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.