructure it needs, including an efficient public transport system, homes that are warm and cheaper to run and much lower energy costs for businesses.

The gap between rich and poor in the UK has never been wider and it continues to get worse. We think it's unfair that the Government has failed to do anything about it.

We are demanding the introduction of a 'Living Wage'. This will help ensure low paid workers earn enough to provide for themselves and their families and eradicate poverty in Britain for good. The Green Party will fight for a National Minimum Wage of 60% of net national average earnings (currently this would mean a minimum wage of £8.10 per hour).

We will also fight for a fair financial deal with community banks, credit unions and mutuals to provide realistic loans to families and small businesses.

Transport

Train fares in England are some of the highest in Europe. The Green Party would bring trains under public ownership to ensure we have a better service and lower fares. By doing se we can provide a real alternative for those wanting to leave their car at home.

We would divert money currently being wasted on huge road projects (about £30bn) and put more of the UK’s transport budget into public transport, especially local schemes for walking, cycling and bus-travel.

We would spend £1.5bn subsidising existing public transport to make fares up to 10% cheaper and £30bn over the Parliament on investing in a better system. This will have the effect of strengthening communities, promoting a greater appreciation of place, reducing crime, improving the health of the population, and reducing traffic fatalities. And it would also create 160,000 jobs.

Young people

We think it's unfair that young people are demonised for hanging around on our streets. In most cases they simply have nowhere else to go and activities for young people are being reduced across the country.

The Green Party will fight for a fair deal for young people and their parents by investing in their future. We will pledge to double spending on youth services, spending an extra £1bn a year so that local councils can provide a variety of activities that give young people fun and affordable things to do.

The Green Party’s plan to fund 2000 Young People's Centres would create dedicated spaces for young people to meet and be creative. The centres would also offer access to information and specialist support for teenagers in difficulty.

Every young person under the age of 18, and in full time education would also be entitled to off-peak free bus fares.

If you want to find out more go to http://www.greenparty.org.uk/policies.html

Green Party General Election Launch

2010-04-10T09:37:00.000-07:00

Green Party Leader Caroline Lucas launches our election campaign

Now we are underway at last

2010-04-10T09:32:00.001-07:00

The phony war is over and we are now in the election proper. Here in west Cheshire Green Party members have been working to make the best of our limited resources. We have raised just enough money to pay for the deposits of 2 candidates: myself in Weaver Vale and Tom Barker in City of Chester. Now we have to use all of our remaining funds to get our election flyers printed.

The Green Party doesn't have the resources of the main grey parties. We don't have corporate donors and rich tax exiles like Lord Ashcroft to fund us. We rely on small donations from party members and people who are sympathetic to our cause.

The next job for me as a candidate is to get my nomination papers signed and handed in. This is more onerous than it sounds. Forms have to be filled in correctly, and can only be delivered by the candidate or agent by hand between 10-4pm on weekdays between 15 and 20th of April! For those, like me, who work full time and have no agent this means taking at least 1/2 day off work. This is the worst bit for me because I know if I make a mistake I will have to go back and do it again - taking more time off in the process. That's democracy in action - but it could be a bit more user friendly.

I'll be posting more here about how our campaign in West Cheshire progresses. In the meantime if you want to find out more about the Green Party and its policies follow this link

Party Meeting 24th March - change of date

2010-03-12T14:44:00.001-08:00

Our next Party meeting will be at 1 Elmwood Avenue, Hoole, Chester at 7.30 pm on the 24th march.

This meeting was previously planned for the 16th March and has been moved.

We will be planning our general election campaign – so come and join us.

What do you want your MP to fight for?

2010-02-27T08:51:00.000-08:00

Caroline Lucas, the Green Party leader, talks to voters in Brighton and explains what the Green Party is fighting for [from the Channel 4 Political Slot]:

Green Party Meeting 16 February

2010-02-12T09:40:00.000-08:00

We are holding a meeting on the 16 February at 1 Elmwood Avenue, Hoole, Chester at 7.30pm. This is an important meeting because we will be planning the launch of our general election campaign. We expect the election to be on 6 May and we have a lot of work to do to get prepared.

Please make an effort to attend if you can. I’ll be travelling from Northwich if anyone needs a lift.

