SAVE 92 AND MUSIC IN RUGBY - SIGN THE PETITION

Rugby Green Party supports the campaign to SAVE 92 - Rugby only Music Studio and a major creative space in the town.

Please sign the petition to Rugby Borough Council - 
http://www.change.org/petitions/rugby-borough-council-save-our-music-making-facility

Visit Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Save92Campaign to give support.

The Save 92 Campaign has been set up to stop the closure of Rugby's only music studio.

There has been an announcement that this year Rugby Gymnastics Club plans to relocate, meaning the demolition and redevelopment of the site at 92 Lower Hillmorton Road. The asset is currently in use as a venue for music/art/film nights, recording, and rehearsal space for local bands and artists.

Everyone associated with the studio are unanimous in their decision that the building should be saved: they regard the building to be an important asset to the community and a part of many people's lives which they wish to keep. It is the only asset of this kind in the Rugby area where musicians can record demos, singles and albums at an affordable price. The studio encourages creative talents in Rugby and is actively used by a diverse demographic.
We would very much like to save the asset and regenerate the building so that it can be used and enjoyed for future generations. Please help us and support the campaign!

Roy Sandison, Rugby Green Party Co-ordinator and former Youth Promotions Management Committee member gives some background and explains why he supports the campaign.

"The much valued and also improved facility brings much value to the town, since it was started at Youth Promotions  (a youth and unemployed centre that came out of demands from a campaign led  by mainly West Indian Youth but also supported by most young people in the town in 1980) after an occupation of a building in Castle Street in the middle of the town.

Producing Music and the ability to have a facility to produce music was much a key part of the centre from the off set and after funding was gained for a music recording studio (which i helped with a bit)  to be set up,  this allowed local musicians to record music professionally in Rugby - building on the excellent abilities of local people that existed and now were able to move forward as a career option and build Rugby's reputation as a vibrant place for creativity and music.

I remember the hard work to get the original studio off the ground in the first place and secure funding and i think it will be a real shame if local Councilors turn theirs backs on something they should be supporting!

Its great to see that the current people running the facility have continued to provide such an important resource for the local community, the people who occupied Castle Street back in the 80's  (who made people listen and take action)  will be pleased to see that local people are still fighting to provide a base for music and creativity in the town."

In solidarity - Roy Sandison

Schools Campaigners to stand for Rugby Greens in County Council Elections

Anti forced Academy school campaigners, Lorna Dunleavy and Steve Wright will be standing for the Green Party in the forthcoming County Council Elections on 2^nd May in the Brownsover Division (which covers Newbold, Brownsover & Benn).

Lorna standing up for local schools

Lorna and Steve as members of  Rugby Parents Against Academies and Rugby Academy watch (FB) are highlighting the need for parents and  communities  to be vigilant over attempts to coerce schools to become academies.They echo professionals concerns that:

·         Any extra money that an academy gets is taken away from the common LEA budget.

·         Schools and pupils hit most will be those left that will need Local Authority support most.

·         Academies can “cherry pick”their pupils to make it easier to reach their targets.

·         Focussing on targets means less time will be devoted to teaching a broad curriculum.

·         £8.3Bn has been spent only to replace the existing,democratically accountable system with a fragmented group of private companies.

PARENTS AND COMMUNITY NOT CONSULTED MEANINGFULLY

Parents at Newbold Riverside were mainly kept in the dark about the  intentions to give the school to the Reach2 and given no vote over the future of their school - a school that is a much loved part of the local community.No mandate is required from voters!!!

.

An Academy can mean that local Governors can be removed and unqualified teachers used and even regulations on healthy food can be ignored.

Steve Wright who is the other Green Candidate in this two Councillor seat is heavily involved in seeking assurances about the future of his own local community school (St Andrews Benn) in the Town Centre and a regular poster to the very informative Rugby based 'Academy Watch' Facebook site - that can be found here http://www.facebook.com/rugbyparentsagainstacademies?fref=ts

NO SECRETS PLEASE!

Lorna, Steve and the Green Party want parents and the local community to be fully informed and involved in any plans for our local schools.

At the moment it seems decisions are being made about our schools behind closed doors and this it totally unacceptable – no one now or in the future should give away our schools without the parents and local community having a REAL SAY and VOTE!

LOCAL PEOPLE HAVING A SAY!

Lorna Dunleavy and Steve Wright were both born and bred in Rugby and care about Rugby and like most other residents in the town have concerns about the poorly planned turning out of the street lights, health concerns about incineration, cuts in benefits and the bedroom tax, and the closure of local shops and community resources. 

Steve Wright (left) discussing  his concerns about the future of our town with Will Duckworth,
Deputy Leader of the Green Party, during Will 's recent visit to Rugby.

Rugby needs Councillors like Lorna and Steve who will really reflect local concerns and take action when asked by local people and the local community

P & P by Roy Sandison on behalf of Lorna Dunleavy and Steve Wright and Rugby Green Party at 21 Jubilee Street, Rugby, CV212JJ.

