The Winds of Change

Apologies again for the slow blogging speed. I should stop making promises to you! Although, I have been busy with Leeds Festival and the usual blah of life. I has thrown me!

However what I've noticed is how busy and interesting the political scene in Britain has also been.

People's March for the NHS

Firstly on Tuesday (26^th August), I was involved in the People's March to Save the NHS. Essentially the march is a repeat of the 1936 Jarrow Crusade from Jarrow (near Newcastle) to London. I marched the 15 miles from Sheffield to Chesterfield, and carried the Green Party message into the rally at the end. Along the way I met the Labour PPC (Prospective Parliamentary Candidate) for Windsor, Fiona Dent (pictured), and had a very interesting discussion about Ed Milliband, UKIP and British politics in general. This was in addition to the many interesting and passionate individuals who want to preserve the NHS from the current privatisation efforts by the government.

http://blog.windsorlabour.org.uk/p/fiona.html

 

Fiona Dent, the Labour PPC for Windsor before starting the People's March for the NHS.

Sheffield Young Greens

On a more personal level, I have been helping to re-launch the Young Greens in Sheffield. As I don't want to give too much away, further details can be found below:

https://www.facebook.com/#!/shefygsg?fref=ts

Hopefully the group will have the potential to become a significant voice in student and youth politics of Sheffield. So watch this space!

Tory defection to UKIP

Now this is a constantly changing story and may yet continue to develop. A backbench Tory MP, Douglas Carswell (pictured), has defected to UKIP. There has even been talk of further potential defections by MPs from both Labour and the Tories to UKIP.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-28977961

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-28979447

 

Douglas Carswell at the announcement of his defection to UKIP.

His defection has sparked a by-election in his constituency of Clacton in Essex. If he gets re-elected on a UKIP ticket (once they've sorted out their candidate!), it will be a momentous event in recent British politics. It will have signal the arrival of UKIP into the House of Commons, as the party already have 3 peers in the House of Lords. Until the seat is recontested in the General Election, next May. However, it is important not to ignore how this will be a major moment for UKIP.

It will allow UKIP to further build on their success in the Euros and local elections in May. As well as giving Nigel Farage (pictured) even more credibility when he stands in the seat of South Thanet next May.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-28937415

 

 

Nigel Farage, UKIP leader, MEP and UKIP PPC for South Thanet.

Scottish referendum

The independence referendum in Scotland is also hotting up. With the postal ballots under way, the debate between the Yes and No camps is getting more intense.

In their second TV debate, Alex Salmond (First Minster) won convincingly over his challenger Alistair Darling (No Campaign Head/ Former Chancellor) according to a snap poll by 71%-29%.

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/aug/25/scottish-independence-debate-alex-salmond-alistair-darling

 

Alex Salmond and Alistair Darling exchange niceties before getting down to the debate.

A very positive result for the Yes campaign indeed! Not so good for the Better Together (No) campaign.

Perhaps that’s why David Cameron (pictured) ventured into that proverbial safari park of Scottish politics. In which as a Tory he is very much an endangered species there!

In the build up to this referendum, I have been trying to get a better understanding of the key issues of the debate. I've been trying to do this in two ways:

1.      Watch loads of political/current affairs documentaries either online or on TV;

 

2.      Meet some Scottish people and discuss the referendum and the underlying issues.

In both aspects I've succeeded!

Firstly, I have been watching all the BBC and YouTube documentaries that I can get my hands on.   A really interesting series for me has been the BBC's Referendum. I highly recommended them. As the series breaks down the referendum into the individual issues and concerns that people have. The programmes then present the issues in an understandable and sometimes humorous way.  A link to the series can be found below:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03t7cbs

So do watch!

In meeting the second target has proven both a refreshing and very enlightening experience for me. At Leeds Festival, I met some students from the University of Stirling CND group. They were all pro-Yes and have agreed to help me out with my blog series on the independence referendum. So do keep an eye out for some input from them in my upcoming blogs in the next few weeks!