Incinerator plans will blight Northwich

2010-02-06T07:49:00.000-08:00

The proposed Brunner Mond incineration plant in Lostock comes alongside the Bedminster plant at Lostock, the proposed RSS plant in Wincham and the proposed Covanta incinerator in Middlewich turning mid Cheshire into the Northwest’s favourite dumping ground. And this with the incinerators which will be built in Runcorn (850,000 tonnes) and Ince Marsh (600,000 tonnes). It’s not just the potential health impacts and increase in heavy traffic that should cause people concern it’s also the threat to greener methods of waste management.

Incinerators cost huge amounts of money to build on the Private Finance Initiative and are operated on long term contracts. They have to be fed. As we reduce the waste we produce we will have to either import more waste into Cheshire or burn waste that could have been recycled. So incineration threatens to undermine best waste management practice.

The ‘Sustainable’ Energy Plant at Brunner Mond is neither sustainable, eco-friendly nor green. The proposal to import a further 600,000 tonnes of waste into Cheshire for incineration is bad news for the people of the Northwich area.

Incineration is a form of waste disposal which is opposed by the Green Party. We should be concentrating our efforts on genuinely green and sustainable methods of waste management such as waste elimination, reduction, re-use and recycling. Surrey County Council has recently ditched plans for two incinerators because the amount of waste in the County is falling. If they can do that – so can we. Why do the councillors in Cheshire West and Chester Council have such low aspirations when it comes to waste management in this district? I oppose the Brunner Mond plans to build an incinerator in Northwich and support the efforts of CHAIN to stop Northwich being blighted.

My General election campaign

2010-02-06T07:25:00.001-08:00

So that's it. I am the Green Party prospective parliamentary candidate for Weaver Vale. Why am I doing it? Because someone has to. Someone and some party has to try and break the mould of British politics and build a better future. Its a difficult nut to crack I know. I've never fully understood why. Why do people continue to support two main parties that now have very little to offer us? Parties that are fighting over the same sterile ground.

Of course I know why there are lots of people who want don't want to vote for the Green Party. They think we're a bunch of tree hugging hippies. But we are serious people who want make a real difference and we've got the policies to prove it. We don't have the resources and donations from big business and wealthy individuals that our opponents can rely upon.We have a mammoth task to get our message across but we are going to give it our best shot.

Political apathy suits the Tories and New Labour. It simply makes it easier for them to govern and get elected. At a time when the political class is devoid of ideology, stuffed with careerists and in the pockets of big business we need people to fight for social and economic justice. The Green Party needs your support.

To see what can happen where the Green Party has an active membership watch this video about Adrian Ramsay's general election campaign in Norwich South.

I'll be keeping you up with how my campaign is going on this blog. If you want to help in my campaign please contact me at howard.thorp@virgin.net

Fundraising for the general election

2010-01-14T11:16:00.000-08:00

Our party is in the process of raising funds for general election candidates in the constituencies of City of Chester and Weaver Vale. Unlike the major parties we don't receive money from big business and wealthy individuals. We have to raise the money ourselves. We will need at least £1000 to fight this election and £2000 if we are going to do any serious campaigning. This is a miniscule amount of money compared to the major parties but a lot for hard pressed ordinary people in a time of recession.

We believe that it is essential to give the people in these constituencies a real choice – an alternative to the ‘grey’ parties who all sing from the same hymn sheet and offer little hope for a brighter future.

If you want to support our campaign, by making a donation or helping to deliver our leaflets, or in any other way - please contact me at howard.thorp@virgin.net.

Green Party Social and Fundraising Event

2009-10-29T14:16:00.000-07:00

We are holding a social evening and fundraising event on Thursday 12 November at Bishop Lloyd's Palace in Chester at 7.30pm. The event is open to all.

We have a speaker Emily Heath who is the chair of the Northwest Green Party. Come along and hear about the GP's policies ahead of the General Election.

Details of the venue can be found here.

Think Again - Vote Green

2009-05-12T08:55:00.001-07:00

STOP THE BNP!

