Rupert's Read

The Lib Dems appear to be embarked on a deliberate campaign of misinformation about the Greens - presumably out of fear as to how well we might do on June 4th. They have made misleading claims about the way the voting system works for the European elections, highly-misleading claims about previous election results (they are using general election results presented in a biased way typically), plain false claims about our EU policy position; and overall it is an attempt to suggest the "Greens cannot win", whereas of course we certainly can win, and it's looking likely that we may well do so in just a few days time. The latest polls give us enough support to win with, here in Eastern. If you see Lib Dem leaflets or letters along these lines locally, please do get in touch with me so we can get a better picture of what they are doing. Given that we are currently at our strongest position in the polls for 20 years, it looks unlikely that the Lib Dems will achieve what they...

The upcoming European elections are being seen as a referendum on the future of British politics. On May 29th I made the Green Party's case for the future at the proposed wind-farm site in Bedfordshire featured in the fore-thinking Academy Award nominated film The Age of Stupid . Set in a future world ravaged by climate change, the film’s solitary narrator asks why previous generations failed to take the steps—like developing alternative energy sources—to forestall it. I addressed that question on Friday. "The global consensus has finally come round to the view Greens have held all along but more importantly, the economic conditions have finally caught up as well. It simply doesn’t make sense to go on in the same way, inching toward ineffective carbon reduction targets when a more wholehearted shift would translate into millions of high-quality, skilled jobs that are virtually recession proof." Building sustainable alternative energy sources like wind, tidal, and solar...

The UK political media has been dominated by the row over MPs' expenses - and speculation as to how the voters might show their disgust on polling day next week. Today Rupert Read, the Green Party's leading Euro-candidate in Eastern region, called for voters to make a positive choice on 4th June, and "vote for the only party in this campaign bold enough to set out a positive vision." Speaking from his campaign tour of the Eastern region, Dr Read said: "As we move towards the end of the European election campaign, there's one emerging story that the media is only now becoming aware of. Whilst political corruption, voter disillusionment and the threat of the BNP have been the main stories up to this point, quietly under the surface the Green Party has been steadily gaining support." Dr Read drew attention to strong evidence of the Green Party's growing support in the opinion polls, including: * A UKIP/ComRes poll that put the Greens on 11% nationwide,...

A recent survey of healthcare workers in the East of England conducted by the Green Party, has found that Green Party health policies are in line with many of the views expressed, particularly on many key points of principle, such as the price of healthcare provision and privatisation. The Tories, Labour and Lib Dems all support further privatisation in the NHS. This is far out of line with the opinions of the real people surveyed who are working in healthcare. The Green Party found that 70% of respondents agreed (‘agreed’ or ‘strongly agreed’) with the statement ‘further privatisation in the NHS should be avoided’. And 73% of respondents believed the use of private cleaning companies for NHS contracts may increase the risks of infections like MRSA on hospital wards and should be avoided. The Royal College of Nursing and the Green Party both agree, while the Tories, Labour and Lib Dems oppose any re-nationalisation of cleaning services in the NHS. Cllr. Rupert Read, lead Green MEP ...

http://www.vote4animals.org.uk/euroelection2009.htm Green Party MEPs Jean Lambert and Caroline Lucas scored top marks for their voting record on animal issues in Europe in an analysis by PAD Director Dr Dan Lyons. The Green MEPs both got a perfect score of +15 from the award-winning political analyst, while Andrew Duff, Lib Dem MEP for the Eastern Region came bottom with a paltry -15...the lowest score possible. The UK Greens are the only party which has a policy called 'animal rights'. Both Green MEPs, Caroline Lucas in South East England and Jean Lambert in London, are staunch and consistent defenders of animals with a 100% positive record on this vote, both scoring +15. Dr Lucas has been especially active for animals and helps to table pro-animal laws. The Green group is now an influential force in the European Parliament, and UK Greens can rally their colleagues to help make a major difference for animals. The Euro manifesto includes a specific animal protection section and...