Christmas is traditionally a time of peace and goodwill to all men but I would
widen that to include all living, sentient beings. And to make Christmas a time of goodwill for all,
I would suggest the following steps.
• Never give animals as presents as thousands of abandoned pets are destroyed each year.
• Only purchase cruelty-free cosmetics and toiletries that contain no animal ingredients and have not been
tested on animals.
• Do not buy or wear real fur; watch out for fur trim on gloves, coats and boots as it could be real rabbit,
fox, cat or dog fur. Always check on the label that the fur is fake.
• Give the turkey a miss, there are plenty of delicious vegetarian and vegan alternatives and, sadly,
the turkey industry is a very cruel industry. And if you do have turkey, make sure it is organic/free range.
• If you make a donation to a health or medical research charity, make sure the one you give to does not
conduct medical experiments.
These steps would help make it a more compassionate Christmas for all.
6th December 2008
Greens march for action on Climate Change
(Left to Right) Mark Dawes, Jean Lambert MEP, Ashley Gunstock
Members of Waltham Forest and Redbridge Green Party marched from the American Embassy
in Grosvenor Square to Parliament to call for action on climate change last Saturday, December 6th.
In Parliament Square there was a rally with a number of speakers including Green MEP Caroline Lucas.
The march was organised by the Campaign Against Climate Change and was supported by the Green Party;
it was attended by thousands of people.
There is now a scientific consensus that climate change is happening and it is the result of human
activities such as the burning of fossil fuels and the farming of animals for meat and dairy products.
In fact, it is happening at a faster rate than previously thought. Unless action is taken now, we will
experience extreme weather, food shortages, mass extinction of species and escalating wars over
resources.
The Green Party is calling for
• Legally binding UK targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 10% each year towards a goal of 90% reduction by 2030.
• Personal carbon allowances so that we all have a direct incentive to cut carbon use.
• An end to airport and road expansion coupled with huge investment in public transport.
• A “Green New Deal” creating thousands of jobs in energy conservation and an across the board program of renewable
energy installations and material reuse.
“The Green Party is the only political party with the policies to seriously tackle climate change”
said Waltham Forest and Redbridge Green Party Co-ordinator Mark Dawes, “The policies we are
advocating will lead to a society that is healthier and happier with better public transport and
stronger local communities” he added.
1st December 2008
Greens campaign in Highams Park
Chris Olende (left) and candidate Daniel Perrett
The Green campaign for the Highams Park and Hale End Ward By-Election continues with
candidate Daniel Perrett finding his opposition to the proposed Tesco resonating with voters despite
lack of coverage in the local media.
“One of the biggest issues in the By-Election is the proposed new Tesco that the Greens oppose
as it will put independent shops out of business, increase traffic causing more congestion and
pollution and lead to unsafe streets” said Daniel.
“If elected I will be a strong, independent, Green voice for Highams Park. One that will fight for
free insulation, free school meals, safer streets and a living wage” he added.
20th November 2008
Greens oppose proposed Tesco
The Green Party is opposed to a new Tesco being built in Highams Park. After their
earlier proposal was rejected, Tesco have submitted plans for an even bigger store that will be
detrimental to Highams Park as it will put independent shops out of business, increase traffic
causing more congestion and pollution and lead to unsafe streets.
Tesco now controls 30% of the grocery market in the UK and in 2007, Tesco announced over £2.5 billion
in profits. But this “success” is at the expense of farmers, workers, local shops and the
environment and it results in shoppers having less choice as the result is no alternative to the
large supermarket chains.
The Greens have a different vision for Highams Park; one that has flourishing local, independent shops
providing a genuine choice and with a real community spirit. We must have local, national and European
policies that promote local economies which are not vulnerable to the whims of large companies.
18th October 2008
Green Fair in Wanstead
The Green Fair organised by the Waltham Forest and Redbridge Green Party is in
United Reform Church Hall, Wanstead. (Junction of Grosvenor Road with Nightingale Lane, off
Wanstead High Street, E11 2HD.)
Saturday October 18th, 11am to 3pm
· Wide range of locally handmade goods: cards, jewellery, photos, scarves, bags, beauty products and more.
· Buy your Xmas gifts early!
· Information from local Green groups
· Refreshments
Admission: 30p – children free
4th October 2008
Greens oppose vivisection
October 4th was World Animal Day, a day when animal life was celebrated and for the
awareness of the suffering of animals. One of the major causes of suffering to animals is vivisection,
the testing on animals for medical research. Home Office statistics, revealed for 2007, showed an
appalling rise in animal experimentation in 2007 with just over 3.2 million experiments on animals
taking place in British Laboratories. The only experiments counted are those that have the potential
“to cause pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm”. This was the sixth yearly increase in succession
and the highest figures since 1991.
