Local Elections

Reading: BBC news, Guardian, Independent, Socialist Unity Network, Urban 75, Wikipedia and Green Party of England and Wales websites; Morning Star; some pages of Finnegans Wake.
Listening: Editors, Joy Division, Radio Five.
Viewing: BBC Six O'Clock News and regional news bulletin, Sky Evening International News, snatches of MTV, the "Legends" football match and "10 Years Younger" programme at the gym.
Tomorrow is local elections day in many parts of England including London. The governing Labour Party is expected to do very badly in the light of the continuing unpopularity of shadowing US imperialism and selling off ever wider swathes of public services. If you have a vote - use it wisely!
The elections give people an opportunity to vote for positive changes at a local level and punish the sleazy neo-liberal Blair government at the same time -

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4853862.stm

The Greens are the party standing the fourth largest number of candidates and aim to increase their current total from in the 70s (with a couple of defections from Labour and the Lib Dems in the last week adding to this) to over a hundred. The signs, with environmental issues being a major part of the debate so far, and the ruling party in major difficulties, are good -

http://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/2525

Another encouraging thing is the number of young candidates the Greens are standing -

http://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/2527

If you haven't got a Green candidate standing, then your best bet to push things in the progressive direction is to vote for a left candidate if one is standing (e.g. Respect, Socialist Alternative, Alliance For Green Socialism).
Where there is a fascist candidate with a chance then a tactical vote against them may be necessary, but fortunately the BNP are not standing that many candidates, despite the media hype. The Socialist Unity Network have some interesting comment and news on the 2006 local elections on their website -

http://www.socialistunitynetwork.co.uk/activate/election2006.htm

Heres hoping I have good news to report on Friday.