If you want to be sure that you and your neighbours can vote Green, or if you want to build Green Party activity in your area, somebody at some point needs to stand for election.  That moment could be now.  That somebody could be you.  Or it might be that you know another somebody.  In which case you can always recommend that person to us.

In order to secure a Green Party nomination candidates need to be eligible to stand and to be both able and willing to stand for election. 

Candidates are expected to support the aims and general principles of the Green Party, but candidates are not required to be active within the party.

Peterborough & Fenland Green Party wishes to identify potential candidates who

• care enough about the communities they live in to want to speak out for them.

• want to work towards a more sustainable society.

If you would like your name to be added to our list of potential candidates please send us a brief email.  Tell us a little about yourself or the person you are recommending and please include your contact details.

This is one of a series of Peterborough in Transition events.  

Contact Peterborough in Transition

Directions to The Green Backyard  

It is good that the campaign is attracting the interest and support of some of the city's elected councillors. 

At the moment campaigners are asking residents and people who work in the city to sign a 20's Plenty for Peterborough petition. 

Please sign the petition.  You can do this online. 

Once you have signed, please have a look on the website to see what else you might be able to do to help the campaign. 

When the Green Party in Peterborough made this its policy priority in 2007, there were only two million people in the UK enjoying 20mph total speed limits.  There are now over seven million.  It is more than time for Peterborough residents to join them.

Not sure?  Watch No Need for Speed: 20's Plenty for Us on Youtube.  

Click here to send a comment to the campaign. 

For background and information about how to help the campaign to stop nuclear waste dumping:
12/7/2011  http://www.greenparty.org.uk/localsites/peterborough/news/nuclear-waste-dump-debate.html

further information is here:
16/4/2011  http://www.greenparty.org.uk/localsites/peterborough/news/nuclear-waste-dumping-petition.html
07/02/2010 http://www.greenparty.org.uk/localsites/peterborough/news/2010-07-02-NuclearWaste.html

Green Party Councillor goes to Westminster to challenge MP over Debt

A local Green Party Councillor has travelled to London to urge his local MP, Rt Hon. John Hayes, to support an investigation of the some of the debts  owed to the UK government by fledgling democracies .  Ashley Baxter decided to make the trip, with his 10 year-old daughter Rosemary, after hearing that the Department for Business was failing to reveal details about controversial  loans to dictators. 

Mr Baxter  attended a briefing organised by the Jubilee Debt Campaign with around a hundred other activists from around the country on Monday 31st October before going to Westminster to  meet John Hayes in his Parliamentary Office.
Mr Baxter says “I am grateful to John Hayes for making the time to meet me about important issues concerning the UK’s Export Credit Guarantee Department . This is a British institution which has lent millions to overseas dictators including Saddam Hussein of Iraq and Hosni Mubarak of Egypt. Despite the fall of Mubarak, Egypt owes more than £100m. Some of this money was borrowed in order to purchase arms which were used to enforce oppression and injustice.”
The ECGD claim they do not even know what some of the loans were for, so effectively they are asking the new Egyptian Government to repay a former dictators loan without being able to say why the money was originally lent in the first place. Mr Baxter therefore asked John Hayes to support calls for an audit of the Egyptian debt, even if it reflects badly on previous British Foreign Policy. He also asked that measures be introduced to restrict government support for arms sales to dictatorships and real efforts be made to concentrate future ECGD loans onto environmentally sustainable and socially useful  exports.”
Mr Baxter continues “I was encouraged by Mr Hayes response, especially when he agreed to raise the issues with his Cabinet colleagues Ed Davey and Vince Cable. Mr Hayes also appears to share my belief that there should be a strong ethical dimension to Foreign Policy. Although our meeting was quite short and was interrupted at one point by the Division bell, John Hayes was courteous as ever and went to some trouble to ensure my daughter Rosemary was able to see Parliament at work.”
Anyone wishing to know more about the Jubilee Debt Campaign can phone Ashley Baxter on 01778 344070 or visit www.jubileedebtcampaign.org.uk/

Ends

For more information about the Parliamentary Visit please contact Ashley Baxter, 01778 344070 or 07799 077090. Mr Baxter is both a Market Deeping Town Councillor and a Deeping St James Parish Councillor.
For more information about the ECGD and the Jubilee Debt Campaign, please visit http://www.jubileedebtcampaign.org.uk/
Rt Hon. John Hayes is the MP for South Holland and the Deepings. Unfortunately due to pressures on his time and security rules at Westminster he was unable to have his photo taken on the day.  However, photographs of Ashley and Rosemary Baxter can be requested.

