A stall will be held at the bottom of Hayhill on Gentleman's Walk from 12 noon until 2pm [PHOTO AND INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITY: 1PM with Adrian Ramsay]. It incorporates a series of hard-hitting images, all taken in the UK, designed to expose the conditions that animals endure in some factory farms.

As well as being Deputy Leader of the Green Party nationally and a Norwich Councillor, Adrian Ramsay has been a member of the national campaign group Animal Aid for 15 years. He commented:

“This is an issue very close to my heart – Green Party policies on animal protection were one of the things that first attracted me to the party 12 years ago, and they remain just as important now.

“There is clear evidence of a link between factory farming and disease outbreaks like bird flu and BSE. The Green Party is the only party that has pledged to end factory farming in the UK, as well as enforce strict welfare standards. We are widely acknowledged to have the strongest policies on animal protection.

“This campaign will show that ending factory farming is the right ethical decision in terms of animal welfare but also the right decision for human health."

During the 2007/8 bird flu outbreak, hundreds of thousands of chickens and turkeys were slaughtered on East Anglian farms to try to prevent the spread of this virulent disease. During an investigation it was uncovered that Bernard Matthews, the UK’s largest turkey farmer, who farms more than seven million turkeys each year, had been warned several times about hygiene lapses on its farms.

The Green Party would encourage more sustainable forms of food production in place of factory farming. Adrian Ramsay said:

"We need to move away from factory farming and towards farming that is healthier for humans, animals and the environment. This means more localised and less intensive agriculture."

Animal Aid has published a video on its website showing the horrific conditions in which the majority of Britain's farm animals live. The video can be viewed at: http://www.animalaid.org.uk/h/f/CAMPAIGNS/blog//4//?be_id=264.

The motion pointed out that the poorest fifth of people pay around twice as much in VAT as the richest fifth [2], as a proportion of their income. 10.5% of households in Norwich have an income below £10,000 a year - far more than the national average at 7.1% [3]. Greens argued that VAT is a blanket tax that is regressive because of the impact it has on poor households.

Councillor Adrian Ramsay spoke on the motion for the Green Party. He referred to a report co-authored by Green Party Leader Caroline Lucas MP which sets out alternative ways of dealing with the deficit.

Councillor Ramsay, who is Deputy Leader of the Green Party nationally, commented: "The coalition Government's package will not create a fair society or a healthy economy, but as Caroline Lucas' report shows, there are alternatives. Around £100bn per year is lost in tax loopholes exploited by the rich. More effort should be made to recover this money, protecting public sector jobs in tax offices. Increasing income tax for the highest earners would also be a fairer way of bringing money into the public coffers than raising VAT. We could use the taxation system to tackle those problems that caused the financial crisis in the first place by taxing high-risk transactions between banks with the Robin Hood tax, rather than simply hitting the poorest people the hardest with a VAT increase.”

Conservative and Lib Dem councillors voted against the motion, claiming that a VAT increase is necessary, but Adrian Ramsay said that the Green Party would replace VAT with eco-taxes, targeted at the most environmentally damaging consumption.

Notes:

[1] The motion is available in full on the council website: http://www.norwich.gov.uk/webapps/meeting_minutes/Meetings.asp?meeting=specific&mid=2190&id= . It resolves to write to the chancellor of the exchequer raising concerns about the proposed VAT increase and request Norwich's 2 MPs vote against the Finance Bill.

[2] Office for National Statistics: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/ssdataset.asp?vlnk=9614&Pos=1&ColRank=1&Rank=272

[3] From Norwich City Council web site: http://www.norwich.gov.uk/site_files/pages/City_Council__Key_Statistics.html

[4] View report: http://www.financeforthefuture.com/TaxBriefing.pdf

The meeting was called by the Norfolk branch of the National Union of Teachers and marks the start of a local campaign to defend the principle of free state education and local community schools. On Monday (19th July) local campaigners and teachers will be amongst the campaigners taking part in a lobby of Westminster as MPs consider the Government's proposals for schools.