Winds of Change

Now realising that I have rambled for a while, I will now stop. However, I want to leave you with this quote from Harold Macmillan, Prime Minster from 1957-1963:

"The wind of change is blowing through this continent and, whether we like it or not, this growth of national consciousness is a political fact. We must all accept it as a fact, and our national policies must take account of it."

Originally he was referring to the process of decolonisation in Africa in the 1950s and 60s. However, I do feel that it is very poignant for British politics at the moment. The outcome of the People's March for the NHS, the Scottish referendum and the by election in Clacton are all still undecided. But, the thing is things will never be the same again…  

What's the story in Balamory?

Well now I'm into my series about the rapidly approaching Scottish independence referendum. A month to go! Potentially until the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ceases to exist as a united entity. Instead it could become two nations: Scotland and the United Kingdom of England, Wales and Northern Ireland. However the latter countries name is still up for debate. I quite like the sound of:

The United Kingdom of Southern Britain and Northern Ireland

Just say it how it is. Although, the name of the "rump" UK is still up in the air in quite a literal sense. It all depends on whether the Scottish people vote Yay or Nay next month.

So let's get down to the facts. What is exactly going on north of the border in the land of tartan, Scottie dogs and Balamory! As I don't want to bore you with the details and I want to keep this week's blog short and sweet.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-26550736

Archie from the CBeebies Show, Balamory. Apologies to all Scottish reader here..

 

As I'm sure this BBC article will tell you and you can glean from the media buzz around the debate, this is kind of a big deal.

From my own personal perspective it has thrown up a lot of questions about identity and how I view myself. In the 2011 UK census, I would tick the little box that said "White British". As that’s how I viewed myself. Not as a Cestrefeldian (someone from Chesterfield), a Derbyshire lad, English whatever. I simply viewed myself as British. A simple label that has a lot of different meanings for a lot of different people.

From studying History at both GCSE, A-level and via YouTube, I would honestly admit that I have some patriotism in being British. However, I would also like to point out that I have also been ashamed of what was done in the name of Britain in the past.

Now the Scottish referendum has called all this into question for me. What does it mean to be British in 2014? In particular when a part of the "mother" country was No Thanks to the current Westminster system from London.  I do sympathise with the long battle that has been fought by the Scots to get a greater say in their affairs. Especially after the horrors of the Thatcher years (1979-1990), and a Tory government who had a dwindling number of seats in Scotland was re-elected three times (1983, 1987, 1992). There are some links below to some very good documentaries which explains the history behind the referendum in far greater detail than I can:

Thatcher and the Scots (2009)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31FGZZ9Jb1E

Referendum Documentaries- Scotland's Smoking Gun (2014)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03sltv5/referendum-documentaries-2-scotlands-smoking-gun

Better Together Campaigners (Glasgow Tories) in Glasgow.

However, until recently I still felt that the UK was better as a whole, united nation. Rather than it being split into two. In fact I was and still am on the Better Together (Anti-Independence) campaign mailing list. I even rang them up and said that I was prepared to run an aggressive Twitter and Facebook campaign against the Yes campaign.

This presented me with a problem as it went against what both the Green Party of England and Wales and the Scottish Greens were saying. This was complete support for an independent Scotland. So what do I do?

Scottish Greens website (2014)

http://www.scottishgreens.org.uk/independence/

Green Yes Manifesto- Scottish Greens (2014)

http://www.scottishgreens.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2013/11/Green-Yes-document.pdf

 

 

Patrick Harvie. A Green MSP and Male  Co- Convener of the Scottish Greens.

Well I thought about actually asking the Scottish Greens, particularly the Scottish Young Greens what the deal was exactly. Seeing how I was an "English" Masters student sitting in Chesterfield and having never been to Scotland (Shock, horror!), coming out on a vehemently anti-Yes stance.

