The news that the massive reorganisation of local councils, being forced through by the government, will not, as claimed, save any money, is shocking confirmation that the entire project is a half-baked and bungled waste of taxpayers’ money, say Stroud Greens.

The government based its estimates of cost savings on a 2020 report commissioned by the County Council Network (CCN) that said £2.9bn could be saved over five years. But the CCN has since revised its analysis and now says the reorganisation could make no savings and will actually cost money in some cases. And the government has admitted it didn’t do any independent analysis of the costs.

The supposed savings were key to the Labour government’s insistence that councils should reorganise, with district councils (the tier of local government closest to communities) like Stroud District Council being abolished and decision-making moving up a tier to so-called unitary authorities.

But now the CCN has reported it would be more efficient to retain the current two-tier system for smaller council areas.

Councils were not consulted and given no alternative but to draw up plans to reorganise. Stroud Greens warned when the changes were first proposed that they would take decision-making power away from local communities, reduce democratic representation and erode trust in politics, with this centralisation of decision making dressed up as ‘devolution’. 

The party organised a public meeting back in March with a cross-party panel to discuss the proposals (pictured).

Adrian Oldman, coordinator of Stroud District Green Party, said this week: “I don’t know whether to laugh or cry at the news that this badly thought-through scheme is starting to unravel.

“Enormous amounts of everyone’s time have been taken up with working out a way to make the best of this undemocratic, half-baked project that has been imposed on councils without consultation or warning.

“The Greens always considered it to be a bad idea: removing a lower tier of local government and pushing decision making up a tier (in this case moving decision making from Stroud to Gloucester or to a regional mayor) under the guise of ‘devolution’.

“But there was always a faint light at the end of the tunnel: the promised cost savings for taxpayers. Now we know that those savings aren’t even expected to be achieved, it feels like the entire project will let taxpayers down. It will destroy grass-roots local democracy, hugely reducing access to elected representatives and presenting residents with the bill for the privilege.”

Cllr Oldman urged residents to write to Labour MP Simon Opher to ask him to put pressure on the government to halt their reorganisation plans, as now their main argument for it, saving money, has been totally debunked.

The post Stroud Greens react to ‘half-baked’ local government reorganisation as costs soar appeared first on Stroud District Green Party.

Volunteers are needed to take part in an ambitious project to litter pick more than 13 miles of the Stroudwater Canal and the Thames and Severn Canal, from where the waterway enters to where it exits Stroud District.

Volunteers can travel by kayak, paddleboard, canoe, bicycle or on foot, and will be pulling litter out of the water – using long-reach nets and waders where needed – and clearing it from the tow paths.

The event on Sunday September 14 will start at The Ship Inn at Framilode at 6am, pass through Ebley in Stroud at about noon, get to Stroud Brewery at about 3pm and finish at The Daneway pub in Sapperton at an estimated 6pm.

There will be five key sections on the route; volunteers can join at the start of any section and stay for as long as they like. Litter bags and sticks will be available.

1. Framilode to Saul Junction.
2. Saul Junction to The Missing Mile.
3. The Missing Mile to Cotswold Canals Trust Western Depot, where vessels will switch to the River Frome until the canal rejoins at Eastington.
4. CCT Western Depot to Stroud Brewery.
5. Stroud Brewery to Sapperton Tunnel.

The event is being organised by Stroud District Council’s Litter and Clean Environment Champion, Cllr Gill Thomas, who says the canals are subject to anti-social behaviour, including litter, fly tips and dog fouling, which harms wildlife and spoils the natural beauty of the waterways for visitors.

Cllr Thomas, Green councillor for Minchinhampton, has organised numerous litter-picking events around Stroud District. She said: “I’ve been fortunate to meet and work alongside many of the dedicated volunteers and lengths people of the Cotswold Canals Trust, whose tireless efforts ensures our waterways remain clean, safe, and welcoming for everyone. This event is a wonderful chance for all who value our local canals to come together, celebrate their hard work, and play a part in keeping these beautiful spaces litter-free and well cared for.”

The bags of litter will be collected by Ubico, the council’s waste collection contractor.

It’s free to take part in the event but donations are welcome to Cllr Thomas’s ‘Litter Pickers for Little Pickers’ fundraising campaign, which aims to raise £10,000 to buy litter pickers, books and reading sessions for 45 local primary schools around the district, encouraging more than 7,000 children to keep their local areas tidy. https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/litterpickersforlittlepickers

Anyone who’d like to take part should email Cllr Thomas at cllr.gill.thomas@stroud.gov.uk to get more detailed information about times and joining locations.