Education Secretary Michael Gove recently revealed that 15 schools in Norfolk have expressed an interest in becoming academies [2].

Adrian Ramsay argued at the meeting that academies and so called “free” schools represent a threat to the principle of free state education. Councillor Ramsay commented:

“Private sponsors should not be able to buy influence over schools. Under academies, private sponsors can influence the running of the school, the terms and conditions of teachers, the curriculum and the name of the school.

"There is no evidence to suggest that academy status is likely to result in improved exams results - there have been mixed performances from academy schools around the country.

"Academies are run by managers who may have more interest in reflecting the private agendas of their funders than providing an inspiring and balanced education to their pupils."

As well as being Deputy Leader of the Green Party and a Norwich City Councillor, Adrian is well known as a campaigner for free education. When he studied at UEA he clashed with Charles Clarke, the recently defeated Norwich South MP who was responsible for bring in student top up fees as Education Secretary.

The Green Party stands for properly funded state education, all the way from nursery level through to universities. He said:

“Education needs to be free from corporate influence. Rather than setting up new schools we should be investing in the schools we have already. I want every local school to be a good community school and I want teacher to be free to inspire their pupils, just as my teachers inspired me.

"We do need to find ways to involve teachers, parents and students in the running of schools, but free schools could take us in the wrong direction and result in more segregation in society. We need to protect the principle of community, comprehensive schools. Academy schools often lose their local community identity and free schools would be the same."

Notes:

[1] The meeting was held in the City Hall Council Chamber on Tuesday 13th July.

[2] Reported in the EDP 26/06/2010: http://www.edp24.co.uk/content/edp24/news/story.aspx?brand=EDPOnline&category=News&tBrand=EDPOnline&tCategory=xDefault&itemid=NOED25%20Jun%202010%2018%3A06%3A24%3A217.

Residents will gather to express their frustration that a Tesco store is opening despite the application being turned down by the City Council and hundreds of people objecting to the plans.

It is the culmination of a six year battle between Tesco and local residents which reached its climax last year when a Planning Inspector ruled that the plans could go ahead. In that six year period the City Council rejected Tesco applications on five occasions, with Green Party Councillors campaigning against the plans throughout.

Adrian Ramsay, a Green Party Councillor for Nelson ward, which starts on Unthank Road, has played an active role in the Residents Against Unthank Tesco campaign since it started in 2004.

Adrian Ramsay, who has pledged that he will not use the new Tesco store, commented: “I will continue to support the local businesses in the area. We cannot allow the opening of this Tesco to be at their expense.

"I know that there is a strong feeling among residents in the area that we need to unite behind the independent businesses. Research shows that a pound spent in a local business is almost twice as beneficial for the community as the equivalent spent in a supermarket like Tesco [1].

“Local campaigners will be monitoring activities at the new store to see if Tesco sticks to the agreements regarding delivery times and frequency. We are concerned that bringing lots of new delivery lorries to the street will add to congestion.

"The biggest frustration is that this store is being opened against the wishes of the local council and the majority of local residents. It should not be possible for supermarkets to submit repeated applications for the same site and then appeal to a remote Planning Inspector to make a decision. Green Party MP Caroline Lucas will be challenging the planning laws on this in Parliament."

Notes:

[1] See: http://www.neweconomics.org/sites/neweconomics.org/files/Plugging_the_Leaks.pdf p.32

Councillor Stephenson proposed the motion because she thought the current process to scrutinise executive decisions was bloated and inefficient. Passing the motion is a first step towards a Green vision of a Council fully open to community participation. In the short term it means that Councillors from all parties will now be working together to improve the system for scrutinising the executive, without creating additional expenditure.

The motion was one element of a very successful night for Norwich Greens, who also achieved unanimous support for another motion calling on the Council to adopt open source software [3] [4] where appropriate; which they said often costs less, is more innovative and is easier to fix and adapt than standard licensed software.

Councillor Stephenson commented “Taken together, these motions demonstrate the kind of direction a Green run Council would take. Open source software is democratic computer programming and opening the Council to greater scrutiny would end the undemocratic practice of working groups making decisions behind closed doors. Having several smaller scrutiny panels would enable councillors to specialise in different areas of the council’s work and effectively hold Council officials and the ruling party to account.”

