Category Archives: Politics and Campaigning Groups

Labour and Greens join together in Cooperative Cabinet

Today was a momentous day for Sheffield. It has been announced that the Labour Party and the Green Party have reached an agreement to work together in a cooperative Cabinet. Here Cllr Peter Garbutt shares his thoughts on the new agreement. There will be an Inquiry into the Tree Dispute. https://youtu.be/1mUFk2v5nrU New Councillor Tina GilliganContinueContinue reading “Labour and Greens join together in Cooperative Cabinet”

I declare a Nature Emergency. Do you?

Sheffield Council still refuse to declare a nature emergency. They know if they did they would have to rethink their use of dangerous pesticides and herbicides like Glyphosate that kill our wild flowers, insects and pollinators. Nature Recovery Sheffield has been set up to form a massive coalition to campaign for a Nature Emergency declaration.ContinueContinue reading “I declare a Nature Emergency. Do you?”

Green Jobs campaign to get people working to save the planet

My day job is as a lecturer in Further Education. I am acutely aware of the importance of training our young people for the jobs and skills they will need in the future. That is why I have thrown my weight behind the new Green Jobs for All campaign. In South Yorkshire, we want toContinueContinue reading “Green Jobs campaign to get people working to save the planet”

How should I vote to save the planet?

The local elections are on May 6th. If you live in Sheffield you have 3 votes.  One for the referendum, where you will be asked if you want the Council to continue with its “strong leader” model whereby the 10 cabinet members make the decisions or change to a more inclusive, democratic committee system thatContinueContinue reading “How should I vote to save the planet?”

Banking Brandalism

Back in my student days I supported the campaign to end the racist Apartheid regime in South Africa. A big part of that campaign was to persuade the banks, notably Barclays, to stop investing in the country, to speed the fall of the regime. Roll on nearly half a century and today we find BarclaysContinueContinue reading “Banking Brandalism”

Sheffield Council fails to call an Ecological Emergency

At the Sheffield Council meeting on February 3rd a petition was presented from Greenpeace and Sheffield Green Parents asking them to call an Ecological Emergency. The response from Mark Jones, the Cabinet member for the Environment and Climate Change, was predictable. He agreed to work with different groups to improve the Council’s policies, but failedContinueContinue reading “Sheffield Council fails to call an Ecological Emergency”

Democracy only works when citizens are involved.

The Government have announced that the local elections, postponed from May 2020, will go ahead this May. But due to the pandemic volunteers from political parties will not be able to distribute leaflets. They can, however, pay a delivery company to do this for them. This will give parties with rich individual or corporate backersContinueContinue reading “Democracy only works when citizens are involved.”

Less sugar, more bees please!

Do you, like me, have a sweet tooth? You may then be concerned to read that the Uk’s sugar industry is in big trouble.  Last winter was exceptionally mild in England, with few frosts. This allowed record-breaking numbers of aphids to survive. They transmit a kind of beet malaria (virus yellows) to the sugar beet.ContinueContinue reading “Less sugar, more bees please!”