Liverpool Green Party is opening up another Fringe Meeting to members of the public.  At 12.30 on Monday 27th Feb, Green councillor John Coyne will lead a discussion on policies for “core cities” such as Liverpool.

We will look at the challenge and opportunity created by the direct election of city mayors and we will hear from guest speaker Liam Fogarty on the constitutional issues of having a directly elected mayor.  Liam is a long standing, principled campaigner on that issue and he is a declared candidate for the election here on 3rd May.  (No endorsement is implied in either direction between the Greens and Liam Fogarty.)

The Fringe takes place in the Derby Room at the Adelphi Hotel.  Please use the entrance on Mount Pleasant and refer to this invitation.

Please follow this link for more information: http://www.greenparty.org.uk/conference.html.

Liverpool City Council has recommended the BBC World Service be moved to Liverpool.[1]

At little cost to London this would:

• raise Liverpool’s profile in the world;
• support Liverpool’s existing language skills base; and
• support BBC Merseyside through shared resources.

Currently BBC Merseyside is facing cuts due a change in the World Service’s funding arrangements.  By 2014 the World Service will cease to be paid for through general taxation and will be supported by the regressive licence fee.[2]

Notes:
[1]: Agenda for City Council Meeting 9/Nov/2011
http://councillors.liverpool.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=305&MId=11958&Ver=4

[2]: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/institutional/2009/03/000000_about_ws.shtml

[3]: http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/annual_review/bbc_world_service_annual_review_2010_11.pdf

[4]: http://policy.greenparty.org.uk/cms
CMS641 The primary public service broadcaster will remain the BBC (and S4C in Wales) funded wholly by public money from a tax which may be ring-fenced (hypothecated) for public service broadcast use. The operation of this tax should not be regressive. The existing licence fee will be abolished and in the first instance replaced by a guaranteed inflation linked payment from general taxation.

The old website (liverpool.greenparty.org.uk) will still exist for a short while, but we are gradually bringing all the old content across (we have completed 2010/11 news – but we still have several years prior to that to bring across).

Group Chair John McDonnell MP said:

“This offer fails to address the key concerns of public sector workers that the vast majority will still be working longer, paying more and receiving less in pension. People will not see this as an acceptable offer.”

PCS Group Vice-Chair, Caroline Lucas MP stated:

“The Government’s poor handling of public sector pensions is a cause of serious concern for my constituents and, more widely, for workers across the public sector. While today’s announcement was a welcome sign that Ministers may be starting to listen to workers’ fears about the impact of the planned changes, the devil is really in the detail – and it’s now crucial that Government works closely together with union leaders to reach a fair settlement for public sector pensions.”

Elfyn Llwyd MP, Vice-Chair of the PCS Group, commented:

“I am glad to see some movement from the UK Government on this hugely important issue, but this should not be their final offer. They have not moved on the planned increase in pension contributions or the arbitrary switch from RPI to CPI for uprating pensions, which will significantly devalue pensions in the public sector.”

 

“These pension schemes were re-assessed only a few years ago and are sustainable. People should not be misled that these are unaffordable or that public sector workers – teachers, nurses, tax collectors – are getting a better deal than anyone else.”

*PCS Group of MPs are cross party with over 80 members

“The issue here is the right of the people to say what they want, the right to have that debate and the right for us to differ, as necessary, but none the less to have that debate about the advantages and, indeed, some disadvantages of the EU.”

Full speech available here

Thousands of people around the globe do not have to imagine what this is like because it is happening now.

Come to a public talk, given by Beth Knowles, Oxfam Activism and Community Campaigner (North of England). Beth will be speaking about land grabs in the developing world.

The 2007–08 food prices crisis has led to an increase in land deals in the developing world. These deals often:

• Violate human rights;
• Flout the principle of informed consent;
• Ignore environmental and economic impacts;
• Avoid transparent contracts;
• Eschew democratic planning;

And can rightly be described as “land grabs”.[1]

Land acquired in this manner is often left idle in the knowledge the land’s value will increase. In other cases it is used to grow food, cut-flowers and palm oil for foreign markets. In either case without strict rules governing land sales poor families will lose their livelihoods.

Major drivers of this process of environmental damage include perverse western policies aimed at reducing carbon emissions such as carbon trading and biofuel mandates.

Beth Knowles from Oxfam will be talking at a public meeting about the scale of the problem of land grabs and what we can do about it. The meeting takes place at Aigburth Cricket Club, Southwood Road, St Michaels Station, Liverpool, L17 7BQ.

