The Star Walks 4/6

That reads walks not wars....so much to do in Stroud with so many great things happening....but this afternoon maybe a walk as haven't been to woods for a while......Click on the pic for the fourth of The Star Inn walks - Ken has kindly let me reprint them on this blog - use search box to find previous walks - the other two walks coming soon....and don't forget quiz night at The Star on 27th in aid of Ruscombe Brook Action Group - see more here.

www.the-star-inn-whiteshill.co.uk
01453-765321

We go to Committee system - more democracy

Spring here....?

Last year as noted on this blog the council decided to move from its current executive decision making system to a different style of decision making known as a committee system. In the past a small number of councillors known as the Cabinet or Executive would make the majority of decisions. This decision making body would be made up only of members of the administration.  These councillors were then held to account by 2 scrutiny committees......

That previous system in my view - and in others view - was not very effective...indeed it meant other councillors did not have much of a role or say - some also commented that some Cabinet or Exec members just went along with officers views- whether true or not the committee system offers opportunities for much more involvement by all councillors in decisions.

Last night was our Stroud District Council AGM and we agreed that all decisions involving councillors will be made by committees made up of councillors from all groups in the proportion they are elected to the council.  There will be no individual decision making by councillors under the new committee system.

This means that in addition to the meetings of full council, there will be 4 Service or Policy Committees – Strategy and Resources, Community Services, Environment and a Housing Committee that will deal with council housing stock issues.  There will also be 3 quasi judicial committees – Development Control, Audit and Standards and Licensing. This is a similar number of committees to before but they will now set high level strategy and policy and will monitor performance. 

Officers will still make operational decisions within or to further these strategies and policies under delegated powers.

Councillors allowances; money saved

This has meant a change to the allowance system for councillors - a change that is leading to savings of over £50,000 a year.  The Tories disingenuously, in my view, tried to claim this was a rise of over 8% in allowances - yet it is an overall cut - indeed if they had been so concerned about allowances why had they not cut allowances previously when they were receiving the Cabinet allowances - if anything this new system is much fairer - the basic allowance rises by about £300 a year to reflect the additional work and responsibilities while there are cuts to other allowances including travel.  This is about sharing responsibilities wider rather than being in the hands of a few....

If anything if we are to try and attract more representative councillors then we should be increasing the allowances - at the moment there is a significant number of people who have private incomes/pensions that allow them to participate - that's great but it does mean we don't get a very representative Council....

Leader of Stroud District Council, Geoff Wheeler, said: 'The previous system meant that a small number of councillors were responsible for a large number of important decisions. This meant that many talented and passionate councillors from all political parties were unable to make valuable contributions on important issues.'

Cabinet and scrutiny meetings have been replaced by four committees ie:

*    Strategy and Resources
*    Community Services
*    Environment
*    Housing

For me I will now be joining Housing - and several sub-committees relating to housing - lots more on that in future blogs....

SEED Festival at Hawkwood 6.07.13

Click on picture for details of what looks like a very exciting and inspiring event...

WEEE in Cainscross

A ‘Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment’ or ‘WEEE’ bank will be sited at Cainscross within the next two to three weeks. Details of the types of the items that can be accepted at these banks can be found on the Council's website www.stroud.gov.uk/recycling but examples would include hair dryers, electric toys, electric kitchen appliances, remote controls, toasters, kettles and irons. 

The banks will be emptied every 2 weeks by Computer Salvage Solutions (CSS), who will also be fully responsible for the maintenance of the banks at no extra cost to the Council. The WEEE collected from the banks will be recycled by CSS at their facility in Newbury. The items will be shredded to recover precious raw materials which are usually exported to Europe or Asia where they are used to manufacture new products. This scheme will be run alongside the council’s free bulky collection service; WEEE items collected through this service will also be recycled.

