Badger Cull Protest Outside Don Foster's Office, 8 July

Bath Badger Walk and Bath Against the Badger Cull have been posting details of a forthcoming demonstration outside Bath MP Don Foster's office on Monday 8th July.

Don Foster, who last week voted in favour of the badger cull (despite previously voting against it), has enraged local opponents to the cull, some of whom have written to Don to express their disappointment (see here for his response: http://standingstonesblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/foster-watch-4-dons-revised-opinion-on.html).

The demonstration will be held outside Don's office at 31 James Street West, Bath, BA1 2BT from 12.30 in the afternoon.

The Facebook event page can be found here: http://www.facebook.com/events/481387925275375/

At the time of posting, 18 people had confirmed that they would be attending, with 27 maybe attending. With several weeks to go, many more may be joining them as word gets out.

This will be the third demonstration in Bath against the badger cull, following demonstrations in October 2012 and in May 2013.

For more on the badger cull, see my in-depth article here: http://standingstonesblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/the-badger-cull-what-you-need-to-know.html

For more on Don Foster and recent actions of his that have caused his constituents to cry "shame on you", check out FOSTER WATCH here: http://standingstonesblog.blogspot.co.uk/p/blog-page.html

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Foster Watch #4 - Don's Revised Opinion on the Badger Cull

FOSTER WATCH
is a new series of posts following Bath MP Foster, who is now Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Communities and Local Government. Details of Don's voting record can be found at http://www.publicwhip.org.uk/mp.php?id=uk.org.publicwhip/member/40062&showall=yes#divisions


Don's Revised Opinion on the Badger Cull
Foster Watch has been forwarded two separate e-mails from Don Foster, one from March this year, when he appeared to be against the cull, and one from this week,a reponse from Don to one of his concerned constituents who wrote to him asking why he voted for the badger cull last week:

Don's position in March 2013:

"Dear XXXX

Thank you for getting in touch about the proposed badger cull.

I fully recognise the sensitive nature of this issue. As you can, imagine many of my constituents have contacted me regarding the cull over recent months, and I take their concerns very seriously.

I have written to the Environment Minister a number of times to highlight the strong misgivings my constituents have about the cull, especially regarding the scientific evidence for its efficacy.

I have always had reservations about a cull, and gained permission to abstain from the vote had it gone ahead late last year. I would have been unable to vote against due to my role as a minister.

Like you, I was very disappointed to learn that 3 pilot culls are now due to go ahead following initial postponement. While it is now seems likely that these culls will now go ahead, I will continue to urge that a sustainable strategy to eradicate bovine TB is pursued.

With best wishes,

Yours sincerely,
Don"

And Don's position in June 2013: 

"Dear XXXX 
Many thanks for your email.
I recognise that the proposed badger cull is an emotive issue, and I appreciate that you, like so many of my constituents, feel passionately about this subject.

My party has long supported animal welfare and I previously have expressed my concerns about the cull. The idea of culling even a single badger is naturally deeply distressing; however, as a Government we have decided that we cannot stand by and do nothing to help the cattle which become infected by bovine TB every year. During last year alone, 28,000 cattle were slaughtered in England as a bovine TB control measure. It is a trend that cannot be allowed to continue.

The planned badger cull that is due to take place this summer is a trial only, and is designed to have a positive impact on the spread of bovine TB. Any decision to extend the cull to other parts of England will be wholly dependent upon the successful outcomes of the two pilot areas. Crucially, I now believe that results of the trials will help inform the scientific debate around the efficacy of a wider cull. Despite my initial concerns, I have been comforted by the fact that the British Veterinary Association believe that a trial cull is required in the fight against bovine TB.

Notwithstanding, I maintain that we need to consider all the current tools available to us to halt the spread of bovine TB and it is reassuring that the Government is equally aware of the need to apply other control measures alongside these cull trials. That is why from 1st January 2013, better controls on cattle movements as part of a new bovine TB surveillance testing regime have come into force.

Ideally, I would like a science-led vaccination programme to be implemented, provided that we were certain that this would have a credible and lasting impact on bovine TB. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has invested heavily in the development of effective cattle vaccines for over a decade, and over the next four years we plan to invest a further £9.3 million in this area. Unfortunately however, cattle vaccination is currently prohibited under EU law.

Although Defra is in discussion with the European Commission about the necessary steps for allowing TB cattle vaccines, it is likely that it will take several years, rather than months, for a change in the law. The vaccination of badgers meanwhile poses various practical challenges, as the badgers themselves must first be trapped and the process of injected vaccination must be repeated every year. An oral badger vaccine is also many years away. However, the Badger Vaccine Deployment Project, funded by Defra, is currently ongoing in Gloucestershire, and we remain hopeful this too will have an important impact in tackling the disease.

I hope this response helps to reassure you that the Government is considering every available option in our struggle against bovine TB.