Samir Jeraj, deputy leader of the Green Party City Councillors [5], seconded the Open Council motion. He said “In these tough economic times we need innovative new ideas like these to show how the Council can continue to improve its service whilst spending less money. You can't make good decisions without good scrutiny, and now more than ever it is important that the Council’s decisions are good and fair.”

The second motion, regarding open source software, will mean that the Council may start using open source alternatives to licensed computer programmes, such as Firefox and Open Office. Councillor Ruth Makoff [6], who proposed the motion, said “There could be significant savings for the Council, and the idea that we could use local IT workers to maintain computer programmes the way we want them rather than writing a big cheque to a distant corporation every year will resonate with a lot of people.”

The Open Council motion specifically called for the scrutiny committee to be broken up into several specialist panels to increase the involvement of Councillors and others in scrutinising decisions that affect Norwich residents. This will enable more people to get involved, but also ensure Councillors can become more specialised and trained in one particular area, making them more effective. This is already how many other Councils including Norfolk County Council operate.

Notes:

[1] Claire Stephenson is a representative for Nelson ward and is leader of the Green Group on Norwich City Council. She has been a Councillor since 2006.

[2] The motion reads:

‘Council,

RESOLVES,

(1) to increase the involvement of councillors in scrutiny by establishing an appropriate number of committees or panels to fully cover the work of the Council;

(2) to ask the Head of Legal, Regulatory and Democratic Services to convene a meeting of the Chair and Vice Chair of the Scrutiny Committee, scrutiny officer, representatives of the Corporate Management Team, and leaders of other political groups to explore ways of embedding scrutiny throughout the City Council.

(3) any changes to be made without additional expenditure.’

[3] The motion reads:

‘The recently published "Open Source, Open Standards and Re-Use: Government Action Plan" builds on existing policy for government departments to use open source software wherever it offers the best value for money and states that "where there is no significant overall cost difference between open and non open source products, open source will be selected on the basis of its additional inherent flexibility.

Council,

RESOLVES to ask the Executive:-

(1) as part of the Strategic ICT Review agreed in this year's budget, to consider whether any of the software currently used within the Council could be replaced with better value for money open source alternatives;

(2) to review policy and options on ICT procurement including:-

• how to ensure that systems procured are able to adapt to unforeseen changes and advances in technology;
• making it a requirement to assess the opportunities to use open source software, including the potential benefits, in a Total Cost of Ownership assessment;
• the opportunities to the local economy that arise from using software that can be modified by local IT workers rather than being restricted to modification by large companies elsewhere;
• whether the upgrade and exit/replacement cost of current proprietary systems could or should be included as a liability on the relevant Council balance sheets.’

[4] Open-source software (OSS) is computer software that is available in source code form for which the source code and certain other rights normally reserved for copyright holders are provided under a software license that permits users to study, change, and improve the software. Some open source software is available within the public domain. Open source software is very often developed in a public, collaborative manner. (Taken from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-source_software)

[5] Samir Jeraj has been a Green Party representative for Town Close ward since 2008 and is the deputy leader of the Green City Councillors.

[6] Ruth Makoff has been a Green Party representative for Wensum ward since 2008

Hardy, 36, was elected as County Councillor for Thorpe Hamlet ward in Norwich in June 2009 and became the first ever Green member of the Norfolk Police Authority. At the 2009 elections, the Green Party won 7 of the 13 County Council seats in Norwich and became the third largest party on the County Council overall.

Councillor Hardy said: "It is an honour and a privilege to serve the people of Norfolk on the County Council, and to hold the Norfolk Constabulary to account. I'm proud to become Leader of the Green Party Group and strongly believe all parties at County Hall must work together constructively in the interests of the people of Norfolk during these volatile economic times. I bring a professional, business-like approach to my work and seek to develop rapport with all people at all levels."

