Rupert's Read

Last Euro election we lost by just 1%. Now see why the Greens can win on 22 May, from the BBC. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddJFH3IlaHQ

Despite the refusal of the candidates of the other main Parties to do so, the Green Party European Parliament candidates here in the East of England have signed a ‘ Clean Campaign Pledge ’. That means no lies, no dodgy graphs, no fraudulent behaviour (obviously). Just plain speaking, and plain dealing. We campaign as we mean to go on: cleanly. Letting voters know the facts; urging a real alternative to the old parties and to the old politics, but one that is not mired in falsehood or fraud.  We have pledged that we will show by our actions and our words that politics need not be a dirty game, but can be a clean and positive activity, engaged in genuinely for the good of all. We will tell the truth about what we stand for and have achieved, and about what others stand for and have achieved. We will state only facts concerning other candidates. We will not mislead the public about who is or is not doing ...

Green Party Leader Natalie Bennett at the national launch I took part in yesterday highlighted to attendees how the Greens'  Manifesto provides a “roadmap for real change” and a departure from the established political order’s tired and destructive business-as-usual approach: “This election is about choice. Denial and despair or hope and opportunity. We can build a brighter future. We can find solutions to the challenges that we face.    “When people hear about our policies – bringing the railways back into public hands, turning the  minimum wage into a living wage, scrapping tuition fees and insulating every home – they vote Green.    “When they vote Green they get Green. We don’t just highlight problems, we build lasting solutions." -- Rupert Read Green Party MEP lead candidate for Eastern England. http://rupertread.net   WHY NOT FOLLOW ...

-------- Original Message -------- Subject: Rupert Read HS2 q on Guardian's Politics Live blog From: Archie Thomas <Archie.Thomas@greenparty.org.uk> To: gpmedianet@lists.greenparty.org.uk CC: Chris Luffingham <Chris.Luffingham@greenparty.org.uk>,Zoe Hall <zoe.hall@greenparty.org.uk>,"pennyanne.kemp@btinternet.com " <pennyanne.kemp@btinternet.com>,"rupertread@fastmail.co.uk " <rupertread@fastmail.co.uk> 3.53pm  BST   Here's Rupert Read, the   Green party 's transport spokesman, on HS2. All credit to the Tory MPs who are voting against HS2 today, but unfortunately such nimbyism alone will never defeat this white elephant scheme. There is one party standing firm on principle against HS2: the Green party. As more and more think-tanks, businesses and columnists turn against HS2, it's time to start thinking concretely about how that money should be better spent. http://www.theguardian.com/politic...

-------- Original Message -------- Subject: New Pledge Fund From: pauljeater@btinternet.com To: adrianramsay@greenparty.org.uk,rupertread@fastmail.co.uk CC: This afternoon I've launched a new pledge fund that if successful will raise £1000 for the Eastern Region  Euro Election Fund. It's called 'Vote Green 4 Hope'. We need to get 40 members & supporters to donate £25, the deadline set is Sunday 11th May. Please spread the word far and wide, and encourage members and supporters to contribute. Thanks for your help. http://www.pledgebank.com/VoteGreen4Hope Paul Jeater

Radio Journalist of the Year and local man Iain Dale predicts a Green victory in the East on May 2: http://www.iaindale.com/posts/2014/04/26/european-election-result-predictions-east-anglia

Please do join us for the launch of Suffolk Greenhouse with two key speakers: Right Rev'd Dean of St Edmundsbury, Dr  Frances Ward  & Dr  Rupert Read (lead Green MEP-candidate in the East of England) Chair: Councillor Mark Ereira-Guyer   This is an open meeting – all those with an interest in debating our planet having a future are very welcome  Thursday 8th May 18.00, for 18.30 start CAFE DEL MAR 7 St John' Street Bury St Edmunds Entry by Donation  (£10 suggested: Tapas style food & Refreshment from this independent restaurant in heart of town, served from 6pm onwards) To book to come along:  https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/green-vision-of-a-post-growth-society-suffolk-greenhouse-launch-tickets-10316030525 Below is a summary of Clive Hamilton's 'Growth Fetish' proposition: No issue more preoccupies the mo...

