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The Bradworthy Wind Turbines
Nov '03 News |
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Some snippets from the South West Green Party AGM & Conference |
Affordable Homes
By Peter Christie
As you will all be aware the provision of homes for people in North Devon has become a major problem. In a recent survey the area came out as seventh worst for young couples trying to purchase a house. Low wages and high prices put home ownership out of many people’s grasp. So what are we in the Green Party doing about it?
For about 10 years now we have been promoting the idea of Living Over the Shop. Look around any of our towns and it is obvious that there are large amounts of unused space. Did you know that in 1950 about 250 people lived in the High Street in Barnstaple – and today there are about 8? The shopkeepers have all gone to the suburbs – yet no-one is now living in their old accommodation. Some premises, of course, do not lend themselves to tenancies – they only have one entrance through the shop or the accommodation is being used for storage. Many more flats, however, are just lying empty – and would be extremely suitable for single people – who are growing in number every year.
Another scheme I personally have been heavily involved in is the provision of Affordable Homes in new developments. Currently both N.Devon and Torridge operate a scheme where (in most settlements) any new development of over 15 houses has to have some 30% sold as Affordable Homes the price being based on a multiple of current wage rates in the area. Unfortunately the house/flat is only ‘affordable’ once – any owner can sell at full market value at any time after buying it at the low rate. Currently Torridge is looking into ways this can be stopped – and I have suggested a possible mechanism to achieve this involving a local charity I sit on as a trustee. It is early days yet but a similar scheme appears to be up and running in the New Forest so I am hopeful. I would point out that a Westward Ho! scheme I had got affordable housing in recently was defeated by the so-called Community Alliance Group after they raised a very dodgy point at a full council meeting – sorry, just me being annoyed.
The other way ahead is, of course, the use of brownfield sites in our settlements for new housing developments. This is easier said than done sadly as North Devon just doesn’t have that many derelict sites and the ones we do have seem to pose enormous problems for planners e.g. Yelland power station site toxic with asbestos, the never ending saga of the Shapland site in Barnstaple.
We need to explore every possibility if we are to be taken seriously as a political party so I would urge you to put your thoughts to paper over this issue.
Some snippets from the South West Green Party AGM & Conference
By Ricky Knight
A pretty remarkable AGM this one, in terms of Green Party AGM's! For starters, it attracted twice as many people as ever before, including five of us from North Devon - even more remarkable, as the main content of the morning session was to accept an amended constitution, which was potentially a fiendish (and laborious!) task. We almost got there too, broke the back of it but will need another meeting to deal with the less contentious motions.
However, the main thrust of the afternoon session was to take the European Campaign on to the next stage. Five of our seven candidates were there to give brief presentations and to respond to questions from the floor. Tony Bown gave an impassioned reminder of all he had been through with his ground-breaking court case against the proposed down-stream bridge, which he is taking all the way to the wire, to the House of Lords and thence to the European Court. He suggested that if he were to lose the case, that would in a sense be the beginning of the next stage, a stage of more direct action. Emily McIvor spoke vehemently about immigration and, amongst other things, badgers and dairy herds, the BNP and Asylum, while a wide range of questions from the floor brought in issues, such as ID cards, aviation fuel, Guantanamo Bay, alternative medicine, affordable housing, ethnic minorities and, the bottom line, sustainability. The key speaker, number one candidate David Taylor, mentioned the unmentionable - that for the first time in the existence of the South-West Region and for the first time in his life, there was a very real opportunity for the Green Party to achieve not just one but two MEP's, a theme he returned to later in the local party forum slot.
The statistics were not that daunting: broken down, it amounted to a mere 20,000 more votes; one every three or four streets, if you like, and that at a time when the government was totally discredited on a great many issues and the opposition was in disarray - Mr Howard notwithstanding! A number of "themes" were agreed or identified: GMO's, Peace and Justice and the war on terrorism, the Constitution of the European Union, the Euro itself, Transport, the Common Agricultural Policy (kiss of death, that one, it was thought), disillusioned and disenfranchised voters and fish stocks amongst others. David talked with some excitement about some consciousness/awareness raising initiatives we'd all been working on, although the cost implications were seriously scary - more about the Big Five fund-raisers (and reference to where we, ND GP, come in, elsewhere in this issue); but certainly, we were thinking big, looking towards a minimum of £30,000 and a maximum, well there wasn't really one, let's go for £100,000….. might have to hawk my Rolex at this rate.
