First of all, 50% increase in bus fares people are being punished for using greener methods of transport. In Nottingham twice as many people use the bus for work than the national average, so this is really going to hit working people hard.  We should have seen massive investment in public transport.

Secondly we’re seeing significant tax rises, and most of that is falling on work, not on wealth. Bringing in a wealth tax, rather than taxing employment would mean that the knock on from the money raised wouldn’t end up on the cost of your cup of coffee. 

Finally on public services. There was hardly anything for local government. Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, and other councils across the east midlands have got huge holes in their budgets after 14 years of tory cuts.

Labour’s slogan was change, but we’re being given more of the same.

Councils desperately need more funding and aren’t getting it, so we’re going to see Labour closing more libraries and other public facilities in the near future. If people are being asked to pay more taxes they should be able to see it being spent on their local services.

If the government was serious about tackling climate change then we should have seen strong signals in the budget, but it was just more tinkering around the edges.

For more local views on the budget check out our latest interview on BBC iplayer.

The post Response to the 2024 Autumn budget appeared first on Nottingham Green Party.

Rushcliffe – Richard Mallender
Email Richard at rushcliffe@votegreen.uk

Nottingham South – Cath Sutherland
Email Cath at nottingham.south@votegreen.uk

Nottingham North & Kimberley – Sam Harvey
Email Sam at nottingham.north.kimberley@votegreen.uk

Nottingham East – Rosemary Palmer
Email Rosemary at contact@nottingham.greenparty.org.uk

Gedling – Dominic Berry
Email Dominic at gedling@votegreen.uk

Find out more about our candidates here.

If you’d like to help our campaign, you can:

• Make a donation
• Sign up as a volunteer
• Join the Green Party

If you would like more information please use the contact link at the bottom of the page or email contact@nottingham.greenparty.org.uk.

The post Nottingham Green Party Welcomes General Election with Full Slate of Candidates appeared first on Nottingham Green Party.

My contribution was published in part, with the rest of my statement as follows:

“What I see as a huge problem with s106 money is the length of time between when the sums are calculated, and when they are eventually spent. This is especially problematic as we’ve just gone through a period of high inflation. 

For example £500,000 pounds for a community hub in 2014 that is delivered in 2024 would only now be worth the equivalent of £375,000 in today’s money. Which would be bad enough, but you also need to factor in the uplift in property values. The same £500,000 community hub from 2014 would now cost you £766,000 to construct. Because of a ten year delay the community will now have to make do with something that is half as good as they were promised. Ten years isn’t unusual, or even particularly long in planning terms. After twenty years what has grandly been called a community centre might well be delivered as barely more than a scout hut.

In the same period these same factors work the other way in favour for the developers who are building and selling houses that are worth more and more for each year they delay.

It seems in law that planners can link sums payable to inflation, but this isn’t something that we see regularly, and it’s communities who are missing out.”

If you have any comments or want to discuss subjects such as s106 you can contact me on chair@nottingham.greenparty.org.uk

The post Councils yet to spend £93 million in S106 housing developer contributions appeared first on Nottingham Green Party.

Nottingham Green Party Chair Ben Gray says:

“The Green Party have detailed plans to tackle the realities of climate change, including simple things such as properly funding emergency responses and stopping new building on flood plains.”

“Even more importantly, the Greens are the only party committed to tackling the causes of flooding. We need to end the system that keeps hurting our environment and build a better alternative.”

So, what next? Record-breaking summer heatwave?

If you have any comments or questions on this story please email or telephone John Burgess on 07990013534.

The post Flooding in Nottinghamshire requires robust response appeared first on Nottingham Green Party.

The residents of Lady Bay voted in the Mallenders with a very healthy two thirds of the vote, with Labour coming in a distant second. Labour chose to stand candidates in Lady Bay despite not being able to find enough candidates for areas where they have more recently had more success, leaving the Tories unopposed by Labour in several wards.

The re-election comes after a tough time for us all as COVID provided a challenge for our communities. Whist being at the forefront of the community efforts in Lady Bay, Sue Mallender was also Mayor of Rushcliffe for a record two terms. Sue was the first (of many we hope) Green Party Mayors of Rushcliffe.

