Tuesday 25 February 2014

Comment: Manchester City Council's Climate Change planning failure


News that Manchester City Council is to miss its carbon emission target again  is unacceptable state of affairs especially after it was caught out for producing misleading carbon reduction figures last year.


The Council over the past few years has made great play of its plans to reduce climate emissions over the past few years with its

  • 17 Principles for Tackling Climate Change
  • Climate Change Call To Action Plan
  • Climate Change Action Plan - 'Manchester: A Certain Future'
  • Greater Manchester Climate Change Strategy


It seems with all of its work producing Action Plans and Strategy documents, it has no time to do any actual work on actually reducing carbon emissions.


Given the serious effects climate change has begun to have on the country, this is dangerous behaviour.

Manchester Green Party calls for the Council to take seriously its responsibility to reduce carbon emissions as part of its duty of care for the lives and well-being of its citizens.
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Thursday 20 February 2014

Transport Report for the North West launched by Green Party

Yesterday saw the release of the "Transport for the common good: a better deal for the North West" report by the North West Green Party.

The document, launched at Manchester Piccadilly train station, outlines a transport plan for the North West. It begins "Our region needs and deserves a transport system that is efficient, reliable, clean and green – one that works for the common good by reducing congestion and emissions while creating opportunities for the many.” 


North West Green Party’s lead European election candidate, Peter Cranie, added:
We desperately need less crowded trains, cheaper and more reliable buses and better, safer cycling routes. An improved regional transport system would effectively support local businesses, commuters, families and visitors to the region. With the right investment we can deliver what people want from their transport system: a reliable, comfortable service with cheaper fares.
The report’s vision for transport in the North West is summarized below
  1. Public ownership of the railways.
  2. Investment in the region’s railways: electrification of all lines; re-opening disused lines to improve connectivity; and improvements to networks and stations.
  3. A new, North West regional ‘Otter card’, like London’s popular ‘Oyster card’.
  4. Improved, re-regulated local bus services.
  5. Investment in local sustainable transport initiatives: integrated cycling and walking routes; community car clubs.

The full report can be found here.
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Monday 17 February 2014

Hulme Greens Meeting Thursday February 20th 7pm



The next meeting of the Hulme Greens this Thursday February 20th, 7pm at the Z-arts Café.

Though some issues are very ward specific, there are some that affect surrounding areas  (Moss Side, Whalley Range and the City Centre).



  • How are the cuts affecting local services?
  • How will the new MMU campus affect the local area?
  • Why isn’t there a tram service to Moss Side and Hulme? Whats being done to make the roads safer for pedestrians and cyclists?
  • With Birley Fields built on and trees cut down in Alexandra Park, what can we do to protect the local environment?
  • Is there a demand for more local allotments? If so, what can we do about it?
  • How can we get better policing?
  • How can we support more community activity?
  • What can we do locally to support campaigns in city like bedroom tax, anti-fracking and climate change?

What is the best way of affecting change?

If you can make it, great. If you would like more information, please get in touch.


Email: hulmegreen@gmail.com   
Twitter:  @HulmeGreenParty
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Wednesday 12 February 2014

An Open Letter to Voters in Wythenshawe and Sale East

An Open Letter to Voters in Wythenshawe and Sale East

Floods and Climate Change – your vote is the wake up call

In 1989 the Green Party was supported by 15% of the British population. The worries over the ozone layer and what we then called “Global Warming” were commonly understood. Scientist predicted that if carbon dioxide levels continued to rise, there would be devastating consequences for our environment. As a result, every other political party said they were committed to doing something about it.

The current floods in Berkshire, Surrey and Somerset are entirely commensurate with climate change caused by global warming. It is what we – and climate scientists – have been expecting and predicting for years. And now the shocking reality is upon us. This isn’t just happening in the UK. Australia has just had its hottest year ever with appalling bushfires. Other parts of the world have seen the same. 10 out of the 16 years since 1998 are ranked as the hottest years ever recorded globally. [1]

Now that the flooding threatens the home counties and fields of Eton, David Cameron has said that “money is no object”, but this is a problem that is the result of a failure by the Conservatives and Labour to decisions taken years ago. In government they failed to agree strict cuts in carbon emissions at an international level, they failed to invest in renewable power technology on an industrial scale, and continued to support our addiction to fossil fuels.  

What we need now is a promise to rule out fracking, which threatens to poison our water supplies, wreak havoc in our countryside, and pump more greenhouses gases into our atmosphere. That is before we mention yesterday’s explosion in the United States at a fracking well which has caused the loss of at least one life.
We need a promise of investment in energy efficiency, insulation and warmer homes for the least well off, rather than tinkering with the price freezes and expecting privatised companies to sell less energy. We need brave policies like a re-nationalisation of the energy market.

The people of Wythenshawe & Sale East know that they will wake up on Friday morning with a Labour MP. UKIP have thrown the kitchen sink at this campaign, but a candidate that took money from the EU and whose bankrupt business owed you and I (via the taxman) £22,000 was never going to seriously challenge here.

So on Thursday you can either vote for business as usual or you might seize the opportunity to vote for us. The Green Party has consistently raised the alarm on climate change and our need to tackle this in a way that ensures social justice. Nigel Woodcock has been the only candidate willing to oppose fracking, as he did again at the hustings on Monday, at St. Paul’s Catholic High School in Wythenshawe. When he asked the other candidates to comment on the link between climate change and the floods, they all chose to remain silent.

You can vote Green tomorrow for the Common Good. You can vote knowing that a Green vote is the best way to make the others realise you are worried and want something done, before Wythenshawe and Sale East are flooded or covered with fracking wells. Voting Green is the right thing to do because we are the party you can trust on Climate Change, flooding and the future.

Yours Faithfully
Nigel Woodcock


VOTE NIGEL WOODCOCK    X

Find out more about the Green Party and join us for the Common Good
Nationally                     www.greenparty.org.uk
Regionally                              www.northwestgreenparty.org.uk
Locally                          www.traffordgreenparty.org.uk
                                      www.manchestergreenparty.org.uk
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