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!!!

Green Surge!

This is an exciting time to be a member of the Greens in the UK.  Starting with the upsurge in political debate around the Scottish Referendum this summer and leading into autumn and the major parties' panic over the rise of UKIP there has been a marked surge in Green Party membership and support on both sides of the border.

This has been recently assisted by the massively supported online campaign for Greens to be represented in forthcoming UK election debates on TV and radio.  The desire of the Tories and Labour to ape UKIP (to - so far unsuccessfully - win over some of their support) and the continuing decline of the Lib Dems as the coalition "mudguard" have played a part in this.  Another factor is the increasing move amongst left of centre younger people to see the Greens as a viable expression of many of their progresssive and egalitarian views.  The unfortunate floundering of the "Left Unity" project (sadly locally now tagged "Left Disunity" due to ongoing quarrels) has led some towards, or back towards, the Greens as a relatively well established and internally democratic option  that can actually have some success in local politics.  It is my opinion that Leninism is a long term brake on the development of left and progressive politics in the UK and all projects that allow Leninists of whatever stripe to take a dominant role are doomed to failure.  The Greens do not have this baggage and the main left currents in the Greens are eco-socialist and libertarian socialist - currents that are far more in tune with the online, connected and eclectic activist world of today than the centralism and sectarianism of UK Leninists.

Whilst problems remain in the Greens in England and Wales (lack of political education, a shoestring organisational budget, off message councillors and the odd careerist,  and some infuriating administrative and financial communication barriers would be my personal bugbears) the Party remains the best short term option for anyone wishing to make a noticeable impact on British politics and create a space for dissemination and discussion of ideas outside the neo-liberal consensus.

The Greens face a major struggle to keep Caroline Lucas MP in Parliament (largely due to Labour now openly targeting the Greens for "elimination" - perhaps resenting us as an unwelcome reminder of the Labour Party's increasing inadequacy as a Party of the Left - and also some of the aforementioned "off message councillors"in Brighton).  But it should be possible to retain her seat and possibly even gain more next year if the current momentum can be maintained or improved upon, and particularly if we can get Natalie and/or Caroline onto televised and radio debates.

Austerity, fracking, attacks on civil liberties and sucking up to corporate and financial interests remain very unpopular despite the efforts of all the recent "governmental" parties to support them.  The reservoir of Green support is there for tapping into and articulating.  A key aim should be to strengthen all the movements fighting these things regardless of the election result next year.  So the Greens can play a key role in both building the fightback and putting forward positive alternatives.   Come and join us....

This blog supports Scottish Independence!

This blog supports Scottish Independence!
A long haul to the vote, (Now scheduled for 18th September 2014) but the Scottish Greens are formally involved in the YES Campaign
A website is also set up to rally supporters of Scottish independence in England - Yes England.
There is also a Facebook Page for both these campaigns.

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.

5th May - Say YES! (And Vote Green if you get the opportunity!)

On 5th May there is the opportunity to make a small change in the UK's voting system. However, if the vote is no this will be presented by the whole media and establishment as showing that there is no appetite for any change from First Past The Post in UK general elections and Proportional Representation will be off the agenda for possibly a political generation. Anyone who wants PR should vote YES to AV.

The Tories are changing the boundaries for elections so that they will get even more of an advantage under FPTP - Labour votes are concentrated in urban areas and the North - Tory voters are more spread out in rural and suburban zones and the South. The new boundaries will mean more seats fall to the Tories or become "Safe" Tory seats. AV would at least balance this change.

Some have been arguing that progressives and the left should vote No to "spite Clegg" in the hope this will cause the Lib Dems to leave the coalition or some such unlikely "Turkeys Voting for Christmas" scenario. Putting aside that voting YES is likely to "spite Cameron" and upset the Tories - (the Organ Grinders rather than the irritating monkeys!) - it seems to me that basing your vote on a change (that could lay the ground for further change, will be fairer and allow more of a clear picture of smaller party support) on personal animosity and short term vengeance seems to me politically immature to say the least.

So, Vote YES, and if you can - vote Green, and elect local councillors with principle who will not be mouthpieces for the Coalition vandals.