Published and distributed by, for and on behalf of Ashley Baxter, South Lincolnshire Green Party, 11 Kesteven Close, Deeping St James, Lincs PE6 8JW   2011/11/01 15:00

News release 2011/11/01  11:45

South Kesteven Councillors deny money to communities

South Kesteven Councillors have failed to pass on the benefits of a VAT windfall of almost £1m, despite promising to do so, according to South Lincolnshire Green Party.

Early in 2010 South Kesteven District Council (SKDC) received a payment £825,325 in respect of a backdated VAT claim.  Councillors and Officers agreed to establish a community fund of £425,000 to support business and recreational facilities.  Members were to bring forward proposals for effective use of the funds in their areas and Council Officers would co-ordinate proposals across the South Kesteven area.  It was specifically stated at the time that the process would not ask for Parish Councils to make bids to the community fund.

A recent investigation by Ashley Baxter of South Lincolnshire Green Party has uncovered that:

•    Less than 10% of the money has actually been allocated to projects as intended.(£39,420)

•    Councillors only brought forward six proposals between them,

•    Only three of these were approved, the other three being deemed ineligible.

•    The remaining £400,000 has been transferred into the Council’s general reserves

(and therefore unavailable for tactical deployment to one-off projects).

Cllr Baxter today expressed outrage that the money has not been put to better use “In June last year SKDC were parading this windfall as an antidote to the national Tory cuts and speculating that the money could be used to promote all manner of projects to promote community and economy. Now it transpires that our District Councillors were either too lazy, too unimaginative or too mean to propose projects which could have helped residents locally.”

Cllr Baxter serves on both Market Deeping Town Council and Deeping St James Parish Council.  Deeping St James has so far benefitted most from the community fund with two successful projects in the area, including improvements to play equipment (see picture).

For more information contact Ashley Baxter on 01778 344070 or 07799 077090

Ends

Minutes of SKDC Full Council 17th June 2010 (item 28) 

SKDC Press Release regarding the windfall 

Minutes of Deeping Local Forum July 2010 (item 41) 

Cllr Ashley Baxter

South Lincolnshire Green Party

01778 344070

07799 077090

Press  27/10/2011  09:16 for immediate release 

Published and distributed by, for and on behalf of Ashley Baxter, South Lincolnshire Green Party, 11 Kesteven Close, Deeping St James, Lincs PE6 8JW

However the attacks in your pages on “reckless cyclists” and cyclists “who flout cycling laws” will not solve it. Cyclists are given a hard time in your pages, but we could elevate the debate a little above the Punch and Judy level. I would like to ask your readers to consider what the problem actually is and to suggest how it might be resolved in a constructive manner.

Cyclists can be guilty of bad and illegal behaviours but they do a tiny fraction of the damage to people and roads compared with drivers of cars and lorries and cyclists are far more likely to be hurt than to cause damage in an accident.

It is odd, therefore, that they attract the opprobrium they do in Peterborough, a city which suffers far more than its fair share of road accidents. Perhaps some of the passion arises from fear of hurting a cyclist: all too easy when cyclists travel at speed on pavements.

However if you want to change an unwanted behaviour you need a strategy for getting the behaviour you do want. That might mean listening to cyclists and trying to work out why they are where they are and where they want to be and where (the city) wants them to go.

A key element in any strategy for Peterborough would have to include good cycle routes into and through the city centre. At the moment we have a superbly cycle permeable city with a massive irritating blockage in the middle. The town hall has over the years designed itself into a prime position bang in the middle of the blockage.

Bridge Street is rightly seen as the worst obstacle to cycling in the city centre and has acquired emblematic status as such. But there are other obstacles which push cyclists towards Bridge Street. All parallel routes to Bridge Street are problematic. Bourges Boulevard is highly inhospitable and Bishops Road is far from ideal. Queensgate is impermeable by bicycle and by both cyclist and pedestrian at night. Why should cyclists respect this situation?

If cyclists are pushed into merely coping, that is exactly what they will do.

Consider a real example which will occur when the Cowgate contra-flow is banned and the cyclist is directed further away from the city centre to Priestgate. A girl arrives at Peterborough station at night. She arrives in the city centre, having cycled warily but quickly through the underpass to emerge at Cowgate. Does she then get off and walk, (knowing that at night walking is more dangerous than riding), or does she take the “correct route” (knowing it will be deserted), or does she “flout” the rules and ride where she knows she is safest and both CCTV and street lighting are on? Which route is “reckless” for her? Why should police enforce a rule which puts a vulnerable person in any greater danger? In my opinion councils shouldn’t be making them up and police and CCTV should be working to protect us.

