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 murmuringsContinue 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 increasedContinue reading "Questions to Council concerning the planned new ring road."

Stop the new dual carriageway in Sheffield

A new dual carriageway is being proposed, to run from Park Square to Granville Square, behind the station through Sheaf Valley Park. It is part of a £1.5 billion scheme to revamp the Sheaf Valley area of the city centre.  City planners have had the gall to proclaim that this will help meet our climateContinue reading "Stop the new dual carriageway in Sheffield"

Do we really have a free press?

Extinction Rebellion has taken a great deal of flack recently, for preventing Rupert Murdoch’s papers from leaving the printers on 3rd September. Much of the argument has concentrated on the assertion that it is anti-democratic to disrupt the free press. But do we really have a free press in this country?   Empty newspaper shelves inContinue reading "Do we really have a free press?"

What do West Ham, Southampton, Chelsea and Norwich City have in common?

(A letter to the Star and Telegraph) Football fans, what do West Ham, Southampton, Chelsea and Norwich City have in common? They are the 4 Premier League clubs who will be at risk of flooding every season within the next 3 decades. A report by the Rapid Transition Alliance found that a quarter of allContinue reading "What do West Ham, Southampton, Chelsea and Norwich City have in common?"

A challenge to the Blades and the Owls

In my youth, a popular mantra was “Sport and Politics don’t mix”.The truth is that sport and politics have always gone hand in hand, sometimes for the good, sometimes not. Marcus Rashford won a brilliant victory, forcing the Prime Minister to continue free school meals over the summer and has now launched a campaign againstContinue reading "A challenge to the Blades and the Owls"

We plough the fields and spray them

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_DRmNRfNJQ Sing along to the video! We plough the fields and spray them With Glyphosate each year It kills the weeds and insects And gets into our beer The cancer grows inside us The bees they fade and die But farmers keep on spraying They believe Monsanto's lie. All good gifts around us Are sprayedContinue reading "We plough the fields and spray them"

Coldplay, Leonardo DiCaprio and Malala

What do I have in common with Coldplay, Leonardo DiCaprio, Malala, Emma Thompson, Annie Lennox, Brian Eno, Greta Thunberg and Bjork? Well along with thousands of scientists, activists and celebrities I have signed a letter to EU leaders and Heads of State demanding we must stop pretending we can solve the climate and ecological crisisContinue reading "Coldplay, Leonardo DiCaprio and Malala"