Ave Atque Vale to the Green Revolution...for Now...

Here in Newark we have, unbelievable, just concluded the May 7th election process. A candidate in my local council ward had died just before the vote, and so it was postponed until last Thursday.

The consequence of this was that anyone who had missed out locally first time round piled into this ward, and thus we had a ballot paper a yard long and 6 crosses to spend on it, like the world's most politicised "Spot the Ball" competition.

A strong slate of local Greens and Independents all stood, but in the end, they were wiped out of existence by the Conservatives, who took all 6 seats to end up dominating the council even more than they had done previously. All this in the ward with the fewest registered Tory supporters too.

And so the 2015 political process finally ends, one that had promised much for the Greens, but one where hatred of Scots and the hatred of White Van men for the unemployed and poor finally won out. One seat and a couple of narrowish defeats.

Still the much vaunted UKIP surge didn't happen, and unlike the Green Party, UKIP's whole raison d'etre will be oblivionated one way or another by the EU referendum. The environment issues won't go away, and nor will a whole lot of other scientific and rational ones in a world where mania and madness seems ever more prevalent.

These are the issues the Greens will have to visit to be actually large scale relevant. Opposition to GM food needs to be dropped, likewise nuclear energy can't still be seen to be the great demon of our time. People need food and energy more than they need brown rice rhetoric. They need science more than they need Arthur Pendragon.

There are still massive gains to be made, and many people that can be won over, if you appeal to their brains.

Enjoy the latest garden discoveries!

Si

That Polish Touch

My new neighbours in the other upstairs flat are a Polish couple; he a builder and plasterer, she a I have no idea what.

One thing she does do, is garden like a maniac. Not just outside either, you can see in their windows that every inch of space inside the flat has a pot plant or hanging basket in it.

My Polish colleague at work told me that this a very Polish thing to do.

I'm hoping her efforts will bring in lots of bees and butterflies on warm days, but no sign so far, although her rather elaborate bird table arrangement has had a fair few customers. I'll even forgive the act of barbaric pruning she did on the holly tree to allow her plants a bit more light.

Now tell me who I'd rather live next door to? This lovely plant loving Polish couple, or a foreigner hating, UKIP voting, wife beater vest wearing stereotype who spends his days hard at work collecting fridges for scrap in his dangerously clapped out flatbed truck, before dumping the carcasses out in the country?

I'll give you a clue if you are finding it difficult.

Si

Polling Day in Newark, Election 2015

It hasn't been much of a campaign in Newark, to be honest. After all last year's excitement with the by-election, we've gone back to being a safe Tory seat, so much so that the incumbent Robert Jenrick has barely even bothered. Taking your voters for granted is dangerous, but I don't think it will make much difference here.

The Labour campaign has in contrast been well received. Michael Payne impressed at hustings, and has been very busy on the estates of the town. The Lib-Dems seem resigned to another loss of deposit, and UKIP have fielded a clown candidate who suggested to parents complaining of poor local schools that they should move to Lincoln.

The UKIP office has always been rather busy, with a grey haired tubby fellow permanently on leafleting duty, with occasional help with someone who looks like a parody of a gin sodden retired Naval lieutenant.

The Green candidate has one well, and some have mentioned there is a faint chance she will beat UKIP into fourth. I doubt it personally, but we will see.

What is interesting about this election is how few houses have posters up. In central Newark indeed, there are a few for the Greens and Labour, but none at all for the Tories or UKIP. The Tory support is out in the sticks, whereas UKIP do well in the estates with folk who think the eradication of the local Eastern European population will lead to permanent summer, with golden raindrops falling on every house twice a day and unicorns in the park.

As opposed to improving their literacy and numeracy so they can actually compete with Polish folk for even low end jobs.

No-one bothered canvassing me in my little flat. I said to a Tory council candidate that I know that I figured my part of town was a Tory heartland. He surprised me by telling me that there are only 27 registered Tory voters in the area.

Apparently my part of town is educated Green and Labour territory. Rather pleased about that, for some reason.

