The life of Mr Andy C

We're all scroungers in ConDem nation

2011-11-19T11:09:00.000-08:00

I do not blog much at the moment as it is quite painful typing due to nerve problems in my arms, but I was so outraged this morning when I learnt about the latest Tory attack on benefits that I was moved to comment.

A Tory backed review has called for patients on sick notes to face independent assessment after being off work sick for more than 4 weeks. Judging by the welcoming noises the government have made they are keen to follow this through.

Already the government have been attacking those on long term disability support, with rhetoric which infers that many of those on benefits are bogus and don't need support.

In my 21 years of work I have been written off as sick for over 4 weeks on a couple of occasions. Once was for a serious break to the arm which resulted in being in a cast for 6 weeks, the other time involved 2 discs in my neck pressing on nerves causing serious pain in my back and arm which made in near impossible to sit down at a desk or use a computer, which is 95% of my job. These are just two examples of justified absence from work, there are hundreds of other genuine examples such as cancer, serious injury, major operations to name but a few. Why should the thousands of people in this position be forced to face an inquisition to see if their illness/injury is a valid case for absence. Your own GP is in the best position to judge this.

As well as the physical examples of injury mentioned above, many ask their GP for time off work due to depression and stress. What worries me is that this is exactly the sort of condition these measures are aimed at attacking. The result will mean that many people will feel intimidated into returning to work before 4 weeks so that they don't have to face this assessment, even when they are not well enough to be returning to a work environment. This could result in a worsening of their condition, and could even contribute to an increase in severe mental health conditions and suicide.

I hope the Labour Party see this aggressive approach for managing health problems for what it is and oppose any such bill which is put before parliament.

Leonard Nimoy and a bit of silliness for Sunday morning

2011-10-09T03:54:00.000-07:00

40 things to do before I reach 40

2011-10-03T13:50:00.000-07:00

I reach forty in 2 1/2 years so have decided to draw up a list of activities and achievements to reach before then. So far I have:

Visit Scandanavia
Learn a foreign language

Hopefully I will have drawn up a list of 40 by the end of the month. I will keep a blog of my achievements over at http://40thingstodobeforeireach40.blogspot.com/

Suggestions for my list of 40 welcome, although nothing too dangerous and physical please.

Do you want this racist representing you in Europe?

2011-08-08T13:08:00.000-07:00

Original message at https://twitter.com/#!/nickgriffinmep/status/100135489859895296

If Trade union votes are being looked at so should the MP/MEP block

2011-08-07T07:16:00.000-07:00

The Guardian reported recently that Ed Miliband is looking at changing the rules to reduce the influence of trade unions at conference and in the leadership election.

I am not going to argue that the place of unions within the party shouldn't be looked at, but they should be revised alongside all other power bases and groupings within the party.

Many argue that if it wasn't for the trade unions Ed Miliband would not have won the leadership election. This is true under the current leadership rules, but it is also true that because MPs and MEPs hold a third of the vote and their votes boosted David Miliband's vote. If the perceived unfairnesses are to be addressed it should be to bring in a genuine one member one vote system where every members vote has the same weighting on the basis of being a member of the Labour Party, and that member should only have one vote, not up to 5 based on how many other groupings that person belongs to such as The Fabians, The Co-Operative Party etc. Only then can we say we have a truly democratic means of electing the leader.

The dangers from Chinese lanterns

2011-07-26T10:52:00.000-07:00

Over the past few years the use of Chinese lanterns has increased considerably, but many users are unaware of the risks they cause to the countryside.

Many of these lanterns can end up landing on farm land where they have found to be eaten by farm animals, particularly cattle which can suffer a slow agonising death, as the write can puncture the stomach lining.. Animals and wildlife can also get entangled in the wire. Although not quite as dangerous bamboo framed lanterns can still cause problems for animals, as they can become entangled in them or get injured from the bamboo.

There is also a risk from fire, as the fire has not necessarily extinguished when the lantern lands. They can cause serious fires if they land on hay stacks or fields. A quick search of Google will provide evidence of numerous fires caused by them.

They are also beginning to cause a problem with litter in the countryside, with many landing miles away from the area they were lit, instead landing in the countryside.

Therefore, please think twice. Chinese lanterns may look beautiful in the sky, but they can cause serious risks to animals and farmland. If you are going to use them please ensure they are securely tethered to the ground.

Further reading:

NFU information leaflet
NFU article
BBC News article
Guardian news article

If Rupert Murdoch hadn't been born - Classic Fry & Laurie

2011-07-12T11:57:00.000-07:00

Is it such a bad thing to drop shadow cabinet elections?

2011-06-24T12:59:00.000-07:00

I am a strong supporter of bringing in more accountability and democracy to the Labour Party, but the shadow cabinet elections are a rather problematic arrangement and I can understand why Ed Miliband would want to get rid of them.

The leader is elected by a 3 way split of MPs & MEPs / Trade Unions and Labour party affiliates / Ordinary Members. Ed just scraped in with more votes when all 3 constituents were taken into account, but David Miliband had a clear lead in the parliamentary labour party. This means that many in the shadow cabinet are supporters of his brother David. In total there are - members of the shadow cabinet who supported David:

Douglas Alexander
Angela Eagle
Tessa Jowell
Caroline Flint
Ivan Lewis
Jim Murphy
Mary Creagh
Meg Hillier
Shaun Woodward
Liam Byrne

If you also take into account those who supported campaigns for the other candidates it only leaves a few cabinet members who actually campaigned for Ed to be leader.

While I am not for one minute suggesting any of these people are being disloyal, it is possible that there are some people who feel that Ed is taking the wrong direction.

It surely makes more sense for a leader to pick his/her own cabinet which more strongly represents the general thinking of the leader. It also gives the leader the opportunity to put a shadow cabinet together who will continue in those roles once Labour are re-elected, rather than the leader having to carry out a re-shuffle of places once in government.

Withdraw Brian Souter's Knighthood

2011-06-13T13:33:00.000-07:00

In the recent Queen's birthday honours list it was announced Stagecoach co-founder Brian Souter is to be awarded a knighthood.

I could not think of a more unsuitable person to receive such an honour. Souter personally bank-rolled a referendum in Scotland campaigning to keep the homophobic law Section 28, which stopped the "promotion" of homosexuality in schools.

I urge people to sign the following petition:

We the undersigned are deeply offended that Brian Souter has been awarded a Knighthood in the Queen's Birthday Honours 2011.
Mr. Souter ran a campaign of fear and misinformation which was deeply hurtful to the LGBT community in Scotland.
The Keep The Clause Campaign increased hatred towards an already victimised group and saw a corresponding increase in violence against LGBT people.
We believe that it is wrong for such a person to be given such a high honour by Her Majesty The Queen and call on HM Government to withdraw this award.

Click here to sign http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/notosoutersknighthood/

The petition has already attracted over 3800 signatories in two days.

My Desert Island Discs

2011-06-12T04:31:00.000-07:00

I enjoyed listening to the Your Desert Island Discs programme on Radio 4 yesterday. It encouraged listeners to send in their Desert Island Disc choices, which I along with 10,000 other listeners did.

The choices were rather predictable, especially considering the listener demographic, but I do like the top 8 choices, although I would say that Bohemian Rhapsody is far from the best song by Queen.

I can't remember all 8 songs I selected, but if I was submitting today I would choose the following 8:

1. Casta Diva from Bellini's Norma, sung by Maria Callas

2. Drown by the Smashing Pumpkins

3. I'd Rather Go Blind, sung by Etta James

4. If It Be Your Will by Leonard Cohen

5. Symphony No.5 by Mahler

6. Wave of Mutilation (UK Surf Mix) by The Pixies

7. Estranged by Guns N Roses

8. With Or Without You by U2

It is rather difficult whittling your choices down to 8, I could have easily picked 20 tracks. I would have liked to have added Billie Holiday, Judy Garland, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Billy Bragg, Chopin, Goldfrapp and Pink Floyd to name but a few.

My choice of book would be easier. Without a doubt it would be the Tales of the City series by Armistead Maupin which I cannot recommend highly enough.

And my luxury would have to be and endless supply of wine, as that would be the only way to survive the tedium :)

Why I will no longer support York Against the War after its decision to invite Gilad Atzmon

2011-05-29T10:07:00.000-07:00

I joined York Against the War in 2002 when it was clear the government were planning to invade Iraq. It has done an excellent job over the years opposing the governments wars, and I have attended many of their meetings and marches, although admittedly fewer of the past few years.

I was dismayed to hear that they had decided to invite Gilad Atzmon (see http://www.yorkagainstthewar.org.uk/#gilad_atzmon). Several people tried to warn YATW that Atzmon was an unsuitable guest due to the accusations of anti-Semitism against him. I along with others objected to his invite, but the decision was made to go ahead with the invite.

I would recommend reading the following articles about Atzmon:

A Guide to the Sayings of Gilad Atzmon, the anti-Semitic jazzman by Tony Greenstein

The unlikely friends of the Holocaust memorial killer by Nick Cohen (although I would point out that the SWP don't have anything to do with him now either. John Rose recently withdrew from a meeting when he found out he was to share a platform with Atzmon).

And if you are not convinced by the inappropriateness of Atzmon's invite read his own article on anti-Semitism at http://www.gilad.co.uk/writings/on-anti-semitism-by-gilad-atzmon.html

This event will do nothing to advance York Against the War's cause and I for one will have nothing to do with it.

Tabloids and invasion of privacy

2011-05-08T05:32:00.000-07:00

Looking at the Sunday papers this morning I saw that once again the News of the World had hit new depths. As the following was printed on the front cover:

How can such depraved stalking by the paparazzi be in the public interest? I'm no defender of the Royals are their extended family, but like anyone else they should be allowed some privacy. Why should Pippa Middleton be stalked by sleazy journalists and photographers?

When public figures and celebrities are at public events by all means it is fare game to photograph, but this sort of behaviour goes far beyond this.

Once again the News of the World and the Murdoch empire should be ashamed of themselves.

It is obvious that self regulation by the Press does not work and it is time for an official regulatory body as there is with other areas of the media.

Spitting Image certainly got it right when they portrayed tabloid reporters as pigs

Taking some time out to enjoy the Yorkshire coastline

2011-05-03T15:02:00.000-07:00

Decided to take a rest from leafleting this morning to take a trip to Flamborough Head. This is one of my favourite places on the Yorkshire coast and an excellent venue for me to practise my amateur photography:

Sign the petition against the cull

2011-04-24T15:55:00.000-07:00

Click here to getImages &
Badger Pictures - Pictures

I have just signed the League Against Cruel Sports' petition against the badger cull.

It is vital that they reach 100,000 signatures to ensure the subject is debated in parliament but to show the government just how opposed the public is to the cull, their target is ONE MILLION SIGNATURES.

Please help them reach this target. It only takes a minute but could save the lives of thousands of badgers.

Just follow this link www.league.org.uk/badgerpetition

Parish Council precepts and student exemption

2011-04-24T14:11:00.000-07:00

This is my latest contribution to the Press letters page:

IT WAS disappointing to read that residents are still facing a rise in their precept payment even though parish councils have frozen the precept (The Press, April 20).

Heslington Parish Council froze the precept this year, but we didn’t have the information to hand at the time to know how many properties were exempt from council tax and whether it has risen from the previous year.

It seems grossly unfair that residents face an increase in their precept due to an increase in student lets. It would be unreasonable to expect students to pay council tax and the precept.

Perhaps it is time for a change in the law to make the landlords responsible for council tax, and therefore precept payments, when they rent properties out to students, so there isn’t an increasing tax burden on those residences which are not inhabited by students.

Letter in support of Labour winning Heslington

2011-04-15T04:44:00.000-07:00

Got this letter in today's Press

On May 5, the voters of York are faced with a decision which will have major consequences for the next four years.

They can vote for the Lib Dems and four more years of Tory budgets, as they continue to rely on the local Tories and push through the national agenda from the Tory-led Government.

Or they can vote for change and vote Labour, who have an alternative vision for York, based on protecting local services and reducing waste. As a Heslington resident and parish councillor, I am supporting David Levene.
Since being nominated as the Labour candidate, he has made a point of canvassing the whole of the village and has listened to residents’ concerns.

He launched a petition to call for double-yellow lines on University Road – which the council has now thankfully adopted – and continues to work on traffic and parking issues in the village and Low Mill Close.

Despite what some might say, Labour can win in Heslington, having essentially tied for second last time.
Please support David in the upcoming local elections, a candidate I strongly believe will stand up for the residents of Heslington and listen to their concerns.

Want to vote Conservative in York? You may be left disappointed.

2011-04-13T09:36:00.000-07:00

As reported in today's Press, the Conservative Party are not fielding candidates in all wards for the City Council Elections. If you look at the Council's election page to check nominees you will notice:

Clifton - Only 2 candidates standing in a 3 candidate ward
Fishergate - No candidates in a 2 candidate ward
Guildhall - Only 1 candidate in a 2 candidate ward
Heslington - No candidate
Heworth - 2 candidates in a 3 candidate ward
Holgate - 2 candidates in a 3 candidate ward
Hull Road - Only 1 candidate in a 2 candidate ward
Huntington and New Earswick - Only 1 candidate in a 3 candidate ward and that candidates nomination form was not valid.
Micklegate - 1 of the candidates forms was not valid so only 2 candidates standing.
Westfield - 2 out of 3 candidates forms had insufficient subscribers

It could be just coincidence that this lack of Conservative candidates will help the Liberal Democrats, especially in wards like Heslington where the Lib Dems are trying to keep the seat. If it is just a cock up, it shows a high level of incompetence and would you really want to vote for a party who cannot even get their nominations right?

Why I'm voting No to AV

2011-04-12T10:44:00.000-07:00

No to AV referendum broadcast

It is only in the last few weeks that I have finally made a decision over how I'm going to vote. I found myself rather conflicted as I consider myself to be progressive and support a change to the electoral system but I do not believe that the alternative vote system is the right way to go.

My main reasons for voting against are:

It will increase the chance of coalitions. When coalitions are formed the governing parties can tear up their manifestos and start again with a coalition agreement. I am not saying that parties in the future will sell out as badly as the Lib Dems have, but it is likely that parties will have to renege of pre-election promises.
It is not proportional representation. If this system genuinely created a level playing field for all parties I could be convinced, but this system only benefits the medium size parties like the Lib Dems and possibly UKIP in some areas. Smaller parties are likely to get lower preferences from the majority of electorate so are unlikely to be successful. This may be attractive because it keeps out the BNP, but it will also probably make it more difficult for the Greens or socialist parties to get elected.
You could have a situation where the 2nd of even 3rd party with the most first preferences ends up winning. This could lead to dull middle of the road parties who stand for very little, which is probably why the Lib Dems like it.
Finally I see it as a negative system. Apart from your first preference you are using the rest of your preferences to keep out the party you hate the most. In reality there is only one party you want to win, the rest of you votes are being used to block another party from getting in.