Green MP leads fight over Bedroom Tax

Bedroom tax U-Turn: "Huge win for social justice, but now exempt disabled from this cruel and counterproductive measure", says Green MP

CAROLINE Lucas, MP for Brighton Pavilion, led the Opposition Day debate on the Government's bedroom tax policy in February together with MPs from Plaid Cymru and SNP.

Responding to Iain Duncan Smith's announcement today, she said:

"The eleventh hour decision to exempt foster carers and families with children in the armed forces from the new bedroom tax is a huge win for social justice - and a clear sign that the Government is beginning to recognise just how flawed and unfair this policy is.

"However, ministers should now go further and exempt disabled people too in order to protect the most vulnerable from losing their homes to this cruel and counterproductive measure."

FIGHTING THE BEDROOM TAX AND BENEFIT CUTS

Rugby Green Party members will be meeting at 10am on Friday 1st March - meeting at 181 Oxford Street, Rugby to campaign against the Bedroom Tax and Benefit Cuts - please contact us via this page if you can help to leaflet or by email to rugbygreenparty@gmail.com or text to 07906600689 - If you want to know where we stand please see the video above.!

We Oppose The Bedroom Tax

MAKING US PAY AGAIN FOR THE BANKERS!

The Coalition government’s Welfare Reforms are due this April, having been talked about for a couple of years.  A big part of this reform is reductions inHousing Benefit; what’s being called “The Bedroom Tax”.  The government have decided that everyone with what they describe as one ‘spare’ room will have 14% of their Housing Benefit taken away from them; two or more rooms will mean a cut of 25% of their Housing Benefit.  It affects everyone of working age, whether or not you are registered disabled.  The only exceptions are those over 65.  It doesn’t matter how long you’ve lived in your house, whether or not you consider it ‘home’ or if it’s just a roof over your head, if you’re on Housing Benefit, you need to be thinking about how you’re going to pay. 

This is supposed to be an incentive for people in social housing (what used to be called council houses) to only live in the homes that fit – single people in one-bedroomed houses, families in two or three-bedroomed houses.  It almost seems like a good idea, freeing up houses for the long lists of people waiting.  In reality, this is a nightmare for those in homes that are now deemed to be ‘the wrong size’, with no smaller properties to move to.  One of the biggest problems is that there just aren’t enough one-bedroomed properties in the county for the amount of people needing them.  There is simply nowhere for people who need the smallest houses to go.  People will be stuck in homes that are too big for them, their benefits will be cut and they won’t be able to afford to stay in their homes.  The logical conclusion to this is that more tenants will be evicted due to rent arrears, so will become homeless.  Most rents on three-bedroomed homes at £100+ each week, you would need to find at least £15 a week or £30 if you have two spare rooms.  If you are on a low or no wage, where do you get that from? 

The government has said that tenants can take in one lodger without it affecting their benefit entitlement so the shortfall can be made up that way.  Some tenants are considering that option and tenancy exchanges are becoming more popular, so tenants aren’t joining the housing list but are still able to ‘downsize’.  But many tenants have ended up in houses too big for them because their houses were allocated to them when all the kids lived at home. The kids have left home and the house is now “too big”, according to the Coalition government, so the family home needs another family in it.  It’s too brutal for these families and everyone affected and is a further tax on the less well off in British society.The Coalition government’s Welfare Reforms are due this April, having been talked about for a couple of years.  A big part of this reform is reductions inHousing Benefit; what’s being called “The Bedroom Tax”.  The government have decided that everyone with what they describe as one ‘spare’ room will have 14% of their Housing Benefit taken away from them; two or more rooms will mean a cut of 25% of their Housing Benefit.  It affects everyone of working age, whether or not you are registered disabled.  The only exceptions are those over 65.  It doesn’t matter how long you’ve lived in your house, whether or not you consider it ‘home’ or if it’s just a roof over your head, if you’re on Housing Benefit, you need to be thinking about how you’re going to pay. 

This is supposed to be an incentive for people in social housing (what used to be called council houses) to only live in the homes that fit – single people in one-bedroomed houses, families in two or three-bedroomed houses.  It almost seems like a good idea, freeing up houses for the long lists of people waiting.  In reality, this is a nightmare for those in homes that are now deemed to be ‘the wrong size’, with no smaller properties to move to.  One of the biggest problems is that there just aren’t enough one-bedroomed properties in the county for the amount of people needing them.  There is simply nowhere for people who need the smallest houses to go.  People will be stuck in homes that are too big for them, their benefits will be cut and they won’t be able to afford to stay in their homes.  The logical conclusion to this is that more tenants will be evicted due to rent arrears, so will become homeless.  Most rents on three-bedroomed homes at £100+ each week, you would need to find at least £15 a week or £30 if you have two spare rooms.  If you are on a low or no wage, where do you get that from? 

