Save Sheffield's Street Trees

Demonstrate at Sheffield City Hall at 10am this Saturday, 7 April.

https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/jarvis-cocker-to-speak-at-major-sheffield-tree-protest-rally-this-weekend-1-9096116

United Against Fracking National March & Rally - Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester, Saturday 12th November, 11am

Anti-Fracking Info and Resources

As the anti-fracking battle in the UK and elsewhere heats up, here are a few of the useful resources and web pages that activists can use to keep up to date and informed:

A good source of news on developments in Britain is Drill or Drop

For the currently immediately threatened areas in the UK - Lancashire, Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire - there are the following campaign websites:

Frack Free Lancashire

Frack Free Ryedale

Frack Free South Yorkshire

Frack Free Notts

Here are the big environmental campaigns Fracking pages:

Friends of the Earth

Greenpeace

And for those who can see that direct action may be a required part of the resistance:

Reclaim The Power

Earth First

UK Fracking Battle About To Step Up A Notch

The battle against Fracking in Britain appears to be about to become more heated and urgent as the destroyer corporations target pilot areas for exploration and development.  Amongst these are
 North Yorkshire:

http://frack-off.org.uk/event/km8-fracking-d-day-demo-north-yorkshire-county-council/
 
and North Nottinghamshire:

http://frackfreenotts.org.uk/objections-to-misson-springs-exploration-application/

and further down the line - Sherwood Forest:

http://frackfreenotts.org.uk/sherwood-forest-threatened-by-fracking/

It seems like the Spirit of Robin Hood may be needed in the David against Goliath struggle to come.

Corbyn Victory Makes Role of Greens More Important

Leading Greens Caroline Lucas and Natalie Bennett have welcomed the victory of Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader.

These are very interesting times.

We Greens will continue to have more influence outside Labour than we would have within - we need a distinct voice on Climate Change, the most important issue of our age. Caroline Lucas has held out the hand of partnership to Jeremy and we wish the labour left well, but they still have a massive mountain to climb in the face of an overwhelmingly right wing PLP and councillor base.

The Green surge was partly responsible for Jeremy's rise IMO, with the raising of left green policies to debate in the election and engagement of a new generation. Now Greens must continue to use our leverage to push for commitments on electoral reform and climate change. This is crucial, as without electoral reform, if the establishment manage to defeat or more likely sabotage the Corbyn movement to reclaim Labour from the Blairite cuckoos it will be back to neo-liberal business as usual. With electoral reform Tory majority governments will hopefully be a thing of the past (24% of the electorate and falling?) and radical left and green views will be much much harder to push to the margins where FPTP and neo-liberal "consensus" in the corporate media have managed to contain them for so long. The left wing lever that the Greens, and to some extent the SNP and Plaid have applied to Labour can be continued and strengthened and a progressive alliance will be able to take on the Tories and their corporatist backers effectively across all the country and all its diverse sections.

If we play this right we can park our ecosocialist tanks on the lawns of the establishment and the corpocracy and build the kind of Parliamentary/extra parliamentary alliance that is required for the next stage....This will not be easy, mind. The ruling class can see the threat. Expect dirty tricks from the corporate media/foreign and domestic intelligence services.....

The fact that Caroline Lucas and the SNP and Plaid may now be able to attack the Tory Corporatist agenda in concert with a Labour Party Front Bench is immensely encouraging however.  The fightback just stepped up a gear.  A key aspect of the coming period will be to unite forces on the ground to fight things like fracking, Trident replacement and the anti-trade union bill.  There is everything to play for.

"Rise like lions out of slumber, 
Ye are many, they are few...."

Support Frack Free Lancashire

From 9am on Tuesday 23rd June, Lancashire County Council will be deciding on whether or not to approve two of the biggest fracking tests ever contemplated in the UK. If allowed to happen, each site would have 4 horizontal wells, producing tens of millions of gallons and radioactive and toxic waste and opening the door to thousands more wells to be drilled across Lancashire, and the rest of the UK. Preston Council have just recommended objection to the plans for Roseacre Wood.
Come down to County Hall, Preston, where Lancashire County council are due to decide on Cuadrilla’s fracking applications. Fishergate, Preston, Lancashire PR1 8RL


On the first day (and on subsequent days), concerned communities from around the UK will descend upon Lancashire County Hall in Preston for a peaceful show of solidarity and resistance. This is a huge deal that has implications for the entirety of the UK. It’s also a great chance to showcase the strength and solidarity of the of the UK anti-fracking movement by standing with the people of Lancashire!
Full Event Details Here!https://www.facebook.com/events/833975066650397/
Wear Yellow & Bring a Home Made Banner!
Register your Objection to Cuadrilla’s plans now!!!

