City Green Autumn Edition the Newsletter of Birmingham Green Party November 2006
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
City Green Autumn Edition The newsletter of Birmingham Green Party November 2006 BIRMINGHAM GREEN PARTY Inside this issue: QUARTERLY MEMBERS’ MEETING and FUN(D)-RAISING MEAL! BGP Quarterly Members’ Meeting 1 Bournville Date: Saturday 9 December Newsletter Drop Time: meeting at 5.00 pm, followed by fund-raising meal at 7.00 pm BGP 2007 AGM and Location: Phil Simpson’s house, 55 Wentworth Road, Harborne 2 Fund-raising Lunch The meeting: Will include hustings and information on the ongoing Bournville campaign (more info about this on page 3). Also, Rianne C. ten Veen will be speaking on "Muslims and the Green Party". Green Party Makes 3 Rianne is a Muslim and an environmental activist who has recently the News! joined Birmingham Green Party. Among other things, she works in community radio (Unity FM), heading up an environmental Funding of Political programme called Home Planet. Parties BGP Member Under 4 the Spotlight— The meal: It’ll be another of our famous ‘bring and Joe Rooney share’ meals—so, please bring something to share, plus £5 to support Birmingham Green Book review: Party. Good food, good drink, good company—all Market, Schmarket 5 (Molly Scott-Cato) that, plus the good feeling knowing you’re helping to fund BGP! My Days at Conference For more information: ring Phil on 427 2945. 6 Do You Work in Solihull? NEWSLETTER DELIVERERS NEEDED!! Notes from Policy Conference 2006– 7 Alan Murie on Can you spare a couple of hours to help out on the Bournville Housing campaign? We’re delivering a newsletter to every household in the Ward—and that’s a lot of households. The more help- ers we get, the sooner we’ll be done, so please bring a friend (or three!) and meet us. Meet at The Rest House on the Bournville green (it’s the octagonal building in the middle of the green) on Sunday 26 November at 10.30 am The newsletter will provide information about Birmingham Green Party, our policies, and what we’ve been doing around the Bournville Ward. Autumn Edition Page 2 BGP 2007 AGM AND FUND-RAISING LUNCH Date: Saturday 27 January Location: Welsh Congregational Church, Bath Street (off Queensway, not far from St Chad’s Cathedral in Birmingham city centre) Programme: 10.00 am Arrival and drinks 10.30 am AGM Agenda Introductions and welcome Written reports from officers: • Secretary (Hazel Clawley) • Treasurer (Phil Simpson) • Membership Secretary (Peter Beck) • Elections Officer (Peter Tinsley) • Media Officer (Barney Smith, plus Peter Beck, acting Media Officer from 28 September 2006) • Newsletter Editors (Anna and Stuart Masters) • Policy Coordinator (Alan Clawley) • Fundraiser/Social Secretary (Anna Masters) Other reports from key (non-officer) activists appointed by the Committee: • Website and e-group (Amanda Baker) • Bournville campaign team (Joe Rooney, Steve Austin) Election of officers for 2007: • Secretary • Treasurer • Membership Secretary • Elections Officer • Media Officer • Newsletter Editor • Policy Coordinator • Fundraiser/Social Secretary Further selection of prospective candidates for 2007 City Council elections. Close of meeting by 12.30 p.m. latest. 12.30 p.m. Fund-raising lunch (shared with folk arriving for the Regional AGM) [1.00 p.m. approx. at same venue - West Midlands Region AGM – all welcome.] EVEN IF YOU CAN’T MAKE THE AGM, PLEASE DO JOIN US FOR LUNCH! Big thanks to Harry Eyles and Barbara Staples for organising the late- summer barbecue at Martineau Gardens! Their hard work and that of many helpers (especially Vina Beck) helped raise over £90 for BGP. If you missed this event, be sure to come out and support BGP at the upcoming winter barbecue, also to be held at Martineau Gardens. Watch your email inbox, or ring Harry Eyles on 353 2442, for more details. Autumn Edition Page 3 GREEN PARTY MAKES THE NEWS! Anything I write now about Birmingham Green Party’s campaign in Bournville will be out of date by the time you read this issue of City Green. Things are moving fast, and it’s the Green Party that is pushing the action along. When you think “Bournville”, you think leafy suburbs, neat gardens, folksy houses, charming streets. But that’s not the full picture. There is also, on the southern edge of the ward, a run-down council estate, neglected for years. Blocks of flats have stairwells with broken windows, trailing electric cables, doors hanging off their hinges, intercom systems that don’t work. I was staggered when I saw the state of it – I didn’t know there was anything so bad still to be found in Birmingham – least of all in Bournville. No one on the estate knows what the future holds. Vague promises of redevelopment have been held out to residents for several years, but no action has been