Cobblers to the Council!

East Riding Council is threatening the imminent removal of the historic setts (cobblestones) in the market place....so...the message today was Save Our Setts and ....Cobblers to the Council! This was just the first of a list of other important issues to be dealt with.

I spoke with MP Graham Stuart at the end and asked him what the Tory Government does about errant Tory councils like this one... 'surely you're not proud of the way they carry on?' I asked.  He replied that it's democracy - people vote for them....!

School cancels Christmas

Bah Humbug!

The cancellation of Christmas by the Oasis Academy at Nunsthorpe, near Grimsby (in N-E Yorks according to today's Metro!)  says it all about the madness of the current approach to education.   The primary school says  they have to 'raise standards'  before reintroducing music and drama productions because they came bottom of a league table for  English and Maths.  An angry parent renamed the school  'the Scrooge Academy' .

A head teacher who had turned round a London school through music and the arts was outraged. The fact that schools have now reached the stage of  bizarre decisions like this is an indication of the depth of the crisis in education. School governors and heads have bought in to the myths of Gradgrind methods because they are lacking wise leadership from government.  Dickens' ‘Hard Times’ has morphed from being a satire to becoming a text book.  Talking of Dickens, the  UK government should be put through Scrooge’s nightmare experience in ‘A Christmas Carol’…..they need a dose of those ghosts warning against a preoccupation with cash boxes, ledgers and exploiting the workers.  Then they might – just possibly – realise the error of their ways.

The North East Lincs 'academy' may be an oasis from Christmas, but the UK government's approach to education (and society) is now an oasis from humanity and good sense.
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Surely by now people should know the Greens are NOT a one-policy party!

My reply to a comment on the Yorkshire Post site:  Thanks for your reply, Circe, but please check out the Greens' comprehensive manifesto (on website) and you will see it is definitely not a one policy party! ... It's not surprising that people don't realise it, because the media concentrates on the old parties,  and the FPTP system conspires against change.
Green policy has been built up since the 70s by Conference.  The Green Party is actually growing steadily,  and when policies are set out for people to choose (without labelling them) most people choose green policies.
Green policy re NHS is to stop the rampant privatisation and fund it properly (savings from no new Trident, fairer taxation etc) - please see the Party website.
Re Europe: I agree there is a lot wrong with it at present, but there are so many issues which do not respect borders, that Greens believe that states must work together.  The Green Group is a strong force in Europe, working to make Europe democratic, honour subsidiarity, and support the welfare of people and planet instead of corporations. The Greens believe we have to work within Europe but not towards a superstate.  If we are outside, Europe will carry on without us - and get worse, taking us with it.

Beverley Town Meeting 7 Dec 2012

Beverley spoke!  Feathers were spat....

A packed Toll Gavel Methodist Church was full of (about 400) seething Beverlonians!   Sandy Patience for the Civic Society introduced the issues - East Riding  of Yorkshire Council  proposals to:  replace the setts/cobbles in Saturday Market;  demolish Longcroft School for housing; build more housing in the north and south of the town;  allow more retail on the Grovehill site. 

The Mayor chaired, and speaker after speaker asked why ERYC behaves in the arrogant way it does. Why were the Council leader and chief exec not present?  Why does the council do whatever it wants without consulting? Why do they want to destroy the historic fabric of the town rather than improve council housing?  Why is there no Beverley Councillor on the Cabinet?   Why did ERYC set targets for new houses in Beverley which far exceed (proportionately) anywhere else in the country? 

Resolutions were : to retain the granite setts (and the character of the Market Place);  to leave Longcroft School on its current site; to reduce the housing targets for the town as a whole; to prohibit supermarkets on Grovehill.  Other points were to take infrastructure implications of more building (re flooding) to the Ombudsman....and to get the MP to ask why there is no VAT on  newbuild when there is  VAT on renovation.

Friends of the Earth and the Green Party pointed out that land is no longer in production, and must be prioritised for food and not for building.

Redefining Business Success 3-4 Dec

As part of our Earth Charter in Business project (DfID funded), we instigated this Consultation at St George's House, Windsor Castle .  St George's was set up in 1966 by the Duke of Edinburgh and the then Dean, Robin Woods, as a place where people can come together to explore contemporary issues....an excellent idea.

On this occasion a group of  people from business (global and local) met with academics, NGOs and people from media, economics,  the arts, education, faith groups and government ministries  to discuss how we can redefine success in business - ie move away from profit as the sole measure of success.  Business could be the engine which moves us towards a sustainable world instead of away from it....but it will need education and encouragement, legislation from governments,  regulation and enforcement. Some very useful ideas and connections came out of the 24 hours, so,  many thanks to St George's House for this valuable opportunity.

Coalition of Resistance AGM - Dec 2nd. London

COR Chair , Romayne Phoenix of the Green Party,  with new COR president, Tony Benn.  A very busy day, meeting colleagues to resist the appalling cuts to services which are devastating to the most vulnerable members of society.  That a government made up of millionaires can do this is truly grotesque.  NEF's Olivier Vardakoulias , a Greek, and member of Syriza, gave a particularly insightful analysis.   Across Europe it's the elite on one side, the people on the other.  It's not an economic crisis - it's a political crisis.  Welfare provision has been funded by borrowing from future generations instead of a fair contribution from the rich.  Powerful interests prevent change.  

Saltaire: Yorks and the Humber Greens

Saturday Dec 1st.... members of Hull and East Riding Green Party (Martin Deane, Mark Maloney, Bill Rigby and Shan Oakes) , along with the Party's deputy leader, Will Duckworth, and other Yorks and the Humber Greens - at Titus Salt's magnificent Saltaire Mill,  that once thriving hub of the wool industry - now a gallery dedicated to David Hockney's work.  After the AGM and  hustings  for the  European candidacy, we visited the community hydro-scheme and the Mill.  Its always good to meet party members from across the region - and what great stuff they are all doing!