After the election - get organised and resist!

Now that the general election is over and we face the full horror of a Tory Government, the Green Party are well placed to be a vital pole of attraction and organising base for oppostion to what the Tories aim to do.  I urge everyone who has supported the Greens in the election campaign to sign up, get involved locally and help build effective coalitions of opposition and resistance.
From the Human Rights Act to Hunting, from Trade Union Law to massive welfare cuts and from fracking to cutting renewables support the stage is set for mass opposition and anger against what this government of corporate shills and chancers have planned for us all.
Join the Green Party here: https://my.greenparty.org.uk/civicrm/membership/joining
Support the coming demonstrations organised by the People's Assembly and the actions arranged by UK Uncut and get active in your local community to build solidarity networks.
There is hope!  The Greens are committed to long term change, and to resisting every mean spirited, nasty, selfish and authoritarian move the Tories make.  Join us.

Three excellent books to read to understand politics before the election

Three books are doing very well in the bookshops at the moment in the run up to the General Election in the UK on 7 May.  This is a really good thing if it means people are getting a more accurate view of the issues and the system we face than that offered by the supine (oligarch owned and controlled) media and the muck-raking tabloids.

The three books are the paperback versions of Owen Jones The Establishment - and how they get away with it and Naomi Klein's This Changes Everything  and finally Caroline Lucas' account of her time as an MP since being elected as the sole Green MP in the UK in 2010 - Honourable Friends

I urge anyone wanting to prime themselves about the big questions facing us, the obstacles the establishment throw in the way of even the most modest attempts at change and the absolute necessity of quite radical and far reaching change to read these three books before they vote!

Support the People's March For The NHS

Support The People's March for the NHS

The march leaves Jarrow on 16th August and Arrives in London on 6th September - more information here -
http://999callfornhs.org.uk/home/4583720355

June 21st Anti Austerity Demonstration

Join the Saturday 21st June Anti Austerity Demonstration and Festival organised by the People's Assembly:

http://www.thepeoplesassembly.org.uk/national_demo_21_june

DON'T TTIP PUBLIC SERVICES DOWN THE DRAIN !

DON'T TTIP PUBLIC SERVICES DOWN THE DRAIN !
* A dangerous new treaty is on the way between the EU and the USA. It's called the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership

* It may make it impossible to re-nationalise any public service that's been sold off or contracted out - like the railways or bits of the NHS!

* It will let companies sue governments about almost any policy that's against the company's interest

* It may threaten environmental regulations, safety rules, and workers' rights

* It's being talked through in secret. The European Commission promised a public consultation period in March

* Similar treaties have got some governments (e.g. Equador) big fines even for trying to get a company to pay its taxes properly

More information and debate on the site of the Green group in the European
Parliament at http://www.ttip2014.eu/about.html

Centenary of the First International Syndicalist Congress

100 years ago this week there took place in London the first International Syndicalist Congress, this came in part as an initiative of the Industrial Syndicalist Education League of Tom Mann, Guy Bowman and others who held a significant conference in Manchester three years earlier...It is interesting that on this anniversary weekend of an event that had so much promise, and that have might have led to great things had not the First World War intervened, the Unions in Britain are supporting a major demonstration in Manchester outside the Tory conference.  If workers wish to rebuild organisation and take the fight to the enemy in the era of zero hours contracts, exploitative agencies, workfare, poverty pay and food banks, they could do worse than look to the example of the industrial unionists and syndicalists of 100 years ago.  Reading facsimiles of Tom Mann's Industrial Syndicalist bulletin of that period, and the famous Tressell novel The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists that also grew out of early Twentieth Century social conditions the relevance to today is clear.

"The First International Syndicalist Congress was a meeting of European and Latin American syndicalist organizations at Holborn Town Hall in London from September 27 to October 2, 1913. Upon a proposal by the Dutch National Labor Secretariat (NAS) and the British Industrial Syndicalist Education League (ISEL), most European syndicalist groups, both trade unions and advocacy groups, agreed to congregate at a meeting in London. The only exception was the biggest syndicalist organization worldwide, the French General Confederation of Labor (CGT). Nevertheless, the congress was held with organizations from twelve countries participating. It was marked by heated debate and constant disagreements over both tactics and principles. Yet, it succeeded in creating the International Syndicalist Information Bureau as a vehicle of exchange and solidarity between the various organizations and the Bulletin international du mouvement syndicaliste as a means of communication. It would be viewed as a success by almost all who participated."

