Negative Campaigning

(Letter to the South Wales Evening Post)

Sir,

The local election campaign has not even been formally announced, yet the political parties are already indulging in the blame game (‘Leader’s anger at inaccurate and libellous election leaflet’, page 4, Monday 26 March).

The offending comment was not confined to Clase and Clasemont, but is also contained in a leaflet distributed by Labour candidates in Uplands & Brynmill.

One would perhaps have more sympathy for Council Leader Chris Holley’s sense of injustice were it not for the fact that the Lib Dems are the masters when it comes to negative campaigning in elections.  But it’s depressing to see that Labour has now caught the bug.

When are the main parties going to realise that this kind of campaigning is just one more factor that is turning people off engagement in the political process?

Voters are not stupid. We’re perfectly capable of deciding for ourselves what’s right and wrong about the council and our local councillors.  We don’t need a constant drip-feed of party motivated bile to guide us in our decision-making.

It would be better if candidates focussed on what they have to offer, rather than constantly pointing out what’s allegedly wrong with their opponents; giving us a positive campaign rather than the constant negativity we’ve become accustomed to.

That might just encourage a few more people to vote.

Yours,

Keith M Ross, Green Party Candidate, Uplands & Brynmill Ward

 

Leader of Wales Green Party to visit Swansea on Tuesday 3 April

Pippa Bartolotti, Leader of Wales Green Party, will be visiting Swansea on Tuesday 3 April to meet local Green Party candidates and support their campaign for the local council election in May.

Ms Bartolotti will be visiting the ‘Down to Earth’ project in Murton in the early afternoon, before moving on to view solar panel installations by ‘Green Energy Solutions Wales’ in the area.  This will be followed by a private meeting with local Green Party candidates.

In the evening Ms Bartolotti will give a public talk on ‘Green Cities’ in The Environment Centre, Swansea starting at 7:30pm.

Voting for better representation

(Letter to the South Wales Evening Post)

At the Council Meeting on Thursday evening it was very disappointing to see a motion supporting the introduction of Single Transferable Vote (STV) for Council elections narrowly defeated because the Labour Group decided to vote against it.  This despite the fact that one of their own members signed the original Notice of Motion.

The lack of a fair votes system is holding back the development of democracy in society.  People no longer support the “Punch and Judy” style politics that arises from our “first past the post” system.  The dwindling turnout at elections to all levels of government is ample evidence that this antiquated system is turning people away from politics.

What modern electors want is representative government made up of people who work together for the good of the community; replacing competition with co-operation and consensus.

But we don’t need to wait for the turkeys to vote for Christmas to get more representative government, at least at local level.  There is a solution that lies in our hands.

Many local council wards in Swansea are multi-member, with voters having two, three, four or even five votes.  In these wards electors have the opportunity to make a real difference to the make-up of Swansea Council if they can resist the temptation to vote along party lines.

Very few of us agree with everything in any single party’s manifesto.  The majority of people will like some policies from one party, some from another, and maybe even a few from a third.  So why not reflect that by spreading our votes around on election day?

If the voters begin to decide who they want to represent them, rather than leaving it to the party blocs, that would be a real step forward for democracy.

Yours,

Keith M Ross, Green Party Candidate, Uplands & Brynmill Ward

Wheelwrights Manifesto

Swansea Green Party has given its wholehearted backing to the Wheelwrights Manifesto to be launched on Thursday (15 April).

Wheelwrights is a Swansea based cycle campaign group which aims to improve provision for cyclists in the Swansea Bay area.

Keith M Ross, Green Party Candidate for the Uplands & Brynmill ward said, “I have no hesitation in supporting this manifesto as it is entirely consistent with current Green Party policy, which states, “Walking and cycling … will be given the highest priority in transport planning” .

“I will be at the launch event outside the Civic Centre at 1:30pm on Thursday and look forward to taking part in the cycle ride afterwards.”

The City Centre is not the be all and end all of Swansea

(Letter to the South Wales Evening Post)

Like most people in Swansea I am “Proud to be local” (‘Make real savings with city centre loyalty card’, page 3, Monday 5 March).  But for me “local” does not involve an obsession with the city centre.

Businesses in the city centre are of great importance, but they are not the be all and end all of our community, as your Advertisement Director Lisa Cameron appears to think.  Our lives are not all about shopping.

The focus on improving the city centre over recent years has come at a cost to the wider community.  Whilst our city council has concentrated on making way for the bendy-bus, creating their grand boulevard and making it easier for people to shop in the city centre, roads, pavements, green spaces and public buildings elsewhere in the city have deteriorated.  One does not need to stroll far beyond the bounds of the city centre to see plentiful evidence of this.

In Brynmill the current state of the pavements is a disgrace and the condition of the roads is not far behind.  Earlsmoor has become a shabby shadow of its former self, with the council not even able to maintain the gardens in any reasonable state.  Not far away we have the Swiss Cottage emerging from its second winter without a roof and two forlorn looking abutments pining for the return of the Slip Bridge.

Now that the planned improvement work in the city centre is drawing to a close, it is time for a refocusing of our priorities.  We may be living in hard times, but what investment there is available needs to be shared out across our communities.

We’ve had the City Centre Action Plan.  Now we need a Community Action Plan for all of Swansea.

Yours,

Keith M Ross, Green Party Candidate for Uplands & Brynmill