What does surprise me is that the Tories are against it. Chances are they will get a lot of 2nd and 3rd votes off UKIP, English Democrat and BNP voters as well as a good chunk of Lib Dem voters. Alongside the re-drawing (or gerrymandering) of boundaries they must be on to a winner if it goes through. Where as it is not too clear that it will advantage Labour as this Channel 4 report shows.

My preference for an electoral system would be to keep the current system and have a proportion of seats used as top up seats so that the smaller parties are represented. That way we would have a fairer system whilst keeping the constituency link.

An appeal from Michael Moore to support the NHS

2011-03-28T14:37:00.001-07:00

Israel's disdain for international law

2011-01-24T10:47:00.000-08:00

Two items in the news recently have highlighted Israel's disdain for international law and seriously question Israeli leaders commitment to the peace process.

First we saw the white-wash which was the Israeli inquiry into the deadly attack on the aid flotilla last May. The inquiry ruled that the attack and the naval blockade are legal under international law. It is beyond belief that these actions can be found to be legal. The attack was in international waters on a ship sailing under the Turkish flag, this can be interpreted as an act of war or at the least an act of piracy. We can only hope the UN inquiry due to be released later this year produces a different set of findings. Although like previous UN inquiries it is likely Israel will reject the outcome.

Then yesterday we saw the leak of Palestinian documents showing how much the Palestinian negotiators have been willing to sacrifice in order to come up with a peaceful settlement. The documents show that the Palestinian administration were willing to surrender all but one of the illegal settlement areas in East Jerusalem to Israel. This is despite the fact that Israel have illegally occupied these areas since the 6 day war in 1967. This huge gesture was still not satisfactory for Israel, one can only presume that Israel is not interested in giving away the land it seized and will continues to build illegal settlements on. It appears that the only acceptable resolution for Israel is the complete surrender of all settlements by the Palestinians.

The map below shows how much land the Palestinians have lost since 1948. The longer the occupation and settlement building continues the more likely it is that there will never be a peaceful resolution. This may prove to be a crucial mistake by Israel as eventually the only workable solution will be a one state solution.

Charity gimmicks for the Big Society

2011-01-02T02:58:00.000-08:00

Got the following letter in the Press yesterday

The latest Big Society initiative to come from the Government is for cash machines to be able to accept donations for charity.

Although I have nothing against such moves, it is diverting attention from the fact that charities are going to face a serious funding crisis over the next few years.

In all likelihood, charities will see a drop in income from individuals as a result of the VAT rise, public-sector redundancies and pay freezes and the resulting redundancies in the private sector. Unfortunately, when times are hard, charitable donations are often the first area individuals look at when trying to save money.

Charities will also see a drop in income from local and central government, and with nearly a quarter of charities receiving funding from government, many charities are going to feel the squeeze from both individual and state funding. This at a time when many charities are going to face greater demand for their services as a result of the cuts.

This is just another example of the results of the over-the-top unnecessary cuts being imposed on us by the current Tory-led Government.

Predictions for 2011

2011-01-01T11:31:00.000-08:00

Towards the end of 2010 we began to see the signs of what to expect for 2011. Here are a few of my predictions for 2011:

Re-alignment of politics, the Liberal Democrats and the AV referendum

At the end of 2010 the Liberal Democrats were hovering around 8-10% in the opinion polls, only a few months into the coalition. The first big test will be in the May local elections, Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly elections. If the opinion polls are to be believed it will be devastating news for the Lib Dems, it is quite likely hundreds or even thousands of Lib Dem councillors will lose their seats, and lose control of most the councils they currently control. Hopefully it will be mainly Labour who benefit from these losses, particularly in England, although the votes are liable to be shared with the SNP in Scotland and Plaid Cymru in Wales.

At the same time we will be voting on the AV referendum. My prediction is that the result will be close, probably with the No vote winning. If this is the case, the No vote alongside massive seat losses will put serious pressure on the coalition with many Lib Dems questioning their commitment to it, knowing that if they decide to stick with it they are likely to lose many parliamentary seats come 2015.

2011 should see a continuing rise in support for Labour, with Ed Miliband being the right man to lead the party forward. This should be a good year for Labour, hopefully winning the Oldham by-election and greatly increasing the number of council seats.

Ed is right to lead a review of party policy and question which Labour policies worked and which didn't. Only a re-invented party, moving on from New Labour will engage with voters, particularly those who drifted away from Labour due to Iraq and attacks on civil liberties. The Labour Party is the natural party for those who believe in fairness, equality and strong public services and hopefully the number of new members will continue to grow throughout the year.

A year of protest

Just because the tuition fee rise has been passed by Parliament, the ConDems are likely to be disappointed if they think the students will now leave the streets. There are likely to be continued demonstrations about fees and the loss of EMA. Alongside these demonstrations they student movement will be part of the bigger movement challenging the ConDem cuts.

March 26th will see the March for the Alternative demonstration, organised by the TUC. In all likelihood this will be the largest demonstration the country has seen since the 2003 demonstration against the Iraq war.

Alongside the demonstrations there are likely to be an increasing number of strikes from public sector unions defending workers against the hundreds of thousands of jobs the ConDems wish to shed.

Royal Wedding

The diversion of a royal wedding will not take out minds off devastation the ConDems are causing to the country. Unlike the Di/Charles wedding it is likely to polarise opinion, many will support it, but many will questioning the relevance of a monarchy in the 21st century. Republic will be leading the campaign for an elected head of state.

A look back at my year and the year in politics

2010-12-29T07:25:00.000-08:00

Below is a little round up of what I have been up to over the past year as well as some of my views on major political events.

Snow, my accident and the NHS

The year started off as it finished with the most snow we have seen in many a year. With half witted headlines like this:

It did make life difficult for us all and made getting about difficult, especially as many councils were woefully in prepared and did not have the grit reserves required to keep the snow clear.

The snow also resulted in me having a bad accident on my bike. Cross a bridge a skidded on some ice and landed on my right elbow breaking my arm in 4 places. After being rushed off to hospital I was operated on and had pins inserted into my arm, so it now looks something like this:

Unfortunately during the operation my lung collapsed and I ended up in a high dependency unit leading to a 5 day stay in hospital. My arm will never be the same again, although hopefully will be a bit more comfortable once part of it is removed next month, a year after the accident.

This was my first real experience of a hospital, and found York District Hospital to be professional from the ambulance to the post-op physio. It is clear they all work under a lot of pressure and those who criticise clearly have little understanding of the many demands on staff time. I sincerely hope that the improvements Labour have made to the NHS over the past 13 years are now not going to be unravelled by the ConDem root and branch re-organization. I do however have grave concerns as I laid out in previous blog entries this year on the NHS.

My injury along with the continuing pains I have from a pinched nerve in my neck have pretty much put an end to my cycling, and 16 years I have finally purchased a car again. I would rather have not, but there is no public transport where I live, so was left with little choice.

From Green to Labour

In May I voted Labour for the first time since 2001 as I had confidence in Gordon Brown's economic skills, and greatly feared what my result from a Tory or ConDem government, which unfortunately I am now placed to say 'I told you so' to all those who voted Lib Dem.

Gordon Brown had help re-build my confidence in Labour after the appalling actions of Blair. He wasn't perfect and unfortunately didn't come across well in the media, but I feel in years to come Brown will be acknowledged to have made the right moves when it came to the economy. Where as like Antony Eden and Suez, Blair will only be remembered for Iraq.

I won't go into the details again as to why I left the Green Party, as they are outlined in my original post. There are still many things I agree with them on, and respect many of the activists, particularly those in Green Left. The only areas I fundamentally disagree with them is mainly around Science and the Food Industry, particularly their opposition to GM. But if I am to be honest, my main reason for joining the Greens was because they were anti-war, and although I of course believe in climate change and reducing consumption I feel these are not the only major issues to be focusing on and that the majority of the public just do not buy the Green manifesto and feel my time and effort is better spent working to get Labour back in power at the earliest opportunity, rather than working against them.

When I joined Labour in May along with tens of thousand of other new members we were immediately faced with a leadership election. I supported the Ed Miliband campaign and was very pleased to see him elected. I feel Ed was the fresh start we needed. Only getting Labour elected will help put a stop to the devastating changes faces the country's public services, and urge every to get involved and join the party.

Heslington

I remain a Parish Councillor in Heslington, now in my fourth year and plan to stand again next May. I will be putting most of my time into helping David Levene take the Heslington council seat from Labour, which I believe is an achievable target. Visit his site at http://www.yorklabour.org.uk/people/davidlevene.php

Heslington now has a new website, which I maintain. Thank you to Matthew Clements for designing and hosting the site.

The Cuts and the Con Dem government

Even in my wildest imagination did I expect the horrific vandalism planned for the public services by the Tories. From near privatisation of the NHS, to free schools, to extreme funding cuts, to universities resulting in trebling of tuition fees to hundreds of thousands of public sector redundancies. This is a shameful attack on the public sector which has more to do with right wing ideology than dealing with the deficit, and it is shameful that the Lib Dems are propping up this Tory Government.

I urge everyone to become active in their trade unions and local anti-cuts groups, as we cannot stand by and our public services get trashed by the government.

I am involved in York Stop the Cuts and am also a delegate to York Trades Union Council and will be spending the next few years campaigning against these cuts and help build for the national demonstration in London on March 26th, which is likely to be the biggest protest against the government since the Iraq war.

Other activism

I still remain committed to other campaigns including Republic, which in a year of the royal wedding will be leading calls for an elected head of state, please consider joining at http://www.republic.org.uk/Get%20Involved/Join%20Republic/form.php

This year sort Israel blocking the Viva Palestina convoy at the beginning of the year and later carrying out a massacre on the Mavi Mamara in international waters in May. The Palestine Solidarity Campaign continues to campaign to end the illegal occupation of Palestinian territories, and I would urge you all to join the campaign at http://palestinecampaign.org/Index5b.asp?m_id=1&l1_id=78&l2_id=102

Twitter

I really enjoy engaging with other Labour activists on Twitter. You can catch up with me at http://twitter.com/#!/mr_andy_c

To look forward

Health permitting I hope to be fully engaged in 2011 campaigning for Labour and against the cuts. The future of the country is at stake and we cannot sit by and let the Con Dems wreck it.

Irish Daily Star tells it like it is

2010-11-23T04:53:00.001-08:00

ConDem solution to unemployment is to get them wombling

2010-11-07T01:53:00.000-07:00

The latest proposal from the office of Iain Duncan Smith is to send the unemployed out to do tasks such as litter picking once they have been unemployed for 12 months. Or as the Telegraph puts it 'Work-shy will be 'pushed' into working for free by welfare revolution'. This headline sums up the ConDem approach, it is pandering to the right wing press by picking on people they see as welfare scroungers.

The problem is that this measure will not just target the long-term unemployed. The ConDem cuts could make 1.5 million people unemployed bringing the unemployment figure to around 3 million, and there are not the jobs available for the unemployed to go to. Many professional people and recent graduates are going to find themselves unemployed for over a year, is it the best use of their time to make them go litter picking. Many people are going to have to spend time re-training for the few jobs which are available, the government should be aiming to help these people out of unemployment, rather than sending them on chain-gangs carrying out what can be seen as pointless tasks to please the Daily Mail reading public. Clive Anderson also made a good point on the Marr show this morning that is this work does need doing the government should create jobs and pay people to do it.

There are admittedly some people who do not want to work, who are capable of work, and maybe if this limit was set at 3 years it may be more likely to focus on this group. But as it is many professional people who are unemployed through no fault of their own will be made to do menial tasks due to ConDem cuts.

Stop the government snooping on every Email and Facebook message

2010-10-26T10:25:00.000-07:00

From Open Rights Group

The government has announced that it will be spending up to £2 billion into new ways to snoop on email and web traffic.

This Kafka-esque “Intercept Modernisation Plan”, was stopped near the end of the last government, but was quietly revived in the 2010 Spending Review. While billions of pounds are being slashed from education, welfare and defence, the government plans to waste vast sums trying to snoop on our emails and Facebook communications.

We need to tell the government to stop this wasteful, intrusive plan for wholesale snooping on our daily lives.

Please sign the petition at http://action.openrightsgroup.org/ea-campaign/clientcampaign.do?ea.client.id=1422&ea.campaign.id=8227

Paul O'Grady on Osborne and the cuts

2010-10-24T10:20:00.003-07:00

York Stop The Cuts - Right To Work Demo

2010-10-23T07:51:00.000-07:00

Around 200 protesters turned up for the first public demo called by York Stop The Cuts - Right To Work. There were speeches from Hugh Bayley MP, Cllr Dave Taylor, Father Tim Jones and representatives from PCS, FBU and UCU.

It is unfortunate that many of the public still support the cuts, but I believe this is because they don't realise yet how badly it will target their public services. It is not until swimming pools and libraries start closing, social services are cut, unemployment rockets and there are fewer police on the streets that the public at large will become motivated to oppose these cuts.

We must all work to build are local groups to oppose the cuts and build for the London demo next year.

We're all in this together?

2010-10-20T10:59:00.000-07:00

As expected the comprehensive spending review has attacked the poorest in society and set the blue-print for decimating our public services. As a result of the review we are expected to see:

Up to half a million public sector jobs go by 2014-15
£81bn cut from public spending in the next four years
£7bn extra welfare cuts

Source BBC News

The Con Dems insist the private sector will create jobs to absorb those who have been made redundant, but there is little evidence to support this dangerous gamble, in the short term there is likely to as many if not more private sector job losses from companies reliant on public sector spending. So the end result is that we are likely to see the highest UK unemployment figures this country has seen in decades.

What is most grating is George Osborne constantly telling us "We're all in this together". The Con Dem cabinet loaded with millionaires will not feel the pain from the cuts they are inflicting on the low paid. Neither will the bankers who caused this state of affairs feel the pain, as many will still rake in huge bonuses, while the dole queues get longer.

And I hope no one forgets that the Lib Dems are responsible for propping up the Tories and allowing these cuts go through, cuts which go far beyond what is needed and have far more to do with right wing ideology.

There will be demos across the country this Saturday against the cuts. Find your local demo here.