With best wishes,

Yours sincerely,

Don"

So in the space of a few months, Don has gone from being disappointed that the cull is going to go ahead, to voting for it? Where was his engagement with the public to get their permission to vote against it? Most likely he was whipped into it - in which case he should have stuck by his principles and rebelled. We can't allow this man to change his mind without discussing it with us first. Who is he representing - the people of Bath or the Lib Dems (or even the Tories)?

More on the badger cull: The Badger Cull - What You Need to Know

Foster Watch
1. Badger Cull and Tuition Fees
2. Decarbonisation Targets and NHS Reforms 
3. Climate Change in the National Curriculum

4. Don's Revised Opinion on the Badger Cull

Disclaimer

Standing Stone's Blog and Foster Watch is an independent blog that is not affiliated with, nor endorses, any political party or general electoral candidate currently in existence. It maintains that all leadership and authority should be questioned and seeks to do just that.

 

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Foster Watch #2 - Decarbonisation Targets and NHS Reforms

FOSTER WATCH
is a new series of posts following Bath MP Foster, who is now Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Communities and Local Government. Details of Don's voting record can be found at http://www.publicwhip.org.uk/mp.php?id=uk.org.publicwhip/member/40062&showall=yes#divisions


Decarbonisation

An amendment to the Energy Bill, which would have seen Britain decarbonised by 2030 was defeated by 290 votes to 267 this week in parliament. This would have seen more renewable energy being used, as well as greater usage of technologies such as carbon capture.More info here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/jun/04/decarbonisation-target-defeated-energy-bill-vote

Unfortunately the conclusions of our scientists and other experts on the subject require the backing of MPs in order to become policy under the present political system - and so we hope that they do the right thing and vote for the greater good. And many did, but, alas, Don Foster did not. http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2013-06-04a.1387.3&s=speaker%3A24910#g1407.1

Don is, of course, now part of what David Cameron claimed would be the "greenest government ever". Well after trying to sell off our forests, kill thousands of badgers unnecessarily and now this (and let us also not forget Michael Gove's proposals to water down climate change in the national curriculum), they are surely on the right track.

NHS Reforms

It is no secret that since his re-election in 2010, Don has supported the government's NHS reforms, with a few tweaks here and there by his Liberal Democrat peers. Don blames Labour for starting us down the path to privatisation, and while he may be right, he has played a role in pushing us further down that path. If you want to read his views, they can be found here: http://www.donfoster.co.uk/?p=642 

Those present at the Occupy Bath camp in Queen Square on the night of November 4th 2011 will remember his visit, and his prompt exit,saying he needed to go to a "sports event". The photograph of Don at the top of this page was taken that night. However, those occupiers who were still at the camp the following morning were visited by hoards of anti-privatisation campaigners who had been at a 38 Degrees meeting on the NHS reforms on the very night Don visited the camp, and claimed that he was invited but didn't show up. A fuller account of these events can be found here: http://standingstonesblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/moving-beyond-this-representative.html

He has turned up to other events to justify his support,including another public meeting organised by 38 Degrees, at which he himself had expected a "pretty hostile" reception. http://www.thisisexeter.co.uk/MP-questioned-support-controversial-health/story-15726948-detail/story.html#axzz2VTjf0uO5

Don has ignored the views of a large proportion of his constituents who are opposed to the NHS reforms and voted with the government on his issue. One only needs to look at the election of anti-privatisation RUH Foundation Trust Governor Dominic Tristram to see where Bath stands on this issue.

Foster Watch
1. Badger Cull and Tuition Fees
2. Decarbonisation Targets and NHS Reforms 
3. Climate Change in the National Curriculum
4. Don's Revised Opinion on the Badger Cull 

Disclaimer

Standing Stone's Blog and Foster Watch is an independent blog that is not affiliated with, nor endorses, any political party or general electoral candidate currently in existence. It maintains that all leadership and authority should be questioned and seeks to do just that.

Follow @stonestanding

Foster Watch #1 - Badger Cull and Tuition Fees

FOSTER WATCH
is a new series of posts following Bath MP Foster, who is now Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Communities and Local Government. Details of Don's voting record can be found at http://www.publicwhip.org.uk/mp.php?id=uk.org.publicwhip/member/40062&showall=yes#divisions


The Badger Cull

Today it was revealed that Don voted in favour of the badger cull - see here to find out how all MPs voted: http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/hansard/commons/todays-commons-debates/read/unknown/186/

Previously, Don signed Early Day Motion 1591, which reads: 'That this House notes the encouraging downward trend in bovine TB incidence in England and Wales; urges the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs not to put these improvements at risk by culling badgers; further urges the Secretary of State to follow the peer-reviewed advice of the Independent Scientific Group to concentrate on improving and rigidly enforcing cattle-based controls and testing procedures in order to bring the disease under control; and calls on the Secretary of State to take account of the opportunities now offered by successful badger vaccination trials and to prepare the way with Brussels for the earliest possible application and introduction of cattle vaccines that offer the only real long-term solution.' http://www.donfoster.co.uk/?p=635

By voting in this manner, Don is now among those responsible for ConDemning badgers to death, when our top scientists have concluded that it will make "no meaningful contribution" to controlling TB in cattle. Although it is possible that the government would have gone ahead with the cull even if they had lost the vote, this site maintains that although it may have harmed his political career, voting against the cull would have been the right thing to do.

