Nick Clegg no local hero as Lib Dems leave him off election leaflets | Politics | The Guardian

Nick Clegg wasn't on the Focus on Knowle Election Special leaflet pushed through our letterbox recently either - no images, no quotes, not even brief ones. First time Lib Dems have been in national government for yonks and they don't want to remind us of the achievements so far - wonder why!! Maybe he'll feature on future Lib Dem material we receive before the 5 May polling day?? Or maybe they'll at least list what they've done for local authorities so far in the coalition government?

Nick Clegg no local hero as Lib Dems leave him off election leaflets Politics The Guardian

Local Lib Dem mess; national Lib Dem mess - people should vote Green Party instead

The news on Bristol's green spaces is mostly very depressing isn't it. About three quarters of all sites proposed for sell off by the council, around 48 sites at least I believe, will still be sold, despite very strong objections from multiple directions.

The Lib Dem local position on green spaces is a real mess. Their national position on student tuition fees is also a real mess. They said they believe in the value of green spaces but then agree to sell them off. They said they believed in the abolition of student tuition fees but then agreed to massively increase them.

The Bristol Cabinet still has to meet to agree all that was reported in the Post - I think they might be meeting on the 16 Dec. I suppose they could (and will) be lobbied and a question or two could be put to them.

After that I think many local people in many areas will have to look out for individual land sales proposals and then for planning applications in the event of development proposals. Some might well campaign in the run up to next May to remove any local Cllrs they now object to!!

Green Party | Government must halt its “savage attacks” on UK higher education, say Greens

Good quality Higher Education is one of the key factors to manitain and develop if we are to achieve a sustainable society - but its struggling to survive in places! Education is not a commodity to be bought and sold.

Green Party Government must halt its “savage attacks” on UK higher education, say Greens

Green Higher Education Policies

Given all the debate on tuition fees, university funding, student protests and the surrounding political turmoil, in the Lib Dems especially, readers may be interested in the Greens policies on Higher Education in full:

Higher Education - principles, rationale, context

ED230 As a Green government will be working towards sustainable living and not consumption-led growth, Higher Education, like schools and colleges, will need to change to reflect the kinds of knowledge, skills and vision that are needed. Our society will need people to be educated to the highest level of which they are capable.

ED231 Evidence suggests that the best results are achieved by people who have an active desire to study at this level when they feel ready, rather than be an automatic extension of Further Education.

ED232 Higher Education is essential in developing a civilized society. Education should continue to be treated as a process and not a product. It should enable a democratisation of knowledge and skills which are available to anyone who wants to study for a degree regardless of their age or background.

ED233 Higher Education is facing a funding crisis. Departments are closing, students are being forced to pay increasing fees for their education, lecturers are working longer hours and receiving worsening pay and conditions and the student to tutor ratio is increasing.

Policy
ED234 Under a Green government there would be no student loans as there would be no tuition fees and living costs would be met by Citizen’s Income. In the short term we will reintroduce student grants to meet living costs.

ED235 Due to the nature of the economic growth we have been experiencing there has been a shift in recent years away from manufacture and industry-related subjects. Whilst trends in the subjects students choose to study will continue to evolve there will be sufficient funding to protect minority subjects and to cater for potential swings back.

ED236 The Green Party will support a properly funded, accessible Higher Education system which would reverse these trends.

ED237 Currently the standard of achievement of students with comparable degrees and results from different institutions is inconsistent.

ED238 There will be much more rigour applied to ensure consistency through external accreditation systems.

ED239 Higher Education will offer real support to mature students and students with families. There will be a minimum requirement for Universities and Higher Education Institutions to offer a free crèche to students and staff, nappy changing and breast-feeding facilities as well as religious facilities such as prayer spaces to cater for people from a wide range of ages, religions and ethnic backgrounds.

ED240 Accessibility will be addressed through a combination of these institutions offering Widening Participation Programmes and creating a series of firm targets which will ensure increased social diversity.

ED241 It is essential that there is not a commercial bias in research undertaken in Higher Education Institutions.

ED242 There will be sufficient funding to encourage independent and ethical research.

ED243 The Green Party recognises that under the current system the ability of students transferring from school or Further Education to Higher Education is extremely diverse, sometimes depending on their social background or the school / college they attended.

ED244 Until this is no longer the case, in order to ensure full accessibility and high standards, institutions will be funded to offer an externally accredited Access Courses to students they consider to have the potential to study at a Higher Level but who are not yet ready for it.

ED245 Currently many Higher Education Institutions are dependent on international students due to the inflated fees they pay. In some cases this can lead them to accept international students who are less able than EU students who they reject.

ED246 Under a Green Government Higher Education Institutions will be properly funded by the state so that where international students are fee-paying the amount the institution charges will more accurately reflect the true cost.

ED247 At the same time schemes would be set up to provide funding both for places for less wealthy students from developing countries and at the same time to develop Higher Education in developing countries through partnership projects so that in the longer term they will not need to travel. Subject areas where there is a shortage of skills in that particular country (for example Medicine and Engineering) will be prioritised.

ED248 Currently some institutions have some of the worst records for their environmental footprint.

ED249 Under a Green government Higher Education will adhere to the same stringent regulations as large businesses and other institutions.