The Star Walks 3/6

Regular readers will see the blog is undergoing a change - Click on the pic for the second third of The Star Inn walks - Ken has kindly let me reprint them on this blog - the other walks coming soon....and don't forget quiz night at The Star on 27th in aid of Ruscombe Brook Action Group - see more here.

www.the-star-inn-whiteshill.co.uk
01453-765321

Do the Math

Monday was busy with a meeting with licensing about wheelchair accessible taxis, a couple of hours about housing and a Green Party councillors meeting ahead of the AGM at the District Council this Thursday......the last meeting finished so I missed Transition Stroud's showing of the film 'Do the Math' in Stroud last night - I was delighted to find it on YouTube and watched it - well worth a look to see where we are with climate change - depressing and inspiring - double click on film to open in YouTube....

Do the Math: A Movie to Spark a Movement - Join the Movement at http://www.350.org


Click on read more to see the text about the film:

Quiz night at The Star in aid of Ruscombe Brook!!!!! Don't miss!

The Star Inn in Whiteshill are hosting a Bangers & Mash Quiz on Bank Holiday Monday 27 May for Ruscombe Brook. £5 pp Entry. Any Size Team. Do please click on poster left and help publicise this event. Quiz at 8.00pm b- maybe eat at half time.

Prizes down to Sixth Place  including Fly Casting Lesson for 2 (1hr dry-land casting lesson - equipment provided), Bird Box, Bottle of Wine, Homemade Cake, Cornish Knocker T’Shirts and Carling T’Shirts.

Ruscombe Brook Action Group members have been busy with questions and more - it should be a fun local event.....See more about the Ruscombe Brook Action Group at: http://www.rbag.org.uk/

Busy days....

Capel Mill canal Open Day

I've not had so much time to keep blog up to date....last week or so has seen a fair few meetings....several visits to two local planning applications to talk to residents, a Green councillors meeting, training at the Council for the new committee system we will agree on Thursday, the Council's housing sub-group, helping a local Woodcraft Folk group to plan a video, a meeting at the canal about Ruscombe Brook (more on that soon)...

Wap

Wap

....plus visited several of the Textile exhibitions, art exhibitions, the canal opening (see photo above - film coming v soon) and just back today from the wonderful Randwick Wap...such a pity about the weather but still such a special friendly atmosphere and a great chance to talk to folk you haven't seen in a while - huge thanks to all who made it possible - indeed for all the wonderful events that makes Stroud such a special place....

Landmark in climate emissions....

Image author unknown

Today the House of Commons Transport Committee calls for aviation expansion....it is also the day that officially we reach the concentration of climate-warming carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of 400 parts per million (ppm) - the highest level for 4.5 million years. As The Guardian article here notes: "The last time so much greenhouse gas was in the air was several million years ago, when the Arctic was ice-free, savannah spread across the Sahara desert and sea level was up to 40 metres higher than today."

Of course there's no obvious ecological difference between 399 and 400 ppm, but nonetheless, this is
perhaps a moment for reflection...Caroline Lucas's letter to Guardian tomorrow (see below) about the failures of the media in the recent elections only highlights the challenges......on Monday Transition Stroud are screening 'Do the Math' - see details here.

Popular support for Green party policies

Given the media hysteria last week about Ukip's better-than-expected local election results, you could be forgiven for thinking they had stormed the corridors of Westminster. Yet as Zoe Williams points out (Comment, 9 May), this remains a party with no MPs, no London assembly members and only six more councillors than the Greens. Where the media leads, David Cameron follows. So instead of offering a coherent vision for economic recovery to help the millions who are struggling against unemployment, rising living costs and savage welfare cuts, he chooses to sing to the reactionary tune of Ukip on issues like immigration. And instead of staying true to his pre-election pledges on climate change, the prime minister has been all too ready to drop the subject – not least from his list of priorities for the UK's G8 presidency.

