In the next few hours the unelected House of Lords will vote on the Government's Royal Mail privatisation proposal, and the Bill will then be sent to MPs in the Commons.
Recently the Communications Workers Union (CWU) commissioned the independent polling firm ICM to ask voters how they felt about the Royal Mail. They found that three quarters of the British people do not want our post to be sold and that voters think the sale would break a key Labour election manifesto promise.
The House of Lords should read the ICM poll very carefully - 27% of those polled say they are less likely to vote for their current MP if they back the proposal to sell a 30% stake in the business. This figure rises to 36% for Labour supporters.
The polling is really clear. The public wants the Government listen to voters and reconsider their plans.
Last week the Royal Mail announced a £321 million profit. So Royal Mail is a profitable going concern - and everything must be done to avoid the job cuts and service cuts that TNT or a private equity owner would bring.
The ICM poll showed that people rightly thought that services could suffer whilst prices rise under a Royal Mail controlled by a private company like TNT.
The Green Party is against privitisation of the Post office and all Public Services. We would scrap the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) and fund public services properly.
Please support the CWU’s campaign against Post Office privitisation by signing their petition at:
http://post.cwu.org/nosale
Showing posts with label Green Party. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Green Party. Show all posts
Wednesday, 20 May 2009
Friday, 1 May 2009
Jean Lambert Backs Refugee Green Project Scheme
Jean Lambert, Green Party MEP for London, gave her backing last night to a new scheme which will support refugee groups launch green projects.
The Evelyn Oldfield Unit, which supports community work by refugee organisations across London, will offer training courses to groups thinking of setting up environmental projects - from recycling to horticulture or neighbourhood renewal schemes.
Jean has worked extensively on asylum and migration issues in Europe, and has strong connections with refugee communities across London. She said: "I am very pleased to be supporting this important scheme which will boost the involvement and representation of refugee communities within the environmental sector. Encouraging people to take pride in the environments in which they live is an excellent way of developing a sense of belonging for those who have moved to London. I wish the Evelyn Oldfield Unit, and all the groups they support, every success with this."
The Evelyn Oldfield Unit's work with refugee and migrant community organisations has highlighted the under-representation of these groups in the environmental sector.
Tzeggai Yohannes Deres, CEO of the Evelyn Oldfield Unit, said:
"Refugees tend to come from countries with higher levels of rurality and therefore tend to be more mindful of local environmental concerns. The environment is also one of the major causes of refugees globally. For those now living in the UK, this is an opportunity to increase their connection with their locality, to be able to play a contributory role to the community and to improve the quality of their local area. There are also significant health benefits to be explored. For existing refugee and migrant community organisations, it is also the chance to diversify in to a new sector where there are many opportunities. The connections between local and global, migration and settlement and community-led solutions are core to this work."
The Evelyn Oldfield Unit, the leading organisation in this sector, is collaborating with the London Community Recycling Network to launch this event and to set up a support programme for interested groups, both those from refugee communities and those who wish to work with refugees more effectively.
The Evelyn Oldfield Unit, which supports community work by refugee organisations across London, will offer training courses to groups thinking of setting up environmental projects - from recycling to horticulture or neighbourhood renewal schemes.
Jean has worked extensively on asylum and migration issues in Europe, and has strong connections with refugee communities across London. She said: "I am very pleased to be supporting this important scheme which will boost the involvement and representation of refugee communities within the environmental sector. Encouraging people to take pride in the environments in which they live is an excellent way of developing a sense of belonging for those who have moved to London. I wish the Evelyn Oldfield Unit, and all the groups they support, every success with this."
The Evelyn Oldfield Unit's work with refugee and migrant community organisations has highlighted the under-representation of these groups in the environmental sector.
Tzeggai Yohannes Deres, CEO of the Evelyn Oldfield Unit, said:
"Refugees tend to come from countries with higher levels of rurality and therefore tend to be more mindful of local environmental concerns. The environment is also one of the major causes of refugees globally. For those now living in the UK, this is an opportunity to increase their connection with their locality, to be able to play a contributory role to the community and to improve the quality of their local area. There are also significant health benefits to be explored. For existing refugee and migrant community organisations, it is also the chance to diversify in to a new sector where there are many opportunities. The connections between local and global, migration and settlement and community-led solutions are core to this work."
The Evelyn Oldfield Unit, the leading organisation in this sector, is collaborating with the London Community Recycling Network to launch this event and to set up a support programme for interested groups, both those from refugee communities and those who wish to work with refugees more effectively.
