Green Party landslide in elections?

Well I have delivered the last green leafs, talked to over 600 people at public meetings and hustings, blogged and written for the campaign and we are on the last lap.

The expenses scandal will deliver a big Green Party vote...but there is a bigger picture.

1) We have a severe global environmental crisis. Politicians generally ignore this, if elected my priority would be life and supporting the people working to save the planet, indigenous people in Peru are fighting to save their rainforests and stop oil exploration as I blog.

In contrast bankers and airlines are just as busy trying to make a profit out of manipulating emissions trading and other misplaced carbon policies.

2) There is an economic crisis, at present we have recession but down the road, infinite economic growth on a finite planet is not going to work.

3) Political crisis, decisions are globalised, politicians part of an elite, democracy is failed.

For all these reasons I would urge you to vote Green, learn more and where appropriate get involved in direct action...

I am not, I suspect going to get elected tomorrow but the Greens are going to do very well...how well, well we shall see.

Labour and the Tories are going to do badly.

Lib Dems, also tainted by scandal they may dive, I had the pleasure of debating with David Grace a Liberal Democrat on the euro list for the South East who was well informed and radical, other Liberal Dems I debated with in contrast were poorly informed and had little to say of a serious nature on the crises we face.

I am guessing those who do vote Lib Dem will think of Vince Cable and those who don't will be reminded more of Nick Clegg.

UKIP are going to do well, depressing, they have produced Ashley Mote, who at the last election was their 2nd SE MEP, imprisoned for fraud he joined a neo-fascist groups with Mussolini's grand daughter, I at least don't expect Hazel Blears and Jacqui Smith to sup with Hitler's associates when they leave parliament!

UKIP are free market fundamentalist who would privatise the UK, introduce flat tax and they don't believe climate change will occur...the prospect of them winning big would be scary although I suspect they will take a wage, some expenses and do very little (good or bad) at Europe.

Depressingly I belive the BNP will win some seats...so even if you hate my party, make sure you vote for some one other than the racists, a low turn out will put the far right in MEPs positions.

Libertas will bomb...who know what they stand for, outside candidates and election obssessives.

Like wise the Jury Team.

The Socialist Labour Party may pick up a higher score but no MEPs

No2EU is unlikely to return any MEPs but might pick up some votes from people who think it is UKIP but otherwise it has not made a splash...I haven't had leaflets from any parties other than lib dem, con, lab, UKIp, Bnp and my own Green Party.

All will be revealed on sunday when the votes are finally counted...wish me luck!

Free software pact

http://www.freesoftwarepact.eu/signatories

Caroline Lucas and myself are the only MEP candidates to sign in the UK!

Spread the word...

another husting for Dr Wall in Oxford.

Hustings for the European Elections 1.00 to 2.00 pm Tuesday 26th May at St Michael at the North Gate, Oxford

Greens soar on MP expenses scandal

In a YouGov poll to be released tomorrow (Monday 18 May), 34% of respondents said they would either definitely be voting Green or would consider voting Green. This is the highest percentage ever to indicate potential support for the Greens.

Interestingly, the largest group who would consider switching were LibDem voters. It's far more common for the Greens to attract former Labour voters, who were the second largest group considering switching. Also interesting was the fact that around one-fifth of those considering switching were Conservative voters - the group normally the least likely to switch to Green.

**Potential Green surge?**

With the expenses row in full flow, and UKIP considered unlikely to benefit from voters' anger at other parties' sleaze thanks to its own frequently-criticised record, the Greens are not ruling out a potential surge like that in 1989, when 2.2 million Britons voted Green in the European elections.

But even a much smaller swing from the big three could be enough to win new Green seats in several regions, as well as holding the party's existing seats in London and the South East.

**Green support in general polls jumps from 6% to 11%**

A general voter-intention poll this week for the _Sun_ newspaper found that 6% were definitely intending to vote Green.

But in a poll commissioned by UKIP and published today, the Greens are showing on 11% - enough to win seats in several regions beyond the existing seats in London and South East.

The Greens have pointed out that they are often underestimated in opinion polls ahead of European elections. For example in 1989 pre-election polls were showing the Greens on 7-8%, but the actual Green vote turned out to be 15%.

**Greens determined to deny BNP leader a parliamentary seat**

In the North West the Green campaign includes an especially strong element geared to keeping BNP leader Nick Griffin out of the European Parliament. In the North West, the big three parties are expected to take seven seats - and the eighth will almost certainly go, as usual, to the highest-polling of the smaller parties. So if the Greens finish ahead of the BNP, the Greens will take the eighth seat and Nick Griffin's electoral ambitions will be thwarted.

Peter Cranie, top Green candidate in the North West, commented:

"This 34% is the best indication we've ever had that people would consider voting Green.

"And the other poll showing us at 11% is extremely encouraging, not least because the Greens have always been underestimated in polls before Euro-elections. In 1989 we were showing at 7-8% but we got 15%. And we only need about 8% in some regions to win seats

"We do expect that the current disenchantment with the big three parties will prompt more people to take a second look at the Greens. Our Euro-election broadcast has been very well received and we believe our million-jobs manifesto is going to strike a chord with a lot of people.

"When it comes down to it, we're the only party in this election that (a) isn't mired in sleaze and (b) is putting forward a positive vision."

He added: "There is still a lot of speculation about disillusioned Labour voters voting BNP as a protest. But I really can't see why left-of-centre voters would want to vote for the extremist far right.

"And it would be too ironic for UKIP to pick up votes off the back of other parties' sleaze."

**Greens hit the mark with campaign themes**

The poll also asked which issues the Green Party should focus on in its campaigning. The top two answers, both on 40%, were economy and environment/climate change - the two issues the Green Party had already selected to focus on for the local and European elections. The party's Euro-election manifesto was titled _"It's the economy, stupid"_ - a tongue-in-cheek reference to US President's Bill Clinton's election-winning watchword and to the Greens' belief that only massive investment in green industries can tackle climate change.

**Notes**

1. The YouGov poll regarding voter intentions was commissioned by the Green Party and asked only about whether respondents would consider voting Green.

2. The exact question regarding campaign themes was: "Thinking about the next twelve months which three or four of the following areas do you think the Green Party should make its priorities for campaigning? [Please tick up to four options.]"

3. The YouGov poll surveyed 2,046 adults in Great Britain.

URL: http://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/2009-05-17-poll.html


Published and promoted by Tracy Dighton-Brown for the Green Party of England & Wales, both at 1a Waterlow Road, London N19 5NJ.