taken. The Green Party’s Bournville Campaign Team has supported local residents in demanding a public meeting to discuss the future of the estate. A promise was extracted (with difficulty!) from local (Tory) councillors to call such a meeting by the middle of November. The Green Party’s policy is to “help tenants and local communities to manage their own housing”, and to “work on bottom-up, community-led approaches to redevelopment and regeneration”. This is what we are doing on the Overbury Estate – watch the email messages (sign-up information on page 8) or phone Hazel (see below) for latest news! In the rest of the ward, the initial full canvass is almost complete. Thanks to all who have joined in, whether for one session or many. The figures look good. If we can keep up the momentum, do some more casework, and get out ward news- letters regularly, Joe Rooney may well be Birmingham’s first Green Councillor next May. What can you do? The next big task is delivering the first ward newsletter to every house in the ward—see page 1. We already have some volunteers recruited as we canvassed – supporters who will deliver to their own street. But we still need everyone who can help to contact Phil – before he contacts you! Email [email protected] or phone 427 2945. Other things you could volunteer for: • follow up some of the queries we’re getting from resi- dents as we canvass; • help with the final section of the first canvass; • write a Bournville Manifesto (based on the Birmingham manifesto – Alan will explain about this at the December Joe Rooney: future Birmingham meeting - be ready to volunteer!); Green councillor? • make green pennants to be carried on the sponsored Easter Monday walk round Bournville; • raise funds for the campaign. If you can help with any of this, contact Hazel by email on [email protected] or by phone on 772 716. Autumn Edition Page 4 THOUGHTS FROM A MEMBER A BGP MEMBER UNDER THE Funding of Political Parties SPOTLIGHT! “Freeriding” is an important principle in public policy. Important for me too—the JOE ROONEY prospect of being a freerider led to my decision to rejoin the Green Party: it What do you do (occupation, was reading about the impact of non- etc.)? renewal of subscriptions on the Labour I’m an organiser for a trade union Party’s budget that prompted my return. called Connect. Freeriding is benefiting from a public good without paying for it. Take the provision of blood for transfusions: How long have you been a Green if blood were collected from donors in return for cash, Party member? there’d be a motive to lie about contamination; relying A little over four years. on the altruism of volunteers reduces this risk. Everyone (potentially) benefits from clean blood, yet not everyone What prompted you to join? volunteers: the rest are freeriders. An article in a music magazine The funding of political parties has the inverse problem. about a Green Party activist in Paying a donation means that favours are expected in Chicago. I found his street-level return. Relying on the altruism of taxpayers to fund the approach to politics really inspiring, democratic process reduces this risk. The Green Party and so I looked into the Greens supports the complete funding of political parties by the over here. State. Others think it’s not so simple. The government’s review What are your main policy into the funding of political parties reports in December. interests? The comments on the review’s online forum include a Education, economics, health and few counter-arguments—that state funding won’t create housing. new parties to exploit current hopes or fears (surely an argument in favour of state funding?); that it is unfair for Which individuals or groups everyone to pay when not everyone votes (but everyone have most inspired you during is affected by elections); that money should be spent on your life? public services (but a fair electoral system is a public Any number of bands, most notably service!). Million Dead and Boy Sets Fire, Party donations give the impression that as some and people like Ian MacKaye and people value democracy enough to pay for it voluntarily, Jonah Matranga. the rest don’t have to worry. The rest are actually freeriding, and have been accustomed to the fact that Are you an optimist, a pessimist someone else pays for accountability. This perhaps or a pragmatist? explains the hostility to state funding of political parties I’m an optimist, albeit a fairly expressed in the online debates. The whole electorate practical one. Things have a engages in elections—even by not voting (it is an tendency to go right if you let them. abstention) - and consequently should contribute to the funding of the political parties that (hopefully!) allow What is your favourite quote? informed decisions at elections.