More here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_International_Syndicalist_Congress
and here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Syndicalist_Education_League

The leading and growing advocates of radical Industrial Unionism in Britain today are the Industrial Workers Of The World  who will be represented on this Sunday's demonstration.  The current IWW pursue a strategy both inside and outside the existing TUC unions.

November 5th Blog

A new blog has been started to give links and info on the civil disobedience and protest being prepared for 5th November.

http://civildisobediencefifthnovember.blogspot.co.uk/

Support The People's Assembly

Unfortunately I cannot attend the People's Assembly Against Austerity on 22nd June due to family commitments, but would urge anyone who can get along to do so as this is an important opportunity to show that there are alternatives to the austerity drive and to network and build a stronger movement of resistance.

More from Owen Jones here

The Nottingham Assembly, which I went along to, was well attended and a good start locally.

The Welfare Cuts Tsunami Arrives

To the accompaniment of criticism from the churches, disability groups, charities, voluntary organisations, political parties outside the coalition and decent fair minded folk everywhere, the Government's welfare cuts regime is upon us - arriving at the same time as the implementation of the "NHS dismemberment legislation" and attacks on legal aid.

The welfare cuts include the hated bedroom tax which will face many low income families with the choice of going without or moving (perhaps away from friends, family, jobs, schools etc) into more expensive private sector accommodation (that will also raise rather than decrease the government's required expenditure - so will not succeed even on those terms, though perhaps one government aim is to further enrich their friends in the Rachmanite community).  There simply is not enough smaller property available in the Social Housing Sector to accommodate all those affected that are being expected to move. This will cause widespread hardship and anguish.

At the same time there is a 1% cap being put on increases in benefits which will reduce the income of poorer people in real terms.

This is not to be confused with the cap in overall benefits which is encountering problems in roll out through pilot areas but the government is still determined to bring in.

There is also the farming out of Council Tax Benefit payments to Councils with a cut in their funding which will lead to people who have never had to pay Council Tax before having to fork out large sums from limited and fixed or decreasing (see above!) incomes.

There is also the moving of many disabled people from DLA into the new PIP regime, again likely to cause disruption and potential hardship. (Not to mention the ongoing war on the disabled being conducted by ATOS and their ilk.)

Taken as a whole this is a wide ranging and multi-faceted, disgusting attack on the most vulnerable in our society and should be opposed - it is all the more sickening when coming from a government of Millionaires, most of whom have never had to suffer any kind of deprivation.

Councils must be encouraged to follow the lead of those Green, SNP and (few) Labour councils that have said that they will not evict tenants who fall into arrears as a result of the Bedroom Tax.  Local campaigns must be built to resist bailiffs and fight people's corners.  The hypocrisy of the well heeled,  expenses- claiming, generously pensioned, extravagantly paid and often multiple job holding political classes must be exposed.

The People's Assembly Against Austerity gives an opportunity for uniting much of the rising tide of opposition to the Coalition's policies and both the local and National events should be supported and built.

The local elections in May will give an early opportunity to show the Coalition parties the contempt that millions of ordinary people now hold them in.

Action For Rail Day of Action

Action on Wednesday 27th March :
Action for Rail campaigners will be meeting passengers at stations around the UK, to put the case against cutting vital staff roles at stations, on trains, and in maintenance and safety. Please join us at your local station on the day.

Its so important to get out there and let hard-pressed passengers know that we are there to speak up for an affordable, people-centred rail service that puts passengers before train company profits.
We will be handing out postcards to passengers, that they can send to their MP, demanding better services.

Find an event near you

In addition to this, there will also be strike action on Wednesday by workers employed by Churchills on the Arriva Trains Wales contract.

Brighton and Hove Green Party Draw Welcome Red Lines

Encouraging news from Brighton, where the local Green Party have passed a number of resolutions to guide their councillors in ongoing negotiations with staff, including this one:


*The Brighton and Hove Green Party wishes to make clear that under no
circumstances whatsoever will it agree with or support dismissing and
rehiring staff, who on the advice of their union negotiators, reject new
pay and conditions unilaterally imposed on staff by the Council
management side. The party therefore asks the Green Group to make it
unequivocally clear to the CE and other officers leading the
negotiations on "Pay Modernisation" that both the activation and/or the
threat of the activation to dismiss/rehire is completely unacceptable,
and should this  nevertheless proceed the party will publicly dissociate
itself from such an action and will actively campaign against it.

