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.

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Austerity: A Public Meeting in Bath

From Bath People's Assembly:

Press Release 13/5/13 - Austerity: A Public Meeting

Following a strong line-up of successful public debates and events in recent times, including debates on fracking, the NHS and nuclear power, as well as last month's Visions for Change event, featuring stalls and talks from over 25 groups working for a better world and film director Ken Loach, Bath People's Assembly is now returning to its roots and organising a public meeting on austerity this Friday.

The aim of the meeting is to discuss the impact of the government's austerity programme on Bath residents, and to generate ideas for actions to ensure that no-one is unjustly affected. In particular, issues such as benefit cuts, changes to disability welfare, cuts to the NHS, the bedroom tax and related issues such as growing income inequality, workfare and redundancies will be addressed. All are welcome to attend the meeting, which is held between 7.15 and 9pm at the Friends' Meeting House, York St., Bath, BA1 1NG

Entry is free and light refreshments will be provided.

A Facebook event page has been created to promote the meeting: https://www.facebook.com/events/299842250148616/?fref=ts

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Bath Against Cuts - NHS Flyer

Here is the new leaflet produced by Bath Against Cuts to tie in with Ken Loach's new film, Spirit of '45, about the creation of the NHS. Of course, as we all know, the NHS was created under Clement Attlee's Labour government. However, this is not an endorsement of the Labour party, who over the intervening decades have grown increasingly right wing and barely resemble the party they were back when the NHS was created.

Trailer for the film: 

There will be a showing of the at the independent Little Theatre in Bath at 3pm on Sunday 17 March with a satellite link-up with director Ken Loach, however tickets are now sold out. The flyer will be handed out following the showing. There are, however, other showings of the film at the Little Theatre - see their website for times http://www.picturehouses.co.uk/cinema/The_Little/

Front of flyer:

 

Reverse of flyer:

 

For more information contact: bathagainstcuts@yahoo.co.uk

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We Are One NHS Demo, Bristol

We Are One NHS Demo, Bristol, December 2012

On Saturday 1st December, hundreds of people, including union members, anarchists, socialists, occupiers, anti-cuts protestors and other members of the public marched in solidarity against proposed cuts to the NHS.

"Build a bonfire, build a bonfire, put the Tories on the 
top... Put the Lib Dems in the middle and we'll burn the 
fucking lot"

- Popular variation on a chant sung widely during 
demonstrations in the era of the ConDem coalition, 
2010-present

The NHS that we know and love is under threat. One of the biggest challenges is the pressure to cut costs and make savings. This has resulted in 20 NHS Trusts across the South West, including University Hospitals Bristol Trust and North Bristol Trust, paying £200,000 of tax payer’s money to form the South West Pay Terms and Conditions Consortium which is proposing radical changes to pay and conditions and the creation of a regional pay system.

Plans published by these employers envisaging changes which could cut pay, terms and conditions for nurses and other healthcare staff by up to 15% demonstrate yet another example of how working people are being forced to bear the brunt of cuts to vital services.

This will be bad for the NHS, bad for patients and bad for all NHS staff across the UK*

Local pay hurts the local economy, compromises patient safety, seriously damages staff morale and creates instability in the workforce at a time when the NHS is going through unprecedented change.

The rally started at College Green at 11am. I travelled up with members of Occupy Bath and BARF, and we arrived just as people were starting to assemble. Marching under our usual BARF banner, we set off with chants, whistles, flags and a huge Unison ballon through the streets of Bristol. The editors of the Westcountry Mutineer, the finest anarchist paper this side of London (which I may or may not have contributed articles to), joined the march also, and gave out free copies, amongst all the other literature being handed out. The march ended at Castle Park, where flags and banners were planted in the ground and speeches were given.

The NHS has never been under threat as much as it is now. The rich Tories don't care, and would sooner see it abolished. We must fight the fuckers at every opportunity, at every corner, and make sure that it is protected.

*Note: Part of this article was taken from the Facebook event description

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An Open Letter to Nick Clegg

Dear Nick Clegg,

Like the vast majority of people who care about the future of our country, and indeed the world, I watched your "apology" video to see what you had to say. Naturally, I was left feeling even more disappointed in you than ever. My reasons are thus:

1) Your apology only relates to a single issue. Although it was an issue that is important to many of your voters, it is by no means the only thing you should be apologising for. Making apologies is the very least that you could do, and I assume that this is only the first in a series of videos apologising for your (in)actions on issues such as the NHS, cuts to frontline services, the voting system, VAT, amongst others.

