Rupert's Read

It is less than a month now to Christmas. Metaphorically speaking, that's the time of year when we hope that a child of hope will be born into this world, and the days will start to become lighter again, and the future brighter... My biggest memory of 2008 will be this: that, back when the days were still long, in July of this year, in Norwich Quaker Meeting House, I got married. It was, of course, lovely to see lots of my family and friends there: old people, young people, babes in arms. It was especially good to see those who will still be here after I am gone. Everyone wants their kids to be OK. And their kids. And their kids too… Think about this. You never want this to stop. Would it be OK if after you were gone your great-great-grandchildren all lived short, miserable lives and died excruciating or terrifying deaths? Of course it wouldn't. And so now I have to mention what we don't tend to like to think about… The way we as a species live right now, the size of our ec...

Cllr. Dr. Rupert Read, Prospective Green Party MEP for Eastern Region will be visiting Bedford on Monday 1st December as part of a tour of the six counties of the region ahead of the European Elections which take place in June next year Cllr. Read will be meeting with local Greens and members of the public at 8.15am (until 9.15) at Bedford Central Bus Station. They will be leafletting bus passengers, and engaging in conversation about the Green Party's plans to improve public transport services. The Greens are mounting a strong campaign to gain an MEP in Eastern Region where they have steadily increased their number of Councillors to currently stand at 27. There are now Green Party Principal Authority Councillors in every county in Eastern Region. Dr. Read said: "Bedford is a town that could benefit greatly from improved public transport infrastructure to ease traffic problems and give people more choices about the way they travel. One of my top priorities, if I get...

My answers to the Rackheath 'eco-town' consultation, for readers' interest:   Question 1: What are your first impressions of the proposed design and do you have any suggestions for improvement? The plans look first class but in reality Rackheath could only be considered an eco-town WITHOUT the NDR.   Transport within, to and from the community should be based around public transport and safe walking and cycling routes. Question 2: Do you have any thoughts on how residents and the current community could benefit from the proposals? Being part of an exciting new development and benefiting from clean air and top quality public transport. Question 3: What can be done to make the whole of Rackheath a low carbon community? There are numerous building techniques available to make existing housing stock low carbon and these should be used extensively.  An easy quick move would be to provide insulation to all existing buildings.  Wind and solar power power...

The Conservatives are in serious trouble -- their underlying deregulatory narrative has been totally blown out of the water by recent events. But that still leaves Labour in big trouble too -- for their underlying narrative was barely different. Brown was a high-priest of light-touch financial regulation: it is frankly sickening now to see him posturing as a saviour. ...It is deeply premature to think that there has been a death of New Labour. For Brown isn't doing enough to save us from financial and economic ruin. As I have argued repeatedly (see various posts below), this government's continued neo-liberal instincts are still hobbling it at almost every turn. Still, LIBOR is high; still, small businesses (and large ones!) are going to the wall without access to credit lines; still, the banks are being allowed to operate at arm's length... There is a pitiful failure of nerve in the government, a pitiful failure to grasp the historic opportunity here, w...

http://new.edp24.co.uk Last Sunday, I was privileged to attend a large ecumenical memorial service at Norwich Cathedral, to honour the too-many precious men, women and children killed in road crashes. This event was part of the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims creates a link between victims of road crashes, who deserve to be alive today to fulfil their hopes and dreams instead of having been killed, prematurely and violently. Witnessing the tears during the service, and speaking with people afterwards, I got a strong sense of how the lives also of those closest to road traffic victims have been traumatically affected by their loss. One of the vital purposes of an organisation like RoadPeace is to bring together those close to those who have been killed on the roads. Because losing a loved one on the roads can bring a terrible sense of isolation. There just isn't the same kind of network of support that exists for, ...

As feared, ITV is to carry out major cuts in regional news across the UK, with mergers of outlets and over 400 jobs going. There will be 30 staff losses in news and politics at Anglia TV, including many well known presenters (1). Strong statements have been issued by current and past staff at Anglia and the local NUJ. Eastern Region Green Party shares those concerns. Prospective Green MEP, Councillor Rupert Read said: "ITV has been reducing its local news focus enormously since the Conservatives passed the 1990 Act, paving the way for deregulation of the industry and making ITV a business dependent on shareholder profit instead of a protected localised service and alternative to the BBC. And now ITV has announced a further downscaling. This is a regressive step and further jeopardises ITV's role as an important local news outlet. There is a greater, not lesser, need for regional media in today's 24 hour news world. Local news, like Anglia News, scruti...

http://www.liberalconspiracy.org/2008/11/24/the-case-for-supporting-greens-at-euro-elections/