- Sweeps Festival started today. Folk, morris and ale to celebrate May Day / Beltaine - had a great time. Will be at the 'Awakening Jack in the Green' ceremony at 5:30am tomorrow, not a bad festival for a council to put on - shame Maidstone have nothing similar.
- Gave out some leaflets with Medway Greens at Sweeps and had a row with Medway Labour who refused to remove their stall even though they had not booked a place and were asked to do so by the council.
- Christiania is under threat. Went there is 1992 - superb place, don't want to see it turned into modern apartments but that's what you get with a Liberal / Conservative government.
- Tornados in the US have killed hundreds while in the UK the lack of rain in Kent is making my garden suffer.
Green Party campaigner in Kent. Also a nurse, academic, former manager, writer, Druid, husband and father...
Showing posts with label Labour. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Labour. Show all posts
Saturday, 30 April 2011
Round up
Had a day off campaigning - almost. Quick round up of recent stuff:
Monday, 11 October 2010
If you thought the ConDems weren't interested in climate change...
There have been rumblings over the past few months about the lack of emphasis that the Tories and Lib Dems are putting on climate change. For example:
Personally, I thought Ed Miliband was OK as climate change secretary, but now as leader of the Labour Party he has appointed Meg Hillier as his Shadow Energy and Climate Change Secretary. Jim @ The Daily (Maybe) has suggested that we take a look at her voting record which you can see at Public Whip which I've summarised this below.
Her record is pretty damning, you'll need to scroll down for her climate change record as I've left in other interesting records. If you want action on climate change, you won't find it in any of the big three.
- Support for coal
- DECC under threat of closure
- Deep water drilling in the UK
- Timber and renewables pledges dropped
Personally, I thought Ed Miliband was OK as climate change secretary, but now as leader of the Labour Party he has appointed Meg Hillier as his Shadow Energy and Climate Change Secretary. Jim @ The Daily (Maybe) has suggested that we take a look at her voting record which you can see at Public Whip which I've summarised this below.
Her record is pretty damning, you'll need to scroll down for her climate change record as I've left in other interesting records. If you want action on climate change, you won't find it in any of the big three.
Friday, 16 October 2009
Candidates shun Maidstone's carers
If the local volunteer bureau wrote to local parliamentary candidates inviting them to discuss an important green paper on social care with dozens of local carers, you think they would jump at the chance - wouldn't you?
Well I jumped at the chance and I was expecting to be able to engage in useful debate with both my opponents and the carers. The only problems was that my opponents weren't interested.
Letters went out in July to the four candidates from the Maidstone Carers Project. Labour candidate Rav Seethrum and Lib Dem Candidate Peter Carroll failed to reply to the letter and failed to turn up on the day. Conservative candidate Helen Grant replied to the letter by email just two days before the event to say she wouldn't be attending (but would arrange a meeting with the Volunteer Bureau separately).
I find it astonishing that the candidates were not willing or interested enough to even respond in a timely manner to turn the offer down. The invite went out in July! They could have easily negotiated another day for the debate.
It says volumes about how much they don't value the voice of people who are working extremely hard with little support and often no financial reward. Exactly what the country would do without these people is beyond me. Peter Carroll may be proud of the Gurkhas, but carers do an even more important job and rarely get any recognition.
On a positive note however, I was able to spend a couple of hours engaged in useful discussion with a bunch of people that I have great respect for.
There were two main concerns that they raised with the social care paper, firstly that free social care had been rule out by the government. It was heartening to listen to views that were clearly left leaning (and in Maidstone...) about who should fund social care and why it should be free. The carers were clearly of the mind that care should be paid for out of income tax, not from an insurance scheme that they start paying into once they retire.
The other important issue was the scrapping of the Disability Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance that is suggested in the document. A fundemental point was raised that these allowances are not about paing for care so much as being paid for the extra cost of living that being disabled incurs. If you can't drive and have to buy all your shopping in the corner shop, you will pay a lot more for your food. If you are at home all day and not moving around much, you need the heating much higher than other people.
One of the hallmarks of how civilised a society is, is how it cares for its sick and vulnerable people. Clearly government thinking is concerned with how little we can get away with giving. Clearly the other candidates in Maidstone are not bovvered much at all.
Addendum: I received an email from Helen Grant today (3rd Dec) telling that she did contact Maidstone Carers Project in early August and has met the project leader today. That is good news - this project is important and deserves support!
Well I jumped at the chance and I was expecting to be able to engage in useful debate with both my opponents and the carers. The only problems was that my opponents weren't interested.
Letters went out in July to the four candidates from the Maidstone Carers Project. Labour candidate Rav Seethrum and Lib Dem Candidate Peter Carroll failed to reply to the letter and failed to turn up on the day. Conservative candidate Helen Grant replied to the letter by email just two days before the event to say she wouldn't be attending (but would arrange a meeting with the Volunteer Bureau separately).
I find it astonishing that the candidates were not willing or interested enough to even respond in a timely manner to turn the offer down. The invite went out in July! They could have easily negotiated another day for the debate.
