Greens create history but voting system must change

Press Release 10/5/10

Greens create history but result in Redditch demonstrates why voting system must change

Green Party members and supporters in Redditch and all over the UK have been celebrating following the victory of party leader Caroline Lucas who has become the new MP for Brighton Pavilion, the first Green MP in the UK.

Here in Redditch, as in many constituencies across the UK, the Green Party share of the vote has been squeezed to a disappointing 1%. Greens put this down to the “archaic voting system” and a huge number of their supporters voting tactically so their vote actually counts. But the local result has failed to dampen spirits about the success in Brighton.

Redditch Green Party spokesman, Kevin White, said “The election of the first ever Green MP to Parliament represents a truly historic breakthrough, and not just for British politics. Caroline Lucas is the first Green MP anywhere in the world to be elected under the first-past-the-post voting system. Hundreds of thousands of Green voters across the country now have, for the first time, a voice in Parliament. Genuinely progressive views on issues such as the economy, health and the environment will now be heard.”

“The first-past-the-post system has created a situation where people cannot vote positively for the candidate, or party, whose policies they most agree with. Instead, they are forced to vote in fear, working out how to vote to keep out the party furthest away from them in policy and values. This leaves us a grotesque democratic deficit and a poor basis on which to govern.”

“We urgently need a referendum to replace the current system with a form of proportional representation that properly reflects the needs and views of 21st century voters. If a form of proportional representation is introduced, we are confident that our true level of support here in Redditch and nationally can be represented properly.”

ENDS

General Election results for Redditch

Conservative (Karen Lumley) 19,138 – 43.5%
Labour (Jacqui Smith) 13,317 – 30.3%
Liberal Democrat (Nicholas Lane) 7,750 – 17.6%
UKIP (Anne Davis) 1,497 – 3.4%
BNP (Andy Ingram) 1,394 – 3.2%
Green (Kevin White) 393 – 0.9%
English Democrats (Vincent Schittone) 255 – 0.6%
Christian (Scott Beverley) 101 – 0.2%
Independent (Paul Swansborough) 100 – 0.2%
Nobody Party (Derek Fletcher) 73 – 0.2%

Your local council Green Party candidates across Redditch

For the first time ever, Redditch voters in every ward up for election have the opportunity to vote Green. These are our 10 candidates across the town:

Lodge Park – Kevin White
Greenlands – Rylma White
Cental – Bryn Colvin
Abbey – Lisa Kite
Batchley – Loretta Griffin
Headless Cross & Oakenshaw – Alistair Waugh
Crabbs Cross – Yvonne Rhodes
Astwood Bank & Feckenham – Joshua Harvey
Winyates – Emma Bradley
Church Hill – Lee Bradley

The only party to promise a decent pension & lift 2.5 million pensioners above the poverty line

Press Release 5/5/10

Greens are the only party to pledge pension of £170 per week, ending pensioner poverty

Political commentators have said the ‘grey’ vote promises to be pivotal this election. Higher voting turn out amongst the over 60′s combined with an increasingly top heavy demographic mean that pensioners will be crucial in deciding who will form the next government.

Despite all three of the big party leaders falling over each other trying to appeal to this section of the electorate, the Greens have today argued that it is only they who will take the necessary steps to eradicate pensioner poverty once and for all.

Kevin White, Green Party candidate for Redditch said, “The big three parties are making lots of noise about what they’re going to do for pensioners. But the stark truth is that only the Green Party have pledged to put the money into basic state pensions that will mean that every pensioner will be taken out of poverty.”

“Figures from the National Pensioners’ Convention show that 2.5m pensioners were living below the official poverty line in 2007/8.”

“The rising cost of food and fuel, combined with record lows in savings returns and underperforming pensions, means that people aged 70 and over will suffer a disproportionate increase in the cost of living.”

“All three of the main parties have promised to restore the basic link between the state pension and earnings on varying timescales. But none have pledged the money needed to meet a key demand of the NPC and set the basic state pension above the official poverty level (estimated at £165 a week in 2009).”

“A key tenet of this General Election’s Green Party Manifesto is that we want to introduce a basic, non-means tested pension of £170 a week and make social care free for the elderly, as in Scotland.”

“If the first Green MP’s are elected on Thursday, pensioners and others can be assured that there will be a tireless voice campaigning in Westminster for a fairer deal for older people across Britain.”