Outgoing Leader Councillor Andrew Boswell is taking over as Chair of the group. He expressed his delight in the new leadership team, and explained his personal reasons for stepping down as leader. He said: "Phil Hardy as Leader and Marcus Hemsley as his Deputy will be a superb team for leading the Green Party Group at County Hall and providing a strong voice for fairness, social justice and environmental sustainability in Norfolk. I decided to step down this summer some time ago to enable me to spend more time with my family and other interests. However, I'm very pleased to take over as chair of the Group and I will work to support Phil and Marcus in the years ahead."

Notes:

[1] Phil Hardy:

* Hardy has qualifications in project management and process improvement methodology which he earned during his time at Aviva, where he worked since 1993.

* He took voluntary redundancy from Aviva in January 2009 so he could work full time as Personal Assistant and Press Liaison Officer to Councillor Rupert Read during his Euro-election campaign whilst simultaneously running for County Councillor.

* He sits on the Planning Regulatory and Health Overview and Scrutiny Committees at Norfolk County Council, and chairs a learning difficulties working group. He will shortly take up a place on the Cabinet Scrutiny Committee now he has taken over as Leader.

* He sits on the Scrutiny and Audit and Citizens Focus Committees at the Norfolk Police Authority, is a member of their Modernisation and Environment and Sustainability Boards and is the lead member of the Authority for the Business Performance Unit.

* He was a member of the panel that interviewed for the new Chief Constable of Norfolk in January this year, and is on the panel that will interview for a new deputy chief this September.

[2] Marcus Hemsley:

* Marcus Hemsley, 25, runs his own marketing business with his partner Rebecca.

* He sits on the Planning Regulatory and Planning, Transport and Development Committees.

* Hemsley has a passion for renewable energy, and influenced the ruling County Council administration by suggesting they generate their own renewable energy by erecting wind turbines on county farms.

Tom, who has been a City Councillor for Mancroft Ward since 2007, will be the Lord Mayor of the city for the next year and will represent Norwich at ceremonial and community events. As Lord Mayor, Tom Dylan is a figurehead for the city, but the Council is still run by the ruling Labour administration. Tom remains as one of the representatives of Mancroft Ward as well as being Lord Mayor.

In his year in office Tom will be working alongside the new Sheriff, Evening News columnist Derek James, to raise money for the civic charity, Rotary House. The charity provides support to deaf people to help them lead independent lives. Councillor Dylan and Mr James will also be promoting racial harmony as one of the themes of their civic year.

Tom Dylan said: “I am proud to be Lord Mayor of our fine city. There’s lots to look forward to. I’ll be presenting the city’s sports awards. I want to take every opportunity to promote sport, exercise and the city’s green spaces. I’m also looking forward to the Peace Camp and to opportunities to support networks of independent and local businesses in the city, such as the Norwich Lanes.”

There were no local elections in Norwich this year so the political make-up of the City Council remains the same. Labour is the largest party and forms the Council’s ruling Executive. The Green Party is the second largest party and therefore the main opposition group.

Let’s start with the positives.

There are some policies in the coalition agreement which I welcome, particularly the pledge to scrap the ID cards scheme and the proposal to replace the House of Lords with an elected upper chamber.

But there are many aspects of the coalition between the Conservatives and LibDems which worry me. My biggest concern is the proposal for 'savage cuts' to the funding of our public services, starting this year. During the election, the LibDems promised not to make such cuts during the first year to ensure they didn't kick start a spiral of unemployment.

It’s disappointing that the LibDems have gone back on their manifesto pledge and accepted these cuts. Of course they had to make some compromises, but these cuts could affect some of the services we most rely on, such as the Sure Start, schools and universities. I will be keeping a close eye on what spending cuts the Government proposes and will work with you to protect crucial services here in Norwich.

The Green Party’s costed manifesto for the General Election recognised that some spending cuts are needed. For example, we proposed that trident nuclear weapons should not be replaced – and it’s disappointing that the coalition agreement will allow this expensive replacement to happen.

However, our manifesto showed how key funding for public services can be maintained by increasing tax for those who can afford to pay more – such as the big banks and those earning over £100,000 per year.

