Thursday 28 April 2011

VOTE GREEN IN RUGBY! NOT MORE OF THE SAME!

VOTE AGAINST THE CUTS – PUNISH LOCAL CONDEMS

As you may know, the Rugby Against The Cuts campaign wrote to all the local political parties and candidates in Rugby and to their shame (especially Labour’s) they refused to sign their pledge opposing the cuts - unlike we are proud to say, all the Rugby Green Party candidates.

Rugby Greens believes the ordinary people are being asked to bail out the bankers and their gambling debts and the very wealthy in our society are getting away with out paying their due – We demand the following:

Tackle the £120bn of tax evasion every year, Tax the Bankers bonuses, Scrap the money pit that is PFI and end the £100m a year of ‘charity status’ in tax relief to elitist Public Schools like Rugby School. Why should we be expected to pick up the tab instead of the very wealthy?

ALL OUR CANDIDATES HAVE THEREFORE BEEN ENDORSED BY THE RUGBY AGAINST THE CUTS CAMPAIGN AS THE ONLY ‘ANTI CUTS CANDIDATES’ IN THE SEATS WE ARE CONTESTING!

SUSTAINABLE- GREEN – EFFICIENT - RUGBY

Green Councillors in Rugby would also put on the agenda, clear sound ideas and action to generate and save £millions for local people and the Borough Council by using local companies to purchase items (Sustainable Rugby), energy production (Green Rugby) and promoting insulation in many homes in Rugby by demanding the Utility companies cough up (Efficient Rugby).

SACK HUMPHRIES AND THE TORIES!

Their is much good about our town – but the council under the leadership of the unelected Tory Chief Executive/Mayor Councillor Craig Humphries leadership is holding our town back - Pawn brokers, cash a cheque and charity shops is not the way to build our town. Keeping Youth Clubs in Rugby is much more important than giving the likes of Craig Humphries a job.

LIB DEMS IN TERMINAL DECLINE?

The announcement of candidates shows a further decline of the Liberal Democrats who are clearly failing to find local people willing to stand for them – we believe they have sold out their principles to get into Government and are doing severe harm to people in Rugby.

GREENS FIGHTING NINE SEATS

Rugby Green Party will be contesting the following 9 wards;

Admirals: Steve Laffy

Benn: Paul Sandison

Brownsover North: Pater Reynolds

Earl Craven: Ellie Roderick

Newbold: Lorna Dunleavy

New Bilton: Roy Sandison

Overslade: Laurence Goodchild

Paddox: Phil Godden

Ryton on Dunsmore: Sarah Bennett

Key Seats

· Benn Ward (No Lib Dem where they finished second last time) – ahead of a respectable Green Party vote – Paul Sandison is again standing for the Green Party.

· Earl Craven (Wolson & Binley Woods) where they Lib Dems failed again to find a candidate – where the Green Party achieved a very respectable vote last time – Ellie Roderick is again standing for the Green Party.

· Newbold on Avon – The Lib Dems have failed again to find a candidate – Lorna Dunleavy is standing for the Green Party and has achieved excellent results in the past.

· Ryton on Dunsmore – Where the Lib Dems and also Labour have failed to find a candidate . So we see a Tory vs Green Party head to head fight – with Sarah Bennett standing for the Greens.

In the past 1 in 10 (Over 4000) Rugby people have voted Green and we expect that level of support to increase across the town. We also have an aim to replace the discredited Liberal Democrats as the third party in the UK and Rugby in future

RUGBY DESERVES BETTER!

Monday 25 April 2011

Wednesday 20 April 2011

TORIES AND LIB DEMS DON'T CARE ABOUT THE POLICE AND VICTIMS OF CRIME SAYS RUGBY GREENS

Rugby Green Party spokesperson (Roy Sandison) have accursed Tories and Liberal Democrats of promoting cuts that will will do severe damage to the local communities in Rugby over crime and policing levels.

Reprinted from letter published in Rugby Advertiser 14th April 2011

Dear Sir

The Tory Party used to claim that it was ‘The party of law and order’ and that if people wanted to be safe in their homes and on the streets then the Tories were the people to vote for.

Like many people in the past, I was dubious of such a claim and I think the present destructive cuts by the CONDEM Government at national and local levels have really shows what a falsehood this was.

Sacking 450 police staff in Warwickshire, forcing front line Police Officers into back office duties, forcing experienced Police Officers into premature retirement, cutting Police pay and conditions including their pensions and privatising the forensic crime service is not a way to tackle crime and safeguard public safety. This especially in a time of economic recession, when the crime rate goes up and the fact that drug addicted related crime levels are so out of control.

The Tories and the Liberal Democrats are doing severe damage to our communities in respect of policing and crime and I hope that in the forthcoming local elections that they don’t have the gall to say that they care about policing and crime. If they cared they would not be making these cuts!

Regards

Roy Sandison – Rugby Green Party.


Friday 8 April 2011

GREENS ON THE RISE? DISSECTING THE LIBERAL DEMOCRAT AND LABOUR VOTE.

The excellent UK Polling site - http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/ gives us some indications of the political leanings of Liberal Democrat and Labour voters if they not able to vote Liberal Democrat or Labour.

Apparently at the moment 30% of Labour voters would now give second preferences to the Greens, 19% wouldn’t give one at all, 18% would give it to UKIP and only 16% to the Lib Dems’.