The Reality of Coalition Neo-liberalism

I was up close and personal with the reality of the austerity coalition's policies this week as the redundancy axe began to fall in my workplace.
For those still deluded enough to think the coalition is just about "Deficit reduction" and getting rid of "unproductive workers" the coming few months is going to be instructive. A tsunami of job losses in local government is coming along with the proposed total transformation of the National Health Service and a slow but sure dismantling of locally democratic controlled education. The shared (Neoliberal) aim of the two coalition party leaders, Sauron and Saruman, is the final dismantling of the post war settlement in Britain. That is effectively the end of anything resembling a welfare state and the beginning of a new age of corporatism. At the same time they hope to finish off what remains of anything approaching effective trade unionism by decimating the public sector and shaving off services left right and centre to corporations, religious groups, charities, philanthropists and the like. Their ideological attack dogs in organisations like Policy Exchange are already slavering for even more restrictive anti-union legislation and attacks on freedom of speech and assembly. So much for the "libertarian" rhetoric of the Cameroons and Orange Bookers.

The reality of this at the grassroots is likely to be disruption in the short term and in the longer term the creation of a two (or more?) tier system of services with the encroachment of private insurance, religious charities and corporate asset strippers.

At my workplace I have sat amongst devastated people who are going to lose jobs or workmates. We have people being made redundant on the grounds of "sickness points" who have otherwise exemplary performance and disciplinary records. That means people who have been unfortunate enough to have cancer in their families, who have had swine flu and even work related injuries, who have been coping with immense stress due to personal and family problems - these people are to pay for their bad luck with their jobs if they and their unions cannot win their appeals. This is people who have worked in a public sector employer that has been ranked amongst the best of its' kind in the country and in one of the most successful workplaces of that employer. And the 70% or 80% who remain may only have a temporary reprieve before the axe swings again, and again and again. Looking for jobs in this socially deprived part of the country will not be easy - the jobs that there are will probably pay half or less than what those being made redundant were paid and may be temporary or otherwise insecure.

Fortunately I sense that even those who went along for a while with the Coalition's rhetoric are now seeing the reality of what they are about - an ideological project to cement the power of certain sections of society even more firmly. They see the Bankers' bonuses, the sucking up to Murdoch and the political two-facedness and turn away in disgust. A mood of resistance is developing that goes far beyond the students that were the first to take the field. What is more, there is an awareness that alone in our workplaces and communities we are unlikely to be able to mount anything more than fragmentary resistance. What is needed is a movement across industries and society, across barriers of age and culture that takes inspiration from those resisting at the knife edge of the neo-liberal totalitarian project.

We need to work towards such a movement and as we do, the dream of ages past - the social general strike, the general expropriation of the expropriators becomes less of a dream and more of a possibility on the way to concrete necessity.

Peter Allen Presents The Green Challenge In Oldham East And Saddleworth

Peter Allen is the Green candidate in Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election on 13th January and is standing on a radical Green platform opposing cuts and redundancies and for left of centre unity. Peter is gaining support from many traditional Labour and Lib Dem supporters in the face of the scandal which led to the by-election and the craven surrender to Toryism of the Orange Bookers in the "Coalition". In addition, various campaigns and parties of the left who are not standing in the by-election are giving their support to Peter.
This is all very welcome, and Greenman sends his best wishes and support to Peter's campaign.
More from the local Party website for Oldham Green Party here:
http://www.oldhamgreens.org.uk/#/about-peter-allen/4546565953
Vote Green - The real alternative!

WASTE GIANT FAILS TO OVERTURN PUBLIC RIGHT TO KNOW

SECOND VICTORY FOR LOCAL RESIDENT IN LANDMARK SECRECY COURT BATTLE WITH WASTE GIANT

The multinational waste company Veolia Environmental Services today lost its Appeal against a High Court ruling which ordered it to release details of its £850 million waste management contract with its waste partner Nottinghamshire County Council to local residents .

This is the latest in a long line of cases in which information Veolia has tried to withhold has been forcibly made public. The judgement, confirmed by the Court of Appeal, set an important precedent for local authorities with immediate impacts for other councils around the country.

Veolia initiated the case, asking the High Court to judicially review Nottinghamshire County Council’s decision to release details of its multi-million pound waste management contract following a request by local resident and waste campaigner Shlomo Dowen, of People Against Incineration (PAIN), under local authority audit laws. The High Court ordered Veolia to release the information, and the Court of Appeal has upheld the High Court’s broad interpretation of the right of access to information under the audit laws. The Court of Appeal added a qualification that where the information is commercially confidential the authority must still release it where it is in the public interest to do so.