2009-05-04T09:51:00.001-07:00

In the forthcoming Euro Election on 4 June Peter Cranie is the Green Party's candidate. He is in a straight fight for 4th place with Nick Griffin leader of the British National Party (BNP). The BNP represents the politics of hate and it would be a disaster if Griffin got elected

Here Peter Cranie talks about his campaign:

USE YOUR VOTE IN THE EUROPEAN ELECTION - VOTE GREEN TO STOP THE BNP

Mark Thomas supports the Green Party - here's why

2009-04-24T08:16:00.000-07:00

Mark Thomas has been an active campaigner against the kind of selfish 'free' market capitalism which lead to the credit crunch and the current recession. Here he speaks for himself about why he supports the Green Party:

The Green Party Promises £165 p.w. for pensioners

2009-04-14T10:16:00.000-07:00

The Green Party's policy on pensions is great news for pensioners in the UK. See the GP news release below:

Today, on National Pensions Action Day (Monday 6 April), the Green Party announces its key election pledge for pensioners - a £165 a week non-means-tested citizens' pension for every pensioner in the UK. The pledge will form part of the Green New Deal for Older People, which the Green Party will launch in the build-up to this year's elections (1).

Jean Lambert MEP, the Green Party's spokesperson on social affairs, said today:

"The Green Party today celebrates Pensions Action Day with possibly the best action a political party could take for British pensioners: a policy that would lift all our pensioners out of poverty."

The National Pensioners Convention (NPC) have been calling for a pension at or above the official poverty level, which is defined as 60% of median population earnings less housing costs.For 2007/8 this would have meant a single person’s pension of £151 per week - compared to the actual full state pension of £90.70 and a pensions credits guarantee level of about £120 a week. The NPC has recently pointed out that:

- Between 1997 and 2006, the number of British people living in severe poverty – defined as living on less than 40% of median population income – increased by 600,000.

- Last year the poorest quarter of UK pensioner households saw their incomes rise by less than 1%, well below inflation. The poorest single pensioners saw their real incomes drop by 4%.

- At least 15% of UK pensioners – over 1.5m older people – are living in persistent poverty (below 60% median population income for three out of the last four years).

- Pensioner poverty in the UK has risen in the last year by 300,000 - equivalent to 822 people a day - and now reaches 2.5m (1 in 4 older people). Two thirds of these pensioners are women.

Jean Lambert, who was elected in 1999 as London's Green MEP and now sits on the European Parliament's Inter-Group on Ageing, commented:

"If the other parties are unwilling to lift pensioners out of poverty, then it's clear pensioners will need to elect Greens to fight their corner. Voting Green is about building a better future - and that includes a secure economic future for older people."

Jean Lambert MEP will lead the Green Party delegation in support of the NPC demonstration in London. She will be joined by Darren Johnson AM, the Green Party's trade & industry spokesperson and its parliamentary candidate for Lewisham Deptford, and Cllr Romayne Phoenix of Lewisham Borough Council.

Green Party Spring Conference 2009

2009-03-24T13:13:00.001-07:00

The spring GP conference was held in Black pool last weekend. I went down for the Friday and Saturday sessions. It was odd being back in Blackpool after such a long time, The place isn't at its best in March but it is certainly suffering at the moment with many shops closed and boarded up. No doubt some will re-open when the season starts but the whole place looks badly run down.

The conference was held in the Winter Gardens, which have seen better days, but also have a faded grandeur. On the Friday we had a speech by party Leader Caroline Lucas which can be seen here. Caroline attacked the government for failing to take steps to implement a Green New Deal which will provide much needed employment and investment in infrastructure to help combat climate change.

A number of motions were passed including:

C01 - Alternative Economic Strategy - which commits the party to campaign for an emergency programme of economic and social reconstruction, based on the proposals of the Green New Deal pamphlet, but broadened and reinforced to transform fundamentally the current financial and industrial system.

C02 - Migration - which noting that migration is going to be an important issue in the forthcoming European elections, and the need for a progressive and humane policy, the migration policy of the European Green Party was adopted as our own.

I attended a workshop given by the Green Economics Institute. Miriam Kennet gave us an interesting talk which revealed she has has recently been invited to give talks to various government departments on green economics including GCHQ! I'm not holding my breath waiting for the spooks to go green!

On the Saturday I attended two workshops on Transition Towns and Climate Ge0-engineering. The first included a discussion about the situation in Totnes and we talked about our ongoing frustration with green activists who don't want to get their hands dirty by getting involved in real politics. The Climate Ge0-engineering workshop focused on Biochar - that's charcoal to you and me. It seems there are plans to plant millions of hectares of monoculture forest around the globe, then chop them down and pyrolise the biomass to produce fuel and bury the resulting biochar in the soil. There is a very good article by George Monbiot in today's Guardian which exposes this potty idea. Biochar has the potential to do enormous damage so lets hope the article helps to sink it.

