by Christine McLaughlin
I've just got back from some election hustings at Acre Hall Primary School in Flixton. The hustings are going on till 9.30 but I had to leave after an hour because my three year-old was creating a fuss. It made me wonder whether the problem of finding evening childcare is the reason why fewer women than men are involved in politics. I say fewer are involved but I suppose I mean fewer are visible or elected. Following the Leader's Debate last week, so many of my friends remarked on their overwhelming impression of politics as a man's game. Depressingly, the most high profile women in the current General Election campaign are the wives of politicians.
What is the solution? For a start, I'd love the chance to go to a child-friendly hustings event. If anyone wants to organise one, please get in touch and I'll be there, whenever it is. All you need is a large room, a weekend afternoon, and a space at the back for toys, crafts and other activities to occupy tomorrow's voters.
My immediate solution is to just turn up everywhere I need to go with my child in tow. I must admit I thought twice about attending tonight's hustings. Then I decided to go because parents with young children should be able to engage with the democratic process and if there aren't any facilities for that then we should all just keep turning up at these things until people expect that and accomodate us.
Trafford Greens have organised some events with parents in mind, including a Baby Disco this coming Sunday. More information can be found here. It gives parents with young children the opportunity to find out more about the Green Party and how they can get involved without having to undertake the difficult task of finding a babysitter.
I'm so glad to have the opportunity to vote for a party that includes women on an equal footing (it feels odd to type that sentence in 2010, but we women are still a long way from full representation in our elected bodies). Our brilliant leader Caroline Lucas is an inspirational politician who has a real chance of securing a first seat for the Green Party in Brighton and Hove.
Another female politician, Labour candidate Kate Green, reminded me of how lucky I am to be able to vote for my chosen party. Due to what I assume is some sort of administrative incompetence on the part of Labour's election agent, there won't be a Labour candidate in Kate's ward so she can't vote for her own party. I did wonder whether Green might vote Green, but she explained she would be spoiling her ballot paper (i.e. writing on it that she would like to vote Labour but would not be able to).
This reminded me that I used to spoil my ballot paper in the days before the Green Party was able to field candidates in my local ward or constituency. The choice then was between Labour and Conservative. I'm so pleased now to have the chance to vote for a real alternative to endless airport expansion, illegal wars and ever increasing defence budgets.
Trafford Greens' candidate Margaret Westbrook is a candidate who cares about the local community and will fight for the future of our planet. Give her a chance, and your vote on 6th May and she won't let you down.
Showing posts with label Christine McLaughlin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christine McLaughlin. Show all posts
Wednesday, 21 April 2010
Friday, 16 April 2010
Vote Green on 6th May 2010
by Christine McLaughlin
Caroline Lucas has launched the Green Party manifesto for 6th May 2010 (and beyond). You can dowload the whole manifesto from here and read what the BBC has to say about it here. You can find out more about Trafford Green Party's policies here.
Have you met our Margaret Westbrook out and about in Trafford? Along with other Trafford Greens she's been out and about, meeting the voters and passing the message on that there is an alternative to more of the same. Margaret has also attended a question and answer session in Flixton and will be attending another one on Wednesday 22nd April at Acre Hall Primary School. Margaret is standing in Stretford and Urmston as the General Election candidate and in Longford Ward in the local elections. You can find out more about all Trafford Green candidates here.
As well as stalls and door step canvassing, we have organised Green Drinks and for people with young children, a Baby Disco. You can find out more by visiting the events page of our website here.
Finally, you only have until Monday 20th April to register to vote so if you're in any doubt about whether you will be able to vote, please visit About My Vote and when you've done that, use your vote wisely: vote Green on 6th May 2010.
Caroline Lucas has launched the Green Party manifesto for 6th May 2010 (and beyond). You can dowload the whole manifesto from here and read what the BBC has to say about it here. You can find out more about Trafford Green Party's policies here.
Have you met our Margaret Westbrook out and about in Trafford? Along with other Trafford Greens she's been out and about, meeting the voters and passing the message on that there is an alternative to more of the same. Margaret has also attended a question and answer session in Flixton and will be attending another one on Wednesday 22nd April at Acre Hall Primary School. Margaret is standing in Stretford and Urmston as the General Election candidate and in Longford Ward in the local elections. You can find out more about all Trafford Green candidates here.
As well as stalls and door step canvassing, we have organised Green Drinks and for people with young children, a Baby Disco. You can find out more by visiting the events page of our website here.
Finally, you only have until Monday 20th April to register to vote so if you're in any doubt about whether you will be able to vote, please visit About My Vote and when you've done that, use your vote wisely: vote Green on 6th May 2010.
Friday, 26 March 2010
Switch off for Earth Hour
by Christine McLaughlin
The WWF wants 1 billion people to switch off their lights tomorrow for an hour from 8.30pm. This brilliant idea is designed to get people thinking about reducing their carbon footprint. Now in its fourth year, however, the event is in danger of becoming an annual ritual that allows people to think they are doing 'something' to prevent the impending climate chaos without actually taking effective action.
The only way we can hope to avert disaster on a global scale is by acting immediately on a personal and political level. Our homes, offices and places of leisure are flooding the environment with toxic emissions. We all need to take responsibility for the future. We all know how to reduce our environmental footprint with simple steps such as turning down the thermostat, recycling more, buying fewer clothes, conserving water or eating less meat, so why not choose to mark Earth Hour with one or two resolutions that will make a difference to the Earth and its inhabitants?
Politically, the only choice for our communities and our planet is the Green Party. We stand for social justice and environmental responsibility. Our policies are innovative and dynamic: find out more about them here. Vote Margaret Westbrook in Trafford for a greener future.
The WWF wants 1 billion people to switch off their lights tomorrow for an hour from 8.30pm. This brilliant idea is designed to get people thinking about reducing their carbon footprint. Now in its fourth year, however, the event is in danger of becoming an annual ritual that allows people to think they are doing 'something' to prevent the impending climate chaos without actually taking effective action.
The only way we can hope to avert disaster on a global scale is by acting immediately on a personal and political level. Our homes, offices and places of leisure are flooding the environment with toxic emissions. We all need to take responsibility for the future. We all know how to reduce our environmental footprint with simple steps such as turning down the thermostat, recycling more, buying fewer clothes, conserving water or eating less meat, so why not choose to mark Earth Hour with one or two resolutions that will make a difference to the Earth and its inhabitants?
Politically, the only choice for our communities and our planet is the Green Party. We stand for social justice and environmental responsibility. Our policies are innovative and dynamic: find out more about them here. Vote Margaret Westbrook in Trafford for a greener future.
Sunday, 14 March 2010
Maggie, Maggie, Maggie! In, in , in!
by Christine McLaughlin
Last night I watched Margaret Westbrook make an excellent impression at a question and answer session for all of Stretford and Urmston's parliamentary candidates at Shawe Hall, Flixton. The evening had been organised by a prayer group who felt angry about the main parties' increasing alienation from ordinary people. It was a useful opportunity to hear what the other candidates had to say for themselves. Besides Margaret there were five others:
Smooth-talking Steve Cooke for the Lib Dems had obviously spent a long time swotting up on his own party's policies (well, I assume this is the case; I had forgotten the Lib Dems existed until last night so I cannot say how accurate he was) but made himself look a tad foolish when he incorrectly claimed the Green Party had a policy of 'telling you you can only have one child' and comparing us to the Chinese government! This crass remark made the audience wonder whether there was any substance behind his style and I'm afraid the answer's probably not.
Stephen Farnham for UKIP was standing in for the party's actual candidate who was too busy to come and talk to the electorate (still at least he wasn't in prison like this UKIP MEP). I loved listening to Stephen: some would call his performance faltering, others would say quirky, but either way his offerings to the discussion provided welcome comic relief. When asked what his party had done for the environment, Stephen replied, "I put my recycling bins out when required." Knowing me, Stephen Farnham, Knowing you the electorate. Aha.