Si

All images and text copyright CreamCrackeredNature 07.05.15

Bike shed pretending to be a polling station

Disillusioned voter

Same polling station as for by election last year

One of the few postered houses...the "Farage Free Zone" I've pictured before

Victoria Street a Labour stronghold for some reason

UKIP getting youngster in pram used to the idea of working for no money delivering leaflets

Out in the sticks, Coddington polling station

Of course, the one Tory sign I found would have to be a bloody great landowner

UKIP house

Election Season is Gearing up in Newark - Pictorial

It's taken a while, probably because everyone is resigned to Newark returning to its status as a quiet backbencher backwater after the excitement of last year's by election. But the last couple of days in town we've seen an increase in activity, stalls appeared in the market square, and candidates have been door stepping on the estates.

UKIP have got their "shop" open - there was a bit of "confusion" over change of planning use. Not sure what you can buy there. Purple balloons maybe.

No-one comes to see me of course, in my little cul-de-sac, although I've had a few leaflets pushed through the letterbox. There's a lot of activity in the local and district council elections however, with a strong group of independent candidates putting themselves forward.

I've also been told by more than one person that the chap standing in my ward for UKIP is the brother of Dragon's Den's Duncan Bannantyne. Whether this is true or not, I have no idea.

I will let the pictures tell the story.

Si

Shy and retiring Tory party worker Adam Pykett

Conservative stall cunningly sited next to a stall appealing for support for a special needs school that has been falling to bits on their watch

The only way we will see the back of Robert Jenrick

UKIP's secretariat for youth policy

UKIP spokesmen for health and wellbeing

UKIP worker leafleting

I'd say this voter has made up their mind

Adam again, with Green candidate Elayne Forster

Green stall

Lib Dems, hoping for a glorious...saving of deposit

Consensus Party - formed by last year's hospital candidate Andy Baggaley who is standing for the council this year. 

Is Going Green Really a Goer?

I've been studying an Oceanography course with Futurelearn the last couple of weeks, and unsurprisingly lively discussions have come up over certain "Green" elements of the course; use of tidal power to generate green energy, and the effect glacial and polar melting has on ocean currents and thus climate.

General concensus - tidal power better than windfarms but must be lagoon based rather than barriers, and whatever happens with Arctic ice melt, it won't be like "The Day After Tomorrow."

And so, after a roundabout, ocean current like voyage through the recesses of my brain, thoughts on the Green Party's recent failure to get on next year's UK General Election TV debates arrive on this blog.

Now I'm no sort of political analyst whatsoever, but traditionally the Greens always had this sort of super-earnest, organo-bearded perception problem in the eyes of the public at large;

In Green-Land in days of yore, the above would often be found stuck on the back of the below

This carries on into the present day. I suspect the real reason the Greens are not getting in on the election debates, or on television is not to do with their perceived lack of support compared to UKIP - see this link on the "green party surge", but more the case that they just "don't make good television."

In other words, Farage and his ilk are good for getting people watching with all their soundbite friendly, whatever they actually are, policies that enrage or enliven depending on which sort of person you are. People who love UKIP watch them. People who hate UKIP watch them.

Complex, rational policies on subjects like science that don't fit easily into Zoo TV formats do not get an airing. This is where the Greens lose out. Tidal lagoons are less fun than booting out foreigners for a brighter tomorrow.

I have long thought that the UK political scene needs an injection from a secular, science and knowledge based party, with high profile media friendly backers. I thought it would have to be a new party, called "Reason" or some such thing, with some big name TV science types on board.

Nowadays I think the Greens could be the answer, being a party that at least is coming in from a scientific and knowledge background. But they need to get snappier, get a higher profile, and target seats stuffed with students and educated types. Policies like opposition to nuclear energy have got to be rethought - no more stickers on 2CVs - and if they believe in the NHS, and renationalising things like the rail network, make an unashamed big thing about it.

After all, plenty of other people share these beliefs.

But a lot of the brown rice policy has got to go. Talk of doubling tax on beer and cigarettes won't gallup in this economy. Talk instead of new hi-tech industries and spaceports, the sort of stuff that the 1984 Conservatives ought to have looked at before deciding replacing our dying old industries with the financial sector. Look where that got us. Be secular. Give our kids a proper education, and encourage a culture of learning and reading at home.

Obviously, no more David Icke types. But why shouldn't the Greens look for defectors like UKIP did?

Given the state of the country, and the fluxious state of UK politics, a party like the Greens could end up being heavily influential if they only end up with three or four seats.

Like many people, I want a new politics. But not one that involves pretending to cry at poppies.