Alan's Green Thoughts

The Green Party leadership election of 2020 begins next week when nominations open. In the last two years alone there has been a pressing need for green politics and green ideas to have a more universal appeal,one that goes above and beyond the outdated "left-right" divide which is only mentioned in academic and media contexts and is rarely if ever mentioned by voters on the doorstep. In British local government elections in the last half decade in particular, Green councillors have been elected in all sorts of places, from inner-city council estates to suburbs to spa towns to villages (usually in the boundaries of National Parks or Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty). So here are five things the Green Party's next leader(s)/deputy leader(s) need to do: 1. Go above the "left-right" divide and think forwards instead. "Left wing" and "right wing" are no longer meaningful in political context; the divides are more city vs. country, gradua...

Recently, the Agriculture Bill passed through its third reading in a virtual Parliament session, and crucially an amendment by Neil Parish (Conservative MP for Tiverton & Honiton since 2010) which would stop food imports that did not meet existing British food standards failed despite the rebellion of 22 Conservative MPs, most of whom represented rural constituencies. As it stands, this Bill if passed unamended could mean that quality food standards in the UK, and UK agriculture, are severely undermined to the detriment of the environment, public health, and animal welfare. Why is it important to protect our high food standards, you ask? 1. To make sure the food we consume is fit for human consumption and does not have lingering side effects. Chlorine is fundamentally poisonous even in small amounts-this is why only small amounts of chlorine are used in swimming pools and this is why you should shower after going swimming (the fact this is not possible amidst the COVID-19 cris...

Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) is one of the most famous artists of the 19th century, and ties with Rembrandt as the best Dutch artist of all time. Mr van Gogh's life was rather chaotic, though, even for an artist: two years after severing his right ear during a psychotic episode he committed suicide aged just 37, and most of his art did not achieve international recognition until after he died.  He also had significant social problems throughout his life. He never married, and in fact he unknowingly alienated several people, including relatives and mentors, in his attempts to pursue marriage. In 1881, he tried to persuade his cousin, Cornelia "Kee" Vos to marry him, but she adamantly refused; not only was it completely inappropriate for him to pursue her because they were closely related but also she was 7 years his senior and his lack of income put her off; Vincent Van Gogh was unaware of these barriers and drove her away with his obsessive pursuit.  His only romantic r...

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the Green Party of Ireland are planning to formally enter a coalition with Fianna Fail and Fine Gael as a junior coalition partner-despite the wipeout they suffered last time they entered a coalition with Fianna Fail. Specifically, after being a hopelessly outnumbered coalition partner with Fianna Fail from 2007 to 2011 (Fianna Fail had 77 TDs, the Greens 6), the Greens lost all their TDs in 2011 and most of the Green candidates did not poll well enough to have election expenses returned, which was much worse than Fianna Fail's dreadful performance, where they lost more than 3/4 of their seats and were virtually wiped out in Dublin (they lost their only Dail seat in Dublin later that year after a by-election in Dublin West). To stop Sinn Fein getting any power in the new government (something Fianna Fail and Fine Gael also do not want to happen, as they see Sinn Fein as political extremists; Sinn Fein see them in turn as the tired old merry-go-round ...