It says volumes about how much they don't value the voice of people who are working extremely hard with little support and often no financial reward. Exactly what the country would do without these people is beyond me. Peter Carroll may be proud of the Gurkhas, but carers do an even more important job and rarely get any recognition.
On a positive note however, I was able to spend a couple of hours engaged in useful discussion with a bunch of people that I have great respect for.
There were two main concerns that they raised with the social care paper, firstly that free social care had been rule out by the government. It was heartening to listen to views that were clearly left leaning (and in Maidstone...) about who should fund social care and why it should be free. The carers were clearly of the mind that care should be paid for out of income tax, not from an insurance scheme that they start paying into once they retire.
The other important issue was the scrapping of the Disability Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance that is suggested in the document. A fundemental point was raised that these allowances are not about paing for care so much as being paid for the extra cost of living that being disabled incurs. If you can't drive and have to buy all your shopping in the corner shop, you will pay a lot more for your food. If you are at home all day and not moving around much, you need the heating much higher than other people.
One of the hallmarks of how civilised a society is, is how it cares for its sick and vulnerable people. Clearly government thinking is concerned with how little we can get away with giving. Clearly the other candidates in Maidstone are not bovvered much at all.
Addendum: I received an email from Helen Grant today (3rd Dec) telling that she did contact Maidstone Carers Project in early August and has met the project leader today. That is good news - this project is important and deserves support!
Thursday, 18 June 2009
Megaliths in power
I wonder how many people have spent the day pouring over the published expenses? I haven't even glanced at them and I doubt many people outside of the media have either. What the media and the government seem to have forgotten is that the imperative now must be for constitutional reform.
With less than a year to go before the Tories get into power, Labour (and Gordon Brown in particular) seem to be doing nothing to seize the only opportunity for a long time to come to make real improvements to democracy. Brown is going to go down as the worst prime minister in history unless he makes quick bold moves.
Not only will he go down as the worst PM ever, but he will take democracy with him. With the Tories in power the status quo will be maintained. They will make some fluffy changes and spin them as reform but under the surface, greed will rule.
There are so many important changes that must be made to parliament and how we elect it that missing this opportunity is the biggest ever crime against democracy in this country that I can think of. (n.b. I await comments!)
Either Brown must move quickly or Labour must oust him and put a short term reformer in his place. Labour must show that it has got what it takes to make changes when it needs to and it needs to show that NOW!
I don't want Labour in power any more than the Tories. I want Greens in power, but all the time that the UK political system supports two megalithic parties there will be no progress.
With less than a year to go before the Tories get into power, Labour (and Gordon Brown in particular) seem to be doing nothing to seize the only opportunity for a long time to come to make real improvements to democracy. Brown is going to go down as the worst prime minister in history unless he makes quick bold moves.
Not only will he go down as the worst PM ever, but he will take democracy with him. With the Tories in power the status quo will be maintained. They will make some fluffy changes and spin them as reform but under the surface, greed will rule.
There are so many important changes that must be made to parliament and how we elect it that missing this opportunity is the biggest ever crime against democracy in this country that I can think of. (n.b. I await comments!)
Either Brown must move quickly or Labour must oust him and put a short term reformer in his place. Labour must show that it has got what it takes to make changes when it needs to and it needs to show that NOW!
I don't want Labour in power any more than the Tories. I want Greens in power, but all the time that the UK political system supports two megalithic parties there will be no progress.
Tuesday, 10 March 2009
Labour's record on redistribution
The chilling picture of a Victorian sized poverty gap painted by the Indy demonstrates just how far free market capitalism has travelled and the mire that it has left in its wake.
Inflation is hitting poorer people hard while leaving the rich to benefit from falling petrol prices and mortgage rates. The Institute of Fiscal Studies have shown that the poorest pensioners are suffering with 6.9% inflation while people with large mortgages got an effective pay rise of £10k. Inflation is running at 4.7% for people renting privately, 4.9% for people with no mortgages and 6.1% for people in local authority housing.
"The IFS analysis reveals that in January 2009 the richest fifth of households had an average inflation rate of minus 1 per cent; the poorest fifth had an average inflation rate of 5.3 per cent."
Of course, if this picture had emerged at the end of 12 years of socialism, I would argue that socialism doesn't work, however the country has witnessed policies that right wingers could only dream of: bank deregulation and bail out, privatisation of mail and health, and so on.
The poverty trap caused by the benefits system is an appalling indictment of Labour's (and prior to that Tory) policy.
We need to introduce a basic minimum income for everyone - a citizen's income, an income that people can top up with earnings without fear of losing it. An income that people can live on, that can't be taken away, that reduces the fear of trying to get by.
Pensioners need a decent income. Pension funds are crashing with stock markets, saving are attracting no interest. People who have worked and saved are struggling. The state should stop bailing out the banksters, and simply bring banks under democratic control.
Put bail out money towards people and projects that need it. Poorer people and pensioners need this money!
