Showing posts with label Romayne Phoenix. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Romayne Phoenix. Show all posts

Thursday 16 July 2015

After Greece where should the Greens stand on the EU and the Referendum?

Events in Greece have led to a discussion in the Green Party, particularly amongst Green Left, about the party's position on the EU in general and the referendum in particular.  The Green Party's official position is what has been called the 'Three Yeses': Yes to a referendum, Yes to major EU reform, and Yes to staying in a reformed Europe.

The benefits of EU social policy are now being weighed against the neoliberal assumptions and anti-democratic tendencies revealed in what Caroline Lucas has termed 'a coup'.

The Green's Autumn Conference takes place in September and will offer a forum to discuss these issues which could contribute to a change of position.

Below is a video of Romayne Phoenix of the Green Party and Green left speaking at the demonstration which took place outside the German Embassy in London last night and a guest blog by Haroon Saad of London Green Party and  Green Left which was first published on the London Green Left blog LINK.




The European dream is being destroyed by those who claim to act in defence of that dream. The dream was already beginning to fade but the front of screen and back of screen machinations that have accompanied the “Greek tragedy” played out over the last six months and the eventual   “treaty of reparations” –or otherwise known as the “deal” – has killed the dream for me.

It’s salutary to go back to the beginning. As hardly anyone knows, the current EC grew out what was called the European Coal and Steel Community. It’s here that one can locate the European Dream.

Again as hardly anyone knows, 9 May is known as Europe Day. 9 of May is Europe Day because it was on that date in 1950 that what is known as the Schuman Declaration was launched and which laid out the key features of the European dream. A revisit to this is illuminating in terms of “progress to date”.
  • It would mark the birth of a united Europe.
An element of the dream that no longer relates to reality. In treating Greece as an “outsider” we have seen the reemergence of an imperial and colonial mindset. It may yet come to German style “stormtroopers” being the response that explodes in Greece. It’s not just Greece, however, the EU may be united but it is unequal. It’s an EU dominated by Germany with several smaller states simply being vassals. The problem goes even deeper when you consider the impact of EU funds and how they have widened disparity between regions in the EU.
  • It would make war between member states impossible.
If you ignore the Balkans and Srebrenica, then this has held up well in terms of old style warfare. However, the Troika, the replacement of the elected government in Italy with an appointed technocratic boss, the bulldozing away of the Greek prime minister when he had the nerve to suggest that it might be appropriate to check out what the Greek people thought about the terms of the bailout being stuffed down the throats of the Greeks by France and Germany, the contempt with which the Cypriots were treated etc has just been warfare through financial markets and financial institutions like the ECB.   
  • It would encourage world peace.
It's salutatory to remember that “black lives are worth less”- more African, Asian, Latin American, and Arab, people have died through conflict  since the Second World War than those  who died in the second world war. Europe in fact has exported war and the EU has financed state terror. Follow the money as they say and voila you will find that the EU arms industry is doing very well.
  • It would transform Europe in a 'step by step' process leading to the unification of Europe democratically, unifying two political blocks separated by the “Iron Curtain”
There is a huge democratic deficit if the European Institutional framework that has been established. Everyone goes round pointing out what important work the EP undertakes and how it is directly elected by citizens. The EP for its first 30 years simply rubber stamped 83% of what the European Council decided. The EC is the place where our elected leaders wine and dine and talk and make decisions without any accountability. Sure there is “cloak of accountability” provided by the phase “some decisions of the EC have to be ratified by national parliaments”. However, this just conveniently ignores the fact that the EC sits on top of a largely broken and corporate dominated party political system.

There is no democratic accountability for the European Commission. Incredible given the fact that it has the power to initiate legislation. That it has the power to deal with trade and investment matters.

With Nato trashing the 1997 agreements with Russia regarding expansion of Nato and the “soviet bloc”, need I say more given the fact the phrase “cold war” has suddenly come back out of hibernation.
  • It would create the world's first supranational institution.
If you ignore the UN then this element of the dream may just hold up. The problem is that over 60% of European citizens have no trust in the supra national institutions that have been created.
  • It would create the world's first international anti-cartel agency.
This has turned out to be the exact opposite. The EU has institutionalised corporate democracy. Big business interest rule in Brussels, there is a revolving door mechanism from and to big business and the EU institutions. The expert groups that “advise” the EU institutions are dominated by corporate interests. Key texts produced by the Commission turn out to be just cut and paste versions of submissions made by vested interest groups.
  • It would create a common market across the Community.
In terms of capital and goods one could say that the dream has been largely realized but when it comes to labour then it’s a nightmare scenario with deportations now taking place regularly  between member states(e.g. Belgium is routinely deporting EU citizens without work). With the coming restrictions on access to welfare benefits for EU citizens, the free movement of labour will be reduced to one for those who can afford it.
  • It would, starting with the coal and steel sector, revitalise the whole European economy by similar community processes.
Steel production has declined. A renaissance in coal is underway with Germany and Poland (or coal land as it is referred to in environmental circles), but this will be very short lived as China moves off coal usage. Growth for the past 15 years has been anemic and globally the EU is in decline with its share of the shrinking global trade set to decline further in the coming decades.  We have rising poverty in Europe. A whole new category of “in work poverty” has been created. We have had youth unemployment levels running at over 14% since 2000. Long term unemployment is growing. Indeed, given the current stagnation the EU has created structural unemployment as feature of the economy.   
  • It would improve the world economy and the developing countries, such as those in Africa.
Far from improving the situation in Africa, it has initiated a new rape of continents like Africa through dumping of subsidized farm goods, through displacement of rural labour by the introduction of agri-business style agriculture which produces food for anyone but the Africans. It has fermented civil war through arms sales and bribes. It has participated in destroying countries like Libya and Syria through its so called “wars for democracy”. The saga of the migrants in the Med is just a visible sign of how much damage has been inflicted upon Africa.

