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November 2007 Kent Green Party supports Sustainable Energy Partnership campaign to lobby MPs to adopt a bill to slash public sector energy and CO2 wastage |
Dear Supporter, PLEASE lobby top 20 MPs to adopt a Bill to slash public sector energy and CO2 wastage In yesterday's Private Members Ballot in the House of Commons, 20 lucky MPs won the chance to introduce a Bill of their own in Parliament. Over the next couple of weeks (or even sooner), these MPs will be making up their minds what Bill they want to adopt and, with your help, we hope to persuade one of them to adopt the Energy Performance and Procurement of Public Sector Buildings Bill. The idea behind the Bill is very simple. The Government is a very big player in the commercial property market with the central Government estate alone comprising around 10% of the total UK office market. The Government have themselves said that, if they demand the very best energy standards from the office buildings they buy, rent or build, this will transform the wider commercial property market . That s why they have promised on several occasions to procure only buildings in the top quartile of energy performance . However, recent official reports (by the National Audit Office and others) have shown that these promises are simply not being kept with 14 out of 21 Government departments less energy efficient now than they were in 2000! By giving legal force to the Government s top quartile commitment, our Bill will keep Government to its promises and help drive down the energy use and CO2 emissions of every office building in the country. I am therefore asking you to write as a matter of urgency to as many of the 20 MPs as you can, urging them to adopt this Bill. The list of MPs is below and the address for all of them is House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA (each letter has to be in a separate envelope, separately stamped) or you could email them - their email addresses are also included below. For your convenience, a suggested letter is also included below but please feel free to draft your own, if you d prefer. It doesn t matter if it s very short! If you can t manage all 20 MPs, then it would be great if you could at least write to the top 7, as they have the best chance of their Bill becoming law. I promise you that every letter really does count MPs like to feel they re taking up a Bill for which there is strong support among members of the public. With your help, we can make sure that these MPs get more letters about this Bill than any other! If one of the MPs is your own constituency MP, your letter will be even more important. MPs really do take notice of their constituents wishes, particularly in marginal constituencies! You will see that the MPs e-mail addresses are also listed and, if you re feeling energetic, you might like to e-mail them too. Finally, you can also try telephoning them on 020 7219 3000. If your MP is not available, ask to leave a message on the board , asking him/her to return your call and stressing that you are a constituent. This can be extremely effective. Many thanks for your support. Together, we can ensure that this important Bill becomes law. Yours sincerely, Andrew Warren, Chair.
SUGGESTED LETTER TO MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT xxxxxxxxxx MP, Dear Mr/Ms xxxxxxxx, Please adopt the Energy Performance and Procurement of Public Sector Buildings Bill Congratulations on your success in the Private Members Ballot. I am writing to ask you to adopt the Energy Performance and Procurement of Public Sector Buildings Bill, which I strongly support. The Bill is being promoted by the Sustainable Energy Partnership, a broad coalition of organisations who have a track record of successfully campaigning on sustainable energy issues. The Bill is also supported by 199 MPs from across the political spectrum who signed EDM 1554 in the last session of Parliament. The idea behind the Bill is very simple but I believe that, if enacted, it will significantly improve the energy and carbon performance of the public estate and drive up standards in the whole of the UK office sector. On several occasions over the last 3½ years the Government have made a commitment to procure only buildings in the top quartile of energy performance. They themselves have said that, as a key player in the commercial property market, strong leadership on their part will start to transform that market. However, recent reports by the National Audit Office and the Sustainable Development Commission have shown that progress towards meeting this target has been slow with 14 out of 21 Government departments less energy efficient now than they were in 2000. By giving statutory force to the target, this Bill will ensure that all office buildings procured across the whole of the public estate will be in the top quartile of energy performance. This in turn will kick-start higher sustainability standards in the rest of the UK office market. I urge you to adopt this Bill and look forward to hearing from you. Yours sincerely,
