24 Sept 2014
Welcome to Burnage Green Mail
Central to Green Party politics is to put people first. This is why we are concerned about the
dangers of climate change and the need to protect the environment. At the same time we
are opposed to inequality and the lack of democracy that is evident in the austerity policies
of the Tories,Lib Dems, Labour and UKIP. The burden of sorting out a broken economic
system and mitigating climate change should not be imposed on ordinary people.
Our Growing Support
Before the local election in 2012, our best share of the vote was 6.2%. In 2012 it was 7.8%.
In 2014 it was 18.5%! We have put out fourleaflets covering Burnage and leafleted outside
Burnage supermarkets many times. We played a prominent part in defending the library
from closure.
We have a way to go yet, but almost every day we are getting indications of growing
support. Responses to our latest leaflet, Burnage Green News, Summer 2014, show that
Burnage voters are reading our leaflets and agreeing with what we say.
People are getting poorer
The economy may be growing overall, but the share of wealth going into employee pay
packets (as opposed to shareholder profits) is shrinking. Average real wages have been
falling while executive pay rockets skyward. In-work poverty has got so bad that the largest
group of people claiming benefits are from working families.
Since 2009, year after year prices have increased by more than wages. This means real cuts
in pay. In the last 12 months pay increased by 0.6% while the Retail Price Index (RPI),which
includes housing costs, increased by 2.5%. This means that there has been a fall of almost
2% in the value of wages over just the past year.
Meanwhile rent for Southway Housing three bedroom houses in Burnage was increased by
almost 5% in April. Overall its clear that people in Burnage, like everywhere else, are paying
for the excesses of the bankers and billionaires. Labour, Tories, Lib Dems and UKIP are all in
favour of austerity. Only The Green Party opposes these pollicies. Read Geoge Monbiot's
article: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/aug/05/neoliberalism-mentalhealth-rich-poverty-economy (see attached)
Milder wetter winters– Hotter dryer summers
This is what the climate scientists forecast for Britain now that the worlds climate is
changing. Don’t celebrate the thought of hot dry summers too soon though, because this
will cause increases in food prices. On top of that, elderly people and small children will be
vulnerable to the heat, there will be increased storm and wind speed intensity and buildings
will be damaged.
The winter before last was the wettest since records began 300 years ago. It cost billions
through flooding, the disruption of road and rail services, the ruin of peoples homes, the
destruction of farm crops and the rise in food prices.
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87% of climate scientists agree that now global warming is due to our use of coal, oil and
gas, which increase the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. Yet our Coalition Government
has reduced the subsidies for solar panels and it’s Green Deal has failed through being
insufficiently subsidised. At the same time it is giving tax breaks worth£3billion to encourage
the oil and gas companies to explore for new oil and gas fields near the Orkneys.
Manchester Council has not taken climate change seriously. It has set targets for reducing
it’s carbon emissions but has failed to meet them. In fact last year the Council’s carbon
emissions increased by 1.5%. It has also failed to encourage and persuade businesses and
individuals to reduce energy use and adopt renewable energy sources such as solar panels.
Very few of Manchesters south facing roofs have them, yet they can save energy costs and
help toward limiting climate change.
Fix My Street
Blocked drains in Burnage are a big problem, as you know. The cause is not just more rain
from climate change. Cuts in basic services such as clearing street drains are also a cause
(see attached).
We are campaigning in Burnage to get the drains cleared, to get the potholes fixed, to clean
up dog fouling, to clean up litter, etc. If you have something to report, go to
https://www.fixmystreet.com/. Fill in the form and it will be sent to Manchester City
Council. If you do not have a computer please get in touch with me and I will report it for
you. Its only by this kind of public pressure can we get the council to act.
We want the council to spend our money on our neighbourhood, not on big showy
expensive projects in the city centre and town hall.
Regards
Sam Darby
Burnage Green Group
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