Great pic, and helpful piece: http://www.eadt.co.uk/news/politics/suffolk_greens_hope_to_snatch_euro_seat_1_3569973

My new article: http://britishinfluence.org/ukip-expenses-truth/  

My article responding to Caroline's remarkable acquittal:  http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/archives/41351

Arm yourself with the facts, here: http://truth-out.org/news/item/22999-evidence-of-acceleration-on-all-fronts-of-anthropogenic-climate-disruption

MEMBERS of the European Parliament have called on national governments to enforce rules designed to protect foreign workers posted overseas from ruthless employers. The decision should give so-called 'Posted Workers' – those temporarily sent by an employer to work in a different country – the same rights as anyone else at work. It will protect them from tax scams, ensure they are paid at least the minimum wage, given holidays and so on. London's Green MEP Jean Lambert said there were a large but ever-changing number of 'Posted Workers' in the capital, and that many had suffered exploitation. Ms Lambert, a member of the European Parliament's Employment and Social Affairs Committee, said: "This new legislation is an important step forward for the rights of those posted to work temporarily in other EU member states. " Proper enforcement of EU rules on posted workers will help prevent the exploitation of post...

The European Parliament today voted on revisions to EU rules dealing with airport noise. Green MEPs hit out at the agreement, which will enable the European Commission to overrule flight restrictions – such as night bans - at airports. Keith Taylor, Green MEP for South East England, said: "This review is a blow for all those European citizens living near airports. It will leave many more people being subjected to the noise, pollution and all other miseries caused by planes. "Instead of working to ensure stronger EU rules, to reduce the nuisance, pollution, health problems and safety risks posed by airports, the European Commission gave in to heavy lobbying from the aviation industry and the US administration.  Now MEPs and EU governments have cleared these wrong-headed plans for take-off." Commenting on the UK context, where the Airports Commission is considering increased aviation capacity, Mr Taylor added: "This vote today...

New figures from the Trussel Trust, released today, show a surge in the number of people using food banks in the UK.   Over 900,000 adults and children have received three days' emergency food and support from Trussell Trust food banks in the last 12 months, a shocking 163 percent rise on numbers helped in the previous financial year. [1]   Keith Taylor, the Green Party's MEP for South East England and author of the 'Food Bank Britain' report released earlier this year [2], said:   "These shocking new figures are an indictment of the British economy. Whilst Ministers pat themselves on the back this so-called economic 'recovery' is clearly leaving millions behind.   Across the UK we're seeing people facing benefits cuts, tougher sanctions and wage stagnation. At the same time bills are going up every month. It's no wonder that so many people are struggling to feed their families.   It is clear that the Br...

MEPs in the European Parliament have voted to support measures which will improve the design of lorries to make them safer for cyclists. The new legislation, on the dimensions of trucks in Europe, will force manufactures to improve windows and mirrors to heighten cyclists' visibility – which in turn could save hundreds of lives across Europe. MEPs also voted to improve the efficiency of trucks and lorries, and vitally, voted to hold back measures which could pave the way for 25-meter long 'mega-trucks' to hit European roads. Keith Taylor, Green Party member of the European Parliament's Transport Committee, said: "MEPs have voted today to introduce EU measures which will make cyclists more visible to lorry drivers. These improvements will reduce the number of accidents which sadly occur on our roads.  In the UK alone, thousands of cyclists are seriously injured on our roads each year. It's, therefore, good news that meas...

