This post comes off the back of an interesting and for me powerful demonstration of collective union action, that was demonstrated here in Sheffield today. For me the reasoning behind my attendance might at first seem a bit selfish:
1.
The main event was close to the
Sheffield Hallam University campus, where I'm currently studying for an MSc in
Environmental Management.
2.
I could go to it and still make my
careers appointment at 1.30pm.
However, there were also some more selfless reasons for joining in the march and the rally. Namely, that I felt I had to boost the Sheffield Green Party presence there. Especially to have a Young Green presence that is all members under the age of 30 currently in the party. I feel that everyone, especially young people, need to speak out on issues such as the ones raised today.
Photo: Me calling for fairer pay for public sector workers.
The current government in the four years it has been in power has done more to aggravate people than any that I can remember. Harking back to the 1970s and 80s. For me growing up in the relative calm Blair/Brown years, I can't remember a government that has been this divisive. It has helped to roll the metaphorical snowball of political discontent and mistrust in the "Big 3" Westminster parties, into an ever greater size than under the last Labour government.
Out of this we have seen the arrival of UKIP, a party that currently lacks a full political manifesto. Yet it came top of the polls in the recent European Parliamentary election. Now I personally don't know what to make to this recent surge that the party has enjoyed. I think it scares all the major parties at Westminster. The Tories (Conservatives) as a significant proportion of their right wing, Eurosceptic members. Labour recently has seen a large amount of working class support to defect to UKIP. Whilst for the Liberal Democrats (Lib Dems), UKIP has robbed them of their raison d'etre in electoral terms as being the protest vote.
Now the loss of working class voters by Labour is worrying to them as that was their traditional core base of support. In the words of a friend of mine, who is a Tory, and shall remain nameless:
"The left wing parties have all become too metropolitan in their outlook, and no longer know how to appeal to the ordinary working class voter."
I have to say that I can see where he is coming from in some respects as this can clearly be seen in the recent local and European election results for Sheffield and Rotherham.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-humber-27533375
All this from a party who don't have a full manifesto to stand on!
This makes it even more imperative that young people engage in the political process. Or we will get parties like UKIP, who really base their premise on fears of the unknown in immigration and the EU (Both of these I will discuss in later blogs).
Despite all this there is an alternative party to the mainstream and the populist parties and its called the Green Party. But Shhh! The media doesn't want the British public to know about the Green Party. As what do the Greens stand for? The environment, the environment or the environment. Well that's what a lot of people still think of the Greens. Pie in the sky environmentalism, but have no real connection to the issues that affect the Average Joe in the street.
Well you would be wrong. Unlike the aforementioned UKIP, the Greens have a full manifesto:
http://issuu.com/lifework/docs/minimaniissuu?e=7496317/7612527
They also an MP in Parliament, something UKIP doesn't:
http://www.carolinelucas.com/
They also recently beat the Lib Dems into 5th in the recent Euro elections:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/events/vote2014/eu-uk-results
Finally, in a recent YouGov poll which asked:
"How do you intend to vote at the next General Election?"
http://cdn.yougov.com/cumulus_uploads/document/szdnv7y7if/YG-Archive-Pol-Sun-results-090714.pdf
The Greens got 15% in the 18-24 year old category. This shows that there is potentially a large amount of young people who would be prepared to vote Green in 2015. Something I feel the Green Party needs to act upon.
Now realising that this is rather a long first blog post, I will now stop. Although if you are a Green minded person and interested in getting involved:
http://greenparty.org.uk/getinvolved/
If you are a young person aged 16-30 then:
http://www.younggreens.org.uk/
And if you live in Sheffield, please follow this link to the local party:
http://sheffieldgreenparty.org.uk/
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