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?”
Category Archives: Politics and Campaigning Groups
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!”
What should have been in the headlines, but you may have missed.
Graham Wroe with Caroline Lucas MP
Why an inquiry into the street tree debacle is necessary.
Why an inquiry into the street tree debacle is necessary.
Correction-Sheffield City Council Elections
Please can I correct a mistake I made in last week’s column “We must defend democracy”? I stated that next May, two-thirds of the Councillors will need to defend their seats in the Sheffield City Council elections. This is incorrect, as 2021 was due to be a “fallow” year, with no elections. The postponed 2020ContinueContinue reading “Correction-Sheffield City Council Elections”
Sheffield- Where democracy goes to die.
At last, Sheffield City Council has been forced to apologise to the people of the city over its handling of the destruction of thousands of street trees. Forced apologies never seem sincere, especially when the first attempt doesn’t include the word “sorry”. Now Councillor Mark Jones has rephrased his apology and there are even murmuringsContinueContinue reading “Sheffield- Where democracy goes to die.”
Questions to Council concerning the planned new ring road.
I went to Full Council this afternoon to ask these questions. In the Draft Development Framework, there are plans to build a new dual carriageway from Park Square to Granville Square, behind the station through Sheaf Valley Park. This will be extremely unpopular with the residents of Park Hill and Norfolk Park, due to increasedContinueContinue reading “Questions to Council concerning the planned new ring road.”
