Rupert's Read

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Dear Editor, It is outrageous that the EU may scrap legislation that requires eggs and egg boxes to be labeled according to farming methods. All eggs ought to be free-range - and this proposal would restrict consumers ability to know what they are buying. Compassion in World Farming (CiWF) has recently reported that the EU Commission is discussing the possibility of repealing the current law. This requires battery eggs to be labeled as "eggs from caged hens" - legislation that CiWF and many supporters of higher welfare standards fought so hard to bring about. As a lifelong campaigner for better treatment for animals, I am concerned that this excellent law, which has been an important contributing factor in the decline in demand for 'battery' eggs, is under threat. It is a disgrace that international agribusiness wants to scrap this law just so that it is easier for them to profit from animal suffering. I pledge that if I am elected to the European Parliament here in t...

Tony Juniper and Sir Jonathan Porritt talk about the value of voting Green in the local and European elections. They were attending the official launch of the Green party's election campaign in the East of England region. Our lead candidate in the East of England is Rupert Read, the party's spokesperson on public services, and a councillor in Norwich. Tony Juniper, former director of Friends of the Earth, and now the Green Party's candidate for Cambridge in the next general election, said: "We cannot continue with the high-consumption, high-pollution, resource-wasting economy that Europe has gotten used to. We need Greens in the European Parliament to make that happen." Sir Jonathan Porritt is founder of Forum for the Future, a former director of FoE, and chair of the Sustainable Development Commission. Sir Jonathan said: "The Green Party is the only party that has consistently told the truth about the state of the Earth, and our relationship with it, over t...

With nominations for the European Elections now open (from 28th April), all seven of the Green candidates for Eastern region have signed a pledge to run a clean campaign. The Greens are inviting candidates from other parties to sign up to the Pledge.   There is growing cynicism about politicians, which the Greens want to help reverse. Elected Greens have a good track record of sticking to their policies and pledges, working hard for their constituents and maintaining high standards in office.   A key Green policy for the elections here in Eastern Region is reform of the EU to make it more accountable and more transparent to public scrutiny.        Rupert Read, prospective Green Party MEP, said:     "Green politics is clean politics, and by signing up to this pledge we are inviting the public to hold us to these high standards. We will now be asking the candidates from the other political parties to sign up to the same pledge: their choice as to whether or not...

  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/8020577.stm   I wonder how the court chose the remand date, June 8th !

Go 39 minutes in to see Rupert Read debating government minister Chris Mole live on Sunday's BBC Politics Show (link expires May 3rd). RR vs Chris Mole

http://www.consumerpact.eu/en/rupertread

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Up to 200 people attended a meeting on Thursday night in central Cambridge, with two of the country’s best known green campaigners, who helped to launch the Green Party’s Eastern Region Euro Election campaign. Sir Jonathan Porritt, Chair of the Sustainable Development Commission and Tony Juniper (1), recent Executive Director of Friends of the Earth were speaking in Cambridge and joined Lead Eastern Region candidate Dr. Rupert Read and local members and supporters for the launch (attached images - please use with copyright credited to Ronald Eva). Jonathon Porritt and Tony Juniper talked about the need to change the whole way we operate and look at the world. Both backed Rupert Read for the European elections on June 4th and encouraged people to get actively involved with Green politics whatever their background. Tony Juniper stressed the need for those who are involved with NGO's or communities groups to take the batton to the polling stations and VOTE GREEN. Juniper stressed that...

  PRESS NOTICE from Eastern Region Green Party   Friday 24th April 2009   Green Prospective MEP to speak at Sizewell Saturday 25th April against new nuclear and for renewables   Green Party Prospective MEP for Eastern England Rupert Read will be joining campaigners at the Sizewell nuclear power site tomorrow (25th April) to call for investment in renewable energy and to oppose £ billions being sunk into more nuclear stations in East Anglia.   The Green Party has consistently opposed nuclear power due to its cost, the unsolved issues of how to deal with radioactive wastes and the risks of catastrophic releases of radiation, due to accidents or terrorism.   More recently, concerns have grown about flooding risks to coastal nuclear power stations as sea levels rise due to climate change. Scientists believe that sea level rise could exceed previous forecasts.   Two sites have been earmarked for possible new nuclear stations in East Anglia - Sizewell in Suffolk ...

  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/suffolk/8016752.stm

  The Labour government today missed a golden opportunity to create huge numbers of jobs in emerging industries, says the Green Party.   Dr Caroline Lucas MEP, the Green Party's leader, told Radio 4's  The World at One today that the government is throwing away the potential to create hundreds of thousands of extra jobs by failing to invest adequately in insulating buildings, in solar energy and other renewables, in upgrading the electricity grid, in public transport and in new skills training .   Britain is lagging behind other countries in the "greenness" of its so-called "green stimulus" plan, she said - against the advice of its own advisors. Dr Lucas pointed out  that the government's own watchdog, the Sustainable Development Commission, (SDC) had proposed a £30bn package very similar to the Green Party's Budget proposals - and which SDC calculated would create 800,000 jobs.   She described the chancellor's "green ...

A Green New Deal means that you can pay off a big government debt, because in years to come you are systematically saving money as well as carbon emissions, as you reap the rewards of your investments in public transport, energy efficiency, renewable energy, etc... How on Earth does this government intend to pay off its debt, given that it has now missed its chance to implement a real Green New Deal??  