So the dream is dead. What will we be voting for next year in our referendum? The issue is no longer just about whether or not any more power can be ceded to the EU institutions. Nor is the issue about what powers need to be repatriated.  It’s not about being pro- or anti-Europe. We need to dismantle what we currently have and re-establish the European project with a new dream. For that we need new dreamers of which there is simply a dearth at this moment in time.

Written by Haroon Saad who is a member of the London Green Party and a supporter of Green Left

Saturday 30 May 2015

Green Party solidarity for National Gallery strikers at PCS Rally in Trafalgar Square

As the Conservative Government moves to tighten anti-trade union laws, Romayne Phoenix, Green Party Trade Union Liaison officer, spoke today at the solidarity rally for National Gallery workers striking against privatisation. The rally was organised by their union the PCS and supported by the Green Party Trade Union Group.


Tuesday 2 September 2014

Brent Green Party's Shahrar Ali becomes male deputy leader of the party

Shahrar Ali and Dawn Butler at 2010 hustings
Shahrar Ali, of Brent Green Party was elected male deputy leader of the party yesterday. Amelia Womack was elected female deputy.

Ali contested Brent Central in the General Election and was both a GLA and European candidate.

In the live YouTube deputy leadership hustings he described himself as at the centre of a left-wing party. He lives in Kingsbury with his young family and lectures in philosophy.

Shahrar Ali is a confident media performer and has a lively debating style which is likely to raise the Green party's profile ahead of the General Election.

He narrowly beat Will Duckworth, the incumbent deputy leader, who is a member of Green Left and the Green Party Trade Union Group.

Duckworth was the first Green Party councillor in the Black Country with strong roots in the local  working class community.

Amelia Womack is a Young Green who campaigned on a clear ecosocialist platform. The Green Party is polling well in the 18-24 age group and Womack's election is likely to strengthen our appeal to many who are looking for an alternative to the neoliberal parties.

Derek Wall, a Green Party veteran and a former Principal , was elected International Co-ordinator.  Wall runs the popular and influential Another Green World blog and also writes for the Morning Star. He is an ecosocialist and a member of Green Left. A passionate advocate for indigenous peoples Wall advocates non-violent direct action to effect change alongside electoral politics.


Romayne Phoenix, another Green Left and GPTU member, was re-elected as the Green Party's Trade
union Liaison Officer. She has worked assiduously to build the Green Party's links with trade unions and was a leading member of the Coalition of Resistance to Austerity and is currently co-chair of the People's Assembly.

She brings energy and passion to the activist campaigning work of the Green Party and has played a major role in bringing together anti-austerity eco-socialist in Europe.

Together, alongside Natalie Bennett who was elected unopposed as Green Party leader, this is a team with wide appeal and a range of strengths and skills that should serve the Green Party well in the year ahead/

FULL RESULTS

These are the election results announced yesterday. In Green Party elections, locally and nationally,  members can always vote to Re-open Nominations (RON) if they are not satisfied with the candidate/s standing.

Party Leader: Natalie Bennett was elected 2618 Re-Open Nominations (RON): 183
Party Deputy Leaders:
In the first round – Amelia Womack was elected with 1598, Will Duckworth's 1108
In the Second round – Shahrar Ali was elected 1314 to Will Duckworth's 1277
Gpex Chair: Richard Mallender was elected 2640 to RON 101
Campaigns Co-Ordinator: Howard Thorpe was elected 2546 to RON 181
Elections Co-Ordinator: Judy Maciejowska was elected 2631 to RON 161
External Communication Co-Ordinator: Penny Kemp/ Clare Phipps/ Matt Hawkins were elected 2586 to RON 147
Management Co-Ordinator Mark Cridge was elected 2636 to RON 82
International Co-Ordinator: Derek Wall was elected 1416 to Anna Clarke’s 891
Trade Union Liaison Officer: Romayne Phoenix was elected 2639 to RON 94
Policy Co-Ordinator: Sam Riches and Caroline Bowes were elected 1786 to Rachel Featherstone and Anna Heyman's 839
Publications Co-Ordinator: Martin Collins was elected 2468 to RON 249

Tuesday 8 July 2014

Greens stand alongside unions in million strong public sector strike on Thursday

On July 10 the Green Party will stand alongside unions in the largest one-day strike over pay by public sector employees since 2010.

The Green Party have pledged to support the employees’ right to strike and to picket peacefully in order to assert their right to fair wages and proper treatment. Public sector employees are facing unprecedented financial hardship with part-time and female employees the most affected under the Government’s ideological austerity agenda.

The strike will see more than one million workers protesting the Government policy of frozen and restricted pay and will include workers from the PCS, The National Union of Teachers, Unison, and others.

Thousands of people around the country are forgoing a day’s pay to express their unhappiness with the Coalition Government’s economic attack on public sector employees.

Greens across the country will show their support:

Green MP, Caroline Lucas said:

"It is very clear that austerity isn't working. It's cruel and counterproductive. It should not be the most vulnerable who are paying the price of an economic crisis that was not of their making. People are struggling, the cost of living is rising and it's time the Government recognised the value of workers who provide us with crucial services every day.

"People have had enough, it is time for plan B and it's time for the Government to listen. On July 10, people from all over the country will stand together to make their voices heard loud and clear."

Green Party leader, Natalie Bennett said: 

 "This government's austerity agenda is making public sector employees, joined with benefit recipients, the increasing numbers of poorly paid, and insecure private sector employees, pay for the financial crisis that was not of their making.

“George Osborne is cutting the tax rate for multinational companies and inviting them to dodge even that reduced rate of taxes, and at the same time has slashed the real pay of the dinner ladies, the cleaners, and the local officers who keep our communities running. I'll be showing my support on Thursday by visiting picket lines around my local area of Camden before joining the march and rally in central London.