Lib Dem broken promises

2010-10-19T05:07:00.000-07:00

Looking back at the 2010 Lib Dem manifesto, you immediately see that many of their election pledges have not been met:

Saying no to the like-for-like replacement of the Trident nuclear
weapons system, which could cost £100 billion. We will hold a full
defence review to establish the best alternative for Britain’s future
security.
Scrap unfair university tuition fees for all students taking their fi rst
degree, including those studying part-time, saving them over £10,000
each. We have a financially responsible plan to phase fees out over
six years, so that the change is affordable even in these difficult
economic times, and without cutting university income. We will
immediately scrap fees for final year students.
Reject a new generation of nuclear power stations; based on the
evidence nuclear is a far more expensive way of reducing carbon
emissions than promoting energy conservation and renewable energy.
Rule out the like-for-like replacement of the Trident nuclear weapons
system. At a cost of £100 billion over a lifetime it is unaffordable, and
Britain’s security would be better served by alternatives. We support
multilateral nuclear disarmament and will ensure that the UK plays a
proactive role in the arms reduction talks starting later this year

If you read the manifesto you will find plenty of other policy statements which will not come to pass. They also made a U turn on delaying the cuts. And who can forget this election poster:

Again, the Lib Dems are now supporting the rise in VAT.

The question is, what have the Lib Dems got out of this agreement?

From the looks of it very little. They have got a referendum to allow some minor tinkering with the electoral system to bring us AV. But there is no certainty they will get a yes vote with their Tory partners campaigning against it.

At the end of the day, all they've achieved is the chance to say they are in government and a few seats at the cabinet table. They may well regret this at forthcoming elections, as who is going to believe them when they have committed a u-turn on so many of their election pledges? And it is clear they can no longer pretend to be a party of the centre left, when the policies their cabinet are selling are clearly centre-right.

Is this the beginning of the end for a public higher education system?

2010-10-16T09:56:00.000-07:00

Two stories about HE have made the press this week. The first is the Browne report which proposes tuitions fees starting at £7000 but with no upper limit, it would therefore be no surprise if we see much higher fees, especially from the Russell Group universities.

Then today we see a leaked letter from Universities UK which has been sent to universities warning them to expect cuts of £4.2bn to teaching budgets and £1bn to research budgets a result of the comprehensive spending review.

The result of both these proposals could be an end to the higher education system as we know it. It would not be a surprise if we see a drop in student applications from those who do not wish to saddle themselves with debts at more than double the current level. We could also see some universities going bankrupt due to budget cuts and decreased public funding.

What is most worrying is that this clearly looks like the final step to a privatised university system. If these changes are implemented universities will need to start funding some arts and humanities courses purely from student fees, as funding is to be withdrawn from all but science, engineering, medicine and modern language degrees and with variable fees we are already very close to seeing a private market in HE with only one more step needed to make the system completely funded by tuition fees and private research funding.

UCU and the NUS have organised a joint national demo called "Fund our future:Stop Education Cuts" on 10th November 2010. Details at http://www.demo2010.org/

"Red" Ed has the Tories worried

2010-09-26T10:13:00.000-07:00

Red Ed?

It didn't take long for the Conservative attack dogs and right wing media to lay into Ed Miliband once it was announced he was leader. Labelling him "Red Ed" and claiming the unions now have a hold over him.

Headlines have appeared such as:

'Red' Ed Miliband says New Labour is dead but vows to stand up for the 'squeezed middle' Daily Mail

RED Ed Miliband was elected Labour leader last night after snatching the crown from under his big brother's nose. & Left-winger Ed, 40, was catapulted into the job thanks to the backing of union barons who urged activists to vote for him. News of the World

The fact it that there is nothing "Red" about Ed Miliband. He is a centre-left politician, admittedly to the left of his brother David and some of the Blairite old-guard, but this is not a bad thing. The policies Ed has proposed are not leftist policies which will alienate the electorate.

A graduate tax will speak to many middle class as well as working class families in the UK who are worried about increasing student debt, debt which may well increase significant if tuition fees rise later this year.

Saying it was wrong to go to war with Iraq is not a leftist policy. The majority of the country now believe it was wrong, and I believe one of the reasons why David lost was that he continued to defend it.

Ed wants the banking industry to make a bigger contribution to reducing the deficit. This is hardly radical, and again the majority of the country will agree, especially once the cuts really kick in after the spending review.

It is rare for me to quote Norman Tebbit, but he was right in his Telegraph blog when he said:

The narrowness of David Miliband’s defeat and his brother Ed’s victory says more about the closeness of their views than any deep split in the Labour Party at the present time. Ed is the man most likely to get Labours five million lost voters back to the polls. He is unlikely to neglect the chance to feed off the discontented Lib Dem supporters, but he will not neglect to strengthen the party’s natural constituency.

I think this is why the Tories and right wing press are worried. Ed really does have the potential to win back lost voters, particularly the many who stop supporting Labour after the Iraq invasion.

He is also helping to continue the rise in Labour party membership, as a recent @uklabour tweet said:

Since @Ed_Miliband was announced as our new Leader at 5pm yesterday 726 people have joined Labour. One new member every 1 min 48 secs #Lab10

The voting system

Some are questioning how fair the voting system is, as the union votes from the electoral college sealed Ed's win in the 5th round. But union members are not mindless automatons who blindly follow their leadership. If you look at the results many union members did not give Ed first preference.

If the voting system is to be reviewed, it will be important to also look at the 1/3 of the electorate college which is given to MPs and MEPs. Surely this is less democratic with a few hundred voters having a significant say on the outcome of the election.

We should never go back to Blairism

2010-09-01T05:04:00.000-07:00

Recently I have seen numerous Labour activists defending Blair on the basis that he won us 3 general election. A quick look at the polling figures show that this defence is not so black and white:

Labour Party results

Year    Popular Vote    Percentage of the vote
1997    13,518,167       43.2%
2001 10,724,953    40.7%
2005     9,552,436        35.2%

If Blair was so popular with the electorate why did Labour lose 4 million votes between 1997 and 2005? The only reason Blair won the election in 2005, was that the alternative was Michael Howard.

The argument is that we should continue to use Blair's policies to attract back Tory voters. In reality we did not lose that many votes to the Conservatives. In 1997 the results for the other two parties were as follows:

1997
Cons: 9,600,943
Lib Dem: 5,242,947

And in 2010:

2010
Cons: 10,703,954
Lib Dem, 6.836.824

This shows that of the 4 million lost votes the Conservatives have only taken about a million votes and the Lib Dems about a million and a half.

This means that many who no longer vote Labour have either stopped voting or have opted for smaller parties. It is these parties and the Lib Dems who we need to focus on. Many of whom will have stopped voting Labour because of Iraq and attacks on civil liberties.

Blarism may be good for targeting Tory voters, but that is not where we should be directing our efforts.

Further vandalism of the NHS as Con Dems axe NHS Direct

2010-08-28T02:12:00.000-07:00

The Tories claimed in the general election:

"We can't go on like this. I'll cut the deficit, not the NHS"

This may be technically correct, as they have ring-fenced the budget. But they are using some of the funding for a pointless and dangerous re-organization of the NHS and to pay for it they are cutting services.

The latest example of this is the announcement yesterday in the Guardian that the Con Dems plan to scrap NHS direct replacing it with a new budget service called NHS 111.

Currently forty percent of NHS Direct's staff are trained nurses. NHS 111 will have one trained nurse to every 25 call centre staff, in other words only 4% of the staff will be professional nurses. The other call operators will go on a 60 hour training course.

As soon as the public realise that the new call centre is not staffed by health professionals they will start putting extra demand on casualty and out of hour GP services, rather than risk receiving unprofessional advice from call centre operators.

I have used NHS Direct on more than one occasion in the past and was satisfied with the professional advice I received to save me having to put demand on other NHS services. I would not use the proposed new service for health advice.

The biggest risk could come from a member of staff offering poor or incorrect advice to a caller which could result in them not seeking professional medical advice when they do require it.

The cost to the public of NHS Direct is £123 million a year. This is money well spent, which reduces the demand on other areas of the NHS. We must fight to defend this and you can start by signing the petition at http://www.savenhsdirect.co.uk/

There is no need for these cuts. The government would not need to be looking for cuts if it was not for their expensive and dangerous re-structuring of the NHS which is going to cost the tax payer £1.8 billion a year.

We have to fight the cuts and the Con Dem vandalism of the NHS before it is too late and see all the improvements of the past 17 years thrown away.

Why I won't give a preference to any Labour leadership candidate who sends out a negative message on immigration

2010-08-21T03:24:00.000-07:00

After a few months of the leadership campaign I have come to the decision that there are two candidates in the leadership election I cannot give a preference to on the ballot paper due to their views on immigration.

The first is Ed Balls. It is with a heavy heart I do this as I feel he as been very good calling the Con Dems to account, but I cannot support a candidate who has come out with the following statements:

"What I've said is we should look at that free movement of labour directive to see whether or not it needs to be changed either to allow transition arrangements to be longer or also to prevent the practice where people can come and work in our country and then send benefits back to their own countries". UKPA

To be honest, I think Gordon's answer to Mrs Duffy showed he'd not been having the conversation, because what she said was the kind of things being said by Labour supporters, and in some cases former Labour supporters over the last year and a half. [This] was: 'Look, we're not racist, and we support our EU membership and we know that immigration's important for the NHS, but look what it's doing to my community, to my child's job prospects, to our housing queues'. Guardian

Secondly we have Andy Burnham. Once again he has been good tackling the Con Dems, particularly on NHS reform. But I will not support him because of statements like the following:

"We were in denial. We were behind the issue all the time, and myths were allowed to develop. There's still an ambivalence among some in Labour about discussing immigration. I've been accused of dog-whistle politics for doing so.

"But it was the biggest doorstep issue in constituencies where Labour lost. People aren't racist, but they say it has increased tension, stopped them getting access to housing and lowered their wages." Telegraph

While he said he would "avoid disowning our past" on immigration, he said: "Their [the electorate's] strong feeling was that we had our fingers in our ears and our hands over our eyes. We just didn't want to talk about it.

"For me the big task is for Labour to reconnect with people who are feeling this. They need to feel that Labour understands what they are saying and then will take steps to address it." Guardian

These two candidates worry me about the direction Labour would take if they became leader. I don't deny that immigration is a doorstep issue, but this is mainly due to right wing tabloids blaming migration for everything from lack of housing and jobs to terrorism.

We have to establish a two pronged approach to this problem. Firstly we have to have policies to increase and improve housing stock and tackle the areas which have high unemployment and deprivation. Secondly we have to challenge the myths around immigration.

The easy solution is to agree with the likes of Mrs Duffy and try to appeal to those who feel immigration is an issue by lurching to the right and trying to out do the Tories on immigration. But this is surely wrong and against the fundamental values of the Labour Party.

We have to move away from the New Labour rhetoric which resulted in David Blunkett accusing asylum seekers of "swamping" some British Schools (BBC News) and Phil Woolas putting out this dreadful leaflet during the general election:

100 days

2010-08-18T10:30:00.000-07:00

We have now reached 100 days of the Con Dems and we face a very bleak picture of what the country will be like for the next five years. The country faces:

Drastic cuts to public services of up to 40%, even though the private sector is in no position to absorb the thousands of public sector workers who will be made redundant. Those who manage to keep there jobs face a two year pay freeze at a time when RPI is currently 4.8%.
A rise in VAT to 20%. A regressive tax which will hit the poorest in society the worst.
A wrecking bill which will see an expensive re-organisation of the NHS and allow back door privatisation by scrapping primary care trusts.
An unequal education system which will see Gove's free schools create a two-tier education system at the expense of 700 projects being scrapped from Labour's building schools for the future scheme. At the same time we will see higher education facing a real funding crisis as cuts kick in.
A shake up of benefits which will see many of the poorest in society facing even tougher times as benefits are slashed.
A cut in the number of MPs tagged onto the AV bill. The money this will save is negligible and will mean MPs will be more thinly stretched to cover constituency work.
Councils will see funding cuts of £1.165 billion, meaning drastic cuts to local services.
The arts will see major cuts regardless of how successful some of the projects currently are. This has been shown by the scrapping of the UK film council.
9 regional development agencies have been scrapped.
More outsourcing of government duties to the private sector, most recently with the scrapping of the audit commission.

There is absolutely no need for such huge cuts to public services at such speed, and no need for root and branch re-organisation of our public services. These moves have more to do with Tory ideology than reducing the deficit.

None of this would have been possible without the support of the Lib Dems. Many Lib Dem voters feel betrayed as they did not vote for this. Many voters believed the promises of not bringing in immediate cuts or raising VAT and I sincerely hope they desert the Lib Dems at the next election, polls at the moment show a drastic drop in Lib Dem support and at the same time the highest polling for Labour in 3 years, not something you would expect so early in a new administration.

It was not an easy decision for me to leave the Green Party as I supported many of their ideals and policies, but the country now faces impending crisis and the wrecking of the public service improvements made by Labour in the past 13 years. Only Labour can mount a serious challenge to the ConDem government and it is important that all of us who feel passionate about defending public services no longer sit on the sidelines and join the fightback to ensure the next election brings a clear Labour majority to roll back the mess this coalition will have made.

Action Alert – Panorama ‘Death on the Med’ - Contact the BBC

2010-08-17T08:03:00.001-07:00

The following is a mailing from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign:

Action Alert – Panorama ‘Death on the Med’ - Contact the BBC

Last night, the BBC broadcast a Panorama programme entitled ‘Death on the Med’.

It claimed to reveal ‘what really happened’ when Israeli commandoes boarded the Mavi Marmara on 31 May 2010.

Watch the programme here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00thr24

The programme was extremely biased, portraying the activists on board as violent terrorists who set out to kill Israeli soldiers.

Please write to the BBC asking the following questions:

Why was Israel’s ‘right’ to board the ship presumed throughout the programme?
Why did the programme completely fail to mention that Israel’s siege of Gaza has been declared illegal by the UN? The assumption was made that Israel has the right to blockade Gaza, while the motives of those attempting to break an illegal blockade were questioned.
Why did Jane Corbin not mention the bombs, rockets and white phosphorus dropped on Gaza by Israel during Operation Cast Lead over a three week period in 2008/9, killing 1,400 people? She did, however, mention the ‘thousands of rockets’ fired from Gaza into Israel, but did not say over what time period.
Why was the Israeli evidence of how and when they killed the activists unquestioned? Activists who were on the top deck of the ship say the first person was killed – shot from a helicopter – before any Israeli had even landed on the deck. However, none of these activists were interviewed.
Activists shot footage of the Israeli attack, but their cameras, laptops and other recording equipment was taken by the Israelis and has not been returned. Why was this point not raised during the programme, or put to the Israeli spokespeople?
Why were the autopsy reports – which reveal that each victim was shot several times at close range, in a way that can’t constitute self-defence – not used, or even mentioned?
Why was there no footage of the Israeli assaults on the activists – which led to nine deaths?
Jane Corbin never questions the use of the word ‘terrorists’ to describe the activists, or their alleged willingness to attack the commandoes. Why does she then fail to examine why there were no fatalities or serious injuries among the Israeli commandoes, when these ‘terrorists’ were so willing to attack?
Why were there no interviews with any of the British activists on board the ship, or with any of the journalists who were on board?
Why was it not pointed out that the IDF has admitted doctoring the audio footage used in the programme, that the BBC claims was broadcast from the captain's deck?