Canny Cable's Capitalist Con

Vince Cable was reported as attacking capitalism in his Lib Dem conference speech but in fact he played it pretty cannily - if you view politics on terms like his ie NOT 'what you see is what you get'. He was entertaining, used humour and exaggeration effectively and saw to it that his speech was widely circulated to the media beforehand. He used some colourful language, ‘spivs’, ‘gamblers’, ‘murky world’, ‘markets...rigged’ – which the media zoom in on – and drew just the (‘angry’) reaction he wanted from the business world. All of this created the general impression that Business Secretary Vince wanted and more than got him through what might have been a difficult Lib Dem conference. West Country Tory MP Jacob Rees Mogg described it -pretty accurately - as ‘throwing a few lentils’ to his party faithful. I’d describe it as leading everyone on a merry dance (see picture for evidence) - using spin in an attempt to put us in a spin, confusing and causing problems for us with deception/disguise and behaving in a way that hides realities.

Being keen to understand all variations of and views on capitalism – never more so than since capitalist economic systems around the world took many industrial economies to the very brink due to the banking crisis – I closely watched the Cable speech and have followed some of his pronouncements since. Vince Cable stressed the importance of finance, the deficit and its ‘correction’ through cuts and freezing public sector pay. He spoke of how economic growth is essential, how we must remove obstacles to growth and how it should be led private enterprise (he's since stressed the importance of growth eg here). He referred to his agenda as pro-market, pro-business – with competition central - and how high taxes on rich people and companies could send them abroad. The privatisation of Royal Mail was mentioned and he referred to graduates as having to make a bigger contribution to the cost of their higher education (what has since emerged is the creeping privatisation of higher education through the establishment of a free market in tuition fees). Vince has since stressed how he wants to speed up Royal Mail privatisation.

Does this sound like a firmly capitalist approach or an attack on capitalism to you?? Andrew Neil said in his analysis immediately after the speech that he thought it faced in two directions at once. Ex-Chancellor Alistair Darling described Cable’s speech as ‘political hokey cokey’ (great phrase!). In my view the speech liberally (and Liberal Democratically!) sprinkled firm capitalist policies and actions amongst crowd-pleasing rhetoric designed to create the impression of anti-capitalism! There is certainly debate about precisely what capitalism is but few, if any, would dispute that it involves private ownership, private profit, decisions made by a market and economic growth as the primary aim – all which are extended by Vince Cable’s policies and actions along with those of the Coalition Government he is fully signed up to. So, its Vince Capitalist then.

[I'll follow up on this post with a further analysis of capitalism later]

Capitalist ideology dominates cuts decisions

Excellent piece by George Monbiot (see quote below). The spending cuts process is dominated by Tory capitalist ideology more than practical necessity. The Lib Dems are backing the Tories to the hilt - so much for Vince Cable's concerns about capitalism (this never did have substance anyway especially given that he is privatising the Royal Mail and backs the establishment of a free market in tuition fees...ie he is extending capitalism!! More on this issue soon.).

Monbiot.com » Britain’s Shock Doctrine

...Public bodies whose purpose is to hold corporations to account are being swept away. Public bodies whose purpose is to help boost corporate profits, regardless of the consequences for people and the environment, have sailed through unharmed. What the two lists suggest is that the economic crisis is the disaster the Conservatives have been praying for. The government’s programme of cuts looks like a classic example of disaster capitalism: using a crisis to re-shape the economy in the interests of business....

Student grants not loans and tuition fees

Copy of National Union of Students press release:
GREEN CANDIDATE GLENN VOWLES MAKES PLEDGE TO VOTERS ON STUDENT FEES
Tuesday 10 March 2010 – for immediate release

Glenn Vowles, Green Candidate for Bristol East has signed a pledge to voters ahead of the forthcoming general election that he will vote against any increase in fees in the next parliament.

The National Union of Students (NUS) has launched the Vote for Students campaign to encourage candidates to pledge to protect student interests by opposing attempts to lift the cap on student top-up fees.

The Vote for Students funding pledge states:

"I pledge to vote against any increase in fees in the next parliament, and will put pressure on the Government to introduce a fairer alternative."

Glenn Vowles said:

"I certainly oppose a rise in student fees, but Green Party policy goes much further. Our position on tuition fees and student loans means that under Green Party policy, students will not have to pay tuition fees. The Green Party supports grants not loans, providing a basic income sufficient for needs while in full time education. "

NUS President Wes Streeting said:

"The vast majority of the general public is against higher fees, and although this review has been set up to report after the general election, voters deserve to know where their MP stands on this highly emotive issue.

"I am delighted that the Green's Glenn Vowles is standing up for students and their families in Bristol East by signing up to this pledge. He has demonstrated his determination to give every young person in Bristol East a fair chance to go to university."

A recent YouGov poll commissioned by NUS revealed that 88% of the public does not think the review should even consider increasing fees, while a majority believes that it should look at alternatives. Last year, research by Opinionpanel (http://www.opinionpanel.co.uk/)
showed that a political party’s position on tuition fees would affect how 79% of students would vote in a general election.

ENDS

* Media enquiries for Glenn Vowles: Tel 0117 9717023
* NUS Press Office: 020 7380 6604 / 07866 695 010
* For more on the Vote for Students campaign: http://www.voteforstudents.co.uk/
* For more on NUS’ approach to student funding: http://www.nus.org.uk/Campaigns/Funding-Our-Future-/