Green Party Candidates - County Council Elections 4th June 2009

Louis Stephen (Riverside ward)

Louis has lived in Worcester for over 10 years and works within the city as an engineering manager for an international company in Warndon. He has two teenage children attending Nunnery Wood High School and the Sixth Form College. “My biggest concerns are climate change and the vast amount of waste generated by our over-consuming society is a scandalously inefficient use of resources. It is environmentally damaging, unsustainable and unnecessary. If everyone in the world lived like the average resident, we would need three extra planets to support the current global population. Some progress has been made in the past couple of years, but local, county and regional authorities are still a long way from achieving even their own limited targets for waste management and reduction. I support current recycling schemes, and want to see them extended and improved, including the extension of kerbside collection of recyclables from city pubs, restaurants and other food outlets.  I will promote policies that move Worcester towards ‘zero-waste’ as soon as possible.”

Peter Robinson (Claines ward)

Peter has lived in Worcester for 15 years. He works at Worcester College of Technology has been actively involved in Green politics and environmental issues for almost 20 years. "Claines is a beautiful area but the current expansion plans could put a lot of pressure on the current roads and other resources in the area. We need to make sure that these plans are sensitive to the character of Claines and the needs of the residents in it.  Worcester has a huge traffic problem, with air pollution levels known to be very high in local hot spots in the city. Some of this is due to through traffic using the limited number of river crossings, but much of it is due to local traffic. Worcester is an old city - the roads in and around the city cannot cope with the volume of traffic. We need to reduce the level of local traffic. I would like to see a cheaper and more efficient local public transport system and I want to reclaim our streets for walking and cycling. I want to explore ways of designating selected residential streets and areas as 20mph zones. I will push for the introduction of more Home Zones where these are feasible and wanted by residents. I look forward to a time when once again our children walk and cycle to school, and people get around the city safely without using their cars.  It will be important to make sure that all the views of the residents are taken into account and this is something that I will champion, if elected. The plans should seek to improve the area for existing as well as new residents, so that the money spent is done so wisely and to the maximum effect, as Councillor I will make sure that environmental considerations are paramount in the plans, so that all benefit.”

Elizabeth Parker (Nunnery ward)

Elizabeth has worked in business for forty-seven years, fifteen of these building her own support business to other businesses. She is a strong supporter of small businesses and the massive contribution they make as they employ more than large businesses and pay more tax. She has campaigned for Friends of the Earth, takes a special interest in Human Rights and is a volunteer for the Duckworth Trust.  “Worcester has been an important river crossing-point for a very long time, and a considerable amount of traffic in Worcester, particularly commercial traffic, is through traffic.  We also have a lot of traffic coming into Worcester from surrounding areas, and Worcester residents entering and leaving the city by car. The result is that roads in the city are often very busy, delays and traffic hold-ups are frequent, and traffic-associated air pollution levels are high. There are no quick fixes for these problems.  We need to find practical, long-term solutions to the problems posed by through traffic. The North West ring road is a possible solution, but should only be a used as a last resort after all other measures have been genuinely explored and excluded. It should not be adopted as a knee-jerk response; an immediate solution to an immediate problem, and hang the consequences.  We need to improve public transport by making it more convenient and more affordable; and we need to give local people more incentive to leave the car at home. I want a long-term strategy for public, commercial and private transport in Worcester and the West Midlands Region put in place. We need to act now to reduce the environmental impact of road traffic on Worcester, before the situation becomes unmanageable.”

Olaf Twiehaus (St. John ward)

Olaf has lived in the UK for seven years and lives in St John.  A keen cyclist and walker, Olaf wants to help people put green ideas into everyday life.  He’s a young father and would like a healthy planet for his son and our future generations. 

“Worcester is suffering from the economic downturn. Every week, more jobs are being lost as big business pulls out of Worcester; closing offices, factories and shops. I am interested in promoting the establishment of a local green economy for Worcester. As big business moves out, we should be creating local jobs in energy conservation, recycling, generation of renewable energy and local food production. We have the chance to take control of our economy away from the multi-nationals and put it back where it belongs: in the hands of the local community. I want the council to take a more active role in supporting local businesses, for example by setting up Credit Unions - low interest, non-profit making savings and loans co-operatives - which allocate members' savings for loans, retraining and recycling wealth in the local community.   We need a fresh approach to the local economy and how it operates within the larger economic framework. Now is our chance to invest in green technologies and create “green” jobs.”

Penny Asquith (Rainbow Hill ward)

Penny has lived in Worcester for the last 7 years and works in Worcestershire as a Trainee Solicitor.  She is also a Yoga teacher and previously lived in Herefordshire for over 20 years. Her main points of interest are involving businesses in recycling schemes and encouraging everyone to make small changes to help preserve and create a better environment. 

“Litter and fly tipping are a major problem in several parts of Worcester.  Not only is this unsightly and unhygienic, it leads to other problems, such as the large numbers of gulls that have come to live and breed here. Although currently less obvious, the rat population is also on the increase. Education campaigns against littering and fly tipping could go some way to reducing the burden, but new initiatives are necessary. More effective, daily clean-up operations are needed for the worst hit areas. More effective monitoring of the originating sources of the litter is required. These activities could be funded by charging the individuals causing the litter and waste either directly, through fines, or indirectly though increased licence fees to fast food vendors and the like. We need to get to grips with this problem now, before it gets out of hand.”