Rupert Read, the lead Green Party for MEP in the Eastern Region in the 4 June 2009 Euro-elections, undertook a tour of Bedfordshire earlier this month, and will be doing the same early next month. Having visited Leighton Buzzard as part of this tour, Read has praised the efforts of Bedfordshire County Council and the Town Council in their successful bid to secure over £1 million of funding for Leighton Linslade to become Bedfordshire's first cycling town. The Leighton-Linslade Cycling Team will focus on the challenging target of an overall doubling of cycling.  They plan to increase the number of children regularly cycling to school from 1.2% to 3.5%, increase the number of commuters regularly cycling to the train station from 50 to 150, double the number of people who cycle to the town centre and double the number of cyclists using key routes, measured across eight key locations. Read said;   "This projec...

Rupert Read, the lead Green Party candidate for MEP in the Eastern Region in the 4 June 2009 Euro-elections, is visiting Burgh House Residential Home, in Burgh Castle (near Great Yarmouth) on the morning of Thursday 23 April. Read is interested in hearing the ideas and views of the home's manager Joseph Greiner regarding care for the elderly in the UK today.  Read said;  "This is a fantastic opportunity for me to see first-hand how Mr Greiner runs his home, and to understand what ethical considerations he feels should be taken into account when someone considers placing a relative or loved one into his care.  I am very much looking forward to meeting him and his residents."  Mr Greiner is working closely with Yarmouth College on their 'enrichment programme', which provides his residents with the opportunity to work with students from the college doing different activities like art classes. Another recent initiative under this programme will enabled r...

Rupert Read, the Lead European Election candidate for the Green Party in Eastern Region has today raised his concerns about the performance and behaviour of UKIP since the election of their MEPs in the region in 2004.   Former Bedfordshire based UKIP MEP Tom Wise and a researcher have both been charged with one count of false accounting and one count of money laundering (1) from the period when Wise was a UKIP MEP. He now sits as an Independent MEP.   Rupert Read has also raised questions as to the effectiveness of UKIP since the last elections in 2004 in representing their constituents.   Rupert Read said   "UKIP got two MEPs elected in 2004 here in Eastern Region on a platform that included preventing abuses of taxpayers' money in the E.U.   The matter for which Mr. Wise has now being charged is abusing E.U. taxpayers' money while a UKIP MEP.   According to an article in THE TIMES newspaper (...

"Green Snowball" - low carbon campaigning in action - Monday 20th Green Party European election candidates and supporters took trains to London on Monday 20th April to campaign right across the six counties of Eastern Region. Starting at first from Norwich, Clacton and Peterborough, the Greens headed for London, taking the train to key stations on the network and stopping for an hour or so to deliver leaflets and canvass local residents.  Along the way, candidates and supporters joined at many more towns including Luton, St. Albans, Bedford, Stowmarket, Ipswich, Witham and Chelmsford. The plan was to visit up to 50 stations on 7 routes, with supporters joining up along the way - a "snowball" effect as more and more supporters joined in the fun on the way to London.

GREENS' EURO ELECTION CAMPAIGN KICKS OFF!   Two of the country's best known green campaigners will help to launch the Green Party's Eastern Region Euro Election campaign in Cambridge on Thursday 23rd April at 7pm outside the Senate House in central Cambridge.   Sir Jonathan Porritt, Chair of the Sustainable Development Commission and Tony Juniper (1), recent Executive Director of Friends of the Earth will be heading up the endorsement of Dr. Rupert Read and the six other candidates on the Green Party's list for the Euro Elections on June 4 th .   Rupert Read said   "All the parties seem to be trying to paint themselves with a green gloss, but its a thin veneer to try and cover their unsustainable business-as-usual policies. The Green Party has consistently put forward a vision of a genuinely sustainable future over many decades. It is welcome, and significant, that two of the most respected green spokespersons in the country see in the Green...

Comment is superluous... http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/8008994.stm British MEP is charged with fraud A British member of the European Parliament has been charged with false accounting and money laundering. Tom Wise, 60, from Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire, was elected for UKIP in 2004 but is now sitting as an Independent MEP for East Anglia. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said the UK police inquiry followed a news report in 2005 concerning Mr Wise's use of allowances. The MEP has been charged along with his then researcher Lindsay Jenkins. News article Both are accused of one count of false accounting and one count of money laundering. The offences are alleged to have taken place between October 2004 and September 2005. Derek Frame, from the CPS, said: "Following the publication of a news article in October 20...

As expected, list of sites for possible deployment by 2025 includes Bradwell and Sizewell   The list of potential sites for new nuclear power stations announced recently (1) includes both Bradwell in Essex and Sizewell in Suffolk, as was widely expected.   Public consultation lasts just 1 month, and there is bound to be widespread concern as to whether any level of public response will change any decisions, compounded by the new national planning regime which will take decision making away from local communities and hand it over to the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC)  (2).   Following the assessment period, sites that are "found to be suitable for the development of new nuclear power stations" will be listed in a draft Nuclear National Policy statement. The Green Party has long campaigned against nuclear power due to its high cost and the unsolved problems with radioactive waste and risks of radioactive discharges. There also remains a small, b...