Vote Andy Chase for York Central

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

Local Shops for Local People

Green Party's online drive to promote local businesses.

York Green Party has launched a directory of local shops on the internet,allowing Google users to find local and independent shops and services easily.

The online directory lists independent and locally-based shops and services in the Heslington, Fulford and Fishergate wards of the city. It builds on a booklet, called "Local Shops for Local People" that the Green Party produced in 2006. This directory was distributed to every household in the areas covered.

Dave Taylor, Green Councillor for Fishergate said, "We wholly support The Press's campaign to promote local shops. Our aim back in October 2006 was to make sure people knew what they could get from independent and local shops. The chain shops have far higher advertising budgets, and we wanted to do our bit to help the profile of independents."

"One of the things that is absolutely vital in this day and age is to have your business listed in Google. More people now use Google searches to find local businesses than the Yellow Pages. So we decided to transfer our old paper-based directory into an online version."

The map is by no means exhaustive, and York Green Party welcomes additions and refinements. Visitors with a Google account can comment on the map directly. "We hope that this initiative will eventually cover the whole of York," says Dave Taylor, "but we had to start somewhere."

"Supporting local businesses has long been a Green priority. Local businesses create more jobs, and will put more money back into the local economy than a national plc would. They help foster a sense of identity in a town or city, and will often have smaller carbon footprints, as they don't have national freight distribution networks."

The online "Local Shops for Local People" map is available at http://tinyurl.com/lsflp

Holocaust Memorial Day - Statement from York Green Party

Greens support Holocaust memorial

Cllr Andy D'Agorne joined other party leaders at York's annual Holocaust Memorial Day.

Cllr Andy D'Agorne spoke alongside the other party leaders at the Holocaust Memorial Day event on Wednesday. Standing at the foot of Cliffords Tower where 150 Jews perished in 1190 he said, "Whether (the victims are) Jews or people in Dafur, Zimbabwe or the Middle East, we must speak out in defence of human rights and provide humanitarian aid to the victims of war, whichever 'side' they are on" The event later that evening included songs, drumming and personal accounts from a Holocaust survivor and an Ethiopean refugee.