Before coming to power, Labour said it was committed to the reduction and eventual elimination of
animal experiments and to establish a Royal Commission to investigate whether animal experiments are
necessary and/or justified. Labour broke their promise on setting up a Royal Commission and as clearly
shown from the figures, failed in their commitment to reduce animal experiments too.
But vivisection is not necessary as the results from vivisection are not accurate because of the vast
differences of non-human-animals and humans anatomically, physiologically and pathologically.
There are now more accurate ways of performing medical research that does not involve animals
including using human cells and tissues and computer modeling. For this reason, the Green Party
opposes vivisection but unfortunately, the other three major parties still support vivisection.
18th August 2008
Local activist stands to be first Green Party Leader
Ashley Gunstock
Ashley Gunstock, a Leading Spokesperson for The Green Party in Waltham Forest &
Redbridge, has been nominated as one of just two candidates who will be contesting the election to
decide who will be the first ever leader of The Green Party of England & Wales.
Now in his twentieth year as a Green Party activist, Ashley has continually promoted the fundamental
values of the Party and worked hard to help these to evolve with the continual changes that affect
our society. This has enabled him to more easily express to all, regardless of their original
political persuasion, the need to embrace the Green vision for the future.
Such long-term thinking has ensured that his vote – as the Green Party candidate for Parliament in
Leyton and Wanstead, for the GLA in Havering & Redbridge and for Redbridge Council in the ward of
Wanstead – has risen by 50% in the area. In view of this he has already been re-selected to stand
for the Greens in Leyton & Wanstead at the next General Election.
Ashley is a committee member of: Fairtrade Redbridge, about to receive its accreditation; LA21 and
FoE groups, with whom he has influenced borough recycling and planning improvements and peace,
anti-war & anti-fascist movements, seeking Green Party endorsement.
Lately he was instrumental in ensuring that the Council, TfL and The Corporation of London implemented
much needed road traffic safety measures (especially for the elderly and school children) and is at
present involved in the ‘Tube re-zoning’ campaign that he established to start making travel on the
London Underground more affordable.
Ashley is a professional Producer, Director & actor and was an original cast member of The Bill,
having appeared in various television programmes & films and toured the UK three times in theatrical
productions. His work as a teacher and qualified Football Association coach, in a variety of schools
and clubs, attunes him to what is happening with today’s youth.
All in all, Ashley has a good grasp of what is happening in the society of today.
3rd August 2008
Boycott Olympic Opening Ceremony
On Friday August 8th, the Olympic Games in China will begin with the Opening Ceremony.
When China was awarded the games in 2001, they made a number of promises including the promotion of
human rights. Sadly, promises have been broken and human rights in China are arguably worse as there
is a crackdown on dissent.
Since the invasion of Tibet began in 1949, the Chinese occupation has resulted in the death of over
one million Tibetans, the destruction of over 6,000 monasteries, nunneries and temples, and the
imprisonment and torture of thousands of Tibetans. Since April this year, in the run up to the
Olympic Games, thousands of people have been imprisoned, religious restrictions have intensified and
peaceful protest has been brutally crushed in Tibet.
The organisation of the Olympic Games lies more than ever in the hands of multinationals through
their sponsorship. They expect from the Opening Ceremony a return on their investment with a huge
television audience to see their advertisements and develop their logos. Globally there is a campaign
for people to boycott the Opening Ceremony at home by not watching it on TV; we would urge everyone to
join in and send a message to China about human rights and Tibet.
27th July 2008
Greens commend Council motion
The Greens commend Waltham Forest Council for supporting the motion that
“Waltham Forest Council has a responsibility to act in an ethically and socially conscientious manner
in its business practices and activities“ at last Thursday’s council meeting. The motion got cross
party support and we would like to thank Cllr John Macklin for taking up this issue and proposing
the motion.
Waltham Forest Council has invested in the arms trade that causes so much death and destruction
and in companies that operate in Burma that has the effect of supporting the brutal military
dictatorship there. This motion represents the first step in changing this policy so that instead
the council investments will be a force for positive change in the world. We hope the Council will
continue this path.
14th July 2008
Green comment on Food Crisis
The increasing cost of food is affecting us all and if we are to solve the problem,
we need to tackle the causes not the symptoms.
The main causes of the crisis is the excessive consumption of meat and dairy, famines
(often caused by the effects of man-made climate change) and by the production of bio fuels and it
is these causes that only the Greens have the policies to tackle.