Linda Smith (Gorse Hill and Warndon) Born in Worcester, Linda has spent most of her life living in the city.  She works in Worcester as a legal secretary, and joined the Green Party because of her love of the countryside and concern for animal welfare. Linda wants action to reduce the amount of fly-tipping that occurs in Gorse Hill and Warndon. 

“I believe that crime and the effects of crime on our society are a major problem in Worcester. Too much emphasis is placed on dealing with the effects of crime and not enough is placed on the causes and on crime prevention. We need more effective partnerships between social services, the police, education establishments and the public. We need to rebuild local communities. I support initiatives to re-establish caring communities within the City. We need to increase the level of effective community policing by getting police officers and community support staff back on the beat, rather than relying on increased CCTV surveillance.  We need to strengthen local centres, such as St. Johns, Warndon Villages, and St. Peters, instead of centralising all services in the City centre. We need to re-establish neighbourhoods where people know each other and look out for each other.”

Jason Stanton (St. Stephen ward) For the past two years, Jason has taken on a leading role in Worcestershire Greenpeace and been the groups representative with the One Planet Worcester coalition. He has focused on such environmental issues as waste management, energy production and locally sourced food and vegetables. He is about to begin training as a teacher in Worcestershire.

“I am particularly concerned about the housing situation in Worcester. Access to affordable accommodation is difficult. Several years of booming economy in the West Midlands has meant that house prices have soared as job opportunities in the area increased and houses were built and purchased for speculative financial gain. As a result, Worcester has one of the highest rates of vulnerably housed people in the country as well as some of the highest prices for accommodation. With the recent downturn in house prices and collapse of the “buy to let” market, local authorities have the opportunity to provide good, affordable, quality accommodation for rent through its partnership with housing associations. Central Government has made it difficult for the Council to pay for repairs or to build new houses and has pushed local authorities to sell their stock to the private sector, and this trend must be reversed. I would defend the right of local authorities to do whatever they can to provide high quality local public housing and adopt housing policies that put people before profits.”

Paul Snookes (St Peters) Paul has lived in Worcester for several years and manages the Language Centre in the University of Worcester. He has decided to stand as a Green Party candidate because he wants to leave Worcester a better and sustainable place for us and for future generations. He strongly feels that now is the time to focus on what is really important in life: family, friends, our communities and this beautiful planet that we live on. 

“I believe it is wrong to profit from the provision of public services; in effect, making money at the taxpayers’ expense. Public services should be owned by, and responsible to, the people that use them; the public. Privatisation of local services is supported by all of the larger political parties, because they rely on funding from big business to run their parties. They support initiatives that will effectively prohibit local authorities from supporting businesses important to the local economy. Already, local authority tenders must be advertised at a European level, and local authorities are encouraged to award contracts to the company that offers the lowest bid.  This policy is proving to be disastrous for local companies and local communities. Our services are becoming vulnerable to predatory multinational companies with no long-term interest in local communities. In Worcester, decisions of the Labour government on privatisation can clearly be seen in the drive to establish Private Finance Initiatives, such as the building of the Royal Worcester Hospital, and the shoddy treatment of public sector workers. Conservatives on the County Council are responsible for shameful cuts in social services and the 'rationalisation' of residential care for elderly people. I want to stop this privatisation process, and give control of public services back to the people that use them, the local communities.”

Russell O’Dell (Bedwardine ward) Russell has been a key member of the Worcestershire Greenpeace group and has lived in Worcester for 6 years.  He’s been involved in local environmental issues such as University of Worcester new build, Worcester Abundance and River Severn bank erosion.  He works at AALP’s College teaching Horticulture to young adults with Autism. 

“I believe that democracy should be participatory and empowering, allowing citizens to take an active and informed part in the decision-making processes which affect their lives. Decisions on how we live should be made at the most local level appropriate. If powers are devolved to the local level and more resources placed under the control of local government, this would draw in more consistently high-quality Councillors and give local people more say in the issues that matter. Unfortunately, both the central Labour Government and the current City Council have taken many decisions that centralize power rather than handing it back to the citizens of Worcester. This makes it more difficult for ordinary people to examine and understand the work of the Council, and to make objections known before things go wrong and problems become obvious. I would do all I could to increase public participation in local government and devolve decision-making powers to the community as a whole.”

Annie Murphy (Warndon Villages) Annie has lived in Worcester for 6 years. She has been a key member of Worcestershire Greenpeace group, member of Duckworth Trust and Worcester Abundance. Annie volunteers at St Paul’s Hostel.  Annie teaches Organic Vegetable Production to adults with learning disabilities at Holme Lacy College, Hereford.  Annie loves knitting and slow cooking.

“I am concerned about food safety and food security. Recent food and farming scares - Salmonella, BSE and Foot and Mouth - have made us all concerned about food safety. Genetically modified crops pushed by big business, pesticide residues and chemical additives threaten to wreck ecosystems and damage our health. Animals suffer from the cruelties of factory farming, and current levels of meat consumption are unsustainable. There is an epidemic of obesity in the UK, while people go hungry in countries growing ‘cash crops' for the West. These trends must be reversed. Safe, good quality food, produced by sustainable and humane farming methods should be available for all. This cannot be achieved if priority is given to the profits of agribusinesses, supermarkets and large food manufacturers.  We need more organic, local production - to reduce wasteful transportation, provide local employment, reduce damage to the environment and strengthen links between producers and consumers. I would work to push local authorities to provide more support and encouragement to the local farming and food production community. Far more could be done to help local producers sell their products, through more Farmer’s Markets at appropriate sites around the city, and reduced rents on stores in the city centre.”

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