The government has ignored the advice of its scientific advisers to allow sugar beet farmers to deploy a banned bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticide in 2022.
The Guardian

The answer to the problem that sugar beet farmers are facing with aphids, is not the “nuclear” option: that is to re-introduce pesticides that come with excessive collateral damage – the killing of species essential to a healthy ecosystem.

The government is supposedly “on-side” with proposals to halt biodiversity loss, and yet, as Caroline Lucas points out at the beginning of this debate in parliament, they fail at the very first hurdle by ignoring scientific advice.

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In other words, the US military is a more consequential climate actor than many of the industrialised countries gathered at the COP26 summit in Glasgow.

Militaries are one of the last highly polluting industries whose emissions do not need to be reported to the United Nations.

That needs to change. Everything needs to be reported, every organisation has a role to play especially if you’re a bigger player than many countries.

How the world’s militaries hide their huge carbon emissions

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Whereas in Britain we’ve experienced a cooler and wetter August than normal, there can be no room for complacency. Nobody will be isolated from the scale of the changes just over the horizon. What we’ve seen in the last few weeks elsewhere in the world is just a curtain raiser for catastrophes to come unless we act now to get to net zero CO2 emissions and limit global average temperature rise to 1.5C as agreed in Paris 2016.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-58130705

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It costs us £5000 for the deposit, just to be on the ballot. We have to overcome these antidemocratic barriers, to let people send a real message of urgency, and of hope.

Donate now to the Crowdfunder to give Greens a chance!

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Money spent on our capability to destroy would be better spent on our ability to bring about peace by peaceful means.

UK to lift cap on nuclear stockpile

Green Party co-leader Jonathan Bartley said “We utterly oppose the decision to encourage a global nuclear arms race by increasing the cap on our warheads. This is a play to defend our seat on the UN Security Council but is no substitute for the geopolitical security we had as part of the strong European bloc.

“We continue to insist that the government lives up to its legal obligation to prevent proliferation by signing up to the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.”

Green Party calls for new vision for armed forces in response to defence review.

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Now it also makes great sense for basic economic reasons.

The Manchester Evening News has reported that “last year it was revealed that the fund has suffered a £375m loss after investments in oil and gas companies crashed in value in the last three years”.

However, Councillor Brenda Warrington, leader of Tameside council and chair of the GMPF refuses to answer calls to disinvest claiming that “the fund was committed to investing pension assets ‘to create a sustainable, better future without compromising on returns”.

Complete nonsense!

It’s time to face facts and recognise that the GMPF investment in fossil fuels is a bad choice for the planet and those who have a stake in the Greater Manchester Pension Fund.

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But following Brexit, the government approved the emergency use of one neonicotinoid to combat a crop disease.”

Claire Marshall, BBC News Jan, 2021

SIGN THE PETITION to the UK Government to continue the ban on bee-harming neonicotinoids

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These last few months have been incredibly hard for us all. A big Thank You goes out to our NHS staff, teachers and other key workers who have gone above and beyond the call of duty during this pandemic.

During lockdown residents and Green Party members were kept busy in the local community supporting our most vulnerable residents. Councillor Huntbach has been communicating with Waterloo residents who have been volunteering selflessly throughout the pandemic. Many Waterloo residents made themselves available for errands and collecting prescriptions for those shielding with Lorraine Whitehead running daily errands as well as collecting for the Anthony Seddon Charity shop and selling face masks towards the charity’s funds. Others have been sewing scrubs for NHS staff, leading local Community First Responders as well as responding to the huge Daisy Nook clean-up following the illegal rave.

Local Green Party members Phil Blakeney and daughter Georgia were quick to respond to the huge clean-up, following the illegal rave at Daisy Nook in July (photo left). Between them, they helped collect hundreds of bags of litter and help shift abandoned equipment to Council trucks.

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Councillor Huntbach has been liaising with local volunteers who have been going the extra mile for some wonderful, worthy causes.

Waterloo resident Peter Heaton of Oldham Road, retired from the British Forces and now volunteers his time with the North West Ambulance Service as a Community First Responder. He and his colleagues are often the first to deliver medical attention following a 999 emergency call. All resources are provided by the responders themselves so Lee has sought advice from the Council regarding possible funding sources.

Lee has also donated £25 towards the £5,000 target of Peter’s ‘gofundme’ Failsworth/Tameside Community First Responders Appeal.

The appeal has raised almost £700 to date and so any donation, however small would be greatly appreciated to help reach the total. Funds will go towards medical equipment, PPE, vehicle maintenance and fuel costs etc.

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Waterloo Green candidate Lorraine Whitehead and Councillor Lee Huntbach have both become official Community Champions. They now attend regular online meetings to update on the ever-changing COVID19 guidelines, supplemented by frequent email updates.

Lorraine said, “I’m now confident that I can help clarify any misinformation out there. If I don’t have the immediate answer to a query, at least I know where to find it”.

Lee added, “I’m concerned that much the information available in the public domain is confusing and unreliable. I’m currently checking reports against Office for National Statistics data and feeding back to coordinators. It’s a two-way thing”.

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