Richard and Sue are once again our only Green councillors across Rushcliffe, Gedling, and the city of Nottingham. Former Borough Councillor Ben Gray, who crossed the floor earlier this year (and is currently writing in the third person), was unsuccessful in his attempt to be re-elected as a Green councillor. He was able to increase the Green vote from 5% to 30% in an intensive short campaign, and is hoping to gain the 100 votes needed to win next time.

As a party we also saw strong results across Rushcliffe, Gedling, and the City of Nottingham, putting us in a strong position for future campaigns. This is with huge thanks to all of our candidates, volunteers, supporters, and voters!

The post Richard & Sue Mallender Re-elected in Lady Bay appeared first on Nottingham Green Party.

If you have any questions or comments for our candidates or the Nottingham Green Party, please get in touch by emailing contact@nottingham.greenparty.org.uk.

gedling

rushcliffe

City of nottingham

The post 4th May 2023 local elections: candidates announced appeared first on Nottingham Green Party.

As reported in West Bridgford Wire: https://westbridgfordwire.com/west-bridgford-labour-councillor-defects-to-the-green-party/

A Rushcliffe Borough Councillor for West Bridgford has defected from the Labour Party to the Green Party this week, after a spell as an independent.

One-quarter of the council wards in West Bridgford now have Green Party Councillors.

Cllr Benjamin Gray has represented Lutterell Ward, which includes Wilford Hill, for the last four years, and spent two years as the leader of the Labour Group on the council.

Cllr Gray told West Bridgford Wire:

“The Green Party focus on community, and what can actually be done on the Borough Council to make a tangible difference for local residents.

A letter to residents is being delivered to residents explaining the change which reads:

Dear Neighbour,

Since being elected to represent you in Lutterell Ward in 2019, I have always tried to do the right thing for all residents of the ward and West Bridgford. I recently took the decision to leave the Labour Party, having been a member since 2013, and leader of the group on the Borough Council.

I became involved in politics to focus on community, the environment, and making the country a fairer place. In recent years I feel that the Labour Party has focused too much time and energy on internal politics.

My principles have not changed, and I believe that my time, energy, and efforts are better spent where there is a common goal to build our communities, protect the environment, and build a fairer society.

I have been consistently impressed with local Green Party Councillors Richard and Sue Mallender and how they participate in and nurture the community in Lady Bay. I looked to their examples to help form our resident’s association, inform environmental issues in the borough, and even to kick off our first community Safari Sale (which Cllr S Mallender opened as Mayor of Rushcliffe).

As well as being community champions they have skilfully, and tactfully held other parties on the borough council to account, resulting in successful changes and strong actions, rather than just hot air.

After a time of considerable reflection I decided to join the Green Party where I believe I can continue to make a difference in our community and better look out for you as residents.

There are just a few weeks left before the next Borough Council elections, and I hope that with your support I can represent you again. I’ve worked extremely hard over the last four years to make a difference in the ward and bring people together, no matter their background or political leaning.

As a Green Party Councillor I will be better supported to continue to make positive changes and look after the area we live in and look out for the wellbeing of all our neighbours.

I will continue, as always, to be available for residents and encourage you to contact me if you need any help with local issues or just to express your concerns or opinions. I will always put you first and continue to do the right thing for the residents of West Bridgford.

You can get in touch with Ben by tweeting at @cllxben or emailing benbobgray@gmail.com

If you have any comments or questions on this story please email contact@nottingham.greenparty.org.uk.

The post Rushcliffe councillor Ben Gray joins the Green Party appeared first on Nottingham Green Party.

Sadly, the motion, which had cross party support from all opposition groups, was voted down by the ruling Conservatives.

Richard said, “It’s a great shame that the motion was defeated, but we will continue to work to protect Rushcliffe’s wildlife and to make sure the council also plays its part.”

Climate change is not the only threat to our wild animals, insects and plants: many other aspects of human activity are also leading to a catastrophic loss of biodiversity. The complex web of life of plants and animals that interact, depend on each other and make our country such a beautiful place is constantly under threat.

Loss of habitat, intensive farming, destruction of hedgerows and woodland has led to a huge decline in the numbers of birds, insects and plant species. More than 40% of our insect species are declining, and a third are endangered. Our bird population has decreased by over a quarter since the seventies. And the loss is accelerating.