Party meeting 23rd February 2009

2009-02-15T07:26:00.000-08:00

The next Party meeting is at the Bear & Billet on Lower Bridge Street in Chester at 7.30pm on Monday 23rd of February.

Follow this link for directions

If you are a party member or interested in joining the party please come along.

New Labour is now the nasty party

2009-01-18T06:15:00.000-08:00

George Monbiot said it - the third Heathrow runway is New Labour's final betrayal. But it is one of many betrayals of Labour party members, Labour supporters, the left and progressives everywhere that have taken place during New Labour's reign. It has taken many years for many people to fully understand the scale and depth of the betrayal. In 1997 voters elected a Thatcherite party to replace an er... Thatcherite party. But most of them didn't know it at the time. If they had would New Labour have won so convincingly?

So what can we include in the long list of New Labour betrayals and failures? - Well they failed to re-nationalise the railways; they failed to stop the private finance initiative; they introduced a raft of legislation criminalising everyone from peaceful protesters to smokers; ID cards; surveillance of all emails and telephone calls; privatisation of education; the destruction of the Royal Mail; mass post office closures; blocking European social legislation; failure to have a referendum on the European Union constitution; giving the police ‘police state’ powers; pandering to religious extremists; shameful treatment of asylum seekers; failure to provide social housing; privatisation of the health service; refusal to repeal Tory anti-trade union laws; student tuition fees; standing by shamefully while Israel bombed Lebanon and Gaza; the Iraq war; doing nothing about climate change and fuelling the debt bubble which helped to wreck our economy.

And what have New Labour done for us? Devolution and the minimum wage and that's it - two good things in nearly twelve years. No wonder we can safely regard New Labour as the new nasty party. They have got to go at the next election - but have no illusions about the Tories - nothing much has changed there. Nor can the Liberal Democrats escape the neoliberal tag - they wouldn't have done things much differently had they been in power. If you want to reverse New Labour's nastiness and vote for a genuinely progressive party of the left - we’re here - come and join the Green Party.

Party meeting - 26th Janauary 2009

2009-01-04T14:06:00.001-08:00

The Cheshire West and Chester Green Party is meeting at the Cross Keys, Duke Street, Chester at 7.30 pm on Monday 26th January 2009. If you are a party member or interested in joining the party please come along. The pub can be found here.

The Tories plan to make pensioners poorer

2008-12-10T10:41:00.000-08:00

One of the great scandals of the past quarter century in the UK has been the way pensions have been handled and pensioners treated. Pensions have slowly but surely been devalued and the result has been misery for millions in old age.

Go back 25 years in the UK and you'll find many workers in the private and public sectors on final salary pension or defined benefit schemes but these have been whittled away to almost nothing in the intervening years. Workers in the private sector now have to rely on defined contribution or money purchase pension schemes which are worth much less. When Gordon Brown became Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1997 he made tax changes which made it more difficult to sustain final salary schemes in the private sector and New Labour have much to answer for in the pensions debacle. But its not just about Gordon. Many companies have taken pensions 'holidays' - periods when they failed to contribute to their own schemes. The same is true of local government. Employers can simply save money by refusing to contribute to employees pensions.

As a gulf has opened up between pensions in the private and public sectors there have been howls of rage from the right. It is claimed that public sector pensioners are living in the lap of luxury while their private sector counterparts are living in poverty. This is nonsense. Certainly private sector workers are suffering but most public sector workers are low paid and earn less than the average wage, hence their final salary pensions are still very low.

David Cameron in a recent speech to business leaders said "We have got to end the apartheid. We are getting into a situation now where pretty much everyone in the private sector has gone to defined contributions and the final salary schemes are closed." Now we all know what that means don't we. The Tories are planning to slash public sector pensions just as the Daily Mail have been urging them to do. The Daily Mail complains that private sector workers are living in poverty and public sector pensioners are better off - its solution, like David Cameron's - is to make all pensioners live in poverty by ending public sector final salary pensions - smart huh?

