Green Activist The newsletter for Green Party members December 2014 2014 hottest year on record Photo credit: Shutterstock Green Party Membership up Contents 100% since January 1 2014 UK Greens set to outnumber UKIP and LibDems 3 Notices, announcements, Christmas cards 4 Resources, fundraising, etc. Membership of the Party has risen by over 100% since January 1ST 2014, doubling our numbers in 5 The General Election 2015 Candidate selection update - keep us informed! under a year. 6 Crowd Funding fundraising - media review Another 500 joined last weekend - powered partly How to raise your election deposits, etc. by Leader Natalie Bennett’s barnstorming Friday Green Party media highlights evening performance on BBC Radio 4 Any Questions 7-8 Women candidates for the General Election (1) and over 1000 more have joined since then. We Former candidates inspiring gender balance now have 29,000 members! 9 Local elections - 6 month strategy If you include the Scottish and NI parties the UK Start your local election campaign now Greens exceed 37,000 - that’s just 3,000 short of 10 Social media training - how to use Facebook UKIP’s membership of 40,000. At this rate we have Building your Facebook support network every chance having a larger membership than both UKIP and the LibDems before the elections next year. 11 Election fund for disabled candidates Let the BBC exclude us from the TV leader debates Encouraging diversity and How to win elections then! 12 By-election round-up and results By-election results featuring Green candidates We have polled neck-and-neck and, on four occasions, ahead of the Liberal Democrats in recent months. (2) 13-17 Brighton Greens - disaster or triumph? Dispelling myths about Brighton & Hove Council Natalie Bennett, Leader of the Green Party of and everything you need to defend them England and Wales, said: 18 Green pioneers - Rachel Carson "This is a real landmark in the 'Green Surge'. To have Plus Post-Growth book review doubled the membership of the party in less than 19 Policy - Citizens Income a year is a real marker of the way in which people NE Region Green Party discuss Citizens Income in England and Wales are seeing that we need real 20 Energy democracy change in our society, not the business-as-usual Home solar PV threatens big energy companies politics offered by the three largest parties. 21-24 Who’s Who in the Green Party "Talking to new members around the country, 4 pages of contact details of party officers, their reasons, and the trajectories that brought committees, policy groups and key activists them to the Green Party, vary a great deal. There 25 Spring Conference 2015 are many former Labour and Lib Dem members We’re returning to St. Georges Hall, Liverpool on who are fed up with parties that are happy to 6-9th March. Put it in your diary! see society continue to be run for the benefit of the 1% and the continued trashing of our natural environment. Others are former non-voters, who see that to create the rapid change we need, we need a new kind of politics. Some are former Tories, horrified by the government's fracking fantasy or Members Website http://my.greenparty.org.uk worried by its failure to tackle our fraud-ridden, National Website http://www.greenparty.org.uk corrupt and reckless financial sector. Facebook https://www.facebook.com/thegreenparty "These new members are putting their grassroots Twitterhttps://twitter.com/thegreenparty efforts and their financial support, as are many other supporters around the country, into making Big thanks to Jenny Rust and Sophie Armour - the proofreaders the 2015 General Election transformational. They understand there is a unique opportunity for a peaceful revolution delivered by enthused, Welcome to Green Activist energised voters." Send your comments, contributions, LINKS ideas and enquiries to: (1) http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04pvp8h EditOR: Peter Barnett (2) http://greenparty.org.uk/news/2014/11/20/green-party- Internal Communications Coordinator polls-third-on-26-in-yougov-potential-voting-poll-for-the- times’-red-box/ [email protected] (3) http://voteforpolicies.org.uk Activist 2 Notices Finance Coordinator Make it easy to contact your local party Some new members have unsuccessfully tried to Green Party Executive Committee (GPEx) contact their local Greens using obsolete contact Michael Coffey, GPEx Finance Coordinator for the last three years, details on the local party’s website. This is not good! has unfortunately had to step down due to personal and family commitments. Michael did an outstanding job and we all owe him It’s easy to forget keeping such details up to date, but a huge debt of gratitude for his role in taking the party forward. vitally important. Assign someone in your local party We thus have a vacancy on GPEx for a