Support the Strike, Support Teachers, Support Education.

Tomorrow thousands of teachers will walk out in a nationwide strike called by the National Union of Teachers (NUT). The Rugby Green Party understands and shares the concerns of these teachers who are acting to defend the integrity of their profession and are standing shoulder to shoulder in solidarity with their fellow workers. This strike action is not the result of an irrational or hostile trade union. It is an action of last resort, taken due to numerous long-standing grievances.

The Education Secretary Michael Gove has severely damaged the relationship between teachers and central government by stubbornly pushing through top-down reforms, failing to take into account the views of those who actually work on the frontline of education. As a result trade unions representing hundreds of thousands of members (including the National Association of Head teachers (NAHT), the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), the NUT, and the NASUWT) have declared “no confidence” in Gove’s policies, which they say are not in the best interests of children, parents or schools.

The main reasons teachers will be out on strike tomorrow are:

•  Excessive workload, with the government’s own research showing that primary school teachers work up to 60 hours
•  Excessive bureaucracy which diverts focus from teaching to box-ticking
• Destruction of the national pay framework which shifts the burden of developing a pay framework onto head teachers and governors who should be focusing on teaching and learning
• Unfair pension changes which mean working longer for less

Furthermore, teachers have expressed their frustration with excessive and inappropriate testing of children, the introduction of unqualified teachers, and widely criticized changes to the curriculum.

As the Rugby Green Party’s Trade Union Liason Officer I would like to express solidarity with those striking tomorrow on behalf of the local party.

Laurence Goodchild.

Information from the NUT on why they are striking:

Strike page: http://bit.ly/OV6iQ1
Leaflet: http://bit.ly/OV623i

Declarations of no confidence in Gove from teaching unions:
ATL: http://bit.ly/1gx4MiT
NAHT: http://ind.pn/1pvvWq2
NASUWT: http://bbc.in/1eJamwx
NUT: http://bit.ly/1dJQwgY

“Why I am striking” from teacherROAR:
http://bit.ly/1m3Ezb1

Green Party calls for restraint to avoid armed conflict in Ukraine

Rugby Greens have been active in the local Stop the War Coalition (STWC) for a long time – The Green Party is also represented on the National STWC Committee - please come to the meeting on Tuesday 25^th March.

Green Party calls for restraint to avoid armed conflict in Ukraine

 Natalie Bennett says  “The critical call at this point must be for restraint. Russia, Ukraine and all bodies and individuals involved in the situation must take all possible steps to avoid the risk of accidental escalation into violent conflict.

“The Russian Federation must be put under pressure to abide by international law and respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity and independence. If it fails to respect international law it must expect diplomatic and economic consequences, and the international community needs to unite in agreeing and implementing those consequences.

“Given recent events, all possible technical support should be given by the international community to the Ukrainian parliament to ensure that it is able to respond to the situation through democratic mechanisms.”

Green Party passes motion on last day of conference:

Noting with grave concern the recent bloodshed in Ukraine, and the incursions by Russian forces into Ukrainian territory, calls on the Green Party executive and, where possible, our elected
representatives, to

* Call on every state involved in the region and beyond to show restraint and not take any steps that would heighten tensions and increase the risk of military conflict

* Call on the Russian Federation to abide by international law and to respect Ukraine's territorial integrity and independence

* Call on Russia and Ukraine to work to ensure that legitimate concerns are addressed through dialogue.

* Call on Russia to respect the rights of anti-war protestors within its borders to conduct peaceful protests without harassment.

* Indicate support for the constitutional majority formed in the Verkhovna Rada, which could provide the basis for the beginning of a national dialogue involving all the democratic components of Ukrainian society, with a view to achieving genuine reconciliation between the
parties.

* Call on the Ukrainian Parliament and any incoming government to protect the rights of minorities in the country and the use of minority language.