Mr Dowen was represented by lawyers from Friends of the Earth’s Rights and Justice Centre and Timothy Pitt-Payne QC at the Appeal, which was heard in July.

Information released following the High Court judgement showed how much money Veolia has been charging the local council for each method of waste treatment, such as landfill, incineration, recycling and composting, and helped show whether or not the local authority is getting value for money. As a direct result of the release of the information, the district auditors carried out several investigations, and will release their report following the judgement today.

The High Court case spawned a facebook page, and resulted in similar requests for waste contract details from Local Authorities in: Shropshire; Nottinghamshire; Leicestershire; Newcastle; Dudley; Hull; East Yorkshire; Derby; Bristol; Gloucestershire; and Warwickshire.

The case joins a series of blows for incineration in the UK.

Shlomo Dowen said:

“Truth is the best friend of every anti-incineration campaigner. Information that has been released to campaigners provides a valuable, powerful and effective resource. We have used this information to help District Auditors' investigations, for planning objections, and in public inquiries with great success. Such information is an antidote to the industry's propaganda. This decision will be celebrated, again, by campaigners throughout the UK. And of course, the implications for accountability go well beyond waste campaigning."

Friends of the Earth Lawyer acting for Mr Dowen, Laura Gyte, said:

“The Court of Appeal have confirmed the victory in this case for freedom of information and the residents of Nottinghamshire.

“Veolia was forced to come clean about its waste disposal contract and allow council tax payers to see how vast sums of their money is being spent, and how their rubbish is being disposed of.

“We are disappointed that the Court of Appeal implied a qualification on commercial confidentiality – in our view this is a matter for Parliament to decide upon – but it is important that even where commercial confidentiality is claimed, the audit laws mean that public authorities must still disclose the information where it is in the public interest to do so.”

For the past six years Veolia has been embroiled in a controversial attempt to build a waste incinerator in Sherwood Forest. A public inquiry was held in Rainworth near Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. The public inquiry, which opened on 6 October 2009 and came to an end on 26 October 2010, involved Veolia, Nottinghamshire County Council, Natural England, Newark & Sherwood District Council, Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, and the local anti-incineration campaign group PAIN. A decision on Veolia's proposed Sherwood Forest incinerator is expected in 2011.

Caroline Lucas - Magnificent On "Any Questions?"

Caroline Lucas, Leader of the Green Party and newly elected MP for the Brighton Pavilion constituency was on BBC Radio 4's Any Questions? this week with Douglas Hurd, Simon Hughes and Roy Hattersley. Caroline came over brilliantly, was cheered to the rafters by the audience and was praised by the other guests. She also clearly got over the Green Party's radical left of centre position and how it contrasts very strongly with the big three and their shoddy compromises.
Enjoy!
BBC Iplayer recording here
I hope Party Office have a got a good supply of new members' packs in !

April 10th - We Won't Pay For Their Crisis!

There is a major demonstration scheduled for London on April 10th in the probable run up to the General Election - a general election where all 3 main pro-capitalist parties are signalling their intentions to make cuts in public services and welfare. The protest, originating in the National Pensioners Convention, is backed by all main unions, coaches are being organised by Trades Councils and union branches from most areas of Britain.
Assemble 12 noon for 1pm Temple Place, Embankment, London.
Rally in Trafalgar Square.
Lets show the politicians we are not going to pay for their incompetence and the bankers' gambling! Let us remind them that whoever is in power after the election, we are not going to let them reverse what remains of the gains made by working people in Britain since the Second World War.

The RMT's Bob Crow on the demo - here.

Protest Against Nottingham Social Care Cuts

Nottingham City Unison have called a demonstration outside the City Council Budget Meeting on Monday 8th March at 12.30 in Old Market Square. The Labour City Council is proposing cuts in Adult Social Services as part of an £18 million package of cuts in its 2010/2011 budget. The proposed cuts include -

* Proposed closure of Riverside Residential Home (Bulwell) for adults with learning disabilities
*Closure of the Willows Older Persons Day Centre at weekends
*A new daily £2 charge for attendance at all adult day centres
*Cuts in day care for adults living in residential and nursing homes
*A 3% increase in charges for homecare, meals at home and transport to day centres
*Cuts in City Council Deaf Sevice

It is particularly ironic that Labour politicians and activists have been prominently flying their flags at protests against the Conservative controlled Notts County Council over the last week as the Tories launch a similar cuts programme targeted on day centres, residential homes etc in the County. Labour in the City are following the same policy as Tories in the County - targeting the most vulnerable and those they estimate are least likely to kick up a fuss or cost them votes.