The timorous beginnings of the SW GP Regional Web-site made their debut - there's a long way to go and still much to do – the site’s available for you to see and to comment upon, at: www.greenparty.org.uk/sw
We were told of the extraordinary Rise and Rise of the West Dorset GP, the most successful local party in the country, who, through the energies of one or two activists, have exploded in membership to 80 in a few months, had 50 at their AGM a few weeks previously and can even boast High Street premises in Shaftesbury, with office staff, computers, telephone lines and resources. How did they do it?
There was so much going on at the AGM but very little time to make the most of it, with a variety of stalls, some excellent food, a crèche and a bar. Participants were so exhausted after the polemics that they mostly scuttled off home at 6.00, only to miss, unbeknown to them, a great gig by the Elderly Brothers, of Lynton Town Hall fame, their first trip out of North Devon, a fitting fun climax to a great day.
Brownfield Sports
By Robert Cornish
Great news for urban and sub-urban sports fans: there are some new sporting activities coming your way soon!
First up; stray cat hunting, this will proceed as follows: a bunch of us sporty types will meet up at a pub in town and get tanked up to get us in the mood, like foxhunters do. Then we take up our clubs and dogs, which, to cut costs, we have kindly rescued from destruction in dog’s homes (much better surely, than breeding thousands of hounds and killing them all halfway through their lives every year like the fox ripping brigade does?) Then it’s “Tally Ho!” And off we go, starting off in the nearest back gardens. It won’t take long to flush out our quarry and the chase can begin. Of course charging en masse across urban and sub-urban gardens will inevitably cause some damage, smashing down gates and fences will be as unavoidable for us as it is for fox hunters, and I’m afraid that the flowerbeds and veggie patches in hunted areas will get trashed now and then, but again, nothing that fox hunters haven’t been getting away with for years.
I’m sure that there will be all sorts of wrong headed whining garden-owning killjoys who will object to this new sport, but we can brush these objections aside with the accusation that our critics are ignorant and just don’t understand “urban ways”. We could the point out that thinning out our cat population is in the interests of wildlife conservation, and argue that we have a human right to do this – just like foxhunters do. Cruel? Nonsense! It’s quite natural for cats to run away from dogs and at least we won’t be crippling horses on a regular basis and due to the absence of barbed wire in the urban setting our dogs won’t have their bellies torn and cut on a regular basis like fox hounds do.
Like foxhunters we’ll send out cards to everyone in the area first so that pet cats can be kept indoors on the day. Of course we can’t guarantee that you will get a warning of our approach because as Baroness Malilieu has said of fox hunting, half the fun will be in not knowing where the hunt will lead us. So chances are that we will occasionally end up shredding the odd pet, but this has never stopped foxhunters so why should it stop us?
We’ll try to keep the end of the hunt as humane as possible of course, we’ll try to corner our quarry, as stag hunters are supposed to do, and finish off the exhausted cat with a swift blow from a club, instead of noisy and often incompetent marksmen as per stag hunts. Of course, like stag hunters, we won’t always succeed and the unfortunate cat will be torn limb from limb by our dogs. But that’s just nature “red in tooth and claw” I think is the term used by stag and fox hunters. Sometimes the cat may end up in a garden pond and then they can just be held under until they drown, as stag hunters have been filmed doing, and if they take shelter under a shed or something, we can winkle them out with a barbed spear and feed them to our dogs in the style of the otter hunters of old. The Countryside Alliance, when they still (more honestly) called themselves the British Field Sports Society, fought desperately to retain this practice right up until 1981, so I know we’ll be able to count on their support here too. Unless they’re a complete bunch of hypocrites, that is.
Obviously there will be some risk of traffic accidents and we will probably end up in some ridiculously inappropriate places like infant schools, railway lines and the occasional wildlife reserve, but the general public will just have to get over it, like they do with fox and stag hunting.
