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Chris Williams, Jeremy Heighway and five others
At home in Stroud on Friday I was visited by Green Party canvassers and happened to mention a blog I did for Birmingham readers about Stroud District Town and District councils.
The canvasser said, “We have someone from Birmingham with us and I asked for the name – It was Chris Williams, now the Green Party’s Regional Manager for Elections.
I learnt that he has moved from Solihull to the Jewellery Quarter and we first spoke of people we knew, the loss of Hazel and Alan Clawley, David Gaussen’s campaigning on transport, Karen Leach’s management of the BFOE building and Margaret Okole’s great contribution to the Green Party.
Jeremy Heighway, who moved to Leipzig and has been an active participant at the degrowth conferences and basic income sessions and mostly does translations from German to English in the field of renewable energy as his day job, responded to February blog based on Jonathon Porritt’s hard-hitting post: Criminalising peaceful protest: are mainstream NGOs and Labour politicians condemning this?:
“I’ve been seeing the ‘drift’ towards authoritarianism for almost twenty years now. Forty years ago it was a rise of incompetence and a lack of consequences to tame that beast, then more dedicated malice or malpractice for profit or power set in, in the knowledge that little or no action would be taken.
Within the last few years it has by far overtaken my worries about the environment: the worsening fabric of society itself, so far more in Britain than in Germany, but Germany is also on a slippery slope.
In March I sent Jeremy a link from Andy Goff, former webmaster of The Stirrer who has moved to Wales; CLEW Journalism Network, connects journalists covering the energy transition story around the world. Jeremy wrote:
“I have been coming across better-informed commentary recently, even GB News had a good EV expert on one of their discussion panels. Unfortunately, I’m not close to any original sources now, so I don’t know where the new pockets of expertise are taking hold.
“The current news page had an accurate piece about a solar manufacturer near me and I looked at one of the info texts that was a couple of years old, but pretty balanced. If the rest of the work is at the same level then it can be considered quite a good source”.
I expect you all hear about John Nightingale’s continuing work for Debt Justice and Footsteps and Christine Parkinson’s important entries on her 3 Generations website. George Morran (left) has been sending interesting and constructive work on devolution which will be posted in due course.
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Membership of the regional bodies must be based on direct election using a proportional voting system: George Morran
After reading this post, George Morran wrote:
I do not support the London model for the West Midlands or any of the English regions or the South East outside London.
London is unique. It is metropolitan. The English regions are different. They are a mix of urban and rural, town and country.
We need to champion this mix and the interdependencies that exist.
There has to be a recognition that in England outside London we need a level of governance between the UK and local levels. The boundaries which were drawn to define the metropolitan counties in the early 70s were based on party political advantage not economic, social and environmental realities and potential.
The London model was established leaving Westminster, Whitehall and the political parties with too much control. The Home Office’s control of policing is an example.
Some of the members of the GLA are elected based on a list system which allows the political parties nationally too much control.
For the West Midlands and the other English regions we need functions, powers and resources transferred from Westminster and Whitehall not from local Government.
There has to be a move away from ever larger local authorities and anonymous combined authorities. This should be a task for new Regional authorities, not Westminster!
Membership of the regional bodies must be based on direct election using a proportional voting system to ensure all voters feel their votes count.
There also needs to be arrangements for business, trade unions, faith and voluntary sectors to be involved.
A new constitutional settlement for England also should take into account moves to strengthen the Union and changes needed at the UK level.
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George Morran has had extensive experience in local and regional affairs, being Director of the West Midlands Regional Forum of Local Authorities (1991-98), Assistant Chief Executive Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council and currently consultant specialising in regional governance, Vice-chair of Localise West Midlands, research associate at Aston University’s Business School and project director of the West Midlands Constitutional Convention. Further reading: http://localisewestmidlands.org.uk/2013/george-morran-why-regional-government/
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Solar Schools : John Nightingale
John Nightingale has drawn attention to the Solar for Schools project which is relevant to research published by his church (the Church of England); this recently worked out that the main source of its carbon footprint is not its church buildings but its schools!