Tuesday, 21 April 2009
GREEN MEP JOINS FORCES WITH MUSIC LEGEND TO PROTEST ‘CORPORATE BULLY’ COPYRIGHT PROPOSALS IN EURO-PARLIAMENT
Caroline Lucas, Green MEP to co-host Parliament visit by Billy Bragg
Green Euro-MP Caroline Lucas will take to the platform alongside legendary musician and activist Billy Bragg at a press conference in the European Parliament tomorrow (Wednesday 22 April), to protest against proposals to extend copyright for artists and musicians which could see them lose considerable power to large corporate record labels.
The European Commission is proposing extend the term of protection of copyrights and related rights for performers and phonogram producers from 50 years to 95 years. Billy Bragg has voiced his support for a Green call to amend the controversial legislation and give the rights of ownership back to performers after 50 years.
South East Green Dr Lucas and other MEPs, together with Billy Bragg and a number of industry figures, will outline their opposition to the Copyright Term Extension Directive at the press conference in Strasbourg tomorrow between 3.30pm and 4pm.
Dr Lucas MEP said: “It is clear that action is needed to better reward performers for their work, but this legislation is absolutely not the solution. Copyright extension effectively allows the state to give powerful corporations a free rein to increase their profits – to the detriment of performer rights and artistic creativity.
“The Commission claims that the proposal would benefit both performers and record producers, but it is unlikely to do either. This legislation is framed to profit owners of the rights to music and not the performers. In fact it is estimated that under this law, 80% of profits from copyright deals would go to the media conglomerates and most of the remainder to the biggest recording artists.
“We’re talking about a gigantic windfall for a few multinational companies, taking millions of pounds from the pockets of consumers and giving it to the record labels. Also, the artistic cost of making songs from the last 50 years public property, thus allowing endless sampling by DJs and other artists, must be taken into consideration.
“The UK Greens are committed to a system known as Creative Commons, which offers a flexible range of protections and freedoms for authors and artists. We want to encourage innovation and prevent large corporations from controlling and benefitting from our cultural legacy.”
Dr Lucas MEP concluded: “The European Commission is seeking to rush these proposals through Parliament without adequate scrutiny by MEPs, and the only people who look set to benefit are the corporate profiteers.
“At tomorrow’s press conference, I will call on my fellow MEPs to vote down these proposals and pave the way for fairer and more progressive legislation which will give greater power to the artists and performers themselves.”
Green Euro-MP Caroline Lucas will take to the platform alongside legendary musician and activist Billy Bragg at a press conference in the European Parliament tomorrow (Wednesday 22 April), to protest against proposals to extend copyright for artists and musicians which could see them lose considerable power to large corporate record labels.
The European Commission is proposing extend the term of protection of copyrights and related rights for performers and phonogram producers from 50 years to 95 years. Billy Bragg has voiced his support for a Green call to amend the controversial legislation and give the rights of ownership back to performers after 50 years.
South East Green Dr Lucas and other MEPs, together with Billy Bragg and a number of industry figures, will outline their opposition to the Copyright Term Extension Directive at the press conference in Strasbourg tomorrow between 3.30pm and 4pm.
Dr Lucas MEP said: “It is clear that action is needed to better reward performers for their work, but this legislation is absolutely not the solution. Copyright extension effectively allows the state to give powerful corporations a free rein to increase their profits – to the detriment of performer rights and artistic creativity.
“The Commission claims that the proposal would benefit both performers and record producers, but it is unlikely to do either. This legislation is framed to profit owners of the rights to music and not the performers. In fact it is estimated that under this law, 80% of profits from copyright deals would go to the media conglomerates and most of the remainder to the biggest recording artists.
“We’re talking about a gigantic windfall for a few multinational companies, taking millions of pounds from the pockets of consumers and giving it to the record labels. Also, the artistic cost of making songs from the last 50 years public property, thus allowing endless sampling by DJs and other artists, must be taken into consideration.
“The UK Greens are committed to a system known as Creative Commons, which offers a flexible range of protections and freedoms for authors and artists. We want to encourage innovation and prevent large corporations from controlling and benefitting from our cultural legacy.”
Dr Lucas MEP concluded: “The European Commission is seeking to rush these proposals through Parliament without adequate scrutiny by MEPs, and the only people who look set to benefit are the corporate profiteers.
“At tomorrow’s press conference, I will call on my fellow MEPs to vote down these proposals and pave the way for fairer and more progressive legislation which will give greater power to the artists and performers themselves.”
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