We don’t have to worry about prosecution – anyone bringing a case against us won’t have a leg to stand on, all the while fox hunting is legal. We’ll also be able to count on the support of all the pro-hunt politicians like Nick Harvey M.P. and influential journalists like Polly Toynbee whose libertarian views prevent them from objecting to hunting. I’m sure they’re not so naïve as to believe that fox and stag hunters are welcome everywhere they go – so they obviously see the invasion and inevitable damaging of other people’s property along with the outrage and horror this causes as well as a bit of animal ripping as a price worth paying for the liberty of hunters like us. Which is nice of them.
To quote a letter Mr Harvey wrote to me on the 12th of March 2002 “…though I wouldn’t hunt myself, other people’s actions must be guided by their conscience, not mine!” So he’ll obviously have no problems with anything anyone wants to do with any animal then. This will logically include a re-introduction of Badger Baiting and Dog Fighting (I can’t wait to see what effect that will have on Election Day). So why not a spot of stray cat hunting, or a bit of hamster crushing, or gerbil gouging or budgie thwacking?
The Green Stuff
By Ricky Knight
Did you read that bit about a hundred grand? Ridiculous? Probably. But the Euro Campaign is going to need a load of money, so much, in fact, that it's difficult to get your head round it - it hardly seems worth bothering to try and raise it. For one leaflet to get to every voter in the SW region - over £17,000! That's just for starters. Just to get off the blocks, we have to raise £5,000 for the deposit. At least we won't lose it, that's for certain.
The challenge was put to every local party to raise £250. North Devon responded at the last meeting by pledging twice that amount. That was nice of you! So what can we do? What can you do? Here's the Big Five:
1) Nosh!
Elsewhere in this edition is an advert for our annual New Year Feast, this
year at Catherine and John Simmons' house in Torrington. It’s a fund-raising
dinner, in the spirit of the fantastic occasion at Matt and Suzanne's in
Chittlehampton. Tickets are £10 each - let's face it, that's a cheap
meal out - and this will not be a cheap meal out! Bring a bottle, though.
David Taylor, Emily McIvor and Frank Williamson have said they are coming,
for the food, no doubt, for the company and to array you with conscience-pricking
reasons as to why you should sign over your house to the campaign. There
might be a speech or two. We are hoping for 50 people. Put the date in the
diary, rustle up friends and potential supporters - the best way to recover
from the shock of another new year.
2) Unit[e]
In this edition is a glossy post-card from unit[e] - the sort of thing you
doubtless receive through the post or as an insert far too often - and bin.
Don't do that this time until you have considered this soft sell: unit[e]
guarantees you the equivalent electricity from renewable sources. It has
been carefully vetted by the Green Party, by FoE, by the Centre for Alternative
Energy in Wales and by numerous other "green" companies. As SW
regional co-ordinator, I was charged with ascertaining that they were bona
fide - they are, honest. We all use electricity - we all have to pay for
it. Most of us, by dint of inertia, cannot be bothered to change from our
existing supplier, despite the fact that they probably have no "green" credentials
at all. You know that old cherry, it's only a phone-call away? Well, it's
true - I know, cos I did it last month - it waspainless and it was easy.
Give them the reference UE 36 (on the card) and guess what? Not only will
they do more or less all the work themselves (they'll ask you some straight-forward
questions and explain everything extremely pleasantly and they'll send you
something to sign - that's pretty normal) but also, right out loud, they
will donate £15 to the regional GP and £5 to the National party
- £20 just like that. If but 10% of our regional membership take up
this option, which will cost absolutely nothing other than a few minutes
of your time, then that's £1,500 into the coffers at a stroke. I cannot
prove this next statement, but if I have discovered anything over the past
ten years of chopping and changing gas, oil, phone and electricity providers,
on the off-chance of saving a couple of quid here and there, well, you don't,
do you - it's a time-consuming con. The very least that can be said of unit[e]
is that they're just as competitive as the rest ……but! Go on,
just do it, please - you have nothing to lose - the GP has so much to gain.