My main concerns were: the currency issue, the EU, and the political situation in the remaining parts of the UK. My personal opinion was complicated by Dad. The reasoning being that my Dad works for a company who has its headquarters in Newbridge, near Edinburgh. So occasionally he has to go up there on business trip etc. Every time has been up I have always asked him:

"What is the mood up in Scotland?"

"What's the feeling up there?"

"What does your boss in Edinburgh think of the referendum?"

Apart from being a little annoying on my Dad's part to be my personal opinion tester of the Scottish people, I have actually got some interesting responses. An answer to the latter question was:

"They are voting No, because they wonder who would there be to lead an independent Scotland other than Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon. Who would form the cabinet?"

I find this a very interesting reason for not voting Yes in the referendum, and could be indicative of a lack of knowledge or apathy. Likewise it could be argued that other than Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon, who else is really well known in Scottish politics? I feel that would be rectified in an independent Scotland, as media attention north of the border would focus on Holyrood (Scottish Parliament) rather than Westminster. But still an interesting reason to support the Better Together/ No Thanks campaign.



Alex Salmond- Current Scottish First Minister

 



Getting back to the Scottish Greens and my concerns, I asked a Scottish Young Green my question and got some open and honest responses. None of the simple slogans that has been muttered by the Scottish National Party (SNP) and in my opinion has provided the No campaign with some easy political points.

The responses I got made me think that maybe I can support the Yes campaign after all. Maybe the sky won't fall in, if I supported Yes on September 18^th. Now this has to be credited to the Scottish Young Green who reply to my questions and took away some of my ignorance on the key issues.

Now I can see here, that some people might think I have been led astray here. However, I would have to disagree. With an issue that has such wide reaching and long term consequences for not just Scotland, but the whole UK.

Anyway I have blithered on for too long now and must stop before I get repitative stain injury to my wrists! However, as promised I will continue this series next week and will tackle some of the key issues of the debate. So keep those eyes peeled J

OPINION POLL- 4 WEEKS LEFT TO GO!

YES: 38%

NO: 51%

DON'T KNOW: 11%

Source: YouGov

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/events/scotland-decides/poll-tracker

Additional Reading/Viewing

Balamory Theme Tune

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWBAINpDuvk

 Referendum Documentaries- Five Million Ways to be Scottish

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03tgtmt/referendum-documentaries-3-five-million-ways-to-be-scottish

 Referendum Documentaries-Scotland's Top Ten Battlegrounds

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03vmb0s/referendum-documentaries-4-scotlands-top-ten-battlegrounds

Yes Scotland campaign website

http://www.yesscotland.net/

Better Together campaign website

http://bettertogether.net/

 

 

Frack Wars- Episode 1 - The Fracking Menance

Apologies for the very belated blog post. It is already a third of the way into August! My promise of a regular blog on a Thursday will also be another commitment that I will also be broken.

Now I do have an explanation for why I am so late with my blog and why I have decided to change the day that I blog. My lateness is due to a combination of a quirk of the calendar, fracking meetings, unreliable technology and my Nan's 80^th birthday. So there are some legitimate reasons for why I am behind in my blogging.

For auld lang syne, my jo

My reasoning for changing my blogging day is due to the upcoming independence referendum in Scotland. Yesterday (August 11^th) was the 5 week mark until the referendum on September 18^th. My plan is from next Monday (August 18^th) onwards to do a series of blog posts on the referendum. These will cover the key issues of the debate, an analysis of the polls and my own opinion on what's occurring north of the border.

Now I welcome both the Yes and No campaigns to comment/critique my posts, so that there can be a constructive debate on the issues raised. I will also do a special blog post on September 18^th (polling day) itself. This will be followed up by an analysis of the results and we can see whether Scotland has voted Yay or Nay on independence.

In recognition of this, I have also changed my blog poll to:

"Should Scotland be an independent country?"

This is the same question that the Scottish electorate will be asked. So I urge all readers to participate.

Chesterfield Politics

Finally, I am also planning to continue my other series on Chesterfield politics. I have been in contact with the local Labour, Lib Dem and UKIP parties, to quiz them on why they feel they are best disposed to represent the people of Chesterfield. In other news, I have also been contemplating the notion of standing as a Green candidate in May 2015. So for further updates, watch this space!