Yet we Greens know there is huge support for our policies, whether on climate change and the environment, or social justice and public services. Out of 332,237 people surveyed in the Vote for Policies survey before the last election, where voted on policies alone (not parties or personalities), over 24% – more than any other party – chose Green policies. The last time people had a chance to vote in elections under proportional representation – the Euro elections of 2009 – the Greens won over a million votes, demonstrating again the growing support for action on the Green agenda.
As I highlighted in the amendment I put down to the Queen's speech this week, even the World Bank is now telling us that without urgent and radical cuts in emissions, global temperatures will rise by 4C or more by the end of the century, resulting in "devastating" environmental impacts for all of us. The case for political action has never been clearer. That's what makes the failure of the media to give serious attention to the growing relevance and success of the Green party so serious.

Caroline Lucas MP
Green, Brighton Pavilion

Caroline Lucas' response to Queen's Speech

Hearing the news reports as I came home from work led to a deep sigh....how are they getting it so very very wrong? Here's the Green Party response:

QUEENS SPEECH 2013: “REACTIONARY AGENDA FROM MOST INCOMPETENT GOVERNMENT OF RECENT TIMES”

-    Coalition ‘turning a blind eye to climate crisis and rocketing inequality’
-    Green MP tables ‘wake-up call’ amendments to Queen’s Speech demanding action on climate threat and end to failed austerity

The Government’s refusal to switch course on austerity and be honest with the public about the urgency of action on climate change is a ‘devastating abdication of duty by an incompetent administration’, says Green MP Caroline Lucas today.

Criticising the ‘dishonest complacency’ on the energy and environmental crises in today’s Queen’s Speech, the MP for Brighton Pavilion and former leader of the Green party also attacked Coalition Ministers for burying their heads in the sand over the ‘obvious failure’ of austerity.

Caroline Lucas, MP for Brighton Pavilion, said: "Rather than singing to the reactionary tune of UKIP on issues like immigration, a competent Government would have urgently set out a coherent vision for economic recovery to help the millions who are struggling against unemployment, rising living costs and savage welfare cuts. And in the face of mounting evidence from the World Bank and others about the threat we face from climate change, a competent Government would also have set out plans to protect its citizens from the realities of growing food and water insecurity and extreme weather events. The World Bank is telling us that without urgent and radical cuts in emissions, global temperatures will rise by 4°C or more by the end of the century, resulting in ‘devastating’ environmental impacts such as the flooding of coastal cities, declining food production and unprecedented heatwaves.

“If the UK is serious about its commitment to keeping climate change below 2°C, the vast majority of fossil fuel reserves must stay in the ground – the Government must now put the security and prosperity of its citizens above the vested interests of the fossil fuel industry by declaring this ‘unburnable carbon’ and rapidly deploying renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. With the dishonest complacency on the climate crisis continuing, today’s Speech is yet another huge missed opportunity for our flailing economy and millions of jobs in new green industries that would be created if the UK were to take its place at the forefront of the green industrial revolution.”

Speaking about the Coalition’s economic policy, Caroline Lucas MP said: “Despite the bogus idea being peddled by Ministers that immigrants can somehow just get off a plane from Eastern Europe and go straight to pick up their benefits, the most important issue here is not EU immigrants – it’s the damning failure of this Government’s austerity policies to get our finances in order and improve people’s lives.

“The signs of this failure are impossible to ignore: the IMF and OECD have revised down UK growth forecasts, unemployment - especially amongst young people - continues to rise and consumer confidence continues to fall. With the number of homeless families in bed and breakfasts rising by nearly half between 2011 and 2012 and a million children now living in overcrowded conditions, the Government’s ‘strivers versus shirkers’ rhetoric has been nothing short of a brutal attack on the poor.

“If we want to live in a society which protects the most vulnerable, we must end austerity and cuts to welfare and reduce the deficit through an economic programme that invests in jobs, especially in labour intensive green sectors to help address the climate crisis, and fairer taxation, including robust measures to tackle tax evasion and avoidance.

“The Green vision for the UK is a fair and sustainable one – where all workers earn a Living Wage, banks are encouraged to lend to small businesses, payday and other loan companies are strictly regulated while facilitating the growth of alternatives such as credit unions and mutuals, and our railways are brought back into public ownership to bring down the rising cost of travel.”