We need better pensions for everyone. If public sector pensioners are benefiting from final salary pension schemes its time to create the conditions in which private sector workers can also enjoy those benefits, by legislation, if necessary. Here is a quote from the Green Party's policy on pensions - "The Green Party would introduce a Citizen's Pension that would pay pensioners a livable amount, without means testing and would be linked to the rise in average earnings. Independent studies by the National Association of Pension Funds have shown that a citizen's Pension could be afforded today within current net expenditure on state pensions."

We live in a society with an aging population its in the interest of all of us to ensure that we can have a dignified old age.

Party Meeting - 24th November

2008-11-09T14:45:00.000-08:00

The next CWCGP meeting will be in Chester on Monday the 24th of November at 7.30pm. The venue is the Quakers Meeting House, Union Walk, Frodsham Street, Chester. There is a possibility that the venue may be changed. If it is I will post the change on here. Please check this blog before you come along.

Party Meeting

2008-10-19T09:12:00.000-07:00

The Cheshire West and Chester Green Party is meeting at the Old Harkers Arms, City Road, Chester at 7.30 pm on Monday 20th October 2008. If you are interested in joining the party please come along. The pub is on the canal near to the railway station.

Its the environment stupid!

2008-10-19T09:11:00.000-07:00

As we slide into a recession, one or two commentators such as George Monbiot have been doing us a service by reminding us that the credit crunch is trivial compared to what is potentially facing us in terms of a climate crunch.

In August I highlighted a report from the New Economics Foundation which stated that we had just 100 months to avert rising temperatures and runaway climate change - 98 months now! There is an increasing sense of urgency about our need to do something about this, and the recent pledge by the government to make an 80% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 is encouraging. Problem is, they have a lousy track record of delivery on such pledges - they are too wedded to big business and consumption.

In any case, we can't make big enough cuts unless everyone is involved - and that means you! And yes it means insulating your house, using low energy light bulbs, turning the central heating down, putting a jumper on, car sharing, dusting off your bike lights and cycling to work if you can. You have heard it all before but now is the time to get on with doing it and encouraging other in your local community to do so also.

I am working with a nearby local action group and trying to set up a group in the village I live in. In Cheshire, we have the example of Ashton Hayes, which aims to be the first village in England to become carbon neutral. Since starting in January 2006 they have cut their carbon emissions by 21%. You can get help in doing this from the Low Carbon Communities Network. If you have a local group - get involved. I have only just started but I'll keep you informed of progress. So far I have contacted the Parish Council and will speak at their next meeting to try and get their support. I've put a poster on the village notice board, and have an article coming out in next weeks local paper.

But this isn't just about climate change. Also of great significance is Peak Oil. Its worth quoting the definition from Wikipedia:

Peak oil is the point in time when the maximum rate of global petroleum extraction is reached, after which the rate of production enters terminal decline.

There is some disagreement about when peak oil occurred. Some people say 2007 others as long ago as 2005. But there is a consensus that we have passed peak oil. Just think for a moment what this means - a world without oil means massive changes in the way we live and there is no substitute, no magic technological fix on offer. We are going to go through what is known as an energy descent. And it is going to happen in our lifetimes. We are going to have to get used to living in a lower energy environment. And that means making the same kind of adjustments we would have to make for climate change anyway.

So, the local group I am trying to set up is not just about climate change because climate change adjustments to our lifestyle and peak oil adjustments go hand in hand. If you want to find out more I suggest you take a look at what Caroline Lucas had to say about the Transition Handbook by Rob Hopkins.

We need to see theses changes as an opportunity rather than a threat. An opportunity to connect with our neighbours and build sustainable communities, communities free from the destructive excesses of free market capitalism,

We want government on our side, not turning its back

2008-10-02T10:15:00.000-07:00

01 October 2008

Caroline Lucas has spoken out against David Cameron's attempt to use the financial crisis to take control of the economy away from Parliament, and to introduce more market reforms and privatisation in public services.

Caroline said:

"David Cameron's proposals are nothing more than a hair of the dog. He claims that the way to solve a financial crisis brought on by irresponsible corporations in underregulated markets is to reduce regulation and hand more power to the corporations.

"He wants to remove power over government finances from parliament, and hand it to the City. Under the Tories, he says, two separate bodies will decide on public borrowing, and neither are elected: the governors of the Bank of England, and George Osbourne's shadowy Office of Budget Responsibility.

