What I would have said...

at yesterday's UAF (Unite Against Fascism) North West conference, had I had the chance to do a full speech:

"Firstly can I convey apologies from Peter Cranie our number 1 candidate in the Euro-elections who had a prior engagement in Cumbria and has asked me to express his support.

UAF has supporters across the political spectrum. We will have disagreements as Political Parties but at least we are all legitimate Parties, the BNP have forfeited any right to be treated as such; their Press Officer Simon Darby has let slip that so called Party's true nature, by describing it as 'technically an ethnic group' - clearly an admission that the BNP is a completely race-based, and racist, organisation, unlike any legitimate UK political party.

If the BNP are elected, it will give them legitimacy far above any before, and tarnish British politics and damage community relations for years to come, maybe even decades.

It is vital that turnout in this election is high.

Clearly UAF can not be partisan, but I would stress that this is a proportional election, not ‘first past the post’ and usual assumptions about tactical voting do not apply. Labour, Lib Dems and Tories will all win representation; we will be competing directly with the fascists for a seat. We were just 1% point behind the BNP in the last Euro election, since then our membership and our number of council seats have increased across the North West, If we finish with a higher vote than them that will almost certainly prevent them getting a seat. So I’m not going to tell you who to vote for, but if you’re thinking of how to vote tactically – bear that in mind; (for more information see 'Stop Nick Griffin' . In interests of balance, in a first past the post election in most places you would probably vote tactically for another Party, and understandably so.

But looking beyond this European election, all Parties (including mine) need to ask themselves why people in these areas targeted by the BNP feel neglected, why they are seduced by the politics of hate. These people need jobs, hope, and justice instead of an economic system that has betrayed them. Instead of bailing out the bankers and squandering billions on Trident and ID cards, we should be investing in Green jobs, in areas like insulation, renewable energy and public transport - providing employment as well as improving quality of life for these neglected estates and combating the threat of climate change.

And Government and Councils need to do so much more, - they must stop taking people’s votes for granted, and playing groups off against each other. Mainstream politicians must stop pandering to the right wing press, they must stand up to the scaremongering and the scapegoating of ethnic minorities, migrants and asylum seekers, and guarantee justice for the most vulnerable in our society."

'A Child of Our Time'.

It's surprising how often 2 (or even more) events on the same day can be connected. Following the UAF meeting I attended a performance of Michael Tippett's "A Child of Our Time" (by Salford Choral Society, of which my wife is a member). The writing of the work started 2 days before the outbreak of World War 2; the 'Child' in the title is a real-life 17 year old Polish Jew who, angered by the persecution of his mother, shoots a German diplomat; a violent pogrom follows in Germany, and the boy later 'disappears' after being handed over to the Nazis.
The opening chorus line is 'The World turns on its dark side' - let us make sure it does not turn on its dark side again.

Is St George slaying the racist dragon?

For years the cross of St George, and English nationalism in general, was feared by many to be the preserve of the far right. More recently a determined effort has been made in some quarters to ensure that St George and his flag unites people of every faith and colour who feel an attachment to the concept of England. This week, in the run up to St George's Day, how far have we come along that road?

I witnessed the St George's Day parade in the centre of Manchester today. To be honest it is not an event to which I would normally have gone (and the reason is not that I am half Scottish). There were relatively few ethnic minority faces (interestingly, and maybe depressingly, the highest concentration was on the army float around which young soldiers were dishing out recruitment leaflets). Outside of the Elizabethan costume, morris dancers and medieval pikemen, there was a shortage of colour literally in the floats as well; noticeable to someone who has witnessed the Mardi Gras parade and the Mela in Platt Fields.

There is much to be proud of in English history, including the contributions made to our country by other cultures, and it's a shame this was not more visible in today's march. I did have the feeling that this was targeted at the predominantly white north and east of Manchester, perhaps on the basis that the ethnic minorities have their own festivals? Yes, there was a good sprinkling of BME people both on the parade and watching but at the present time, with the risk of the far right exploiting people's fears and insecurities it's a pity that a parade in honour of our patron saint, (who is also the patron saint of Aragon, Catalonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Palestine and Portugal) was not more inclusive.