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Government suggestions that local councils should sell off allotments to raise money are deeply disturbing, say local Greens.

The local party spoke out at the start of National Allotment Week (August 11-17) after Housing Secretary Angela Rayner announced new ‘flexibility’ for councils to sell off assets, including allotment plots.

Some sites around the country have already been sold off, with some subsequently used for development.

There are five allotment sites spread around the parish of Stroud, all owned by Stroud Town Council: Bisley Old Road, Spider Lane, Summer Street, Stratford Road and Uplands – totalling more than 200 plots. Sites in other parts of the district are owned by other town and parish councils.

Cllr Lucas Schoemaker, Green district councillor for Trinity ward, where the Spider Lane site is situated, said: “Though the Town Council has no intention whatsoever to sell off its allotments (they are all well used and have waiting lists), my fear is that what the government calls the ‘flexibility’ to sell sites could, before we know it, become an instruction to sell off sites.

“The fact that this idea is being touted by government as a way to raise money also raises fears that central government plans further cuts to local council funding.

“Allotments are a well-loved feature of the town, and form part of the green spaces that are so important to residents in Stroud. They give people who don’t have gardens access to the open air, they enable the affordable production of healthy, local food, and gardening is well known as being good for mental health. Government should be protecting allotments, not throwing doubt on the future of our beloved green spaces, which add so much to the joy and wellbeing of so many residents.”

Pictured: Lucas Schoemaker, Green district councillor for Trinity ward, at the Spider Lane allotments with Joe Pedder, chair of the Spider Lane Allotment Association.

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A cross-party group of local councillors have today written to Prime Minister Keir Starmer urging that he recognise the state of Palestine immediately – in view of the horrific and ever worsening conditions being endured by the people of Gaza – instead of delaying until September.

They also ask that he makes the promised recognition unconditional, not dependent on any action that Israel may or may not take in the meantime.

As things stand, the government will recognise Palestine next month, but only if Israel fails to end the genocide, stop annexations in the West Bank and allow aid into Gaza.

The letter is signed by 34 of the 51 SDC councillors. It also calls for a full arms embargo and widespread sanctions on Israel, a ban on the import of settlement goods and money towards collecting evidence for prosecution of war crimes.

Cllr Kate Kay (Green) said: “The Green Group and fellow elected politicians in this district have come together to register their horror and despair at the intolerable treatment of the Palestinian people. It has to stop and we urge the UK government to act decisively, and now, to do our part in stopping it.”

Cllr Katy Hofmann (Labour) added: “All members of the Stroud District Council Labour Group share the same desire to see an urgent end to the atrocities in Palestine. We demand an immediate ceasefire, lasting peace and supply of aid, with full recognition of the state of Palestine as soon as is possible.”

Cllr Linda Cohen (Liberal Democrat) said: “There is no justification for these atrocities. We are already too late in taking action, not another minute must be lost. The lives of Palestinian children are as valuable as our own. The Government must take the lead and act today.”  

The picture shows the Ecotricity building in Stroud, outside which local Greens recently gathered in solidarity with owner Dale Vince’s decision to display the Palestinian flag.

The full text of the letter to Keir Starmer can be read below.

Dear Prime Minister

Unconditional recognition of a Palestinian State

As elected councillors in Stroud district, we individually and personally welcome the Government’s recent commitment to recognise Palestinian statehood, but believe this should take place immediately and unconditionally, particularly given Britain’s historically significant role as the former mandatory power in Palestine.

We are extremely concerned that the UK’s position suggests that Palestinian statehood can be used as a bargaining chip, only to be awarded if the Israeli government fails to end the genocide in Gaza and agrees to a range of other conditions, such as allowing the supply of aid and ending annexations in the West Bank. 

Although these conditions would be essential steps towards a ceasefire, we believe they must not be an alternative to recognising Palestinian statehood.

Immediate recognition would send a message that our country supports the rights of Palestine and sends a message to its people, that they are not alone and they can maintain hope for a route to lasting peace.

If Israel were to comply with the conditions, this would once again postpone our country’s long-overdue recognition of the state of Palestine, as part of the two-state solution, as the only option to secure peace in the region.

We urge you to make the recognition of the state of Palestine immediate and unconditional, and additionally to commit the UK to action which could further help to bring about the ceasefire. This should include a full arms embargo, widespread sanctions, a ban on the import of settlement goods and funding evidence collection for prosecution of war crimes.

We join with you in recognising the appalling and intolerable situation for the Palestinian people and urge you to commit to this immediate action to demonstrate the UK’s opposition to genocide in Gaza and our collective commitment to see a two-state solution for lasting peace.

Your sincerely,

Cllr Beki Aldam (Green)

Cllr Martin Baxendale (Green)

Cllr James Boyle (Green)

Cllr Catherine Braun (Green)

Cllr Martin Brown (Green)

Cllr John Callihan (Labour)

Cllr Sarah Canning (Green)

Cllr Linda Cohen (Lib Dem)

Cllr Fraser Dahdouh (Labour)

Cllr Jonathan Edmunds (Green)

Cllr Helen Fenton (Green)

Cllr Marisa Godfrey (Green)

Cllr Katy Hofmann (Labour)

Cllr Steve Hyndside (Green)

Cllr Cate James-Hodges (Green)

Cllr Carol Kambites (Green)

Cllr Kate Kay (Green)

Cllr Pete Kennedy (Green)

Cllr Gareth Kitchen (Green)

Cllr Gary Luff (Green)

Cllr Dave Mathews (Labour)

Cllr Cath Moore (Labour)

Cllr Natalie Rothwell-Warn (Green)

Cllr John Parker (Labour)

Cllr Martin Pearcy (Green)

Cllr Steve Robinson (Labour)

Cllr Matt Sargeant (Green)

Cllr Lucas Schoemaker (Green)

Cllr Moya Shannon (Green)

Cllr Holly Simkiss (Lib Dem)

Cllr Gill Thomas (Green)

Cllr Chloe Turner (Green)

Cllr Paul Turner (Independent)

Cllr Tricia Watson (Green)

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Clear political divisions emerged at Stroud District Council’s full meeting last week, as the Green administration successfully passed a motion opposing the Labour Government’s proposed rollback of environmental protections.

The motion, proposed by Deputy Council Leader Cllr Catherine Braun, criticised Part III of the Planning & Infrastructure Bill, which would allow developers to bypass on-site nature protections by paying a “nature restoration levy” to fund habitat improvements elsewhere. The Bill has drawn widespread condemnation from national environmental bodies – including the Wildlife Trusts, RSPB, and Woodland Trust – and has been branded “the worst attack on England’s ecosystems I’ve seen in my lifetime” by environmental writer George Monbiot.

Despite an official Labour Group position supporting the reforms, numerous Labour councillors broke ranks at Thursday night’s meeting to back the Greens’ motion, highlighting how many Labour councillors remain concerned about the government’s approach.

Cllr Braun said:

“Like Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust and others, we’re calling for Part III to be withdrawn. Letting developers pay to destroy irreplaceable habitats like Rodborough Common or the Severn Estuary is a dangerous precedent. It’s naïve—or underhand—to suggest these special places can simply be replaced elsewhere.”

Labour group leader Cllr Katy Hoffman defended the reforms, citing the urgent need for housing and system overhaul. But Green councillors argued that the focus should be on building the social and affordable homes we need and this should start with the 1.4 million houses that already have existing permission.

Green group leader Cllr Chloe Turner added:

“This isn’t just about wildlife — it’s about people. Access to nature is essential for health and wellbeing and must not become a luxury. Every community deserves nature-rich green space on their doorstep — not compensation schemes that excuse destruction.”

Thanks to the Green-led motion, the Council’s Chief Executive will now write to local MPs urging them to oppose Part III of the Bill. Since the meeting, the Government has proposed minor amendments, but leading nature organisations warn they do not go far enough to stop the weakening of environmental protections.

Pictured: Cllr Catherine Braun, who proposed the motion, with Cllr Chloe Turner, Green group leader.

Notes:

The motion’s resolution reads as follows:

Council RESOLVES to: 1. Request the Chief Executive of the Council to write to the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, relevant Secretaries of State, as well as local MPs, expressing the concerns in the motion on pages 189-192, and calling for the withdrawal of part 3 of the Planning and infrastructure Bill.

2. Ask our district’s three MPs, Dr Simon Opher MP, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, and Dr Roz Savage MP, to oppose measures in part 3 of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill.