And

‘Turning to the Liberal Democrats, their second preferences now split fairly evenly, but with the Conservatives just ahead: 31% to the Conservatives, 24% to the Greens and 24% to Labour.

While these are positive results for the Green Party, they do not show how many people now see themselves as being Tory, Lib Dem or Labour voters – but we do know that compared to the last General Election that the Tories had (36.9%) Lab (29.7%) Lib Dem (23.6%) and that now the Tories have lost 1.9% (35%), Labour have gained 12.3% (42%) and Lib Dems down 13.6% (10%).according to the opinion polls.

The Rugby Borough Council Elections Impact?

This makes interesting reading for us Greens in Rugby, where due to the inability of both the Lib Dems or New Labour to find enough candidate for various reasons, we are faced with either Lib Dem or Labour voters not being able to vote for their normal party of choice and in one seat (Ryton) both parties could not get their act together to fight the Tories.

All this makes the forthcoming local elections very interesting and not a little concerning for the Tories!

Lib Dems struggle for council candidates

The Guardian are reporting the decline of Lib Dem council candidates in the upcoming local elections on May 5th.

It's a good excuse for another bar chart so I've bashed the data into my computer:



Labour are predictably doing well out of being the main official opposition to the coalition government but the Green Party have also seen a healthy increase in the number of council candidates on 2007.

What is most shocking about the data is the fall of Lib Dem candidates. Where have they all gone? As Polly Curtis reports:

"A lot of focus on election night will be on Sheffield, which is Lib Dem-controlled and includes Nick Clegg's Hallam constituency. Newcastle city council, like Sheffield a Lib Dem northern outpost, is also vulnerable to a Labour resurgence."

Lets hope it's not all predictable with some Green wins too!

From Jo Simmonds http://weekisalongtime.blogspot.com/

A week is a long time: Lib Dems struggle for council candidates

A week is a long time: Lib Dems struggle for council candidates: "The Guardian are reporting the decline of Lib Dem council candidates in the upcoming local elections on May 5th. It's a good excuse for an..."

Monday 4 April 2011

COUNT DOWN TO RUGBY BOROUGH COUNCIL ELECTIONS ON 5TH MAY 2011

The details for the ward candidates and their political parties are just in and it makes for interesting reading;

Rugby Green Party will be contesting the following 9 wards;

Admirals: Steve Laffy

Benn: Paul Sandison

Brownsover N: Pater Reynolds

Earl Craven: Ellie Roderick

Newbold: Lorna Dunleavy

New Bilton: Roy Sandison

Overslade: Laurence Goodchild

Paddox: Phil Godden

Ryton: Sarah Bennett

LIB DEMS IN TERMINAL DECLINE?

The announcement of candidates shows a further decline of the Liberal Democrats who are clearly failing to find local people willing to stand for them.

For example;

· Benn Ward (where they finished second last time) – ahead of a respectable Green Party vote – Paul Sandison is again standing for the Green Party.

· Earl Craven (Wolson & Binley Woods) where they failed again to find a candidate – where the Green Party achieved a very respectable vote last time – Ellie Roderick is again standing for the Green Party.

· Newbold on Avon – The Lib Dems have failed again to find a candidate – Lorna Dunleavy is standing for the Green Party and has achieved excellent results in the past.

· Ryton on Dunsmore – where they failed to find a candidate – in this seat. Labour also failed to find a candidate, so we see a Tory vs Green Party head to head fight – with Sarah Bennett standing for the Greens.

CANDIDATES AGAINST THE CUTS IN EVERY WARD!

As readers of this site will know, the Rugby Against The Cuts campaign wrote to all the local political parties and candidates in Rugby and to their shame (especially Labour’s) they refused to sign their pledge opposing the cuts unlike we are proud to say, all the Rugby Green Party candidates.

Rugby Against the Cuts will be suggesting to local people that if they oppose the cuts to vote for Rugby Green Party candidates

They will also be calling for similar support for candidates from the newly formed Trade Union and Socialist Coalition - Against Cuts (TUSC) group in Rugby who are standing in the 7 other wards up for election this year including Leam Valley where Geoff Dewhirst is in an head to head fight with the Tories after the Lib Dems failed yet again to find a candidate as well as New Labour.

The Lib Dems have also failed to find a person to stand for them in Brownsover South, where TUSC candidate Clive Dunkley will be in a 3 cornered fight with New Labour and the Tories

VOTE AGAINST THE CUTS – PUNISH LOCAL CONDEMS

All the candidates standing for the Green Party share the views of other anti cuts campaigners that the elections coming up is primary about the cuts and therefore felt it was important that good people against the cuts did not stand against each other to give a clear message.

The CONDEM Government are attacking our public services (and the private sector) and damaging by these cuts ways to protect the environment and challenge climate change and they deserve to be punished in the forthcoming elections in Rugby.

SAY NO TO THE CUTS!

*Totals for each political parties per 16 seats; Con – 16, Lab - 14, Lib Dem - 10, RUGBY GREEN PARTY - 9 and TUSC - 7.

Sunday 3 April 2011

Final round up from the TUC march

Nice picture of Rugby Against The Cuts Banner
Picture from the Daily Mail

Excellent video from Philosophy Football about Northampton anti cuts campaign trip to London