The council could attempt to command the respect of the cycling community and demonstrate that it listens to the views of cyclists. The Cowgate decision, if it goes through, suggests it does neither.

Fiona Radic, Peterborough & Fenland Green Party

letter published in Peterborough Evening News on 8 October 2011

http://bit.ly/rpoVdq to see comments thread at Peterborough Evening Telegraph online 

Fiona Radić, Coordinator of the Peterborough & Fenland Green Party, said

“Local Democracy in Action is now involved.  We have to look at the way we do democracy when a Secretary of State for the Department of Communities and Local Government apparently thinks it a good idea to brush aside a series of 90% plus majority votes.

Peterborough for Responsible Waste Management [iii] and King’s Cliffe Waste Watchers, [iv] both of them voluntary, community based waste groups, have worked hard to oppose the proposal to dump nuclear waste near King’s Cliffe.  These groups have helped to build understanding and public awareness of the planning issues and processes and that takes really hard work which deserves recognition and applause. 

Of course it is wrong when a sensitive limestone environment, also a source of drinking water for Peterborough and the fens, is threatened with nuclear waste dumping, using previously untested containment “methods”.  Nobody who has looked into it at all doubts that.  Here  the Green Party is at one with Peterborough, which is keen to claim “Environment Capital” status.  Peterborough City Council, to its credit, recommended rejection of the proposal during the planning process. 

There are also huge questions if this kind of waste is to be shifted in bags over long distances across the national road network (residents living along routes not even having been told yet).  And whether or not in this area, once “low level” waste has been accepted, whether “intermediate level” radioactive waste will be next…..”

Dr. Rupert Read, Co-ordinator of Eastern England Green Party, said

"There is no solution in sight to the appalling problem of nuclear waste, a problem increasingly on all of our minds after the catastrophe in Fukushima and the UK government's bizarre decision to go ahead anyway and build new nuclear power stations in places like Sizewell and Bradwell.

More nuclear power stations means more nuclear waste. It is horrendously unfair for local communities - not to mention untold future generations: our kids and their kids - to have to put up with the toxic legacy of madly-short-term decisions on nuclear power.

The Green Party will campaign ceaselessly against nuclear power, and so our sympathies and our solidarity is strongly with those who are faced with the intolerable, inevitable consequence of nuclear power - nuclear-waste dumping in our communities."
ENDS  issued 12 July 2011

Recent Green Party statements on nuclear issues
http://eastern.greenparty.org.uk/region/easternregion/news/eastern-greens-say-british-should-avoid-dangerous-nuclear-distraction.html
http://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/23-05-2011-mep-warns-of-nuclear-dependence.html
http://peterborough.greenparty.org.uk/localsites/peterborough/news/nuclear-waste-dumping-petition.html
http://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/04-04-2011-unacceptable-risk-nuclear.html
http://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/31-05-2011-germany-no-nuclear.html
http://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/18-03-2011-renewables-caroline-qt.html
Notes
[i] the event organiser is John Knowles 07999 850 223
The Crown http://www.crowntotown.co.uk/
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/event.php?eid=178132488914943
http://fionaradic.wordpress.com/2011/07/01/radioactivewaste/
[ii] http://ldia.org.uk/post/Campaigners-bring-a-legal-challenge.aspx
[iii] on.fb.me/lKwDn9
[iv] http://www.kingscliffewastewatchers.co.uk/

South Kesteven Distict Council

Deeping St James (3 seats)
ELECTED

Dilks (Independant) - 792
Stevens (Independant) - 647
Auger (Conservative) - 631

RUNNERS UP

Thomas (Conservative) - 483
Baxter (Green) - 350
Exton (Conservative) - 318
Bossingham (Green) - 259
Hammersley (LibDem) - 242
Morris (LibDem) - 70
Morris (LibDem) - 67

turnout 26%

full results will be posted at South Kesteven District Council's webpage

to support the newly formed South Lincolnshire Green Party please get in touch

Fenland, Huntingdonshire and Peterborough are here.