Inflation is hitting poorer people hard while leaving the rich to benefit from falling petrol prices and mortgage rates. The Institute of Fiscal Studies have shown that the poorest pensioners are suffering with 6.9% inflation while people with large mortgages got an effective pay rise of £10k. Inflation is running at 4.7% for people renting privately, 4.9% for people with no mortgages and 6.1% for people in local authority housing.
"The IFS analysis reveals that in January 2009 the richest fifth of households had an average inflation rate of minus 1 per cent; the poorest fifth had an average inflation rate of 5.3 per cent."
Of course, if this picture had emerged at the end of 12 years of socialism, I would argue that socialism doesn't work, however the country has witnessed policies that right wingers could only dream of: bank deregulation and bail out, privatisation of mail and health, and so on.
The poverty trap caused by the benefits system is an appalling indictment of Labour's (and prior to that Tory) policy.
We need to introduce a basic minimum income for everyone - a citizen's income, an income that people can top up with earnings without fear of losing it. An income that people can live on, that can't be taken away, that reduces the fear of trying to get by.
Pensioners need a decent income. Pension funds are crashing with stock markets, saving are attracting no interest. People who have worked and saved are struggling. The state should stop bailing out the banksters, and simply bring banks under democratic control.
Put bail out money towards people and projects that need it. Poorer people and pensioners need this money!
Saturday, 22 November 2008
Two fingers to the climate and the future
There's so much going on and I have hardly has a chance to read emails, let alone blog anything much, so apologies...
Firstly, rail fares are rising way above inflation in the South East. This is appalling news, rail usage is rising and investment is urgently needed, but increasing fares is not the way to do it. When the government wants to build roads it talks about new investment in the infrastructure, but when it comes to our railways it talks about subsidies and privatises it. We need government investment in the railways and we need a public railway service.
The Conservatives are champing at the bit about expanding airports in Kent, they just can't agree which airport to expand. Vote Blue Get Green? I don't think so. 350 ppm is now felt to be the maximum safe level of CO2, yet we are now around 380. Urgent and radical action is needed, not building more airports and roads (a position that the grey parties, Tories, Labour and LibDems, are guilty of calling for).
The sea ice loss at the North Pole continues to break records: "if we look at the total extent of ice lost between the March maximum and the September minimum, 2008 set a new record for total ice loss over an entire melt season."
The New Scientist reports that in this year's hurricane season, "the total energy carried by storms this year is double that of last year."
The number of climate related problems just keeps on rising. We have already exceeded the safe levels of CO2 and yet the grey parties are continuing with business as usual. Sure there are some good individuals around, but politics is about policies, not the rhetoric of individuals.
Firstly, rail fares are rising way above inflation in the South East. This is appalling news, rail usage is rising and investment is urgently needed, but increasing fares is not the way to do it. When the government wants to build roads it talks about new investment in the infrastructure, but when it comes to our railways it talks about subsidies and privatises it. We need government investment in the railways and we need a public railway service.
The Conservatives are champing at the bit about expanding airports in Kent, they just can't agree which airport to expand. Vote Blue Get Green? I don't think so. 350 ppm is now felt to be the maximum safe level of CO2, yet we are now around 380. Urgent and radical action is needed, not building more airports and roads (a position that the grey parties, Tories, Labour and LibDems, are guilty of calling for).
The sea ice loss at the North Pole continues to break records: "if we look at the total extent of ice lost between the March maximum and the September minimum, 2008 set a new record for total ice loss over an entire melt season."
The New Scientist reports that in this year's hurricane season, "the total energy carried by storms this year is double that of last year."
The number of climate related problems just keeps on rising. We have already exceeded the safe levels of CO2 and yet the grey parties are continuing with business as usual. Sure there are some good individuals around, but politics is about policies, not the rhetoric of individuals.
Saturday, 13 September 2008
Brown restores power to energy companies
Brown's deal with energy companies to roll out energy efficiency to home owners could be cost neutral for them and the government, but not for consumers. Brown has ruled out the ideas of a windfall tax to support struggling people, that would be far too, er... socialist? Surely a windfall tax is the way to pay for this otherwise excellent scheme (as championed by Green councillor Andy Cooper in Kirklees no less).
Perhaps this is a way of balancing the hegemony after it was upset by the Kingsnorth decree this week. The Kingsnorth Six were found not guilty of criminal damage as they had just cause: saving the world for our children's future. Clearly Golden Brown was worried by this appalling affront on big business and has handed them a new money making scheme which allows them to pass even higher bills on the the working classes.
In an equally right lurching move, it looks like the LibDems are vowing to decrease taxes. Personally I'd like to decrease taxation, but only on the poorer people in society and balancing this with more taxation for the rich and for big business.
Perhaps this is a way of balancing the hegemony after it was upset by the Kingsnorth decree this week. The Kingsnorth Six were found not guilty of criminal damage as they had just cause: saving the world for our children's future. Clearly Golden Brown was worried by this appalling affront on big business and has handed them a new money making scheme which allows them to pass even higher bills on the the working classes.
In an equally right lurching move, it looks like the LibDems are vowing to decrease taxes. Personally I'd like to decrease taxation, but only on the poorer people in society and balancing this with more taxation for the rich and for big business.
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