2) You broke your promise on tuition fees nearly 2 years ago. An apology this late in the day is next to meaningless. Why has it taken you so long to apologise?

3) It is only now, when support for the Liberal Democrats (particularly in their current incarnation led by yourself) has dropped to an all-time low, that you have come out and made this apology. It frankly wreaks of desperation.

4) Considering that tuition fees was one of your flagship policies, and that many of your MPs signed a pledge to not vote for a rise in them (including my MP, Don Foster, who represents a city with two universities and a large student population), you did not appear to put up much of a fight, at least not in public. I am therefore having great difficulty in believing that your apology is at all sincere.

5) You say that you shouldn't have had the policy in the first place, as it was likely that you would be in a coalition with either Labour or the Conservatives. What message does this send to the other smaller parties? Should the Green Party therefore drop most of their environmental policies just in case they one day go into coalition with a less green party? You painted yourself and your party as a genuine alternative to "politics as usual", and the one thing you should not be apologising about is having the policy in the first place. Will your next manifesto therefore simply be an amalgamation of Labour and Conservative polices just in case you have to get into bed with one of them following the next election?

6) At no point did you explain what you are going to do (or at least attempt to do) to make amends for your error. How are you going to help students (or for that matter, the rest of the "99%") in the future? An apology does not lower the cost of living, give us jobs, education or healthcare, stop climate change, sort out the economy or make anyone's life better in any way shape or form.

WE DON'T WANT AN APOLOGY, WE WANT ACTIONS.

When you were in the position of "kingmaker" following the election results, people trusted you to make the right decision. When you went into coalition with the Tories, it was an unpopular choice - but then so would a coalition with Brown's Labour have been. We expected you to keep a tight rein on them, not the other way around. We expected you to fight for us, not be pushovers having to apologise for not doing anything.

If this were an apology for a battle well-fought, I could accept it. If you had really put your foot down on one, just one, of your flagship policies, the British public might still have an ounce of respect left for you. Believe or not, you still have a chance. Admittedly, it will be harder now, as you have sunk so low in the public's opinion. Stop being a spineless coward and fight for us. SAVE THE NHS, and do not stop fighting until you have done it. Make it your mission, every single day, from the moment you get up to the moment you go to bed. Or be confined forever to the political wastelands.

We don't want any more apologies, Nick. If you fail, it is better to have gone down in a blaze of glory, than to have kept quiet and let the Tories wreck our country.

Standing Stone
Bath

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Political Perspectives #3: Some Thoughts on the Olympics Opening Ceremony (Guest Blog)

This is the third in an occasional series of posts on the various political perspectives of those involved in activism in the Bath/Bristol area. The views expressed are those of the respective authors, and do not necessarily reflect those of Standing Stone.

Some Thoughts on the Olympics Opening Ceremony

by Katy Gent

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past few months, you will, in some way or another, have witnessed the opening ceremony for the London 2012 Olympics last night.

Many have taken the Olympics this year as a beacon of hope and celebration amongst hard times, much like the Jubilee earlier this year. Whilst others have decreed it a waste of money and a complete farce to disguise the turmoil that is reaping our green and glorious Earth.

Firstly, I'd like to talk about the ceremony itself. I watched it at my boyfriend's house with his dad. I had intended to watch it, purely out of curiosity and for the fact that it's a part of history. Regardless of the tax evasion, regardless of the fascist police forces and the blatant disregard for human rights; it is a part of history. I have to say that the ceremony itself was fantastic. It was funny, it was impressive and it was British. Danny Boyle did a fantastic job (although like all Doctor Who fans I was a little disappointed to see that David Tennant did not carry the flag into the stadium but I digress...). The inclusion of children's literature, James Bond, Mr Bean and many others highlighted what it means to be a part of this country. I was very happy to see the suffragettes involved too and also that this is the first Olympic games where all participating countries have a female team. To quote Jacques Rogg "it's a brilliant step for gender equality". I also don't think anyone could have predicted a 50ft inflatable Voldemort either.