There are many policies on which the position of the new Government is unclear from the coalition agreement. When will our troops be brought home from Iraq and Afghanistan? Will the fox hunting ban be retained? Will student tuition fees be scrapped? Will there be free personal care for the elderly? Will our schools and hospitals be protected from increased corporate influence?

On all these issues, it is not yet clear which direction the new Government will take us – but I’m pleased we have a Green MP in Parliament to fight for fair and ethical policies.

The full details of the deal will be released later today, but it is clear that the LibDems have agreed to Conservative plans to start making public sector cuts during this financial year and that the LibDems have failed to get an agreement for the introduction of a proportional voting system.

Adrian Ramsay commented: "There are real risks to cutting back on public spending while the economy is still recovering from recession - which is presumably why the LibDems didn't support making cut backs this year in their manifesto. I'm very concerned that the LibDems have signed up to the Conservative cuts and about what this may mean for crucial local services such as Sure Start nurseries and day care centres.

"The Green Party's General Election manifesto showed that there are ways of dealing with the deficit whilst protecting public services. The way forward should have been through green investment to stabilise the economy, not through public service cuts.

"I fear that the new alliance between the Conservatives and LibDems will take us in the wrong direction. I don't think these cuts are what people in Norwich voted for last week. The Green Party will strongly oppose cuts to crucial services.

"Nick Clegg has also failed to use this situation to secure a fair voting system where every vote counts equally. LibDems have been campaigning for this for decades and this was their chance to make it happen. I think many LibDem activists and voters will be feeling betrayed that Nick Clegg has not made more of this opportunity and will be considering their political home for the future."

The candidate, Adrian Ramsay, says he’s obviously disappointed not to have won the seat, but very pleased at the big increase in the Greens’ vote share, which has more than doubled since the previous General Election.

While the vote share of the Conservatives and the winning Lib-Dems shifted very little, it was the Labour vote share which fell back while the Green Party share increased.

Norwich South produced the second highest Green Party vote anywhere in the country. Party leader Caroline Lucas had the best result, winning Brighton Pavilion to become the first Green MP at Westminster. But Norwich South is still seen as the constituency most likely to produce the next Green MP.

Adrian Ramsay, who is deputy party leader and still a city councillor, recognises that it is for the Party itself to make a decision on future candidacy. He said:

“It’s a fantastic national breakthrough to see Caroline Lucas elected as the first Green MP. It is important to have an ethical voice in a hung Parliament to press for a fairer society, to oppose privatisation and cuts in public services and to challenge the growing gap between rich and poor.

“Now that the Green Party has its first seat, and the credibility which goes with it, we’ll be campaigning hard to build on that next time and Norwich South is clearly our next best seat.”

The Green Party Deputy Leader and candidate for Norwich South, Adrian Ramsay, will be at Theatre Street in the city centre at 09:30 to meet the team of volunteers who’ll be travelling with the bus to hand out leaflets and speak to passers-by, before setting it on its way.

As part of its national tour in support of the Green Party General Election campaign, the bus will be visiting shopping centres around the city including West Earlham, Vauxhall Street, and the Tuckswood Centre. There’ll also be a visit to the UEA.

On Wednesday the bus will be in Cambridge in support of Green Party candidate and former Friends of the Earth director, Tony Juniper.

Adrian Ramsay believes that being an MP is a full-time job, that it is paid accordingly and that it is inappropriate for MPs to pursue paid directorships and consultancies at the same time. He has promised that, if elected, he will be a full-time MP for Norwich South.

Mr Clarke makes no secret of the fact that he has other jobs, and what he does is entirely within current rules. On his own website he explains his position thus:

“When I left Government in 2006 I decided that I was ready to take on other roles which were offered to me, both to broaden my experience and to earn roughly the same total income as I had had whilst in Government.

“This is what has happened and I have received fees for a range of additional activities, including writing, broadcasting and making speeches and films, a non-executive directorship in Norwich and some consultancies for specific projects. The total amount of time which I have spent on these activities has been vastly less than I spent as a Minister, totalling on average about 20 to 30 hours a month. I have declared my activities in the Register of Members' Interest and (of course) paid tax on all income.”