Sun, art and the allotment

Great Bank Holiday weekend...just wanted to share a couple of films of some of the art at the start of perhaps Stroud's busiest art month....a hurriedly made taster film of the amazing exhibition at the Museum in the Park in Stroud. This film in no way does justice to the wonderful exhibits – don’t miss the exhibition!  http://stroudcommunity.tv/select-still-moments-part-of-stroud-international-textiles-exhibitions-2013/

Meanwhile this film is a glimpse at Siobhán Hapaska’s new work specially commissioned for Site Festival 2013: ‘the sky has to turn black before you can see the stars’.....shaking olive trees...see what you think!
http://stroudcommunity.tv/siobhan-hapaskas-shaking-olive-trees-at-the-goods-shed/

The Star Inn Walks 2/6

Well another lovely day in Stroud...Farmers Market, catching some of the wonderful art and family...and maybe a walk....Click on the pic for the second of The Star Inn walks - Ken has kindly let me reprint them on this blog - the other walks coming soon....

www.the-star-inn-whiteshill.co.uk
01453-765321

Congrats Sarah Lunnon on re-election

Green Leader and Sarah in Stroud - see new film of highlights

Well done to Sarah for winning Stroud Central - with a bigger majority - but disappoiniting to come second in Tory strongholds of Painswick and Minch - had hoped for a breakthrough there - also hugely concerned by rise of UKIP - one Twitter comment on the national reporting says alot: "Dear @BBC, congratulations on the recent success of your pro-UKIP campaign. Yours, license fee payers."

See my 5 min film of the 11 results being announced for Stroud area plus links to the figures: http://stroudcommunity.tv/election-results-stroud-2nd-may-2013/

Turnout for the election was 31.8%, down from 40% - and we should not forget that boundaries have changed since the last election in 2009 and the total number of seats on the council has decreased from 63 to 53. Locally we are in third place about the Lib Dems...here are the rough calculations:

		Party Totals & %ages
	seats
Party	contested	10 divs 10 GP cand'ss
Con	10	10466	32.65
Lab	10	9106	28.41
Lib Dem	10	2994	9.34
Green	10	6340	19.78
UKIP	5	2839	8.86
Other	2	311	0.97

Chris Brierley, the BBC's Political reporter for Gloucestershire catches the picture well about where we are in the County: "After eight years in power on their own, the Conservatives will now have to consider trying to form partnerships to run this authority. The blue electoral map has turned to grey, but the Tories are by far the largest party. The chances of a similar coalition to that of Cameron and Clegg is unlikely in the county due to the personalities of the leaders. But the Tories are still in the driving seat. Will they offer the olive branch to the newly elected UKIP councillors? Then again, there are the three Independents who might also help the Tories get to that magic figure of 27. Or could it be that the Tories try to run the council as a minority administration and appeal to different councillors on a vote by vote basis? What is clear is that from a true blue council where votes were passed without much discussion, we now have an authority where every single vote will count."

So where does that leave the incinerator and other big issues? We will have to wait and see.....

Vote Green tomorrow

It's no secret I've voted Green - Anna Bonallack will make a great County councillor in this area - today is the last go with leafleting and canvassing....meanwhile you can see 20 mins of Sarah Lunnon talking about her role as a County Councillor here. Happy May Day...

Britain Cares campaign: I'm in a film with Stephen Fry!

100,000 disabled people will be denied essential social care that allows them to live their lives. I wrote to our MP but also uploaded a photo to support the Scope campaign, 'Britain Cares': http://www.britaincares.co.uk/

Well now comes the video, 'Two Words to Change the World', narrated by Stephen Fry calling on more of us to join the campaign - my photo appears near the end for a split second!! See the video at: http://youtu.be/B1GAnsUEdfQ

Please consider also writing to your MP using this standard letter or adapt as you see fit - and add a photo: http://www.britaincares.co.uk/email-mp-only