Workers and service users need to show the City Labourites that we oppose their cuts every bit as much as those being implemented by the County Tories.

The Beginning Of A Long Struggle In Notts

Greens and Wobs from Nottinghamshire joined trades unionists, community campaigners, service users and members of left Parties in a protest against the forthcoming Notts County Council cuts programme on Saturday 20th February. The small but angry protest in Mansfield Market place appeared to attract a crowd of between 1 and 2 hundred (not bad for a small market town)but speakers were keen to stress that this is just the start of a campaign of resistance and protest against the Tory Council's attacks on jobs and services. The idea of a County wide anti-cuts campaign was floated, to work alongside the Trades Council and unite the various concerned groups.

A second protest is planned outside the Council budget agreement meeting at County Hall, West Bridgford, Nottingham on Thursday 25th at 10am.

The Independent newspaper had a headline earlier in the week that a survey conducted by them had shown at least 20,000 Council jobs across the country to be lost in the near future due to cuts programmes, and this is just the start. These cuts come whilst the main parties are gearing up for a general election and so are not as keen as they might be to be seen to be making deep cuts that affect public services. We can imagine what is to come after the general election.

Now is the time to build the links and solidarity, the organisation and communication between workers, campaigners and community groups that will be needed in the coming struggle.

Birmingham Greens Demonstrate Left Unity In Action

The Green Party in Birmingham has voted to stand aside for Salma Yaqoob in the coming Parliamentary elections, the Steering Group of Green Left has agreed the release of the following statement:

Green Left welcomes the decision of Birmingham Green Party to stand aside in the parliamentary constituency of Hall Green to let Salma Yaqoob of Respect contest the general election there. The decision, which was endorsed by 86% of Green Party members in the area, is another step in forming an alliance between those forces on the Left of British politics campaigning against war, privatisation, the ongoing march to environmental disaster and Fascism. We regard this as an historic step in the campaign for the next general election and for progressive politics in this country.


Joseph Healy

Sue Tibbles

Co-Convenors

Green Left

More from Joseph, Derek on Socialist Unity site and Jim at Daily (Maybe).

Notts Incinerator Inquiry Postponed!

In a dramatic move the Nottinghamshire Incinerator Public Inquiry has been adjourned until April 13th 2010 and will now run for 4 weeks instead of 3 weeks.
Here's hoping that Veolia might think it is too much hassle or NCC might walk away.

On Wednesday 14th. October, the Public Open Forum will not now be needed. However, PAIN has decided to keep this date in place in order to update members.

The PAIN meeting is at
Rainworth Methodist Church Hall,
Southwell Road East,
Rainworth,
Notts
NG21 0BN
on Wednesday 14th October. 6.30 for 7pm. Cake will be available!

Victory over Veolia!

Good news!
The giant multinational waste, transport, water and services conglomerate Veolia has been defeated in its' attempts to withhold important information from local anti-incinerator activists and Council Tax Payers in Nottinghamshire. The decision of the High Court on 1st October is a landmark decision and a victory for dynamic PAIN* and UKWIN* activist Shlomo Dowen and Friends of the Earth in the UK who supported the case against Veolia.

The court case came about when activists sought to see details of the fantastically expensive waste contract signed between Veolia and Notts County Council under regulations governing local government auditing. Under these rules members of the public are allowed to see Council accounts and financial details during the audit process. Veolia sought an injunction against anyone seeing details relating to the County Waste Contract which includes the controversial incinerator plans for Rainworth in Sherwood Forest.

This led to the farcical situation of Notts County Council, (aware of their legal duties and the likelihood of them loosing a challenge if they complied with the wishes of Veolia) confronting their favoured contractor in court.