Mega Tesco fan Alex Williams had quite a few things to say, I'm sure, but I'm afraid I kept drifting off whenever he spoke, indeed at one point I was shocked to realise I had inadvertently applauded something he had said which I hadn't listened to. It's probably a key Tory strategy these days: bore the electorate into a stupor and they might vote for you by accident. There was a ripple of suppressed laughter, however, when Alex - who, by the way, lives in Hale, some 10 miles away from the site of the Mega Tesco development he eagerly supports - stated the need to 'build a manufacturing industry' in the UK. Like the one your party systematically dismantled the last time they were in power, Alex?
Labour's Kate Green came across as an assured political orator, having clearly attended the Gordon Brown School of Very Precise Enunciation. She spoke of the need to invest in youth employment (well the war her party dragged us into certainly took a few youngsters out of the dole queue) and agreed with many of Margaret Westbrook's points about the need to campaign against the Mega Tesco in Gorse Hill and protect local businesses. Just as I was warming to her, however, she made a massive blunder by claiming that inequalities had not risen under the current Labour administration. Yes, the former chief executive of the Child Poverty Action Group, who describes herself on her own website as "a longstanding campaigner against poverty and inequality" claims that inequalities haven't increased under our current Labour government.
According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Kate's got her facts wrong:
Alongside the above assortment of political desperados, Margaret Westbrook could only be described as the voice of reason. Margaret spoke about her work in the community, having helped set up a family centre in Partington, working with vulnerable people at the Citizens Advice Bureau for many years, campaigning to improve Longford Park and championing local businesses as a principal campaigner in the fight against the Mega Tesco threatened to engulf Gorse Hill and Stretford. She explained various innovative Green Party policies, including the Green New Deal, the Robin Hood tax and the non-means tested Citizen's Pension of £170 per week.
More details of Green Party policy can be found here and more about Margaret here. You can find out more about Trafford Green Party here and follow Margaret on Twitter.
Finally, we'll be knocking on doors and canvassing support in neighbourhood centres across Stretford and Urmston, so if you see us, please stop and answer our 2 minute survey. And if you care about the planet, about social justice and about local communities, please vote Green.
Last night I watched Margaret Westbrook make an excellent impression at a question and answer session for all of Stretford and Urmston's parliamentary candidates at Shawe Hall, Flixton. The evening had been organised by a prayer group who felt angry about the main parties' increasing alienation from ordinary people. It was a useful opportunity to hear what the other candidates had to say for themselves. Besides Margaret there were five others:
Smooth-talking Steve Cooke for the Lib Dems had obviously spent a long time swotting up on his own party's policies (well, I assume this is the case; I had forgotten the Lib Dems existed until last night so I cannot say how accurate he was) but made himself look a tad foolish when he incorrectly claimed the Green Party had a policy of 'telling you you can only have one child' and comparing us to the Chinese government! This crass remark made the audience wonder whether there was any substance behind his style and I'm afraid the answer's probably not.
Stephen Farnham for UKIP was standing in for the party's actual candidate who was too busy to come and talk to the electorate (still at least he wasn't in prison like this UKIP MEP). I loved listening to Stephen: some would call his performance faltering, others would say quirky, but either way his offerings to the discussion provided welcome comic relief. When asked what his party had done for the environment, Stephen replied, "I put my recycling bins out when required." Knowing me, Stephen Farnham, Knowing you the electorate. Aha.
Mega Tesco fan Alex Williams had quite a few things to say, I'm sure, but I'm afraid I kept drifting off whenever he spoke, indeed at one point I was shocked to realise I had inadvertently applauded something he had said which I hadn't listened to. It's probably a key Tory strategy these days: bore the electorate into a stupor and they might vote for you by accident. There was a ripple of suppressed laughter, however, when Alex - who, by the way, lives in Hale, some 10 miles away from the site of the Mega Tesco development he eagerly supports - stated the need to 'build a manufacturing industry' in the UK. Like the one your party systematically dismantled the last time they were in power, Alex?
Labour's Kate Green came across as an assured political orator, having clearly attended the Gordon Brown School of Very Precise Enunciation. She spoke of the need to invest in youth employment (well the war her party dragged us into certainly took a few youngsters out of the dole queue) and agreed with many of Margaret Westbrook's points about the need to campaign against the Mega Tesco in Gorse Hill and protect local businesses. Just as I was warming to her, however, she made a massive blunder by claiming that inequalities had not risen under the current Labour administration. Yes, the former chief executive of the Child Poverty Action Group, who describes herself on her own website as "a longstanding campaigner against poverty and inequality" claims that inequalities haven't increased under our current Labour government.
According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Kate's got her facts wrong:
So it is fair to say that youth unemployment and income inequality have risen under Labour, and that, on a very narrow, and potentially uninformative, measure, the incomes of households with the lowest incomes are now lower than they were in 1996-97. But, although the performance of the last Conservative government is not necessarily a guide to a potential future administration, the record on youth unemployment was no better, and on poverty and inequality considerably worse, in the Thatcher and Major administrations than under Blair and Brown.Is the Institute for Fiscal Studies in some way biased? Not according to Kate's leader, Gordon Brown:
"As every government finds sometimes to its cost, [IFS is] an institution that is rigorous in research, proudly impartial and objective in analysis, forward-looking in the causes it adopts and fiercely independent - yielding to no-one, friend or foe, on its way."
Alongside the above assortment of political desperados, Margaret Westbrook could only be described as the voice of reason. Margaret spoke about her work in the community, having helped set up a family centre in Partington, working with vulnerable people at the Citizens Advice Bureau for many years, campaigning to improve Longford Park and championing local businesses as a principal campaigner in the fight against the Mega Tesco threatened to engulf Gorse Hill and Stretford. She explained various innovative Green Party policies, including the Green New Deal, the Robin Hood tax and the non-means tested Citizen's Pension of £170 per week.
More details of Green Party policy can be found here and more about Margaret here. You can find out more about Trafford Green Party here and follow Margaret on Twitter.
Finally, we'll be knocking on doors and canvassing support in neighbourhood centres across Stretford and Urmston, so if you see us, please stop and answer our 2 minute survey. And if you care about the planet, about social justice and about local communities, please vote Green.
Thursday, 17 December 2009
The Santa Delusion
by Christine McLaughlin
Look away now if you’re under nine, because by the time you read this Santa Claus will be dead. I have arranged for him to be beaten senseless with a sizeable block of frozen tofu turkey then drowned in a vat of tepid Advocaat. Don’t feel bad for him: it’s how he would have wanted to go.
I would have let him live if he could have answered the following questions:
• Why do we encourage our kids to worship this entity who exists solely to fill our homes (and landfill eventually) with more and more emission-releasing plastic crap from sweat shops?
• Do we really want our children to believe that good behaviour is rewarded by emission-releasing plastic crap from sweat shops? It seems to me that we are embedding in them a belief that we in the consumerist nations are somehow more deserving and morally superior to the inhabitants of LEDCs.
• Can it be right to encourage a child to be ‘good’ for a stranger in exchange for consumer goods? In any other context this would be called grooming.
These questions are both pertinent and pressing and yet when I turn up at his grotto in Stretford Mall he refuses to enter into any sort of dialogue unless I pay £3 and sit on his lap. Even then his conversation is limited to ‘Have you been a good girl this year?’ which I find highly inappropriate.
So I have held my own kangaroo court in his absence, arguing the case that Santa is a capitalist construct designed solely to train our children for a lifetime of consumerist obedience.