Unfortunately, although the opening ceremony was a fantastic display of British culture and history, that is all it was. Why the pointless Queen had to be involved is beyond me. I am the last person who would support Cameron but at least he's elected and he SHOULD have been the one to have opened the games. Not some tax avoiding anachronism. Usually I will keep quiet about my blatant republicanism on occasions like this because I feel it's unnecessary. To highlight her involvement would overshadow the fantastic job that the performers did. But I couldn't help myself. She didn't smile once, she didn't even watch the ceremony, she didn't give a fuck. Phillip and she sat there with a disinterested look on their faces throughout the entire evening. They don't give a toss about these Olympics. Just like they don't give a toss about this country. They did not deserve to play a part in it.

Much like the jubilee, it was fantastic to see so many people united behind one cause. To celebrate something that unites us all in a time when the entire world is suffering under a less than ideal economic climate. However, it is under this economic climate that thousands are losing their jobs, their pensions, their welfare and their union rights. Why on Earth were we celebrating the NHS when there's nothing left of what it used to be?! Why pretend to maintain this charade of Britain as the factory of the Earth and the green and lush pasture of times past?! A better portrayal of this country would have been the Occupy movement surrounded by homeless people with a giant inflatable pig shadowing everything. That would have been a better representation of what this country is about at the moment.

So, do not think for a second that I am a cynic. I found the opening ceremony a fantastic celebration of what it means to be British. I thoroughly enjoyed every second. But it is a shame, that underneath this celebration of the best of humanity's abilities, is a murky swamp of poverty, greed and despair. It is a shame that we cannot celebrate our unity as a country. Our unity behind equality, liberty, gay rights, gender rights and democracy. That is what this country should celebrate. That is what this country needs to do to show the rest of the world how fantastic we are. Take the first step forward out of the swamp, into a new Britain, that stands for something that we WANT to celebrate. Something that the rest of the world can follow in making our Earth, our planet, a better place.

Thanks.

Political Perspectives Series:

Part 1. What is Anarchism? (B.A.R.F.)

Part 2. What is the Zeitgeist Movement? (Bruce Galliver)

Part 4: Thoughts on Cambodia (Dave Stephens)

Part 5. Thoughts on Meditation and Revolution (Simon Jilley)

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Save the NHS March - Bristol 5th May 2012

At 11am, around 400 people from all walks of life congregated on the bland and sterile new grass on College Green for the final event in the May week of action for the Save Our NHS march.
Organisations and campaigns represented included various unions (including Unite, Unision and UCU), Bristol and District Anti-Cuts Alliance, South West Against Nuclear, Bristol Anarchist Federation, Bristol Fawcett, Occupiers from Bath and Bristol and lots of other members of the public.

A rally with a variety of speeches took place outside the council building. Although there were some great speeches, the highlight was a couple of smartly-dressed women with Virgin badges, posing as company reps and outlining exactly what they were going to do to the NHS.

Following the rally, banners were held up high and all assembled for the march. People joined in along the way, and we caused quite a scene marching through town to chants of "Whose NHS? Our NHS" and a selection of reggae, rock and punk from a stereo system in a wheelie bin, as well as an excellent cover of Pulp's Common People sung from David Cameron's perspective.


Will this march change anything? On its own, no. But if we don't want the NHS to be privatised by this sham of a government - made up of two parties that vowed to protect the NHS - then we need to keep showing that we're not happy. Keep it in the public eye, keep piling the pressure on and maybe someone will listen. But even if it changes nothing, I'm going to keep doing it. I'm here to change the world, not be changed by those trying to destroy it. Be the change you want to see.

Peace all.

Video here:

More reporting from The Shittro here: http://theshittro.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/pro-nhs-rally-bristol-saturday-5th-may.html

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Moving Beyond this Representative Democracy

We live in a supposedly representative democracy, where we elect officials to govern us. There's no denying that this system reflects the wishes of the people more than the totalitarian regimes in other parts of the world, some of which are not elected, others of which rig the elections. But do our elected officals truly represent us?