"Cameron is using the economic situation to try to dismantle the NHS and comprehensive education, promising an even more cutthroat internal market in health, pitting individual doctors against one another, and making it the norm for the curriculum of your local school to be controlled by one business or wealthy individual.

"No wonder Cameron got so excited he proclaimed "thank God for Margaret Thatcher"; the Tories are like vultures waiting to feast on the carcass of the British economy.

"We don't need a government of asset-strippers. We need a Green New Deal: a financial system in which banks are a manageable, sustainable size and responsibly run; and a government that invests in our public services and in rebuilding our economy to get us through the tough times.

"David Cameron says it is 'arrogant' to want government to be on the side of the people; I think most people would rather have government on their side than turning its back."

New Labour's free market economic disaster

2008-09-17T09:51:00.000-07:00

At the weekend we had Lehman Brothers going bust , then AIG having a £75 billion handout from the US Government and today HBOS merging with Lloyds TSB. In the latter case the government has been bending over backwards to avoid having to pay out for another Northern Rock, even to the extent of breaking competition rules. So the new British banking behemoth will have 28% of the mortgage market - good for customers eh?

But lets not forget that although much of the credit crunch originated in the USA, New Labour have a lot to answer for. And who was Chancellor while the conditions for the crash were being created? - none other than Gordon Brown. Mr 'prudence', who claimed to have eliminated boom and bust, has now lead us into the biggest bust since 1929. The 'sound' economy he created over here was based on a housing boom and ballooning credit. That is economic mismanagement. Notice that the biggest casualties in all this are the USA and UK - the cheerleaders for free market deregulation and privatisation. Do you hear of a housing collapse in Germany or France - no they follow the European Social model much despised by Gordon Brown.

Blair and Brown encouraged the City-lead deregulatory financial model that got us into this mess in the first place and turned the UK into a tax haven for non doms and other tax dodgers. Well now the chickens have come home to roost. If Brown had any integrity he'd resign and if his party had any guts they'd sack him. Sadly, neither is likely to happen.

We do not need GM technology to feed the world

2008-09-14T10:47:00.001-07:00

A recent report has highlighted the fact that while enough food is being produced to feed the world's population 800 million people are still going hungry. The report, based on the findings of 400 scientists from around the world, and chaired by professor Robert Watson, the government's Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, also concluded that GM technology was not the answer to feeding the world's population.

Not surprisingly, these conclusions have not gone down at all well with agribusiness corporations like Monsanto. They don't want to feed the world, they want to make huge profits by controlling the food chain with GM technology which effectively puts the farmers, and the crops they produce, in their pockets. That is why the GM companies have been buying up traditional seed companies - they want to monopolise world markets. If they succeed you will end up with no choice other than to eat GM, unless you can source food locally. But if GM is used here in the UK it is unlikely that non GM agriculture would remain uncontaminated.

GM technology is a pig in poke. We are told it increases yield but there is little concrete evidence to support this. In fact there is evidence that GM reduces yield. GM crops are a vast unregulated gamble. We don't know what the possible long terms effects on the environment or harm to human health could be. There are a number of potential dangers such as harm to human health and damage to biodiversity and environmental systems.

The simple fact is that we don't need GM to feed the world. So why take the gamble - especially when the main beneficiaries are large corporations and their shareholders - not the poor or the hungry.

Gordon Brown provides too little too late .... again

2008-09-14T08:40:00.000-07:00

Many people were disappointed when the government announced a stamp duty holiday for properties costing up to £175,000. It was rightly denounced as too little too late to stimulate the housing market and help first-time buyers.

Now we have the latest gem from Gordon - £910 million for household insulation to tackle fuel poverty. £560 million of which is old money. We also know that the work to insulate all the houses of the 'fuel poor' can't be done before winter. Which means the old and the poor are likely to freeze. Meanwhile the energy companies are making billions in extra profits and laughing all the way to the government bailed out bank. Much of the extra cash that they are making is going where you would expect - straight into the pockets of shareholders. The energy suppliers paid £1.64bn in dividends in 2007 - £257m more than the year before.