Mr Clarke is a non-executive director of LJ Create, a company supplying educational IT equipment, a consultant to the law firm Beachcroft and to the investment house Charles Street Securities. He has also worked on a project for the international accountants KPMG.

It has been reported that Mr Clarke has earned in excess of £145,000 from his outside activities on top of his salary has an MP. From April 1st this year an MP’s salary is £65,738. Other Parliamentary jobs, such as being a government minister, attract extra salary.

Adrian Ramsay said:

“Being an MP is a full-time job. Representing over 70,000 people in Parliament and helping them with their local issues is a serious and time-consuming role. MPs who are not Government ministers also have a crucial role to play in scrutinising legislation and Government proposals. MPs who pursue consultancies or directorships often have a conflict of interest between influencing public opinion on behalf of a lobby group and influencing public opinion as an elected politician. I would argue, for example, that it is inappropriate for a former Education Secretary to write a report on behalf of a private company arguing that there should be more charges for people to use parts of the education system in the future. If an MP wants to contribute to public debate on Government policy, they can and should do it as part of their role as an MP – not on behalf of a private company that may have a vested interest.

“If I am elected as MP for Norwich South on Thursday I commit to not pursuing another career, or paid directorships or consultancies, at the same time. Today I am asking Charles Clarke whether he will make the same commitment.”

Members of the NUT, the biggest teachers union in the country, and the NAHT, will be taking industrial action to protest against the testing of 11 year olds. The unions believe that SATs in their current form disrupt the learning process for 10 and 11 year olds, and are misused to compile misleading league tables.

Adrian Ramsay said:

"The Green Party supports the decision of the National Union of Teachers to boycott SATS for 11 year olds. Testing in primary schools should not be so formalised. Teachers should be freed up from paperwork and a rigid curriculum so they can use their skills to inspire children. We need to ensure better funding for primary schools so that class sizes can be reduced, to help teachers give pupils more individual attention”.

The Greens envisage an education system in which teachers are free to inspire their pupils and not get bogged down in endless paperwork. That’s why their costed manifesto promises to abolish SATs exams for primary school children and to reduce class sizes by spending more on teachers.

SATs are scheduled to take place in schools from 10 – 13 May. Members who are taking industrial action will refuse to follow the test opening, checking and administrative procedures.

Power2010 - which is not aligned to any Party - is dropping 600,000 leaflets nationwide urging voters to consider their candidates' positions on the crucial issue of electoral reform before casting their vote. The campaigners will be targeting local constituency Norwich South on Monday 3rd of May, where 15,000 leaflets will be dropped urging voters to choose the candidate who will do the most for democratic reform if elected.

Power 2010 calls for five measures including introducing a proportional voting system, scrapping ID cards, making the House of Lords fully elected, putting an end to the West Lothian problem and drawing up a written constitution. These proposals were democratically narrowed down from more than 4,000 suggestions put forward by the public and so represent the most pressing reforms needed to restore trust in UK politics. Charles Clarke, the former MP for Norwich South, does not support the campaign, and implemented the ID card scheme when he was Home Secretary.

Adrian Ramsay, Green Party candidate for Norwich South, said: “I fully support Power2010's campaign, and the move towards a fairer democracy. In Norwich South we're lucky because it's a closely fought race and every vote will count, but we need a political system where people have a real say in every part of the country. It's a scandal that only the 200,000 votes in marginal seats really counted in the last election – that’s less than 0.5% of those eligible to vote. We need to make everyone’s vote count, and then people will become more politically motivated.

“I have also been very vocal in my opposition to ID cards, as it is estimated that we can save £2.5bn a year by not having ID cards and the database attached to them. It is clear that they are an unnecessary invasion of our privacy and will do nothing to prevent crime and terrorism.

"We must also urgently replace the House of Lords with an elected upper chamber. Party appointments to the upper house, with the associated allegations about being buying seats, has no place in a twenty-first century democracy."