In Bath and North East Somerset, our elected official is Don Foster, who famously campaigned against a rise in tuition fees and then voted in favour of them. Let me tell you about the time he came to the Occupy Bath camp on one evening back in November. That night he was invited to attend a meeting about the NHS reforms, hosted by Dr Wendy Savage. Around 200 people attended. Instead he arrived at Queen Square just after dusk, and just after a talk entitled "War and Capitalism". The person giving the talk immediately recognised him and gave him a big lecture on his voting record. Looking nervous, he then said loudly - and I quote - "I have no objections to this camp." He then made promptly for the exit, commenting on the way that he had a sports event to go to. Later, when interviewed by Breeze Bath, he commented "I think it is wrong that - as a country - we support banks, not only if they get it wrong in terms of lending mortgages but many other issues. The other thing we are trying to do as a government is to try and do more to support the least well off in society." Well said Don, now some actions would be nice.

Don Foster, Bath and North East Somerset MP (Lib Dem), giving the Occupy Bath camp his approval

The following morning, scores of people turned up at the camp - Dr Wendy Savage had expressed her support for the Occupy Movement and had recommended that people come to the camp to support us and find out more. When we told them about our visitor, they were appalled. Don had the time to visit Occupy Bath on a whim, but didn't show up to a meeting he was invited to weeks ago. Of course, he knew he'd be ripped to pieces, and probably thought he would have an easier time at the camp. I'm proud that we gave him hell too.

I don't recall Don talking about NHS reforms before the election. Like all other politicians, he was elected based on a manifesto and pre-election pledges. As far as I am concerned, in a representative democracy the elected official's job is to uphold these things. Unexpected things will almost certainly arise during their term, and in which case the democratic thing to do would be to consult the people - perhaps even hold a referendum. If there really is a good case for doing what they want to do, then surely the public would vote in favour of it.

On the subject of referendums, a simple yes/no is not always the best choice. Since 1973 there have only been 11 referendums in the UK, and most have been regional referendums on devolution. The most recent referendum - on the Alternative Vote - was a shambles. Not only was the Conservative smear campaign out of hand, but even the Liberal Democrats didn't really want it. Why were we not given the option to vote for other voting systems, such as some form of Proportional Representation?

Was the war against Iraq in Labour's manifesto? No. I was among the many thousands marching in the street back in 2003, and felt disgusted when Tony Blair didn't acknowledge us. If there had been a referendum, I am in no doubt that we wouldn't have gone to war. I also don't recall being given a vote on bailing out the banks - hands up who would have voted "NO!".

Now, in 2012, we are facing a potential war with Iran, privatisation of the NHS and the police force, and cuts left right and centre. Neither the Conservatives nor the Liberal Democrats won the election, so they have even less right than the previous Labour administration to go to war in our name without consulting us first. Rather than giving us referendums on the big issues that none of us voted for, they are even reducing our right to oppose them via our remaining options - the petitions service and protests.

There are many untrustworthy politicians, but even among the more honest ones there is another barrier to a true representative democracy - the three-line whip. When a party insists that all of it's MPs vote a certain way on an issue, they issue a three-line whip - which means that anyone who rebels against the party line is expected to resign from their position. So here's a scenario - what if an MP gives their constituents a vote on an issue, promising to vote whichever way the people decide. The party then issues a three-line whip requesting that they vote the other way. Through being democratic, the MP could potentially lose their job. Is this why we don't have referendums at the level of a constituency in this country?

This is 2012. We now have the technology to crowdsource and to use wiki platforms to create a new constitution (and a written one - this country doesn't even have one!) - this worked for Iceland. Let's bring in a new era using the tools we have available to us, tools we didn't have until recently, a new era where democracy is truly a government of the people and not run by elected officials who can go against the will of the people whenever they feel like it. Occupy, the Indignados, the Quaker Movement and many other groups around the world have advocated more direct forms of democracy. Let's move this forward this year, and make the old ways irrelevant.

Previous post on Occupy Bath: Do the right thing - Move Your Money!
Next Post on Occupy Bath: Occupy the UK. That's at Least What The Shittro Thinks (Guest Blog)


Further Reading
Don Foster visits Occupy Bath - http://bath.thebreeze.com/news/baths-news/bath-mp-supports-occupy-bath-113/

House of Lords report "Referendums in the United Kingdom" - http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200910/ldselect/ldconst/99/99.pdf

Guardian article on the Iceland constitution - http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/09/iceland-crowdsourcing-constitution-facebook


A major reference for the kind of democracy used in Occupy camps and by other groups worldwide - http://www.seedsforchange.org.uk/free/consensus

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