Standing up for democracy in Poland

At the Global Greens and European Greens congress in Liverpool this year, I made contacts with the Polish Green party. I was asked to meet and help with setting up structures in the Gdansk branch of the party.
Two weeks ago I attended an international summer school where besides representatives of Polish Green party, there were representatives from Czech, German, Ukrainian and Dutch parties as well as foundations and Brussels institutions supporting green NGOs. I also met the sole Green councillor in Poland. Next year there will be local elections and for the first time the Greens want to have candidates in at least half of constituencies. It's a massive task.
[Read more...]Not One Day More: Southwark Greens join national #ToriesOut demo
On Saturday 1 July, Green Party members from Southwark joined thousands of people from across the UK at a march on Parliament organised by the People’s Assembly Against Austerity to demand an end to Theresa May’s minority government.
Many of the protesters carried placards calling for justice for victims of Grenfell Tower, and a minute’s silence was held to remember them. Speakers at Westminster included the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, the Fire Brigades Union leader Matt Wrack and the Green Party’s Siân Berry, who chairs the London Assembly’s housing committee.
[Read more...]Post-GE17 statement by Southwark Green Party
It was great to see Labour adopting some Green Party policies in its manifesto for the General Election in June. Our anti-austerity policies on social justice and abolishing student debt are clearly popular with voters! But Labour continues to support disastrous projects such as Heathrow expansion, the Hinkley Point nuclear power station and the renewal of Trident – not to mention leaving the EU. We need decisive action on air pollution, with a new Clean Air Act, and a commitment to protect the environment in the Brexit negotiations. While the UK political scene is very much on our minds, Southwark Greens continue to take practical steps to support environmental and social justice.
Will our MPs oppose airport expansion?
We're asking our three Southwark MPs if they will oppose airport expansion - both to protect residents from noise and pollution and to combat climate change. The question has been asked in Southwark News and by individual members. We are still waiting for the MPs to let us know where they stand. If you live in Southwark, you can help by emailing your MP:
- Neil Coyle (Bermondsey and Old Southwark): [email protected]
- Harriet Harman (Camberwell and Peckham): [email protected]
- Helen Hayes (Dulwich and West Norwood): [email protected]
Please remember to include your address, so that they know you live in their constituency.
Sunday 4 June 2017
No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. … Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind. - John Donne, 1624
This is a day of shock and deep sadness. Our hearts go out to all those affected by last night's tragic events. Thank you to Southwark's emergency services, who responded with such speed and bravery, and to the countless Southwark residents who offered shelter and support.
Today we are remembering the seven people killed yesterday at London Bridge, the injured and affected. We also remember Abdirahman Mohamed, a boy of 17 who was fatally stabbed on Southampton Way on Friday night.
Make your vote count on 8 June!
Every Green vote counts. With more support, we will influence the direction of British politics.
In two Southwark constituencies, Camberwell & Peckham and Dulwich & West Norwood, the previous Labour MPs had huge majorities. They are not marginal seats.
Our homes are not investment opportunities
John Tyson, the Green Party candidate for Bermondsey and Old Southwark, says: "The demolition of the Heygate Estate is the worst example of a council pushing out tenants and destroying communities, allowing absentee investors to benefit at the
expense of renters. We need better housing solutions."
The Green Party would:
• abolish the cruel Bedroom Tax,
• set up a Renters Union,
• refurbish, insulate and improve homes instead of demolishing,
• work with communities to find solutions that work for them.
The NHS: Based on need, not ability to pay
Why is the government charging nurses to train, when we have a national shortage? Why is it paying private agencies millions for locum staff, instead of recruiting permanent staff and making sure their workinglife is sustainable?
The Green Party believes in an NHS that looks after us all. Molly Scott Cato, MEP says: ‘A fair tax system goes to the heart of what it means to be a just and equitable society, and it’s necessary to fund our increasingly stretched NHS.’ 60% of people in a recent poll said they thought corporations should pay more tax. Do you agree?
Standing up for democracy on Europe
Green Party calls for a second referendum - this time with the facts
Southwark voted overwhelmingly to stay in the EU, with 72.3% of votes for Remain. The Green Party is making the case for a second referendum on the precise terms of the deal. We want voters to have an informed choice: sign up to the deal, or stay with what we have now and remain in the EU.
Would you buy a new phone without asking how much it’s going to cost? And yet, when it comes to the biggest decision for the future of our country, Theresa May has said that we will leave Europe whatever the outcome of her negotiations! It doesn’t make sense. Make sure your voice is heard.