Election hustings in Culham

As you can see this is a press release from the European movement, come and here me debate if you live near Culham!

08/05/2009 19:00 - 21:30
ES Culham: Schuman Hall
PRESS RELEASE from the European Movement Oxfordshire Branch

The Oxfordshire Branch of the European Movement is organising an "Any Questions on Europe" panel of European Parliament candidates this Friday 8th May at the European School in Culham. Sparks are expected to fly as candidates from the political parties compete for support in this Open Public meeting, answering questions from the audience which they have no notice of.

This event will follow the format of a similar event in Oxford a couple of months ago, chaired by the branch president, Lord Hurd of Westwell, which was considered to have been entertaining and a good example of knockabout political debate. Students, parents and staff of the European School are expected to attend and participate in the event on Friday.

On this occasion the chairman will be Oxfordshire resident Lord Jay of Ewelme, former British ambassador in France and Head of the Diplomatic Service. A cross-bench member of the House of Lords, he is chairman of the House of Lords Appointments Commission, and is a director of various companies and charities.

The members of the panel so far confirmed will be:
James Elles MEP (Conservative)
David Grace (Lib Dem)
Philip Vander Elst (UKIP)
Dr Derek Wall (Green Party)
Labour have promised that they will be providing one of their candidates to participate in the event, but have yet to provide a name.

The meeting starts at 7.00 p.m. at the European School, Culham.

For further information, please contact the chairman of the Oxfordshire Branch, Alan Armitage, on 07799-892385 or oxford92@aol.com

ends...

Notes:

The European Movement was founded in 1948 by Winston Churchill, as a membership organisation helping to promote the unification of Europe through provision of education and information. It is non party-political, and now operates across the 27 member states of the European Union. The Oxfordshire Branch provides speakers to schools and other educational institutions in the county, and holds public meetings typically four times a year. Recent speakers have included Lord Kinnock, Chris Huhne MP, James Elles MEP and Prof Kalypso Nicolaidis (Director of the European Studies Centre of Oxford University).

James Elles was was first elected an MEP for Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire in 1984. He was Vice-Chairman of the EPP-ED Group in the European Parliament 1999-2004 and was Conservative spokesman for Budgets in the European Parliament 1994-2000.

David Grace is now based in Somerset, but previously worked in Brussels within the institutions of the EU advising individuals and organisations on regional and environmental matters. He is on the Liberal Democrat list for the South-East.

Philip Vander Elst is a freelance writer and lecturer. A former officer of the Oxford Union, he has worked on the staff of the Centre for Policy Studies and the Institute of Economic Affairs, and has been a Director of the Freedom Association. He is No.4 candidate for UKIP in the South East Region..

Dr Derek Wall is an experienced Green political campaigner, published author and journalist. He was Male Principal Speaker of the Green Party of England and Wales. He describes himself as an eco-socialist and stresses the importance of combining electoral politics and non-violent direct action (NVDA) to effect change.

Say no to EU subsidies for cruelty

have had a 100 emails today on this issue...surprised to find that UK taxpayers are funding cruelty in Spain.



Whats going on? Well, the EU provides agricultural subsidiaries to each of its member nations. In the UK, it seems that most is spent on organic and GM free foods, given that there is a definite market for these products, although with all the super-cheap veg around it can really struggle. In Spain, these subsidies are being spent on the rearing of fighting bulls (£100m to date).
In addition, the EU provide what is known as the 'rural development programme', a cash handout to rural areas to spend on what they see fit. this years contribution to spain was just shy of £600m, which is divided between towns and villages, with a percentage going towards - you guessed it - rearing fighting bulls.

The above is from the excellent Hull Vegan site.

So you don't need to mail me here is my answer!

Dear animal lover,

If elected I would oppose subsidies for bull fighting, I am shocked that EU taxpayers money is being used to support this disgusting practice.

I strongly oppose bull fighting, if elected I would make its abolition a priority. You may be interested in this news about the abolition of bull fighting in Venezuela http://another-green-world.blogspot.com/2008/10/bull-fighting-monument-defaced-in.html.

Animal issues are an essential part of green politics and the Green Party opposes bull fighting.



I also have a look at the good work from our MEP Caroline Lucas on this http://www.carolinelucasmep.org.uk/2008/06/06/cut-the-bullfighting-new-statesman-06-june-2008/

and http://www.carolinelucasmep.org.uk/2008/06/03/green-mep-to-chair-anti-bullfighting-seminar-in-euro-parliament/



best wishes,

Derek

European agriculture breeds pandemic

some thoughts from Tim Turner on the Swine flu..

- There are strong suspicions that the pandemic started in intensive pig production units. The Green Party has warned for a long time that intensive livestock rearing provides the ideal breeding ground for zoonotic disease that are potentially deadly to humans (eg BSE, avian flu, swine flu). The current outbreak needs to be investigated thoroughly and lessons learnt. We can only tackle the multiple threats of disease, climate change, food shortage and land degradation with a reduction in livestock rearing/consumption and a return to more natural methods of farming.

- The spread of the current pandemic has been / will be encouraged by the globalised nature of the economy and its dependence on international business and tourism, as well as unnecessary levels of commuting within countries

- Economies that are localised will be more resilient to the current and future pandemics (and will be more resilient to global recession too!)

- Unequal access to food, sanitation and health services will greatly increase the impact of pandemics on poorer countries and communities and make eradication of pandemics much harder. We must continually work towards a fairer distribution of resources globally and avoid the knee-jerk reaction at a time of global recession and a flu pandemic to think only of national priorities.

Vote Conservative and win a free incinerator?

I was interested to read this


The Global Anti Incineration Alliance (GAIA) has accused Dr Caroline Jackson MEP, rapporteur for the Waste Framework Directive, of having a conflict of interest due to her paid post as an advisor to Shanks plc.

GAIA said: "Jackson is accepting money from Shanks plc, a waste company with a terrible record of pollution and financial interests in landfills and incinerators. The Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, (GAIA) is calling on the president of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering, to reject MEP Jackson's text for the WFD and launch an inquiry into her conflict of interest with the waste industry."

Caroline Jackson is a keen advocate of incinerators. She believes that if they burn enough rubbish to create energy and have enough regulation they are a solution. She is one of the key policy makers who shape European waste policy, so her advocacy means we are or more likely to find an incinerator on our doorstep.