A graphic from the Solar for Schools report in the overview, shows that schools can:
There are two strands to Solar for Schools: Fundraising (for the CBS), Development, Education and Asset Management services for existing school systems
The CBS funding model is explained in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuYupvSiPCc
Solar for Schools supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals
To learn more, contact Danielle Parker, Project Manager / School Ambassador
daniellep@solarforschools.co.uk
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XR’s ‘Big One’: the last post, Tuesday 25th April: John Nightingale
Two of John’s earlier contributions have been posted on the Extinction Rebellion and allied groups website – ‘Keeping climate change at the top of the agenda’
John Nightingale (right) writes:
On Monday 24th morning I met friend Jethro at a demo outside Department of Health where, as an XR doctor, he was stressing the need for better health provision now. This is in anticipation of more heat waves as last summer (Met Office)
In the future it will be important especially in towns to have worked out a map of the cooler green and blue spaces to be sought as well as the hot red places to be avoided. And of course insulation of houses is protection against the extremes of heat as well as cold.
In the summer of 2021, there were only eight days of weather that required a level 3 heat alert and over this period there were 915 excess deaths (government analysis).
Went to worship at the Faith Hub for an informal prayer service. Some of the words were accessed by a QR code which did not seem to work on my phone; perhaps this is a poor workman blaming his tools. Sound system ineffective against the traffic but still a sense of integrity in what we were doing and where.
Got text from Gill Widdows saying that Claire Hammond was arriving with her two daughters. Met up with them at place where climate action designs were being printed onto their t-shirts. We went together to Department of Education where Ian McDermott who teaches A-level chemistry in a Westminster school told us that the A-level syllabus in chemistry is not fit for purpose.
It restricts discussion of the consequences of fossil fuel to those of air pollution and carbon monoxide, whereas those are yesterday’s problems and the key problems today are carbon dioxide and methane: colossal and needing to be understood and fixed.
Read more on the Carbon Brief website
The girls waved balloons in clusters representing the two molecules. Then Nadia Whittome MP outlined her Private Members’ Climate Education bill currently supported by some MPs of each party, including three Conservative chairs of Select Committees. It is aimed at producing a climate curriculum fit for purpose. Surveys have indicated this is popular with voters.
Went to the Citizens Assembly stand. There seems to be a variety of approaches, not just the classic one of a randomly-selected group of people representative of the variety of persons and views with the community – which requires a controlling hand to organise effectively.
Cornwall campaigners had ensured eventual citizen’s participation in policy and programme by a series of sit-ins on Council premises through which councillors and officials were induced to engage and eventually to come round to a more progressive standpoint. But would this work more widely? I would like to know more about what has proved effective in different parts of the world.
Holy Communion at 3pm according to a Franciscan rite – led appropriately by women Anglican Franciscans. Fortunately there were paper printouts of service so the imperfect sound system did not impede and we managed the hymns as well. Hung around afterwards to folk coming from Christian Climate Action groups largely in urban centres: Norwich, Bristol, Sheffield, Newcastle, Bradford.
Good working relations with XR (overlapping membership) but I did not hear of other areas with an interfaith climate project like our Birmingham “Footsteps: Faiths for a Low Carbon Future”. Also the mapping work we have done in Birmingham listing all the faith communities, where they are on the map, and their community links, is so far without parallel. Took a number of names and email addresses so I could share relevant weblinks.
Viewed a lively final procession and wondered at the troupe of bright red robed figures (‘dressed in bright red to signify the blood of species that have died as a result of climate change’ – Oxford Mail ) moving deliberately in spite of lashing rain. To quote Patrick Benjamin: ‘The action has already managed to focus the world’s media on the urgent need to tackle climate change and that’s thanks in part to one of its most striking visuals – ghostly-white figures cloaked in scarlet-red, drifting gracefully through lines of police and crowds of demonstrators. These mystical apparitions are the brainchild of Bristolian Doug Francisco, founder of The Invisible Circus launched as a street performance troupe in the 90s. “We used to do a lot of these statue slow motion things around Europe,” he tells me, “and they were our signature characters. But for this, I thought I’d bring it out in a different colour to represent the blood of the species.”’ The meaning behind Extinction Rebellion’s red-robed protesters | Dazed (dazeddigital.com)
Some final reflections
A very good four days both in quantity and quality for those who took part, with intelligent targeted lobbying of government departments. Excellent stewarding and coordination with police and Marathon.