PRIVATE MEMBERS BALLOT 2007 - LIST OF SUCCESSFUL MPs Name Constituency Party Email 1. Mr Michael Fallon Sevenoaks Con 2. Mrs Sharon Hodgson Gateshead East & Washington West Lab hodgsons@parliament.uk 3. Mr Andrew Miller* Ellesmere Port & Neston Lab 4. Mr Julian Brazier Canterbury Con 5. Mr John Heppell Nottingham East Lab 6. Mr Stephen Crabb Preseli Pembrokeshire Con 7. Mr Nigel Griffiths Edinburgh South Lab 8. Mr Mark Lazarowicz* Edinburgh North Lab 9. Rt Hon Keith Hill Streatham Lab 10. Mr Tim Yeo* Suffolk South Con 11. Ms Julie Morgan* Cardiff North Lab 12. Mr David Howarth* Cambridge LD 13. Rt Hon Michael Mates* Hampshire East Con 14. Mr Simon Hughes* Southwark North & Bermondsey LD 15. Mr Derek Conway Old Bexley & Sidcup Con 16. Mr Pete Wishart* Perth & North Perthshire SNP 17. Ms Justine Greening Putney Con 18. Ms Anne Snelgrove Swindon South Lab 19. Mr William Cash Stone Con 20. Mr Gordon Prentice* Pendle Lab N.B. The MPs marked with an asterisk all signed Early Day Motion 1554 (during the last Parliamentary session) in support of the Bill. THEY ARE THEREFORE PARTICULARLY WORTH TARGETING. |
November 2007 |
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Karen Fletcher, Wendy Eagle and Stuart Jeffery outside Tesco Grove Green |
Maidstone Green Party collected petition signatures and demonstrated outside Tesco in Grove Green on Sunday as part of Compassion in World Farming's week of action against Tesco's refusal to stop selling battery eggs. Tesco's management did not interfere with the protest and over 100 signatures were collected. Most other supermarkets have committed to stop selling eggs from battery hens by 2012. Wendy Eagle, Animal Rights Spokesperson for Maidstone Green Party: "We are grateful to the local Tesco's management for not stopping us collecting signatures - we were expecting them to ask us to leave. The level of support for this campaign was overwhelming and we collected over 100 signatures in just one hour." "Even if local management is sympathetic to the cause, it is disgraceful that Tescos refuses to stop selling eggs from battery hens. Thispractice is dreadfully cruel and must be stopped. There are 3.5 million hens that are caged in an area no bigger than an A4 piece of paper simply because Tescos does not care. These hens cannot even stretch their wings and suffer in the most appalling conditions imaginable." "Compassion in World Farming has been calling on supermarkets and the food industry to go cage-free. This means only using and selling eggs from hens in free-range, organic or barn systems. Other supermarkets have agreed to stop selling these eggs and we are calling on Tescos to follow suit. Until Tescos changes it's policy and stops this practice, we want people to shop elsewhere." |
October 2007 Maidstone Post Office Closures |
Maidstone Green Party has launched its support for Hardy Street and South Park post offices with an online petition and template letter for Post Office Ltd. They are keen to repeat the success of their previous online petition which attracted around 100 signatures. The online petition is available for signature on their website www.maidstone.greenparty.org.uk Derek Eagle, spokesperson for North Ward: "The most important thing people can do is write to Post Office Ltd telling them why these post offices should not close. We have published a template letter on our website for people to use, to encourage as many people to write as possible. For those who don't feel that they want to write, we have also started an online petition on our website to compliment the petitions that are in the stores." "It is vitally important that we make the maximum amount of noise to try to prevent the closure of these post offices. These post offices serve as key focal points in their communities and are well used by residents. Trying to get to alternative post offices by bus or by foot is difficult and slow, and closing them means that people will be using their cars more adding to congestion and pollution. "Closure discriminates against those without cars, often the elderly. It is absolutely right that the post offices are subsidised through tax payers money. The purpose of taxes is to protect the vulnerable members of society and to enhance our communities. We urge everyone to make their feelings known." Suggested Letter:
Dear Mr Herbert, |