"We cannot continue to see soaring poverty and dependence on foodbanks in Britain; we need to make the minimum wage a living wage, and ensure local government employees have a chance of decent progression beyond that."

Green Party Trade Union Liaison Officer of GPEW national executive, Romayne Phoenix:

"The economic crisis was caused by the banks; how could it ever be fair - or effective - to fix it by cutting workers' pay? Our public services benefit the majority. This is about not letting those at the top blame the rest of us for problems we didn't cause."

Green MEP for South East, Keith Taylor:

“When the government decides to stop spending their time dismantling public services and oppressing the low paid and unemployed, and instead focusses on reigning in the power and wealth of the top 1%, then I'll have a shred of sympathy for them.

“Until then I am 100% behind the strikers and their efforts to defend our services, and seek decent terms and conditions for public sector workers.”

Kirklees Green Party Councillor, Andrew Cooper commented:

"I'll be joining staff on the Picket line in Huddersfield. Kirklees Jobs and services for local people have suffered greatly due to Coalition targeting of local government for cuts.”
 
 Dudley Councillor and Deputy Leader, Will Duckworth said:
 “I will be on the picket lines early in the morning and then going on the planned demonstration in Birmingham with Dudley Trades Union Council.  We need to fight the Government's attempts to destroy decent pay and pensions for normal working people.”

 The Group of London Green Party Councillors said:

“It can’t go on like this. We can't continue with rapacious cuts to the NHS, the closure of local children's centres, and mounting queues at foodbanks. The government must hear the public's message that cuts are hurting the people of Britain. An alternative economic strategy and an alternative future is possible and together with communities up and down the country we will be out promoting that message on Thursday.”

North West Green Party Representative, Laura Bannister commented:

“In the North West, members will be visiting and taking part in picket lines and supporting the mass rally in Manchester. We are also sending letters of solidarity to regional TU branches on behalf of the regional party"

As a member of the Green Party and the Green Party Trade Union Group, I will be supporting the picket of Brent Civic Centre and the Central London march.

Friday 20 June 2014

Greens on the march against austerity tomorrow - please join us


The Green Party will join forces with Russell Brand, journalist Owen Jones and others tomorrow (June 21) in calling on the government to end its policies of austerity.

In a demonstration organised by the campaign group the People’s Assembly.  Caroline Lucas, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, will join thousands of campaigners taking to the streets of London to protest against what they see as the government’s damaging and needless austerity measures.
Caroline Lucas MP, said:
The Peoples’ Assembly shows that there are alternatives to the cruel and counterproductive austerity agenda, and that the people are prepared to fight for them.
Romayne Phoenix, the Green Party’s Welfare Spokesperson, member of Lewisham Green Party and Co-Chair of the People’s Assembly said:
It’s galling to see how the government continues to march ahead with its austerity measures, flagrantly dismissing the destructive affects they are having on our society. Inequality is on the rise.The number of food-bank meals needed to feed hungry families across the UK has doubled in the past year. Britain needs an alternative – sheer human decency demands it.
Dave Plummer, London Green Party activist, said:
It is fantastic to see the incredible range of people and campaign organisations that have turned out today to support the March Against Austerity. Whilst on the one hand it shows just how badly affected so many people have been by the cuts it also demonstrates that there is now so much agreement and collaboration in the fight for change. The Green Party is immensely proud to be one of those organisations calling for an end to austerity and for investment in an economy that puts people first.
The People’s Assembly is a coalition of campaigns, unions, writers, politicians and performers united in the goal of bringing an end to the government’s austerity programme. It was founded in February 2013 and is supported by a range of prominent political activists including Len McCluskey, General Secretary of Unite, the writer Owen Jones, and the comedian Francesca Martinez. The late Labour politician Tony Benn and General Secretary of the RMT Bob Crow were also amongst its founding members.

Tomorrow’s demonstration will see thousands of campaigners march from Portland Place/Oxford Street to Westminster/Parliament Square, led by speakers including Lucas, Brand, and Christine Blower of the NUT.

Wednesday 16 April 2014

Both Natalie Bennett and Caroline Lucas to speak at NUT fringes this weekend

With a radical revised Green education policy ready to discuss both Green Party leader, Natalie Bennett, and Green MP, Caroline Lucas, will be speaking at fringes at this weekend's NUT Conference in Brighton.



Sunday 21 July 2013

Mel Smith: Conservative Party Election Broadcast

Thanks to Romayne Phoenix for tweeting the link to this 'topical again' Not the Nine O'Clock News spoof:


Wednesday 30 January 2013

Coalition of Resistance backs Councillors Against the Cuts


Some positive steps are being taken in the battle against local authority cuts.  In Harrow, the Council and Harrow Observer are combining in a campaign for increased funding which I support, but I am concerned that the campaign may be interpreted as suggesting that Brent is over-funded LINK.

Local authorities ALL need to be adequately funded in order to provide vital services.

The campaign Councillors Against the Cuts LINK has been set up to urge councils  to refuse to implement cuts and organise resistance against the Coalition;s austerity agenda. Recently there has been in increase in the number of councillors signing up to the campaign.

Their founding statement includes the following paragraphs:
We stand in solidarity with anti-cuts campaigns, with people defending their local services and with the broader community, tenants and residents, our children, disabled people, pensioners etc – in defence of the living standards and rights of the most vulnerable people in society as the Coalition government attacks them.

Most of us are Labour councillors and our campaign is sponsored by the Labour Representation Committee, but we are open to all left and labour movement councillors willing to pledge to vote against/refuse to implement cuts.