I was not aware of any incidents though read in newspaper that Just Stop Oil were doing a confrontational action but elsewhere in London. Some good provision for children, eg arts and crafts including t-shirt printing; presumably used most at the weekend. Lively music and artwork. Remarkable lack of litter. Involvement of a number of the great and good – broadcasters, doctors, MPs, clergy – as well as support from 200 or so organisations from Friends of the Earth to Tear Fund and RSPB, so the four days of protest could be seen as mainstream to those involved in it and possibly the media, though my participation on the ground meant that I was receiving little outside comment.
However, I have no idea how successful the event was in influencing those with the levers of power. Were many MPS met? Were civil servants engaged in debate? Did those supporting fossil fuels just keep their heads down? I heard that when Archbishop John Sentamu delivered a petition to Shell (at the head of a large procession), Shell phoned for the police (see Head topics).
Not a bad age-range. Lots of female involvement – perhaps the majority. Some presence of ethnic minorities and a service was led by Black-majority Churches. But apart from Buddhist events I was not aware of participation from faiths other than Christian, and Faith for the Climate seem to do little apart from advertising the general programme. A missed opportunity? But with the clash with the end of Ramadan maybe doing much in this area might have been a step too far.
I was particularly pleased to see Franciscans give a lead, the message of their founder more than ever appropriate – something to take back to my parish, St Francis Bournville.
Hopefully this shifts the Overton Window, ie the area of general debate, in a positive direction. A good slow burn, a start; let’s hope it leads to more.
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Bewdley’s “Day on the Town”: Malcolm Currie
MONDAY 1st– May Day Bank Holiday
Malcolm Currie writes:” Following a successful “Day in the Forest” event last year, based on the Wyre Forest Land Trust, Globally Local is this year focusing on the town community. The key word is RESILIENCE”. He continues:
Just what makes for resilience in a local community?
Bewdley was once a thriving river port, straddling the Severn, just west of Kidderminster; the major outlet for the industrialised ancient Wyre Forest which is home to one of the UK’s most successful Land Trusts.
Today, its main street contains, within a couple of hundred yards, almost any retail or service outlet you can think of. There’s an impressive range of food and eatery outlets; repairs to phone or computer, attention to eyes, feet, teeth, hair – even full body ‘repair’ (massage) and a ‘Green’ cobbler; yes, there are two charity shops but also two antique outlets; ice cream parlour, pet grooming parlour, patisserie, pharmacy, – the full alphabet is here.
Round the corner, is a community hall holding up to 200, plus two film clubs, a monthly Repair Café and all the ‘keep fit’ you could not wish for. There’s a modern Medical Centre, Library and also on the main street, a rather unusual Museum with Martin Jennings’ statue of Stanley Baldwin standing outside.
Close by are two major tourist attractions in the Severn Valley Railway (SVR) and West Midlands Safari Park. Oh, and the flood barriers are in place – and they work!
Yet below the surface lurk some dangers and challenges which affect almost every local community, urban, rural and anything in between.
There are some who suggest these challenges, if not met, could see the end of Bewdley’s main street in its present form. So, on MONDAY 1st MAY – May Day Bank Holiday – we are holding a “Day on the Town” to examine the origins of a community’s vibrancy and resilience and how today’s challenges are best met.
(Ed: Malcolm has a fine track record, having organised many enjoyable and thought-provoking events.)
We’ll be hosted by Transition Bewdley and the day is part of the Wyre Forest Green Alliance ‘SustFest 2023’ programme.
This is an ‘open’ day, not overly prescriptive, as the aim is to learn from each other, to bring to the day our various experiences and points of view. It is possible to join us for the whole day or any part of it. CONVERSATION is at the heart of this ‘Day on the Town’.
If there’s a special interest anybody wishes to promote, we can discuss allocating a spot during the day.
Look at the draft programme and let me know if this – or any part thereof – is of interest**.
10.30 Bewdley Museum for a conducted tour of the site and a background to the town’s history.
11.30 Tour of Town Centre with (tbc) Civic Society.
The range of retail outlets and services within a 200 metre stretch is probably unique. Background information on this and a lead for your own research, provided.
12.30 BEWDLEY GREEN DRINKS (GD) Some may remember as ‘Café Society’.
Open conversation on ‘community resilience’ using our experience in Bewdley and elsewhere. There will be a lead in from local activists, setting the scene for an exchange of views on the challenges facing local communities and how these are being and can be met.
** It is possible to join just one or more of these sessions. Some may wish to do their own tour of the Museum and town and then join us for lunch. In that case you just pay for your own lunch.
VENUE will be very close to the Museum.
TRANSPORT: may be possible from Kidderminster rail station which is 4 miles away.
COSTS: Museum £3; Town Tour £5; plus meals.
Just email or phone your expression of interest.
Happy to discuss by phone or by email exchange.
Should you have a particular input you wish to make, please let me know.
Malcolm Currie
Mobile: 07923014694
Email: info@globallylocal.net
https://transitiongroups.org/group/transition-bewdley/
https://www.facebook.com/wyreforestgreenalliance/
https://haye-farm.co.uk/the-farm/
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The Power of One, Revisited: Jeremy Heighway
Adrian Goldberg, known to many on the WMNEG list, has brought to mind Jeremy Heighway’s January message, ‘The Power of One’, published in full here. He writes:
“The revisiting is partly about the title and partly about how the march of incompetence has moved on relentlessly in the last 25 years, such that I sometimes doubt that anything can surprise me anymore.
“What harm can one muppet do? What harm can one muppet in a position of power do? What damage can a bunch of muppets do? It used to be the case that you might be unfortunate enough to come across a ‘jobsworth’ every now and again: the traffic warden with some absurd interpretation of something written in black and white in their book of regulations, or some other person with a rather focussed remit and area of ‘responsibility’. It was best to just be polite and bear the mini intrusion of madness into your day . . .
https://www.oxfordstudent.com/2023/01/25/15-minute-city-plans-cause-controversy
“And yet, I am thrown almost all the way back down the pecking order, to an idea about traffic regulation that is to be tested next summer in the city of Oxford .
“I have been in favour of electric vehicles and less damaging mobility for thirty years, but I am flabberghasted by the proposals here. It is as if some people simply want control over everybody’s lives, through measures that don’t even make sense.
“The muppets are on the move, locking us down again left, right and centre if they can, but leaving loopholes of under and over that you could drive a bus through, that some will take and some won’t. What do I wish for, more competent muppets at least, or finally a massive wave against them?”
In Adrian Goldberg’s interview with Otto English (podcast accessed through the article), Otto stresses that these measures make cities better places in which to live with safer streets and lower pollution.
Oxford’s £6.5m plan will see six traffic filters placed across the city, with drivers who do not hold permits issued fines for driving through those areas at certain times of the day.
The proposals under discussion are set out in more detail here
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Hazel Clawley, a tribute
Hazel Clawley, who died on 10th February 2023, is being described by those who knew her as intelligent, charming, capable, modest, wise, clear-headed, imaginative and kind.
She was an active member of the Green Party. The writer first met her and her husband Alan, at meetings of Birmingham Green Party in the 80s. A 1994 gathering organised by George Heron of the New Economics Foundation, for supporters living in the West Midlands, eventually led to the setting up of West Midlands New Economics Group. Hazel and Alan were prime movers and core members.
Hazel was an expert editor and proof-reader, helping Alan with all his publications; one was “Sustainable Housing in Small Heath” (2004), the illustrated story of a year-long study into the application of renewable energy in an inner-city neighbourhood.
She later worked side by side with him throughout the Central Library campaign: ReStirred Forum commented: “The more you think about it the weirder it is – a cash-strapped city demolishing its stunning and well used central library in order to rebuilt it at great expense a few metres away. You couldn’t make it up.”
They shared an interest in choral singing, practising in the Friends Meeting house in Bournville and Hazel attended a Quaker meeting.
She chose to live and serve in ‘mutuals’ and co-operative organisations and was a founder member and officer of Small Heath Credit Union (registered in 1990). She explained in April 2022, that at a very well-attended AGM, members voted amicably to merge with Advance which now has 5000 members and operates online banking as well as community collection points.
Hazel was also one of the first residents of Small Heath Park Housing Co-operative (below) and after Alan’s death she moved a few doors up the road to a ground-floor flat in the co-op, ‘kept sane by my feline companion, Dexter, and my good neighbours’.
She and Alan successfully home-educated their two children, Alison and Jon, supporting others taking this path for many years, becoming directors of the Centre for Personalised Education.
Her life was enriched by her family and grandchildren Ruby and Alex. She took a great interest in Alison’s craft work and community benefit project – news of the latter was posted in 2020 and 2021.
After Alan’s death Hazel was involved with several activities which were, in effect, tributes to his work. The first was the publication of a second imprint of Alan’s book Library Story by the Beautiful Birmingham group in 2019 because the Ikon Gallery and BMAG had both sold all their copies and wanted more.
Birmingham – The Brutiful Years which has stunning colour photos, is a selection of the columns written for the Birmingham Post over the last six years. It was dedicated to Alan. In September 2022 the book was launched by members of Brutiful Birmingham, the group which came together in 2015 and worked with Alan and Friends of the Central Library in last-ditch attempts to prevent its demolition.
She attended the live premiere of Andy Howlett’s well received hour-and-a half film Paradise Lost (about the Central Library) and the new Pevsner Guide to the buildings of Birmingham and the Black Country (March 2022) which named Alan in its dedication to the Central Library, its designers, and those who fought to save it.
Her unwavering adherence to the Green Party, standing as a candidate in local and general elections for many years, can be clearly seen in a recent exchange when she recommended a passage in their policy document and another valuable resource, the Green Party’s Policies for a Sustainable Society, writing:
“This consists of all the policy documents that have been debated and passed at GP Conferences over the years, after a long preliminary process of draft papers, and consultations with experts and practitioners. Every Conference passes one or two new papers, and/or revises thoroughly an existing paper. These then constitute the policy base for our elected representatives, speakers etc. I always find it’s worth checking GP policy on any topic of current interest. Just go to the website and all the topics are listed.
“All these years with little electoral success has meant that party members (including me!) have invested huge amounts of passion, intelligence, small-scale experiment with solutions, consultation with experts, all to work out how to move to a greener society. And all these proposals then have to face several years of testing and questioning by party activists before being further amended and then voted on at Conference. I think it’s a unique process”.
She will be greatly missed.
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Edgbaston reservoir: David Gaussen has drawn attention to a proposal to privatise this green open space
David Gaussen lives up to the WMNEG’s subtitle: ‘economics as if people matter’ – see the first of several contributions made to this site since 2019.
The council cabinet met in October and approved the plans to develop Edgbaston Reservoir, despite having designated the area as a nature reserve.
Mark Cardwell reported in January this year that residents argue the 3,000-home target for the Greater Icknield area contained in the Birmingham Development Plan (BDP) is already due to be exceeded by existing development. He pointed out that the council’s Places for Living supplementary planning guidance requires 30 square metres of private amenity space to be provided per apartment. This would equate to 7,800 square metres for the proposed Hermetic site development – while only 4,000 square metres was included in the approved planning application – just over half. However the link does not work and the more recent Green Living Spaces Plan, with 207 green references, gives no such commitment.
In the council’s public consultation a community-led, alternative vision for the reservoir was presented. In response to concerns about the need for social housing, the council merely promised that new houses would meet the affordable housing provision; concerns that new development will create private ownership of the site were not addressed.
The director of Civic Square, Emmy Kaur, recently said “There’s no disagreement from our side that homes need to be built, but to have private development on it that isn’t deeply connected to bringing back the spaces for social and community infrastructure is fundamentally wrong“.
She suggested that a community land trust would be much more innovative and offer affordable community homes, arguing that the long drawn out consultation period was a tactic to exhaust people who then give up, not because they don’t care, but because the power imbalance is so significant that they can’t break through.
A spokesperson for ERCO (Edgbaston Reservoir for All) said: “The housing which Birmingham so desperately needs can still be accommodated without desecrating the waterfront. This could include areas fronting onto Osler Street, which would better accommodate the type of housing we actually need like genuinely-affordable family homes.”
“The 24/7 noise and light pollution from the waterside developments, which includes both commercial and residential properties, will change the reservoir forever. It will reduce the variety of visiting wildlife and will bring round-the-clock activity to a place where the biggest attraction is the tranquillity it offers visitors.
“Most importantly, it will change the public nature of the space which is currently freely-available for all to access. The reservoir became a haven during lockdown, drawing hundreds of people who needed an escape from their constrained living conditions.
“Private, luxury apartments on the waterside will change this irreversibly. With up to 4,000 new homes being developed within walking distance of the reservoir, we should be more mindful about using financial gain as justification for filling potential green spaces with dense developments”.
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WM New Economics Group: 26th January, 5pm
Open meeting in the BFOE Warehouse
54-57 Allison St, Birmingham B5 5TH
Thursday 26 Jan 2023, FOE 5-7 p.m
The world now faces a global crisis, that may have been long anticipated in many of its aspects. Energy and food prices are at the heart of it. War has brought it to ahead.
This global crisis will be the main subject of our next meeting. And the discussion will be opened by Andrew Lydon who will outline what is emerging as to how energy prices are being ‘stabilised’ in the European market; other avenues in which discussion could proceed would include whether traditional pay settlements can stabilise living standards or how protectionism is being brought in by the big economic blocs in what was a global economy.
Contributions of £2 to cover the cost of venue
All welcome.
This meeting can be attended by Zoom: 05.00pm start.
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Reforming Public Policy through Elected Regional Government
George Morran draws attention to a new book: Reforming Public Policy through Elected Regional Government. Its authors have many years’ experience of working in government with the centralised model of delivering public services across the UK particularly in England and Wales.
The lead author, Professor Malcolm Prowle is based in Torfaen, South Wales. Nottingham Business School and the University of Gloucester. He is an expert on the economics, finance and management of public services, with an international consultancy.
- Anna Burley is a housing expert who advises Unison.
- Tony Garthaite has 30 years experience in local government, former Director of Social Care and Housing.
- Dr Nick Howe is a former Police Superintendent and Director of the Institute of Policing at Staffordshire University.
- Roger Latham former chief executive of Nottingham County Council and president of CIFA.
- Graham Lister former senior consultant at Price Waterhouse Cooper Lybrand. health
- Terry Mackie career educationalist.
- Peter Murphy Director Public Policy Management Nottingham University and former local government Chief Executive.
This book takes an in-depth look at the challenges facing UK public services and considers what might be done to resolve them. The authors are confident that more of the same over-centralised approaches to public policy and so-called “levelling-up” policies will just not work.
They advocate an application of radical measures, involving the creation of elected regional governments in England similar to the devolved arrangements in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The first part discusses the substantial challenges to public policy and public services. The second part sets out the need for the development of elected regional governments to introduce over-arching reforms, designed to address the issues discussed above. Each chapter in part three explores key themes concerning individual public policy areas and public services, while part four discusses a number of themes, which cut across all the public services already considered.
Many of the themes discussed will also have resonance in other countries and the analysis of public policy in regional administrations will also be of interest in other jurisdictions. It will appeal to students and academics in the fields of government and politics, economics, finance and accounting, public administration, public service management and social policy, as well as policymakers, practicing civil servants, public service managers and elected representatives.
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*George Morran has had extensive experience in local and regional affairs, being Director of the West Midlands Regional Forum of Local Authorities (1991-98), Assistant Chief Executive Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council and currently consultant specialising in regional governance, Vice-chair of Localise West Midlands, research associate at Aston University’s Business School and project director of the West Midlands Constitutional Convention
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West Midlands New Economics blog 