This is all a good omen for the Public Inquiry into Veolia's White Elephant Notts Incinerator (improved waste treatment technology and increasing recycling rates are already making it increasingly obsolescent before it even has final approval - the argument for an alternative waste strategy strengthens by the day) - the Inquiry starts in Rainworth next Tuesday and the public have their right to have their say on 14th October in the evening session of the Inquiry at Rainworth Methodist Hall.

Well done to Shlomo, PAIN, UKWIN and FOE and good luck for the Inquiry!



Notes
* PAIN - People Against Incineration - local Notts campaign against projected Veolia incinerator in Sherwood Forest.
* UKWIN - National anti-incinerator network, UK Without Incineration.

Defend Jim Board - Fight The Reactionary Attacks In Doncaster!

The battle against the right-wing reactionary mayor of Doncaster and his supporters continues as they launch a pre-emptive strike on union organisation. This from the Facebook Group set up to oppose Mayor Davies of the English Democrats:

On the 7th September 2009 Doncaster UNISON branch secretary Jim Board was suspended after giving an interview to Channel 4 news in defence of children's services in Doncaster.

With massive attacks planned by the Mayor the public sector services and the equality agenda in Doncaster, Jim Board and UNISON would be at the forefront of fighting for jobs and the services of the most vunerable sections of our community; making this attack no more than an effort by the mayor and senior council management to remove opposition to their plans, and to clearly attack the trade union movement.

This is not acceptable.

As a response a demonstration in support of Jim Board and against the Mayor's divisive attempts to undermine trade unions has been called. This is part of the Mayor's overall assault on public services and the equalities agenda in Doncaster - and we must show him this is unacceptable.

Please invite as many people as you can and lets make this as loud and defiant as possible as we say NO to the Mayor's attack on trade unions, public services, and tolerance and diversity in our town.

Assemble 11.00am Saturday 12th September outside Mansion House, Doncaster Town Centre

The story as reported in the Sheffield Star newspaper is that Davies is trying to launch a reactionary "yellow" nationalist union linked to his own Party on the base of his freak electoral victory in Doncaster.

This is all further proof that reactionary attacks on minorities morph very quickly into attacks on organized workers in general and shows how organized workers should support minorities under attack, not only because it is the correct thing to do, but out of self interest as well.....

Best Ever Green Parliamentary By-Election Result

Congratulations to Green candidate Rupert Read and the Norwich Green Party on achieving the best ever Green result (in percentage terms) in a British Parliamentary by-election:

Green party campaigners were today celebrating their performance in the Norwich North by-election after more than tripling their vote, compared with the 2005 general election.

The result is the best performance ever for the Green Party in a Westminster by-election.

Rupert Read for the Green Party received 9.7% of the vote, up from 1,252 in 2005 to 3,350 today.

In comparison to 2005, the votes of Conservative, Labour and LibDem parties all went down. The Labour and LibDem vote also fell as a proportion of the turnout.

Adrian Ramsay, opposition leader on Norwich council, and the Green Party's deputy leader, said: "This was our best by-election result ever. Our best previous result was 7.4% in the Haltemprice and Howden/David Davis by-election. We started from a low base (2.7% in the 2005 general election), and we trebled our vote. On the ground, we had roughly £12,000 to spend, compared to the £100,000 that the Tories have apparently spent."

"Rupert Read ran a positive campaign, on issues such as the NHS, renewable energy, transport and living wages, and we are very pleased with the level of interest we've generated. With new members and supporters, we can now concentrate on Norwich South for the general election."

On the issue of the coming general election, Ramsay said that: "Norwich South will be different from Norwich North, since two-thirds of Norwich North was outside of Norwich City. The Greens have led local election vote share in Norwich for the last three years running, and we are the official opposition within Norwich City."

Rupert Read, the by-election candidate, added that: "The Norwich North campaign was done on a fraction of the budget of the large parties, some of which deluged residents with countless leaflets. We are pleased to have done so well without that kind of overkill."