Speaking of Palestine, it was noticeable that there were more Afro-Caribbean people than Asian at the parade. Yesterday, I attended the AGM of Greater Manchester Stop the War and the alienation felt by many Muslims in our society was very prominent, following the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine. With the recent high-profile arrests of students in Manchester and Liverpool and the suspension of employees in Preston apparently just for receiving emails, the situation is likely to get worse.

Have we just had a lucky escape?

I am referring to last week’s arrest of various Pakistani students in Manchester and elsewhere and the North-West and the statement from Police that a major terrorist incident was just about to take place in Manchester (within days in fact). Amongst venues mentioned were the Trafford Centre, the Arndale Centre and the Birdcage Club.

Now, why am I not sighing with relief and praising Police for their prompt action?? Well for a start, after the recent G20 business, when the Police blatantly lied over the circumstances around the death of Ian Tomlinson, I no longer believe anything they say. It’s not as if that was the first time; repeatedly we get stories from Police forces which subsequently turn out to be complete porkies, from the events around the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes to the ’70 Police injured by protestors at Kingsnorth’.

Regarding these arrests, on the one hand we are told they are being speeded up because a careless chief Plod in London displayed the secret details to the cameras, on the other hand we are told bombs could have gone off this weekend (in which case how much longer where they going to leave it?). Nor should we be too Quick to see this as a cock-up – maybe it’s something more sinister as former British Ambassador Craig Murray points out.
According to a friend of my son, the Trafford Centre was swarming with police last Saturday; I went into the centre of Manchester (I avoid the Trafford Centre like the plague) and found it all quiet on the police presence front. Proves nothing either way.

It gives me no pleasure to feel this total lack of confidence. I am not naïve, I know there are violent extremists out there with the intention of committing murder and mayhem. But I am confident of some things:

- the suspicion and hostility shown to Muslims in our society, and the clamour on behalf of the police and others for longer detention without charge, will increase the risk of a violent response
- a police force which shows contempt for the truth time and again (in incidents ranging from the Hillsborough tragedy 20 years ago to the ‘Ricin plot’) has a diminishing chance of public belief and co-operation if and when there is a genuine terrorist incident
- there is far far more chance of being killed in a road accident in this country (and most countries) than by an act of terrorism.

So in conclusion no I don’t think we’ve had a lucky escape on this one.

Green Shoots Spring Forth in Manchester

Further evidence that Green can be popular and fun as well as worthy were illustrated by two events I attended in Manchester in the space of 3 days.

Firstly came the Chorlton Big Green festival, a new venture in what is arguably Manchester’s greenest (with a small g at least) suburb, and one which is sure to be repeated based on Saturday’s attendance. The organisers reckon an estimated 2000 people attended a day long programme of music, talks, films and visual events against a backdrop of ranges of stalls both inside and outside the St Clements Church venue.
The day was rounded off with a stomping ceilidh around the church pillars.

Excellent day though it was, much of the content could be described as a bit twee to hardened Greens, with a lot of emphasis on alternative therapists and arts and crafts, but hopefully there was enough message getting out there as well.


This was followed yesterday (Monday) by the launch of Call to Real Action at the Northern Quarter’s Nexus Café. This is the response of a number of green-minded people in Manchester to the City Council’s ‘Call to Action’ and has been mentioned in previous blogposts.

Before even entering the building I was struck by the window display of 3 models dressed entirely in clothes recycled from household and other objects. Inside, a packed café we were treated to various entertainments and the first sight of the finished 62 page ‘Call to Real Action’ document.
Actually ‘finished’ is a misnomer – this is very much a living document which will continue to grow and adapt in contrast to its Council-owned counterpart.
Unfortunately there were no Council representatives at the launch, but they will not escape exposure…