Kevin calls for improved, expanded & fully integrated public transport

Letter on the Redditch Standard website (29/4/10)

We need better public transport

I TRAVEL by train on a regular basis and I believe that many users feel as I do that the service could be much improved. By bringing the trains back under public ownership and investing in them, the service would be more affordable, reliable and convenient, which would encourage many more people to leave their cars at home.

On arrival at Redditch train station, travellers have the choice of buying a ticket at the machine (which many people feel uncomfortable using) or joining a queue which is often very long. There is frequently panic as the train nears its departure time but the queue doesn’t seem to go down. People are faced with the choice of either missing the train or risking a penalty fare if they wait to buy a ticket on the train.

I would like to see major improvements at the station. We need a much larger ticket office, with more service counters, an indoor waiting room and public toilets. The trains themselves could be far more user friendly if passengers had a bit more seating room and if there was far more space available for wheelchairs, bicycles and pushchairs.

The Green Party would divert money currently being wasted on huge road projects (about £30billion) and invest in a better public transport system. An improved, expanded and fully integrated network would make public transport the easiest and cheapest option for commuters.

This will have the effect of slashing emissions and congestion on the roads, strengthening communities, reducing crime, improving the health of the population, and reducing traffic fatalities. And it would also create 160,000 jobs building and maintaining buses, trams and trains, and extra drivers, inspectors, train station staff etc. Better public transport will bring huge benefits for everyone.

Kevin White
Green Party Parliamentary Candidate for Redditch

Other parties proposals to tackle climate change are pathetic, says Kevin

Press Release 27/4/10

Only Greens have the answers to climate change and job creation

Yesterday was Climate Change Day, as designated by the Ask the Climate Question Coalition.

Across the country, thousands of people have been “asking the climate question” of prospective parliamentary candidates, demanding bold and urgent action on climate change.

The big political parties chose the day to finally start addressing environmental issues, but the Green Party have slammed their measures as “pathetic and totally inadequate” and they want this issue to outlast the election campaign by becoming a central priority for the next government.

The Greens say the new government must develop clean energy, a much expanded public transport system and a low carbon economy. They say that not only is this possible, but that one million jobs can be created in the process.

Kevin White, Green Party Parliamentary Candidate for Redditch, said “A radical programme of direct government investment is urgently required.”

“We need large-scale renewable energy generation, more efficient public transport and free insulation for every home that needs it, resulting in warm homes that are cheaper to run. Our £44 billion investment package would create one million new jobs in installation, equipment manufacture and public transport. This would help us to achieve the required 90% reduction in carbon equivalent emissions by 2030.”

“Climate change is not just an isolated threat – it signals that business as usual will result in catastrophic environmental and social consequences. It is clear from Copenhagen that mainstream governments have yet to grasp this. The Green Party have plans for a new economic and environmental settlement for the benefit of our planet and the people on it.”

“No government can afford to ignore climate change. Token words setting out unambitious targets from the main parties will never be enough, only the Green Party has the courage, conviction and commitment to really make climate change the central question, not just for one day, but for the future”.

Green manifesto shows how we should fight inequality

Press Release 16/4/10

A fair society for all

Yesterday, The Green Party launched it’s general election manifesto Fair is Worth Fighting For.

As the manifesto title suggests, the Greens propose a wide range of policies aimed at reducing inequality and creating a fairer society – increasing pensions and the minimum wage, introducing fairer taxes and by protecting and improving the NHS. Under their manifesto, Greens claim that 87% of the population would be significantly better off.

Kevin White, Green Party Parliamentary candidate for Redditch said, “After a lifetime of hard work and contributing to society, pensioners deserve better than having to scrape by on an inadequate state pension. It’s only fair that the basic state pension should be enough to live on – that is why Greens would make sure that all pensioners receive a non-means-tested £170 per week, as well as free social care for all who need it, as is currently offered in Scotland.”

“We would bring in a national minimum wage of £8.10 an hour, and reduce corporation tax to make it easier for small businesses to thrive. But this is not fantasy politics – our manifesto is fully costed. We would pay for it by, for example, scrapping Trident nuclear weapons which would bring in around £80 billion. We would cut the £30 billion to be spent on road building, and use the money to invest in public transport. We would raise income tax for those earning over £100,000 a year to fifty per cent. We support a Robin Hood tax on banking transactions and would ensure a permanent tax on bankers bonuses.”

“We will fight for a fair deal for those needing health care by opposing cuts, closures and privatisation and by demanding a full programme of locally accessible services. We will also fight to restore free dental care and provide everyone with the choice of an NHS dentist.”

