Month: May 2024

 

1. Even if you want the Tories out – Vote Green

The Conservatives are polling probably lower than ever in our lifetime, and despite all their attempts to ‘reset’, they have no credible answers to the urgent problems of the day. People are fed up with the lies and corruption, the state of the country, the cost of living, the decline of the NHS.

Even in Morecambe and Lunesdale, a seat currently held by a Conservative MP-  the polls show that David Morris is going to get stomped by Labour, even allowing for a deposit-keeping (over 5%) increase in the Green vote.

See electoral calculus site which predicts 94% chance of Labour winning, https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/fcgi-bin/calcwork23.py?seat=Morecambe+and+Lunesdale

2. If you want Green policies -Vote Green.

The only way to influence other parties’ policies is to take their votes! On everything from urgent action on the climate and nature-  tackling sewage in the sea and pollution in our rivers, immediate steps to help address the alarming increase in the cost of living, , affordability of housing – building more council houses, and a whole raft of measures to achieve economic justice- the Greens have policies that people like and want and which will improve quality of life for the vast majority of people.

Labour has bought into the Conservative’s austerity ideology. But as the UK is the 5th/6th richest nation in the world- we know that this is a choice not a necessity. We can afford, and we all deserve, better public services.

Greens have credible practical solutions to the real issues facing people every day and voting Green will make the Labour government braver and more ambitious.

3. If you want Proportional Representation – Vote Green at THIS election. 

-All polls show that Labour will form the next Government. Voting Green – a party fundamentally committed to Proportional Representation and wider electoral reform – will put pressure on Labour to adopt proportional representation.

-PR will help regain trust in our failing democracy. Under a fairer voting system there would be less frequent Tory governments, and more left- leaning and liberal coalition ones. Under PR there could be tens of Green MPs. The only other country in Europe that uses FPTP is the dictatorship in Belarus.

-Use your voter pressure DURING this general election. It is a meaningless statement for a Labour candidate to say in this election that they favour PR.  Labour candidates have had plenty of time to pressure their leadership to commit to introduce PR, they still have time to do this and will only do this by really feeling the heat from voters.

-Labour candidates won’t feel the heat if voters hope they will introduce PR when Labour has won! The majority of Labour members, affiliated Unions and plenty of MP candidates support PR now. But Starmer blocked it. So he doesn’t seem to fundamentally care about the lack of democracy and about the ‘wasted votes’ in all the safe seat constituencies where people feel disenfranchised as their vote makes so little difference.

-In 1997 when Labour won a landslide victory they quickly reneged on their manifesto promise to introduce PR. It obviously works for Labour to use the undemocratic first-past-the post and two-party system to prop up their vote by manipulating people into voting for them.

-Tactical voting campaign groups have a poor record of success in terms of changing Labour policy.  The well-intentioned campaign group- Compass- continues to argue in favour of a ‘Progressive Alliance’ between progressive parties for PR.  But despite willingness of the Greens over years to enter into discussions – Labour is not willing to have cross-party talks for an electoral pact. Despite funding and Compass staff working on this there has been no change by Labour. Sadly Compass’ work serves only the interest of the Labour Party.

If not now –when?

It appears the Labour leadership would prefer to rather stick with a system that gives us Tory governments most of the time, than change to one where Labour might have to share power in a coalition that was more representative of the progressive majority of the country.

Labour’s promise to PR has to be in their manifesto now. Nothing else is good enough. This must be the ‘safest’ election in a generation – even for those at pains not to let Tories in – for Green supporters to vote with their conscience.  Green Party votes in this election will matter in future elections – small parties must start somewhere.

-Help the Greens keep our deposit in Morecambe and Lunesdale and still get rid of David Morris.

-Increase central funding for those Green MPs elected. A higher Green vote across the country directly increases funding to help Green MPs staff their offices. It is -proportional to party vote share nationally –  the Green Party does not receive big business or big union funding.

-Help us hold Labour’s feet to the fire!

