Simon Anthony - Green Party

2011-08-09T04:21:00.000-07:00

How to raise a phoenix from the ashes of riotous London.

The main problem is - there is not enough 'Stuff' to go round - at least there isn't enough while we who have it waste so very much. There is plenty for all if we design and create an environmentally sustainable economy not based on growth and consumption.

The solution?

Jo Average is the problem - but, Jo Average didn't do it consciously. We need to keep almost everything the same as it is - on the surface - but change the way things work at a deeper level. We accidentally destroy our world's resources by shopping, eating and day to day living. A government's job is to enable industry and societies systems to change the 'back end' of the economy so that far fewer and far less of the world's resources are consumed and far more - to all of them - can be and will be re-used easily. That is what ' Sustainable' should mean.

Once we are living within our means it will be easy for everyone to have 'enough'. Advertisers should stop trying to make us want more though - another big requirement. We can still have change and improvements, sustainability is not stagnation.

This ideal may read as being a Utopian dream, but, it is as achievable as has been the terrible mess we are in already. The same - existing- system can be used to fix rather than worsen the situation. Already in Industry, or under development in universities and groups all around the planet, we have all the technologies needed to sort things out in the way I describe.

Society will follow the good in the same way it is now following the bad. By Society, I mean the youths who are not part of the massive existing majority sensible society - the one that is accidentally causing the problems.

Environmentalists are not golden age - back to nature cave lovers, and by the way - we don't have all the answers - but we know people who do - everyone else. A Green government's job is to point everyone in the right direction. How we get there the Government doesn't need to and can't understand. It's job is to direct and ensure no more damage is done on the way.

We must not criminalise the rioters, yes, the acts are criminal but that is not the point. We should see beyond that simple comfortable - them and us - hiding place. They are us, our children or our students, certainly or future whether we like it or not. To stamp down hard now would be like imposing punitive restrictions on Germany after the first world war. It would create another war in the future.

Most of the rioters are just bored and 'up for' some excitement and fun. Opportunistic is the right term here. This is not a revolution, but it does have a cause. The rioter have no thought of other people, they are mindless with nothing to think let alone say. We must teach them to think and be people together - and then listen and act when they speak. But, this violence tells us we have been doing things wrong and we have no option left but to change. In fact, this is not a choice at all any more.

The next Elephant issue to address after education is - Jobs. What are Jobs for? Until now it has been the only way you could keep yourself alive, a route to and a hope for the future improvement of your lot. Today though things have changed and the future can be different. Technology has advanced so much - thanks to the way we have been doing things - that now we have a chance to do things differently. On the back of a wasteful economy we can and now must build a new economy that does not despoil as it 'grows'.

'Growth' without boundaries kills - in the body of a human this is called Cancer. Sustainable economies do not need to grow to live, they may expand or contract but at their will rather than because of any Malthusian effects. Sadly it will soon be evident that most of the 'Jobs' we do today are very much part of the problem, yet we think that jobs are the solution. More jobs are not the answer. More of the same will add fuel to the ecological fire, we need some of something different.

Life not Jobs.

If resources were not lost during the course of daily life but instead, if they were recovered and renewed - which modern technology and age old common sense has long allowed - then it would be clear that most jobs need not and indeed should not be done.

What do we do then? No jobs and time on our hands? That is the very problem as we and more importantly the rioters see it now. What must we do? We must address both issues in a different way.

World governments will soon admit what they must have known deep inside for years - that there is no alternative but to provide a Basic Income for everyone - sufficient to give homes, health and comfort to all - simply based on the fact of a person's existence. Yes, it can be afforded, it can't not be afforded.

Secondly - the real issue can be asked, then possibly addressed. What do people do when they don't have work to fill their time?
Historically the answer has been - join the Armed Forces (and start a war to take people's minds off things), join the Clergy or - in modern times - stay in education for life. Education is essential, but for Life, not for employment. We need better answers today.

May be we can continue to be consumers after all - but this time - of the Arts. The world can be our oyster and it can turn this grit in to pearls.

As sent to the NEP

2009-06-01T09:09:00.001-07:00

Dear Sir

I am the Green Party candidate for West Bridgford West and as such wish to make public something which I am sure will be obvious to anyone who thinks or cares about the environment. I fully support Phase Two of the NET expansion. No transport system is going to be perfect for everyone but everyone will benefit from the reduction in traffic an expansion of the hugely successful existing tram system will allow.

