Greens make Social Justice central to the party

A motion changing the Green Party's Philosophical Basis to emphasise social justice achieved the necessary two thirds majority at the Green Party Conference today. The vote was 159 for and 64 against. 149 was need for a two thirds majority.

The amended preamble reads:

A system based on inequality and exploitation is threatening the future of the planet on which we depend, and encouraging reckless and environmentally damaging consumerism.

A world based on cooperation and democracy would priortitise the many, not the few, and would not risk the planet's future with environmental destruction and unsustainable consumption.

The Green Party isn't just another political party. Green Politics is a new and radical kind of politics guided by these core principles: (changed principles below)

1. The Green Party is  a party of social and environmental justice, which supports a radical transformation of society for the benefit of all, and for the planet as a whole. We understand that the threats to economic, social and environmental well being are part of the same problem, and recognise that solving  one of these crises, cannot be achieved without solving the others.

10. Electoral politics is not the only way to achieve change in society, and we will use a variety of methods, including lifestyle changes, to help effect progress, providing these methods do not conflict with our core principles.

The motion received eloquent support from many young Greens who said that the party's stance on social justice was what first attracted them to the party in the wake of the Lib Dem's betrayal on tuition fees and the Green's approach to the financial crisis and austerity. They wanted to give social justice and environmental justice a similar weighting.

People's Assembly against Austerity backed by Green Party

 The Green Party yesterday pledged to support the People's Assembly planned for June 22nd:

The Green Party notes with approval that The Coalition of Resistance (of which it is an affiliate), launched a call for a People’s Assembly Against Austerity on 5 February 2013, to be held on 22 June 2013. The aim of the People’s Assembly is  to bring together campaigns against cuts and privatisation with trade unionists in a movement for social justice to develop a strategy for resistance to mobilise millions of people against the Con Dem government.

The Green Party agrees to send a delegation to the People’s Assembly and to encourage local parties, regional federations and other GP bodies (eg GPTU) to also send delegations and to support future local People’s Assemblies.

Brent Council to deliver some Barnet services

The Brent Executive is to be asked at their April meeing to 'agree the principle of Brent taking over delivery of the Registration and Nationality Service on behalf of Barnet, explore in detail the business case for doing so and agree the formulation of an Inter Authority Agreement.'

Greens backs campaigns against forced primary academies

The Green Party Spring Conference yesterday suspended Standing Orders to take the following motion which was passed with no votes against:

Conference recognises that Michael Gove has recently escalated his policy of forcing primary schools to become academies so that now only one poor Ofsted report is required to trigger such a move. This has currently resulted  in several strong parent-led campaigns in defence of  community schools.

The Green Party believes forced academisation:

• Undermines the role of local authorities and school governing bodies in school improvement
• Undermines local democratic accountability of schools
• Ignores the wishes of major stakeholders including governors and parents
• Hands over local assets to an external provider without recompense
• Opens the school to eventually being run on a profit-making basis

Conference therefore instructs the GPEX campaigns coordinator to facilitate a campaign against this policy at national level over the next 6 months and calls on  local parties to take up the issue where appropriate.

Natalie Bennett rounds on Labour and the Iraq War

Natalie Bennett's leaders speech (extract) at today's Green Party Conference in Nottingahm

Willesden Green Redevelopment approved

After a 3 hour meeting Brent Planning Committee tonight approved the Galliford Try/Linden Homes (and some would add Brent Council) planning application for the building of 94 one and two bedroomed flats and a Cultural Centre on the site of Willesden Green Library and its car park. 7 members voted for the application, 2 against and 1 abstained.

Members of the public were given extra time to speak and made the objections that by now will be familiar to most readers about loss of public space, smaller overall library space (though this was disputed by the planners and architect), lack of parking space, housing density and height and the future of the Brent Archive.

Cllr Hunter and Cllr Lesley Jones spoke in favour of the redevelopment while Cllr Carol Shaw  opposed and presented a list of 9 issues that needed to be addressed.