Whether you are a councillor, local government worker, other trade unionist, anti-cuts campaigner, community activist or Labour Party activist – get involved!
I understand that some Green councillors are signing up to the campaign nd a Green Councillors Against the Cuts Facebook page has been set up LINK

The Coalition of Resistance, chaired by leading Green Party member Romayne Phoenix, has issued this statement of support:
The Coalition of Resistance congratulates all the councillors who have launched “Councillors Against the Cuts”. This new front in the resistance against austerity is to be welcomed by all those committed to defending public services and jobs and the welfare state.
The Coalition of Resistance supports you in your pledge to “vote against all cuts to services and jobs, increases in rents and charges, and increases in council tax”. This determined stand will encourage trade unions and their members, community organisations and anti-cuts groups to campaign and take the actions necessary to roll back the attacks from the ConDem Coalition Government.

We hope that many more councillors will join you in your stand in the run-up to the formalities of setting a budget. Local authority finance is now so tightly controlled by central government, there is little credibility in the idea that it is possible to set a budget which protects local people from the worst effects of the cuts.

Your declaration to vote against all cuts is therefore important to demonstrate that there is an alternative to administering austerity. The Coalition of Resistance pledges its support to all of you, and to work together to defend the welfare state and fight for an alternative based on meeting the needs of ordinary people, not those of the banks and big business. We invite you to join us in making the People’s Assembly against Austerity in June the springboard for a broad movement that will inflict defeats on this government.

In solidarity,

Romayne Phoenix, Chair CoR
Sam Fairbairn, Secretary CoR
Fred Leplat
It would be wonderful if some of our councillors in Brent threw away their dented shields, recognise that they cannot carry on making the cuts demanded by the Coalition, and make a stand with the resistance.

Monday 3 September 2012

Economic democracy motion highlights the Green Party's radicalism


Later this morning the results of the Green Party leadership ballot will be announced. Whoever wins the campaign has been a success, stimulating genuine debate and participation of rank and file members, and attracting coverage of the Green Party in mainstream media. Whatever the outcome the campaign of Romayne Phoenix and Will Duckworth has firmly put the battle against cuts and austerity and the necessity of working  with trade unions on the Green Party's agenda.

The results for the non-leadership positions have already been announced with the left of the Green Party well represented in the election of Derek Wall as International Co-ordinator and Howard Thorp as Campaigns Co-ordinator.

Howard has tabled a motion on Economic Democracy for the upcoming Conference which positions the Green Party firmly to the left of Labour on the economy:
Economic Democracy presents a package of resilient and community-based measures to help prevent a repeat of the financial crisis. Four key remedies will produce greater transparency, decentralisation of economic power, and accountability from corporations.

1.       Accountability will improve by requiring companies to include employee-elected directors and independent directors on to their management board. Not being drive by the profit-motive, they will act to ensure that company policies are taken with the interests of employees and consumers at heart.

2.       Decision making can be decentralised and democratised by giving employees a majority stake in the management of their companies pension funds.

3.       Create a Green National Investment Bank out of one or more of the currently ‘nationalised’ banks to aid funding investment in green technologies, renewable, and energy efficiency programmes.  A Green Bank would serve its customers and not its owners.

4.       Economic decision making can be further localised by granting employees the legal right to buy out their companies and turn them into workers co-operatives. Buy outs would be funded by the Green National Investment Bank.
For those interested in the detail of our elections it is worth noting that the Green Party ensures gender balance  in the leadership. Men and women must both be represented in the leadership team. If Peter Cranie wins the leadership, the deputy must be the top female candidate. If Natalie Bennett or Romayne Phoenix   win the leadership, then the deputy will be the top male candidate.

With voters at local and national elections often spoiling their papers with the equivalent of 'none of the above', readers may be interested to know that the Green Party also caters for them. Every internal election at national and local elections has a candidate called RON. RON stands for 'Re-open nominations' and is an important option, particularly when only one candidate stands for a post.

Wednesday 8 August 2012

Shan Oakes endorses Romayne Phoenix for Green Party leader

Shan Oakes, Equality and Diversity Coordinator on the Green Party Executive endorses Romayne Phoenix for leader:

Saturday 4 August 2012

The issue of class in the Green Party leadership contest


The concept of class is a notoriously slippery one - is it about parents' social class, current jobs, education or purely economic?  Whichever category is used however it is clear that there is a decline in working class representation in the leadership of the main three parties and in parliament. York University Young Greens LINK have explored the issue in  a survey of the candidate in the current Green Party leadership election.

I found the Q&A reproduced below particularly interesting:

Q&A
1.       What steps, if any, will you take to improve working-class recruitment, representation and election both inside and outside the party if you are elected? E.g. national recruitment strategy, shifting emphasis in interviews etc.
Caroline Allen: Local parties are at the core of this, talking to people from working class backgrounds is the best recruitment tool. We have great policies on social justice, which must be at the forefront of our media and campaigning work. But that’s not enough, we need to be embedded in communities and visibly working on the issues that affect those communities. I would want to develop a mentoring programme and advice to local parties and set up a body along the lines of Green Party Women, which has been successful in increasing women’s participation.
Natalie Bennett: As founding chair of Green Party Women, I’ve worked with others to improve the gender balance of GP structures and candidates. Advances were achieved by encouraging women to stand, and providing training and confidence-building sessions. This model could be extended to other under-represented groups, including working-class members.
We’ve also seen an encouraging shift, particularly in the West Midlands, towards targeting working class areas. Many join when they see we’re active locally – we must branch out.
Being politically effective, and speaking up for the most disadvantaged – benefit recipients, the disabled, asylum-seekers, is likely to more effective than any recruitment scheme.
Pippa Bartolotti:  The Green Party, as well we know, is a largely white, middle class organisation – despite most members wishing it to be otherwise. We spend too much time talking to each other in a white, middle class kind of way. How we change the way we communicate has to be a top priority, and I’m working on that now.
Greens have to be more outward facing, more involved in their communities, and step right outside their comfort zones in order to see why we recruit so few working class people. I like to roll up my sleeves and get involved, but a party leader; no matter how active and dedicated, cannot be everywhere.
However, the party leader does set the tone. I look forward to the day when I don’t have to continually speak to the party, but can speak beyond it. That, I believe is where I can make a difference – embracing working class concerns in honest language.
Peter Cranie: The fact that I grew up in council housing in a working class community will mean that my experience reflects that of many other people. It is crucial we have working class voices to represent the Greens, not just perceived middle class ones.
Will Duckworth: Yes. I do recognise this problem and only realised how bad it was when I attended my first conference and felt very uncomfortable.
I think that I am tackling the problem in my area. It is a deprived ward with predominantly social housing including high rise flats. We have stressed the party’s social policies and tackled many housing issues. We have promoted the importance of a living wage and the fight against cuts. When ordinary working people hear our social policies they like them and we have recruited a number of local people who could not be classified as middle class by any stretch of the imagination.
We need to grow more from these deprived areas and ensure that local parties are aware that we can work and win in working class wards and it increases the diversity of our membership. We also need to promote ordinary people within the party.
Richard Mallender: Reducing all of a person’s life, experience, expectations, education, etc. effectively to “Are you working class?” is incredibly simplistic.NonethelessI firmly believe that there are far too many MPs that have no real experience of working for a living, that have gone straight from university to political internships, to being paid party hacks and then, perhaps after a trial run at one general election, are handed a safe seat in an area they know nothing about and representing people they neither know nor understand.
I firmly believe that our policies can & will benefit the ordinary members of society. The citizens’ income, for example, benefits the least well off in society while eliminating the poverty trap caused by our current benefit system.
Alex Phillips: One of my key pledges in this campaign has been the need for local Green parties to embed themselves fully in their communities. This means relationship-building with groups outside of our typical demographic e.g. resident associations, Women’s Institutes, faith-groups and trade unions. We also have to bear in mind that for many working class people, political activity might be a luxury and they might be unable to become Green Party members. By becoming a better reflection of the communities Greens seek to represent, local parties should then endeavour to approach all known Green voters in their community and ask them to join the party. Recruitment has to be the first step of being able to then improve working class representation within the party and as public representatives. At the same time, we need to develop our relationship with trade unions and trade unionists. Joining striking workers on picket lines with a Green rosette is a big gesture. I hope to join Remploy workers in solidarity next week.
Romayne Phoenix: If elected I will put our party at the heart of the battle against austerity, privatisation, and ecological vandalism – addressing the concerns of millions within a realistic framework for a ‘jobs rich’ zero carbon future.
Working alongside others to create a mass movement against capitalist inequalities we will attract supporters, voters, members and candidates from a wider range of the population and then we can work to promote those who are least represented in politics.
Socialists, trade unionists, and environmentalists should see the Green Party as a natural home.
I am supporting a Membership Strategy motion to Autumn GPEW Conference.

2.       Do you agree with recent proposals (outside the party) for working-class shortlists/quotas to improve the representation of ordinary people in politics?
Caroline Allen: I believe that the steps above are key, my experience with Green Party Women shows there are a raft of measures that need to be used, of which quotas could be one aspect. Mentoring is vital. Without support and encouragement by others in the party I would never have taken that first step as a candidate, I didn’t think I was the sort of person who stood for election.
I can envisage some practical problems with definitions, is it about background, job, education? I don’t see this as insurmountable, but they would need to be carefully considered.
Natalie Bennett: No. What “working class” means is very wide open to interpretation, and can only be based on self-definition, so likely to cause endless controversy. I saw a motion to the Compass AGM along these lines fall because it defined working class in terms of manual labour, which was very male-biased, as well as inaccurate.
However, while quotas wouldn’t work for increasing working class representation, real political effort will. We can’t ignore this question. We have to do far more than pass motions or create rules – we have to change our culture and be conscious of how we come across.
Pippa Bartolotti: Wherever there is underrepresentation of a section of society, quota-type mechanisms are the best way yet of retrieving balance.
Peter Cranie: I think the main problem with this approach is definition. Am I now more middle class than working class? I’m a graduate, I’m a professional (a lecturer) and I live in a nice part of Liverpool. We should look at all options though.
Will Duckworth: A tough one! I am happy about targets for representation of women but class is a bit more tricky. We need to get more ordinary people into politics but we must do that by making it more relevant and understand that a lot of what we expect of our politicians is very middle class: We demand a strong grasp of the English language and grammar, the ability to get up and speak in front of groups of people and to give erudite answers to philosophical questions. We can’t change that but we do need to recognise it.
Richard Mallender : I would be far happier with an elected commons comprising members with at least 10 years experience of holding down a real job, whether that be as a postal worker, train driver, teacher, local authority planner, lawyer, business owner, charity worker or whatever. I don’t think it helps to go for a quota of “working class” – how are you going to decide who is working class and who isn’t?
Campaigning in areas where there are high numbers of unemployed, where people live in council (or former council) housing, does win us support and new members who can then stand for election themselves.
We also need to increase our reach to ethnic minorities who are also under-represented in parliament, and we also need to see equality in the number of women in parliament. Parliament should reflect the nation it seeks to rule.
Alex Phillips: Yes. However, what is more important to me, far more so than class, is someone’s politics. There are many working class Conservatives, in the same way there are plenty of middle managers who might describe themselves as ‘socialists.’ Parties should focus more on getting the politics right before making overtures. As Greens we need to broaden our appeal and package our messages so that they are accessible to more people. It is frustrating for me as an elected representative that by and large (but certainly not exclusively) those who are voting for us are middle class. Surveys have shown that our policies are the most liked out of all the parties, what we need to do now is frame them so that people know what they are and how they are relevant to them: our policies on jobs, the economy, pensions, the NHS and education as well on climate change, transport and animal welfare.
Romayne Phoenix: Until Parliament ‘looks’ more like the population of Britain we won’t have political priorities that reflect the genuine needs or concerns of the people.
The Power Enquiry investigated historic drops in voter participation, but the student demonstrations, and 500,000 marching 26/03/11, showed us that people are politically active.
We have to campaign alongside people in the struggles ahead, as Syriza worked alongside the people in Greece. There are many strong working class candidates that we can persuade to stand with us and for us.
The benefits of gender balance shortlists is accepted and we can develop models to create balanced representation for government.

