Alan's Green Thoughts

In the Green Party leadership election, I voted Shahrar Ali for leader of the Green Party today despite having at the start of this month originally endorsed Leslie Rowe for the same position Shahrar has the vision and passion needed to carry the Green Party forward to new beginnings, especially given his excellent performances in Green Party leadership elections, and he also has the experience needed to ensure the Green Party sticks to its core messages of dealing with climate change, social and environmental justice. and ensuring Britain becomes a more inclusive and diverse society for everyone. He will also ensure the Green Party does not repeat the "Progressive Alliance" which was a key factor in the Green Party only saving 8 deposits and losing more than half its votes in the 2017 general election. And as for the EU issue, recent events show Britain should not give up hope on trying to ensure the people of Britain have a final say on the final...

Whilst I was away in Lourdes, France, famous for the visions of the Virgin Mary by St Bernadette (1844-79) there was a "Super Saturday" of five federal by-elections in Australia caused by the parliamentary eligibility crisis. Australian law forbids anyone with dual citizenship from being MPs or Senators; only those with only Australian citizenship may sit in the Australian Parliament. Many Senators have already been replaced as a result, and four Australian MPs were forced to renounce non-Australian citizenship and stand for re-election.. The divisions affected were Braddon, Fremantle, Longman, and Mayo, with a fifth by-election in Perth being for family reasons. All five were held by the defending parties despite Braddon, Longman, and Mayo all being marginal in terms of 2 party preference votes. As is the tradition in federal by-elections in Australia, the Liberal Party did not contest the by-elections in the safe Labor divisions of Fremantle and Perth. Both those by-elect...

Readers, the results of British local by-elections from 12 July 2018 were as follows: Barnsley MBC, Old Town: Labour 548 (44.2%, -5.9%), Democrats & Veterans Party 338 (27.3%), Conservative 157 (12.7%, -1.8%), Liberal Democrats 124 (10.0%), Yorkshire Party 47 (3.8%), BNP 25 (2.0%). [Barnsley Independent Group did not stand] Darlington UA,Cockerton: Labour 555 (51.0%,+7.9%), Conservative 239 (22.0%, -2.8%), Liberal Democrats 104 (9.6%, -5.5%), Independent 93 (8.5%), For Britain 63 (5.8%), Green 34 (3.1%, -14.0%). East Dorset DC, Verwood East: Conservative 706 (75.1%), Labour 234 (24.9%) Elmbridge BC, Oxshott & Stoke d'Abernon: Conservative 1297 (72.0%, -4.7%), Liberal Democrats 463 (25.7%, +9.7%), UKIP 42 (2.3%, +0.1%). [Labour did not stand]   Hartlepool UA, Rural West: Conservative 678 (45.4%, -5.2%), Independent 546 (36.5%), Labour 184 (12.3%, -0.2%), Green 87 (5.8%,-5.6%). [UKIP did not stand] Lewes DC, Chailey & Wivelsfield: Cons...

Readers, the results of British local by-elections from 5th July 2018 were as follows: Bath and North East Somerset UA, Kingsmead: Liberal Democrats 545 (41.1%, +12.7%) Labour 326 (24.6%, +10.2%), Conservative 282 (21.3%, -6.4%), Green 172 (13.0%, -10.6%). Liberal Democrat gain from Conservative. Lichfield DC, Curborough: Labour 309 (60.4%, +27.6%), Conservative 169 (33.0%, -8.6%), Liberal Democrats 34 (6.6%). Labour gain from Conservative. Shropshire UA, Cosford & Shifnal South: Conservative 362 (38.3%, -18.9%), Independent (Mitchell, ex-UKIP) 210 (22.2%, -9.3%), Independent (Carey, ex-Labour) 207 (21.9%), Liberal Democrats 167 (17.7%, +6.3%). It must be said that the Conservatives were very lucky to win a seat in Kingsmead ward at the last local elections in Bath and North East Somerset; Kingsmead is a mixed ward which normally votes Liberal Democrat even if not by substantial margins, often due to split opposition. In 2015, the Conservatives had two decisive fac...

The Mexican general election of 2018 resulted in the most wholesale change of power in the history of Mexico, even accounting for the 2000 general election which marked an end to 71 continuous years of power by the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which once dominated Mexican politics in a similar way to Fianna Fail dominating Irish politics, but on a greater scale and with even more cronyism (and often electoral fraud). The PRI slumped to a poor third place in the Presidential election, with its presidential candidate Jose Antonia Meade securing 16.4% and failing to win the vote in any Mexican states, and coming second in only a minority of Mexican states. They also crashed to third place in the Senate, dropping from 55 seats to a lowly 14 out of 128. Even more devastating was their performance in the Chamber of Deputies (the lower chamber of the Mexican Congress), where they won just 42 seats, down from 204 in 2015. This means they lost 80% of their deputies, suffering ...

With the campaign for the next Green Party Leader and Deputy Leader under way, I will be endorsing Leslie Rowe, who has been the Green Party candidate in Richmond (Yorks) in 2005, 2010 and 2015 and is one of the most dedicated Green activists in North Yorkshire. Why should you (if you are a member of the Green Party of England and Wales) vote for Leslie? Leslie is giving the Green Party a choice between ploughing on with a plan that clings on to the idea that Brexit can be completely haltedor accepting that Brexit is going to happen for now and ensuring the Green Party has a strategy to promote an alternative Brexit that can protect the environment, human rights, and animal rights. Such a plan would resonate with a broader spectrum of potential Green voters, who are drawn from a wider spectrum of voters than some conservative political commentators would have you believe. He will also give Green Party members originating from the rural shires, like myself (I may currently reside ...