It’s his fault we speak of ‘retail therapy’ making all our problems go away when for 1 billion of the world’s population clean water would be the dream ticket to a life free of disease. Santa is responsible for a huge amount of stress in skint parents who can’t afford to match the kid next door’s presents and can’t explain why Santa has been less generous to their kid. He is the reason why we’ll fill up another 40,000 double decker buses with unecessary waste this year and drive them to hell in a handcart made of whatever’s left of the rainforest.
Like fossil fuels and factory farming, Father Christmas has had his day, so it’s time to say Hyvää Joulua* but Hyvästi** and good riddance***!
*Merry Christmas (in Finnish)
** Goodbye (in Finnish)
*** I don't know how to say good riddance in Finnish.
Look away now if you’re under nine, because by the time you read this Santa Claus will be dead. I have arranged for him to be beaten senseless with a sizeable block of frozen tofu turkey then drowned in a vat of tepid Advocaat. Don’t feel bad for him: it’s how he would have wanted to go.
I would have let him live if he could have answered the following questions:
• Why do we encourage our kids to worship this entity who exists solely to fill our homes (and landfill eventually) with more and more emission-releasing plastic crap from sweat shops?
• Do we really want our children to believe that good behaviour is rewarded by emission-releasing plastic crap from sweat shops? It seems to me that we are embedding in them a belief that we in the consumerist nations are somehow more deserving and morally superior to the inhabitants of LEDCs.
• Can it be right to encourage a child to be ‘good’ for a stranger in exchange for consumer goods? In any other context this would be called grooming.
These questions are both pertinent and pressing and yet when I turn up at his grotto in Stretford Mall he refuses to enter into any sort of dialogue unless I pay £3 and sit on his lap. Even then his conversation is limited to ‘Have you been a good girl this year?’ which I find highly inappropriate.
So I have held my own kangaroo court in his absence, arguing the case that Santa is a capitalist construct designed solely to train our children for a lifetime of consumerist obedience.
It’s his fault we speak of ‘retail therapy’ making all our problems go away when for 1 billion of the world’s population clean water would be the dream ticket to a life free of disease. Santa is responsible for a huge amount of stress in skint parents who can’t afford to match the kid next door’s presents and can’t explain why Santa has been less generous to their kid. He is the reason why we’ll fill up another 40,000 double decker buses with unecessary waste this year and drive them to hell in a handcart made of whatever’s left of the rainforest.
Like fossil fuels and factory farming, Father Christmas has had his day, so it’s time to say Hyvää Joulua* but Hyvästi** and good riddance***!
*Merry Christmas (in Finnish)
** Goodbye (in Finnish)
*** I don't know how to say good riddance in Finnish.
Sunday, 6 December 2009
Urgent: Florence and Precious Need Your Help NOW!
by Christine McLaughlin
Since their dramatic, last minute stay of deportation half an hour before they were due to be forced on a plane for Malawi, Florence Mhango and ten year old daughter Precious have been held in Yarls Wood Detention Centre, waiting for news.
Thanks to the generosity of their friends and other community members in Glasgow, the services of Paul Chen, QC have been secured. He is currently working on the complex legal arguments that need to be developed if Florence and Precious are to have a chance of winning their forthcoming judicial review. However, Home Office Lawyers have applied for the case to be expedited, in which case they could be back in Malawi within the week.
There are two practical ways to help:
- Email Alan Johnson, Home Secretary at public.enquiries@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk and ask him to intervene to prevent the case against Florence and Precious from being fast tracked.
- Make a donation towards their legal costs. Send cheques payable to Crannhill World Cafe, Cranhill Community Project, Cranhill Parish Church, Bellrock Street, Glasgow, G33 3HB (write "donation for Florence and Precious Mhango" on the back). If someone close to you likes to buy you vile bathing accoutrements or "ornaments" that are anything but ornamental, you could avoid that trip to the charity shop on Boxing Day by suggesting they send off a donation instead of buying you a gift.
Sunday, 22 November 2009
Urgent: Please Help Florence and Precious Mhango
Florence and Precious Mhango are awaiting deportation at Yarlswood Detention Centre and their flight is due to leave at 7pm tomorrow. For the past six years they have made the UK their home, but last week the Home Office made the decision, quite unexpectedly, to refuse their plea for asylum and send them back to Malawi.
If they return, ten year old Precious will be considered the property of her father's family, who will take her away from her mother. It is unlikely she will be able to continue her education (only 1 in 94 Malawian girls are enrolled in a Primary School, according to UNICEF) and it is likely she will be subjected to Female Genital Mutilation. Although democracy arrived in Malawi in 1994, the government has failed to take any action against this barbaric act of torture which is thought to be inflicted on around 18% of Malawian girls.
The Green Party deplores enforced imprisonment of asylum seekers and is in favour of making our country a more welcoming place for these vulnerable people - for example by giving asylum seekers the right to work.
Please help Florence and Precious Mhango by emailing Home Office Minister Phil Woolas at phil.woolas@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk and requesting their urgent humanitarian release.
Sunday, 8 November 2009
Questioning the Conflict in Iraq
by Christine McLaughlin
Three Questions About Iraq:
1. How many people have died during the illegal occupation of Iraq?
2. When will the occupation end?
3. How much will it all have cost?
There are no answers to these questions.
But the British Army is on a recruitment drive.
RIP the duped soldiers, many of whom have signed their lives away for an illegal war.
RIP the many thousands of civilian dead.
Who would have thought one country would have so much blood in it, Tony?
Three Questions About Iraq:
1. How many people have died during the illegal occupation of Iraq?
2. When will the occupation end?
3. How much will it all have cost?
There are no answers to these questions.
But the British Army is on a recruitment drive.
RIP the duped soldiers, many of whom have signed their lives away for an illegal war.
RIP the many thousands of civilian dead.
Who would have thought one country would have so much blood in it, Tony?
Wednesday, 4 November 2009
Environmentalism in the Workplace: How One Activist Established the Right to his Beliefs
by Christine McLaughlin
When my son was born three years ago he was quite ill and, I was told, he had to be given formula milk as a matter of urgency. I was asked to choose from three types and, since I didn't have a clue about formula milk, I chose Aptamil, the brand favoured by SCBU. I later found out that Aptamil contains fish oil and, therefore, isn't suitable for vegetarians.
Two years later I discovered that the vitamin K injection that all babies are offered at birth contains bovine gall-bladder and therefore isn't suitable for vegetarians : I hadn't been informed about this, so my choice to feed my child an exclusively vegetarian diet was compromised twice within half an hour of his birth.
If my restricted diet had been due to a religious belief, I would have been given the chance to make an informed choice. So it was good to hear that a judge has ruled that philosophical beliefs can enjoy the same protection under the law as religious beliefs.
Tim Nicholson, a climate change campaigner, is taking his former employer to an industrial tribunal because, he says, it was his belief in environmentalism that motivated Grainger to make him redundant. Mr Justice Michael Burton ruled that a belief in environmentalism and the moral imperatives that follow from this does count as discrimination and is contrary to the 2003 Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations.
Yesterday's ruling doesn't mean that Mr Nicholson was unfairly sacked; that will be decided by an industrial tribunal. It does mean, however, that individuals' beliefs on climate change are protected and respected by the law, in the same way that religions are. The ruling relates exclusively to employment law, but the principle could be applied with regard to access to services such as the NHS.
It makes sense: climate change activists have thought about their beliefs and their convictions are formed independently of any historically established body, such as a church. So today's ruling should bring about a new ethos of respect for the beliefs of people like Tim Nicholson, as well as people such as veg*ns, feminists, and - who knows? - maybe even nihilists.
When my son was born three years ago he was quite ill and, I was told, he had to be given formula milk as a matter of urgency. I was asked to choose from three types and, since I didn't have a clue about formula milk, I chose Aptamil, the brand favoured by SCBU. I later found out that Aptamil contains fish oil and, therefore, isn't suitable for vegetarians.