Despite my full support for the expansion, I am not blind however to the short-comings of the existing network. As things stand, the seats are not anything like as comfortable as the splendid ones in the new bus fleet as used for the No.11 busses in Lady Bay. Anyone who has not tried Public Transport recently really should have a go on one of these routes. If our trams had such seats then every-day users would have something extra to be proud of in Nottingham City. Visitors would have even more to enjoy as well. May be we could have songs written about our trams one day - it has been done before after all.

Ever since the introduction of Phase One, Easy Rider cards have carried the NET logo, but the card is still not accepted on the trams. NCT told me in a letter several years ago that this was due to a need for new equipment. A whole new tram system surely must come with new ticket machines. Lets hope they purchase enough for both phases, otherwise it can hardly be called a Network.

Simon Anthony, Nottingham Green Party

2009-05-31T02:06:00.000-07:00

Good news!

The general public are starting to get the idea at last. TV, Radio and ( I am told) the papers are full of the stories of politicians from all (but not our) parties who have fiddled their accounts. The public are starting to see that ethics plays a very small part in the lives of many of our elected leaders, many, but not all by a long way I am glad to say.

This is not my reason for this blog entry. My point is that this is just the tip of an iceberg, the fact that the non-metaphorical ones are melting does not help this situation at all. Politicians are just the easiest people to catch at this game, they are not the only ones. In fact they are the visible tip of the cause of the environmental disaster we greens have been talking about for decades.

The very way or economy runs, the way the people running it think, the economic imperative of consumerism and consumption whenever possible of whatever we can get at - has used up this planet. It's obvious to us, but it is only starting to be noticed by the voting populace. This June the realisation of the facts will not have settled in deeply enough for Greens to get elected as anything but a protest vote against the others, but soon we shall be elected for the reason we have been standing - for the truth we know and which others can no longer avoid.

I am off to the Green Festival at 'The Arb'" this afternoon - as my daughter tells me under 18s call the Arboretum. The party has a stall there, I'll take photos I expect . The place will be full of like-minded people, but possibly not voters - which is a pitty. If you are one of us, not them, use your vote to show it.

Thanks.

P.S.

If the Chancellor of the Exchequer needs help filling out his own tax return - is that not proof enough there is something wrong with the system? If he can't do it without help, why should we be expected to do it at all? The fact that he charged the cost of his help to us shows the system must be replaced. Greens have always said that.

2009-05-30T08:28:00.000-07:00

The problem with canvassing is you never know what you are going to be asked. This can also be a good thing if you are up to the job. People have always got something unexpected to say. They can ask specific questions about which I have no information to hand, or very general ones - like 'what are you going to do about Europe'. Whatever the question, the fact it has been asked is a good sign that people are thinking for themselves. Democracy is only as good as the information people have available on which to make their choices. No one should ever be afraid to ask and given the chance I will always answer.

If I am asked a question to which I have no specific answer (which is not often these days), I do the same thing as when I want to know the Green Party position on anything. I clear my mind of preconceptions - as far as that is ever possible - and ask my heart. That is a hard thing for me to write as it reads as if I am slightly mad or at best trying to avoid the question. Quite the opposite in fact.

I believe that basically everyone has the same set of needs and desires as everyone else. They may conflict, and frequently do, but when laid out clearly I have always found there is a way to sort most things out. To make this answer trick work it is essential to be honest with myself - as well as with the people who ask me what I would do if elected. The check for my internal clarity of thought comes when I read the Manifesto for a Sustainable Society - the Green Party manifesto, I have so far always found the same answer there as I found when I ask myself. When that kept on happening I joined the party as a life member.

Sometimes, if I have no personal answer, the MFSS gives me new in-sites. It's a very odd thing, but it works for me. Try it yourself. The MFSS is on the Green Party national website at http://policy.greenparty.org.uk/mfss. I am proud to say that I helped in a draft of the Philosophical Basis to the Party's thinking. This underlies everything we do, and that covers everything that needs to be done.

By the way, if I or any elected Green does not like what they read, the Green Party does not have any sort of 'whip' or party line that it's representatives are bound to follow. We are bound only by what we say we will do and what we think is right for everyone now and in the future.