You can find more points to make on the PSC website at www.palestinecampaign.org and http://t.co/wxcKyPH

Where to send your complaint:

Online: BBC complaints link: Follow the link and fill out the online form: https://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/forms/

Ring: BBC complaint line number: 03700 100 212

Email: panorama.reply@bbc.co.uk

Write: BBC Panorama, MC4A1, Media Centre, Media Village, 201 Wood Lane, London, W12 7TQ.

=====================================

The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) aims to raise public awareness about the occupation of Palestine and the struggle of the Palestinian people. PSC seek to bring pressure on both the British and Israeli government to bring their policies in line with international law. PSC is an independent, non-governmental and non-party political organisation with members from communities across the

. Join PSC today!

Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Box BM PSA
London
WC1N 3XX

Tel: 020 7700 6192
Fax: 020 7609 7779

Email: info@palestinecampaign.org

Web: www.palestinecampaign.org

A short video explaining why the ConDem plans equal the privatisation of the NHS

2010-08-10T13:24:00.000-07:00

The ConDem Milk Snatchers

2010-08-08T01:37:00.000-07:00

Borrowing from Thatcher's milk snatching policy of the 70s, the ConDem government are now going to stop free milk for under-fives in nursery and day care.

What really annoys me about this move is the rubbish spouted by Health Minister Anne Milton to justify the cut by saying there was no evidence the scheme improved health.

Anyone with the slightest knowledge about health knows it is a given fact that milk is beneficial to child development. I'm sure many experts on health will soon come out to challenge Milton's statements. This has already started with the following quote:

Tam Fry, honorary chairman of the Child Growth Foundation charity, said scrapping the Nursery Milk scheme would be "disastrous", adding: "The Conservative minister for health doesn't seem to have learnt the lessons from Margaret Thatcher. Milk is absolutely vital for children in their growing years, particularly pre-school, and has many other attributes as well. It's a step towards healthy living."

Yahoo news

Fib Dem Clegg misled voters in run up to election

2010-07-30T10:27:00.000-07:00

Last night's BBC documentary Five Days That Changed Britain, about the negotiations which produced the Con Dem coalition proved to be quite revealing.

Many of us have been rightly saying that the Lib Dems have ditched their principles for power, but the documentary proved that they were not even honest with the voters before the election.

Nick Clegg admitted that he changed his mind about the timing of spending cuts before the election, even though he was telling voters that to bring in cuts now would be "economic masochism" (More on this story in the Guardian)

I hope this latest revelation will cause the exodus of even more Lib Dem members. They have been betrayed by their leader, and will pay dearly in the next election.

Who can trust a word the Lib Dems say in the future after this betrayal?

Why I'm supporting Ed Miliband for leader

2010-07-21T10:32:00.000-07:00

A month ago today I blogged in support of Diane Abbott. I still very much support Diane's policies and will give her my 2nd preference, but after a month of campaigning and having watched several hustings online I do not believe Diane is the right person to lead the Labour Party.

I don't feel she has proven that she can be a unifying force to lead the party into the next election, and unless we are unified we will not win the next election.

I therefore decided to back Ed Miliband. I feel he offers the policies which I can unite behind:

Equality and dignity in work – tackling the gap between rich and poor, campaigning for a living wage and a high pay commission for both the public and private sector.
Rebuilding prosperity – supporting new industries, training opportunities and taking on the Coalition’s cuts and unfairness.
Building a sustainable future – putting climate change at the centre of everything we do, including our economic future.
Foreign policy based on values – not simply our alliances, learning lessons from the mistakes of Iraq.
Fairness in education – excellent schools in every community and fairer funding in higher education.
Protecting individual liberty – support for measures like CCTV but opposition to unnecessary state intervention in people’s lives, like excessive use of stop and search powers.
A 21st century democracy – support for the Alternative Vote, reform of the House of Lords, votes at 16 and more power for local government.
Building a movement – more voice for party members and a culture change in the way we do business, with women comprising 50% of the Shadow Cabinet.

Letters in local press opposing Lib Con NHS "reforms"

2010-07-20T08:34:00.000-07:00

I got the following letter in The Press today, there was also letters from York Labour councillors James Alexander and Ruth Potter, which you can read here

THE Tory/Lib Dem coalition has obviously never heard of the saying: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. Last month, the Commonwealth Fund judged the NHS to be the second-best health-care system in the world and top for efficiency, yet despite this the Government wish to undo the improvements made over the past 17 years, and fundamentally reform the way the NHS works.
It makes no sense whatever to scrap primary care trusts (PCTs) and put GP groups in charge of funds. Such a move will create a postcode lottery for health, and the fund managers will be less accountable than the current PCTs.

Like many of the other changes and cuts we are going to see over the duration of this Parliament, these are based on Tory ideology, and not what is best for the public sector and its users. The only people who will benefit from these changes will be private health providers, as waiting lists grow and those who can afford to switch to private health care.

It is imperative that we join the battle to save the NHS before it is too late and join the campaign against the proposed reforms.

Andy Burnham on Lib Con NHS reform

2010-07-18T11:15:00.000-07:00

In today's Independent on Sunday Andy Burnham writes a very important article challenging the Lib Con reforms on the NHS. I strongly recommend that everyone who is concerned about the direction the government are taking the NHS in reads this article. It clearly highlights the major flaws of a plan which could end the NHS as we know it.

Andy Burnham is not my first choice for Labour leader, but he has been excellent on calling the Lib Cons to task over their reform plans.

The end of his article is a rallying call we should all respond to:

So, my message to patients, doctors and staff who hate these plans as much as I do is this – get ready for the mother of all battles. Labour will bring forward a campaign over the summer to show the strength of opposition to these plans before the health Bill arrives in Parliament in the autumn.

We will defend our party's finest creation with everything we've got from a Bill that threatens to unpick its very fabric.

I would also recommend you join the following two Facebook campaigns:

Hands of our NHS

National General Protest Day to Save the NHS

Why is Diane Abbott the only Labour leadership candidate to oppose Trident?

2010-07-15T11:47:00.000-07:00

I find it surprising and disappointing that only one of the five contenders for the Labour leadership is willing to oppose the replacement of Trident.

I can understand that as a former Foreign Secretary David Milliband may be accused of double standards by carrying out a u-turn on policy, but the other candidates should reconsider their position.

There is no logical reason behind defending Trident. According to CND:

58% of people say that "given the state of the country's finances, the Government should scrap the Trident nuclear missile system" in an Independent/ComRes poll of September 2009 (Table 7)

54% of the public say Britain should "no longer have any nuclear deterrent" in a Gurdian/ICM poll of July 2009 (Table 8)

Only 30% of the public would spend £20bn on Trident when offered alternatives of spending on nurses salaries or affordable homes, in a YouGov poll for The People newspaper from July 2009 (Page 4)

72% of the British public, in a poll in March 2007, did not support the government's plans to replace Trident - More4/Populus poll.

59% of the British public oppose replacing Trident when presented with the cost of £25 billion just to acquire a replacement system. (The equivalent of building around 1,000 new schools at current prices) - ICM poll, July 2006

73% of Scottish people thought it was wrong that £50 billion might be spent on a replacement for Trident.
64% were against nuclear weapons being based in Scotland for another 50 years. ICM poll carried out for Scottish CND, January 2007

I would imagine if potential Labour voters were polled there would be an even larger percentage supporting the scrapping of Trident. I therefore cannot see why it would be politically damaging to call for Trident to be scrapped. Do Andy Burnham, Ed Balls and Ed Milliband really believe that it is in the country's interest to renew its nuclear deterent?

What's more, unlike when the issue of Trident first came up 2006 before the recession, we really cannot afford to be wasting billions on such a weapons system. By scrapping Trident renewal we could save thousands of jobs in the public sector, surely on economic grounds alone this is a more sensible option.

Although Trident is not the only important issue in the leadership campaign, having a candidate who is clearly against renewal and is also questioning the mission in Afghanistan gives us a clear signal as to which direction they will take on foreign policy in the future. That is why I am supporting Diane Abbott.

Tabloid homophobia raises it's ugly head again

2010-07-08T14:00:00.000-07:00

Two tabloid newspapers sunk to new depths today with homophobic opinion pieces on the recent ruling by the supreme court to allow asylum seekers who are gay not to be sent back to countries where they will face the risk of persecution.

The Daily Express produced this gem:

In the article they quote Supreme Court judge Lord Rodger, who comes out with the following hideous stereotype:

He said: “Just as male hetero sexuals are free to enjoy themselves playing rugby, drinking beer and talking about girls with their mates, so male homosexuals are to be free to enjoy themselves going to Kylie concerts, drinking exotically-coloured cocktails and talking about boys with their straight female mates.”

The Daily Star produced an even worse headline with 'NO ROOM FOR GAYS'. In the article they claim asylum seekers will go gay to gain asylum, by saying:

Some people will do whatever it takes if it means a cushy life in Britain.

We must challenge this hideous excuse for journalism when we see it. It is designed to promote homophobia and prejudice towards asylum seekers.

The Tories and their Lib Dem poodles plan to take us back to the eighties with their wreckless cuts

2010-07-04T05:48:00.000-07:00

Many in the public sector were shocked when Osborne announced in the budget that he wanted 25% cuts across all departments except Health and International Development. We all knew cuts were coming but this felt far too deep and would result in many job losses and poorer public services.

To then hear yesterday that Danny Alexander wanted departments to plan for 40% cuts was a real punch in the guts to public sector workers. Many will now be seriously worrying about their jobs, as such drastic cuts could result in hundreds of thousands of jobs being lost from the public sector.

The only two departments which will not be hit quite so hard are Education and Defence. Yet Defence is the one department where the most obvious cuts lie, in Trident and Afghanistan. These cuts could be made with little effect being felt by the British public. The chances are that in Education it will be seen more politically acceptable to make higher education face the largest share of the cuts, which would be an attack on a sector which is already in great financial difficulty.

The big question is what the government thinks is going to happen to all those public sector workers they make redundant. There is no abundance of job vacancies in the private sector to absorb such job losses. Without a doubt these actions will lead to the highest levels of unemployment and poorest levels of public services in decades. It will take us back to the dark days of the eighties.

Despite the rhetoric these cuts are not unavoidable. There are numerous commentators offering examples of less harmful measures to deal with the deficit such as:

Scrapping Trident and leaving Afghanistan
Raising capital gains tax to 40%, as this would not affect the poorest in society
Leaving the NI rise for employers in place
Scrapping the married couples tax allowance
Hitting the banks harder, who after all are primarily responsible for the mess we are in
Bring in a higher tax level for those earning over £100k

These drastic cuts have to be fought. I am not a person who calls strike at the drop of a hat and was not prepared to vote in favour of industrial action over pay this year, but there comes a point when we have to make a stand.

The only answer to these drastic actions is for all public sector unions to join together and work on co-ordinated industrial action, before it is too late and we end up with millions on the dole and third-rate public sector.

At the end of the day there are alternatives and these cuts have more to do with Tory ideology than being faced with no other option.

Interim cap on non-EU migration bad news for Higher Education

2010-06-26T07:24:00.000-07:00

There are many reasons why the Libservatives cap on migration is a badly thought out policy, but the reason which concerns me the most is the effect it will have on Higher Education.

Universities and colleges are already facing hardship, closing departments and making wide spread redundancies, and this is before the implementation of the 25% cut on the Department of Education announced in the budget. With the cap on migration it will also limit the amount of non-EU students who can attend UK universities. This will have a devastating effect on university funding if it loses the income from overseas tuition fees.

To quote the article from the BBC News article on the interim measures which are being introduced:

Tim Finch from the Institute of Public Policy Research, said the measures were just a stopgap and would have a detrimental affect on the higher education sector.

He added: "Do we really want to have restrictions on foreign students at a time when the higher education sector is facing funding cuts and is going to rely on the fees that those students bring in?"

According to the Guardian there are 250,000 non-EU students. This wreckless move will have a devastating effect on higher education. I hope when the full policy is implemented the government think twice about include non-EU students in their cap, or we may begin to see the closure of whole universities rather than just departments, as there will simply not be the demand out there for the current number of student places.

Do you believe this man when he says 'We're all in this together'?

2010-06-22T10:07:00.000-07:00

I feel nauseus each time I hear him say 'we are all in this together'. The government has a majority of millionaires in the cabinet completely out of touch with real life.

The Lib Dems put out the following poster during the election:

They have now let down those who voted for them who believed they would not raise VAT.

VAT hits all regardless of income and raising it to 20% will hit the poorest the most, where as capital gains tax was only raised to 28%. Raising this higher would have been fairer as the it would not affect the poorest in the country unlike VAT.

On top of this public sector workers are faced with a pay freeze for two years. Considering RPI is currently over 5%, this is in real terms a significant pay cut. On top of this many are likely to lose their jobs in the public sector due to real terms cuts across all government departments of 25% over four years (with the exception of health and foreign aid). How can making thousands of workers redundant and putting them on unemployment benefit help the economy?

The Tories have always been in favour of rolling back the public services and now they can use the fig leaf of the economy to do just that. Harriet Harman was right when she said that the budget was driven by "ideology not by economics".

Why I'm supporting Diane Abbott for Labour leader

2010-06-21T13:21:00.000-07:00

Today Diane Abbott launched her campaign website at http://www.diane4leader.co.uk

I was very pleased to see her reach the required amount of nominations to enter the race. If Diane becomes leader of the Labour Party we will see a real difference between Labour and the Con Libs, a difference which I believe will bring many more people back to the Labour Party who have either stopped voting or voted for minor parties in recent years.

I stopped voting Labour after the Iraq war and refused to vote for party again until Blair had left office. During this time there were still many Labour MPs who inspired me, who voted against the exceses of the Blairite era, such as Diane who voted against the Iraq War, tuition fees, Trident and ID cards. These are not radical views, a large amount of the electorate were against these policies.

I also greatly respect Diane's position on immigration. Some of the leadership candidates have chosen to empathise with Mrs Duffy and argue that we were wrong on immigration and that it helped us lose the election. I do not believe this is the case, and it is good to see a candidate who is willing to challenge the misconceptions about immigration and to focus on the core issues behind discontentment amongst the electorate such as housing and jobs.