Fenland Distict Council

Benwick, Coates and Eastrea (2 seats)
Shane Alexander, Green 194
Conservative (2 candidates), 880 and 530
Independent, 414
Labour, 248

St Andrews
David Chivall, Green, 243
Conservative, 542

St Marys
Hilary Chivall, Green, 104
Conservative, 364
Independent, 324

Peterborough City Council

Central
Goran Radic, Green, 66
Conservative, 2239
Labour, 1821
Independent, 127
UKIP, 100
Lib Dem, 76

East
Fiona Radic, Green, 78
Conservative, 885
Labour, 947
Liberal Democrat, 140
UKIP, 165
Independent, 243 

Fletton & Woodston
James Moulding, Green 253
Conservative, 1220
Labour, 845
English Democrat, 113

Park
Les Lazell, Green, 151
Conservative, 1220
Labour, 1550
English Democrat, 113 

South Bretton
Saima Husain, 66
Conservative, 551
Labour, 190
UKIP, 94 

More detail is available: 

Fenland District Results
all results can be found here  

The Fenland Citizen covers the results here.  The Cambridge Times describes the Tories as maintaining their “stranglehold”, shows Lib Dem tears (one won!) and provides lots of figures and pictures: here.  And the Wisbech Standard prints a map of Fenland: who is in control and which ward the Lib Dem won and the adventures of two Fenland Mayors here. 

Peterborough City Council Results
Council’s statement about the results.

Declaration of city council results is here. 

Peterborough Parish Elections Declaration of Results for parishes which were NOT contested is here.

The declaration for parishes which WERE contested (Bretton) is not available yet.

Peterborough Evening Telegraph coverage can be found here.

If you print the form to share with people who don't have access to a PC, the printed form can be returned to Peterborough & Fenland Green Party , 15 Kings Gardens, Peterborough, PE1 4EN

ALLOTMENT FEEDBACK FORM 

Address of my allotment site  

Number of people on this site’s waiting list  

Access to water is being changed      YES NO

Methods of handling or transporting water are being changed   YES NO

Methods of handling allotment waste are being changed   YES NO

Allotment holders are facing a large increase in rent  TRUE NOT TRUE

Allotment holders are deciding to give up one or more plots  TRUE NOT TRUE

I decided to........

I SUPPORT what the council is doing BECAUSE  

I don’t like what the council is doing BECAUSE  

I think the changes are likely to affect........  most  

The council consulted with me about the changes it has made TRUE NOT TRUE

I would prefer...........  

I wish..............

I would like to be help liaise with the Green Party for my allotment site. My preferred contact details are:    

Name    
Address   

Telephone no     
Email 

You can find the petition against the dump by clicking here 

98% of those who voted in the Local Democracy in Action parish poll voted to support their parish councils in opposing the nuclear waste dump.  Detailed results of April's parish polls are here 

For more detailed information on how to get involved and how to access the planning documents

and if you'd like more information or would like to make contact directly with the Kingscliffe campaign please go to:

www.kingscliffewastewatchers.co.uk

click here to view Green Party launch on the BBC

It really is No Joke

Fenland Candidates

Benwick, Coates & Eastrea: Shane Alexander
St Andrews: David Chivall
St Marys: Hilary Chivall                                                   

Wisbech Standard comments

Cambs Times comments

Peterborough Candidates

Bretton South: Saima Husain
Central: Goran Radic
East: Fiona Radic
Fletton & Woodston: James Moulding
Park: Les Lazell                                             

Peterborough Evening Telegraph full list of all candidates

Candidates in The Deepings

Market and West Deeping: Ashley Baxter, John Schofield and William Booker

Deeping St James: Michael Bossingham

Peterborough Evening Telegraph comments

Local Green Party Archive 

2010 

May 6th 2010 

General Election Result

Stewart Jackson Conservative  18133 hold
Ed Murphy Labour  13272 
Nick Sandford  Lib Dem  8816 
Fran Fox    Ukip  2007 
Rob King  English Democrat  770 
Fiona Radic   Green  523 
John Swallow   Independent 406 

Greens won 1% of the total vote.

The turnout was 64.23%

Peterborough City Council Elections

Greens contested the following wards

Central
Goran Radic, Green, 174
Conservative, 1591
Labour, 2305
Independent, 264

Dogsthorpe
John Stead, Green, 120
Conservative, 643
Labour, 620
Liberal, 1776

East
Ash Haynes, Green, 287
Conservative, 1098
Labour, 1466
Liberal Democrat, 545

North
Les Lazell, Green, 97
Conservative, 405
Labour, 472
Independent, 1055

Park
Fiona Radic, Green, 375
Conservative, 1694
Labour, 1395
English Democrat, 257

average Green vote share for wards contested was 6% 

2009

2008

2007

These elections were contested but until we can post it here, please have a look at Peterborough City Council's website for detailed results.