Caroline Lucas, Green Party Leader, has called for a windfall tax - she wrote:-

"When the fuel crisis started to bite, a strong leader would have set their sights on achieving energy independence. Instead, our prime minister went running to the profiteers-in-chief to beg for just enough more oil to keep us dependent. Just three of these companies – BP, Centrica, and Shell – together made £1000 profit every second over the first 6 months of this year. Every penny that the oil price inches up, is a new surge of cash from the pockets of working families, students, the elderly and the disabled, directly into the bank accounts of the world's petro-giants."

It's unlikely that Gordon Brown, who is deeply committed to protecting the interests of big business, will be shifted on a windfall tax. But his obstinacy in the face of the overwhelming case for such a tax might just result in him finally being shifted out of office.

The Green Party elects its first ever leader

2008-09-14T07:42:00.000-07:00

Caroline Lucas has been elected as the first ever leader of the Green Party of England and Wales. I voted for Caroline and I wish her every success in the job. I believe that she has got the ability and integrity to make a good leader for the Party.

But she is going to have to be tough. When it was suggested (this time around) that the GP elect a leader I thought twice about it. Why? Because I know that the media agenda will be to neutralise the GP's radical programme of reform by making the GP conform to the same neoliberal agenda that every other mainstream party has adopted.

That means that our leader will come under great pressure to act and behave as every other leader does, and that isn't what the GP is about. They will also shine a spotlight into her private life in an attempt to rake up anything they can use to discredit her. They are probably sifting through her (recycled) rubbish as I write this.

The Party agreed, if I recall correctly, that we would have an elected leader for a two year term. There will obviously be pressure to increase this into a 'permanent' leadership position - so that the GP leader will become an elected dictator. What do I mean by elected dictator? I mean that the media like 'strong' leaders because once they are 'onside' - i.e. they have adopted the privatising deregulatory agenda demanded by big business and the City- there is little the rest of the party can do to change anything - remember Tony Blair? We have to make sure we resist these pressures. If we don't the GP will become like all the other parties - and then, like them, it won't be worth voting for.

Just 100 months......

2008-08-30T10:31:00.000-07:00

According to a report from the New Economics Foundation we have just 100 months to save the planet from climate change. That is 8 1/3 years which takes us to about 2017. Its well worth reading the article by Andrew Simms which explains why we have such a short time left to take effective action. Here is a quote from part of that article:

"The concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere today, the most prevalent greenhouse gas, is the highest it has been for the past 650,000 years. In the space of just 250 years, as a result of the coal-fired Industrial Revolution, and changes to land use such as the growth of cities and the felling of forests, we have released, cumulatively, more than 1,800bn tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere. Currently, approximately 1,000 tonnes of CO2 are released into the Earth's atmosphere every second, due to human activity. Greenhouse gases trap incoming solar radiation, warming the atmosphere. When these gases accumulate beyond a certain level - often termed a "tipping point" - global warming will accelerate, potentially beyond control".

In the UK we know that we can save 30% of our energy needs just by having effective insulation in all our homes. What is being done about this - nothing! While politicians prevaricate and appease their chums in the energy industry with promises of coal fired plants and nuclear reactors we are going to hell in a handcart. Even if the 100 months prediction is wrong, in a time where we have passed peak oil, energy conservation measures and greater use of renewables are essential measures, which we need to take to prevent fuel poverty, and to make us all more energy efficient.

If the 100 month prediction is correct be very afraid because at the rate we are going we have no chance of constraining atmospheric CO2 to 400 ppm by 2017 and we are heading for social breakdown. Our politicians are far too wedded to the kind of capitalist solutions that enable the energy industry to make big bucks to take energy conservation measures. The government's policy of shifting to nuclear is bad enough - now we have government support for coal in the form of the proposed Kingsnorth power station in Kent!

The Kingsnorth debacle has attracted the attention of climate change campaigners, who have set up camp near the proposed power station. The camp, which runs from 3-11 August, has already been subject to police harassment. The police have raided the camp, kept the campaigners awake at night and even stolen the campaigner's bicycles! This is typical of the increasing criminalisation of legitimate protest brought about by a New Labour government.

I wish the protesters at the camp every success and I hope that they manage to persuade the government to think again. But I doubt if they will. Energy conservation, de-centralised energy generation (e.g. using your own solar power) all threaten to reduce the massive profits of the energy companies in the long run, or that how they see it, so it can't be allowed to happen.