Caroline Jackson is a Conservative Party MEP but not all of her party members support burning as a solution, Peter Ainsworth has an excellent anti-incinerator statement here. Unfortunately Caroline Jackson probably has more influence at present over waste policy than any other MEP!

Burning waste remains polluting....going for zero waste where we produce less waste in the first place is always the best solution.

The Green Party is strongly opposed to expanding incineration.

In an article I wrote last year I discuss some of the problems with incineration.

Local authorities are signing long-term contracts – as long as 25 years – with the incinerator projects, with the paradoxical outcome that they have to keep on feeding them waste. If the amount of rubbish is reduced the incinerators will lack financial viability, so incinerator building locks us into a system that is based not on reducing waste but producing more. This is one reason why Ken Livingstone as Mayor of London and London’s Green Party MEP Jean Lambert campaigned so vigorously against the expansion of incinerator projects in the capital.

Health hazards

Health effects are also a very serious worry. While modern incinerators are less likely to produce dioxins if properly run, there is much evidence to suggest that they are not always run with enough care. The incinerator operators in Edmonton, north London, have been fined for breaching health and safety legislation. Without very careful monitoring, a new generation of incinerators is likely to commit similar breaches on a national scale. Dioxins have traditionally been a worry, but the major concern now is about pm to -10 particles. Although these are unknown to most people – even those active in the Green Party or environmental movements – they have the potential to create a health crisis.

I first became seriously concerned about pm 10s after reading Bjorn Lomborg’s book The Sceptical Environmentalist. Lomborg is famously critical of claims made by environmentalists and views market-based economic growth as creating an ever-cleaner planet. Yet in his chapter on air pollution, he notes the ill effects of pm 10s. If even a sceptic like him is worried, the rest of us should be terrified.

Pm 10s are tiny microscopic particles produced by incinerators, difficult to monitor because they are so small, and many experts view them as deadly. Their size means they have the potential to get into the human body and do real damage, and we know that incinerators can spread these particles over a 15-mile radius. Several reports note increases in health problems, including genetic defects, among people who live close to incinerators. Incinerators have also been linked to increased infant mortality, heart disease and cancer. The ash left over from incineration is toxic and risks being blown around during disposal.

So incinerators are costly, damage the environment and health and produce far less energy than they promise. But there is a huge incinerator lobby in the UK that has the ear of government and major political parties. Waste has been big business in the UK ever since Thatcher launched her crusade to privatise local authority services in the 1980s. The name badges for delegates at the last Conservative Party conference were stamped with the logo of Sita, one of Britain’s biggest waste companies, which has an interest in incinerators.

In the Morning Star (26 October 2008), Solomon Hughes noted: ‘The company’s name runs all around the lanyards, so Tory delegates’ necks will be “branded” Sita. This is embarrassing for Conservative shadow Cornwall minister Mark Prisk and Conservative candidate for St Austell and Newquay Caroline Righton. Last month, they jointly presented a petition to Gordon Brown against a Cornish waste incinerator being built by Sita.’

And it’s not just the Tories. The t-shirts worn by the stewards at Labour’s Manchester conference were also marked with the Sita logo, and the company paid £30,000 for ‘advice’ to former Labour chief whip Hilary Armstrong. But Sita is not unique. Waste is big business – and there is no profit in no waste. Like virtually all other areas of British policy making, the agenda is shaped largely behind closed doors by corporate interests. Ultimately, capitalism thrives on waste: the more we throw away, and the faster we buy replacements, the better.

More from my incinerator article here.

My biggest worry is the pm 10s, tiny tiny particles that have health ill effects created by incineration.

Its been pointed out to me that green concern with waste reduction is being used by the big waste companies to try to gain support for incineration....I am sure this is true, I would urge all voters in the European Elections to vote Green Party to stop the march of the incinerators.

There is an excellent article here on incineration from Dr. Paul Connett Professor of Chemistry
St. Lawrence University
Canton, NY 13617.

If you want to oppose the incinerators have a look at the work of the anti-incinerator network.

Fish under threat from the Common Fisheries Policy

Geoff Meaden who is the Green Party prospective candidate for Canterbury and rather more of an expert on the fishing industry than me, has put together some more pointers on the fishing crisis:

Let me just run through what are the main problems for UK (and other EU) fisheries:


1. The Common Fisheries Policy is a disaster. This has been known for at least a decade but the EU have done almost nothing about it. The worst aspect is that the whole nature of fishing varies considerably from area to area yet all the NE Atlantic seas are managed in the same way - this is simply ludicrous mainly because the problems faced are simply different everywhere. They have still not established small area management policies, and discarding is still heavily practiced.

2. Management of fisheries is made complex because there are very different perceptions among the 4 main interested bodies. These are (i) the EU - who set the rules. (ii) The scientists (including environmentalists) who advise on what should happen. (iii) the the fishers who are often inclined to overfish and who rarely agree with the scientists. (iv) The politicians who generally choose a middle path. Each of these 'sides' tends to exaggerate because they know that they must start off from an extreme position!

3. Overfishing. This is undoubtedly occurring for most stocks - but not for all. This largely occurs because modern technology has made finding and catching of fish far too easy. It would now be possible to fish most North Sea stocks with about two large fishing vessels - about 30 fishers in total.


4. Extremely complex rules. Fishers have an absolute nightmare trying to work out what they are allowed to catch, in what quantity, in what area, at what time, using which methods, and landing into what ports. Rules change very regularly. Rights of access to stocks is extremely complex so it is difficult to work out who is allowed to fish in various areas. There are completely different rules for inshore territorial waters than for the 200 mile Exclusive Economic Zone, and than for the high seas.

5. Climate change is having a very negative effect. The waters are becoming more acidic, and species are also shifting their preferred locations. This makes it difficult in the sense that trophic food webs are out of balance and fishermen don't know what they will be catching. The whole ecology of for instance the English Channel is undergoing a very rapid change.

6. There has been ludicrous levels of subsidies given to fisheries. Ireland was able to completely build not only most of its fishing fleet during the last decade or so but also its main fishing ports. They are now having to scrap manyt of these vessels.

7. Monitoring and Enforcement. Imagine the difficulty of monitoring what is going on. Although a fair amount can be done a huge amount of illegal fishing takes place. Most monitoring is done by air patrols, sea patrols, and by Vessel Monitoring Systems (GPS on board to see where boats are fishing). There are electronic log books for the larger vessels that record catches by location.

Green Party says no to the Euro

The Green Party of England and Wales has a long standing policy of saying no to Britain joining the single currency zone.

