I was back in Hitchin Market last Saturday helping Climate Justice with their campaigns to raise awareness of the countdown to Copenhagen.  Generally a very positive response from the public; the last time I was handing out material of this sort for the World Development Movement - when we were campaigning (successfully!) for a stengthening of the climate change bill - only a small proportion of the shoppers showed any interest at all.  This time it was only a minority who walked on by, so the message is getting through. Many were delighted with the opportiuntiy to send a postcard to the PRime Minister, or to their MP, to strengthen the government’s resolve on this issue.

Great news for green campaigners as EON has now announced it will not be proceeding with plans to develop Kingsnorth coal fired power station.

Allegedly this is as a result of the recession, but it would be nice to think that it is also due the massive level of protest from diverse environmental and community groups, and of course the Liberal Democrats, who were appalled by the potential for this plant to add massively to the UK’s carbon emissions. Read the rest of this entry.

We had another successful visit to Hitchin market this weekend - see the article on the local party website.

David Cameron’s conference speech was a bit of a high wire act – teetering between various policy stances and trying desperately not to upset, rather than putting forward a coherent vision for the future of Britain.  Perfectly understandable given his PR background and his apparent belief that he will inherit number ten, just as he has inherited so much else.  Let’s examine a few of his claims: Read the rest of this entry. Read the rest of this entry.

I’ve recently started attending the Green Drinks meetings in Hitchin - held at the Millstream pub on Cambridge Road the first Tuesday of every month from 8.30pm.  A small but dedicated crowd of people interested in improving our environment and a chance to discuss what is happening and spread ideas. Read the rest of this entry.

If you had purchased £1000 of Northern Rock shares one year ago it would now be worth £4.95; With HBOS, earlier this week your £1000 would have been worth £16.50 and £1000 invested in XL Leisure would now be worth less than £5.  But, if you bought £1000 worth of Tennents Lager one year ago, drank it all, then took the empty cans to an aluminium recycling plant, you would get £214. So based on the above statistics the best current investment advice is to drink heavily and recycle.

(Now if I had written this it would not refer to Tennents Lager…)

Am writing this as we wait for our speaker to arrive.

The fringe meeting I am attending is about The Green New Deal. Watch this space as this is something you will be hearing more about and not just from me.
This is an idea whose time has come. It puts forward the premise that to address the linked triple crunches of credit, energy and climate change, we need a new deal on the scale of that in the thirties.

More later I hope, our speaker has arrived.

I’m at the party conference and enjoying the chance to catch up with friends from around the country and to participate in some real debate on future policy, something no other UK party seems to include any more.

Personal highlights so far have been making my first conference sppech - even if it was only a 1 minute intervention - in the debate on Global Security Saturday afternoon. I just wanted to hughlight the looming threat of reducing energy supply, particularly in respect of oil resources, and the impact that will have on geopolitical pressures. Read the rest of this entry.

Following the well attended public meeting on 23rd July, a “Campaign Committee” has been established with representatives from across Harpenden’s political spectrum. Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate Nigel Quinton and colleagues Jeff Phillips and Cllr Alison Steer have joined with local Conservative councillors Mike Wakely and Julie Bell and put aside party differences to work together to try to save Station Road North Post Office (as the Post Office call it) from closure. Read the rest of this entry.