* Call on the European Commission, the Council of Europe and the OSCE/ODIHR to provide immediate support to the Ukrainian Parliament during the current crisis to support dialogue with the Russian Federation and to ensure that new elections can be held according to the highest standards to produce a fully legitimate result.

The Imp: What do you think? Make sure your views are heard!

Planning permission has been sought for the right to build 18 flats at the Imperial Hotel site in Oxford Street

Local residents are able to submit their opinions on these plans and can be done via the Rugby Borough Council website at www.planningportal.rugby.gov.uk/ by the 9th Jan 2014. Residents should still submit letters after this date demanding their right to be heard given the ‘consultation’ took place during a holiday period.

Steve Wright, who is a local resident and Benn Ward Greens in Rugby are calling for a meeting between the owner of the IMP, the council and local residents to investigate;

• If the IMP could be saved?
• Should the council uphold the designation of this once thriving business as an asset of community value?
• Maybe the site could contain a licensed community hub to be used, owned and run by the local residents?

If you would like to express an opinion please do not hesitate to contact us by email – rugbygreenparty@gmail.com

GREENS CALL FOR BUS SERVICES IMPROVEMENT IN RUGBY

Writing in a letter to the local papers in Rugby, local Green Party spokesperson, Steve Wright has added the voice of Rugby Green Party to concerns that have been raised by local residents over the current reliability of the local bus services and has suggested positive improvement that could be made - including a Bus Station in the town center and also an interactive GPS system enabling local residents to find out the actual real time arrival time for the bus they are waiting to catch.

He writes;

Improving Rugby’s Bus Service

Letters Page

Rugby Green Party share many of the concerns about the recent decline of the bus services in Rugby in terms of bus arriving late even not all – if this was to take place on the railways the companies would have to pay to compensation to its customers!

In Coventry the National Express operator has installed a GPS tracking scheme on each of their buses, to allow prospective passengers the ability to check the arrival of buses by text for a small fee of 25 by typing the individual code which is on each bus stop.

This is likely to increase use of buses as people will know whether a bus will turn up on time or is running late. This is a system that Rugby Greens believe should be introduced in Rugby and Warwickshire.

Rugby Greens  are also calling for a Bus station in the town centre at either the old Granada Cinema site or the old market site off the top of Railway Terrace – local planners must ensure any improvements to the town centre includes the requirement of a modern bus station.

Rugby Greens are also calling for refurbishment  and improvements to bus stops in the Rugby by placing electronic GPS arrival panels on key bus stops and also providing more stops with shelter from the elements. We would like to see a discussion in the community take place about where additional bus stops should be placed to meet local need - near for example the junction with Barby Road for the 86 Bus.

Finally, the bus service times must be better integrated with other bus service times in respect of times to enable a passenger to catch another bus in the town centre and also those bus services near the railway with rail services.

The excellent bus services in London  show that reliable service with affordable fares is the way 

forward.

Regards

Steve Wright

Rugby Green Party

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year Year from all of us at Rugby Green Party

As parliament goes into Christmas recess and Father Christmas readies his reindeer, the British public think that Father Christmas’s political views would be firmly left of centre

Ed Balls caused a stir last week by showing up to a commons vote on banking reform dressed as Father Christmas. Balls arrived directly from playing the role of Father Christmas at the Westminster Kids Club Christmas party, and proudly posed for a picture with Labour MP Pamela Nash. The idea of Father Christmas taking the Labour whip however, doesn't come as too much of a suprise to the British public. 

YouGov research shows that the British public think that given the opportunity, Father Christmas would vote either Labour or Green.

Excluding those who either don’t know (19%) or think he wouldn’t vote at all (25%), 27% of Brits think Father Christmas is a Labour voter, although the Green Party comes a close second with 23%. Despite his penchant for hand-outs, 17% think Father Christmas is a Conservative and 13% think he would vote UKIP. Just 6% think Father Christmas would vote Lib Dem.  