It would be a democratic disaster if we joined.

At present our economy is controlled by the Bank of England (albeit with some glitches!), if we joined the euro zone our economy would be governed by the European Central Bank.

Sound economic policies for part of European community may not suit all Euro Zone countries.

At present interest rates in the Eurozone are higher than in Britain.

Green politics is about local economic control...the Euro is a step towards corporate globalisation.

Here are policies on the Euro from our Manifesto for a Sustainable Society:

EU420 Economic and Monetary Union is the central element of the economic project of European integration, defined in the Maastricht Treaty. The single currency, the Euro, was launched in 2002.

EU421 To qualify to join that currency member countries must meet economic convergence criteria; the effect of these is to reduce public spending and increase social problems. The single currency is controlled by the European Central Bank (ECB), able to fine member countries of the EMU under a Stability Pact if they do not meet the bankers' criteria.
Policy

EU422 The Green Party is opposed to EMU and the single currency. We believe it will undermine local and regional economies away from the centre of the EU and the metropolitan network connected to that. It will encourage capital flight, and increase social and economic inequality. EMU takes no account of environmental or social criteria. It is run by the ECB, a collection of bankers subject to no effective democratic control, but able to override the democratic decisions made by member countries.

EU423 The Green Party is opposed to the UK joining EMU. We are committed to a referendum on any such decision and will join the campaign for a "No" vote in any such referendum. Prior to a referendum being called, the Green Party will join whichever campaign against the single currency it feels has most in common with its principles.

EU424 In the event of a decision that the UK join the single currency having been taken, we will assess its impact before making a decision on the principle and timing of withdrawal.

Fish in Trouble

The hunting of highly valued animals into oblivion is a symptom of human foolishness that many consign to the unenlightened past, like the 19th century, when bird species were wiped out for feathered hats and bison were decimated for sport. But the slaughter of the giant bluefin tuna is happening now.
The New York Times







This graphic is from an excellent Economist magazine report on the fishing crisis



Fish are in trouble. Numerous reports argue that all commercial fish stocks could be fished out by 2050, the very fact that we are discussing the collapse of fish stocks globally should be a huge cause for concern. However the media ignore the crisis and politicians have nothing to say.

In the late 1980s the once huge Newfoundland Cod population was destroyed the local fishing industry collapse and has never recovered. The technology has advanced to the point that fish can literally be hoovered up, demand has increased massively and over fishing is an epidemic.

The seas are increasingly polluted with plastic waste and chemicals.

The Economist, a free market magazine, and perhaps surprisingly a stalwart friend of fish ever where has pointed out the climate change could be the final straw. As carbon dioxide increases in the atmosphere, the oceans absorb CO2 and will if current trends continue turn acidic in just a few decades.

Exactly what this means for life in the sea no one quite knows. One fear is that the increasing acidity will kill off pteropods and similar creatures with calcium-carbonate shells or skeletons. A recent study found the seas acidifying ten times faster than previously believed, with disturbing effects on mussels, oysters and other animals living in coastal regions. But big fish in deeper waters might also be affected if entire species were lost at the bottom of the food web. Another worry is that the eggs and larvae of some fish may be unable to survive in more acidic water, and that creatures like squid which need a lot of oxygen will also die out. Any shortening of the food chain is likely to destabilise entire ecosystems, possibly leading to new ones in which just one or two species, such as jellyfish, predominate.

The Common Fisheries Policy has been a disaster. Fishing quotas are far too high, every year scientists call for less fish to be taken so that species can regenerate, every year politicians pressure the European Union to raise the quotas so that more fish can be taken.

In the Mediterranean the tuna is under severe threat.

The population of bluefin tuna is crashing after decades of overfishing, mainly by Europeans. This year a European body, the Community Fisheries Control Agency (CFCA), has gathered data on bluefin and conducted inspections. Green members of the European Parliament asked for the study in September. But nothing materialised until Philippe Morillon, the French chairman of the parliament’s fisheries committee, got the CFCA to produce a ten-page summary on November 6th. It concludes that “it has not been a priority of most operators in the fishery to comply with ICCAT legal requirements”. Rules on reporting catches and banning spotter planes have been flouted too.

Yet Raül Romeva, a green MEP from Spain, says this summary is a “sanitised” version. He believes the full report has been suppressed by the commission at the request of national governments because its contents are so embarrassing. The full report is said to contain details about the scale of infringements, including which countries are responsible. One-third of inspections, says Mr Romeva, led to an apparent infringement, such as inadequate catch documentation. The commission, he says, is covering this up.

The EU have even failed to record the quota data properly:

the Court of Auditors recently declared that the European Union's common fisheries policy (CFP), under which the European Commission sets maximum allowable catches, does not work. The auditors found that the actual level of catches is “unknown”, thanks to gaps, errors and “mis-statements” (ie, fibs) in data sent to Brussels by national governments. Most rule-breakers are not caught; those caught are seldom punished; and the few who are punished face trifling fines. Schemes to reduce overcapacity in fishing fleets have been subverted. This has severe effects. A survey of the north-east Atlantic found 81% of fish stocks to be dangerously over-exploited.

The EU has opened up fishing in the Seas around the UK to other European countries and failed to enforce the weak quotas. Often fish are thrown back into to the sea adding to pollution.

Fish farms are also failing...factory farming of fish has led to an increase in disease and a cycle of using drugs that cause damage,


A Norwegian fish farming multinational has apologised for offering to reward officials at Scotland’s environment watchdog with smoked salmon for giving the go-ahead for a new toxic pesticide in record time.

Marine Harvest suggested sending “some sides of smoked salmon” to staff at the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) after they processed applications to dose salmon cages with deltamethrin in a matter of days.

The suggestion was unethical and should never have been made, the Oslo-based company said. It promised it would be sparing Sepa any embarrassment by sending the agency “an unconditional apology”.

Last year salmon farmers were anxious to be allowed to use deltamethrin to treat sea lice, which eat fish alive. Previous pesticides were becoming ineffectual, as the lice were beginning to resist them.

But before the chemical compound, also known as AMX or Alpha Max, could be used, licences to discharge it into lochs had to be approved by Sepa. A series of emails between Sepa, fish farming companies and the Scottish government released under freedom of information legislation reveal how licence applications were handled.

Fish farms usually feed fish with fish meal causing yet more pressure on the seas.

Fish should be a key issue in the European Elections but my guess is that most candidates from most parties will not be thinking of fish conservation.

