Thursday 25 February 2010

Richmond Green Candidate Confirmed

At a meeting of the Green Party in Richmond this week, I was confirmed as the Green Party candidate for the Richmond constituency at the next General Election. I want to thank Green Party members in Richmond for their support.

This general election represents a real opportunity for North Yorkshire to send a clear message to Westminster. To end the creeping privatisation of the health service by both Labour and Conservatives. To fight the greed shown by MPs in Parliament by voting for a candidate not financed by either Big Business or the Unions.

As an active campaigner & parish councillor, I claim no expenses for my work in the community. The Richmond Green Party campaigns all year round for local residents, not just at election time.

We need a transition to a sustainable society, based on living in harmony with our environment. My slogan will be put the planet before profit.

I lives in the Richmond Constituency with my wife and 3 kids. I am not parachuted in from Brussels like the Lib Dem candidate (only in it for the practice - look out for him in the next Euro-elections). The Green Party represents a real alternative to the tired old politics of Conservative or Labour.

The Green Party is the only party that has the policies to tackle head-on the economic crisis and at the same time lay the foundations for a sustainable and fair society. The Green Party rejects as false the choice between ‘economy' or the ‘environment' - we CAN do both.

Our 2009 Green Party manifesto sets out a plan for creating 1 million jobs through investment in renewable energy, housing, public transport and social care. We call this the Green New Deal - an approach to the economy that puts Britain firmly on the road to recovery, addresses the urgent climate crisis while improving the way we all lead our lives.

We believe in fighting for fairness - not crossing our fingers and hoping for the best. Our proposals would create a million lasting jobs - not ones dependent on cheap fossil fuels or financial bubbles. We want skilled jobs in public services, renewable energy and low carbon industries. We would nurture small to medium enterprises to encourage domestic manufacturing and local agriculture.

So don't waste your vote on the old grey parties. Vote for a Green New Deal with the Green Party.

Tuesday 16 February 2010

Military Action not the Solution To Afghan War

I make no secret of my desire for the war in Afghanistan to end. I welcome any initiative that brings that closer. But, what is the purpose of the new military drive (Operation Moshtarak) in Afghanistan? Why do NATO think they will be successful militarily, when no other force invading Afghanistan in the last 200 years, including the much bigger Soviet invasion, has been?

Many Taliban fighters are local Pastun, earning a living by any means. They were given plenty of time to go back to their homes, because of the way NATO publicized its attack well in advance. It even gave them time to lay many more lethal IEDs [improvised explosive devices]. They can just wait until the big push is over and the NATO forces retreat. The main threat to the Taliban is if the Afghan Government manages to win over the hearts and minds of the local population.

Unfortunately, the killing of 12 civilians in a rocket attack by coalition forces undermined this process from the start. Everyone knows that if you wage war, innocent people will get hurt. Well everyone except Tony Blair and George Bush.

One wonders how many of the invading Afghan force are Pashtun themselves and how likely the local population is to trust the previously corrupt Afghan police force? The pay for Afghan service personnel is said to be less than the Taliban pay their fighters and compensation for losing a limb is apparently only a one off payment of $400. How likely are the Kharzi Government to persuade the local population and particularly the local warlords to abandon their lucrative links with the Taliban? Massive investment in the local economy is needed, aid that should have been put in seven years ago.

I hope that Operation Moshtarak brings peace to Helmand Province. But history suggests that military action without diplomatic negotiations with the Taliban will not succeed. NATO has to decide what is the best policy, not just for local Afghans, but also for world peace? Another 15 years of war (as predicted by President Kharzi) or an accommodation with the Taliban? I predict it will be the latter. I just hope we do not have the 15 years of war before we get there.

Monday 15 February 2010

MP's Expenses Fiasco

The news that the body to oversee MPs expenses is going to cost £6m, whilst MPs have had their repayments reduced to £1m, is a disgrace. As an accountant I fail to see why the expenses claims for 645 MPs needs 80 staff at an average cost of £75,000 each. How frequently does their claim change? Even if they claimed every month, you could do the job with a couple of accountants and two clerks. Cost £250,000 tops, including the paper clips.

Don’t assume that just because the vast majority of MPs have not been prosecuted, that they are squeaky clean. Richmond MP William Hague for instance was reported to have claimed mortgage interest payments of up to £1,200 per month on a second home in London. That is £144,000 per year subsidy on a home he keeps and profits from. A home probably worth more than one million pounds, based on the interest paid.

Did he pay tax on this benefit? Any other citizen provided with this benefit would have to pay income tax and national insurance on the full amount. The tax alone (at 40%) would have been £57,600. There was no scandal in the newspapers about William Hague’s expenses. Yet he quietly walked away with over £200,000 worth of benefits over and above his salary, plus all his office costs.

MPs should work to the same rules and pay the same taxes as the rest of us. All MPs who have profited from their privileged positions, whether legal or not, should stand aside and let more principled representatives take their place.

Wednesday 3 February 2010

Free Buses in North Yorkshire?

The Green Party in Richmond is calling on local and national government to invest in a massive upgrade to bus services in North Yorkshire. We made the call in a leaflet issued to thousands of households around Richmondshire.

To pay for bus services, the Green Party is calling on the Highways Agency and NYCC to scrap the A1 upgrade from Leeming Bar to Barton.

Scheduled for 2012, this A1 upgrade is likely to be an early casualty of spending cuts by the next government. If it ever does get built, the price will have increased so much that it will no longer be viable. Just look at the A684 Bedale/Aiskew/Leeming Bar Bypass scheme. Originally estimated to cost £25 million, it is now £39 million and rising.

Far better to spend the money on getting people out of their cars so they don’t need a new road. Current bus services are inadequate and a little tinkering around the edges will not make a bit of difference. Here in Richmondshire, we need a reliable, well-publicised service between all our villages and Richmond, Northallerton and Darlington. Tory Councillors on North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) are allowing rural bus services to wither on the vine, often not even insisting on bus timetables being displayed at bus stops, let alone promoting bus use for locals and tourists.

A comprehensive bus service free to all users could be offered for at least six months, to get people used to the idea of taking the bus, not the car. This would reduce significantly CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions, cut traffic congestion and reduce the cost of commuting. It would also stop the disgrace of NYCC charging 6th Formers for bus travel. It is a win/ win situation for everyone.

A free bus service saves massive amounts in administration costs and with sponsorship by local business, could be viable, with reasonable Council support, in the long term. The trouble is the local Tory and Independent (i.e. former Tory) councillors around here lack the vision to see the bigger picture. To get that, you need to vote Green.

Tuesday 12 January 2010

THE MANIPULATORS

Call me cynical if you want, but I cannot get over the feeling that the so-called Curry House plot against Gordon Brown by previously arch-loyalist Labour MPs Geoff Hoon and Patricia Hewitt has all the hallmarks of a Machiavellian “cunning plan” by Mr Manipulator, Peter Mandelson.

Geoff Hoon, in particular is not known for his radical views. The former Defence Secretary who took Britain into the illegal war against Iraq has always been a yes-man. His normal reaction when told to jump by the Labour leadership, is to ask “how high?” By botching the attempt to unseat Gordon Brown, Geoff Hoon and Patricia Hewitt have effectively stopped a more effective revolt by more competent conspirators like Charles Clarke. It has also left Mandelson in a stronger position, leading the Labour General Election campaign and consolidating his position as the power behind the throne.

Of course, if you want to hear a true master manipulator then just listen to the former Blair spin doctor, Alistair Campbell. In his evidence today to the Chilcot enquiry on the Iraq, he once again demonstrated his economy with the truth, insisting that, almost alone amongst those in the know, he and Tony Blair “genuinely believed” that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction that threatened Britain and that Blair had not promised Bush that Britain would go to war against Iraq a year before the House of Commons voted on the decision. Campbell also denies the dodgy September 2002 dossier had been designed to present the case for war, despite their reliance on it to present that case for war to MPs. But I'm sure the Chilcot enquiry will believe him. After all that is the job that Peter Mandelson gave them.

Thursday 31 December 2009

The Green Party is the most Successful Poltical Party of the Decade

Having struggled through a heavy cold, an abscess on my tooth and heavy snow (unlike most Westminster Politicians, I have to work for a living), I have at last got back to my blog. Despite my depressing health and the depressing weather, I have decided to be upbeat for my final message of 2009. I want to celebrate the most successful political party of the decade: the Green Party.

OK, despite significantly increasing its vote over the decade, it has no more MEPs or MPs, but that is not the true test of a political party. The true test is the influence it has on society, both at home and internationally. Clearly the biggest change politically, this decade, in terms of debate, has been the emergence of Global Warming as a major concern, high on every country’s agenda.

Without the Green Parties around the world I doubt whether this new awareness would have succeeded. Credit must be given to Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and other campaigners, but politicians respond most to political opposition. So let’s have 3 cheers for the work of Caroline Lucas, Jean Lambert and other European Greens in the European Parliament and all Green Councillors and politicians around the world who have put Green Politics centre stage.

Happy New Year!

Friday 4 December 2009

Bankers' Bonuses built on Dubai Sand

The debate on RBS Bankers' bonuses makes one major assumption to justify the £1.5bn payout. That is that RBS investment bank made a “profit” on its dealings of £6bn. But did they really? The clue is in the title of the organisation, an “investment” bank. One thing we know about investments is that they go down as well as up and when they did so spectacularly last year, it was the taxpayer who picked up the bill, not the investment bankers.

The new International Accounting rules, foisted on the world by the big four accountancy firms, defines “profit” these days as basically the net increase in the value of the organisation i.e. the change in the balance sheet. So RBS can claim a profit, when all that has happened is that their investments have increased in value. Then, someone suddenly realises that those over-valued assets in Dubai really are just piles of sand and suddenly those profits built up over several years disappear. Do the bankers then pay back their bonuses? Not on your nelly!

In other words we all learnt last year that “investment” banking is just “casino” banking, where the dealers hold all the cards. The other factor about profits is that to generate them, someone has to make a loss. Often it is you and me through our pension funds, which despite the gains in the stock market over the years, continue to disappoint pension holders. Equitable Life anyone?

The government should veto the RBS bonuses and call the RBS directors' bluff. After all governments around the world now hold large shareholdings in many of the banks. If they all agreed that these bonuses are obscene and built on Dubai sand and acted together to curb the avarice of the financial establishment, we may yet see real change in the way the banks do business.