Fracking

Now getting down to the issue that I really want to discuss: fracking. Fracking is currently a very topical issue within the Green Party. With the Green Party as having come out vehemently opposed to the whole process of fracking.

https://my.greenparty.org.uk/civicrm/petition/sign?sid=3

 

 

A protester at the Frack Free South Yorkshire led protest and rally in Sheffield.

 

But what exactly is fracking?

Well Wikipedia (reliable as ever) describes fracking or hydraulic fracturing as:

"..the fracturing of rock by a pressurized liquid."

This is a very broad definition of what fracking is and also includes natural causes. The type of fracking that has the Greens so riled is Induced hydraulic fracturing a.k.a. hydrofracking, fracking and fraccing. Again thanks to Wikipedia this is defined as:

"..a well simulation technique in which a high pressure fluid (usually water mixed with sand and chemicals) is injected into a well bore in order to create small fractures (<1.0mm wide) in deep rock formations in order to allow natural gas, petroleum and brine to migrate to the well."

Well now that we have a definition of fracking is, but why does it get the Green Party's blood pressure up. Now I can only speak from what I have seen and my own opinions on the issue.

The main contention is in the UK with fracking is what happens to that "pleasant" soup of water, sand and chemicals after the fossil resource/ shale gas has been extracted. Where fracking has been in operation in other countries, notably the United States and Australia, there have been reports on massive environmental contamination of both groundwater and drinking water. With some very extreme cases as shown in the video link below of people being able to set fire to tap water.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LBjSXWQRV8This video was provided by the Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition (see link below).

Now I am no geologist, but I have studied a fair bit on groundwater and chemical leaching as part of my MSc degree, and I don't want to bore you with the details. However, I do think cases like this show that there is some risk potentially posed to water supplies from fracking.

What fracking also highlights to me is how desperate we are as a society that we have to blast fossil fuels from the ground beneath us. Likewise to the massive tar sands operations in Alberta, Canada (pictured). It shows how we (myself included) as society are addicted to fossil fuels and will go to any lengths to get them.

The scale of the tar sands operations in Northern Alberta, Canada

 

Anti Tar Sands protesters in London.

 

Critics of my opinion would argue:

"We have the technology to persue fracking in the UK, why not?"

"Think of the jobs that fracking will create in the UK."

"The UK will be able to be self-sufficient in its energy supply!"

I can see that there is grounding for these arguments. The appeal of a domestic energy sector that allows the UK to have long lasting jobs and to also end our reliance on Middle East oil does sound good.  However at what cost do you want that? The UK has long been described as a "green and pleasant land", and I fear that we have the potential with fracking to threaten that.

Going back to the technology argument for fracking, well we also have the technology for renewable. Now I know that renewables aren't necessarily the fabled magic bullet to the UK's energy crisis. I view them as part of the solution, along with a national drive to create a more sustainable and energy efficient economy.

This is one of the reasons why I support the Green Party as I feel that their policy of a Green New Deal hits the nail on the head.

http://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/12-05-2009-one-million-jobs-only-the-start.html

Now conscious of going on a bit here, I will draw this week's blog to a close. However I will provide you all with a few links to websites, for those of you who like a bit of additional reading below. I also promise to continue this series on fracking, as it is an ongoing issue and will continue to develop. Plus I want to discuss my role with Frack Free South Yorkshire, whose link can be found below. So over and out!

Frack Free South Yorkshire

http://www.frackfreesouthyorkshire.co.uk/

The Guardian section on fracking

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/shale-gas

A recent Guardian article on the secondary effects of fracking.

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/aug/10/fracking-censored-house-price-report

Caroline Lucas, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion being arrested

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/video/2013/aug/20/caroline-lucas-protest-fracking-arrest-balcombe-video

The Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition

http://www.gdacoalition.org/GDAC_ABOUT_US.html