But in fact the Greens already have two MPs – in the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood.

One of them is Patrick Harvie MSP, who has been a Green MSP for Glasgow since 2003. Patrick says that although the Greens may be few in number, they regularly hold the balance of power at Holyrood and have notched up some remarkable achievements, including the first Green Act in Britain – Patrick’s own legislation to tackle hate crime.

The Scottish Green MPs have also delivered:

• a Climate Change Bill with stronger targets than those set for the UK
• a £27.4m Climate Change Fund for innovative communities in Scotland
• a £30m Scottish Investment Fund for socially beneficial enterprises
• legislation to protect the coastline against the risk of oil spills in the Firth of Forth
• a strong campaign to get a buildings insulation programme in place across Scotland
• helped secure the abolition of student tuition fees in Scotland

Patrick Harvie believes that even a small number of Green MPs at Westminster could begin working towards similar progressive measures. That’s why he’s visiting Norwich South to support Adrian Ramsay’s campaign, and Brighton Pavilion where Green Party Leader Caroline Lucas is standing: two target seats where Greens have a real chance of being elected.

Adrian Ramsay said:

“Elected Greens are making a real difference in the Scottish Parliament, the London Assembly, the European Parliament and the many European countries where there are Green MPs. We've seen in Scotland what two Green MPs can do when they hold the balance of power and work constructively with others. The same situation can occur in Westminster after Thursday's General Election - if we lead the way with a Green MP in Norwich South, which is one of the two strongest constituencies in the country for the Green Party."

Patrick Harvie and Adrian Ramsay will be leading teams of local Green councillors and supporters canvassing together between 10:30 and 12:30 in the St Leonard’s Road area of Thorpe Hamlet on Saturday May 1st, ready to meet the media.

In fact, this startling headline may not cause consternation at Conservative Central Office since it turns out that this David Cameron is a 64 year old retired NHS storeman living quietly on the Dereham Road in Norwich with his wife, Linda. But the irony in his voting intention certainly isn’t lost on Mr Cameron, especially since he has been a Conservative supporter in the past. Then, he says, he became a floating voter.

“I voted for the Greens two or three times in the local elections,” said Mr Cameron, “and I think the Greens ought to be in charge of Norwich.

“Now I hope they get several people in Parliament, to make a change. I think other parties ought to be given a chance. It would be great if Adrian Ramsay was MP for Norwich.”

Mr Cameron is a realist, though. He knows that the Greens probably won’t be forming a government after May 6th but still he prefers his own MP to be a Green and is determined to play his part in electing Adrian Ramsay as the first Green MP for Norwich.

The Greens, who score an impressive 8 out of 10, come out with the highest scores on issues such as trade justice, international aid and IMF reform, ahead of the Liberal Democrats (6), Labour (5) and the poorly scoring Conservatives, at a paltry 3.

To tackle world poverty, the Green Party has said the UK should:

• Introduce a "Robin Hood" tax which would generate as much as £250bn by taxing bankers’ transactions by as little as 0.05%. This money would be used to tackle global poverty, as well as tackling climate change and investing in public services.
• Increase aid by exceeding the UN's target and allocating at least 1 per cent of UK Gross National Product for aid by 2011, adding an extra £4.5bn pa. This aid should be targeted for the poorest, should be linked to economic policy conditions, should respect gender equality and not be diverted to equipping security forces.
• Keep the International Aid Department separate from the Foreign Office, so as to separate foreign policy interests from humanitarian assistance.

  Green Party General Election candidate for Norwich South, Adrian Ramsay, who is also Deputy Leader of the Green Party nationally, commented:

  "We think our policies would radically improve the lives of the poorest. When it comes to international aid, we would exceed the UN target. The ‘Robin Hood’ tax, which officially became Green Party policy at our spring conference in February, would provide billions of pounds to tackle global poverty, whilst taking a minute percentage of large financial transactions. We also want to reform world trade rules to ensure that Fair Trade becomes the norm.

  "We are on the brink of getting our first MPs into Westminster, which would mean independent voices in Parliament talking about these vital issues, and holding the Government to account."