Two years later I discovered that the vitamin K injection that all babies are offered at birth contains bovine gall-bladder and therefore isn't suitable for vegetarians : I hadn't been informed about this, so my choice to feed my child an exclusively vegetarian diet was compromised twice within half an hour of his birth.
If my restricted diet had been due to a religious belief, I would have been given the chance to make an informed choice. So it was good to hear that a judge has ruled that philosophical beliefs can enjoy the same protection under the law as religious beliefs.
Tim Nicholson, a climate change campaigner, is taking his former employer to an industrial tribunal because, he says, it was his belief in environmentalism that motivated Grainger to make him redundant. Mr Justice Michael Burton ruled that a belief in environmentalism and the moral imperatives that follow from this does count as discrimination and is contrary to the 2003 Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations.
Yesterday's ruling doesn't mean that Mr Nicholson was unfairly sacked; that will be decided by an industrial tribunal. It does mean, however, that individuals' beliefs on climate change are protected and respected by the law, in the same way that religions are. The ruling relates exclusively to employment law, but the principle could be applied with regard to access to services such as the NHS.
It makes sense: climate change activists have thought about their beliefs and their convictions are formed independently of any historically established body, such as a church. So today's ruling should bring about a new ethos of respect for the beliefs of people like Tim Nicholson, as well as people such as veg*ns, feminists, and - who knows? - maybe even nihilists.
Thursday, 29 October 2009
The Waiting Game
by Christine McLaughlin
The NoMegaTesco in Stretford campaign has caught the attention of various media outlets. Campaigners are waiting for Tesco's planning application, which appears to have been delayed.
Following a well attended demo at the town hall last week, the campaign was prominently featured in the Manchester Evening News, the Stretford and Urmston Messenger and the Trafford Metro News.
BBC Radio Manchester interviewed the campaign's Laura Harris (scroll to 5 minutes 35 seconds in), whilst Channel M interviewed Margaret Westbrook. The campaign was also featured on The Politics Show (feature starts 33 mins, 30 seconds in)and North West tonight (feature starts 12 minutes 50 seconds in).
You can find the group on Facebook but do check the campaign website for regular updates.
Once the planning application is received we will have three weeks to object to the proposals. Objections will mainly take the form of letters to the council's planning department, setting out exactly why this development is not welcome in Streford.
The NoMegaTesco in Stretford campaign has caught the attention of various media outlets. Campaigners are waiting for Tesco's planning application, which appears to have been delayed.
Following a well attended demo at the town hall last week, the campaign was prominently featured in the Manchester Evening News, the Stretford and Urmston Messenger and the Trafford Metro News.
BBC Radio Manchester interviewed the campaign's Laura Harris (scroll to 5 minutes 35 seconds in), whilst Channel M interviewed Margaret Westbrook. The campaign was also featured on The Politics Show (feature starts 33 mins, 30 seconds in)and North West tonight (feature starts 12 minutes 50 seconds in).
You can find the group on Facebook but do check the campaign website for regular updates.
Once the planning application is received we will have three weeks to object to the proposals. Objections will mainly take the form of letters to the council's planning department, setting out exactly why this development is not welcome in Streford.
Sunday, 18 October 2009
The Great Climate Swoop: Did the Police Go Too Far?
by Christine McLaughlin
Quick quiz: which of the following is a policing priority?
a) Hunting with dogs(which was made illegal by an Act of Parliament in 2005).
b) Prosecuting their own officers for allowing two dogs to be baked alive in the sun.
c) Preventing ten years of violence, both actual and threatened, against single parent Fiona Pilkington and her two children, which affected them so badly that Fiona killed herself and her daughter in utter despair.
or
d) Stopping environmental activists who want to halt the planet's looming Armageddon from attending the Great Climate Swoop which took place yesterday.
If you followed the links you'll see that the answer was d), and more cynical readers will be unsurprised by this, but I would like to state that I have huge admiration for the police. I think it takes a lot of courage to run towards, rather than away from trouble. I believe that we need a police force to maintain law and order. I know that there are many fantastic people working in the police force and that they deal with horrific, head-messing events on a daily basis.
But I just can't accept that it's acceptable to arrest people for what they might be planning to do, and place them under restrictive bail conditions that mean they cannot communicate with friends and other organisers. One effect of the arrests is surely to discourage others from attending the protest, thereby subduing the growing movement of direct activism against climate change.
The Green Party of England and Wales and Trafford Green Party do not endorse any illegal activity; we believe in change within the law and via the ballot box. The Climate Swoop was a planned move to take over Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station and shut it down, and clearly this is illegal. I think it likely that the main aim of the event was to generate much needed publicity and keep the debate over coal-fired power stations alive and on the front pages of any newspaper that hasn't yet given itself up entirely to X-Factor/ Strictly Come Dancing coverage. However, it is my personal belief that when it comes to political protest and direct action, anything (barring violence against living creatures) goes, provided you are prepared to take the consequences.
So I respect anyone who went ahead and took part in the Great Climate Swoop: they didn't mind that they might be arrested for what they might be planning to do because they believed that the planet might benefit and that maybe there wasn't time to persuade people to vote in a certain way.
These are people who can see the urgency of the situation and want to make a difference. They are often characterised in the popular press as unwashed, unemployed and unsavoury in their habits, but are as likely to be professional people with children as anything else. Furthermore, if someone decides not to take a job in order to devote themselves to climate change activism then future generations (if they survive) will thank them and if activists fail to dress in neatly pressed suits, well neither did Gandhi, but the Hitler Youth was known for its smartness of dress so what conclusions can we draw from that?
The actions of the police should worry anyone who believes in freedom of protest. It seems they decide which laws they will uphold, which protests are acceptable and who among us is worth protecting. I've met many decent police officers in my time, in fact I've met a fair few who vote Green and support our right to protest and to freedom of speech. I hope they will speak out, and loudly in the police HQs across the country, and that their collective voices will be heard. But don't forget the police work for us: the Chief Inspector of Nottinghamshire Police is Linda McCarthy. If you'd like to express your dismay at the policing of the climate swoop to her directly, you can contact her via post, telephone or email:
L. McCarthy
Chief Inspector
Staff Officer to Chief Constable
Nottinghamshire Police
Direct 0115 9672010
Mobile 07980893342
email.linda.mccarthy@nottinghamshire.pnn.police.uk
For a full account of the swoop, visit Indymedia.
Quick quiz: which of the following is a policing priority?
a) Hunting with dogs(which was made illegal by an Act of Parliament in 2005).
b) Prosecuting their own officers for allowing two dogs to be baked alive in the sun.
c) Preventing ten years of violence, both actual and threatened, against single parent Fiona Pilkington and her two children, which affected them so badly that Fiona killed herself and her daughter in utter despair.
or
d) Stopping environmental activists who want to halt the planet's looming Armageddon from attending the Great Climate Swoop which took place yesterday.
If you followed the links you'll see that the answer was d), and more cynical readers will be unsurprised by this, but I would like to state that I have huge admiration for the police. I think it takes a lot of courage to run towards, rather than away from trouble. I believe that we need a police force to maintain law and order. I know that there are many fantastic people working in the police force and that they deal with horrific, head-messing events on a daily basis.
But I just can't accept that it's acceptable to arrest people for what they might be planning to do, and place them under restrictive bail conditions that mean they cannot communicate with friends and other organisers. One effect of the arrests is surely to discourage others from attending the protest, thereby subduing the growing movement of direct activism against climate change.
