General Election – Campaign News
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Report and video links of a Brighton Pavilion hustings last Sunday:
One Church wrote:Our ‘Video Hustings’ event took place at One Church on Sunday. The feedback was positive and the exercise was wholeheartedly regarded as worthwhile. Thank you again for your contribution to this project.Some of you asked if it would be possible to view the videos. The links can now be found here:http://onechurchbrighton.org/news/portrait-politicsThe church has been approached by a local TV station requesting permission to use some of this material. We have no problem with this and, indeed, are very happy for the social justice issues raised to reach a wider audience. We assume that each of you, likewise, will be happy for your perspectives to gain wider publicity but should you for any reason prefer this not to happen, please let us know immediately and we will withhold our approval.A reply to an email sent to myself with regard to Our election campaign;Mr Mizner,The Socialist Party want a Revolution in "thought" and Social Relationships. From a society premised on "production for profit", to one based on "production for use"!Within this, we believe that education should be a "journey" that lasts a lifetime. We do not, nor can, support an ethos whereupon "education" as such, is predicated upon its use to the Capitalists, within the way society is presently organised.We are not automata, nor round pegs to be moulded to fit square holes, we are human beings and society, as it exists at present, is incapable of treating people as "human beings".We want an end to a system of "human exploitation" and therefore, cannot support calls to "run" this exploitative system more effectively.It may be of interest to you Dr Mizner, to understand that we do not consider the above, "workplace" experiences but "employment" experiences! Whereas we may not all be "employed", we all, in one way or another "work".Yours Fraternally and for Socialism,Steve Colborn.The Socialist PartyEasington Constituency Candidate.
Here is the original email request;Thank you for supporting the Engineering Development Trust (EDT), a registered charity in England and Scotland.Please enable images for this email or copy this link into your browser if you cannot read this. EDTWeltech Centre, RidgewayWelwynHertfordshireAL7 2AA Tel: 01707 871505Email: info@etrust.org.ukWebsite: www.etrust.org.ukDear Steve, Workplace experience – the crucial link in educationI would like to introduce EDT, the leading charity facilitating business/education links, helping to develop employability skills and inspire young people into science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) careers.As a parliamentary prospective candidate you will be aware that UK industry is forecasting a significant gap in the availability of STEM skills over the next ten or more years. In engineering alone authoritative reports predict that over 83,000 new engineers and technicians will be needed in each of the next ten years. The picture in science and technology is similar.Political parties supporting investment in apprenticeships is a step in the right direction, however evidence suggests it is of equal importance to enable young people to get an insight into STEM careers and to be inspired by professionals in industry, while they are still at school and whilst they are still making decisions about the subjects they want to study. The ability to meet role model engineers and scientists and to undertake realistic hands-on projects in these subjects, mentored by people who have chosen these careers, is very important in encouraging young people to focus on developing the skills that are most needed by British industry.Each year at EDT, we enable over 30,000 young people to gain such insights, however we are aware that so much more is possible and that there is a role for opinion formers such as yourself to encourage employers to build these sorts of links with schools and to be aware of programmes such as the portfolio we offer, consisting of Tasters, Projects and Placements, that cater for 11 to 21 year olds across the UK.EDT also is responsible for the national coordination of ‘Industrial Cadets’ an employer led workplace experience accreditation, inspired by HRH The Prince of Wales and supported by UKCES through the Employer Ownership of Skills pilot programme.At EDT we are passionate about giving young people the opportunity to enjoy inspiring and effective workplace experiences which inspire them into the careers that the UK most needs for its future prosperity. We would very much like to see prospective party candidates supporting and encouraging high quality workplace experiences for young people at school.If you would like to learn more about EDT’s work do please visit our website http://www.etrust.org.uk. Do also contact me if you would like to learn more about our work. Yours sincerely,Dr Gordon MiznerChief ExecutiveReply to a supporter of WWF with environmental concerns:
Quote:Hello Nina, Thanks for your email. Sorry to say but i suspect your proposals don't go nearly far enough. Big business has always made money from ruining our environment: the industrial revolution grew because it could use the air sea and earth as a cost free dumping ground, and the planet's resources were seen as unlimited. That's how big business works and will continue to work unless we take it over; unless we tame it by asserting our control. Somehow the owners of large corporations – oil companies, logging companies, mining companies – think their vast wealth will enable them to build a wall between themselves and the despoilation of the planet: they will somehow be able to breathe dollars when the oxygen runs out. They certainly have no qualms about ruining it for the rest of us. 30 years of discussion about climate change has produced nothing of any value or impact – because they are not interested. If regulation worked, big companies like google etc would pay their taxes, oil exploration companies would not pollute the land and sea, and clothing companies would not continually be found to be using child labour. Exploitation is in their DNA – it is hard wired. Power has to be taken away from them before we get any real movement, and we need a popular movement to achieve it. We need a socialist world where we control what happens and produce what we need with regard to the needs of the future of the planet and our children's children. Vote socialist at this election to show you utterly reject this charade of democracy where the fruit machine always shows a jackpot for the rich. Vote socialist for yourself your future and your planet. Best wishes Howard Pilott THE Socialist Party candidate Brighton Pavilion http://spgb.net/brHoward performed very well on those videos. Please pass on my congratulations and appreciation to him …we got the last word in the first video and we got the first word in the second clip plus as well as the last word. The editors of the video obviously understood the value of his contributions.The 3rd and 4th video clips also showed his skill in explaining politics and economics, very much on par with such an experienced politico MP as Caroline Lucas. Can we now edit those 4 videos into one featuring Howard alone and have this available before polling day?