3. Share this resolution with neighbouring councils, local civic groups, nature organisations and the local press, to encourage wider opposition and coordinated advocacy.

4. Adopt Gloucestershire’s Local Nature Recovery Strategy, to include bringing it to full council, as soon as it is available and in such a way as to become a material consideration in planning decision making.

• The full supporting text is available here:

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Gloucestershire County Council is to ask central government to consider nationalising failing water and wastewater provider Thames Water, thanks to a Green Party motion.

The motion at the full meeting on Wednesday (July 16) called on Government to review the case for nationalisation of Thames Water and the wider UK water industry, including the potential for restructuring the industry into one or more public benefit companies. It also called for the future of Thames Water to be subject to a transparent, democratic process, with scrutiny from politicians from areas supplied by Thames Water; trade unions and workers; citizens’ groups, and environmental organisations. 

The motion, proposed by Cllr Chloe Turner (Green, Minchinhampton) and seconded by Cllr Paul Hodgkinson (Liberal Democrat, Bourton-on-the-Water & Northleach), passed with majority support.

Thames Water serves thousands of customers across eastern Gloucestershire and has been widely criticised for its poor record on leaks and sewage pollution, as well as its huge debts.

Cllr Turner has been working with Compass, a cross-party campaigning organisation for a good society, which campaigns on the public ownership of water. Lena Swedlow, campaigns manager for Compass, said: “It’s wonderful to see Gloucestershire County Council pass this motion, the latest in an ever-growing number of motions supported by Lib Dem, Green, and Labour councillors across the Thames region.

“Local people and local government are constantly ahead of Westminster on this – from grassroots anti-sewage campaigners to county councils, the national movement for clean, affordable water is succeeding. Local leaders know that public ownership of water is the global norm and that industry workers, environmental experts and the general public remain clear in their demands.”

Cllr Turner said: “Water is too important a resource to be in private hands. For Greens, nationalisation is the only credible option to end the unlawful dumping of sewage, stop rewarding shareholders for failure, reinvest all profits back into fixing leaks, and build new infrastructure fit for the future.”

She added: “The government claims nationalisation would cost too much, but this assessment is based on a report commissioned by the water companies, who are hardly unbiased sources. The reality, according to independent experts, is that Thames Water could be nationalised at minimal cost. And nationalisation works: water services in 90% of the world are already in public ownership, which has been shown to bringgreat benefits to customers, staff and the environment.”

Cllr Hodgkinson said: “I’ve seen first-hand the widespread sewage pollution in the Cotswolds. This in itself is totally unacceptable but it’s clear that privatisation of the water industry has been a disaster for clean water, a disaster for Gloucestershire and a disaster for everyone in the Thames Water area.”

Green group leader Cllr Beki Hoyland (Forest of Dean: Blakeney & Bream) said: “We can exist for three minutes without air and for three days without water, it is one of our basic human requirements. Indeed it violates the UK’s health and safety regulations to deny tap water to someone.

“So how can something as basic as clean, drinkable water and the safe management of sewerage infrastructure be used to make huge individual and corporate profit? How can this vital service not have public scrutiny? This motion demonstrates this council’s support for taking water out of the hands of for-profit organisations.”

Cllr Turner is pictured with Cllr Steve Williams (Green) of Waverley Borough Council and Green peer Jenny Jones, Baroness of Moulsecoomb, outside the Royal Courts of Justice demanding a Thames Water “Alternative Board” earlier this year.

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See our previous message of solidarity here. Stroud Greens have also this week written to Ecotricity owner Dale Vince to express our backing for his decision to display the flag.

After the gathering many of us went to the weekly vigil for Gaza, alongside comrades from other political parties and none who deplore the genocide in Palestine.

The post Green councillors and supporters gather to support Ecotricity’s Palestinian flag appeared first on Stroud District Green Party.

Background: Stroud District Council (SDC), after receiving several complaints about energy company Ecotricity displaying a Palestinian flag on its Stroud HQ building, has asked the company to apply for planning permission.

Stroud District Green Party was subsequently asked by a journalist if this action by minority Green-led SDC conflicted with the local Green Party’s earlier statement in support of the Palestinians.

The following is our response:

“Councils – as the local planning authorities – are required to abide by national government planning legislation around which flags are allowed to be displayed.