finance coordinator. Ideally the task of thoroughly inspecting your website weekly, you will have a background in accountancy, or a current working to ensure everything is accurate and topical. Provide at knowledge of setting budgets and financial processes or book- least two points of contact on the site in case someone keeping. is busy/away. The successful applicant will be co-opted onto GPEx as a non-voting member for one year, the post then being open to election at the Please make this an absolute priority. next Autumn conference. If you are interested please review the job description and fill in an application form and send to Tom Beckett: Website problems? Email glitches? [email protected] If you have a problem with any aspect of Green Party Applications to be received by the 13th December. Applicants will be asked to attend the next GPEx meeting on the 20th December. online facilities the best way to get help is to open a Find the Job Description and Application Form via links below support ticket from: JOB DESCRIPTION http://support.greenparty.org.uk/ APPLICATION FORM It is quick and easy to do - we have a really good team ready to do their best to resolve your difficulties. Green Party publications Using this system also alerts the team to any problems In my election address for Publications Coordinator I or areas for improvement that might also affect others, said I wanted to get feedback from local parties and so it improves things all round. regions to discover what sort of publications they would like to see for use in their campaigning. I have already begun to prepare a paper version of our Dreaming of a Green Christmas? “Philosophical Basis”, which will be an A5 20 page Pre-order your unique booklet. Is this the sort of thing you can use? How Green Party Christmas cards today! much could you sell it for on your stalls, at events, etc.? Do you have local publications that could be useful to This festive season send your friends and family share with other local parties and the regions? unique Christmas cards designed by the London Green Party. Please send comments on anything related to party publications to: We have a range of cards to suit everyone on your card [email protected] list - from our classic cards with traditional winter or post your comments on the members’ website here: images, to our Comic range bound to make your PUBLICATIONS FORUM politically-minded loved ones smile. Martin Collins Only £2.95 per pack! GPEx Publications Coordinator All proceeds go towards our 2015 General Election Fund, providing much needed resources to help elect Green MPs. You can browse our packs and make your pre-order purchase on our website by following this link: http://london.greenparty.org.uk/shop.html Bulk discounts: Want to sell these cards to raise money for your own local election campaign funds? Contact Clare and Matt of the London Media & Publications Team and make us an offer we can’t refuse! Customisation of designs and packs may be available if you are ordering large quantities. For further information email Clare Phipps and Matt Hawkins on: [email protected] This night, 3.3 GW of wind power covered 100-120% of Danish Happy Christmas card shopping! electricity demand! Wholesale price dropped below zero. Activist 3 Fundraising, events and resources Green Shop THE WHITE CRANE DRAW On-line shop for all your Green Party campaigning , fundraising and election WINNERS NOVEMBER 2014 materials. 1st 158 U. Stubbings £100 Posters, leaflets, flyers, rosettes, 2nd 236 R. Leventon £45 badges, hi-vis vests, T shirts etc. 3rd 067 H. Lewis £22 http://shop.greenparty.org.uk/ 4th 182 D. Wallace £21 Donation to Party from proceeds £188 Latest stock To join the draw print out the form on the members’ website or call party office for a copy. Green Party Manifesto on Animal Protection Download a copy from here: DOWNLOAD Green Group Newsletter A weekly collection of links to Green Party stories in the media DOwnlOadable campaign materials Free by E-mail subscription Links to stories about Green Party luminaries, councillors, local All current Green Party leaflets, flyers, posters, parties, press releases and much more . Links to videos and photos. etc. can be downloaded for self-printing here: Click on link below or copy address to your browser: DOWNLOAD PAGE LINK http://paper.li/CllrMediaReview/1377242630 Many of these are also available ready-printed from the Green Shop . Fracking film 'An Autumn Diary' One of the very few campaign films that really engages the ordinary person. More about it here A captivating adventure in the English countryside. Watch it free online. TTIP free BOOK DOwnlOAD DOWNLOAD LINK The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), a free trade and investment treaty is being negotiated – in secret – between the EU and the USA.