I feel it is important that we focus on what Labour did right in the past 13 years such as the minimum wage, equality legislation, Northern Ireland peace process. improved public services. I feel Diane is best placed to carry on this agenda, and to steer us clear of unpopular policies.

Diane for Leader Facebook group
Diane Abbott Twitter feed

Demonstration against Israeli attack in York

2010-05-31T07:37:00.000-07:00

With just a few hours notice around 150 demonstrators attended a protest in York over the Israeli attack on the peace flotilla, which resulted in the deaths of at least 10 peace activists, quite likely many more.

Israel attacks unarmed humanitarian flotilla in international waters

2010-05-31T00:27:00.000-07:00

I could not believe the news when I woke up this morning. Earlier this morning Israeli troops boarded the international aid flotilla to Gaza. So far it is reported 16 peace activists are dead. Even for Israeli this is a new low.

This action is in direct violation of international law. An unarmed ship attacked in international waters.

Many of the activists were Turkish, and the Turkish government have strongly condemned the attack, saying they:

"strongly condemn[ed] these inhumane practices of Israel"

I would hope other governments will now not sit on the fence and strongly condemn the actions of Israel. If this was any other country there would be international outrage at a unarmed ship being attacked with its passengers being killed in international waters.

David Laws is arguing over semantics

2010-05-29T01:52:00.000-07:00

David Laws was entitled to a private life, and his relationship with another man did not need to be made public. Unfortunately David made an ill judged decision, and he alone is reponsible for the repurcussions.

In his statement on the BBC News website he says:

At no point did I consider myself to be in breach of the rules which in 2009 defined partner as "one of a couple … who although not married to each-other or civil partners are living together and treat each-other as spouses."

Although we were living together we did not treat each other as spouses - for example we do not share bank accounts and indeed have separate social lives.

This is simply playing with the semantics of the term partner. Many who have come to his defence in the media this morning talk about his great intellect. Surely a man of such intellect should have realised that what he was doing was at the very least bending the rules.

According to a recent article in the Times he is worth an estimated £1.3 million. If David had wanted to keep his relationship private, he should have made the decision not to claim expenses to give to his partner for rent.

Interim Libservative plans for House of Lords are an undemocratic stitch up

2010-05-27T12:13:00.000-07:00

I failed to spot the following Guardian article when published last week. It is certainly a worrying move:

Coalition deal 'to bring 172 peers'

The coalition agreement between Conservatives and Liberal Democrats could result in the parties appointing more than 100 new peers, despite being committed to a largely or fully-elected upper house, it is reported.

The agreement, published last Wednesday, states that a committee will be set up to come forward with draft motions by December to create a reformed upper house elected by proportional representation.

In the interim, the document states that "Lords appointments will be made with the objective of creating a second chamber reflective of the share of the vote secured by the political parties in the last general election".

With Labour currently represented by 211 peers, on a strict mathematical calculation, this would imply an increase from 186 to 263 in Tory numbers in the House of Lords and a boost in Lib Dem places from 72 to 167 - a total of 172 new peers.

This is a blatant attempt to ensure the government can push all of their legislation through without facing opposition. The Libservatives claim to be introducing us to the "new politics" when in fact this is the worst kind of example of the grubby old politics.

By awarding Tories and Lib Dems many more peerages it will not reflect the will of the UK electorate. For a start there are 208 crossbenchers and 26 Lords Spiritual there is a chance many of these peers could be classed as being on the right of the political spectrum, particularly when it comes to issues on equalities.

If they really believe in political reform they should make reform of the House of Lords a priority and bring us an elected second chamber as soon as possible, rather than rushing to cram the Lords with political allies.

Lost:The Unanswered Questions

2010-05-25T10:37:00.000-07:00

This video sums up many of the questions I had after watching the series finale. This being said, it was still one of the best series of the noughties.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Libservatives announce badger slaughter

2010-05-20T23:41:00.000-07:00

Listening to Farming Today this morning I was saddened to hear that the new government has decided to go ahead with a 'cull' of badgers to reduce TB in cattle.

This move is all about appeasing the National Union of Farmers and little to do with scientific evidence. Hilary Benn was rightly not convinced by the arguments, and it is a shame our new government have decided to ignore the facts.

Find out more about the Save the Badger campaign at

Take Back Parliament Demo - York

2010-05-15T07:57:00.000-07:00

Around 150 people attended the Take Back Parliament demo in York today, one of many events taking place across the country, call for a fairer voting system. Among the speakers at the demo were, Hugh Bayley MP (Labour), Cllr Dave Taylor (Green), Cllr Christian Vassie (Lib Dem) and Dr Simon Parker from University of York Politics Department. The Conservatives were conspicuous by their absence.

More photos are available on the Facebook group.

I am still personally not sure if STV is the best voting system. Having such a voting system would mean having much larger constituencies, like we have with the European Parliament, to allow MPs from several parties to represent the same area.

What is clear is that the current system is ludicrously unfair and needs changing. I currently feel that a system of AV Plus may be the best solution. This will allow us to maintain a constituency MP and top up parliament with a second vote based on PR.

Have we been here before?

2010-05-14T04:36:00.001-07:00

Meet our new minister for equalities

2010-05-12T12:07:00.000-07:00

As well as becoming Home Secretary Teresa May has also been awarded the position of Minister for Women and Equality. Presumably she was given this post as only one of two women in the cabinet, the other being Cheryl Gillan as Welsh secretary. Every other member of the cabinet is a white male.

A quick look on the public whip site shows that Teresa May is no fan of gay rights, having either voted against or being absent when most gay rights legislation of the last government was tabled.

She voted against:

I do not have the confidence in her to be a true champion of equality. This is one post where the Libservatives could have gained a little more credibility by appointing a Lib Dem with a much better voting record than Ms May.

Here come the Libservatives

2010-05-11T11:57:00.000-07:00

Will anyone trust the Lib Dems again?

2010-05-11T10:40:00.000-07:00

So it's finally happened. After days of playing the Tories off against Labour, the Lib Dems have finally gone into coalition with the Tories.

During the election the Lib Dems continually brushed off suggestions that they would go into coalition. With such statements as:

My message to Mr Brown and Mr Cameron is simple: the Liberal Democrats are up for real change. We are not up for sale. - Nick Clegg, The Times - Jan 5th 2010

The Liberal Democrats would refuse to enter a coalition government with Labour or the Tories in the event of a hung parliament, it is being reported. - Sky News, Feb 15th 2010

I would have thought that most voters who voted Lib Dem will be horrified at the thought of a Lib Dem/Tory coalition. This move is likely to serisoully deplete their vote at the next election. I would also not be surprised if some of those on the left of the Lib Dems quit the party as they simply cannot stomach their party being in government with the Tories.

This is a sad day for those of us in favour of progressive politics. Only 36.1% of those who voted, voted Conservative, yet they are now our government. They have become our government by the decisions made by a party with only 23% of the vote and 57 seats in Parliament.

So, the campaign to get Cameron out of No.10 starts now. Hopefully there will be an election within the next year, and we will have a chance to remove the Libservatives from power.

Why I have cancelled my membership of the Green Party

2010-05-09T10:48:00.000-07:00

Today I have cancelled my membership of the Green Party. Many of you may be surprised by this announcement, especially after the success of electing our first Green MP.

Despite our success in Brighton, I do not feel confident about our future growth as a party. Our share of the vote actually fell in the election from 1.1% to 1.0%. This is lower than UKIP (on 3.1%) and BNP (on 1.9%). Out of the 300+ seats we stood in we only managed to save our deposit in 6 constituencies.

We did not fare any better in the local elections. Although we gained a few seats we ended up with a net loss of 4 seats.

Proportional representation may help the Green vote, but I don't hold out much hope of seeing it arrive in the near future. Even with PR, there is no saying that it will help increase our number of elected representatives. The last Euro Elections, carried out under PR resulted in no extra seats.

I do hope I am wrong in my predictions and wish the Green Party ever success in the future. However, after spending 8 years on the political sidelines first with the Socialist Alliance, then Respect and finally the Green Party, I feel the time has come to move on.

I will especially miss my involvement in Green Left. I greatly admire the activists in Green Left and if not for GL I may have moved on earlier.

We should not be complacent about the BNP failures

2010-05-08T01:57:00.000-07:00

I like many was ecstatic to see Nick Griffin fail in his attempt to become the first BNP MP, in the seating of Barking. And I though Margaret Hodge's acceptance speech was excellent:

It was also wonderful to see every BNP councillor in Barking lose their seat. In total the BNP lost 22 council seats across the country.

We should however not be complacenet. The BNP has increased their vote share nationally from 0.7% to 1.9%. This is a massive increase in overall vote. It is clear our job is not done and we must continue to work convincing the electorate that the BNP do not have any answer but hatred and bigotry.

Reasons to be cheerful

2010-05-07T08:10:00.000-07:00

The Green Party achieved a great victory last night by electing Caroline Lucas, leader of the Green Party as the first Green MP. Considering how flawed our current first past the post electoral system is, this is a great achievement.

It is unfortunate that we did not do as well in other constituencies. Although we did get respectable results in some other constituencies such as Norwich South, Lewisham Deptford and Cambridge. I can't help but think that we would have had better outcomes if the electorate hadn't been sold on the idea of tactical voting, and the belief that the Lib Dems were a serious threat to the 2 main parties, when in reality they came away with less seats than 2005.

As it stands it looks like our fears have been realised and Clegg is in discussions with Cameron to support a Tory minority government. The discussions may end up being fruitless, but part of me feels that Clegg will be willing to sell out for a taste of power.

I greatly respect Caroline Lucas for refusing to enter any coalition or pact and to judge legislation on a case by case basis.

All we can hope for is that something good comes out of a hung parliament and we end up with a fairer voting system.

Election night

2010-05-06T10:03:00.000-07:00

It's finally arrived, election night is here. I shall be up to the early hours watching the TV coverage, occasionally switching over to Channel 4's Alternative Election Night for a bit of light relief.

The 3 key Green targets are expected to be announced between 2 and 4am. I will post some of the key Green results up here along with some of the surprises of the night.

I will also be regularly tweeting at mr_andy_c

Use your vote tomorrow

2010-05-05T14:06:00.000-07:00

Not all of us are lucky enough to have a Green candidate standing in our constituency tomorrow, but I stress that it is still important that you go out and vote.

You often hear the old adage 'the 3 main parties are the same'. I disagree, they are not the same. As much as I disagree with some of the policies of the past Labour government, they have also made improvements over the past 13 years, as I have explained in my earlier post http://thelifeofmrandyc.blogspot.com/2010/03/why-im-voting-labour-in-york-outer.html

If you don't vote tomorrow, you may well regret it on Friday morning when you wake up to a Tory government. A government which will bring back fox hunting, scrap the human rights act, finish off Thatcher's hatchet job on the unions and bring in brutal cuts to the public sector to fund their tax breaks for the rich.

Tories are a risk to the Northern Ireland peace process

2010-05-04T23:17:00.000-07:00

I am not going to go into length on this post, as I do not claim to be an expert on Northern Ireland politics, I do however have grave concerns about the possible risks to the peace process if the Tories take power.

Cameron cannot be seen as a neutral honest broker in any future negotiations after forming an alliance with the Ulster Unionist Party. This move has the prospect to jeopordise the peace process for the sake of a few extra seats in parliament.

An article in The Times earlier this year stated:

The party is also prepared to intervene if Sinn Féin becomes the largest party after next year’s elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly. It would consider downgrading the post of the Province’s First Minister, which normally goes to the largest party, to prevent a walkout by Unionists

It is clear a Cameron government would have a reckless attitude to Northern Ireland politics, showing clear favouritism to unionist policies.

Labour have done a lot to improve relations in Northern Ireland over the past 13 years. We cannot risk turning back the clock to the biaised policies of the Thatcher government.

Tories plan to repeal some of the worthwhile legislation Labour has brought in over past 13 years

2010-05-03T03:18:00.000-07:00

An article in The Sunday Times claims:

The centrepiece of the Tories’ Queen’s speech, to be held within the next month if the party forms a government, would be a “great repeal bill”.

We already know they have plans to repeal the hunting bill. Their website also states:

Replace the Human Rights Act with a UK Bill of Rights

One of the most important pieces of legislation of recent times will be torn up, so that the Tories can pick and choose which human rights are worth defending.

There is a lot of Labour legislation I haven't agreed with over the past 13 years, but they have done good as well, and it looks like we will lose a lot of the good legislation if the Tories get in.

Scrapping Trident should be more than about saving money

2010-05-01T08:38:00.000-07:00

The Liberal Democrats seem to be gaining quite a lot of support by their proposal to scrap Trident, but if you look into their policies further, you will find that they still wish to keep our nuclear 'deterrent', and the main reason for scrapping Trident is about saving money.

Their policy reads:

Liberal Democrats do not believe that the UK can afford the billions of pounds the Government wants to spend on a like-for-like replacement of the Trident nuclear weapons system. Full-scale Trident is a cold war system that we no longer need nor can afford. We believe that less expensive alternatives should be considered.

While it is correct that Trident is a waste of money, which we cannot afford at the moment, this should not be the motivator for scrapping Trident.

The Green Party policy is very clear, saying:

Not replace Trident.We cannot conceive of any circumstances in which we would use these expensive and immoral weapons; we would decommission the existing system and not renew it.

As a child I remember seeing the following 'Protect and Survive' public information film, and it scared the hell out of me. Since then I have been vehemently against the ownership of nuclear weapons and do not believe there is any justification in keeping them.

No country should have the right to own such weapons of mass destruction. To use the is illegal under international law, as the kill indiscrimately.

We are also hypocrites to keep our own weapons and demand that other countries should not hold them.

If we want to be brokers for peace in the world we should ditch our nuclear programme now and lead by example.

Vote Green viral videos

2010-04-29T11:39:00.000-07:00

Love these little viral videos. Please share with your friends:

Update on most influential Green Tweeters

2010-04-27T11:49:00.000-07:00

After producing my top 100 list of most influential Green Tweeters, I have found been informed of a few more Tweeters who I missed of the list. I have therefore revised the top 20:

Ranking	Username	Score
1	TheGreenParty	56
2	twodoctors	51
3	darryl1974	50
3	carolinelucas	50
5	sianberry	49
6	adamramsay	48
7	Jasonkitcat	46
7	garydunion	46
9	brumguvnor	44
10	Jim_Jepps	43
11	kemptownben	41
11	chalkface2009	41
11	GreenFeed	41
14	mr_andy_c	40
14	patrickharvie	40
14	TonyJuniper	40
14	imaginedpm	40
18	RupertRead	39
18	natalieben	39
20	DarrenJohnsonAM	38
20	aleddilwyn	38
21	GoHod	37
22	Scott_Redding	36
22	GreenRupertRead	36
24	GreenJennyJones	35
25	leonora1	34
25	AdrianRamsay	34

Do not choose the Lib Dems over the Green Party

2010-04-27T11:23:00.000-07:00

I have a lot of respect for Peter Tatchell but feel he has made the wrong call by encouraging Green voters to vote Lib Dem.

