Euro Elections - Vote up 44% in England & Wales

Nearly 9% voted Green in Yorkshire & the Humber

In the European elections, the Green Party's vote in England & Wales increased by about 44% compared with 2004 - yet the Greens still returned only 2 MEPs. Re-elected in London was Jean Lambert and in South East England, Caroline Lucas.

The constituencies where the Green vote was closest to securing a seat included, Eastern region, Scotland, North West and Yorkshire & the Humber

In Yorkshire and the Humber, the Green vote went up from 6% to 9% - narrowly missing out to the first BNP MEP. In Kirklees we polled 9.61% (9,803 votes) on a turnout of 34.36%.

The North West Greens very narrowly missed winning a seat where the BNP leader was elected. Highlights of the Green vote in the North West included Manchester, where the Greens finished in third place, on 13.6%, ahead of the Conservatives. Ironically, while the Green vote was up from 6% to 8%, the BNP vote actually fell numerically compared with 2004.

But the party's results show considerable promise for the coming general election, with the Greens having defeated all comers in the parliamentary constituencies which will be contested by the party's leader and deputy leader.

Party leader Caroline Lucas was re-elected comfortably, with the South East Green Party vote up by half, from 8% to 12%, finishing ahead of Labour. Dr Lucas's bid for election to the Westminster Parliament received a huge boost from a vote of 33.7% in Brighton and Hove.

For more detailed analysis of the elections from the region and in England & Wales see Elections

Challenging Times - a series of discussion meetings

Local Jobs & the "Green New Deal"

Tuesday 21 July at 8.00pm 

Venue: Brian Jackson Centre, New North Road, Huddersfield HD1 5JP (behind the station)

More on Challenging Times - see box below

Age of Stupid in Batley - 10am Saturday 4th July (free)

This showing is part of the action packed International Climate Change Convention at Batley Girls High School & Visual Arts College, Windmill Lane, Batley WF17.

Log on to the link for a map of how to get there. Buses from Dewsbury go past the school. Special bus link from Batley station. http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/cgibin/performancetables/school_06.pl?Mode=Z&No=3824048&Type=P&Num=p020&Phase=2&Year=06&Base

http://www.notstupid.org/

For more information about the weekend programme of the International Climate Change Convetion see

http://www.kirkleesenvironmentpartnership.org.uk/

Lead Letter in Huddersfield Daily Examiner 1st June 2009

Big questions over need for huge stores
Supermarkets and their satellite convenience stores are on the march. Your correspondent, Richard Huddleston (Examiner 25 May) wants to see a proper debate on the future of the town. He is worried that campaigners are asking awkward questions about supermarkets’ plans. They are, he hints, standing in the way of “progress”.

But it is thanks to the “campaigners” that we are having a debate and challenging the assumptions that the supermarket plans are based on.

At the heart of the shopping debate is “need”. Do we need more supermarkets in Huddersfield when we have a lot of empty town centre retail space? The retail studies done by consultants for the council in 2008 are out of date, but they are used to show we “need” more large supermarkets.

Combining additional retailing capacity with town centre regeneration should be the priority. There is land and low quality building inside the ring road – some of it was part of the Queensgate plan. 

As a University town Huddersfield must recognise that its largest employer will need land to expand, or for new jobs in the knowledge industries to be developed close to it. This raises an issue about the use of the Broadbent site for an ASDA supermarket.

If Tesco and ASDA Walmart get planning approval we, the “campaigners”, will have raised important issues that will still need addressing: on the need for a “local food” policy; on how to regenerate the town centre after the demise of Queensgate; on bringing jobs into the central area; on traffic and access on the ring road; and on air quality in Leeds Road.

Finally, through Kirklees Council’s LDF consultation, we have been asked to comment on future land use that will affect our lives in the next decade. If we want to be far-sighted we must plan now to adjust to the constraints and opportunities of a low carbon economy.

As energy costs continue to rise (due to waning oil reserves) we will soon get back to $150 a barrel oil that we reached last year - and more. Carbon use will need to be reduced for economic reasons and to tackle climate change. Through a mixture of behaviour change and technology, our lives, our settlements, shopping and food sources will change.

We could and should take these factors into account in our planning process now, rather than wait until it’s staring us in the face. 

Cllr Andrew Cooper - Green, Newsome Ward

Thursday 17th September

to the Cumbrian Coast from Wakefield, Brighouse and Hebden Bridge*

Standard fare £47, First £77 - call 01924 472767 for bookings or click below to download full details and booking form .

*Also picking up from Skipton, Keighley, Shipley, Todmorden and Rochdale

Click here for Booking Form

Town First Treasure Hunt

Saturday 18th July @ LBT, Queen Street

Explore the town's heritage and diversity of shops and services on foot and win prizes. Runs 10 - 5 with stalls, music and games in the theatre courtyard. Entries free.