The Green Party of England and Wales and Trafford Green Party do not endorse any illegal activity; we believe in change within the law and via the ballot box. The Climate Swoop was a planned move to take over Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station and shut it down, and clearly this is illegal. I think it likely that the main aim of the event was to generate much needed publicity and keep the debate over coal-fired power stations alive and on the front pages of any newspaper that hasn't yet given itself up entirely to X-Factor/ Strictly Come Dancing coverage. However, it is my personal belief that when it comes to political protest and direct action, anything (barring violence against living creatures) goes, provided you are prepared to take the consequences.
So I respect anyone who went ahead and took part in the Great Climate Swoop: they didn't mind that they might be arrested for what they might be planning to do because they believed that the planet might benefit and that maybe there wasn't time to persuade people to vote in a certain way.
These are people who can see the urgency of the situation and want to make a difference. They are often characterised in the popular press as unwashed, unemployed and unsavoury in their habits, but are as likely to be professional people with children as anything else. Furthermore, if someone decides not to take a job in order to devote themselves to climate change activism then future generations (if they survive) will thank them and if activists fail to dress in neatly pressed suits, well neither did Gandhi, but the Hitler Youth was known for its smartness of dress so what conclusions can we draw from that?
The actions of the police should worry anyone who believes in freedom of protest. It seems they decide which laws they will uphold, which protests are acceptable and who among us is worth protecting. I've met many decent police officers in my time, in fact I've met a fair few who vote Green and support our right to protest and to freedom of speech. I hope they will speak out, and loudly in the police HQs across the country, and that their collective voices will be heard. But don't forget the police work for us: the Chief Inspector of Nottinghamshire Police is Linda McCarthy. If you'd like to express your dismay at the policing of the climate swoop to her directly, you can contact her via post, telephone or email:
L. McCarthy
Chief Inspector
Staff Officer to Chief Constable
Nottinghamshire Police
Direct 0115 9672010
Mobile 07980893342
email.linda.mccarthy@nottinghamshire.pnn.police.uk
For a full account of the swoop, visit Indymedia.
Sunday, 4 October 2009
No Mega Tesco Working Group
by Christine McLaughlin
It seems that everyone I meet this week has a story to tell me about Tesco. A teacher friend of mine is worried about her job because Salford Council are talking about closing down her school in order to build a new academy and make way for Tesco. Sounds familiar?
Her sister, who lives in Walkden, is dealing with the news that Tesco want to replace the duck pond her house overlooks with a carpark extension. The duck pond is part of a green space used by local kids for games, sports and generally running around, so I hope Salford Council have their best interests at heart when they consider Tesco's application for planning.
And a young person I was talking to last week was telling me her father's shoe repair shop is being demolished this week due to a Tesco development in south Manchester. The family are probably going to have to move down south in the middle of her GCSE year.
The campaign against the Mega-Tesco in Gorse Hill has attracted some press attention this week. Following last week's public meeting, the proposed development was front page news in the Stretford and Urmston Messenger and Trafford Metro News.
The first meeting of the Working Group is tomorrow on 5th October at 7.30pm at Gorse Hill United Church -entrance on Wesley Street just off A56/ Chester Road in Gorse Hill, postcode M32 0GL. It's open to everyone who wants to take part in the campaign against the Mega-Tesco in Gorse Hill. Please come along and contact us if you need more information. There is also a campaign website here.
It's important to keep checking the campaign website for updates: once the application for planning goes in we will have only three weeks to make our dissent known.
It seems that everyone I meet this week has a story to tell me about Tesco. A teacher friend of mine is worried about her job because Salford Council are talking about closing down her school in order to build a new academy and make way for Tesco. Sounds familiar?
Her sister, who lives in Walkden, is dealing with the news that Tesco want to replace the duck pond her house overlooks with a carpark extension. The duck pond is part of a green space used by local kids for games, sports and generally running around, so I hope Salford Council have their best interests at heart when they consider Tesco's application for planning.
And a young person I was talking to last week was telling me her father's shoe repair shop is being demolished this week due to a Tesco development in south Manchester. The family are probably going to have to move down south in the middle of her GCSE year.
The campaign against the Mega-Tesco in Gorse Hill has attracted some press attention this week. Following last week's public meeting, the proposed development was front page news in the Stretford and Urmston Messenger and Trafford Metro News.
The first meeting of the Working Group is tomorrow on 5th October at 7.30pm at Gorse Hill United Church -entrance on Wesley Street just off A56/ Chester Road in Gorse Hill, postcode M32 0GL. It's open to everyone who wants to take part in the campaign against the Mega-Tesco in Gorse Hill. Please come along and contact us if you need more information. There is also a campaign website here.
It's important to keep checking the campaign website for updates: once the application for planning goes in we will have only three weeks to make our dissent known.
Monday, 28 September 2009
Meeting Against the Mega Tesco: Monday 28th September 2009
by Christine McLaughlin
I just got back from a fairly animated meeting against the proposed Mega Tesco in Gorse Hill, chaired by Margaret Westbrook. Most of the people in attendance had come from the immediate locality, but there were also quite a few people from Old Trafford and Stretford, plus the odd Chorltonian and one Urmstonian (me!).
Tesco's application for planning permission is expected to be submitted by the end of next week. There will follow a three week consultation exercise, during which time we must make our objections known. As Debbie Clarkefrom the Unicorn Grocery pointed out, no one is going to ask us our views, and consultation merely means the council is obliged to put up notices around the site of the proposed development as well as advertising the application in the local press.
Bernie from Kirkby Residents Action Group (KRAG)had quite a tale to tell about Tesco's bid to 'redevelop' Kirkby. He told us about arrogant councillors who failed to canvas the views of their constituents, MPs who 'couldn't remember' attending pivotal meetings and 500 residents turning out for a KRAG meeting to organise against the proposals to turn Kirby into a Tescopolis.
He told us about KRAG's vehicle convoy bringing the quiet Merseyside town to a standstill, about the public enquiry the government had initiated in July 2007 and about the massive cost of legal representation (KRAG was quoted £25,000: in the end they represented themselves).
He advised us that the best way to gather evidence for a public enquiry (although we are currently very far away from that) is letter writing, petitions and testimonials.
Knowsley Council had packaged a massive, centrally located Tesco and a new stadium for Everton with a capacity of 55,000 - in a town whose population numbers only 40,000 as a major regeneration opportunity for Kirkby. Tesco want to build their store on a greenbelt site that was previously earmarked for a new school, the building of which has been quietly shelved by Knowsley Council.
Education turned out to be a link between KRAG's campaign and ours, as it turns out that the land Tesco need to buy in order to build their 140,000 square foot store (that's nearly three times the size of Morrison's in Chorlton) is owned by Stretford High. The land is not for sale but Trafford Council are planning to close both Stretford High and Lostock College in order to build a new, £30 million Academy. As soon as Stretford High closes, the land reverts to the local authority who will then sell it off to Tesco.
It seems that Trafford Council want to give the money they receive from Tesco to Lancashire County Cricket Ground to redevelop the ground, without consulting local residents or looking into other avenues for funding. Whether they have chosen to gamble with the education of thousands of children in order to fulfil this objective, I cannot say.
Zoe Power of Trafford Green Party had done some research among local business people and reported that some were so anxious about the impact Tesco's development could have on their livelihood that they were already planning to sell up.
Debbie Clarke from the Unicorn Grocery had researched the area Tesco say they plan to serve (a ten minute radius by car) and had found that this would reach as far as Sale, Salford and the city centre. She pointed out that increased traffic would make every day like a match day in an already congested area. She reminded us that the council had turned down a planning application from Tesco for an 80,000 square foot store three years ago on the basis that it would have a detrimental effect on other retailers in areas such as Stretford, Chorlton and Hulme. She pointed out that National Planning Guidelines insist that our existing high streets should be protected and promoted, but that 50 small shops and businesses are closing every week. Tesco say they will bring 600 jobs to Gorse Hill but don't mention how many of these will be part time, minimum wage and insecurely contracted, nor how many jobs will be lost in the surrounding areas.
