http://wakefield.greenparty.org.uk/ Official site of the Green Party of the metropolitan district of Wakefield in West Yorkshire. en-gb Wed, 17 Mar 2010 01:17:40 GMT240 http://wakefield.greenparty.org.uk/news/75http://wakefield.greenparty.org.uk/news/75 Caroline Lucas has been named as the new President of the European Parliament's cross-party Animal Welfare Intergroup.The Green Party leader is well known for her longstanding efforts to achieve better protection for animals, having played a key role in the creation of legislation to ban the sale of cat and dog fur in the EU, and in the recent ban on the import of seal products. She has also campaigned against the continued use of animals in travelling circuses and the EU-subsidised practice of bullfighting, and opposes the cloning of animals for food. (cont)Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://wakefield.greenparty.org.uk/news/74http://wakefield.greenparty.org.uk/news/74 Pam Yates asks "Is Balne Lane next?" (Wakefield Express. Letters. 5.Feb.2010) and lists other closures in the library service (Sharlston, Flanshaw and Sandal threatened.).The short answer is - yes.With the completion of the retail park, with the proposed city-branch library situated above the shops, Balne Lane library will be closed. That much is planned. What will happen to the other services is open to conjecture. Since the Music and Drama Library is a regional provider, it could be relocated anywhere in the Yorkshire area. Even more interesting and important is what will happen to the special collections presently stored at Balne Lane?Already the reference function has been quietly removed and the local studies service has taken its place. At least the local materials are still largely visible and accessible, but there are other important collections on site which people don't know about.(cont)Sun, 14 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://wakefield.greenparty.org.uk/news/73http://wakefield.greenparty.org.uk/news/73 As everyone is only too well aware by now, the way the current PFI (private finance initiative) system works is that private firms build various forms of infrastructure - roads, bridges, schools, hospitals, prisons - and charge the public sector more or less what they like for using them over long (sometimes 30+ year) contracts.The government has, in effect, as a special Independent on Sunday investigation pointed out recently, legally bound us to make enormous annual payments for over 600 public sector programmes until the middle of the century, which will add up to over £300bn, way in excess of the £60bn or so they are worth.PFI has built up a legacy of high interest debt that will last for decades - as the GMB's national secretary for public services Brian Strutton says, "this is like paying for schools and hospitals by credit card". The public is paying over the odds on PFI projects, with debt ratios in most areas at over 500%.(cont)Sun, 31 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://wakefield.greenparty.org.uk/news/72http://wakefield.greenparty.org.uk/news/72 Green councillors would adopt an agenda to reflect their concern for the quality of the environment; the needs of local people for useful and suitable work and a better quality of life; with an emphasis on protection of the poor; on education that fits them for life; and an economy that is rooted in local enterprises, offering chances for everyone. To this end they would support policies to:Encourage the development of local trades and industries; promote the formation of cooperatives; extend apprenticeship schemes , and therefore create opportunities for further employment in the area, whilst supporting the unemployed through the benefits and credits system(cont)Tue, 19 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://wakefield.greenparty.org.uk/news/71http://wakefield.greenparty.org.uk/news/71 Wakefield Green Party have selected a Prospective Parliamentary Candidate to contest the next General Election in the Wakefield constituency. She is Miriam Hawkins, who was endorsed via a vote of the membership in December.Miriam is 43, married, and works as a freelance professional development tutor to medical students, mainly at Leeds University. Additionallly,she serves as a simulated patient for the Yorks. and Humber SHA., and is an adult-learner support worker.Miriam stood as a candidate in the local elections in 2008 for Wakefield Rural ward.(cont)Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT