I hope you do not mind me writing to you to ask you to Vote Green on May 6th. I thought I would write, so you can delete now rather than read on. Much harder just for you to walk away if some politician walks up to you and tries to engage you in debate.
Well I am glad you did not press the 'delete' button and are still reading on!
I hope I can help to persuade you to help the Green Party grow and gain momentum so we may win power. At the very least, with your help we can get a good proportion of the vote, and gain the momentum we need for next time when we can be in government at least as part of a ruling coalition. Unless all our sympathisers vote for us, put their faith in us, we will always be stuck with a three party system- and that will be more of the same as we have had for the last 100 years. The lib dems claim they represent the 'new' politics- they try to pretend they have never been in power. Gladstone and Lloyd George have been air brushed from history. Their misrule of Cornwall County Council , many of their MP's with high expenses claims, and their dodgy £2m donation from the fugitive Michael Brown is forgotten.
The Green's biggest challenge is not that people do not think our arguments are sound, but they are frightened the Tories will win if they vote for us. This is not going to happen. The polls (and bookies) show in Cornwall a clear LD win in all seats. For the Tories to gain the Cornish seats they would need a much larger 'swing' than is nationally and locally predicted. It may happen-polls are wrong at times, and we live in a 'new' constituency without an encumber ant MP, but it still looks unlikely. If you don't live in Cornwall- the same really applies; we are getting Clegg-Brown, or Clegg-Cameron. The polls show that has been decided, so why not make a real difference and vote for real change, and a fairer, green society??
I would argue that I could not vote 'tactically' this time around. I have done it before to keep the Tories out. However it looks like they are 'in' this time around, with Nick Clegg providing the support act, holding the machete to cut public services. Two public school boys for the price of one, telling us what to do, cutting our services while they can always go private. I cannot agree with the public expenditure cuts proposed by all the main parties. With that will come the cuts in essential public services; schools; hospitals, social services etc. Whatever is said about 'ring fencing' respected economic think tanks such as the Institute of Fiscal Studies say the main parties figures do not add up. Nick Clegg is happy to form a government with the Tories as with Labour. I cannot support that even if I was not standing for the Greens. I remember well the Tory Government of 79-97 -the cuts, the industrial conflict, the rearmament. Labour promised much,but has led us into two wars and the sleaze under the last Tory Government has got worse not better.
I also have to ask why should the vulnerable suffer through cuts when it is not their fault for the mess we are in? Both Tory and Labour administrations have failed to support our manufacturing base. Why are we so dependent on services and finance as a country? We cannot live by Latte Cafes alone. The Tories and Labour squandered the oil revenues; when Norway invested it in the future- a liberal, fair society there with no deficit, and real respect for the environment. Surely that is what we deserve here?
There are now numerous tax loop holes for big business-encouraged by the Tories and Labour. Many wealthy people and big business pay little if any tax in the UK (eg Murdoch, Arcadia Group-Topshop etc etc.) No wonder there is a £176bn annual deficit between what we get in income in tax to spend on services. The banks, and finance industry have not been held to account despite the massive structural deficit we now have following the bail outs over the last couple of years. They have not been told to give the profits back to the country, and their chiefs are still getting massive bonuses on you and me. All three parties support the status quo. The Lib-Lab -Cons however are prepared to make us pay through service cuts, while the wealthy won't pay their share (See National Insurance Debate which only equated to £4 per employee). However some programmes are protected. The Lib Dems will cancel Trident, but their policy is to have an alternative nuclear weapon system which will still cost billions. Such a system will not help solve our international disputes, will be unusable in most conflict situations, and will still cost us billions. Similarly the major parties all pledge to stay in Afghanistan, and protect the £40billion pa spent on defence.
So what would the Green's do:
* Have a progressive tax system. The poor would be taken out of tax or pay no more than they do, yet there would be more steps in what is taxable so the wealthier people are, the more they would pay. Any earnings over £100k pa would be taxed at 50%. We would close tax loopholes exploited by big business and the wealthy. This would generate the income required to pay off the structural deficit, and close the revenue deficit. This is a fair system. Research shows equal societies are fairer societies, more happiness, less crime, less 'status anxiety', less conflict-See the recent Equality Trust report if you do not believe me.