Finally we looked at how we could campaign. Margaret suggested we talk to as many people as possible; sign the petition; write individual letters of objection; attend the planning committee when the relevant meeting takes place and more immediately, attend for another meeting next Monday, 5th October at 7.30pm, again at Gorse Hill United Church -entrance on Wesley Street just off A56/ Chester Road in Gorse Hill, postcode M32 0GL. Everyone is welcome at this meeting to plan our campaign, so please come along and contact us for more information. Let's get going and show Tesco and Trafford Council we are in for the long haul.
I just got back from a fairly animated meeting against the proposed Mega Tesco in Gorse Hill, chaired by Margaret Westbrook. Most of the people in attendance had come from the immediate locality, but there were also quite a few people from Old Trafford and Stretford, plus the odd Chorltonian and one Urmstonian (me!).
Tesco's application for planning permission is expected to be submitted by the end of next week. There will follow a three week consultation exercise, during which time we must make our objections known. As Debbie Clarkefrom the Unicorn Grocery pointed out, no one is going to ask us our views, and consultation merely means the council is obliged to put up notices around the site of the proposed development as well as advertising the application in the local press.
Bernie from Kirkby Residents Action Group (KRAG)had quite a tale to tell about Tesco's bid to 'redevelop' Kirkby. He told us about arrogant councillors who failed to canvas the views of their constituents, MPs who 'couldn't remember' attending pivotal meetings and 500 residents turning out for a KRAG meeting to organise against the proposals to turn Kirby into a Tescopolis.
He told us about KRAG's vehicle convoy bringing the quiet Merseyside town to a standstill, about the public enquiry the government had initiated in July 2007 and about the massive cost of legal representation (KRAG was quoted £25,000: in the end they represented themselves).
He advised us that the best way to gather evidence for a public enquiry (although we are currently very far away from that) is letter writing, petitions and testimonials.
Knowsley Council had packaged a massive, centrally located Tesco and a new stadium for Everton with a capacity of 55,000 - in a town whose population numbers only 40,000 as a major regeneration opportunity for Kirkby. Tesco want to build their store on a greenbelt site that was previously earmarked for a new school, the building of which has been quietly shelved by Knowsley Council.
Education turned out to be a link between KRAG's campaign and ours, as it turns out that the land Tesco need to buy in order to build their 140,000 square foot store (that's nearly three times the size of Morrison's in Chorlton) is owned by Stretford High. The land is not for sale but Trafford Council are planning to close both Stretford High and Lostock College in order to build a new, £30 million Academy. As soon as Stretford High closes, the land reverts to the local authority who will then sell it off to Tesco.
It seems that Trafford Council want to give the money they receive from Tesco to Lancashire County Cricket Ground to redevelop the ground, without consulting local residents or looking into other avenues for funding. Whether they have chosen to gamble with the education of thousands of children in order to fulfil this objective, I cannot say.
Zoe Power of Trafford Green Party had done some research among local business people and reported that some were so anxious about the impact Tesco's development could have on their livelihood that they were already planning to sell up.
Debbie Clarke from the Unicorn Grocery had researched the area Tesco say they plan to serve (a ten minute radius by car) and had found that this would reach as far as Sale, Salford and the city centre. She pointed out that increased traffic would make every day like a match day in an already congested area. She reminded us that the council had turned down a planning application from Tesco for an 80,000 square foot store three years ago on the basis that it would have a detrimental effect on other retailers in areas such as Stretford, Chorlton and Hulme. She pointed out that National Planning Guidelines insist that our existing high streets should be protected and promoted, but that 50 small shops and businesses are closing every week. Tesco say they will bring 600 jobs to Gorse Hill but don't mention how many of these will be part time, minimum wage and insecurely contracted, nor how many jobs will be lost in the surrounding areas.
Finally we looked at how we could campaign. Margaret suggested we talk to as many people as possible; sign the petition; write individual letters of objection; attend the planning committee when the relevant meeting takes place and more immediately, attend for another meeting next Monday, 5th October at 7.30pm, again at Gorse Hill United Church -entrance on Wesley Street just off A56/ Chester Road in Gorse Hill, postcode M32 0GL. Everyone is welcome at this meeting to plan our campaign, so please come along and contact us for more information. Let's get going and show Tesco and Trafford Council we are in for the long haul.
Sunday, 20 September 2009
No Mega Tesco at Old Trafford
by Christine McLaughlin
Trafford Greens are totally opposed to the grotesquely over-sized supermarket development proposed by Tesco at Old Trafford. Joining forces with community and campaign groups we plan to collaborate on a dynamic campaign against the mega Tesco and challenge the council to cultivate a vibrant neighbourhood centre for the benefit of local people rather than supermarket moguls.
The cyber-hub of the campaign is here.
Please have a look, leave comments and volunteer your support if you can. It's not going to be easy, but if we win this fight we'll be making a massive difference to the future Old Trafford community.
Trafford Greens are totally opposed to the grotesquely over-sized supermarket development proposed by Tesco at Old Trafford. Joining forces with community and campaign groups we plan to collaborate on a dynamic campaign against the mega Tesco and challenge the council to cultivate a vibrant neighbourhood centre for the benefit of local people rather than supermarket moguls.
The cyber-hub of the campaign is here.
Please have a look, leave comments and volunteer your support if you can. It's not going to be easy, but if we win this fight we'll be making a massive difference to the future Old Trafford community.
Monday, 8 June 2009
Going Forward in 2009
by Christine McLaughlin
In the end there were fewer than 5,000 votes in it , but the Green Party won’t be representing the North West in the European Parliament yet. Despite a dynamic campaign that was well received on the streets and on doorsteps, in letter boxes and on the net, the Green Party came in at 0.3 percentage points behind the BNP.
The good news is that we increased our vote nationally by half compared to 2004. In the council elections, we gained 8 seats across the country, having effectively lost four before the elections began. In Manchester the Green Party finished ahead of the Conservatives in third place.
Although we are disappointed that Peter Cranie won't be representing us yet, we are a party of positive people – we’re not going to be crying into our cornflakes about this. We’re just going to work harder to bring information about our policies to ordinary voters so that they understand there is a real alternative. We’ll be out and about across Trafford to canvass your views so if you see us, please stop for a chat. If you’d like to help our campaign, please join us . You can find out more about our local campaigns here . We have some great candidates and we know that success is in our grasp.
In the end there were fewer than 5,000 votes in it , but the Green Party won’t be representing the North West in the European Parliament yet. Despite a dynamic campaign that was well received on the streets and on doorsteps, in letter boxes and on the net, the Green Party came in at 0.3 percentage points behind the BNP.
The good news is that we increased our vote nationally by half compared to 2004. In the council elections, we gained 8 seats across the country, having effectively lost four before the elections began. In Manchester the Green Party finished ahead of the Conservatives in third place.
Although we are disappointed that Peter Cranie won't be representing us yet, we are a party of positive people – we’re not going to be crying into our cornflakes about this. We’re just going to work harder to bring information about our policies to ordinary voters so that they understand there is a real alternative. We’ll be out and about across Trafford to canvass your views so if you see us, please stop for a chat. If you’d like to help our campaign, please join us . You can find out more about our local campaigns here . We have some great candidates and we know that success is in our grasp.
Friday, 27 March 2009
Earth Hour Approaches
by Christine McLaughlin
Tomorrow the World Wildlife Fund wants one billion people to turn their lights off for an hour in a bid to raise awareness about climate change. Earth Hour is a brilliantly inclusive concept: switching off one’s lights for an hour is very achievable, so it’s a great way to engage people in the global movement against the slow demise of our planet.