Green Party challenges use of green belt and green field land for new housing

Kirklees Local Development Framework Consultation

Kirklees Green Party has issued a 5-point plan to reduce the pressure on the green belt and green field land in response to Kirklees Council's Local Development Framework (LDF) consultations which closed on April 17.

"This plan is central to debating the way we live, the way we work and the way we travel," said Cllr Andrew Cooper, Green Party leader on Kirklees Council. "In planning for the future we need to question the 'business as usual' approach or we will fail to ensure Kirklees is a good place to live and work. We need to continue the consultations. We need a real debate about now we prepare for the transition to a low carbon future".

In its objections to the LDF, Kirklees Green Party questioned why large amounts of green belt and green field land are required. Its key proposals are:
o       Adoption of a more radical employment and training policy aimed at creating a vibrant low carbon economy with more emphasis on local jobs to reduce the level of outward commuting.
o       Adoption of three standards for housing densities with higher levels in central areas of towns and inner urban areas
o       More innovative transport and traffic solutions including changes in parking standards to support higher density housing, support for car sharing clubs and the adoption of a low emission area in the Leeds Road Economic Zone
o       Stronger support for use of rail over the lifetime of the plan including improvements to passenger access to stations, bike and car parking at selected stations, and more acknowledgement of development opportunities in rail corridors, particularly following the tram-train trials on the Penistone Line
o       Retention of green belt and green field land for growing food by developing community supported agriculture, smallholding and more land for allotments close to residential areas.

In its submission, the Green Party also challenged the government's insistence that Kirklees should identify land to build more than 37,000 new homes and criticised the inadequacy of the consultation process for a plan that will last for at least a decade.

"We need a new look at the assumptions made in drawing up the land use plans for the next decade" said Chas Ball, Kirklees Green Party transport spokesperson. "To prepare for a low carbon economy we need to innovate and adapt to new requirements of the Climate Change Act 2008 and the expectations of higher energy costs.

“"The Consultants’ reports that form the basis of the draft plans for open spaces, employment and the retail survey appear to be asking the wrong questions or are already out of date.

“This plan is short of ideas on new approaches to employment. We need to build our future on the reality of high energy prices and recognise that local jobs and local food will help us become more resilient. We already have local companies and organisations that show what can be done in the knowledge economy, in sustainable building and renewable energy and we need to build on this.”

For a copy of the full submission e-mail chas.ball@metronet.co.uk

17 April 2009

Food Expert says “We are Nine Meals from Anarchy”

Dr Martin Caraher, a food expert from City University, said we had only 3 days food to feed us during a crisis. Speaking at a meeting in Huddersfield promoted by Kirklees Green Party and supported by Kirklees Environment Partnership, Dr Caraher challenged a Kirklees-wide audience to estimate the overall food stocks held by the UK.

He suggested that most food supplied to supermarkets, where most of our food is now bought, is delivered “just in time”.  As a result we hold little in reserve stores or in warehouses and are vulnerable to disruptions such as oil shortages.  Local food would be more secure. 

Dr Caraher was deeply critical of short-lived campaigns to improve diet which encourage local growing and physical activity, promoted by governments, Primary Care Trusts and Local Councils.  He said: “Short-lived … pilots that never continue long enough to prove their worth (and) without evaluation … means there are no effective local or regional policies on food issues emerging.”

Dr Caraher also challenged the audience on which form of retailing was most effective for investing in local areas – local and regional shops, or the large supermarkets.  Recent research in this area by the New Economics Foundation, an independent think tank, had confirmed that £10 spent at local shops was worth £24 to the local economy – since local takings, wages and so on were then spent locally.  For international supermarkets however the multiplier for was only £14.  Furthermore, “For every 20 jobs created by the “big five” supermarkets – 30 jobs are lost!” said Dr Caraher.

In contrast to the UK, French and Italian food markets were predominantly local and regional. This makes them more resilient than we are to food or oil crises - and responsible for a lower “carbon footprint” in a period of increased global warming.

Dr Caraher illustrated this by an analysis of patterns of global food movements between importing and exporting nations.  For many products, milk was one example, similar amounts were being exported as imported – milk from one EU country to the UK, literally passed milk from the UK on Channel Ferries going in the opposite direction.  Recently tens of thousands of tons of onions had been imported from New Zealand!

He suggested we look at Toronto, Canada for inspiration. Here French and Italian models of local and regional food production are being re-established. Regional boundaries are agreed as the limit for production of local and regional food supplied into city centre markets. “Toronto shows us that strategic regional policies for local and regional food can be achieved” he said.

Dr Caraher stayed overnight and at a second meeting organized by KEP he listened intently as 18 members of various local food groups across Kirklees described their work and the issues they faced.  There was a rich sharing of ideas and achievements including the development of Food Coops in Batley, a Local Bakery in Slaithwaite and a Fruit and Veg Cooperative shop in Marsden and the prospect of local small-holdings to supply local shops. 