--

Full results, with % change from 2005:

Chloe Smith (C) 13,591 (39.54%, +6.29%)
Chris Ostrowski (Lab) 6,243 (18.16%, -26.70%)
April Pond (LD) 4,803 (13.97%, -2.22%)
Glenn Tingle (UKIP) 4,068 (11.83%, +9.45%)
Rupert Read (Green) 3,350 (9.74%, +7.08%)
Craig Murray (Honest) 953 (2.77%)
Robert West (BNP) 941 (2.74%)

2009 turnout: 45.76%, down -15.33% on 61.09% in 2005

It is particularly heartening that the wheels came off the Lib Dem by-election machine after they started launching smear attacks on the Greens. In contrast to the increase of over 7% in the Green vote since the the last election, the Lib Dems slumped by over 2%. This does not bode well for the Lib Dems who seem to have put all their eggs in the basket of competing for soft Tory votes via the Blairism of Clegg and his Orange Book chums. We see a pattern of more and more voters (and activists) who identified with the radical wing of the Liberals or old Labour finding a new home with the Greens.

Stunning Green Victory In Hove By-Election

Great news from the South coast:

Hove election win opens way to Westminster victory


Greens in Brighton and Hove are jubilant at winning the strategically important Goldsmid by-election in Hove, taking the seat from the Tories.

The result sees the election of the first Green councillor, Alex Phillips, from Hove to Brighton and Hove City Council and deprives the Tories of their majority on the council.

Caroline Lucas, national Green Party leader, said, "This is a spectacular win.

"It signals an unstoppable surge to elect the first Green MP at Westminster, whenever Gordon decides to go to the country.

"With this result, we're on the threshold of taking Green politics to the heart of Westminster."

Alex Phillips said, "Thank you to all the voters who put their faith in me. It's a ringing endorsement of Green policies and the work of Green councillors locally.

"I will be hardworking and unswerving in my task of representing local people and delivering positive Green change."

"Hopefully this means we can put pressure on the Tories and concentrate on our policies of a 20mph speed limit and introducing a living wage, which is more than the current minimum wage."

Councillor Bill Randall, convenor of the Green councillors on the city council, said, "With my council colleagues, we'll be reviewing the options and consulting our membership to ensure that we get the best, greenest deal for local residents. Between us we will do what is right in these very difficult times."

Alex won 38.5% of the votes -an increase of 17% over the last time the seat was contested with a swing of more than 12% from Labour to Green.

Full result

GRN 1,456 - 38.5% (+17.6%) GRN GAIN FROM CON

CON 1,104 - 29.2% (-0.9%)

LAB 816 - 21.5% (-6.8%)

LD 280 - 7.4% (-7.32%)

UKIP 129 - 3.4% N/A (others 6% last time)

The Big Green Bus In Norwich

The Green Party’s campaign bus takes to the streets of Norwich this week helping by-election candidate Rupert Read to deliver his message to every corner of the constituency. In Green Party livery, the classic Routemaster looks like a familiar London red bus but its actually green, running on recycled cooking oil.

“In the same way,” says Dr Read, “we’re hoping to turn Norwich from red to green this week; out with Labour, in with Green.”

Tuesday July 21st: The Green Team welcomes aboard the London bus Sian Berry, Green Party candidate in the London mayoral election. The London Assembly recently introduced a “Living Wage” of £7.45p an hour – above the government’s official minimum wage. It’s now the minimum for public sector workers in London and businesses are encouraged to follow suit. Thanks to Green Party councillors, the “Living Wage” has been adopted in principle by Norwich City Council. Economists are currently assessing at what level the “Living Wage” should be set in Norwich. At 10.00 the campaign bus will drop Sian Berry outside City Hall where she will meet Green councillors to help them promote the scheme.

Sian Berry said:
“As a councillor in Norwich, Rupert Read has worked hard on local issues, from housing to fair pay, and has made a real difference to people's lives. As a philosopher, he is just as comfortable tackling the big issues, from the best way to deal with climate change to the need for peaceful ways to resolve conflicts.

”Rupert has already represented the people of Norwich at City Hall for five years, and I urge the people of Norwich North to vote for him as a hardworking and principled representative for them in Westminster on July 23rd.”

Later in the day, the bus will be touring the Catton area.

Wednesday July 22nd: Together on the campaign bus, Rupert Read and Adrian Ramsay, deputy leader of the Green Party and leader of the Green official opposition on Norwich City Council, will be making stops in the Hellesdon area to focus on the main issues of the Greens’ campaign in Norwich North:

* Make them listen - about accountability and Green proposals for reform of Parliament.

*Protect public services - no to privatisation and protecting public services locally

*Green jobs now - green job creation in public transport, local agriculture and renewable energy

*Protect the countryside - opposition to large scale development in Norfolk countryside.