So, the big news is in from the IPCC, and is top of the media today: the world needs to treble its renewable energy output, so that it can decommission fossil fuels: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/apr/12/ipcc-report-world-must-switch-clean-sources-energy You might call this a green energy revolution...    Funny, that: I already did: http://eastern.greenparty.org.uk/news.html/2014/03/18/energy-revolution-needed-in-budget,-says-porritt/ Have a read of my 'An energy revolution in the East' report, foreworded by Jonathon Porritt: http://eastern.greenparty.org.uk/assets/files/easternfiles/energy_revolution.pdf  

Government must take responsibility for air pollution, says Green MEP-candidate   - MEP-lead-candidate Rupert Read says David Cameron should be 'ashamed of himself' for his flippant response to last week's smog.   [[RUPERT READ IS AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW down the line or in studios ON THIS TOPIC.]]   Public Health England has released statistics today on the number of people dying because of air pollution.    Across the UK it is estimated that 25,002 people died because of air pollution in 2010. [1] That includes 2844 people, here in the East.   Rupert Read, the Green Party's lead MEP-candidate for Eastern England and a clean air campaigner, said:   "These new statistics, which show that thousands of people are dying because of air pollution, make it clear that urgent action is needed to clean up our air.    "The fact that thousands are dying because of air pollution should be a so...

  A proposed taxpayer subsidy of more than a billion pounds to two new nuclear power stations at Hinkley Point in Somerset would be illegal under EU law, according to London Green MEP Jean Lambert. Adding her name to a submission made by scientists from University College London, Ms Lambert said the payment would distort the European energy sector and make it harder to invest in cleaner, safer, renewable energy in future. " The proposed subsidy would breach EU law," she said, " and, as governments around the world are realising in the wake of the Fukushima disaster, would be promoting a dirty, unsafe energy technology at the expense of the renewable and community-level solutions we need to combat climate change and keep the lights on." Ms Lambert made her comments as more than 100 academics and politicians of all parties – including a number of Greens - responded to a European Commission consultation on the propo...

My reading of this film, as an eco-logical work: http://reframe.sussex.ac.uk/sequence1/1-2-an-allegory-of-a-therapeutic-reading/

DEATH OF INCINERATOR OPENS NEW OPPORTUNITIES ...THE GREEN PARTY HAS SET OUT A NEW TEN POINT PLAN FOR DEALING WITH NORFOLK'S WASTE AFTER TODAY'S DECISION BY THE COUNTY COUNCIL TO KILL OFF THE KINGS LYNN INCINERATOR PROJECT... It would be based on what is known as Zero Waste principles, to be developed in co-operation with District Councils. It would involve a shift away from a single industrial-scale solution such as incineration towards a mixture of more localised facilities for boosting recycling and reclamation, and mechanical biological solutions while, crucially, helping householders produce less waste. Green Party county councillor Andrew Boswell said: "The Greens have been consistent in their opposition to incineration for ten years. Naturally, we are pleased that the saga has finally come to an end with no incinerator built. However, there's no disguising the scale of the financial penalty the Council, and Council tax payers, must pay. ...

Dr. Rupert Read, the Lead Green candidate for the European elections, visited Witham on Monday 7th April   Lead Green Euro election candidate in Eastern Region Rupert Read (1) visited Witham on 7th April to look at issues with local Green Councillors James Abbott and Bob Wright. Essex County Council is currently consulting on Recycling Centres. Cuts to opening hours are likely and the number of Centres across Essex could be reduced. Witham has already had its opening hours reduced at an earlier "review". There are concerns that further cuts will harm recycling and lead to more fly-tipping which will cost local taxpayers to clear as this is a district council responsibility. Picture - Rupert Read with James Abbott and Bob Wright at Witham Recycling Centre. The County Council is also "consulting" on School Crossing Patrols. The current ECC plans are to make schools pay for the 54 patrols sited on zebra crossings if they want to keep them...