We need to reduce our consumption of meat and dairy and encourage people to change their diets
accordingly. We need to tackle climate change by reducing our greenhouse gas emissions dramatically
as the Greens have been calling for years. We need to stop seeing bio fuels as a solution; it is not,
growing food to eat is a more important use of agricultural land.
Of course, the increase in the price of fuel has exacerbated the problem causing a further increase
in the price of food. If we moved to more organic, locally produced food then there would be less
need for oil based pesticides and fertilizers and less transportation required both of which would
lessen the impact of an increase in the price of fuel.
26th June 2008
Greens condemn council policy on community events
Waltham Forest council has announced huge increases in the fees for
community groups to attend council-run events such as the Green Fair and Car Free Day. This
increase is opposed by the Green Party as it will stop community groups from being involved and
lead to events being for the council rather than for the community they are supposed to serve.
As well the hefty increase in fees for groups to attend events, the council has changed its policy so that
the £100 charge for commercial stalls also applies to political parties. Previously political
parties were charged the same as community groups.
At a time when many people feel that politics is becoming more divorced from people’s everyday lives
and concerns, Waltham Forest & Redbridge Green Party believes that our involvement in community events
like the Green Fair and Car-Free Day is an important way of interacting with the public,
publicising our views and being exposed to public opinion.
These charges will change the nature of local events – they will no longer be community events.
This will also have an impact on local democracy by narrowing the opportunities for local debate –
perhaps this is part of the council’s intentions?
20th May 2008
Boycott the Great British Circus - again!
Sadly, the so called Great British Circus is returning to Redbridge with the usual
exploitation of animals. If you have any concern about animal welfare, I hope you will join us in
boycotting the circus. To find out more about what goes on at circuses that (ab)use animals, you
can check out the website www.ad-international.org/animals_in_entertainment/go.php?id=249&ssi=10.
The Great British Circus have been giving out posters and vouchers to local shops and
businesses in the area to promote their event.
I am sure that businesses who display the posters do not know that they are promoting the exploitation
of animals. If you are concerned about animal welfare and see a poster in a local shop, please let
the owner know that animal circuses cause suffering to animals and suggest that they remove the
poster and vouchers so that they can help the animals.
19th - 25th May 2008
National Vegetarian Week
National Vegetarian Week is being held this year from May 19th – 25th. The aim of
the week is to raise awareness of vegetarian food and the benefits of a meat-free lifestyle. A lot of
people become vegetarian to reduce cruelty to animals (which, of course, it does), however, there are
very good environmental reasons too.
According to a UN report, 18% of the global greenhouse gas emissions that are the cause of climate change come
from the meat and dairy industry; that compares with a total of 16% from all transport including aviation.
One of the biggest steps people can take to reduce their personal greenhouse gas emissions and help save
the planet, is to go vegetarian or vegan, or at the very least eat less meat and dairy. I hope National
Vegetarian Week can help inspire people to make that positive change to their diets.
16th
April 2008
See the Green Party Political Broadcast
Watch our London election broadcast, and vote Green on May 1
13th
April 2008
Green Candidates
support the Compassionate Charter
Both Ashley Gunstock, the
Green Party’s candidate for Havering and Redbridge, and Aled
Fisher, the Green Party’s candidate for North East London,
have given support for the Compassionate Charter produced by the animal
rights group Animal Aid.
The Charter promotes eight practical and achievable goals, which will
benefit animals, people and the planet. They are: purchasing only
cruelty-free cleaning products and toiletries; banning circuses with
animals from council land; banning pets as prizes; promoting and
subsidising spaying and neutering programmes; stopping the sale of foie
gras and veal; speaking out against fur; adopting only the humane,
non-lethal management of pigeons and other animals and birds; and
making their towns a plastic bag-free zone.
It is a fundamental belief of the Green Party that animals have the
right to live free from suffering and harm caused by human exploitation
and believe that this right must be properly protected in law. The
Green Party opposes all forms of factory farming and the fur trade,
campaigns for an immediate ban on all sports that involve cruelty to
animals and advocate the ending of animal experimentation.
“The Green Party strongly supports animal rights”
said Aled Fisher, “I believe these principles should not only
be adopted by councils but also by the GLA” added Ashley
Gunstock.
6th
April 2008
Greens condemn
new school's lack of playing fields
The Greens are dismayed at the
lack of school playing fields at the new
Frederick Bremer School that is being built in Waltham Forest. This new
“state of the art” school is being built to
amalgamate Warwick School and Aveling Park School and yet has been
designed and built with no playing fields.