“Under Labour, society is less equal than it is has been since the Second World War – a damning indictment of the Government. In less equal societies, there is more violence, more crime and more health problems. We need to get society back on its feet, and make it more equal for the good of all.”

Click here to read the manifesto on the Green Party website.

Kevin wants to celebrate Redditch, our cultural diversity & history

(letter published in the Redditch Advertiser on 14/4/10)

Celebrating our great history

Dear editor,

As a lifelong resident of Redditch, whose parents and grandparents were also born and brought up here, I’m passionate about the town and would like to see more done to bring our community together to celebrate the town, our cultural diversity and history.

One of my earliest childhood memories is of the Redditch Carnival. My parents, grandparents, aunt & cousins used to pick a spot every year on Other Road Hill and watch the procession go by. There must have been dozens of colourful floats, marching bands, majorettes and hundreds of people in bright & imaginative costumes. Year after year, many thousands of people lined the streets making the carnival by far the most popular event in the Redditch calendar.

Last September I joined the organising committee for the ‘We Are Redditch’ Community Festival. With a wide variety of food, entertainment and stalls from local organisations, all in the heart of the town centre, it was a great event. I very much hope that this event will blossom so that the old and young alike can once again experience the full excitement of a street procession & carnival atmosphere.

Also last September, I attended an exhibition of model trains and local history at Webheath Village Hall. The event marked 150 years since the opening of Redditch Train Station and also the launch of the towns first newspaper, The Redditch Indicator, in the same year. I was delighted to see that many hundreds of people packed into the hall throughout the day.

I know I am one of many people who would like Redditch to remember and celebrate our local history more. The Forge Mill Museum & Bordesley Abbey Visitor Centre is an excellent venue for the town but unfortunately due to it’s location, I feel that many people never visit. We have a rich history, not least in manufacturing: springs, fishing tackle, motor bikes, batteries etc. but also the development of the town in many ways. I would like to see a small but permanent museum & information centre established in the town centre, where residents and town visitors alike would have easy access. Maybe this is something which could be included in the development of St Stephens Church.

During a recession, spending money on such things may not be a priority, but if elected these would be two of many things I would work towards in order to celebrate our town.

Yours sincerely,
Kevin White

Letter to Redditch Borough Council regarding the 7,000 proposed new homes

Dear Sir,

Like our open space land within the town of Redditch, our green belt is very precious and should be preserved. I do not accept that we need to build 7,000 new homes in and around the town between now and 2026. When we do build new homes within the town, they should be affordable, social housing which is what Redditch people need, not more and more 4 and 5 bedroom houses which encourages people from out of town to move here. Neither do I accept that we need to use so much land for employment. Factory and office units are lying empty everywhere, why build more?

These proposals would change Redditch forever. Like thousands of Redditch residents, I will not stand by whilst every last bit of our green space in and around the town is devastated by totally unnecessary development. Redditch Borough Council should listen to the people of the town and simply refuse to accept these plans.

Yours sincerely,
Kevin White

Greens have a local council candidate in every ward across Redditch!

Press Release 9/4/10

Redditch Greens launch record full slate

Redditch Green Party announced today (April 9th) that it is launching a record full slate of candidates in Redditch for this year’s Borough Council Election on 6th May. Ten candidates have been selected, offering residents the chance to vote Green in every Redditch ward for the first time.

Lodge Park ward candidate, Kevin White said: “The fact that we have been able field a full slate for the first time, shows the growing strength and confidence in the Greens. It’s a reflection of our rising membership – which nearly doubled after last year’s County and Euro Elections – and greater public awareness and demand for Green policies. Britain is now at a crossroads, embroiled in financial chaos and environmental breakdown. It’s hardly surprising that more and more people are looking for a viable alternative to the three main parties. People know they can trust the Green Party on the environment, and now they are beginning to realise that we have strong economic and social policies.”

The Green Party believe their candidates are more diverse than those from other parties, with 6/10 being women and 2 candidates under the age of 20. All Green candidates have lived in the town all or most of their lives.

Kevin White, who is also the Green Parliamentary Candidate for Redditch, continued: “All our candidates are passionate about the town and are keen to speak out regarding issues such as cuts to local services, provision of public transport, lack of affordable youth facilities, threats to open space land and many other concerns within the community. We look forward to building on our success in last year’s County Council Election.”