Shocking levels of air pollution in Southwark
We are demanding cleaner buses after our tests found pollution levels in Southwark more than double legal limit. We have launched a petition demanding London Mayor Sadiq Khan take action this year to clean up every bus driving through Camberwell Green.
Pollution monitors placed around Southwark by local members recorded levels of nitrogen dioxide at more than twice the legal EU limit outside McDonalds on Denmark Hill. Just two of the 20 locations monitored for the full month of February fell within the legal limit.
[Read more...]Ask the Mayor to clean up Camberwell's air
We are calling on the Mayor of London and Transport for London to replace buses on all routes passing through Camberwell Green with hybrid, hydrogen or electric buses by 2018. This is not just about Camberwell! Cleaning up the 15 dirty diesel bus routes will be good for the health of people all along those routes: in Elephant and Castle, Walworth, Vauxhall, Oval, Brixton, Herne Hill, Forest Hill and so on...
Southwark Green Party's recent monitoring of nitrogen dioxide pollution around Camberwell Green has shown that annual levels at the bus stops outside Butterfly Walk/McDonalds on Denmark Hill are more than twice the legal EU limit. The monitor outside McDonalds measured 84 micrograms per cubic metre, while the legal EU limit is 40.
Candidates for General Election June 2017
We're delighted to announce our candidates for the 2017 General Election.
For Camberwell and Peckham, we have selected Eleanor Margolies. Eleanor is an outstanding campaigner, currently working on highlighting toxic air pollution levels throughout the constituency, and is also Co-Chair of Southwark Green Party.
Bermondsey and Old Southwark will be contested by John Tyson, a Chartered Accountant and housing campaigner, highly active in his local community.
In Dulwich and West Norwood, Rashid Nix will be looking to build on his excellent result in the London Assembly Elections, where he got the highest vote share of any Green constituency candidate.
Spring conference and Global Greens congress
Did you know there is a Green Party of Mongolia? You do now! Greens from around the world, including a group of us from Southwark, were among delegates at the first joint congress of Global Greens and European Greens, held at the ACC, Liverpool. This really inspiring weekend – the biggest gathering of Greens ever – gave us the opportunity to learn more about the work going on across an amazingly rich mix of countries to promote environmental and social justice.
[Read more...]Greens march to defend council housing
On Saturday 25 March Southwark Greens, together with Tenant and Resident Associations from Rotherhithe, Bermondsey, Peckham and Walworth and many other local groups, took part in a march through the borough organized by Defend Council Housing to fight for an end to social cleansing.
[Read more...]A vision for cycling
Southwark Green Party put together a simple document on some of the steps Southwark Council could take to make cycling easier, safer and more attractive for everyone, age 8-80. Download it here. (Image credit: Adam Hypki)
Green News March 2017
Download the latest Green News from Southwark Green Party. Find out more about Southwark Council's 'regeneration' of council estates, new cycle routes and air pollution. There's also information on the work of Green London Assembly member Sian Berry to protect and extend the rights of renters. And our regular column on the things we love about Southwark celebrates Benhill Road Nature Garden.
Air pollution news
Air pollution affects everyone, and we must take real steps to reduce levels of nitrogen dioxide and particulates. This means steps like: fewer journeys by car, cleaner buses and taxis, insulation on homes to reduce the emissions from heating.
George Monbiot wrote a helpful summary of the damage that air pollution is doing to children's health and gave permission for others to reprint it. We have added some advice about how you can protect yourself by reducing your exposure, for example by taking back roads instead of main roads.
[Read more...]Sadiq Khan: get real about making regeneration more accountable to communities
When Sadiq Khan launched his Good Practice Guide to Estate Regeneration in December, the mayor proclaimed he was putting Londoners first. Sadly the Guide fails to live up to this promise. In its response to the consultation, Southwark Green Party sides with London Assembly member Siân Berry (pictured right, with members of Southwark Green Party), who described the Guide as 'useless'.
Defend Green Dale
Southwark Green Party has responded to the appeals made by 'Greendale Property Company' to the Planning Inspectorate over their two planning applications for Green Dale. The first relates to the fact that Southwark council have still not made a decision about their application to build a stadium on Green Dale and 155 flats on the current stadium. The second appeal is against the council’s decision to reject their application to remove the restrictive covenants on the stadium land. We're very glad that Southwark Council rejected the attempt to remove the protection that Green Dale enjoys as Metropolitan Open Land (MOL).
[Read more...]Greens defend the NHS
There was a strong Green Party presence on the march, with many different groups from across the country coming in their coach-loads. It was great to talk to Greens from places as diverse as East Sussex, Norwich and Stoke-on-Trent.
Larry Sanders's Guardian article on the NHS crisis can be read here.
[Read more...]