"Voting for the Alternative Vote (AV) in May is all we can do.  The current government has failed to provide an option of more substantial voting reform. 

AV is much better than leaving the current system in place.  The system we have now allows MPs to gain a seat in the House of Commons with as little as a third of the electorate's support.  This makes it pointless for many people to vote and leads to widespread apathy and disenchantment.  It can also lead to MPs being distant from and unresponsive to local residents."  Fiona Radic claims.

With the Alternative Vote a parliamentary candidate needs to win support from at least half the voters in the constituency.  This is achieved by picking up the second-choice votes of the candidates with the least votes, who are eliminated in turn until 50% for one candidate is reached.

Ashley Baxter said in a recent letter “It is very exciting to be a part of this campaign. It has given me just a glimpse of the hope and emotion that the Chartists and the Suffragettes must have shared when they tried to improve our democratic system in bygone years. Nowadays, thankfully, we don’t have to chain ourselves to any railings or man the barricades. We just have to persuade other voters that the current voting system is no longer fit for purpose and choosing AV will bring a notable improvement. The proposed system is not perfect, but it is the only choice the Con-Dem coalition have offered and it is a lot better than the antiquated first-past-the-post system we currently suffer.”

As Mr Baxter explains “The system eliminates the need for tactical voting, so that people can vote for the party with the policies they want, rather than trying to keep out the parties they don’t like.”

picture is taken from Yes to Fairer Votes.  Help us put a picture of Peterborough in its place.

7th February 2011

John Stead, who stood for election in Dogsthorpe in May 2010, died unexpectedly on 19th July, aged 75 and was buried in the green cemetery in Fletton on 11th August.  John had heart problems, which although treated, overcame him and he died peacefully within a couple of days of being admitted to hospital.  Elvie made a floral cross with flowers from their garden. 

In the 2010 elections John made signs and a noticeboard.  He came to the count and was wonderfully supportive with his time and skills throughout the election.  The RAF had let him mend and repair their amazing machines after all and he remained honest and trustworthy.

"He was alert to the hocus pocus of current political debate and his political understanding was sophisticated.  Last year he thrust a book about the rise of "the political class" on me, which I read with amusement once the elections were over.  John was a practical and skilled man and there were few things he couldn't turn his hand to.   He enjoyed a debate and a drink, wouldn't duck a controversy and was great fun.  His life spanned revolutions in both agriculture and aviation and he had hands on experience of both."  Fiona Radić
 
In ProFoRWM* John met up with his old friend Richard Olive, who said, "I've only just read this sad news. I don't think any of us were aware that John was poorly. The last time we met at the Office PH for a ProFoRWM meeting he appeared to be his usual self.  I've known John for about 30 years (from the early days when we were both members of the Ecology Party - some won't know that this was the original name of the Green Party).  John took part in many, many green campaigns. Only recently he helped with the Augean campaign."
 
“If people wanted to do something to remember John they could plant a plum tree.  Some local Greens will remember enjoying the beautiful home grown plums which John brought to our All Change meeting this time last summer”.  Fiona Radić

*ProFoRWM, Peterborough for Responsible Waste Management has a facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Peterborough-For-Responsible-Waste-Management/140036732693629?ref=ts 

 10th September 2010

This research is justly respected for showing how health inequalities have grown as incinerators and other toxic industries are sited in areas where incomes are low.  The team showed how deadly it can be to live close to toxic emissions, and how risks are multiplied for the poor.

Dr van Steenis will describe the nature of the health risks, which include foetal abnormalities, baby deaths, cancers, heart attacks and strokes. 

He will discuss alternative waste treatment technologies.

He will describe the unreliability of the systems which should work to protect people and the environments they live in.

Vitally, he has helped many campaigns to overturn mass waste burning proposals. 

Greens are keen to hear what he has to say about the likely effect on Fenland residents and farmland of the multiple mass burners planned for this area, some of which (eg the PREL proposals for Sutton Bridge and Peterborough) will require biomass feedstocks. 

Greens are aware that if land becomes contaminated, there may be no other choice for farmers but to grow biomass on some of the UK's best agricultural land which currently provides top quality food crops for local people, and contributes very substantially to food security.