I did support the Lib Dems in the last election, as under the leadership of Charles Kennedy it was clear where they stood, as a centre left party. I am somewhat amazed that there is now a sudden surge of support for the Lib Dems, as their policies do not differ much from the other two main parties. For example:

The Lib Dems support the war in Afghanistan
Although they have called for Trident to be scrapped, they still believe in keeping a nuclear deterrent
Cut £15bn from spending, which will result in public sector job losses.

The recent Green Party press release on the Lib Dems rightly questions their green credentials:

Lib Dems are “The biggest eco-charlatans on this part of the planet”
As Nick Clegg today launched his party’s environmental policies with a direct attack on the Greens, a Green Party spokesperson branded the Lib Dems “the biggest eco-charlatans on this part of the planet”:

“Objectively speaking, the Lib Dems are the least trustworthy party on the environment. They have proven themselves the party most likely to say one thing and do another. Their track record is spotty to say the least.

“They say they want a low-carbon economy with new green jobs. But last week they revealed a plan to put the pathetic sum of £3bn into this, promising only a few thousand new jobs. The Green Party, on the other hand, has started with science-based CO2 targets, done the arithmetic and shown how to pay for a £44bn green investment package, which would create over a million new jobs.

“The Lib Dems talk about stopping roadbuilding but they’ve supported practically every new road from the Newbury bypass to the M74, and they’re still supporting the Lancaster Northern Bypass. They opposed Heathrow’s third runway but they’ve supported Manchester’s second runway and airport expansions just about everywhere else. They talk about green waste management but they currently support incinerator projects in Exeter, Plymouth and Barnstaple. In Essex they’ve proclaimed support for a zero waste strategy, which means no incineration, but they’re still supporting incinerators in Essex.

“They say they want a zero carbon economy by 2050, but they’ve opposed windfarm proposals in Cornwall, Cumbria, Devon and Worcestershire. In Lewisham they recently voted against a Green Party budget package that would have insulated 25,000 homes for free.
“In their proposed ‘green tax switch’ the Lib Dems promised to ‘cut income tax and switch to green taxes on pollution instead’ – which means either we’d have less money for schools and hospitals as we reduce pollution, or else we have to keep polluting in order to keep the tax revenue coming in.

“Frankly, the Lib Dems are the biggest eco-charlatans on this part of the planet.”

I'm not saying the Lib Dems do not have some worthwhile policies. I do support their plans to scrap ID cards and bring in electoral reform, but the Green Party also promises to do this.

I do not have a Green candidate in my constituency of York Outer, but the one thing which above anything else stops me from voting Lib Dem, is their refusal to rule out supporting a Tory minority government. I do not want to vote Lib Dem and getting Tory.

Lastly I would recommend the Green Party party political broadcast which was premiered today, showing that we don't believe there is little difference between the 3 main parties.

David Cameron and The Common People

2010-04-25T09:56:00.001-07:00

Top 100 influential Green Tweeters

2010-04-21T11:43:00.000-07:00

After reading Paul Waugh's Evening Standard blog which listed Top 100 Twitter 'Influentials' I though it would be interested to produce a list of the top 100 Green Tweeters. I have based the list on the same formula used by Paul which runs Twitter usernames through the TweetLevel website. The score it gives is based on:

Influence - what you say is interesting and many people listen to it. This is the primary ranking metric.
Popularity - how many people follow you
Engagement - you actively participate within your community
Trust - people believe what you say

Apologies if I have missed some popular users off. I have run all the users from http://twitter.com/TheGreenParty/greens-on-twitter and my own personal list http://twitter.com/mr_andy_c/greens

The tool does not work on users who have protected their tweets, so there will be a few notable exceptions.

Anyhow, here is the list:

Ranking	Username
1	TheGreenParty
2	darryl1974
2	carolinelucas
4	sianberry
5	Jasonkitcat
5	garydunion
7	brumguvnor
8	Jim_Jepps
9	kemptownben
9	chalkface2009
9	GreenFeed
12	mr_andy_c
12	patrickharvie
12	TonyJuniper
12	imaginedpm
16	RupertRead
16	natalieben
18	DarrenJohnsonAM
18	aleddilwyn
20	GoHod
21	Scott_Redding
21	GreenRupertRead
23	GreenJennyJones
24	leonora1
24	AdrianRamsay
26	LGBTGreens
26	alexforgoldsmid
26	PeterTatchell
29	HackneyMatt
29	AdrianWindisch
31	VickyWJ
32	nineveh_havant
32	anothergreen
32	greenladywell
35	highburyonfoot
35	MartinJDeane
37	adrianhollister
38	tom_chance
39	DocRichard
39	jennimiles
39	Blakesley
42	jimpreece
42	lasophielle
42	SouthwarkGP
42	hornseymatters
42	stuartjeffery
42	camdengp
42	JonNott
49	SimonGrover
49	lewgreenparty
49	BrumGreens
49	GreenGreenwich
53	ladyroisin
53	CharlieBGP
55	kevinwarnes
55	samcoatesUK
55	BarnardSteve
55	DilysCluer
59	busker999
59	clrandrewcooper
59	central_devon
59	bobbyblanc
59	chrisw100
59	GayleODonovan
65	Martinwhiteside
65	phil4northwilts
65	Martinwhiteside
65	CllrRMallender
69	MattHanley
69	StokeyGreens
69	mr_teatime
69	liverpoolGP
69	MarcusHemsley
69	biggreenfactory
69	TeresaDelaney
76	SvenRufus
76	LouisStephen
76	GinaDowding
76	shanoakes
76	stormpoorun
76	WalesGreenParty
76	Swlgbtgreens
76	EastBerksGP
76	GreenHighbury
85	GreenDPerrett
85	NorwichGreens
85	HulmeGreenParty
85	YHGreens
89	kentgreenparty
89	LeicsGreenParty
89	EastOxGreeens
89	Sheffieldgreens
93	bowesgreens
93	JackGJohnson
93	jamesbcy
93	KTGreens
93	worcsgreenparty
93	greenredflag
99	ThePiper54
99	swanseagreens

Okay, it is just a bit of fun with numbers. But I hope it also shows how well Green activists have taken to Twitter and use it to help promote the Green message.

The Daily Hate Mail is at it again

2010-04-19T14:59:00.000-07:00

I am no cheer leader for Nick Clegg but I found this recent article in the Daily Mail to be pretty vile. To have an introduction to an article with the following text is xenophobic gutter politics:

His wife is Spanish, his mother Dutch, his father half-Russian and his spin doctor German. Is there ANYTHING British about Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg?

Parties should be challenged on their policies rather than trying to whip up xenophobic hatred against their leaders.

It shows the obvious panic of Tory supporters to be stooping to such depths.

UKIP - Not for the 'politically correct'

2010-04-19T12:23:00.000-07:00

I received a leaflet today from the UKIP candidate for York Outer, Judith Morris. One sentence immediately rang alarm bells, her concern about "the negative effects of political correctness". So I thought I would dig around to find out a bit more about our UKIP candidate. I did not need to look far as I came across a Q & A section on the UKIP website

On gay couples booking a room in a B & B:

With regard to the B & B question, I believe that the proprietors, like pub landlords, should have the right to serve or not anyone staying in their home.

Asked about the country's "lax moral standards":

However, I would firmly be against same sex marriages, abortion and euthenasia - but I re-iterate these are my own personal views but I would vote this way if given that option.

Her views are pretty typical of UKIP candidates. I would recommend reading Richard Corbett's '25 things you didn't know when you voted for UKIP'

I also recommend the site UKIP watch

The Green Party - A real committment to peace

2010-04-18T06:30:00.000-07:00

(Picture taken from www.stopwar.org.uk)

It is with dismay, but not surprise that the 3 main parties have little to offer when it comes to our defence policy. Labour, Conservative and Lib Dems are all committed to keeping our troops in Afghanistan, even though there is no sign of end to the war. In fact, by the end of the year we will have been in longer than the Soviet Union, who could not take control of the country with a much larger force than we have committed.

The Green Party offers a real alternative with a commitment to remove our troops from Afghanistan, as it is now absolutely clear that our security has been compromised, not improved, by our part in the counter-productive invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan.

On nuclear weapons Labour and the Tories are committed to renewing Trident. The Lib Dems have said they will cancel it but keep a minimum nuclear deterrent. The Green Party would not only scrap Trident but would decommission the existing system and not renew it.

So the choice is clear. If you want to commit our country to a secure and peaceful future vote Green.

Could the Icelandic ash cloud highlight the problems with globalization?

2010-04-17T11:35:00.000-07:00

UK aircraft and those from many other countries have been grounded since Thursday due to the ash cloud being formed from the eruption of the Iceland volcano Eyjafjallajökull which is drifting across Europe.

The crisis could be over in days, but there is no certainty that this will be the case, and the disruption could spill over into weeks or months.

At the moment most of the media attention is on holiday makers who are stranded. But now stories have started to appear about the piles of rotting produce in Africa which cannot be imported while planes are grounded. As reported on the BBC News site:

One of the UK's biggest fresh fruit importers said business had ground to a halt because of the disruption.
Anthony Pile, chairman of Blue Skies, said the company was losing £100,00 a day as produce was rotting in Brazil and Africa.

"Losing a day is a disaster, losing three days is unbelievable and I don't know what we're going to do if we go into the middle of next week," he said.

Transporting food across the world is completely unsustainable and it is time we started to completely re-evaluate our dependence on food from outside the country and moved back to local food production.

May be a natural occurrence like this is just what we need to highlight the failings of our current system.

Yorkshire & Humberside Green Party stand 20 candidates in the region

2010-04-13T11:52:00.000-07:00

Yorkshire & Humberside Green Party are standing 20 candidates in the region. For a full list of candidates visit http://yorkshireandhumber.greenparty.org.uk/region/yorkshireandhumber/people.html

If you live in the York area please consider coming to help Andy Chase's campaign for York Central. You can also join the Facebook fan page here.

Tories inflicting their moral standards through the taxation system

2010-04-10T03:57:00.000-07:00

The Tories have now outlined their tax plans, to give married couple and those in civil partnerships a tax break of around £150 a year. The first thing I noticed about this was the late addition of civil partnerships, presumably added to try and take some heat of the Chris Grayling incident.

As the BBC website says:

It would apply to basic rate taxpayers earning under £44,000 where one partner does not use their full personal tax-free income allowance.

Is this supposed to act as an incentive for one spouse to stay at home?

Do the Tories really think such a trivial amount will encourage couples to marry or not to divorce?

The proposed tax is unfair for a whole host of reasons. It discriminates against unmarried couples and single people for no just reason. Single people often struggle much more financially as they have pay a mortgage and bills on one income, and as a result of this measure they will also be expected to pay more tax than married couples.

You would have thought the Tories would have learnt by now not to impose their moral standards upon the public. Particularly as it back-fired so badly against them with their Back to Basics campaign in the 90s.

They are funding this scheme by a new levy on the banks. Surely any income brought in should be used to reduce our national debt or protect public services. Instead any savings or new sources of income the Tories are highlighting are being used to offer tax incentives to win votes.

Tories fail on LGBT equality

2010-04-04T12:10:00.000-07:00

Today's article in the Observer came as no surprise to me. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling was recorded as saying:

"I think we need to allow people to have their own consciences," he said. "I personally always took the view that, if you look at the case of should a Christian hotel owner have the right to exclude a gay couple from a hotel, I took the view that if it's a question of somebody who's doing a B&B in their own home, that individual should have the right to decide who does and who doesn't come into their own home."

Supporting such behaviour is unacceptable. B & B owners who display such hostility to gay couples are no better than those who used to display signs saying "No Blacks, No Dogs, No Irish". This sort of behaviour no longer happens and is universally condemned as well as illegal. It is also illegal to refuse a room to gay couples and should be seen as just as unacceptable.

Everybody has the right to their opinions, regardless of how abhorrent we find them. What they don't have a right to do is to offer a selective service to the public based on their beliefs. If people hold homophobic beliefs they are clearly not suitable candidates for running a bed and breakfast.

This latest episode is just the latest in a series of blunders on LGBT rights by the Tories, most recent being the interview Cameron did with the Gay Times which showed a shocking lack of ignorance about what his colleagues were up to in the European parliament re LGBT rights. When he showed that he was unaware that Conservative MEPs refused to support a motion which condemned a new homophobic law in Lithuania.

The Tory voting record on LGBT rights also proves interesting reading. The vote on the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007 was only supported by 29 Conservative MPs . The following members of the shadow cabinet voted against the bill:

Kenneth Clarke
Mark Francois
Dominic Grieve
Erik Pickles
George Young

Many more members of the party were conspicious by their absence with a Conservative turnout of 58.2%

Please consider signing up for the National Organ Donor Register

2010-04-04T03:32:00.000-07:00

A recent article in my local paper reminded me of the great need there still is for people to sign up to the national organ donor register.

As their website says:

If you believe in organ donation, prove it
Would you take an organ if you needed one? Nearly everyone would. But only 28% of us have joined the Organ Donor Register.
More than 10,000 people in the UK currently need a transplant. Of these, 1000 each year – that's three a day - will die waiting as there are not enough organs available.

My personal view is that the current system should be changed to an opt-out system. I can understand how some people have cultural or religious reasons for not wanting to be on the register, and an opt-out system would accommodate them. Having such a system would no doubt increase the amount of available donors.

After all, most of us, if we were ill would like to think that we would not have to wait a long period of time for a donor. And if we rely on this system we should also be willing to contribute to it.

Tory panic sets in as they offer tax breaks to woo voters

2010-03-29T11:15:00.000-07:00

The drop in the opinion polls has obviously panicked Tory HQ into going back to the old chestnut of offering lower taxes.

They are doing this by offering to scrap the NI increase for those earning under £45,500. But surely this is irresponsible foolishness, considering the monumental national debt we are facing.

They claim they can save money from efficiency savings. They are using the old right wing tabloid myth that the public services waste money and are over staffed. This is not the case and the cuts they propose will no doubt have a negative effect on public services. It is not possible to keep cutting funding and not see a reduction in quality from services.

What we will see is a return to the under funded public services we saw in the 1980s and early 1990s under the Conservatives.

I for one would rather pay a bit of extra NI if it helps maintain public services at their current levels. We are already seeing the effects of funding cuts to Higher Education, with wide spread redundancies and reduced student places. To go even further with cuts is simply irresponsible.