Places are limited so please book for this meeting to avoid disappointment. Contact Alex Ferguson via email, or telephone 0151 427 3071 or 07905 931738.

For further information about land grabs and what you can do see:

www.commercialpressuresonland.org

www.farmlandgrab.org
p>[1] Source Land and Power: The growing scandal surrounding the new wave of investments in land.
Click here to download to the full article

www.oxfam.org/grow

The proposal from Liverpool Green Party (LGP) follows the relocation of BBC Sport, Radio 5 Live, BBC Breakfast and Children’s programmes to Salford. Cllr John Coyne commented:

“A skill base in foreign languages already exists in this city region and it could be developed further to support BBC World Service programmes as well as assisting local businesses to thrive in international markets.”

He added:

“A relocated BBC World Service could plan to share some accommodation and resources alongside Radio Merseyside and therefore reduce the pressure for cuts in Radio Merseyside programmes.”

LGP is opposed to cutbacks BBC chiefs are planning in staff and output at Radio Merseyside and other local stations.

Councillor Sarah Jennings (Green Party) said:

“BBC licence fee revenue represents a significant contribution from residents in Liverpool and it is a tax which bears heavily on people with low incomes or who are unemployed. it is fair to ask the BBC to do more to sustain employment in Liverpool and Merseyside by relocating jobs here.”

The GP motion will be discussed by a full meeting of Liverpool city council on 9th November.

Sarah Jennings is calling other party leaders to support this as a cross-party motion (see note 5 below).

NOTES:

Draft motion to Liverpool City Council by Councillor John Coyne

1. Council considers that the relocation of BBC assets to Manchester should be balanced by relocating BBC World Service operations to a headquarters in Liverpool. Council recognises that a skill base in foreign languages already exists in this city region and that it could be developed further to support BBC World Service programmes as well as assisting local businesses to thrive in international markets.
2. Council considers that a relocated BBC World Service could plan to share some accommodation and resources alongside Radio Merseyside and therefore reduce the pressure for cuts in Radio Merseyside programmes.
3. Council notes that BBC licence fee revenue represents a significant contribution from residents in Liverpool and it is a tax which bears heavily on people with low incomes or who are unemployed. Council considers therefore that it is fair to ask the BBC to do more to sustain employment in Liverpool and Merseyside by relocating jobs here.
4. Council instructs the Chief Executive to include these points in representations to the BBC on behalf of the City Council.
5. Cross-party motions are decided at a whips meeting on Tuesday, 1st November.

Efforts by the city council and Merseytravel to reinstate at least one direct rail service to Edinburgh – during the consultation for the renewal of the West Coast Main Line (WCML) franchise – have so far been unsuccessful.

The Green Party want Liverpool to have direct long-distance rail connections.

Cllr Sarah Jennings, of Liverpool Green Party, said:

“A regional transport strategy for North West England should recognise and support two major city regions: Manchester and Liverpool. The reconnection of Liverpool to the long-distance rail network should be a key aim of transport planning.”

Cllr Sarah Jennings and Cllr John Coyne, Liverpool’s two Green councillors, are calling on the council’s Chief Executive to write to each of the current bidders for the WCML franchise asking them to undertake to reinstate direct services to Scotland if their bid is successful.

Sarah Jennings is calling other party leaders to support this as a cross-party motion (see note 6 below).

The matter will be discussed in a full meeting of Liverpool City Council on 9th November.

NOTES:

Draft motion to Liverpool City Council by Councillor John Coyne

1. Council regrets the progressive loss of long-distance direct train services from Liverpool to Scotland, Wales and the South coast and West of England. Council notes the representations made on its behalf and by Merseytravel to reinstate at least one direct rail service to Edinburgh in the consultation for the renewal of the West Coast Main Line franchise.
2. Council regrets that those representations were unsuccessful.
3. Council agrees with the view expressed by the North West Green Party that further representations should be made to the potential operators of the new franchise to press them to include direct Liverpool services in their bids.
4. Council considers that a regional transport strategy for North West England should recognise and support two major city regions and that the reconnection of Liverpool to the long-distance rail network should be a key aim of transport planning.
5. Council instructs the Chief Executive to write to each of the current bidders for the West Coast Main Line franchise asking them to undertake to reinstate direct services to Scotland if their bid is successful.
6. Cross-party motions are decided at a whips meeting on Tuesday, 1st November.