Trafford Green Party’s European elections candidate, Margaret Westbrook, has been contacting various businesses in the area to ask whether they will participate in Earth Hour. Manchester United and the Imperial War Museum North are two notable participants among many others.
Some of the young people I teach have written to the Trafford Centre to tell them about Earth Hour; in the process we came across the Trafford Centre blog which revealed they have recently changed to energy saving LED lights. These use a fraction of the energy produced by the old style sodium lighting. They also represent a willingness on the part of the business community to cut back on carbon emissions.
One of my students remarked that there should be an Earth Hour every week and it does seem very possible that something bigger will grow out of this. The World Wildlife Fund is using Earth Hour to launch a campaign for a new global deal. In December 2009, governments will be gathering at the UN CLimate Summmit in Copenhagen to come up with new targets to replace those under the existing Kyoto Protocol. Taking part in Earth Hour is a way of showing our leaders that we want them to make the right choices in Copenhagen. Voting Green in the European elections on June 4th is another.
Friday, 12 December 2008
Greater Manchester Says No Thanks to Clean Air
by Christine McLaughlin
The results are in and the residents of Greater Manchester have voted against the TIF proposals. I’m disappointed that we won’t be enjoying the benefits of improved public transport, but I’m not surprised.
Most people used their vote as a protest against what they saw as an additional tax. Like the taxi driver at the Trafford Centre I spoke to who told me he would be crippled financially by having to pay £5 on every single cab fare. Except taxi drivers would have been exempt from the proposed congestion charge, as I’m sure he knew – he just didn’t expect me to know it.
It seems to me that the real problem was that the No voters were absolutely passionate in their resistance to the proposals. There was no way they weren’t going to get their votes in on time even if they’d had to ram-raid the Sorting Office in their Land Rovers to do it.
Although the Yes Campaign, Go! Manchester and Clean Air Now conducted a well organised and dynamic campaign in favour of the proposals, the potential Yes voters were less fervent about the whole thing. They appreciated the benefits of better public transport, cleaner air, and reduced congestion, but they didn’t enter into the debate with the fanatical zealotry of the No campaigners and therefore were much less motivated to vote. Some of the public transport commuters were probably so exhausted by their slow, crowded, uncomfortable journeys that they just couldn’t be bothered to get to the post box.
One positive is, of course, that the most vociferous No campaigners can now refocus on their other campaigns: protesting against human rights violations across the world, perhaps, or raising awareness about climate change. Many of them will be keen to do what they can to ease the crisis in Darfur or possibly giving up their time to some of the thousands of people who are homeless this Christmas. Either that or they might just drive to MacDonalds in their massive gas guzzlers, before dropping by Asda to pick up some meat and plastic, fresh from the sweat shop, laughing all the way at the plebs in bus stops.
On a positive note the referendum has made a lot of people think more about traffic, transport and pollution. Across Greater Manchester, 218,860 people voted yes.Trafford had the highest turnout of all the boroughs (63.6%) and 20,445 people voted yes to the proposals. That’s over 20,000 people who emphatically want better public transport, cleaner air and reduced congestion on the roads. The referendum is over but the campaign for a better future continues and it’s growing in support.
The results are in and the residents of Greater Manchester have voted against the TIF proposals. I’m disappointed that we won’t be enjoying the benefits of improved public transport, but I’m not surprised.
Most people used their vote as a protest against what they saw as an additional tax. Like the taxi driver at the Trafford Centre I spoke to who told me he would be crippled financially by having to pay £5 on every single cab fare. Except taxi drivers would have been exempt from the proposed congestion charge, as I’m sure he knew – he just didn’t expect me to know it.
It seems to me that the real problem was that the No voters were absolutely passionate in their resistance to the proposals. There was no way they weren’t going to get their votes in on time even if they’d had to ram-raid the Sorting Office in their Land Rovers to do it.
Although the Yes Campaign, Go! Manchester and Clean Air Now conducted a well organised and dynamic campaign in favour of the proposals, the potential Yes voters were less fervent about the whole thing. They appreciated the benefits of better public transport, cleaner air, and reduced congestion, but they didn’t enter into the debate with the fanatical zealotry of the No campaigners and therefore were much less motivated to vote. Some of the public transport commuters were probably so exhausted by their slow, crowded, uncomfortable journeys that they just couldn’t be bothered to get to the post box.
One positive is, of course, that the most vociferous No campaigners can now refocus on their other campaigns: protesting against human rights violations across the world, perhaps, or raising awareness about climate change. Many of them will be keen to do what they can to ease the crisis in Darfur or possibly giving up their time to some of the thousands of people who are homeless this Christmas. Either that or they might just drive to MacDonalds in their massive gas guzzlers, before dropping by Asda to pick up some meat and plastic, fresh from the sweat shop, laughing all the way at the plebs in bus stops.
On a positive note the referendum has made a lot of people think more about traffic, transport and pollution. Across Greater Manchester, 218,860 people voted yes.Trafford had the highest turnout of all the boroughs (63.6%) and 20,445 people voted yes to the proposals. That’s over 20,000 people who emphatically want better public transport, cleaner air and reduced congestion on the roads. The referendum is over but the campaign for a better future continues and it’s growing in support.
Saturday, 6 December 2008
The Christmas Energy Crunch (part two)
by Christine McLaughlin
The picture at the top of this blog sums it up: Christmas lights are largely used by businesses to lure us into spending money. They are another element of the festive consumerist trap we have locked ourselves into. It's not a great picture but I think you can just about see that the Christmas lights in the photo spell out the word "acupuncture". I don’t know how many passers by have been persuaded to enquire about acupuncture at my local Chinese health centre by their Christmas lights display, but I do know that the Climate Talk research I mentioned earlier this week found that a major contributor to our excessive carbon output over the Christmas season is extravagant light displays.
Christmas lights look pretty but at a domestic level they can produce an extra half ton of carbon dioxide per house. Climate Talk recommends a small display of LED bulbs which use only 5kg of CO2 per household. I’m using plain white lead free candles for my lighting display this year – I’ll be placing them in differently sized and shaped glass jars. I’m not very keen on baubles and tinsel and so on: they’re all made in sweat shops from non-renewable materials and shipped or flown over here at a massive cost to the environment - so I’ve already been scouting for holly to stick up around the room. That’s pretty environmentally friendly especially when you consider that the holly was growing out over the pavement, posing all kinds of health and safety issues!
Although I don’t have accurate figures to quote, it’s clear that businesses, especially the retail sector, use more elaborate light displays than householders, thus producing even more CO2. Furthermore, Trafford Council have thrown caution to the wind of climate change and switched on the municipal Christmas lights very early this year.
I was surprised to see the Christmas lights in Urmston town centre had been switched on by the third week in November, so I checked Trafford MBC’s website and discovered that the lights had been switched on in Sale on November 22nd and in Altrincham on November 13th.
Furthermore, I was shopping in Sale this morning when I noticed the Christmas lights had been switched on at 11am. Putting on lights at that time of day is equivalent to switching on your heating then leaving your front door open. You can’t see them properly in the daylight so the effect is totally wasted.
It’s our council tax that pays for this blatant waste and disregard for the planet’s long term future and it all adds up to a substantial increase in our borough’s carbon footprint, so I’ve emailed Councillor Susan Williams, the Leader of Trafford Council to ask for her thoughts on the matter. I’ll let you know how she responds and if anyone else would like to email her, the address is councillor.susan.williams@trafford.gov.uk.
Friday, 5 December 2008
The Final Push for Yes Voters: Can You Help?
by Christine McLaughlin
The deadline for votes for the TIF proposals to massively improve public transport and ease congestion across Greater Manchester is fast approaching. The Trafford Green Party supports the Yes Campaign, but would like to see the proposals go further. Visit our website to find out more.