London Assembly Member Darren Johnson and Eastern Region MEP lead-candidate Rupert Read come to Epping Forest to campaign against tube office closures.   For photo opportunities join us at Epping Station at 10am, or in Epping High Street outside St Johns Church at 10.30am.   Darren Johnson and Rupert Read are to join Epping Forest Green Party members to campaign against London Underground Ticket Office Closures next Monday 7 th April at 10am. They will meet with residents with a petition to save our ticket offices. Dr Read said says 'the London Mayor's, Boris Johnsons, plans to close all London Underground ticket offices and cut 950 staff are a big mistake. His broken pledge to keep ticket offices open has led to strikes and if Boris Johnson gets his way, passengers face disruption and a poorer service for years to come.'   Closing ticket offices which are only used by 3 per cent of passengers does not sound much of a problem, b...

This coming Monday, I am visiting Essex. I'll start in Epping Forest in the morning; campaigning on cuts to tube office staff numbers alongside Darren Johnson A.M., who has commented today: "I know that Rupert Read will make an excellent MEP who will stand up for the people of Essex on issues like this that really matter to them."   ...I'll then head to Witham: I will visit Witham during the afternoon and will accompany Cllr. James Abbott, Leader of the Green Group on Essex County Council and County Member for Witham Northern, to view public facilities facing potential service cuts, including Witham Recycling Centre.   Conservative run Essex County Council has already made funding cuts to Youth Services and Children's Centres and now is "consulting" on cuts to school crossing patrols and Recycling Centres.   The Greens have strongly opposed these cuts which are increasingly affecting Essex residents.   The Gr...

The Prime Minister, David Cameron, has sought to avoid taking any blame for the smog currently hitting the UK.   In an interview BBC1 Mr Cameron said:   " I didn't go for my morning run this morning. I chose to do some work instead. You can feel it. But it's a naturally occurring weather phenomenon. It sounds extraordinary, Saharan dust, but that is what it is."   Mr Cameron's comments come despite officials from the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs saying that the UK's pollution problem was partly to blame. Yesterday a Defra spokesperson said:   "The high level of air pollution this week is due to a combination of local emissions, light winds, pollution from the continent and dust blown over from the Sahara."   Keith Taylor, a Green Party Member of the European Parliament and Clean Air Campaigner, responded to David Cameron's comments. He said:   "In the last 10 ...

GREEN MEP-CANDIDATE'S DAY-LONG FAST IN NORWICH PEOPLE ALL OVER THE COUNTRY HAVE PLEDGED TO TAKE PART IN A FAST ON FRIDAY (APRIL 4TH) TO DRAW ATTENTION TO HUNGER IN BRITAIN. It's organised by End Hunger Fast, a campaign supported by the Trussell Trust, Church Action Poverty, the Quakers and Just Fair. Green Party Euro-election candidate Rupert Read will undertake a dawn-to-dusk fast. For much of that time he'll sit at a café table at Rainbow Wholefoods in Norwich city centre. But he won't be eating any of the delicious food. Instead he'll be speaking to passers-by about hunger as he drinks only water. Dr Read is soon to publish a report on the use of foodbanks in the east region. It will reveal:     * There are now 39 food banks in the East operated by the Trussell Trust, plus a further 16 non-Trussell food banks.     * The growth of Food Banks is linked to welfare reform and to rising food prices.     * In the East...

The smog just Saharan dust, it's from our cars and factories too, says MEP - Green MEP lambasts Government record on air pollution As Eastern England is hit by a wave of smog today the Green Party's lead-MEP-candidate is calling on the Government to do more to tackle air pollution. The smog is caused by a combination of local air pollution, particles being blown from Europe and Saharan dust. A Defra spokeswoman said: " The high level of air pollution this week is due to a combination of local emissions, light winds, pollution from the continent and dust blown over from the Sahara." Rupert Read, lead Green MEP-candidate here in the East, said: "We must not let the Government or local authorities hide behind the 'saharan dust' as they try to escape blame for a pollution problem that they're failing to take seriously. 29,000 people die in this country every year because of air pollution, it's high time politician...