The only cuts I would welcome would be to the defence budget by scrapping the Trident replacement and leaving Afghanistan, but it is unlikely these areas will be touched.

Support for Green policies

2010-03-27T12:52:00.000-07:00

I have just come across an excellent website called Vote for Policies. The idea of the site is that it shows you policies from 6 parties and you pick which policy you prefer without seeing the party name.

The questionnaire covers the following policy strands:

Crime
Democracy
Economy
Education
Environment
Europe
Health/NHS
Immigration
Welfare

After you have chosen your preferred policies the site will tell you which party best matches your viewpoint.

So far 6049 users have taken the test, and the results are as follows:

BNP - 11.19%
Conservatives - 13.5%
Green Party - 30.34%
Labour - 16.64%
Lib Dems - 17.61%
UKIP - 10.72%

As you see the Green Party policies win by quite a large margin.

I would encourage you to promote this poll on Twitter/Facebook etc. I feel a lot of people will be surprised after taking the test, not realising how much they have in common with Green policies. It will also show voters that we have strong policies in all areas, not just environmental issues.

Why I'm voting Labour in York Outer

2010-03-18T08:48:00.000-07:00

Many of you will be surprised to read that I have decided to support Labour in the forthcoming general election. Unfortunately the Green Party are not standing in York Outer which has meant I have had to think carefully about where to place my vote.

I loyally voted Labour for the first 7 years of my voting life, but after the Iraq war I no longer felt I could support Labour and have not voted Labour for the past 9 years. Even though I have a good MP in John Grogan I could not bring myself to vote for a party led by Tony Blair who I still feel should stand trial for war crimes and breaking international law.

In 2005 I ended voting Liberal Democrat, this is not an action I intend to repeat. Since Charles Kennedy was ditched they have continued to move to the right. So much now that we see Nick Clegg praising Thatcher and not ruling out helping a minority Tory governement. I refuse to vote for a party which may end up propping up the Tories.

Despite the airbrushing and token statements on the environment and gay rights they have not changed. I could write pages on why I would not vote Tory, but here are just a few reasons:

They wish to overturn the fox hunting ban. This alone I feel is reason enough not to vote for them.
They still wish to impose their moralistic values on the country. Two examples are their wish to give tax breaks to married couples and today's announcement by the shadow minister for children that he would like to criminalize under 16s for having consensual sex.
Leading members of the Tory party do not believe in man made climate change.
Even though we are facing cuts to the public sector in Labour, it looks like the cuts proposed by the Tories will come in sooner and be more severe. I cannot see how firing large amounts of public sector employees will help the economy during a recession.
They wish to remove Britain as a signatory to the Human Rights Act
They are vehemently anti-union. Cameron called on the PM to urge BA staff to cross picket lines during PMQs
They are members of the European Conservatives and Reformists group. A group alleged to contain anti-semites and homophobes. (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/gay-tory-daves-embarrassing-friends-1769707.html)

So why Labour? Gordon Brown has to accept some responsibility for the Iraq war and we are still in a pointless war in Afghanistan. But Labour have done good, which should be acknowledged, including:

Drastically cutting NHS waiting lists.
Fox hunting ban.
Implementing the minimum wage.
Human Rights Act
Freedom of Information Act
Scrapping section 28 and improving rights for the LGBT community.

Many people do come up with the old adage 'they are all the same' and say they will simply not vote or spoil their ballot papers. I argue that they are not, and the thought of the return of a Tory government fills me with dread.

I therefore hope that fellow Green Party supporters will go out and vote for James Alexander for Labour in York Outer.

And, if you are lucky enough to live in York Central, please support and vote for Andy Chase for the Green Party.

The BBC, putting quality first?

2010-03-02T03:36:00.000-08:00

In Mark Thompson's blog he states:

Today I'm going to set out the conclusions of a piece of strategic thinking we've done over the past few months. We're calling it 'Putting quality first'.

I immediately have a problem with this title. Thompson is proposing axing quality stations BBC 6 Music and the Asian Network, which offer a service not found elsewhere on radio. At the same time BBC 3 remains untouched, a station which offers us such gems as:

I could go on, but you get the idea. You can see a full list of the trite offered at http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/programmes/a-z/by/a/all

The BBC meets its public service mandate by offering the forementioned radio stations, but not by BBC 3, which offers the same sort of programmes available on numerous digital channels.

Please send your feedback about the proposed closures to srconsultation@bbc.co.uk or fill in the questionnaire at http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/consultations/departments/bbc/bbc-strategy-review/consultation/consult_view

Please join the Facebook group in support of BBC 6 music at http://www.facebook.com/home.php?src=fftb#!/group.php?gid=278123313911&ref=ts

Sign the petition at http://www.petition.fm/petitions/6musicasiannet/

And if Tweeting use the hash tag #savebbc6music

Please also fax your MP asking them to sign EDM 963 calling for 6 music and the Asian Network to be saved.

Tory Charlotte Vere attacks Marcus Brigstocke for performing at Green fundraiser

2010-03-01T06:59:00.000-08:00

An argument has broken out on Twitter after Brighton Pavillion Conservative candidate Charlotte Vere (@CharlotteV) posted the following Tweet:

Fundraisers support Greens because they are not BNP?! I will be writing to the BBC about this. http://bit.ly/9Mk2HE

As Marucs (@marcusbrig) points out:

It's all so complicated and inevitably political. The idea was to help make sure there are funds enough for The Greens to have a fair chance

Charlotte picks her story up from the right wing, paranoid Biased BBC site which is obsessed with the idea that the BBC is run by a liberal left wing cabal.

On a day when it is revealed that Tory deputy-chair and donor Lord Ashcroft is a non-dom, it is a bit rich of the Tories to be attacking performers for helping out a party which does not have the benefit of millionaire donors to help it out.

Still the nasty party

2010-02-28T11:21:00.000-08:00

I spotted an article on Socialist Unity alerting me to the following hideous Tory leaflet on Conservative Home It is the kind of material I would expect from the BNP, not a major political party.

You can read the front of the leaflet here and the back here

This leaflet plays to ignorance, racism and hatred. The Tories deserve to lose the election on this one act alone.

Vote Andy Chase for York Central

2010-02-27T03:41:00.001-08:00

Andy Chase will be the Green Party candidate for York Central. I have a great amount of respect for Andy who has been a committed local campaigner for many years. He has been involed in many local campaigns includin:

* He was involved in the successful campaign to prevent automatic ticket barriers being installed at York station.
* He spoke at the public inquiry against the "Coppergate II" scheme against building a shopping mall around Clifford's Tower and was a member of the local campaign group;
* He has campaigned for greater social justice, for example calling on the government to reverse the "10p tax" hike against the low paid;
* He has taken action to support local facilities, such as community halls, in his local area;
* He has been involved in local residents' groups for many years;
* He opposed the war in Iraq and has protested against the programme to replace the Trident nuclear weapons system, which will cost £75bn, more than the annual budget of the NHS;
* He has been active on planning issues, opposing the demolition of Victorian buildings in the city for yet more flats, and commenting on important planning documents for the city's future development;
* He opposed the closure of post offices in the city and collected petition signatures door-to-door. Micklegate Post Office was eventually saved - one of only two offices reprieved from closure in North Yorkshire;
* He has campaigned and organized meetings on sustainable transport, and wants to see the city transformed into a green, pleasant space where people can walk and cycle in safety, with clean, efficient public transport and the city's heritage enhanced. He actively opposes the dualling of York's northern Outer Ring Road;
* He spoke out over the original plans for the Terry's site, rejected by the city's planning committee in 2007, because of concerns about overdevelopment and traffic.

Andy's full biog can be found at http://york.greenparty.org.uk/achasebiog.php

Please also visit Andy's blog at http://viewfromthecastlegreen.blogspot.com/

If you can help with the campaign please contact the local party through our website at http://york.greenparty.org.uk

Save BBC 6 music

2010-02-27T00:45:00.000-08:00

I was mortified when I read the story in the Times on Thursday reporting that the BBC are planning to axe BBC 6 Music and the Asian Network.

The NUJ confirmed the story on their website:

Jeremy Dear and Gerry Morrissey, general secretaries of the National Union of Journalists and BECTU respectively, received a detailed briefing from Lucy Adams, director BBC People, this morning, confirming media reports as largely correct.

BBC 6 music fills a gap in the market, which no other station covers. It is for those of use who find the music and presenting of Radio 1 to be too immature and that of Radio 2 to be aimed at the older listener.

The station gives us such fine talent as Adam and Joe and Collins and Herring, which I religiously listen to every Saturday morning.

Please join the Facebook group in support of BBC 6 music at http://www.facebook.com/home.php?src=fftb#!/group.php?gid=278123313911&ref=ts

Sign the petition at http://www.petition.fm/petitions/6musicasiannet/

And if Tweeting use the hash tag #savebbc6music

If the BBC need to save money they need to start looking at some of the ludicrous salaries paid to its top presenters.

Lib Dems cannot draw graphs

2010-02-20T07:48:00.000-08:00

I received the latest version of the Lib Dem focus magazine in the post and found this rather interesting graph:

[Taken from http://www.madeleinekirk.org.uk/]

I put these figures into Open Office and came up with a rather different looking graph:

Although the correct figures are shown on the graph it has been manipulated to give the impression that the Labour vote is only half the level of the other 2 parties standing.

They are bound to play the same trick in areas where the Greens are standing, so the moral of the story is to look at the graphics they are putting out and call them to account when the data is misrepresented.

One Year on from Operation Cast Lead: Greens call for Justice for War Crimes in Gaza

2010-01-11T11:37:00.000-08:00

With a deafening silence coming from the 3 main parties about the appalling situation in Gaza, I am proud to be a member of a party which gives a damn:

One Year on from Operation Cast Lead: Greens call for Justice for War Crimes in Gaza

The 6th January marked the 1st anniversary of the Israeli airforce bombing of al-Fakhora school in Jabaliya refugee Camp in Gaza. The assault was part of ‘Operation Cast Lead’ which included airstrikes and a land invasion of the Gaza Strip killing more than 1,300 Gazans, including more than 300 children over the course of 22 days. Caroline Lucas MEP and Green Party parliamentary candidate for Brighton Pavilion added: “One year on from the bombardment, we demand justice for the war crimes committed on the people of Gaza. “Israel must be subject to the Geneva Convention concerning the rights of individuals and communities, in the same way that other states are.. The resort to ‘collective punishment’ in defiance of those requirements is completely unacceptable. While we condemn the actions of the Israeli Defence Force, we also condemn the Hamas qassam rocket attacks: Greens firmly believe that there cannot be a resolution based on the use of violence.”

Phelim Mac Cafferty joint International Coordinator of the Green Party stated: “One year on from the start of Operation Cast Lead, it is clear that the Israeli Defence Force believes it can act with impunity, committing what the UN described as war crimes in the bombing of the United Nations school in the Jabaliya Refugee Camp.[1] Over 40 died in the attack on the school which was packed with hundreds of people who had been ordered out of their homes with Israeli Defence Force leaflet drops and loudspeakers, in what the UN described a 'complete absence of accountability.' The Israeli action has been completely counterproductive to the prospects for peace.
“Throughout Operation Cast Lead: --Israel refused to act on the instructions of the UN Council which requested that it stop its bombardment; --The explicitly illegal bombing of built-up areas with white phosphorous was wide spread; --Such significant damage was caused to the infrastructure of Gaza, that Green MEPs, Jean Lambert and Caroline Lucas, wrote to the Israeli Ambassador to the UK calling on the Israeli Government to refund the EU for its investment in the Gazan infrastructure. “Gaza is a country where the poverty rate stands at 76% and the unemployment rate at 45%.[2] Geographically, it’s about the size of the Isle of Man except with a population of 1.5million where over half are aged under 15. Phelim concluded: “The Green Party demands an immediate lifting of the blockade imposed on Gaza by Israel which has caused a humanitarian crisis with food, fuel and medicine being blocked now since June 2007.[3] There is no military solution to the Middle East conflict. Peace is the common need of all people in the region but will only be sustained when there is justice felt by both Palestine and Israel.”

[1]http://www.palestinecampaign.org/files/4MayGltrtoSCBrd.pdf
[2]http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/ocha_opt_weekly_briefing_note_2008_11_25_english.pdf
[3]Israel has issued a written list of goods banned from import into Gaza. The list, which has baffled UN officials, includes spices, kitchenware, glassware, yarn and paper. John Ging, director of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Gaza, The Washington Post 15 November 2008 said:

Viva Palestina convoy crosses in to Gaza

2010-01-06T10:15:00.000-08:00

You will be pleased to hear that the Viva Palestina convoy has finally passed through the Rafah crossing into Gaza.

The convoy of nearly 200 vehicles, which started their journey at the beginning of December has had every possible obsticle and diversion thrown in its path by Egypt and Israel. The activists deserve our upmost thanks for taking this long and at times dangerous journey. They have not only helped deliver much needed aid to the people of Gaza but helped remind people that the blockade imposed by Israel is still in place.

Richard Falk, UN Special Rapporteur stated last month that 'two urgent priorities must be stressed on this dismal anniversary: first, Israel 's allies must demand, with a commitment reinforced by a credible threat of economic sanctions, that Israel immediately end its illegal blockade of the Gaza Strip. Second, the Goldstone Report's recommendations, having confirmed the commission of war crimes possibly amounting to Crimes Against Humanity, by Israel and Hamas, must be fully and swiftly implemented.'

Tabloid stupidity

2010-01-06T05:54:00.000-08:00

If you look at the cover of the Daily Express today you will see the most ridiculous headlines of the year so far - SNOW CHAOS: AND THEY STILL CLAIM IT'S GLOBAL WARMING

It is unbelievable that despite the overwhelming evidence you still end up with headlines like this.

Unfortunately the readership of such right wing tabloids believe this rubbish. A poll in the Daily Mail last week asked - 'Do you believe global warming is caused by man?'. Disturbingly only 20% answered yes!

You have to ask what hope there is for us with this level of ignorance in the country and some of the right wing media.

Convoy to Gaza at crisis point

2010-01-05T13:20:00.000-08:00

The following is from Viva Palestina convoy:

To all friends of Palestine

Our situation is now at a crisis point! Riot has broken out in the port of Al- Arish.

This late afternoon we were negotiating with a senior official from Cairo who left negotiations some two hours ago and did not return. Our negotiations with the official was regarding taking our aid vehicles into Gaza.

He left two hours ago and did not come back. Egyptian authorities called over 2,000 riot police who then moved towards our camp at the port.

We have now blocked the entrance to the port and we are now faced with riot police and water cannons and are determined to defend our vehicles and aid.