The Council had received public complaints about the Ecotricity flag, so SDC officers were obliged to take advice on the matter. This confirmed that the Palestinian flag is not listed among those with automatic or deemed consent, because Palestine is not a state recognised by the UK Government (unlike in 147 of 193 UN Member States). As a result, the Council has had to invite Ecotricity to submit a planning application for the flag on its building.

Unfortunately, this disappointing outcome is not a matter where political leadership can intervene: councillors, even those who are part of a council’s administration, have no influence over this aspect of planning policy – rightly so, as politics should be kept out of such planning decisions.

Regardless of the action SDC is required to take as Local Planning Authority under national legislation, the Green group of councillors and the rest of Stroud District Green Party support Ecotricity in the decision to display the Palestinian flag on their building. The Ecotricity flag is a symbol of solidarity with the Palestinian people, and a protest against the violations of international law and the catastrophic violence being inflicted on them by the Israeli government. We join with Ecotricity in calling for an end to the genocide in Gaza and we share their support for all civilians caught up in the conflict. We will be writing to Dale Vince to express this support.

The Greens believe that this situation highlights the pressing need for the UK government to formally recognise the State of Palestine.

Recognising Palestine is a vital step towards justice, equality and a sustainable peace. It demonstrates a commitment to international law and a balanced approach to the region.”

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Stroud District Green Party says the decision dangerously conflates direct action with terrorism, and that the Government put MPs in an impossible position during the vote, by lumping Palestine Action together with two extremist organisations which do clearly fall under the definition of terrorist groups.

SDGP coordinator Adrian Oldman said: “Unlike the other two groups, Palestine Action falls far short of the rightly high bar for the definition of a terrorist organisation. But MPs were given the choice of banning all three or none at all.

“Only 26 MPs, including the four Greens, took the courageous step of voting against the blanket ban – and the Greens are furious that in doing so they were forced to vote against proscribing two clearly terrorist groups.”

He added: “We certainly don’t support everything Palestine Action do or say, but the group should not have been banned, a completely disproportionate response. Individual protestors can be sanctioned under existing criminal law if they commit a crime, while maintaining the right to non-violent direct action as a legitimate form of protest in this country.”

He pointed out the hypocrisy of Keir Starmer, who was one of the defence lawyers for the Fairford 5, who broke into a military base in 2004 because of their opposition to the Iraq war. “And we saw Home Secretary Yvette Cooper stand alongside other female MPs to celebrate the suffragettes this week,” Adrian said, “yet they are another group who could have found themselves proscribed as a terrorist organisation under this Government’s heavy-handed approach.”

“We believe the Government has overstepped the line by ignoring the long-held and much-cherished fundamental principle in our country of civil disobedience as a form of political protest. Had the Government merely wanted to deal with the damage caused by Palestine Action at the air base, they could have done so through existing criminal law by bringing charges such as those for criminal damage, violent disorder or aggravated burglary. Clearly they wanted much more than this: to shut down protest against the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

“Once again this Labour Government has cynically, dangerously and wrongly used anti-terrorism law to shut down legitimate dissent.

“The complicity of the British state in the ongoing atrocities in Gaza needs to be exposed. This issue will not go away; Government will not stop the growing groundswell of anger and outrage about the plight of the Palestinians.”

[The picture is a stock photo from a pro-Palestine demo in Stroud earlier this year.]

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The world has changed dramatically since Donald Trump became U.S. President.
Britain now faces a shifting global landscape shaped by the war in Ukraine, tensions over Israel and Palestine, and the rapid rise of the Reform Party at home.
These developments raise important questions. How should we respond? Who can we trust? Are there new allies to turn to – and is there a path back to Europe without losing face?

We have an outstanding panel of expert speakers:
• Richard Kirkpatrick, campaigns manager at the European Movement UK, which aims to rebuild the UK’s relationship with the EU.
• Mick Fealty, Stroud-based founder and editor of award-winning news and opinion portal Slugger O’Toole, which focuses on politics in Ireland and Britain
• Baroness Natalie Bennett, Green Party Peer in the House of Lords
Everyone is welcome and it’s free to attend.
Following the presentations there will be time for audience questions and discussion – we welcome everyone and the session is free.
Can’t join us on the night? Register anyway and we’ll send you the recording.

Register here: https://actionnetwork.org/events/new-world-order-how-will-britain-face-the-challenge?source=direct_link&

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