3. What life experience do you have that you believe would make you appeal to ordinary people? E.g. working on the minimum wage, living in affordable/council housing, state education etc.
Caroline Allen: My parents are both from working class backgrounds; as a child I spent a lot of time with my grandparents on Harold Hill, a council estate near Romford. One Grandfather worked for a garage door manufacturer until his pelvis was shattered in an industrial accident. Sadly he never really recovered, mentally or physically. I vividly remember the hospital visits. My father’s family were moved out of Islington when he was young because there was no decent housing, my Gran walked down four floors to get running water. I’m horrified that history is repeating itself.
Natalie Bennett: I’ve worked as a cleaner (including in a nightclub – not pleasant), as a farmhand (including in shearing sheds), on a factory production line (haven’t been able to stand raspberry jelly since), but I don’t think that talking about those experiences appeals to voters.
What we need to do is present our strong policies – the minimum wage a living wage, provision of generally affordable social housing for all who want it, decent benefits to support those who need help for as long as they need it – loudly, clearly and effectively, in language that is accessible to everyone.
Pippa Bartolotti: My education took place before I reached the age of 10, at a small, overcrowded village school. From there I went to Grammar School, and a year later became a victim of the new comprehensive mode of non-education…I left school at 15 and attended Art School; took all manner of jobs: barmaid, selling double glazing, driving spare parts around the country for garages etc to pay my way. I have worked full time since my 19th birthday, starting my own businesses so that I could be with my children as they grew up. One of my sons is adopted. Whilst working full time I was a Samaritan 2 nights a week – an experience revealing unimaginable hardships. Latterly I have become an Amnesty schools speaker where my role is to introduce older teenagers from a myriad of backgrounds to human rights. I have driven a convoy of humanitarian aid across Europe to Gaza, and been wrongfully imprisoned.
Peter Cranie: I think that in addition to my personal experience, the fact that I worked with and advocated for some of the least privileged in society will help.
Will Duckworth: I do live in an ordinary semi in a poor urban area with a Syrian family seeking asylum living next door.
I am told by my daughter that as an ex-teacher I am middle class but I taught in the area that I live and have taught many of my neighbours or their children. I was sacked from my job (wrongly – I was later awarded damages) and spent 18 months on the dole before my wife managed to find a job. The experience of being out of work and not knowing how to survive on the pittance they provide after degrading and humiliating you is one that is difficult to ignore.
Alex Phillips: I am from Liverpool, grew up in a Labour household and was always educated at local, mixed, comprehensive schools. I have worked on the minimum wage where I worked in pubs and restaurants, whilst living in Liverpool. I now live in ex-council housing. My life experience is much broader than what I have experienced as an individual; it’s about what I’ve seen around me. My younger sister was the first person in our family to go on to postgraduate education. Despite health problems she gained a first in her undergraduate degree at Nottingham University, and she then gained a distinction in her Masters at Liverpool University. Now, aged 25, she lives at home with my parents in Liverpool. The only jobs on offer to her are unpaid internships in London which she cannot afford to do. I have two older brothers from my father’s first marriage, and they have both been long-term unemployed. Various people in my family: siblings and cousins do currently or have in the past lived in council housing and have had to claim benefits.
Romayne Phoenix: My parents migrated from India and Ireland, meeting in London in the 1950′s.
I’ve been a single parent for four years. I know what it is like to struggle on a very low income, ‘one bill away from disaster’.
For my last two years as an elected councillor I lived and raised my three children on my allowance of £9,700 plus child benefits.
My local state Primary School was the ‘lowest achieving’ school in our outer London borough. I was very happy there and unaware how many of us had free school meals.

4.       How would you define yourself in terms of class, and do you see this as important to your politics?
Caroline Allen: Middle class. Having benefited from a good state education and free further education I have been very fortunate to have been able to realise my dream of being a vet, a professional position. I work for someone else as an employee. It is important because I know that I have been lucky and had advantages that others, such as my parents, didn’t.  They pushed me for this very reason. Now even fewer people have these opportunities. I don’t like being judged based on my job and class, for me it’s about being empathetic and appreciating where you’re from.
Natalie Bennett: I’m middle class now, but my origins are working class. My parents were aged 19 and 18 when they had me, my father being an apprentice carpenter, and both left school with the equivalent of basic O Levels. My father worked three jobs at once at times during my childhood, including serving in a petrol station, while my mother did part-time secretarial/admin work. Those childhood experiences inform my politics, but I don’t think talking about them in the political arena
is particularly relevant.
Pippa Bartolotti: I don’t see myself as belonging to any class. My father was a self-employed baker and shopkeeper, and my mother did not work. My grandfather was an immigrant – an escapee from fascism.
Being largely self-educated, and a late comer to politics, I am at home anywhere. I do not look down on anyone and consider myself above no-one. My chief concerns are inequality, climate change and human rights. These three issues transcend class.
Peter Cranie: I live a middle class lifestyle now, with enough to get by, and our children don’t miss out on things we make a choice on (e.g. organic milk for the youngest). But a working class background enables you to appreciate that a lot of people don’t have those choices.
Will Duckworth: Working-class [NB: Will received a version of the question which did not contain the second half of this question]
Richard Mallender : My mother was a teacher in both public and private sector schools, my father worked on the production line in a tractor factory, and I have worked in the public, private and charitable sectors and have twice been out of work for over a year; what class would that make me?
Alex Phillips: My politics reflect my upbringing and my community. I grew up in a Labour household in a city with a deep Labour tradition. Am I working class? Honestly, I don’t think I am. Whilst my gross income is less than £12,000 per year, I share a two-bedroomed flat with my partner; I’m a university graduate and a qualified Teacher. But, would I describe myself as socialist? Yes. Without a doubt this is the most accurate description of my politics. Everyone is aspirational, parents want to see their children do better than them and, at the same time, children want to do better than their parents. What we need is equality of opportunity. As Greens, our job is to make this a reality.
Romayne Phoenix: Academics might define me now as part of the economic ‘underclass’. I would say that I am working class and identify with all those who depend on a system that should operate for the benefit of the majority but is being skewed towards the benefits of the few. Many industries and employment opportunities disappeared from Britain as companies chased profit margins and the same capitalist values are causing economic, ecological and sociological destruction. The issue of class, wealth and power is central to the struggle for a better future.