The Egyptian authorities have by their stubbornness and hostility towards the convoy, brought us to a crisis point.

We are now calling upon all friends of palestine to mount protests in person where possible, but by any means available to Egyptian representatives, consulates and Embassy's and demand that the convoy are allowed a safe passage into Gaza tomorrow!

Kevin Ovenden
Viva Palestina Convoy Leader

Follow the York contingent at http://twitter.com/yorktogaza and http://www.yorktogaza.blogspot.com/

and the main Viva Palestina feed at http://www.twitter.com/viva_palestina and http://vivapalestina.org/

Support the campaign to get Lowkey's 'Long Live Palestine - Pt 2' into the charts

2010-01-03T10:37:00.000-08:00

Getting this song into the charts will reach a whole new audience who do not follow the news too closely or are aware of the suffering in Palestine:

Lowkey - 'Long Live Palestine part 2'

DOWNLOAD IT NOW

PLACES TO DOWNLOAD FROM:

http://bit.ly/7AILEC - Amazon (UK)

http://bit.ly/52cmcw - Play

***LOWKEY HAS JUST OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCED THAT 50% OF MONIES RAISED FROM THIS SINGLE WILL GO TO INTERPAL, THE OTHER 50% WILL GO TO ISLAMIC RELIEF'S PALESTINE GAZA STRIP AID APPEAL .***

With all this talk about protest songs and the like, we thought it was time to make a group in Support of a fantastic rapper who goes by the name of Low-Key.
This group was set up with the intention of publicising his new single, Long Live Palestine Pt 2 which will be released to download on the 1st of January 2010.
**In order to get this in the charts, we should start downloading it on the 3rd of January**

The timing of this release is significant, as it will be released exactly one year after Israel devastated the Gaza strip with countless bombing raids and ground infantry attacks, leaving thousands of civilians dead, wounded or homeless.

**We have chosen Families Relief as our charity if you wish to make a donation along side purchasing Lowkey's track. One of the reasons we have chosen Families Relief is because they give 100% of their donations to charity

Please take the time to donate:

http://www.justgiving.com/lowkey4charts **

More about Lowkey:
Lowkey (born Kareem Dennis, 23 May 1986) is a British musician, poet, playwright and political activist of English and Iraqi descent. He first came to fame through a series of mix tapes he released before he was 18, before taking a hiatus from the music business. He would return in 2008 with wider music coverage, featured on BBC Radio and appearing at various festivals and concerts including the Electric Proms, Glastonbury, T in the Park and Oxygen in the build up to his first solo album, as well as collaborating with other famous British musicians to form the group known as Mongrel.

Families Relief do a lot of good work around the world in places such as Palestine, Pakistan, Somalia, Iraq and many more places - helping out families and orphans.
If you can't afford to make a donation, then just make dua for all of our brothers and sisters struggling to survive around the world. Please just pray for them.

It's been a year now since the last Israeli massacre in Palestine. Insha'Allah we can get Lowkey into the charts and raise awareness once more and bring Palestine back into people's minds. The media may have gotten bored of it, but the people of Palestine are still struggling long after the bombs have been dropped.

http://www.justgiving.com/lowkey4charts

Available: 1st January 2010 (Start downloading on the 3rd)
Artist: Lowkey
Title: Long Live Palestine pt. 2
Download Via: iTunes

*When this song becomes available to buy and download, we will post all relevant details here.

PREVIEW OF SONG:

URGENT ISRAELI NAVY BLOCK VIVA PALESTINA AID CONVOY

2010-01-02T14:21:00.000-08:00

The following is from the Irish4Palestine blog:

URGENT ISRAELI NAVY BLOCK VIVA PALESTINA AID CONVOY
I just got am urgent report from the Derry to Gaza team on the Viva Palestina convoy in Syria with the latest developments which are not very good for the Convoy or Gaza:

The boats were loaded with aid today and ready to leave for AL Arish, the plan was that we would meet them there, as we would fly to Al Arish and arrive before the boats.

However, the update is that the Israelis have just announced that they will be performing military operations in these waters and therefore the aid has no way of passing through these waters. So there is no point getting flights to Al Arish tomorrow as the aid wont be arriving. Of course, it now seems highly unlikely that we will get to the Rafah crossing between the 3rd and 6th when Egypt said the gates would be open to us. The Convoy is now brought to a total standstill. The Israelis have pulled a very dirty tactic here if what we are hearing is true. For now this is all we are hearing. More updates when we get them.

Derry to Gaza Team

Leopards and Tories cannot change their spots

2010-01-02T09:05:00.000-08:00

I just want to scream at the radio every time I hear David Cameron using the word 'change'. The Tories think that by putting the word change into every speech will help repeat the success which Obama saw.

The cynical use of the word change is plastered across their website and used a total of 8780 times. His New Year speech uses the word change or changes 23 times.

The only change we will see from a Tory government is a change back to the selfish individualist policies we saw from Thatcher in the 80s. Giving tax breaks to the rich, running down public services and giving the toffs back their barbaric hunting practices.

[The original cartoon by Martin Rowson can be found on the Guardian website]

International Aid Convoy Members on Hunger Strike

2009-12-27T08:32:00.000-08:00

The following is taken from the Viva Palestina website:

27th December 2009
Members of the Viva Palestina international aid convoy to Gaza will begin a hunger strike at 11.25 am today (27 th) in protest at the Egyptian government's refusal to allow the convoy entry onto its soil.

Diplomatic negotiations are also taking place between the Turkish and Egyptian governments over the convoy's entry to Egypt. IHH, Turkey's main humanitarian aid agency, has 63 vehicles travelling on the convoy.

The Syrian government has also provided aid and vehicles, as has the government of Malaysia. More than 400 people from 17 countries are travelling on the 150 vehicle convoy, which is taking medical, humanitarian and educational aid to Gaza.

The convoy departed London on 6 December and have travelled nearly 3,000 miles across Europe and the Middle East. However, the convoy and its cargo of aid is now stopped in the Jordanian port town of Aqaba, having been denied entry into Egypt.

British MP, George Galloway , who is travelling with the convoy, said: 'Israel has kept Gaza under siege for three-and-half years against international law. It has not allowed aid or rebuilding materials in following its attack on Gaza earlier this year. Our convoy is determined to break the siege and take in urgently needed supplies Spirits are high in our camp in Aqaba, and we are going nowhere except to Gaza.'

It was at 11.25 am on December 27 2008, that Israel dropped its first bombs on the besieged population of Gaza. Three weeks later, following a sustained air, land and sea assault, more than 1,400 Palestinians had been killed.

The Viva Palestina hunger strikers will consume only liquids until the convoy is allowed entry into Egypt.

Convoy members will also mark the first anniversary of the beginning of Israel's Operation Cast Lead by holding a march through Aqaba, jointly with the Jordanians. In the evening, more than 1,400 candles will be lit for a vigil.

The convoy has been jointly organised by the charity Viva Palestina and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign , the UK's largest organisation campaigning for solidarity with the Palestinian people.

You can also follow the York contingent of the convoy at http://yorktogaza.blogspot.com/

Christian Voice once again preach a message of hatred

2009-12-22T02:56:00.000-08:00

Christian Voice have called for 'fellow-believers to support the Ugandan people in their determination to rid their nation of foreign homosexual proselytisation.' (http://www.christianvoice.org.uk/Press/press141.html)

Their director Stephen Green selectively quotes passages from the Bible to support his case, such as 'The Bible calls for the ultimate penalty for sodomy (Lev 20:13)'

Groups such as Christian Voice simply use the Bible to support their promotion of homophobia. You can pick passages out of the Bible to condemn or condone numerous actions from eating shellfish to selling your daughter into slavery, yet Christian Voice appear to be obsessed with homosexuality.

The message Christian Voice sends out differs greatly from that of the vast majority of Christians in this country, who work towards promoting tolerance and peace.

____________________________________________________________________________________
If you haven't read it yet, the following Open letter to Dr Laura nicely points out the hipocrisy of some Christians:

J. Kent Ashcraft
May 2000

Dear Dr. Laura,

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and I try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind him that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate.

I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some of the specific laws and how to best follow them.

a) When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord (Lev 1:9). The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

b) I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

c) I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness (Lev 15:19-24). The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

d) Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?

e) I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?

f) A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an Abomination (Lev 11:10), it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this?

g) Lev 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?

h) Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev 19:27. How should they die?

i) I know from Lev 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

j) My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? (Lev 24:10-16) Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively, so I am confident you can help.

Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.

Your devoted disciple and adoring fan.

These are the Biblical verses refered to above, in two different translations: the King James Version [KJV], and New International Version [NIV]

Lev 18:22 [KJV] Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. [NIV] Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.

Lev 1:9 [KJV] But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water: and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD. [NIV] He is to wash the inner parts and the legs with water, and the priest is to burn all of it on the altar. It is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the LORD.

Exodus 21:7 [KJV] And if a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the menservants do. [NIV] If a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as menservants do.

Lev 15:19-24 [KJV] And if a woman have an issue, and her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be put apart seven days: and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even. 20 And every thing that she lieth upon in her separation shall be unclean: every thing also that she sitteth upon shall be unclean. 21 And whosoever toucheth her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. 22 And whosoever toucheth any thing that she sat upon shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. 23 And if it be on her bed, or on any thing whereon she sitteth, when he toucheth it, he shall be unclean until the even. 24 And if any man lie with her at all, and her flowers be upon him, he shall be unclean seven days; and all the bed whereon he lieth shall be unclean.
[NIV] When a woman has her regular flow of blood, the impurity of her monthly period will last seven days, and anyone who touches her will be unclean till evening. 20 Anything she lies on during her period will be unclean, and anything she sits on will be unclean. 21 Whoever touches her bed must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening. 22 Whoever touches anything she sits on must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean till evening. 23 Whether it is the bed or anything she was sitting on, when anyone touches it, he will be unclean till evening. 24 If a man lies with her and her monthly flow touches him, he will be unclean for seven days; any bed he lies on will be unclean.

Lev 25:44 [KJV] Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids. [NIV] Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves.

Exodus 35:2 [KJV] Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death. [NIV] For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the LORD. Whoever does any work on it must be put to death.

Lev 11:10 [KJV] And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you [NIV] But all creatures in the seas or streams that do not have fins and scales --- whether among all the swarming things or among all the other living creatures in the water --- you are to detest.

Lev 21:20 [KJV] Or crookbackt, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones broken [NIV] or who is hunchbacked or dwarfed, or who has any eye defect, or who has festering or running sores or damaged testicles.

Lev 19:27 [KJV] Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard. [NIV] Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.

Lev 11:6-8 [KJV] And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you. 7 And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you. 8 Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you.
[NIV] The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a split hoof; it is unclean for you. 7 And the pig, though it has a split hoof completely divied, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. 8 You must not eat their meat or touch their carcases; they are unclean for you.

Lev 19:19 [KJV] Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee. [NIV] Keep my decrees. Do not mate different kinds of animals. Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed. Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.

Lev 24:10-16 [KJV] And the son of an Israelitish woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel: and this son of the Israelitish woman and a man of Israel strove together in the camp; 11 And the Israelitish woman's son blasphemed the name of the Lord, and cursed. And they brought him unto Moses: (and his mother's name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan:) 12 And they put him in ward, that the mind of the LORD might be shewed them. 13 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 14 Bring forth him that hath cursed without the camp; and let all that heard him lay their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation stone him. 15 And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Whosoever curseth his God shall bear his sin. 16 And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the Lord, shall be put to death.
[NIV] Now the son of an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father went out among the Israelites, and a fight broke out in the camp between him and an Israelite. 11 The son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the name of the LORD with a curse; so they brough him to Moses. (His mother's name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri the Danite.) 12 They put him in custody until the will of the LORD should be made clear to them. 13 Then the LORD said to Moses: 14 Take the blasphemer outside the camp. All those who heard him are to lay their hands on his head, and the entire assembly is to stone him. 15 Say to the Israelites: If anyone curses his God, he will be held responsible; 16 anyone who blasphemes the name of the LORD must be put to death. The entire assembly must stone him. Whether an alien or native-born, when he blasphemes the Name, he must be put to death.

Lev 20:14 [KJV] And if a man take a wife and her mother, it is wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; that there be no wickedness among you. [NIV] If a man marries both a woman and her mother, it is wicked. Both he and they must be burned in the fire, so that no wickedness will be among you.

This text is take from http://www-users.cs.york.ac.uk/susan/joke/laura.htm

Come on people, let's stop Cowell getting the No.1

2009-12-13T03:27:00.000-08:00

The following is from the Facebook campaign group:

LET'S GET RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE TO THE CHRISTMAS NO.1 SPOT THEN!

Q: So how do we do this then?
A: Take your pick(s) of the digital providers below. It should take you to the page where you can purchase your copy of KILLING IN THE NAME. in most cases it's track#2 but check before you click!

Q: Why have you used shortened links?
A: It gives us a ROUGH idea of how we are doing on sales. I can get a click count this way

Q: But there's other websites now offering RAGE for Xmas links?
A: Yes, but these links right here were created by the creators of the whole campaign themselves. They are not 'affiliate' links so therefore nobody gets any sort of 'commision'. You don't need to go anywhere else.

Q: When do i buy 'Killing In The Name'?
A: NOW until Saturday 19th December at 23:59pm

** DO NOT DOWNLOAD IT 10 TIMES OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT...IT'LL JUST GET ANNULLED FROM THE CHART **
read- http://bit.ly/dontbuyloads (interesting from James)
read- http://bit.ly/lessonlearnt (BBC news article)

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DON'T PAY LESS THAN 0.40p !! It won't count. Direct linking approved by the Official Charts Company.

iTUNES - 99p - track #2 (click on 'view in itunes' on the right)
http://bit.ly/ratm-itunes

PLAY.COM - 65p - it's the only track on the page
http://bit.ly/ratm-play

7DIGITAL - £1.19P - track #2
http://bit.ly/ratm-7digital

HMV.COM - 79p (careful - this is track #1)
http://bit.ly/ratm-hmv

TUNETRIBE - 49P - track #2 - LIVE version (yes it counts)
http://bit.ly/ratm-tunetribe

TESCO DIGITAL - 67p - track #2
http://bit.ly/ratm-tesco

WE7 - £1.07p - track #2
http://bit.ly/ratm-we7

** AMAZON at 29p is TOO cheap, plus the other version defaults for some reason, so for the moment BEST AVOID! **

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Got any spare change in your account? We're collecting for SHELTER. If everyone in our group donates £1...we'll have raised over HALF A MILLION pounds! Not bad for a facebook group
http://www.justgiving.com/ratm4xmas/

LET'S MAKE THIS A HISTORIC CHRISTMAS ON MANY LEVELS!