Earth Hour

Last Saturday saw the second Earth Hour, whereby the whole world switches off the lights for one hour, as part of a call for action on climate change. Whilst many Greens were keen to support this I have to say that I had mixed feelings. It seems like a gesture to make people feel they are doing something whilst Governments and business carry on as normal. After all, domestic lighting makes a relatively small contribution to climate change compared with many other things.
As it happens I did take part, whilst I was with relatives on a weekend away in the North York Moors. What struck me about the hour however was nothing along the lines of ‘oh, isn’t this a noble thing to do’ but the fact that having a candle as the only source of light made the conversation flow more freely. It seemed a shame to put the lighting back on afterwards.
Greens are often accused of wanting to make people sit in the dark, but this hour struck me as an example of how reduced energy use can actually improve quality of life not reduce it. On a similar note, one of the many good sessions I encountered at the recent Green Party Spring conference in Blackpool, featured the ‘Happy Planet Index’, backed by research from the New Economics Foundation
Incidentally I gather that Manchester rather let the side down as a city (at least according to the Manchester Evening News). Perhaps the sneering comments of a particular MEN commentator a couple of days earlier didn't help...

Multi-track climate campaigning

One thing we are never short of in this fair City is a choice of climate change related campaigns. As I speak a number of activists, including several Green Party members, are engaged in writing a response to Manchester City Council's 'Call to Action' on climate change; this will be a hopefully much stronger 'Call to Real Action'

At the same time a campaign has started to make Manchester a Transition city, along the lines of transition towns such as Totnes and Kinsale but on a bigger sale; Manchester SERA (Socialist Environment and Resource Association - although despite the word Socialist it is still heavily linked to the Labour Party) seem to be focusing on this particular venture.

Sunday evening saw the launch of the 'Not Stupid' campaign in Manchester, when one of the Vue cinema screens at Salford's Lowry Retail Centre gave one of the Premiere showings of film 'Age of Stupid' (completely with live satellite link with the main Premiere in London. Manchester Friends of the Earth and Action for Sustainable Living were very prominent at this (along with myself and some other Green party folk).

The confluence of the threat of climate change and the economic crisis have given rise to more than one Green New Deal document for Manchester. Two I am aware of:

- 'Green New Deal for Manchester' produced by Green Party members Michael Prior and Steve Durrant, and presented to the Convention of the Left Renewal meeing in January

- a Bioregional approach produced by Mark Burton (also linked to Convention of the Left), which raises some interesting and unconventional ideas.

Also currently active are SEMA and Northern Climate Rush, whilst the almost indefatigable Marc Hudson runs occasional Manchester Cimate Forum events and produces the regular Manchester Climate Fortnightly ('McFly').

So something for everyone's tastes, from chaining yourself to a gate to writing to your MP.

A Brief Geography of Time

Whilst the attention of many fellow Greens was drawn to proposals for a major new business development at Manchester Airport this week, there were also headlines around a new high-speed link between Manchester and Leeds, which promised a reduction in travel time between the two cities of 25 minutes. This was much to the enthusiasm of local politicians and businesses, long frustrated by the relative neglect of surface public transport in the North compared to pampered London.

I most definitely do not share their enthusiasm. As long ago as 1993 Green transport guru Professor John Whitelegg referred to the concept of time pollution whereby fast travel doesn't actually save time, as people compensate by travelling greater distances and travelling them more frequently. I do not believe anyone really needs to travel between Manchester and Leeds in 25 minutes, as opposed to the hour that a reliable conventional train would take. Apart from the carbon cost of constructing a new special line from scratch, there is a general rule that the faster the journey, the greater the energy consumption. Also such a line would do nothing for commuters in either Greater Manchester or Yorkshire, as a train travelling at such a speed would not be stopping at places like Stalybridge and Dewsbury for their more modest requirements.

To the extent that we need better intercity transport links in the North, the money would be better spent on extending electrification of the lines between Manchester and Leeds and Liverpool, and reopening the Woodhead line (see Woodhead Tunnel campaign here) to provide a decent Manchester - South Yorkshire service. Any surplus should go into improved cycling and local public transport as part of an essential move away from the long-distance commuting model.

Regarding the proposed high-speed rail link from London northwards (whether or not it gets as far as Manchester), the pragmatist in me sees a desire to provide an alternative to air travel for the same journey. However the same arguments apply. Government, business and indeed all of us need to consider the likely growing impact of climate change and fossil fuel depletion, and challenge this growing time pollution.
I will refer those who say 'people will always need to travel faster and you can't stop progress' back to Manchester Airport - not to the terminals and runways but a nearby hangar. There you will see the supersonic museum piece that is concorde.