5. Have you:
a) Ever attended a university that is now in the Russell Group, such as Oxford or Cambridge?
Caroline Allen: Yes. I decided at a young age I wanted to be a vet, no-one from my family had ever been to university, I attended a state school. I was told I had better think of something else, getting in to vet school was very hard. I got offers from Edinburgh and Cambridge vet schools. A freezing day and the thought of outdoor farm work put me off Edinburgh.
At Cambridge I was geek, not elite. I wasn’t invited to the drinking/debating societies but hung out with people like me, was taught by some inspiring people and became a vet.
Natalie Bennett: No
Pippa Bartolotti: No. University was not in the vocabulary of my family. I am largely self-educated.
Peter Cranie: No
Will Duckworth: No
Richard Mallender: No -As far as formal education goes I went to the Valley Comprehensive in Worksop, then North Nottinghamshire College of Further Education, on to Teesside Polytechnic graduating in 1990 and then studied for a year post-graduate at the University of Aberdeen.
Alex Phillips: No
Romayne Phoenix: No

b) Ever attended a private school?
Caroline Allen: No
Natalie Bennett: The system in Australia is slightly different than here but the bare bones are that I attended a state primary school then, due to good exam marks, I won a scholarship to attend a private secondary school.
Pippa Bartolotti: No
Peter Cranie: No. When we moved down to England I was given some tests and they sent me to the grammar school, but I don’t support that system of education.
Will Duckworth: No
Richard Mallender: No
Alex Phillips: No
Romayne Phoenix: From the lowest achieving primary school my verbal reasoning skills were seen as remarkable and, in 1971, I was ‘awarded’ a ‘free’ place at a very local non state secondary school – on the basis of an interview. Advised by colleagues and teachers not to accept the place for me, my mother rebelled.
Children being divided up and separated in this manner at this age cannot be positive for society.

Friday 3 August 2012

Find out more about Green Party leadership candidates

Please find below a list of the candidates for leader and deputy leader of the Green Party. Click on each name to link to their campaign website and find out about their election platform.  We are lucky in the Greens to have some excellent candidates.

Voting information can be found in the current edition of Green World which should be delivered this week.

Party Leader
Natalie Bennett
Pippa Bartolotti
Peter Cranie
Romayne Phoenix

Deputy Leader
Caroline Allen
Will Duckworth
Richard Mallender
Alexandra Phillips

Tuesday 31 July 2012

My choice for the Green Party leadership: Romayne and Will


Campaigning is hotting up for the Green Party leadership. In this video my personal choices for Leader and Deputy, Romayne Phoenix and Will Duckworth explain their policies.

Wednesday 18 July 2012

Sunday 1 July 2012

Find out about Green Party candidates for leader and deputy

With nominations now closed we can look forward to an interesting election campaign for Leader and Deputy Leader of the Green Party.  It is a strong list of candidates and I hope we will have  wide-ranging debate about the party's political direction and its strategy for increasing the party's membership and activist base.

All the candidates have set up websites which you can find below:

Candidates for Leader of the Green Party (Alphabetical order)

Pippa Bartolotti

Natalie Bennett

Peter Cranie

Romayne Phoenix

Candidates for Deputy Leader of the Green Party (Alphabetical order)

Caroline Allen

Will Duckworth

Richard Mallender

Alexandra Phillips

Election Timetable
·  late July/early August - ballot papers issued with Green World
·  31 August 2012 - voting closes
·  11am, Monday 3 September 2012 - declaration of results

Friday 29 June 2012

Support Romayne Phoenix for Green Party leader


I am pleased to be able to support Romayne Phoenix's election campaign for the leadership of the Green Party and Will Duckworth as her running mate for the deputy leadership.

My endorsement which is on the campaign website HERE reads:
In a time of unprecedented global climate and economic crisis and with the welfare state under sustained attack, the Green Party needs a leader with grit and determination, firmly rooted in campaigns for environmental and social justice. Romayne Phoenix has demonstrated that she is able to forge alliances with other groups and trades unions, communicate across the social spectrum, and inspire all those in struggle. She would make an excellent leader.
Among others endorsing Romayne's campaign are:

Peter Tatchell (Human Rights campaigner)
Sasha Khan (Croydon Green Party)
Shan Oakes (Equalities and Diversity Officer, Green Party executive)
Lindsey German  (Stop the War Coalition and Coalition of Resistance)
Paul Mackney (former NATFHE General Secretary and the Coalition of Resistance)

 Romayne and Will want to position firmly in the anti-austerity movement:
The Green Party must be at the heart of the battle against austerity, becoming centrally involved in anti-cuts campaigns where they already exist and encouraging their formation wherever absent. We must also work towards such campaigns including a Green agenda, for instance seeking to defend and expand public transport provision in localities as part of the fight against public spending cuts.