The government has said that tenants can take in one lodger without it affecting their benefit entitlement so the shortfall can be made up that way.  Some tenants are considering that option and tenancy exchanges are becoming more popular, so tenants aren’t joining the housing list but are still able to ‘downsize’.  But many tenants have ended up in houses too big for them because their houses were allocated to them when all the kids lived at home. The kids have left home and the house is now “too big”, according to the Coalition government, so the family home needs another family in it.  It’s too brutal for these families and everyone affected and is a further tax on the less well off in British society.

TORIES CUTS TURN RUGBY INTO A CARTOON! GREENS SAYS DON'T BE FOOLED BY TORY CUTS TO STREET LIGHTING IN RUGBY - THIS IS NOT ABOUT CUTTING CARBON EMISSIONS!

Mr Burns
who plunged
 Springfield into darkness

Greens Slams Tories over fool hardy light turn off in Rugby 

Is Councillor Peter Butlin Rugby's own Mr Burns we ask?

Rugby Tory Councillor
Peter Butlin
Who plunged Rugby
into darkness

It appears we now have our own life like Mr Burns, the Simpsons character living amongst in Rugby – namely Bilton Tory Councillor Peter Butlin who like Mr Burns in one of the Simpsons cartoon episodes has now brought darkness to his town.

Peter Butlin with the support off his Tory chums on Warwickshire County Council is fronting this fool hardy scheme of turning off vast areas of public lighting in Rugby and Warwickshire to ‘save’ £500,000 and because they say they need to cut their carbon emissions. 

This from a Tory council that managed to spend £60 million (twice as much budgeted) for the Western Relief road  with resulting increase in pollution directly and indirectly for the people of Rugby especially when CEMEX builds their conveniently  sited massive waste plant next to the new road and the River Avon.

Many of us in the Green Party would welcome the  late conversion of local Tories to the merits of energy efficiency and cutting carbon emissions if they were actually doing it correctly and also taking into account community concerns over crime and public safety – but this move to plunge parts of our town into darkness is just another Tory cut in reality and nothing about dealing with climate change.

In Sheffield, the local council is installing Led lighting) Light Emitting Diode)  on its 68.000 lamps over a 5 year time frame.  These modern attractive  lights offer a more focus glow directed downward so limiting light pollution and are greatly more efficient with the bulbs lasting for 25 years and will cut at least 60% of carbon emissions.

 

Our Green Party Councillors in Sheffield are correct to point out the need to include solar lighting as well as LED lights in the provision of lighting and also that central Government should be funding this scheme as part of the need to challenge climate change and also create green jobs for the future in the UK.

Rugby Green Party also believes that a tax should be levied on the massive profits of the energy companies to provide the funds for these 21st century public lighting schemes and other energy saving projects and also the local council could seek ways to have the lighting equipment manufactured locally to provide jobs in Rugby.

A big local concern is also that crime including violent crime is likely to increase because of the areas where the lights will go off – especially near the town centre where young women in particular are likely to be at greater risk due to trying to get  home late at night and we in Green Party share this concern and in our view the turning off lighting should be immediately reviewed.

Peter Butlin and the Tories have a stark choice in our view to either cancel this frankly stupid and ill thought out plan and instead work with others who actually know how to save energy costs and keep our communities safe or face the consequences at the forthcoming County Council elections in May.

Also the local Lib Dem Councillors have a role to play and they should also ask their party in Government to stop these unfair and dangerous cuts to local councils, which is the real reason why we have this crazy plan to black out Rugby in the first place.

Regards - Roy Sandison – Rugby Green Party Spokesperson

Letter printed in Rugby Observer last week

Mid-Staffs hospital crisis shows NHS market has failed

Responding to the inquiry into Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust by Robert Francis QC, Stuart Jeffery, the Green Party's national health spokesperson, commented:

"Blind to the needs of patients and the voices of staff, the Francis Inquiry clearly shows what happens when government gets its strategy wrong. The drive to be a Foundation Trust in the new healthcare market has led to the deaths of up to 1200 patients. Rather than delivering good quality health care, the Mid Staffs board were concentrating on finances to become a Foundation Trust - a fundamentally flawed policy that is a key part of the pseudo market in health care services.

"Let's hope that the government uses this as a wake-up call. The market has no place in health care and Foundation Trusts are unnecessary and poorly monitored. The NHS needs to return to being an organisation of health care provision not commissioned services.

"The market experiment has failed, it has wasted money and lives. It must come to an end now."

Tom Harris, the Green Party's councillor in Stafford since 2011, said:

"No community should ever be put in a situation where they stop trusting their local hospital. This has been a disaster for the whole town. The A&E unit is still shut overnight and the hospital is in millions of pounds of debt. Residents are fatigued by the endless stream of bad news about an institution every one if us wants to believe would offer us the very best care in our moment of need.

"The badly let down people of Stafford would love to believe the government's NHS reforms will improve care, but if there was ever going to be skepticism about changing the system then this is where you'll find it."