You may say - as some have - 'so you think you know better than us?', well, would you vote for someone who knew less? It's our job to know what you don't have the time to find out, or it will be if I am elected. Anyway, it's not what you know, it what you do about it that counts and the way it is done.

Greens have a 'way' of doing things, a 'way' that will work because it is very close to the way things are done already. The Green difference is that our way does not make the planet accidentally uninhabitable, it gives hope and encouragement for life in all it's forms and to all the many and varied ways people wish to live it.

Green Party of England and Wales
Manifesto for a Sustainable Society

The MfSS is a statement of the policies needed to fulfil the Green Vision and create a society based on ecological sustainability and social justice. It is not a programme for a single term of government, but an expression of what is necessary to achieve these long term goals.

MfSS is organised into chapters covering particular policy areas. These vary in size and complexity, but each chapter follows a broad structure of introduction & background, objectives, long and short term specific policies.

Each paragraph is numbered with a code consisting of the 2 letter identifier for the chapter followed by three digits. This provides a means for finding and cross-referencing between chapters. You can use the box on the left to preview or jump directly to a specific paragraph.

Current MfSS Chapters

CHAPTER	CODE	Last edited date	Record of Policy Statements
PHILOSOPHICAL BASIS	PB	Winter 2007 by referendum
Agriculture	AG	Autumn '05	'94 '95 '01
Animal Rights	AR	Spring '07	'99 '03 '05 '06
Climate Change	CC	Spring '08	'00 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '08 '09
Countryside	CY	Spring '97	'95 '96 '04 '06
Crime Prevention	CJ	Spring '09	'05 '09
Culture Media & Sport	CMS	created Autumn '07	'96 '04 '08
Disability	DY	Spring '01
Drugs	DU	Autumn '06	'04
Economy	EC	Spring '09	'91 '95-'98 '02 '04 '05 '06 '09
Education	ED	Spring '07	'05 '06
Energy	EN	revised Spring '08 Spring '09	'90 '01 '02 '03 '07 '09
Europe	EU	Spring '09	'98 '99 '02 '03 '04 '05
Fisheries	FI	Autumn '95
Food	FD	Autumn '01	'97 '03 '04 '05
Forestry	FR	pre 1995	'93
Health	HE	Spring '09	'97 '03 '04 '06 '07 '08 '09
Housing	HO	Spring '07	'94 '07
Industry	IN	Spring '05
International Policy	IP	Spring '07	every year since '98 !
Land	LD	Autumn '00
Local Planning & the Built Environment	LP	Autumn '06	'95 '99 '02
Marine Industry	MI	Autumn '96
Migration	MG	Spring '09	'01
Nationality	NY	Autumn '96
Natural Resources & Waste Management	NR	Spring '07	'03 '04 '07
Peace & Defence	PD	Autumn '02	'95 '99 '01-'06 '09
Pollution	PL	Autumn '02	'03 '04
Population	PP	Spring '03
Public Administration & Government	PA	created Autumn '07
Refugees & Asylum Seekers	RA	Spring '09	'01 '04 '08
Responsibilities and Rights	RR	Spring '04	'95 '96 '00 '02 '03 '04
Science & Technology	ST	Spring '01
Social Welfare	SW	Autumn '04	'01 '08
Tourism	TM	revised Spring '09
Transport	TR	Autumn '06	'02 '04 '06 '07 '08 '09
Workers' Rights & Employment	WR	Autumn '04	'02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '09

...and what are we talking about ?

2009-05-12T14:04:00.000-07:00

The planet has possibly ten years left in which we can avert meltdown - both metaphoric and literal. Our economic system has already crashed, putting thousands out of work all over the world - many more will lose even more than their jobs, some have lost their homes as well. None of us is safe from any other the above problems - and what are we talking about? MPs fiddling their allowances, or worse, working the system legally.

Despite the stupidly small figures involved, small when compared with defence spending, bank bailouts, standard banking and business as normal fraud - it is indicative of the cause of our woes. People just can't get enough of stuff. They, we, want more and more and hang the consequences, or at least deffer them until tomorrow. That is the attitude that has got us where we are with all its faults and triumphs. It brought us a lot of the good stuff that comes with social expansion, scientific advance and the general improvement of civilisation. But, it's all been short sighted until now. The big questions, the big problems have been either ignored or pushed away. It has been possible to get away with living as if there is no tomorrow - until tomorrow arrives.