This is in relation to the argument over the ongoing "revenue neutral" pay modernisation negotiations in Brighton which had the potential to be very difficult, as "Single Status" agreements have been for many Labour Councils and Labour linked unions around the country.

It is very important that local Green Parties maintain strict scrutiny and regular contact with their elected Councillors to guard against the temptations and incentives to "go native" in the Council chamber.  The Green Party in England And Wales has a very good policy platform, and now, following last conference, a good Philosophical Basis statement favouring social justice.  Members should not allow the desires of individuals to appear "pragmatic" or "reasonable" to establishment politicians and media to damage our public image as a party firmly on the side of workers and their families.

Mobilise Against Austerity - And For Peace!

The TUC have arranged a major UK anti-austerity demonstration for London on 20th October.  This is everyone's chance to make a stand against the Con-Dem Corporate Puppet Government and to stand with the people of Spain, Greece, Portugal and Italy in their growing resistance to their own corporate puppet governments and the would-be Centralised Corporatist Empire of Europe.  It is abundantly clear that what the elites are about is removing every last one of the gains of European working people since 1945 - pensions, healthcare, workplace and union rights, free education - everything must go! The elite are about the task of creating a finance capitalist's wet dream world of cowed and impoverished workforces too busy struggling to survive to resist or organise,  workers who will be smashed with all the available force of the corporatist state (witness the behaviour of the Spanish State forces of late) if they dare to even complain politely.

And there is more - the storm clouds gathering over the Middle East could lead to horrors beyond imagining if the chain reaction of war is not able to be stopped by organised workers and the mobilised unemployed.  If the forces of opposition are in the field and mobilised it will be that much more difficult for the national ruling classes to rally their national populations, 1914 style, for the planned slaughter.  The lesson of 1914 must be learnt - there will be no excuse this time for not seeing what "rallying round the flag" will lead to.

Everyone who considers themselves an opponent of the current ruling class,  should be doing what they can to move people into action against the Cameron-Clegg Government and the forces they represent. I believe that as a generation we may be soon facing the most serious challenge since 1914 - with the possibility of even more catastrophic events than even the bloody slaughter of the First World War.  Being able to defeat, or at least challenge the current ruling class could well be a life and death matter.

The movement we must build across Europe and the world must have three key perspectives - an end to the power of the finance capitalists, the dismantling and defeat of the military-industrial complex
that is threatening and lobbying for war and a global recognition of the catastrophic climate change situation. 

The recent data on Arctic Sea Ice is truly frightening.  The prospect of runaway climate change, megadeaths and even species extinction becomes ever more realistic.  Equally, those who talk blithely about "surgical strikes", or war with Iran, and think that this could not spin out of control and plunge the whole world into slaughter are knowingly or unknowlingly gambling with all our futures.

All the available forces of humanity need to be mobilised to fight the disaster of climate change rather than be dragged into disastrous war.

Those who are planning for war, and those who are getting in the way of addressing the looming climate catastrophe must be recognised as potentially some of the most heinous criminals in the history of our planet.

It is easy to be cowed by the enormity of the challenges facing us.  It is still, just about, easy enough for many to hide in everyday life and its routines.  But the time is coming when "normal" everyday life will no longer be an option.  If we do not start to act now to halt the multiple threats that loom we may well find ourselves strapped to the runaway train as it heads for the collapsed bridge.

My thoughts and solidarity go out to all those taking up the challenge.  We truly have nothing to lose and a world to win.....

IWW Cleaners Strike at John Lewis

Inspriring stuff - the cleaners at the flagship John Lewis store in London have gone on strike for the London Living wage.

The cleaners, organised in a branch of the famous, historic international union, the IWW, are treated differently to all the other staff in the "mutual" retail chain and have the backing of many of the store workers, some of whom are also in the IWW.

The IWW continues to expand its organising efforts amongst exploited workforces in the UK, notably cleaners and catering workers and sectors where there is much precarity.

More from the Guardian including a short film - here

The British regional administration of the IWW is here - http://iww.org.uk/

The international and US IWW website is http://www.iww.org/en

New Version of Green Left Website

Green Left  (The anticapitalist current in the Green Party of England and Wales) have an excellent new Website up and running that can be found here - Green Left
Meanwhile the elections are on for the leader and deputy leader of the Green Party with some very good candidates such as Peter, Romayne, Will, Richard and Alex.  Good luck to all of them.