The Green Party of England and Wales would enforce tough quotas and prioritise local control of fisheries.

We have a policy of establishing marine protection zones to help fish stocks.

From cutting plastic pollution to real action on climate change the Green Party would seek to halt and reverse the damage being done to our seas.

If we ignore the fishing crisis...extinction will follow.

You can read about Green Party Fisheries policy here:
Short-term

FI400 We will work to release Britain from the Common Fisheries Policy of the EU. In the short term we will take every opportunity to ameliorate its worst features by the actions detailed in this section.

FI401 We will work to have licences required for all commercial fishing. They should be limited by quantity, specific geographical areas, seasons and specified selective, environmentally friendly fishing gear. Licences should be issued, in consultation with the industry, and favour small scale, less environmentally damaging vessels and fisheries.

FI402 We will try to get industrial fishing phased out. This undifferentiated catching of small species, for non-edible uses such as fish meal, makes up about a quarter of fishing activity world wide, but these species comprise an essential part of the food chain of wildlife and commercial fish. Phasing out could be accomplished by setting Total Allowable Catches (there are none at present); by progressively increasing the minimum allowable mesh size for nets; by closing the most sensitive areas completely and by seasonal closing of others.

FI403 Marine Protected Areas around our coastline should be designated with the involvement of all local user groups. The sea-bed and the wild-life in, over and around the areas will be able to regenerate. Diversity of the bio-system will be safeguarded and fish stocks will recover, allowing larger catches of useful species to be taken ultimately. This action will also contribute to our commitment to the EU Habitats and Species Directive. Scientific assessment will be used to decide the priority areas, but 10 to 20% of the total length could be designated eventually.

FI404 Sea Fisheries Committees which are responsible for fisheries management in coastal cells around England and Wales have a good record of inducing self- discipline amongst their members. Their role should be widened to encompass responsibility for wildlife conservation, in line with the EU Habitats Directive.

FI405 We will give a high priority to getting the discarding of fish at sea banned. It should be made illegal not to land all by-catch.

FI406 The importing of fish from other regions should be stopped. Many of these regions are poorer than ourselves and their people are under-nourished. Our progressive Resources Taxes (see also NR423) would encourage this change. It would then be possible to phase out all operating subsidies.

FI407 We will keep international commitments to protect wildlife from net entanglement (employing observer programmes, closed areas, etc). Types of gear which are particularly destructive of marine habitats and wildlife (including sea birds and mammals) such as beam trawling, scallop dredging, suction dredging, tangle netting and drift netting, should be strictly controlled, with a view to eventual phasing out, in favour of more selective methods. Any net having a significant chance of trapping a sea mammal, such as monofilament drift nets, will be prohibited immediately.

FI408 If licences are requested for new fisheries, Environmental Impact Assessment of the scheme should be required first.

FI409 While we are still restricted by the Common Fisheries Policy strong policing measures will be essential. There must be a unified enforcement strategy for all European waters, incorporating sophisticated tracking and data logging equipment and better port inspection.

FI410 The assessments of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea should be used to set realistic Total Allowable Catches for British waters.

FI411 As government has regularly encouraged the building up of excessive fishing capacity, it should accept a responsibility to offer adequate grants to boat crews to decommission vessels. Boat crews should be helped to establish themselves in alternative, sustainable employment. We must move as quickly as possible to a position where the remaining fishing effort will be small enough not to exceed the sustainable yield of the seas, and provide a viable livelihood.

FI412 Similarly, government should provide help to fishing communities to adjust to lower throughputs.

FI413 We should collaborate in international research to study marine life as a whole, so that the complex web of relationships can be better understood. Multi-species models will be used, in preference to single species ones, to manage fish stocks, so that the wider implications of fisheries are taken into consideration. All information will be made available publicly.

FI414 Areas of our territorial waters most damaged by fishing-related activities should be identified and closed to fishing, as a matter of urgency, to allow recovery of its fish stock and re-establishment of damaged habitats.

FI415 Further studies of fishing gear design to improve selectivity will be encouraged.

FI416 Decommissioning and licenses should be concentrated selectively to maximise the stocks according to research findings on conditions in each area. (Some researchers expect that under optimum conditions, catches could revert to as much as 40% above present levels.)

FI417 All gear should be required to be marked with the registration number of the operating vessel, and the use of elapsed time recorders will be investigated.

FI418 We will oppose all subsidies for all new fishing boat building until present excess capacity is eliminated.




This is the text of a Green Party emergency motion on marine reserves:

EMERGENCY MOTION: the Marine Bill must include highly protected marine reserves
Background: Many once common fish species have been severely overfished: Cod, Herring, Halibut and Whiting are at all time lows; North Sea spawning populations of Plaice, Mackerel, Saithe and Sole are being harvested unsustainably. At fault are over-exploitation and poor management. No change means these fish will very likely cease to be available for food.

Although the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) regulates fishing for the 27 member states, the UK has sovereign powers to create marine reserves. If these reserves protect the whole marine ecosystem then the UK will also be protecting its own fish stocks.

So that our fish stocks can recover, the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, RCEP, has recommended that government set aside 30% of our seas as highly protected marine reserves. A Parliamentary Join Committee supports further points as below.

Currently, only 2% of UK seas are marine reserves. Less than 0.002% have highly protected marine reserve status.

The Friends of the Earth Marinet group is also calling for the proposals below.
Motion

The Green Party is highly concerned with the serious decline in fish stocks and marine biodiversity. We recognise that this is due to over-exploitation and to poor management.

The Green Party asks its various bodies and members to campaign for the following to be incorporated into the proposed Marine Bill :

* A legal duty on the Secretary of State to create highly protected marine reserves;
* For these to form an ecologically coherent network based on sound science;
* That a timetable be adopted for these to cover at least 30% of UK seas out to 200 nautical miles by 2015.
* That government should work to remove historic EU fishing rights in UK seas.



Bill Rigby who proposed the bill noted:

Hull and E.Riding Green Party celebrated today when their motion to launch a campaign for highly protected marine reserves was passed unanimously at Green Party conference in London.

"This success is good news - but the condition of marine species is close to disastrous," says Bill Rigby of the Green Party and the Marinet campaign.

“Right now, only 0.0001% of UK seas are marine reserves! The present Bill plans to extend this to a maximum of only 2% over an indefinite period. But the best science is urging at least 30%.”