NB All of this applies to nearly every seat in the Country but even more so in Lancaster and Wyre constituency where Labour has an even higher probability of keeping the seat, and where Jack Lenox, the Green candidate could beat the Tories into third place!

Gina has signed the Pledge for the NHS.

Gina says:

I am pleased to support the campaign by ‘We Own It’ to make funding for the NHS a general election issue. As a former NHS worker I know just how important it is to keep our NHS in public hands by ending outsourcing, ensuring that there is adequate funding,  and to re-instate the Health Secretary’s legal duty to provide healthcare to all.

Thank you to everyone who has written to me about this. Your campaigning will help save the NHS for everyone!

 

For more information see.

Pledge for the NHS | We Own It

The Green Party’s sole MP, Caroline Lucas, attended the launch of the General Election campaigns for Gina Dowding – Morecambe and Lunesdale, and Jack Lenox – Lancaster in Wyre exactly 4 weeks before the general election was called.

Caroline, pictured above with Gina and Jack, spoke about how even as a solitary Green MP she has been able to put things on the agenda in Parliament, challenge the all-too polarised style of politics, and make a substantial contribution to the moratorium on the environmentally damaging fracking industry. She pushed the debate on drugs reform, and created a GCSE in Natural History so that young people understand nature and will want to protect it.

Having won the most Council seats and the most votes in the wards which make up the new Constituency of Lancaster and Wyre in the 2023 local elections, Jack said:

“We believe we can present a serious challenge to Lancaster’s current Labour MP, Cat Smith. There’s never been a more crucial time to vote Green. The Greens beat Labour into second place in the popular vote across the constituency in last year’s local elections. It’s clear that the Conservatives have no chance of winning here, and that the Green Party is the alternative to Labour in Lancaster. Our policies offer a genuine change from the neglect of public services that we’ve had to endure for decades.”

Jack has now launched his general election crowd funder. Please see here for details  https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/elect-jack-lenox-a-green-mp-for-lancaster-wyre

Gina’s crowd funder will be launched soon!

Myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME)

Lancashire County Council unanimously supported a Green Party motion for better training and treatment about ME/CFS at its meeting on 23rd May 2024.
This is a summary of the background information provided by Cllr Gina Dowding when presenting the motion.

The aim of this motion is to encourage greater understanding of and improve the treatment and health outcomes of those affected by Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Long Covid in Lancashire. This condition is referred to as ME / CFS.

The ME Association estimates than more than 1.25 million people in the UK live with a diagnosis of ME / CFS and now Long Covid.*

The lack of research and treatment into this chronic illness is a national scandal.

Although still not well enough understood, ME / CFS is understood to be a post viral illness – affecting people after they have had a nasty virus or parasitic conditions.

People with ME / CFS become exhausted, experience pain and brain fog after minor exertion from routine activities.

It is a debilitating, long-term neurological condition with varying degrees of severity.

People struggle to get a diagnosis.

Because doctors and medics are poorly trained in this field, and because the diagnostic criteria to confirm ME / CFS is complex, there is a high likelihood that people who are suffering from it are wrongly assumed to be suffering from psychosomatic illness.

There are no effective drug treatments, so people are too often left to self-manage and search for their own solutions. Any treatment which is available focuses only on improving functional ability.

ME/CFS prevents people from functioning normally, stops or restricts ability to work or go to school, and leads to a lower quality of life.
Inevitably people with ME/CFS frequently suffer from severe isolation. This has both an emotional impact, and a practical impact – social networks reduce over time, there are fewer and fewer people to ask help with simple things like posting a letter or buying food.

A lack of understanding of the wide range of symptoms and the impact of the illness – by friends, family, medics, employers, colleagues, is hugely distressing and leads to people feeling let down, and disconnected from people around them.

This is why campaign groups organise awareness raising days called ‘Millions Missing’ (See https://millionsmissing.meaction.net/mm24/). We simply let those suffering from ME/CFS disappear from society.

Around 25% of people with ME/CFS are severely or very severely affected with some patients needing hospital care. Vulnerable patients and their families have received appalling treatment by the NHS -the lack of understanding about their condition is traumatising and can actually lead to further harm.