Ring 0845 456 1640. I should have been a salesman!
3) Green Bonds
Also in this edition is a Green Bond form, just like for the last European
election. Not everyone's cup of tea I know but fantastically reassuring for
candidates, election agents and treasurers. The only way to "lose" on
this offer is to allow it to happen. The idea is that you pledge an amount
of money, £20, £50 whatever, to the campaign on the off-chance
that you forget to ask for it back after the election! Again, it's relatively
painless at first and if dire straits hit you next June/July, simply reclaim
the amount you pledged - and it's yours. It's all explained on one-side of
the leaflet, with the detail on the other - don't forget to tear off the
bottom bit.
4) Raffle Tickets
Have you received them yet? Three books you should have received
by now, quid a ticket, pretty much normal going price nowadays. People reckon
that everyone knows at least 15 people who are sympathetic to us but haven't
quite joined us yet - let the ticket sale be an intro. Dawn has worked so hard
to get over 50 prizes together - if we sell every ticket we have printed, the
election chest fills up some more. The draw is on 24th January 2004 in Gloucester,
so get selling and don't forget to send the stubs and the money off in good
time.
5. Green Bandwagon
This is a seriously exciting prospect for us - essentially both a fund- and
consciousness-raiser but also quite a significant financial commitment. We
are going to get hold of one of the red double deckers that went to Iraq
with the human shields - that in itself is pretty impressive! Kit it all
out with the right green livery and external appearance befitting a Green
Campaign Bus, with sleeping and eating facilities, campaign materials, billboards,
posters, badges, petitions etc etc - then head out on a two month tour of
the South West. The idea will be to have at least one of the candidates on
board at all times plus volunteers. Local groups will pre-arrange the visit
of the bus to their area with photo-calls, media presence and campaigning
opportunities and events set up to maximise the news-worthiness of the tour.
We hope to include live music concerts and dance parties in the larger cities
but there's nothing to stop places like Bideford, Torrington, Barnstaple,
Braunton, Ilfracombe, Lynton, South Molton and other North Devon idylls going
for the max as well.
The above are a pick and mix selection of relatively pain-free fund-raising suggestions. It's awful, I know - that very thing you never feel you have quite enough of is the very thing people are always trying to get their mitts on. The Green Party is not a charity and is always totally strapped - but the relatively proportionally representative nature of this next euro-election together with the fact that we will most likely get David elected and are in fact seriously campaigning to get Emily elected now, means that your money will most definitely not be wasted.
North Devon Green Party AGM 2003
By Ricky Knight
This year's AGM is at the Joiner's Arms in Bideford - great venue! There'll be food to share and, I tell you what, the Treasurer will buy you a drink! Sorry, folks, AGM's are not sexy, to coin an apposite phrase from the media - but they are essential and we would cease to exist as a local party if we did not have them. I only hope that you're not reading this for the first time after the event because this comes to you quite late.
Business will be relatively brief - our first constitution will be voted through, together with one or two other straight-forward motions and strategies. The committee will stand down and probably stand up again. It's certainly not democratic to be on the committee for ever but it ends up being pragmatic - but oh, OH! how our hearts would soar if some new blood would come forward and energise us, indeed new and old faces would be just fantastic - we are just two steps away from not existing, you know - step one, take away the newsletter; step two stop the meetings. Yet there are thousands of supporters out there in North Devon, even if too many vote tactically, who really need to know we exist.
We have to have a co-ordinator, a treasurer and a membership secretary - I'm optimistic with those positions. What has been and still is a nightmare for us is that we legally have to have an Elections Returning Officer too. Those four posts are obligatory and the last one needs a name to it. We also need - desperately - someone to do Press and Media work. I would, er, rejoice if we could fill those two positions. Unfortunately, just mentioning posts that need to be filled may well be enough to ensure that some won't turn up just in case they get voted on while out at the bar, purchasing another Lucozade.
Please support your only local Green Party - look upon it as the political wing of all your other environmental concerns and commitments - whatever your sense of outrage about politics, politicians and politicking, there is still a massive role that can be played by the Green Party, locally, nationally and internationally. PLEASE COME, at the very least.
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