The energy companies could take a different tack. They could sell us insulation and renewables instead of fossil fuel alternatives,. Enlightened governments might even be able to push them down that road. But not ours - it will still be fiddling with itself while the planet burns.

Green Party local election website and broadcasts

2008-04-13T10:14:00.000-07:00

Its well worth visiting our local government election website by following this link.

Also....don't forget to watch our election broadcasts (local election and GLA) which will air on Tuesday the 15th - 6.30pm on ITV and 6.55pm on the BBC (radio and television).

Green Party - Find Out More!

2008-04-12T06:52:00.000-07:00

Want to find out more about the Green Party? Why not read some of our leaflets such as the mini-manifesto and our views on public services and climate change. Follow this link.

Green Party Local successes 2 - Norwich

2008-04-12T06:33:00.000-07:00

The Green Party has had real successes in local government. We are making a real difference up and down the country.

In Norwich, where we have 10 councillors, The Green Party has been responsible for renewable energy in all new developments and protecting and promoting local businesses. To find out more, follow this link and watch the video.

Green Party Local successes 1 - Renewables in Kirklees

2008-04-12T06:27:00.000-07:00

The Green Party has had real successes in local government. We are making a real difference up and down the country.

In Kirklees, West Yorkshire, The Green Party has been responsible for a free insulation scheme for householders and the installation of solar panels in Huddersfiled. To find ot abot this follow this link and watch the video.

Mr 10%

2008-04-10T12:15:00.001-07:00

Gordon's at it again - bashing the poor..........

Here are the headlines from the 8th April on the BBC:-

"Ministers are coming under increasing pressure to rethink scrapping the lowest 10p rate of income tax, amid warnings it will hurt low earners.

The Commons Treasury committee said childless single people earning under £18,500 would lose up to £232 a year.

Some 73 Labour MPs have signed motions expressing concerns, among them David Hamilton, MP for Midlothian, who warned Gordon Brown could face a rebellion.

Treasury Minister Jane Kennedy said the government would not reverse the move.

She told the BBC's Newsnight programme: "I can't see us reversing this tax change at all."

This tax change was introduced by Gordon himself, when he was chancellor, in last years budget, to cheers from New Labour backbenchers. Now those same backbenchers are threatening to vote the measure down - which is odd because they had an opportunity when the budget was introduced - so why didn't they take it then?

What Gordon's change shows is that New Labour have now totally abandoned their traditional supporters in the working class. Yet another betrayal in the long years of betrayal from a New Labour government.

My Manifesto for Northwich West

2008-04-06T12:42:00.001-07:00

If elected I will work to:

• Get Cheshire West and Chester to invest in small-scale locally owned renewable energy, saving you money and helping to fight climate change

• Promote local shops and businesses so that people can provide local services saving time, energy and money

• Build better public transport links to integrate local bus and rail services, and provide safe cycleways

• Oppose the construction of a waste incinerator in Lostock Gralam and promote waste reduction and recycling

• Introduce a 50mph speed limit on the A566 Northwich bypass in Davenham and Kingsmead

• Protect local schools, post offices and health services from cuts, closures, creeping privatisation and financially damaging PFI schemes

• Give local neighbourhoods a direct say in issues that affect them – devolving powers to neighbourhood forums and parish councils.

The great renewable energy swiz

2008-04-06T10:34:00.000-07:00

Are you, like me, one of many people in the UK who would like to generate electricity in your own home? We now have the technology to generate energy locally by means of solar panels and wind turbines and the technology is improving all the time. The government is committed to having 15% of the UK's energy needs fulfilled by renewables by 2020 - so you would think that they'd be working hard to help people like you and me move into renewable energy. Not so. The New Labour government seems to be trying to do its best to strangle the UK renewables industry.

Why is this happening? New Labour is tied firmly to its friends in big business and that includes the energy companies. In addition, New Labour has fallen hook, line and sinker for the mythology of nuclear power. BERR (the Department of Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform) is pretty much owned by the nuclear lobby, just as the old MAFF was controlled by the pesticide companies and agribusinesses.

The last thing these people want is for you and I to be able to generate our own power when we could be paying exorbitant bills to them so that they can generate big profits. So now we find ourselves in the absurd position that, while countries like Germany are pressing ahead with relatively massive development in renewables, we are just scratching the surface. This is another one of the growing list of reasons why New labour are going to lose the next general election.