Support tends to fall along party lines, which makes the strong Green Party support all the more interesting. A majority of Labour voters (64%), Conservative voters (59%) and UKIP voters (60%) all believe that Father Christmas would vote for the party that they support. Worryingly for the Liberal Democrats however, just 30% of their voters think Father Christmas would vote Lib Dem.

A German museum has applied for Father Christmas to be added to the UNESCO list of cultural heritage. Felicitas Hoptner, director of the German Christmas Museum is keen to protect the original German "Father Christmas" character from the influence of the more recent American incarnation of "Santa Claus".

Image: Getty

Autumn Statement: Yet another missed opportunity to restructure the economy and deliver a sustainable energy future

5 December 2013

CHANCELLOR of the Exchequer George Osborne’s Autumn Statement was dominated by short-term political considerations and a failure yet again to either address the underlying, structural problems which weaken the health of the British economy or move us to a low-carbon, affordable energy future, says the Green Party. Nothing has been done to prepare for the economic storm on the horizon.

In the Autumn Statement, Osborne insisted that “Britain’s economic plan is working” and that the Coalition Government is overseeing a “responsible recovery.”

In response to the Autumn Statement, Natalie Bennett, Green Party Leader for England and Wales, said:

"Mr Osborne was so keen to claim that this was an Autumn Statement for the long term, yet on this issue, as others, he is clearly a man who protests too much.

"Our current economic position is based on high and growing consumer indebtedness, as households are forced to borrow to cover basic costs, and a government-supported housing bubble. The Chancellor says that the sun is shining. Well that proves he hasn't looked out the window today, or looked into the lives of millions of Britons who are struggling to pay the bills, in far too many cases forced to resort to extortionate payday lenders or foodbanks to get by.”

"Instead of working to restructure our economy, to rein-in our reckless, fraud-ridden financial sector, to boost manufacturers and the real economy, to create stable, decent-paying jobs that workers can build a life on, Mr Osborne's focus is instead clearly short-term - to inflate the economy for the mere 18 months to the next General Election."

Caroline Lucas, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, said:

“The Autumn statement was yet another missed opportunity to take the action that we need that will genuinely move us to a low-carbon, affordable energy future.

“The Chancellor has done nothing to tackle the root causes of fuel poverty or soaring fuel bills. Instead of watering down energy companies’ obligations, he should have announced a major programme to make all homes super-energy efficient. If funded through recycled carbon taxes, this could bring an estimated nine out of ten homes out of fuel poverty, quadruple carbon savings, and create up to 200,000 jobs across the UK.” [1]

“The Chancellor has delivered a lavish Christmas gift to fracking companies – giving them tax breaks to support an irresponsible and dangerous dash for gas that will undermine the urgent action we need to reduce our carbon emissions.

“It’s ironic that a Chancellor who talks about going green is quite happy for the UK to continue to fund massive subsidies for both nuclear and fossil fuels. Taking real action to tackle climate change would create jobs, transform the economy, and help us meet our duty to secure a safe and habitable climate for future generations."

[1] http://www.energybillrevolution.org/whats-the-campaign/

Green Party mourns loss of Nelson Mandela

6 December 2013

Dr Derek Wall, International Coordinator of the Green Party of England and Wales stated:

'Nelson Mandela was an inspiring figure, he showed that resistance to injustice is possible and that reconciliation is vital. Our memorial to him must be our resistance to injustice and inequality. Those who fight for justice are often condemned until they win the fight and belatedly are then described as heros, we need to be aware that across the world there are new Mandela's who will be abused until they succeed in making necessary change.

However Nelson Mandela must also be remembered as a peace maker, advocating reconciliation between former enemies, this is a practical side of his work that we can all learn from. South Africa has made great progress but it is still a society where poverty divides communities, we are aware that from the Marikana massacre to battles against electricity privatisation, the long walk to freedom still has many miles to go. Mandela was never just one man, he was a product of a process iniated by South Africans and international networks for liberation and that process must continue'