In the meantime, there are various campaigning activities you can get involved in if you want to make a real difference to the lives of people who use roads in and around Greater Manchester.
I’ve lifted the following directly from an email from Kevin Peel, founder of the Go! Greater Manchester campaign:
“We're nearing the end of the campaign and we need your help now more than ever. Turnout so far has been unbelievably low. Anecdotal evidence suggests that no voters will have voted early on and yes voters will vote later, if at all. The low turnout figures suggest 2 things - the first is that the no campaign have nowhere near as much support as they thought they did and the second is that getting out the vote now is of the utmost importance. All those people yet to fill out their ballot papers are natural yes voters, we just need to remind them what they're getting from this deal and what they stand to lose if apathy wins the day... and then get them to bloody fill out the form and send it back!!
Here's a round up of what you can do to help over the next few days:
Friday 5th December
GO! campaigners will be out tomorrow evening from about 4.30 at key transport hubs in Bury and really need your help. Call Gill Campbell if you want to go and help them.
Saturday 6th December
Campaigners will be out all day right across the city centre. You can help out at any time between 11am and 4pm for as much or as little time as you want - do an hour before your shopping! Call Jim Battle to find out more.
Monday 8th December
MEGA MONDAY
This really is the final battle! We need EVERYONE to descend on Manchester City Centre from 4pm onwards to help us get out and reach as many people we can at the bus stops, tram stops and train stations across the city centre. We'll be meeting in the reception area at the Lloyd Street entrance to Manchester Town Hall at 4pm and heading out at 4.15, however you can join us later on if you can't make that time. Just give me a call or contact Jim Battle.
Finally, there is still plenty of phone canvassing to be done and you can go in to the Yes office off Deansgate to do this at any point between 8am and 8pm. Contact Claire Nangle.
WE REALLY NEED YOUR HELP PEOPLE! This is it - how many people we can get to fill out their ballot paper over the next few days WILL determine the outcome of this referendum. Do you want more congestion, dirtier air and a public transport system ready to collapse, or do you want to make all forms of transport, including cars, better for everyone, with massive investment in new buses, trams and trains? It's bizarre that we even need to be asking the question but ask it we must and it's up to you to help us get a resounding YES from the people of Greater Manchester.”
It’s not mentioned on the email, but from another source I can reveal there will be complimentary mulled wine and mince pies at KRO Piccadilly from 6.30pm onwards. I’m working on Saturday but I’m definitely going into town on Monday to do/ eat and drink what I can.
Most of the contact numbers for the above are personal mobile numbers, so I’ve taken them out to avoid disgruntled Hummer drivers lashing out when they lose the vote; if you need a contact number you can message me through this blog or on Facebook via the Trafford Green Party group.
Good luck to anyone who’s participating in the campaign and remember, the most important thing you can do is vote YES.
The deadline for votes for the TIF proposals to massively improve public transport and ease congestion across Greater Manchester is fast approaching. The Trafford Green Party supports the Yes Campaign, but would like to see the proposals go further. Visit our website to find out more.
In the meantime, there are various campaigning activities you can get involved in if you want to make a real difference to the lives of people who use roads in and around Greater Manchester.
I’ve lifted the following directly from an email from Kevin Peel, founder of the Go! Greater Manchester campaign:
“We're nearing the end of the campaign and we need your help now more than ever. Turnout so far has been unbelievably low. Anecdotal evidence suggests that no voters will have voted early on and yes voters will vote later, if at all. The low turnout figures suggest 2 things - the first is that the no campaign have nowhere near as much support as they thought they did and the second is that getting out the vote now is of the utmost importance. All those people yet to fill out their ballot papers are natural yes voters, we just need to remind them what they're getting from this deal and what they stand to lose if apathy wins the day... and then get them to bloody fill out the form and send it back!!
Here's a round up of what you can do to help over the next few days:
Friday 5th December
GO! campaigners will be out tomorrow evening from about 4.30 at key transport hubs in Bury and really need your help. Call Gill Campbell if you want to go and help them.
Saturday 6th December
Campaigners will be out all day right across the city centre. You can help out at any time between 11am and 4pm for as much or as little time as you want - do an hour before your shopping! Call Jim Battle to find out more.
Monday 8th December
MEGA MONDAY
This really is the final battle! We need EVERYONE to descend on Manchester City Centre from 4pm onwards to help us get out and reach as many people we can at the bus stops, tram stops and train stations across the city centre. We'll be meeting in the reception area at the Lloyd Street entrance to Manchester Town Hall at 4pm and heading out at 4.15, however you can join us later on if you can't make that time. Just give me a call or contact Jim Battle.
Finally, there is still plenty of phone canvassing to be done and you can go in to the Yes office off Deansgate to do this at any point between 8am and 8pm. Contact Claire Nangle.
WE REALLY NEED YOUR HELP PEOPLE! This is it - how many people we can get to fill out their ballot paper over the next few days WILL determine the outcome of this referendum. Do you want more congestion, dirtier air and a public transport system ready to collapse, or do you want to make all forms of transport, including cars, better for everyone, with massive investment in new buses, trams and trains? It's bizarre that we even need to be asking the question but ask it we must and it's up to you to help us get a resounding YES from the people of Greater Manchester.”
It’s not mentioned on the email, but from another source I can reveal there will be complimentary mulled wine and mince pies at KRO Piccadilly from 6.30pm onwards. I’m working on Saturday but I’m definitely going into town on Monday to do/ eat and drink what I can.
Most of the contact numbers for the above are personal mobile numbers, so I’ve taken them out to avoid disgruntled Hummer drivers lashing out when they lose the vote; if you need a contact number you can message me through this blog or on Facebook via the Trafford Green Party group.
Good luck to anyone who’s participating in the campaign and remember, the most important thing you can do is vote YES.
Wednesday, 3 December 2008
The Day of the Dead (Trees)
by Christine McLaughlin
My Christmas tree arrived today and if there’s a more adorable little tree in all the world I’ll be surprised.
I’ve found an interesting statistic that states that 40,000 trees are cut down to make 8,000 tonnes of wrapping paper at Christmas - enough to wrap Guernsey. 200,000 trees are also felled every year to make 1 billion Christmas cards for the UK alone. On top of these gloomy statistics, a further 7 million trees are felled to be used as decoration.
Artificial trees are not the answer: these are made of pvc and plastic, which give off emissions and pollute the environment (and your home). They cannot be recycled and end up in landfill. They are not an ethical choice because they are made in sweatshops by exploited workers who have little to celebrate during the festive season.
Cut Christmas trees come from Christmas tree farms, which do have some benefit for the environment. The trees grown there emit oxygen and this purifies the air we breathe. The obvious drawback is that cutting the tree down brings this beneficial effect to a definite conclusion. The tree dies and turns into a depressingly desiccated husk by Hogmanay.
By far the greenest choice is a living tree in a pot; these still have their roots so they still emit oxygen and they can be replanted in your garden after Christmas, and dug up again the following year. A living tree will help absorb emissions in your home, smell gorgeous and won’t drop any needles.
If you’re going for the living tree option, make sure you are buying a tree with intact roots – many potted trees have had their root balls cut and will quickly die. Furthermore, it’s a good idea to take advice about replanting – we slung ours into a hastily dug hole in the garden last year and it soon died.
This year we have hired a tree from the Little Fir Tree. They offer free delivery throughout Lancashire and around Calderdale using Bio fuels whenever possible, and grouping their deliveries to cut down on fuel emissions. If you want to refer a friend, or to be a drop off point for a number of trees, they have various discounts available to reflect the reduced environmental impact. At the end of the festive season they will either collect your tree or you can keep it for an additional £5. Our tree was £20 and although it’s small it’s very sweet. And I will get round to decorating it eventually.
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