A major new issue was the failure of the Council to produce the public register of interests and make it available for inspecting at the meeting. This should have been done under section 12 of Brent's Planning Code of Practice. Philip Grant has argued in an e-mail to Joe Kwateng that as the overall head of the Department which includes Planning and Development, Andy Donald (Director of Regenration and Major Projects), had signed the Development Agreement between Brent Council and Galliford Try. As a result, all of Brent's Planning Officers have an 'involvement' with Andy Donald and should have declared a prejudicial interest.

Chris Walker, head of Planning, said that the processes were kept separate. However the issue remains that the register should have been available for inspection and wasn't made available. This may have potential legal repercussions.

Another new factor was a contribution by Sainsbury's supermarket who expressed concern that the redevelopment with new facilities but with no parking, would put a strain on their car park. They suggested that the agreement with Brent Council should be amended so that they could control the on-street rate for parking in their currently free car park and thus control its use.

Cllr Jim Moher, who was a substitute on the committee, and provided significant ballast, indicated that the Council would consider this.

Civic Centre: Thank you Brent Labour...

I thought readers might appreciate this  posted on Save Preston Library Facebook  page earlier today. Brent Green Party has been raising questions about the £100,000,000 plus cost of the new grandiose Civic Centre for several years now. The prime site is adjacent to Wembley Arena and Wembley Stadium which will make the Civic Centre Public Library unusable by the public on event days.

 To be fair the project was mooted under the previous Lib Dem-Conservative administration and agreed at the time by Labour. There have been doubts expressed by all three major parties since, at various times, usually during elections, but the project (championed by ex Chief Executive Gareth Daniel) lived on.

The fight against austerity a major focus for Green Party Conference this weekend

I will be off to the Green Party's Spring Conference this weekend and hope to see the party strengthening its opposition to austerity, privatisation and cuts and committing to building broad alliances with others fighting on these issues.

In that regard one of the most important fringes will be on Saturday afternoon on Building the Movement Against Austerity and Privatisation with Sylvian Savier of Front de Gauche and Peter Allen of Green Left. An emergency motion will propose the Green Party  support the Coalition of Resistance's People's Assembly Against Austerity which will take place on 22nd June 2013.

Cuts will remain a controversial issue in the light of the decisions facing the minority Green Council in Brighton and Hove and support for Councillors Against the Cuts. There is a fringe on Sunday which will focus on 'the way the Greens (in Brighton and Hove) have sought to resist town hall cuts, the compromises that have to be made and how the wider party in the city has been galvanised into taking the arguments back to Secretary of State for Local Government and Communities Eric Pickles and the city's Tory MPs.'

Significantly the blurb adds, 'This won't be a debate about the merits or otherwise of the council's budget decisions'. It may not happen in that forum but the debate will certainly take place.

I will be hoping to gather support for my own emergency motion on forced academies which I reproduce below:

Conference recognises that Michael Gove has recently escalated his policy of forcing primary schools to become academies so that now only one poor Ofsted report is required to trigger such a move. This has currently resulted  in several strong parent-led campaigns in defence of  community schools.

The Green Party believes forced academisation:

• Undermines the role of local authorities and school governing bodies in school improvement
• Undermines local democratic accountability of schools
• Ignores the wishes of major stakeholders including governors and parents
• Hands over local assets to an external provider without recompense
• Opens the school to eventually being run on a profit-making basis

Conference therefore instructs the GPEX campaigns coordinator to facilitate a campaign against this policy at national level over the next 6 months and calls on  local parties to take up the issue where appropriate.

The failure of the Green Party to make much impact in the polls despite the Coalition's unpopularity and Labour's lack lustre performance will merit some soul-searching. The fact that an ex-Green Party parliamentary candidate for Eastleigh, Dr Iain Maclennan,  is standing for National Health Action in the current by-election and gaining broad-based support is also worth discussion.

The Green Party holds conferences twice a year and remains a conference that actually makes and debates policy rather than one which merely  showcases the leaders which is increasingly the case with the major parties.