Our position against austerity remains a fundamental differential between us and the other parties. We must have an effective campaign strategy, led by a dynamic and properly resourced campaigns committee. We should seek to involve trade unions, tenants associations, community organisations and students in broad and inclusive organisations at local level.

Since its creation in 2010 Romayne has chaired the Coalition of Resistance, a broad grouping of organisations and individuals who are building a national and international movement of opposition to cuts, privatisation and the victimisation of the most vulnerable in society. These connections and experience make Romayne and Will ideally placed to build the network needed to secure this alliance.

By becoming more effective allies in their defence of jobs and living standards we might hope to become the party that nurses, teachers and transport workers identify with most.
The Campaign FACEBOOK page is HERE

NOTE: I give this support and endorsement as an individual member of the Green Party. Other members of Brent Green Party may well support other candidates.

Sunday 24 June 2012

Building a mass movement against austerity and privatisation



Romayne Phoenix, from the Green Party and Chair of the Coalition of  Resistance, launched last week's rally with panache and demonstrated that the Green Party, alone of the Westminster parties, is prepared to question the current ideological attack on the welfare state that is being made under the guise of deficit reduction.

Len McCluskey urged the coming together of trades unions, community organisations, churches, students and pensioners in one movement to oppose the privatisation of the NHS that is happening in front of our eyes. He urged a combination of industrial action and civil disobedience and said that the London Olympics were a legitimate target for protest.  He told the audience that People Power can bring down governments and tyrants: "Don't despair, don't let the media debilitate us, have faith in our values of truth and justice".

Mary Cross, of Disabled People Against the Cuts, said that the destruction of the welfare state is the destruction of peoples' lives and reminded that audience that anyone can become disabled through accidents or illness. Mary said that 1 in 4 families with disabled children are unable to afford to heat their homes and drew attention to the rise in hate crimes against disabled people. People under 65 leaving hospital after a stroke were being immediately assessed for fitness to work. Cuts in housing benefits were making disabled people homeless. She claimed that these attacks amounted to crimes against humanity.

Salma Yaqoob in a passionate speech drew attention to the Guardian's reports on working  families being one bill away from disaster and said that although the government did not like being told this, that they had launched a class way, and were all about  'divide and rule'. With only 10-15% of cuts made so far this was the first generation since WW2 who would be worse off than the generation before them.  Declaring that solidarity does matter she said that it was people who gave each other strength. She said, "If we do our job well we will expose austerity as a poison, just as we exposed the lies used to launch the war in Iraq".  Supporting a Financial Transaction Tax of 0.5% she said that this "would not turn the rich out of their homes" but would raise £30bn to challenge the 'need' for cuts.

A delegation from the Coalition of Resistance, which included Romayne Phoenix,  had recently visited Greece and the events there resonated throughout the rally. Vassilis Fouskas, from Syriza, was received enthusiastically. He  spoke about the conditions for left success in challenging austerity in which bail outs were really a  'bonanza for bankers'.  He said that the social devastation and poverty now hitting Greece was familiar to the people of the global South and Eastern Europe. The only original factor was that it was being applied to a country of the EU. There had been 17 general strikes in Greece over the last two years and hundreds of demonstrations and occupations. The Greek people had rejected the guilt inducing mantra of 'lazy south' stereotypes and formed alliances. Without this mobilisation the break through from the left could not have happened. Their experience led people to realise that what was needed was a proper political alternative.Syriza had become the only credible alternative on the left, present in organisations but respecting their autonomy and unifying the anti-austerity movement. Solidarity was an essential requisite for success.

In his concluding speech, Tony Benn said that he had learned a lot from the previous speakers, "What we have been doing is part of a national education campaign". He defended public expenditure saying that it was vital for democracy and transferred "power from the market to the polling station". Coalition policies were reopening battles we fought and won over centuries and that imposition of policies on Greece and the Egyptian military takeover showed that all over the world the issue was an attack on the peoples' democratic rights. What was happening was the imposition of poverty and we needed to take inspiration from previous vociferous campaigners such as the Miners Women's Support Groups.  He said that 87 he was more encouraged to go into battle now than at any other time in his life.


I enjoyed the meeting but feel strongly that although it is important to mobilise for the TUC's October 20th action that even more important is to bring together all the various groups and individuals affected by austerity, most of whom are not in trade unions.  One day TUC actions often end up in an anti-climax the day after, 'Was that it? What now?' October 20th should be a medium term marker on the way to the longer term goal of building an alternative economic and social strategy supported by people across the social spectrum.

You can see videos of the above speeches and those from other speakers HERE

Wednesday 6 October 2010

Fightback at Tory Conference



Romayne Phoenix, Green Party, speaking at Right to Work Demonstration

Report on the demonstration from Sara Cox: The Brent Fightback Campaign sent a contingent to the demonstration in Birmingham on Sunday October 3rd that marked the beginning of the Conservative Party Conference. Marching behind the banners of the Brent Trades Council and Kilburn Unemployed Workers Group were pensioners and students, employed and unemployed, trades unionists and service users including disability rights campaigners and people with learning disabilities. Trades Unions represented included the NUT and UCU teaching unions, the CWU postal workers' union, the RMT rail workers' union, bus drivers and others from UNITE. Together they braved the pouring rain to join a lively protest that brought together thousands united by their determination to resist the proposed cutbacks to jobs, services and the Welfare State that the Government is proposing to bring in to solve the bankers' crisis. 

For more information about Brent Fightback go to www.brenttuc.org.uk or email brentunited@gmail.com