Green Party Older People’s Pledge launched today

Our Older People’s Pledge: Reasons for Older People to vote Green

It is shameful that Britain’s state pensioners, 2 million of whom still live in poverty, are effectively penalised for having savings or private pensions. Meanwhile, grandparents who provide childcare worth £3.9 billion a year, many spending three days a week caring for grandchildren, receive no recognition for their contribution to society. To make matters worse, over-complicated, intimidating, and humiliating means testing is so off-putting that pensioners are leaving up to £2.9 billion of council tax benefits unclaimed.

The other parties have made a few token gestures to older people, but the Green Party alone is committed to making Britain a better place to age in.

Choose local, for the economy

Keith Ross with Neil Evans

Greens call for more support for local businesses to help deal with the after affects of recession

The Green Party today called for greater support for local businesses and producers, and less encouragement for large supermarkets such as Tesco.

Keith M Ross, Green Party Candidate for Swansea West said, “Wales has the highest unemployment rate of any region in the UK; and we have not yet seen the last of the fallout from the economic recession.

Vote Cruelty Free – Positive Change for Animals

Green Party candidate, Keith Ross, has pledged his support for Vote Cruelty Free, a new non-partisan coalition of animal protection organisations working to put animals on the political agenda. Keith is the first candidate in Swansea West to pledge to Vote Cruelty Free.

The alliance has sent its manifesto to all candidates announced for the next General Election and asked them to show their support for the issues raised. So far more than 270 candidates have pledged their support.

Vote Cruelty Free is urging all candidates to pledge their support for the initiative. Voters can track candidates who have signed up by visiting the website at http://www.votecrueltyfree.org.

‘Growing the Future’: a Woodland Trust manifesto

Keith M Ross, Green Party Candidate for Swansea West, today pledged his support for the Woodland Trust Manifesto.

The manifesto calls upon all the political parties to commit to the following actions:

- Adopt a target of doubling native woodland cover in the UK over the next fifty years, bringing together the public, private and voluntary sectors to make this a reality.

- Enable every child to plant trees and engage with the natural world as part of their formal education to develop rounded citizens equipped for 21st century challenges.

- Provide planning guidance which makes provision for the creation of new native woods within walking distance of residential areas.

- Offer incentives to encourage private landowners to plant trees.

- Retain a public forest estate but ensure it reflects societys changing needs with an enhanced emphasis on woodland creation.

- Provide global leadership on deforestation by ensuring the UKs equivalent to the rainforest our ancient woods and trees are protected for their biodiversity and cultural importance.

More details of the work of the Woodland Trust and the Manifesto can be found at: http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/campaigns.

A Fair Deal for Mental Health

Keith M Ross, Green Party Candidate for Swansea West is supporting the Royal College of Psychiatrists ‘Four Step Manifesto’, which calls upon the next government to stop harmful cuts to mental health services, treble mental health research funding, invest in early intervention, and put mental health at the heart of public health.

A copy of the Manifesto can be found on the Royal College of Psychiatrists website at: http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/pdf/election%20flyer%20final_for%20website.pdf

Keith and Tony Visit LASA, Swansea’s Credit Union

Swansea Greens visit LASA

Greens call for a tax on Bankers’ Bonuses, and Break-up of the big banks

The Green Party is calling for a tax on Bankers’ bonuses. The tax would be taken at source, so the bank itself will pay it; and would be in addition to a new higher rate of income tax of 50% for incomes above £100,000.

Nuclear Power – Letter to the Evening Post

Sent today, in response to an article by “Nuclear” Jack Harris (not available on line as yet).

Sir,

Leading expert Jack Harriss article Why Nuclear Power is safe way forward (Agenda, Tuesday 22 March) could be questioned on many levels, but I will confine myself to a few of the less technical ones.

1. How much CO2 is emitted in the whole life cycle of a nuclear power station – i.e. including mining, processing and transporting the fuel; and building, running and decommissioning the power station?
2. How long will the waste have to be stored for, and how much will this cost?
3. How many nuclear power stations would we need to provide 10% of UK electricity?

Spin it how you will, nuclear power is still dirty, dangerous, expensive and – according to the Welsh Assembly Governments Energy Policy Statement, A Low Carbon Revolution, published last week unnecessary.

Yours,

Keith M Ross
Green Party Candidate
Swansea West

The Robin Hood Tax

There has been growing interest from the constituency on the Robin Hood tax. Candidates for the general election have been copied in on dozens of emails sent to Alistair Darling urging him implement it.

If you feel as strongly as they do please go to

http://robinhoodtax.org.uk/homepage/urge-the-chancellor-to-lead-from-the-front-in-the-budget/

follow the on screen instructions and urge Alistair Darling to implement this tax.

Welsh Assembly Government launches its Low Carbon Revolution

Launching the Welsh Assembly Governments new Energy Policy Statement, ‘A Low Carbon Revolution’,
Environment Minister Jane Davidson said, “Wales once led the way in carbon-based energy. Our goal is to do the same for low carbon energy.” (So she did read my article in the Evening Post!)

The policy statement sets out how Wales has the potential to produce nearly twice the amount of electricity it currently uses through wholly renewable sources by 2025

More details of the plan at:
http://wales.gov.uk/news/latest/100315lowcarbon/?lang=en

Further points of interest:

The report says, “We remain of the view that the high level of interest in exploiting the huge potential for renewable energy reduces the need for other, more hazardous, forms of low carbon energy and obviates the need for new nuclear power stations.”

Peter Davies, Commissioner for Wales for the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) said, I am particularly pleased that the statement tackles the two key energy themes identified by our Low Carbon Wales report: retrofitting the existing housing stock to vastly improve energy efficiency and the commitment to low carbon energy generation.”

Minister’s ambition for future Welsh green energy

Wales has the potential to generate twice its electricity needs from renewable sources within 15 years, says Environment Minister Jane Davidson.

She said Wales was fortunate to have more than 1,200 km of coastline with significant amounts of marine energy.

The previous target was seven terawatt-hours (TWh) of green energy by 2020, but she says the potential is greater.

For further details go to: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/8569023.stm

I wonder if she read my letter in the Evening Post?