The problem of child obesity is well known and the Government wants all
children to have more time of school sport but when a school has few
on-site facilities, at least 30 minutes of the allotted time is lost in
travelling to different venues,
attempting to increase the amount of school sport as Gordon Brown
proposes will be almost impossible for schools with no on-site
facilities. Whilst this maybe an inherited problem in old schools,
Frederick Bremer School is a brand new purpose built school. It is an
irony that the school is in one of the Olympic boroughs!
The new school is being built using the Private Finance Initiative
(PFI), a system that is known to be inefficient, overall costing far
more than public finance. It is also the case with PFI schemes that
money comes first, over other considerations like the service provided
- or may be even playing fields!
There was not even a small Astroturf field outside in the plans. It is
possible that one could be included if pressure is put on the school to
do so. Whilst it would be no substitute for playing fields, it would
represent an improvement on the current situation.
“That a new school has been designed and built without
playing fields is a disgrace” said Aled Fisher, Green Party
candidate for North East London in the forthcoming GLA elections, who
is a student who helped draft the education section of the Green Party
manifesto. “Along with healthy food, we need playing fields
in schools if we are to overcome the obesity epidemic” he
added.
30th
March 2008
Green Candidate
Urges Voters To Beat Far Right
Aled Fisher, the Green
Party’s candidate for North East
London, has urged residents in Waltham Forest to make sure they are
registered
to vote in time for the London elections on 1st May to prevent the
election of far
right parties.
“Its vital that everyone who can register does so and then
votes in the election to defeat the threat to our communities from far
right
parties,” he said. “At the last election, the BNP
came close to getting a
seat on the London Assembly and I am very concerned that they
don’t
succeed this time. That would be a disaster for community relations
across
London.”
15th
March 2008
Greens march
against the war
Green Party Member Chris Olende at the
demonstration
Members of Waltham Forest and
Redbridge Green Party joined the Stop the War march in Central London
to protest at the continuing war in Iraq. The march marked the fifth
anniversary of the Iraq invasion. The Green Party are the
only main political party that have consistently opposed the in Iraq.
Chris Olende is one of our
most active members who always tries to
get to demos so was keen to join the thousands in Trafalgar Sq to
protest
about the continued war in Iraq.
11th
March 2008
Save Sharks!
The dramatic decline of the
shark population in our oceans may seem far
removed from Waltham Forest and
Redbridge but it could have repercussions for us even here. The oceans
produce half the oxygen in the atmosphere that we need to breathe and
sharks are an important part of the ocean ecosystem that does so.
Without them, that could change.
Recent studies show there has been a 90% decline in the numbers of
sharks of such species of Great Whites, Tigers, Bulls and Hammerheads.
The reason for this decline is over fishing mainly for shark fins used
in shark fin soup. It is an extremely cruel industry where fins are cut
off the sharks sometimes whilst the shark is still alive and then often
thrown back in the sea where the shark will die a painful death.
We would urge that people do not order shark fin soup in restaurants
and if you do see it on the menu,
complain to the restaurant management and suggest that they should
never serve it. You can also sign the petition at www.sharktrust.org/petition
.
2nd
February 2008
Sign our petition
for cheaper tube fares
Ashley Gunstock, the Green
Party GLA candidate for Havering & Redbridge, is at present
campaigning on an initiative that is gaining momentum, a good deal of
publicity and local and regional interest.
Ashley was approached by a resident, with whom he is working on another
ongoing issue, about whether or not he could do something about getting
Wanstead, Snaresbrook & Redbridge Central Line Tube stations
being re-designated into Zone 3.
After further investigation Ashley found that, although on the
Underground system they are mapped as being in Zone 4, Wanstead,
Snaresbrook & Redbridge stations are, in fact, geographically
in Zone 3.
Furthermore it turns out that other tube stations that have Zone 3
status, eg. Northfields, are further from central London than the three
stations in question.
In view of this Ashley confronted Mayor Ken Livingstone - at a People's
Question Time at Redbridge Town Hall - and asked him if, in the spirit
of his Fares Fair initiative of the 1980s, he would be prepared to look
into the possible re-zoning of the three stations that are situated in
the borough of Redbridge. The Mayor in turn requested that Ashley
contact Roger Evans - Transport Committee Chairperson for the GLA and
his Conservative constituency opponent in the last two and forthcoming
GLA elections!
With the help of Green GLA member Jenny Jones, Ashley was put in touch
with Mr Evans. During their subsequent meeting at City Hall, Mr Evans
agreed to put the matter before the Ken Livingstone provided that
Ashley drew up a petition to gauge interest in the issue. Weight has
since been added to the argument, as a precedent has recently been set,
with the re-designation of Hampstead and Willesden Junction Tube
stations from Zone 3 to 2, so there is good reason to be optimistic
that Ashley's campaign will be a success.