"Highly protected marine reserves in the Bill will provide that chance but they're not in the Bill yet. Everyone needs to work hard to win over MPs - of whatever colour - for this vital ecological policy."

"We need radical action to give species a chance."

Join the campaign here - http://www.marinereserves.org.uk/

Bill Rigby, marine campaigner
Green Party, Beverley

To support the campaign for marine reserves click here.


WWF link on sustainable fishing

Marine Conservation Society resources on fishing here.

Europe elections can't be ignored

Europe elections can't be ignored
(Tuesday 24 February 2009)
DEREK WALL

DEREK WALL explains why we should be giving our support to Lucas.

AS well as writing for the Morning Star, blogging and getting my next book written (Why Economics Doesn't Work, if you must ask), I try to do as much practical politics as possible.

I have been plugging away as a member of the Green Party for a lengthy period of time.

I joined so far back it wasn't even called the Green Party but the Ecology Party. The year 1980 is, frighteningly, nearly 30 years ago.

I remember going to my first regional party meeting. I think it was in Weymouth that summer and I am off to a regional party meeting in Oxford this week.

Back in 1981, I went to my first party conference and heard the great socialist historian EP Thompson call on the assembled political ecologists to get stuck into the movement against cruise and Trident.

Depressingly, while we have got rid of cruise, the key campaigners being the women peace campers at Greenham Common, Trident is about to be renewed.

It's probably fair to say that I am not a dyed-in-the-wool party political animal, despite my 30-year membership.

This is for two reasons. Political parties, while they demand our loyalty, are never perfect. I have been powerfully influenced by a concern that any political party can lose its radical edge.

Equally, a political party is a means to an end - for change, liberation, peace and, for me above all, the pursuit of a society that works ecologically.

Political parties are instruments and, all too often, imperfect ones.

I certainly think some of the most exciting developments in green politics have happened outside Green parties.

For example, Greenham Common, the anti-roads movement and climate camp are splendid examples of green direct action that, while supported by members of my party, are non-party political.

Likewise, back in 1980, I would not have believed that the Latin America left would have grown so green, with even former Cuban president Fidel Castro calling for action on climate change and turtle conservation.

Last year, I was selected as a Green Party candidate for the European elections in the South East constituency, so I am putting more of my energy into party politics this year.

Five years ago, I worked hard to get Caroline Lucas re-elected as the Green MEP for the South East.

I rushed around to public meetings, leafleted and canvassed like a crazy person and I am glad to say she was elected with a larger majority. Back in 1999, her majority was just over 100 votes.

So, in 2009, I am appealing once again for Morning Star readers to vote for Lucas and other Green candidates on the list.

I recognise that electoral politics can cause dilemmas for some people, but I believe that all on the left should be working to re-elect Lucas.

Her record is simply stunning.

For example, while most politicians have lacked the moral courage to criticise the actions of Israel, she has visited Gaza and acted as a consistent friend of the people of Gaza.

This month, she will be travelling to Palestine again.

Recently, she and our excellent London Green MEP Jean Lambert doorstepped the Israeli embassy, demanding a full refund of EU aid, which is estimated to be at least 53 million euros spent on Gaza's now destroyed infrastructure over the past 10 years.

Her work on climate change, animal rights and other ecological issues is equally impressive, but many on the left forget that Green Party members are active supporters of trade unions.

When my trade union took industrial action, I received public support from Richard Mallender, who was then chairman of the Green Party.

Trade union rights and proper rates of pay are being eroded by European law.

It is to the credit of the Morning Star that it has been a consistent campaigner against such aspect of EU law as shown in the Viking case that put European workers on poverty pay.

Lucas has, together with socialist and other Green MEPs including Labour's Glyn Ford, put forward a written declaration, which is similar to an early day motion, calling for an end to such neoliberal measures.

Lucas has noted that recent court rulings, such as the Viking and Laval cases, have seen the Posted Workers Directive used to allow contractors to pay foreign workers the minimum wage only - not the going rate for skilled workers in Britain.

"In an economy obsessed with remaining 'competitive,' employers are being permitted under EU law to push down the wages and reduce the union rights of continental workers, creating a pool of low wage and disadvantaged labour," she said.

European elections are based on proportional representation, which means that the Green Party has been able to elect two hard-working MEPs in 1999 and 2005.

Now, in 2009, we might do better, but my overriding aim as a Green candidate is to make sure our existing MEPs are relected.

It can be tougher for Green Party candidates during a recession, let alone the prolonged depression that we look to be faced with in Britain.

However, the Green Party is calling for job creation via a green new deal, which would lead to an expansion of jobs in renewables, public transport, insulation and other environmentally friendly projects.

Our record of challenging neoliberalism also means that we are equipped to win the economic debate. Greens have challenged the powers of the City, called for the renationalisation of rail and are strongly opposed to the privatisation of the Post Office.

In south-east England, it's not just Greens who are going to be working for Lucas's re-election but thousands of people of different parties and those who believe in peace, trade union rights, equality, ecology and real economic alternatives.

I would urge all readers in the south-east to get involved. Electoral politics cannot be ignored. I have great sympathy for social movements and party politics can be frustrating, particularly in the tough context of Britain, however, right across Latin America, radicals have used elections to win and introduce positive change.

We can do the same here and the European elections provide an excellent chance of electing politicians with a radical agenda, so please join me when I tramp the streets for Lucas this summer.

'Green fuel' kills

In October 2008 Ualberto Hoyos, a Colombian citizens was shot through the head and killed by para militaries. Was this part of a drug feud? Was Mr Hoyos a sympathiser of left wing guerrillas? No, he was killed as a consequence of EU policies aimed at protecting the environment.

In Colombia, there are numerous cases of right wing paramilitaries being used to remove local people from land used to produce palm oil. The European Union are strongly encouraging Colombia to produce more palm oil, despite human rights abuse and environmental damage. The EU is promoting a free trade agreement with Colombia. EU plans to produce 10% of fuel from biofuel will increase demand for Colombian palm oil and with it accelerate human rights abuse.

"The paramilitaries are not subtle when it comes to taking land," said Dominic Nutt of Christian Aid, in an interview with The Times of London. "They simply visit a community and tell landowners, 'If you don't sell to us, we will negotiate with your widow.'"

Farmers Who Refuse to Sell to Biofuel Interests Pay with Their Lives
Some farmers who have refused to sell or surrender their land have been murdered. There are also stories of paramilitaries cutting off the arms of illiterate peasants and using fingerprints from the severed hands to create fraudulent documents that transfer land ownership.