* We would work towards a 'new' sustainable economy based on new technology, renewables, sturdy manufacturing goods etc. We would reduce Corporation Tax for small businesses to 20%. We would prevent big business suffocating small firms. Thousands of small businesses would bloom.
* Environment; minimise building on green field sites, proper action against climate change (The Government's own Stern Report states Govt. Carbon targets will still result in a +50% chance of irreversible climate change) , move towards a zero carbon economy, introduce a 'carbon credits' scheme, invest heavily in public transport by using monies set aside for road building, positive action against peak oil and depleting gas supplies through the developing renewable rather than nuclear energies.
* Improved animal welfare standards, No hunting; tax breaks for organic farms; better food standards. A level playing field for small producers, suppliers and shops against the supermarkets. No GM crops.
* Education; less testing, less bureaucracy, free tuition fees and maintenance grants for students. Life long learning as a right so we can develop a more equal and happier society
* Health; more preventative health, support a publicly funded and provided NHS, free social and health care.
* Build more public and affordable housing, revitalise our village communities, higher taxes and planning restrictions on second homes and investment properties.Make towns and cities nice places to live again.
* Crime; Restorative justice, more police on the streets, less bureaucracy.
* Defence; lower spending to fund a defensive armed force only, an independent and ethical foreign policy. Support a strengthened UN to solve international conflict.
* Europe; Radical reform of the EU. Less conformity, rules and regulations; less bureaucracy and waste; more co-operation than compliance between members on a local, regional rather than a pan European basis. No to the Lisbon Treaty.
* Development; support the developing world to build Green sustainable economies and fight climate change. Make developing countries good places to live, support democratic regimes to develop , and less tolerance of dictatorship to encourage change. This would result over time in there being less pull for people to migrate to Europe.
* Cornwall; Housing on Brown field sights and limit development in our countryside, support our natural environment against unfettered development, more devolved powers to a Cornish Assembly to control our services rather than through unelected quangos, and central control. More trust in local people to make their own decisions rather than centralisation.
Want to know even more:
Podcast of introductory speeches for West Briton debates:
http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/news/Parliamentary-Candidates-Camborne-Redruth-Hayle-PODCAST-DEBATE/article-2009874-detail/article.html
BBC Radio Cornwall Hustings:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/cornwall/hi/tv_and_radio/newsid_8621000/8621911.stm
And if you still want more look at our manifesto on www.greenparty.org.uk
and our party political broadcast on http://www.onlygreen.org.uk/
I am more than happy for you to contact me to discuss our policies and my candidature. Please do not hesitate to give me a ring.
PLEASE SEND THIS EMAIL ON TO YOUR FRIENDS AND ACQUAINTANCES AND ASK THEM TO PASS IT ON
Best wishes and I hope you will vote Green on May 6th
Podcast of introductory speeches for West Briton debates:
http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/news/Parliamentary-Candidates-Camborne-Redruth-Hayle-PODCAST-DEBATE/article-2009874-detail/article.html
BBC Radio Cornwall Hustings:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/cornwall/hi/tv_and_radio/newsid_8621000/8621911.stm
And if you still want more look at our manifesto on www.greenparty.org.uk
and our party political broadcast on http://www.onlygreen.org.uk/
I am more than happy for you to contact me to discuss our policies and my candidature. Please do not hesitate to give me a ring.
PLEASE SEND THIS EMAIL ON TO YOUR FRIENDS AND ACQUAINTANCES AND ASK THEM TO PASS IT ON
Best wishes and I hope you will vote Green on May 6th
Ian Wright
Green Party Candidate for Truro and Falmouth
01872 501374
Wrightian298@aol.com
http://www.greensarecoming.org.uk
http://www.onlygreen.org.uk/
www.cornishgreenparty.org.uk
www.cornishgreenparty.org.uk
www.greenparty.org.uk
www.ianwrightgreentrurofalmouth.blogspot.com
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