The government already says that councils have a duty to conserve biodiversity. But that is only going to happen if each council makes specific policies and commitments to address the actions that are needed to halt the tragic decline of our natural world.

For questions or comments about this article please contact:

Cath Sutherland
Press Officer
07766294745
press@nottingham.greenparty.org.uk

The post Please Rushcliffe Council, Save Our Wildlife appeared first on Nottingham Green Party.

Sue with the Book of Declaration
of Acceptance of Office.

Sue said: “I feel very honoured to be given the opportunity to continue as Mayor, last year was very difficult and it is wonderful to have the opportunity to have another year to raise money for my chosen charities and meet many people in the Borough.”

In her previous year as mayor Sue has been able to take part in some physically distanced activities. She has presented awards for Plastic Free Cotgrave (Sue is committed to being as zero waste and carbon neutral as possible), planted many a tree including an oak in Bridgford Park for Remembrance Day, and unveiled a plaque for the planting of a Miyawaki Forest at Farmeco in Screveton by the Nottingham Soroptimists.

Sue’s three chosen charities are:

Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust (https://www.nottinghamshirewildlife.org)

Trent District Community First Responders (https://trentcfr.co.uk)

Musicworks (https://musicworksnet.co.uk)

To donate please email mayor@rushcliffe.gov.uk.

In her acceptance speech, Sue talked about the wonderful work these three charities are doing.

She continued, “For these charities, I am still walking around the Borough of Rushcliffe. So far, I have now gone from Zouch to Hickling, and Ratcliffe-on-Soar to Shelton, so I think that’s about two-thirds. On public footpaths, it’s about 100 miles I think. I’m learning a lot about rural bus services. I also did manage a few events last year – I did manage a one hundredth birthday, and then there were some events for VJ day, which were actually in person, and some Remembrance events. I’m once again extremely honoured and very happy that you have let me carry on for another year, to really experience what it’s like to be the First Citizen of Rushcliffe, and I hope that I will represent you all very well”.

The unanimous vote by all councillors
present.

For questions or comments about this article please email press@nottingham.greenparty.org.uk or contact@nottingham.greenparty.org.uk.

The post Green Mayor first ever to be re-elected for second year in Rushcliffe appeared first on Nottingham Green Party.

The main reasons for the objection are:

• Uniper estimates that the incinerator will work at an electrical efficiency of 26.1% (that is, just 26.1% of the energy in the waste will be exported as electricity) – worse than the efficiency of UK coal-fired power stations which is currently around 32%.
• Uniper’s proposal does not adequately consider the implications of the EU Circular Economy Package or the Defra policy statement in support dated 30 July 2020, committing to reach zero waste by 2050.
• Uniper has failed to demonstrate a need for extra incineration capacity, and have seriously overstated the quantity of residual waste and understated incineration capacity in the surrounding area.
• The proposed site is not near to urban areas where most waste is created, and so will promote unnecessary transport of waste into the Green Belt.
• It will generate large quantities of CO2 (around 450,000 tonnes per year) with no realistic proposal to become carbon neutral.

Guy Jones, Chair of the Nottingham Green Party, said,

“Not only is incinerating waste not a form of recycling. It causes damage to the environment directly. Much of the waste that will be burnt at the plant is plastic. Plastic is made from fossil fuels. This incinerator will be nothing more than a fossil fuel power station just like the plant it is replacing.

“This proposal is an example of the insanity that prevails when business pays lip service to environmental issues.

“The solution to waste is to reduce, reuse and recycle. Burning it to create energy will simple justify the continued production of the waste in the first place.

“The solution to the energy problem is to reduce the need and massively increase production from environmentally sensitive and sustainable sources.

“Ratcliffe on Soar Power Station should be converted to a Green Energy Centre, providing environmentally low impact and sustainable power to people and business in the local area.”

Click here to sign the petition against the EMERGE Centre on Change.org: https://www.change.org/p/nottinghamshire-county-council-no-to-the-ratcliffe-on-soar-incinerator

The post Greens object to Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station replacement plans appeared first on Nottingham Green Party.