The Afro-Colombians, communities who live an ecological lifestyle, descended from African slaves brought to Latin America, are especially threatened by EU demands for biofuels.

A report from the BBC notes:


Mr Caceido, in his early 30s, says he moved to Bogota in 2001 after being threatened by presumed paramilitaries in Tumaco, a Pacific coast region.


"We have been discriminated against in three ways," he says with steely restraint.

"We are displaced, we are black and we are poor."

It is Mr Caceido's view that underlying the displacement of countless Afro-Colombians is a clash in values between the communities' use of the land and an initiative of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe to produce more palm oil for biodiesel.

For Afro-Colombians, Mr Caceido says, land use is based on cultivating a few traditional crops for subsistence - such as corn, yucca and cocoa - or for hunting and fishing.

But, according to human rights organisations working in the north-west Choco province, and in dense forests along the Pacific, paramilitary gangs are seizing Afro-Colombian land to facilitate biofuel conglomerates.

The land is also being transformed, with elaborate network of highways, drainage canals and palm oil plantation sites. Tropical forests are cut down, water sources diverted, to aid the development of agribusiness projects.


Tens of thousands of Afro-Colombians have been forced to live in shanty towns in Colombian cities such as Bogota, there land is taken for plantations to produce 'green' fuel for cars in Paris, London and Brussels.

In the 1940s the civil war between the Conservative and Liberal Parties was used as a cover to expropriate 200,000 peasants from the land to make way for plantations. In Gabriel Garcia Marquez's novel 'One Hundred Years of Solitude', one of the central episodes is based on a real life massacre of striking banana workers in the 1920s. There has been a long history of violence against peasants in Colombia that continues to this day.

Palm oil producing companies have made huge donations to the campaigns of President Uribe, whose ruling party have been connected to acts of repression. Despite being implicated in a palm oil scandal, Uribe's agriculture minister has resigned so he can run as Conservative Party Presidential candidate. Companies involved in the biofuel business are likely bankroll his election bid.

Arias is best known for the Carimagua scandal. The Minister was fiercely criticized when he decided to grant 43,000 acres of government land to large agribusiness companies, promising a fifty-year lease to the highest bidder. The land in question had previously been promised to displaced farmers. After a storm of protest, the Minister decided to give the land to state-owned oil company Ecopetrol, who intends to produce biofuel with the help of displaced farmers.



Britain is the biggest importer of Palm oil in Europe. Palm oil is in a range of goods everything including margarine and a variety of processed fuels, we cannot escape using it. Biofuels are going to lead to a huge expansion of palm oil imports into the EU from Colombia.

Uribe has pledge to increase the amount of land used to grow palm oil ten fold to 3m hectares. Obama is keen to expand US use of biofuels and the US sees Colombia as a key ally.

In October 2008 a gathering of indigenous and Afro-Colombian people opposed to land seizures for palm oil was violently attacked by government forces:
1. From 13 October until today, 15 October 2008, a contingent of at least 1,000 men, amongst them the Mobile Anti-Disturbance Squadron ESMAD, members from the José Hilario López Battalion, the 29th Brigade 29 and the 3rd Brigade of the National Army, have been operating in the María Piendamo reserve, using excessive force.

2. Today these state forces used Galil and 765 rifles, shooting at the indigenous people. They have for three days been firing tear gas canisters. Some of the fired rounds have been highly irregular, charged with black gunpowder, puntillas, tacks, glass that break on impact. They have also been using clubs and machetes.

3. Up to this momento at least a hundred serious injuries have been reported, including 5 rifle shootings. These reports are by no means the total injured, work of the emergency indigenous and human Rights teams has been impeded by multiple attacks from the state forces. Several media teams trying to reach the different gathering points of protesters in the two departments have similarly been completed blocked.


However EU negotiator Fernando Cardesa García when challenged about human rights noted 'we don’t believe the human rights issue is a problem for the negotiations, because it is not an element in the commercial agreement....In economic terms, under the interests Europe has in Latin America, Colombia is very important. Alongside Mexico and Brazil, Colombia is one of the three countries that absorb most of the EU’s investment in the region.

From the political point of view Colombia is important, because during its recent history the country has been stable in terms of changes in the government.

Socially, Colombia is an interesting case. Even though it is one of the countries with the greatest social inequality, it has developed more dynamic inclusion policies and social equality throughout the years. We find this quite interesting and useful if we want stability for the whole region.


Britain's Labour government are keen supporters of Uribe. Tony Blair is especially close to the regime and acts as an advisor to Uribe's government:
Three days ago Blair was condemned by former Labour Party colleagues for describing Colombia, where a brutal civil war has been raging for 50 years, and which has the worst human rights record in the Western Hemisphere, as "one of the few bright spots in the world today". Earlier this week both Blair and Colombian President Alvaro Uribe were awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by outgoing US President George W Bush – a move which was also widely condemned.


Palm oil plantations are also a major threat to the Amazon rainforests. One report notes:
The Chocó forests which are being destroyed by palm oil expansion are amongst the most biodiverse forests on Earth (biodiversity hot spots). They are home to 7,000 to 8,000 species, including 2,000 endemic plant species and 100 endemic bird species. Even before the current palm oil and agrofuel expansion, 66% had been destroyed.

The European Union should reject palm oil especially from Colombia and insist that human rights and environmental quality are respected as part of any trade agreement.

War on Want has produce an excellent report on the human rights abuse linked to with palm oil production in Colombia http://www.humansecuritygateway.info/documents/WOW_FuellingFear_BiofuelsInColombia.pdf


As a European election candidate I pledge to oppose the EUs plans for increased palm oil imports, particularly from Colombia, where palm oil production is associated with human rights abuse and environmental destruction. I would urge all European Election candidates to pledge their opposition to palm oil production in Colombia.

You can find out more about Colombia from Justice for Colombia here
and Colombia Solidarity

Derek debates this friday in Oxford

The Oxfordshire Branch of the European Movement is organising an "Any Questions" evening for European Parliament candidates in Oxford this Friday. Sparks are expected to fly as candidates from five political parties compete for support in this Open Public meeting, answering questions from the audience which they have no notice of.

Keeping order will be the branch president, Lord Hurd of Westwell. Douglas Hurd was Conservative MP for Witney and British Foreign Secretary for many years, and is a well-known supporter of the European Union.