ME Action, the international campaign organisation, is calling for greater education in hospital systems and medical schools about ME / CFS, and for major hospitals to treat ME.

There is no doubt that we have a growing number of people in Lancashire with life changing symptoms living with this horrible illness.

As a result Lancashire County Council agreed to the following
asks the Health and Adult Services Scrutiny Committee to:

(i) Request information from the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board on numbers of people with ME/CFS and Long Covid and the treatment options available across Lancashire.
(ii) Investigate what ME/CFS and Long Covid training is given to existing and future staff on the updated NICE guidelines.
(iii) Consider how to approach the Secretary of State for Health and NHS England requesting further investment in research and training about ME/CFS and Long Covid.

*The exact number of people suffering from ME/ CFS and Long Covid is not known due to limited epidemiological research. See post on the ME Association website on 13 May for more information on the difficulties in collecting data.

Long Covid is not the same as ME. But there is an overlap. Many Long Covid patients meet the diagnostic criteria for ME of severe functional impairment. However others do not. There are also many additional symptoms with Long Covid, which can affect any organ and system of the body. Recent ONS figures show 3.3% of the population report symptoms continuing or emerging at least 4 weeks after a Covid infection. This is 2 million people affected in England and Wales alone. 74.7% of these report it adversely affects their day-to-day activities.

NOTE ON THE MEETING:

Although the focus of the motion was primarily about changes within the health service, Gina also added these points in summing up:

There are also implications for the county council itself. We are responsible for social care and special educational needs services. It goes without saying that our staff should also have greater knowledge and understanding of this condition, especially when involved those who are more severely ill: people with severe ME frequently have sensitivities to sound and light. Where good specialist medical services are available, they can advise social care staff – but they are frequently lacking.

Those who are trying to help need to understand that there are limits to what someone with ME/ CFS can accomplish in one day – and they may not be able to repeat that task for days or weeks due to post exertional malaise. These issues are crucial to making a good assessment or developing an appropriate care package.

The authorities always seem to express surprise that a young person may miss school on account of ME. However some years ago, well respected researchers published a paper showing that it was the largest cause of cumulative school loss in the UK. (See Consultant Microbiologist, Betty Dowsett and Jane Colby, Former Headteacher: Long Term Sickness Absence due to ME/CFS in UK schools.  See https://www.tymestrust.org/pdfs/dowsettcolby.pdf )

We cannot let this state of ignorance continue. We in Lancashire must join those campaigning to help raise awareness of the desperate need for more research, better training and greater understanding of this terrible disease which is affecting so many of our residents.

 

The full text passed unanimously by Lancashire County Council at its meeting on 24th May is below. The original text submitted by Green Cllr Gina Dowding (Lancaster) and seconded by Green Cllr Scott Cunliffe (Burnley) was amended slightly by the Conservative Group.

The ME Association estimates that more than 1.25 million people in the UK live with a diagnosis of Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and Long Covid. ME/CFS is a debilitating, long-term neurological condition with varying degrees of severity.
People with ME/CFS experience delayed worsening of symptoms after minor activity. It prevents people from functioning normally, stops or restricts ability to work or go to school, and leads to a lower quality of life.
The ME Association believes there are no effective drug treatments available. Treatments focus on improving functional ability and self-management.ME Action, the international campaign organisation, calls for greater education in hospital systems and medical schools about ME/CFS, and for major hospitals to treat ME.
Lancashire County Council resolves:
To encourage greater understanding and improve the health outcomes of those affected by ME/CFS and Long Covid in Lancashire and asks the Health and Adult Services Scrutiny Committee to:
(iv) Request information from the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board on numbers of people with ME/CFS and Long Covid and the treatment options available across Lancashire.
(v) Investigate what ME/CFS and Long Covid training is given to existing and future staff on the updated NICE guidelines.
(vi) Consider how to approach the Secretary of State for Health and NHS England requesting further investment in research and training about ME/CFS and Long Covid.