Conservative MP Tracey Crouch rebelled against her party's three-line whip yesterday and voted against the cull - because she did her research and decided that it was the right thing to do. Don should have followed her example.http://www.kentnews.co.uk/news/mp_tracey_crouch_defies_party_whip_in_battle_against_badger_cull_1_2225038

More on the badger cull here: http://standingstonesblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/the-badger-cull-what-you-need-to-know.html

Tuition Fees

Don signed the 'Vote for Students' pledge - signed by over 1000 candidates in the 2010 general election, including all 57 Liberal Democrat MPs that were elected into office following the election. However, Don broke the pledge and voted for a rise in tuition fees http://www.libdemvoice.org/tuition-fees-how-liberal-democrat-mps-voted-22346.html

It should be noted that 21 Lib Dem MPs did keep their word, including high-profile MPs such as former leaders Menzies Campbell and Charles Kennedy.

Speaking to the Bath Chronicle, Don claimed "Had my vote helped to defeat the government, the coalition would have collapsed." The full article is here: http://www.thisisbath.co.uk/Don-Foster-votes-Government-tuition-fees-rise-approved/story-11336467-detail/story.html#axzz2VNi2JBhE

This sparked outrage from the students in Bath - a small city with two universities - and his indecision prior to the vote sparked a protest outside his office: www.thisisbath.co.uk/Protest-planned-outside-MP-Don-Foster-s-office-tuition-fees/story-11320295-detail/story.htm

Don lost a lot of trust from the students and may never win it back. 

Foster Watch
1. Badger Cull and Tuition Fees
2. Decarbonisation Targets and NHS Reforms
3. Climate Change in the National Curriculum
4. Don's Revised Opinion on the Badger Cull

Disclaimer
Standing Stone's Blog and Foster Watch is an independent blog that is not affiliated with, nor endorses, any political party or general electoral candidate currently in existence. It maintains that all leadership and authority should be questioned and seeks to do just that.

Follow @stonestanding

10 ways to support the Occupy Movement if you're not camping

Not everyone can camp out every night (myself included) due to a variety of reasons, but there are many things you can do to help your local Occupy camp if you can't be there all the time:

1. Come down when you can
Many Occupiers have other commitments too, such as jobs, university or children, and can't be there all the time - particularly in normal working hours. Come down and lend a hand with the camp for an hour or two so that they can take care of other things in their lives.

2. Write letters
If you are of the opinion that your local Occupy camp and the Occupy Movement in general is a good thing, write a letter or an e-mail of support to your MP, local councillors and/or local and national newspapers. Lets outweigh the complaints with positive letters.

You can find your MP's contact details here: http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/

3. Donate
Many camps have a donation box and also a "wishlist" of equipment that they need. Food is always useful and welcome (be aware that most camps don't have freezers and may have vegetarians/vegans among them).

4. Educate
Tell your friends and family why we are doing this, comment on blogs and news articles and try to explain that this is about issues that affect everyone. Share relevant news articles, pictures and videos with your friends on social networking sites like Facebook.

5. Keep the Occupiers up to date
Bring a newspaper, share important news articles on the Facebook pages, and pop along if you've heard something really important. Camping out and talking to the public 24/7 with no electricity can sometimes result in little time to keep informed of current events.

6. Play some music
Some Occupy camps have music sessions. If you play an instrument or sing, offer to come along and play a few songs. You may find yourself with a fan club! Check with them first, as some camps may have restrictions on noise at certain times of the day or have other things planned.

7. Inform yourself
Do some reading about some of the issues that are responsible for the current global economic crisis and/or are relevant to the Occupy Movement. Some suggestions are: Fractional and Federal Reserve Banking, find out which corporations have donated to which political parties, research alternative political and financial systems. Share what you have learnt with others.

8. Diversify the Movement
"We are the 99%". Some groups are working to ensure that all are represented within the movement. An idea that has had some success in Bristol is making a safe space for women. Family days, where people with children are encouraged to come along, have been successful also. If you think that any section of society affected by this crisis isn't represented well enough within the movement, talk to your peers and your local camp about it and try to come up with ideas to involve them.

9. Printing and distributing
Some camps have posters and flyers. If they need help, offer to print/photocopy some for them and/or distribute them around town.

10. Occupy your life
If you have had a positive experience at a camp and/or learned something from this movement that you think would be great to have in everyday life, try to put it into practice. Things such as consensus-based decision making, not buying unessential items, reducing your carbon footprint, moving to a more ethical bank, stop buying from unethical corporations and encouraging discussions on local and global issues are all things that could work in the world outside the tent cities.

Disclaimer: All views and opinions above that are not stated facts are those of myself (as an individual parcipitant in the Occupy Movement), except where stated, and do not necessarily represent the views of a particular Occupy camp or those of the Occupy Movement as a whole. Follow @stonestanding