The members of the panel will be:
Richard Ashworth MEP (Conservative)
Catherine Bearder (Lib Dem)
Philip Vander Elst (UKIP)
Dr Derek Wall (Green Party)
Labour have promised that they will be providing a "heavyweight" to participate in the event, but have yet to provide a name.

The meeting starts at 7.30 p.m. in the Maison Francaise, Norham Road in North Oxford.

For further information, please contact the chairman of the Oxfordshire Branch, Alan Armitage, on 07799-892385 or oxford92@aol.com

ends...

Notes:

The European Movement was founded in 1948 by Winston Churchill, as a membership organisation helping to promote the unification of Europe through provision of education and information. It is non party-political, and now operates across the 27 member states of the European Union. The Oxfordshire Branch provides speakers to schools and other educational institutions in the county, and holds public meetings typically four times a year. Recent speakers have included Lord Kinnock, Chris Huhne MP, James Elles MEP and Prof Kalypso Nicolaidis (Director of the European Studies Centre of Oxford University).

Richard Ashworth was elected to the European Parliament in June 2004 to represent the South East of England (he was also a candidate in 1999). He was a dairy farmer in East Sussex for over thirty years and during this time operated his own dairy business. He is currently a member of the European Parliament's committee on budgets and is Conservative Spokesman in this area, his secondary committee is employment.

Catherine Bearder is an Oxford resident, has served as an Oxfordshire County councillor and a Cherwell District Councillor, and has stood as a parliamentary candidate in both Banbury and Henley constituencies. Having travelled the world studying conservation issues with her husband Simon, a professor at Oxford Brookes University, Catherine puts prime emphasis on tackling climate change.She is number two on the Liberal Democrats' list for the South East in the June elections.

Philip Vander Elst is a freelance writer and lecturer, and author of a recent Bruges Group paper on The Principles of British Foreign Policy. He is the No.4 UKIP MEP candidate for the South East Region.

Dr Derek Wall is an experienced Green political campaigner, published author and journalist. He was Male Principal Speaker of the Green Party of England and Wales. He describes himself as an eco-socialist and stresses the importance of combining electoral politics and non-violent direct action (NVDA) to effect change.

Oppose racism

Racism and hatred of 'others' is on the rise in the UK and globally, The recession is likely to fuel it further and there has been a shocking rise in racist attacks, for example, on Polish people in the UK.

Cheap populists are making hay out of projecting quasi-racist statements, we need to oppose racism and celebrate difference.

There is a legitimate concern that globalisation and immigration can be used to drive down wages, however the way to oppose wage cuts and assaults on workers is through stronger trade union rights, adequate minimum wage, etc.

I have just signed the Liberty statement and I hope all other candidates in the Euro campaign will do so.


*"There is no place for racism and xenophobia in modern British politics.
Nor is democratic debate advanced by the denigration of the most vulnerable
in our country, including children and asylum seekers who do not enjoy the
right to participate in elections.

I promise to remember the importance of refugee protection, even in free and
wide-ranging debates about immigration policy. I will never play fast and
loose with the proud tradition of a nation that must always offer succour to
those in genuine fear of persecution."*


To sign click here http://www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk/issues/5-asylum/liberty-asylum-election-pledge.shtml

Build the South East European Green Party campaign

I am number three on the list of Green Party candidates on the South East European List for the Euro elections on 4th June, 2009. To me green politics is the politics of survival, quite literally our current system of economics and politics is wrecking global ecology. Because of this I have been plugging away with green politics since I joined the Party in 1980. I have taken part in direct action including sitting in roads and up trees. I work with Latin American activists creating green alternatives including Roberto Perez and Venezuela's Cesar Aponte. I have been a Green Party Principal Speaker and stood in more elections than I care to think about. I have written six books on green politics and my members of my family are highly active politically as well.

I am by the way a steering group member of the Ecosocialist International and Green Left, my personalanother green world blog is here and you can find my newspaper column in the Morning Star here.

I am blogging here to build support for the South East Election slate, to re-elect our excellent Green Party MEP Caroline Lucas.

You can help by


Donating

Joining the Green Party

Writing letters to the local press

Blogging (please link here!)

Aand of course get involved in some of the local campaigns in the South East.

Here is the Green Party candidate list in full.


1.Caroline Lucas,
2.Keith Taylor,
3.Derek Wall,
4.Miriam Kennet,
5.Jason Kitcat,
6.Hazel Dawe,
7.Jonathan Essex,
8.Matthew Ledbury,
9.Steve Dawe,
10.Beverley Golden

Here are your local Green Parties in the South East:


Adur Susan Board 01273 594661 susanboard "at" hotmail.com

Brighton & Hove Amy Kennedy 01273 766670 amy.kennedy"at"brightonandhovegreenparty.org.uk

Chiltern Nick Wilkins 01494 778951 nick_wilkins "at" ntlworld.com

East Berkshire Derek Wall wallddd "at" hotmail.com

Eastbourne Leslie Dalton 01323 509404 leslievalton "at" tiscali.co.uk

Hastings Sally Phillips 01424 460556 sallyesp "at" netcomuk.co.uk

Isle of Wight Nette Robinson 01983 295736 jazznette "at" hotmail.com

Kent Steve Dawe 01732 355185 stevedawe "at" gn.apc.org

Lewes District Matt Kent 07739 985212 mdkent "at" hotmail.co.uk

Mid Sussex, Crawley and Horsham Philip Smith 01444 450698 ppsmith "at"post.com

Milton Keynes Peter Richardson 01908 586002 peter "at" dialoguedesigns.co.uk

New Forest John Pemberton 02380 842379 johnlpemberton "at" compuserve.com

North & East Hampshire Adam Stacey 0845 456 0277 adamandsamantha "at" btopenworld.com

Oxfordshire Sid Phelps 0845 458 0757 sid "at" greenoxford.com

Reading Adrian Windisch 0118 956 7190 adrian "at" windisch.co.uk

South East Hampshire (Portsmouth) Tim Dawes 02392 470592 tim "at" nineveh.co.uk

South West Hampshire John Spottiswoode 023 8078 9230 john.spottiswoode "at" btopenworld.com

Surrey John Pletts 01306 880788 john "at" pletts99.fsnet.co.uk

Wealden Keith Obbard 01892 863658 k.obbard "at" btinternet.com

West Berkshire Miriam Kennet 0118 984 5194 miriam.kennet "at" yahoo.co.uk

West Sussex Alex Penfold 01903 722858 penalex94 "at" tiscali.co.uk
(@signs replaced by "at" as an anti-spam measure)