Notes:

New Economics Foundation - see: http://www.neweconomics.org/gen/

The multiplier explained: http://www.neweconomics.org/gen/tools_lm3.aspx

Dr Martin Caraher, Reader in Food and Health Policy:, Department of Health Management and Food Policy at City University, London, works extensively on issues of food poverty, local sustainable food supplies, the role of markets in promoting health, retail concentration and globalisation. 

Regional Euro election launch for new jobs

"Voting for the Green Party can make a positive difference to everyone's future" said lead candidate Martin Hemingway at the launch of the regional campaign to elect Green MEPs in Yorkshire & the Humber.

"Greens are pushing for common sense measures that will
benefit everyone in this recession. For example, insulating all UK homes will save energy, reduce fuel bills, cut carbon emissions and create thousands of skilled jobs.

"Creating green jobs is the most cost effective way of cutting unemployment quickly and Green MEPs are pushing governments across Europe to make the investment we need."

Candidates speaking at the launch at Kelham Island Indistrial musuem in Sheffield explained that the Greens have set out in their manifesto for the European Elections the costings for the jobs that would be created if all their policies for the Euro-elections were implemented. The total number of jobs comes to over a million.

To deliver these jobs urgently, the UK economy must be put on something like a war footing, say the Greens.  This is the only way to tackle the recession and the climate crisis.

The Greens insist that a major national effort is essential if Britain's economy is to be rebuilt and transformed.  The business as usual that the government is presenting with its failed car scrappage schemes and half-hearted, rewarmed proposals will not be enough to make a real change.

“The country, and especially Yorkshire, which is one of the hardest hit regions, needs a transformation of our economy and industry” said Martin Hemingway.
 
The Green Party has been pushing for a multi-billion-pound Green New Deal since last year - only to see the government produce its own version which speakers at the launch event explained is "neither Green nor, strictly speaking, a new deal" - as much of the government scheme involved cash already allocated by previous plans, and would create jobs only in many years' time.

New nuclear power stations sustain few jobs per megawatt compared to renewables and are certainly not "green". Since the announcements it has been shown that the government's "green stimulus" was in fact offering more cash to high-carbon than to low-carbon projects.

But the 100, 000 jobs the real Green New Deal will offer to Yorkshire and the Humber would only be a start, say the Greens - as kick-starting the Green industrial revolution would lead to:

  * The rapid growth of low-carbon industries like wind-turbine and solar panel manufacture.
  * The building of more trains, trams and buses to serve a revolution in public transport.
  * Jobs-rich Green waste management systems to replace jobs-poor incineration projects.
  * A revolution in UK agricultural output.

Only a vision like this, say the Greens, can provide the antidote to the current widespread sense of dissatisfaction and disenchantment with politics and insecurity over our economic future - including the effects on the global and British economies of climate change and peak oil.

Also at the launch Green Party councillors from Sheffield, (Jillian Creasy) and Bradford (Kevin Warnes) outlined their local achievements. 

Shan Oakes, second on the European list, talked about the lead the Yorkshire and Humber Green Party has been taking on encouraging women into Green Politics.

20 May 2009

Greens support the campaign for Denby Dale Nursery School

“Parents and governors of Denby Dale Nursery School put a good case to Kirklees Cabinet last week.  With the children's interests at heart they are fighting to stop their school being privatised and the educational element of nursery education lost to future generations”, said Adrian Cruden, Green Party Parliamentary Candidate for Dewsbury and a member of Kirkburton Parish Council.
 .
“It is a pity that it will take five months to undertake a review. Local parents need confidence that this excellent nursery school, which sits at the heart of the community, has a long-term future”.

“What sort of pre-school service do we want for our children?” asked Adrian Cruden. “With teachers' unions reporting that too many children are arriving in schools without adequate preparation, surely this is not the right time to reduce quality pre-school services,”

The move to reduce nursery schools from integrated childcare and education to a voluntary or private setting - which will only provide daycare – has worrying implications for other local nurseries. “If this loss of education provision happens in Denby Dale will it affect the other nursery schools, Flatts in Dewsbury and Thornton Lodge in Huddersfield next?” he asked.

Kirklees Council’s recent decision to admit children in a single intake in the September prior to their fifth birthdays will lead to children starting school even earlier. This will also create additional problems for both nursery and reception classes.
 
“Children will be taken out of nurseries earlier than at present, and some of the younger children could now be entering school just days after their 4th birthday”, said Adrian Cruden. “Many young children will be deprived of opportunities to fully develop those firm foundations for learning which are frequently established in a pre-school setting. Surely this can only add to the workload of reception class teachers?”

 “The people of Denby Dale and surrounding villages, fighting this move to restrict educational choice, might need reminding where this initiative started”, concluded Adrian Cruden. Although the final decision on the changes will be made by the new Labour – Lib Dem cabinet, they were originally an initiative of the previous Conservative administration.

“Now what counts is making sure the defence of quality nursery education in Denby Dale is successful.”

17 April 2009