  Julian Oram, the World Development Movement's head of policy said:

  "Anti-poverty campaigners have been shocked by the Conservative Party’s admission that part of the aid budget under a Tory government could be used for British military operations in developing countries. And Labour’s promise to help countries cope with climate change would also come out of the aid budget, diverting finance away from health and education, rather than being additional to that much needed aid.

  “The take-home message to the three main party leaders is: must do better if you genuinely want to tackle the root causes of global poverty.”

The Green Party shop in Dove Street has been a magnet for people requesting posters and offering to help the campaign. In fact volunteers have been streaming into Norwich from around the country wanting to be part of the big push to make Adrian Ramsay one of the first Green MPs. They know that Norwich South is one of the Green Party’s target constituencies at this election, along with Brighton Pavilion and Lewisham Deptford. Together with local supporters about two hundred people are working for Adrian’s victory.

Day to day news of the campaign is spreading on social networking sites too. Adrian has nearly a thousand “friends” on his Facebook sites, and nearly 700 followers on Twitter.

To view the new video go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXmt7wUaK_g

To embed the video on your own website use this code:

<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/uXmt7wUaK_g&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/uXmt7wUaK_g&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>

There are no restrictions on the use of the video.

There’s already a heavy concentration of Green Party posters in the streets of Norwich South, now there are also ads in city centre phone boxes along with large billboards at Dereham Road, Hall Road and Carrow Road, and smaller ones at a number of local shopping centres.

They carry messages about Green Party policies on protecting the NHS, on job creation and on improving pensions.

The billboards are part of an advertising campaign on a variety of platforms, which also includes a personalised Party Election Broadcast - a world first for a political party - a mobile app, an online hub for the party at onlygreen.org.uk , and a TV campaign. Adrian Ramsay, the Green Party deputy leader and General Election candidate for Norwich South, has his own website at adrianramsay.org.uk , as well as a presence on Facebook and Twitter.

The campaign places politics in the hands of the public, allowing them to decide when, where and how they interact with the Green Party via TV, web or mobile. The outdoor posters across fifty regional sites contain shortcodes allowing passers by to download video content onto their phone to find out more about individual policies.

Adrian Ramsay said:

“Voters know we can run rings round the other parties with our policies on the environment, but the lightbulb moment comes when they hear what we have to say about creating jobs, protecting the NHS and fair pensions. They’re surprised they agree with us on a whole host of issues. So our campaign is all about making it as easy as possible for voters to find out what we're about, via our website, on their social networks, or their mobile”.

First Bus raised their ticket prices for journeys in and around Norwich and in other parts of Norfolk. Daily, two-trip and most single fares in Norwich have crept up by 10p each, while weekly tickets have increased by £1 and monthly tickets by £3.

Also this week, the local campaign group “Norwich in 90” has submitted a plea to the government for improved rail services in East Anglia. Their priorities include a 90 minute journey time between Norwich and London plus reliability improvements.

The Green Party believes the best way to achieve cheaper bus fares is to re-introduce a national scheme to regulate the buses so that services are run primarily to meet social need rather than for outright profit.

Adrian Ramsay, Green Party General Election candidate for Norwich South, said:

"Bus fares in Norwich have risen repeatedly in recent years. Studies show that over half the population would take the bus to work if the service was more reliable and more affordable. Cutting bus fares is a positive way to ease congestion and pollution on city roads.”

The Green Party believes that Britain’s fragmented railway system, which operates some of the highest fares anywhere in Europe, should be renationalised to improve services and lower fares.

Adrian Ramsay said:

“Taxpayers pay far more to subsidise shareholders than was ever used to fund British Rail, yet fares continue to rise. As an MP I would fight for the railways to be re-integrated into one coherent organisation under public ownership.”

The party’s costed manifesto envisages a £30bn diversion of money from road-building projects to public transport. £1.5bn would be used directly to reduce fares by up to 10%. This would have the added benefits of strengthening communities, reducing crime, improving health, reducing traffic deaths and creating 160,000 jobs.