"We are more aware than ever of the need for local food markets.  It isn't just a question of freshness, quality and taste, although these matter to anybody with tastebuds.  It is also about knowing that where good food grows, people can look forward to living long and healthy lives.  A strong local economy is a resilient one, capable of withstanding economic or climatic shocks.  A local economy which forgets food isn't one I'd choose to live in."  Fiona Radic

SADDLEBOW WASTE INCINERATOR MEETING

Tuesday 20 July at 7.00pm,
at
Methodist Chapel London Road, King’s Lynn (opposite the police station)

Post Election Statement: what a Green vote means in our area

I would like to thank all those who voted Green in the General and in the Local Elections last Thursday.

Local members and activists are celebrating Caroline Lucas’s win in Brighton and Hove, which is certainly the best result of the General Election. Caroline will not be unaware that more Green votes nationally support her seat in the House of Commons than support that of any member of a Blue, Red or even Yellow party (although admittedly, the picture is almost as bad for the Liberal Democrats).

The Green Party’s vote share in Peterborough in the General Election fell far short of helping us save our deposit, under rules which penalise small parties and those who rely on members and supporters for their funding. We ran our campaign with a minimal budget and without a freepost leaflet.

In the Local Elections our vote share varied from ward to ward, up to 10%, broadly maintaining its level despite the impact of the General Election (which usually reduces the Green vote).

Greens fully appreciate that our support base is substantially stronger than this, but that many supporters won’t vote for us until they feel more confident that we could win on the day. Many of our supporters won’t vote for us because they feel they have to do their duty and vote against the party they dislike the most. It is extraordinary that despite living in an “advanced democracy” many voters make a choice driven by fear.

So to vote Green in Peterborough is to vote to help the party increase its national vote share and to vote positively, with your heart, and against the current of our electoral system. It is a brave, a fearless and a very special vote. Greens give that vote a very special thank you.

Outside the Green vote the General Election showed a massive shift of support during the campaign towards the Liberal Democrats, mainly the result of Nick Clegg’s convincing appearance on the Leaders’ Debate. On the day some of this surge of support evaporated, because as also happens with the Green vote, Liberal Democrat voters also felt obliged to switch to either Red or Blue.

I believe that a Liberal Democrat vote in Peterborough is a progressive vote. I believe that a Labour vote in Peterborough is a progressive vote. I am not saying that the leadership of either party can or will deliver “progressive”, but I am saying that I think that is what their voters showed they wanted when they voted. Most importantly I am confident that is what they recognised in the people they wanted to elect.

By progressive I mean socially responsible and inclined to reform what is rotten.

Nationally and in Peterborough most voters have voted progressive. Now that Peterborough has a Conservative led council and a Conservative MP it is important that voters don’t let our elected representatives forget that.

We may have a first past the post electoral system, but we can also see that the system has failed to represent the will of the people in Peterborough, just as it has failed everywhere else.

Greens have campaigned for electoral reform since the party was founded. With a good proportionally representative system of voting we would probably now be looking at how many MPs we had grown from a base of ten back in the noughties. Greens could be looking at one hundred MPs now, rather than one.

Because we are in a major economic crisis the government may be tempted to overlook, neglect, fudge or postpone the democratic reform the UK so badly needs. MPs who sit in safe seats will be tempted to ignore it altogether. They have after all done just that for a great many years.

My own view is that following the extraordinary result of this General Election electoral reform is the first and most important task of every elected MP, whether or not his or her own party leader helps or hinders. The electorate has “hung” parliament and what that gives is power to the constituency MP’s elbow, power he or she hasn’t had for thirty years. The electorate has reduced the power of the whip.  The electorate has reduced the power of the party leadership.

A hung parliament does not give us “weak government”. It should give us good representative government which thinks and tries to win arguments before it takes decisions. It should give us better government.

We can help by campaigning hard to ensure that those elected to Westminster appreciate the country’s need for reform and immediately agree fundamental reform of the electoral system which (as we can also see in Greece) is a major contributor to the economic, social and environmental crises we are now in.

None of these crises can be resolved satisfactorily and in the long term without fundamental reform of the electoral system. There are many proposals which have been thought out and considered over many years. A working party or a commission will be proposed: but this would be a stalling tactic. MPs need the opportunity to debate and vote and we will be watching which way. Those on reduced majorities may decide to come with the people, rather than stick with the electoral dinosaurs.

Please join the campaigns to reform parliament and help ensure that we end up with a better system, not a sticking plaster solution, or an even worse system. The campaigns which I support include:

http://www.power2010.org.uk/

http://www.takebackparliament.com/

http://www.voteforachange.co.uk/

http://www.unlockdemocracy.org.uk/

Fiona Radic
Green Party Parliamentary Candidate for Peterborough May 2010

note: this statement was first issued on 10th May.