This is tomorrow. Now people are waking up and realising we can't go on like this any more. They are not saying this because of some sudden realisation of the inherent wrongness of it all - it's just no longer possible. The stuff we want, the stuff we use every day is running out so fast that we have actually noticed at last. We have noticed the cost of fuel, water, food - all increasing. The cost of homes is still to high to move in and now it's too low to sell because of negative equity. What a mess. May be we should be tearing up the old system and starting a new one. Sounds good to me.
I don't think we are ready for that yet. Give us another 50 years or so and maybe we will have evolved socially to the point where we will do work for the sake of it needing to be done. May be then we will be given food and housing as a right of existance rather than have to spend every day 'working' to earn the right to live. I don't want to wait that long. That's why I shall vote Green. That's what I stand for.

2009-05-11T00:24:00.000-07:00

Frankly, I don't want to be elected. I would far rather someone else takes the time and effort to clean up our environmental mess. I have other things to do with my life. I have people I want to be with and things I want to do before I get too old to do them. But.. I have lived long enough to realise that unless I stand up and do something visible for the things I see then little will get done.

If I see a wrong that needs to be corrected I have always been very happy to complain about it in my kitchen or shout at the radio - and that makes me feel better for a while. Sadly that relief does not last for long. I have to shout louder and louder to get that buzz of self righteous balance back. This is not a healthy way to live.

We all live our lives doing what we can and must do - filling every minute with work or relaxation from work leaving little or no time to spare. We don't deliberately damage things or muck things up and we would all be very upset know that we had. It took a major change in my life to make me see things differently.

I moved out of London and left my job for life at the BBC to take up a more rewarding but far less stable freelancing role in Nottingham.
The pressure to change had been building up for decades and now with this final straw I made one of my first real personal life-choices. I joined the Green Party. My views had not changed. It was my understanding and the range of my view which had altered. Now that I was outside the box of London and the establishment I could see and even think outside the box.

I place no blame on myself for ever voting Conservative, or on the choice made by anyone who thinks about and researches their vote. I don't condemn Labour, LibDem or Conservatives ( if I did I would be in a very big family argument - again ). I don't do that because I know where they are coming from, I lived there.

Then why am I standing as a Green? I think that anyone who sees what I see, whether they see it out of choice because they looked for it or because they have had it forced on them by the now unavoidable facts - they will come to the same conclusions - that we have to stop doing things we way we have done them, and start doing things differently.

It does not matter who, or how, but it does have to be Green. A Green vote will tell all parties that the electorate has finally seen the problem and wants and demands action rather than words. Even if a Green vote does not get a Green elected it does show up in the figures, and these count too! A green vote is a mandate for every party to act Green!

Actuals Greens will do a far better job of it though.

2009-05-09T02:24:00.001-07:00

As of this morning, 8/9/2009, I am the Green Party candidate for the West Bridgfrord West area of Nottingham. Hello.

This is not my first time out, I have been standing for election since 1992, and each time my share of the vote has risen. At the last general election I almost kept our deposit ! Better news is that in Lady Bay our efforts have managed to elect first one, and then two councillors. So, it can work, it does work and it must work.

I have decided that the best way for me to get a green message out to the world is to get other people to do it - lots of them. I am just an enabler, a name on a bit of paper on June the 4th. A Green vote will say 'We want change'. If that message comes in loud enough then the other parties will have to do something Green to get 'their' votes back.

It is not my job to convince anyone of the importance of an environmentally considerate outlook on life, the universe and everything, if I have to do that then you the voter won't know what to do to actually address and fix the problems we all face. I am standing in order to give people who have faced up to the challenges and decided to be Green to get the chance to say so at the voting booth. If I can educate and inform people to be Green, then all the better!

This is not a game of First Past the Post, even though that is the way our election system works. The only hope for the future is that whoever someone is and where-ever they are - they should fix the problems they see at the time and place they see them. I don't care how it's done - as long as it IS done and done Greenly.

Simon Anthony - Green Party

As sent to the NEP

Green Party of England and Wales Manifesto for a Sustainable Society

...and what are we talking about ?

Green Party of England and Wales
Manifesto for a Sustainable Society