Ashley has a petition posted on the Number 10 Downing Street site at: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Re-zoning
which already has over 150 signatures and that he hopes that you will
put you names to, if you have not already done so.
3rd
February 2008
Green candidate
works to improve local transport
Bill Measure, Green Party
candidate in the forthcoming Leyton
by-election is due to meet London Overground manager, Mungo Duncan on
Tuesday. London Overground took over running of the Barking - Gospel
Oak line last November. Mr. Measure, who is Vice-Chair of the Barking -
Gospel Oak Line User Group will meet London Overground with Graham
Larkbey, Secretary of the User Group. High on their agenda will be a
call for extra trains and longer trains to relieve peak hour
overcrowding. The ultimate goal remains electrification and
resignalling to provide a 15 minute interval service all day.
Bill Measure said, "The Barking - Gospel Oak Line User Group represents
one of the most successful rail campaigns in the country. The fact that
one of the problems that we are seeking to redress is overcrowding
shows how we are victims of our own success;, passenger numbers have
soared since services have improved. We have travelled light years
since the dark days when the service was totally unreliable, British
Rail barely acknowledged our existence and made it pretty clear that
they wanted to close the line to passenger traffic. The train operating
company now realise that we engage in dialogue with them in a positive
way, we have expertise to offer and have no axe to grind other than to
seek improvements for the people who use the line."
Bill Measure, who worked for 29 years in the railway industry as a
signalbox lad, signalman, traffic controller and administrator, has
been involved with the User Group for over twenty years, although his
involvement with the line first started 40 years ago when he worked as
a signalman at Walthamstow
Queens Road.
2nd
February 2008
Greens call for
boycott of Starbucks
From left to right,
Ashley Gunstock, Mark Dawes
Members of Waltham Forest and
Redbridge Green Party protested at the opening of the new Starbucks
coffee shop in Wanstead and called for people to boycott Starbucks and
use local coffee shops. They leafleted local people outside the
premises warning of the threat to local, independent coffee shops and
cafes. The majority of people supported the campaign not wanting to see
Wanstead become another clone town full of multinational chains.
There is a record of the opening of Starbucks leading to the closure of
local coffee shops and local people are concerned that this could
happen in Wanstead too. Local coffee shop owners also supported the
campaign being concerned about the effect on their businesses.
There are other concerns about Starbucks too:
· Starbucks is a major player in the global coffee industry
that results in the impoverishment of thousands of workers in the
developing world.
· Starbucks pays lip service to Fair Trade when genuine
commitment could lift coffee producers out of poverty.
· Starbucks domination and unethical business practices,
such as "clustering" that results in a Starbucks monopoly, has resulted
in the closure of numerous small coffee shops.
· Starbucks treat their workers poorly. The staff are paid
just above the minimum wage and are subject to excessive working hours
and unpaid overtime.
"Wanstead is a great place, full of character with a variety of local
coffee shops and cafes but this is being threatened by the arrival of
chains such as Starbucks" said Havering and Redbridge GLA Green Party
candidate Ashley Gunstock. "We will continue to campaign for a boycott
of Starbucks and also against the proposed KFC which could also have a
further detrimental effect on the High Street" he added.
12th
January 2008
Greens call for
Cage Free Waltham Forest
There have recently been TV
programs by celebrity chefs such as Hugh
Fearnley-Whittingstall and Jamie Oliver highlighting the treatment of
chickens. What they have shown is the horrific conditions
in which a majority of chickens bred for meat and eggs are kept.
Chickens are treated like machines
on a production line rather than the sentient animals they are.
Chickens are crammed into cages or sheds with no natural light. Broiler
chickens are grown too quickly so their bodies are in constant pain
with a bed of concrete laid with urine and faeces soaked sawdust.
Battery hens and factory farm chickens endure immense suffering and it
is about time this suffering is stopped.
The Green Party is calling for Waltham Forest to become "cage free"
council. This would commit the council to sourcing cage-free eggs (barn
or free-range eggs) and free-range chicken only for all catering
provided.
Both the House of Commons and London's City Hall already have a policy
of sourcing only free-range eggs in their catering facilities.
By becoming a "cage free" council, Waltham Forest council would be
supporting ethical and sustainable
farming.
"The Green Party would ban all factory farming" said Mark Dawes of
Waltham Forest and Redbridge Green Party "But this would be a step in
the right direction. It is inhumane and unnecessary to keep hens in
battery cages and factory farm chickens. A "cage free" policy would
allow the council to spend its budget in a way that supports and
encourages ethical and sustainable farming" he added.
