DEMOCRACY AT THE HEART OF THE CAMPAIGN

(Pictured from left to right) Nicky Harries, Steven Neville, Rob Ogle

On Saturday 9^th April 2011 Epping Forest Greens were outside Waitrose, Queens Road, Buckhurst Hill persuading local voters to vote in favour of the Alternative Vote on Referendum Day on 5^th May, as well as persuading people to sign a petition to give us all the chance of a local referendum on having a directly elected Mayor for Epping Forest.

Local Greens feel this would free councillors to represent their electors better as having a directly elected Mayor would replace the current council leader system by which the person who leads the party that wins a majority becomes Council Leader and dictates what happens with councillors doing as they are told and thus a Directly elected Mayor removes the need for the whip system, (as is already happening elsewhere), which we have in the council at the moment. The Green Party will be outside Waitrose again on the 30^th April.

What is Going on is No Joke

Here is the Green Party Local Election Broadcast:

Green Party Surgery, 16th April 2011

Buckhurst Hill Green Party Campaigner Steven Neville is holding a surgery to allow residents of the area to take up their concerns with him. He says ‘At this time of cuts people want to know someone is actually listening to them.’ The surgery will take place at St James’ United Reformed Church,

Palmerston Road, Buckhurst Hill, IG9 5NG

from 10am to 12 noon on Saturday 16^th April 2011.

He Let you Down

Caroline Lucas and her latest Video

EDUCATIONAL MAINTENANCE ALLOWANCE

I have been interested in the recent debate on the Educational Maintenance Allowance. It is designed so people from poorer backgrounds can get help with funding for books, travel etc. I have witnessed firsthand how this has helped students from less privileged backgrounds get an education. From this I will make two observations: a) a number of these had jobs as well and could not afford an education on that money alone; b) every day they signed a form to say they had attended classes. They thus got the money for the classes they attended. The EMA now has been scrapped by the Lib-Dem/Tory government and replaced with a new ‘targeted’ scheme. EMA cost £500 million, while the new scheme costs £180 million. Because people don’t fall into certain categories they will lose out. I once attended Epping Forest College and know how students from poorer backgrounds benefited from the EMA, while they will not under the new scheme. Caroline Lucas and the Green Party opposed the scrapping the EMA, as we saw the value. We see how it helps people who might not get a good education otherwise and may not be able to escape poverty. Both the Tories and Lib-Dems promised to protect the EMA and they have broken promises and betrayed a whole generation of school children.