Sorry, i mean making one party video out of the five videos clips…I also note that Howard has taken aboard the earlier exchange on the Party's name, signing off now as THE Socialist Party candidate just to make it even clearer with a special emphasis
alanjjohnstone wrote:Can we now edit those 4 videos into one featuring Howard alone and have this available before polling day?Probably but you need to contact the Audio-Visual Committee rather than to leave it to chance.
A response to an email from Greenpeace;Hi Will, I do indeed oppose fracking as an unnecessary imposition on, not only peoples lives but moreover, on the environment!That being said however, I feel that to sign your "Frack Free Promise" would be nothing more than an empty gesture.The only thing that will call a halt to Fracking, is if it becomes prohibitively expensive for the Capitalist Firms to carry out this extraction.As with the vast majority of campaigns, petitions ETC, the only thing that really works is whether or not profit is affected. This is all, in the final analysis, Capitalists take note of, "the bottom line"!As a Candidate for the only Political Party that, at the forthcoming election, offers an alternative to the present Capitalist System, and by extension, the problems it engenders by its very existence, (The Socialist Party), I/We would invite you and the wider Greenpeace movement, to consider pushing the call for an alternative Social System, to solve the problems Capitalism has caused, Socialism.A Socialist system, based on the common ownership and democratic control, of the means for producing and distributing the things we, as human beings need to live. A system of society which will be worldwide, to replace worldwide Capitalism. In this system the incentive to degrade our environment and the life reliant upon it, would cease to have any meaning.I/We would urge you, in Greenpeace to seriously consider the things I have mentioned.Capitalists will never forsake their need for profit, it is time concerned individuals/organisations made the profit motive superfluous.I await your and your organisations response with interest. Steve Colborn.The Socialist PartyEasington Constituency Candidate.
steve colborn wrote:I do indeed oppose frackingYou're free to have you're own opinion on this but should election candidates really be stating positions that have not been agreed on by the party as a whole? Or if they do should they not emphasise that this is their own opinion and not that of the party?
Did I say "We" oppose fracking comrade? no, not at all. The gist of the response was that environmental degradation of our environment, whether through fracking, or other activities, is a consequence of the Capitalist system. Profit at "all" costs.You have taken precisely 5 words out of a response, without the context of the rest of the words! Nevertheless, I will be mindful of this in future.
A response sent to the Just Say Yes campaign, re extreme poverty and preventable disease;Dear Shernyse, Thanks for your email, regarding the Just Say Yes campaign. I/We have highlighted the problems you raise, a number of times over the years. The deaths of men, women and children from starvation or directly related illness/disease, or preventable disease.Campaigns to address these serious problems have, I'm afraid to say, come to virtually nothing, despite the on going efforts of many concerned individuals. The reason, they have/do take place, is within the context of a society, where the things we, as Human Beings need to live, are produced for profit, not use! No profit, no production. Cannot pay, then cannot have!To try and counter the problems you raise, whilst leaving the cause behind, is to put it mildly, futile!The Socialist Party, for whom I am the Parliamentary Candidate for the Easington constituency, will be arguing at the Election, that the only way to solve the problems you highlight and the myriad others caused by Capitalism, is to replace this social system, of production for profit, with another, based on production solely for human use (Socialism).Only when the "profit motive" is replaced by the alternative of "production for direct human use", will the problem of people dying of starvation in a world than can easily feed us all, cease.When houses are produced "only" for human habitation, not to be bought and sold for profit, or rented for the benefit of a landlords income, will homelessness become a thing of the past.Where medicines will be produced to treat/cure people, not for the "profit" of a few Capitalists, who own and control the world and everything in and on it.Only when society is run for the benefit of all and by all, will we be able to put a stop to the problems outlined above and many others.I/We would urge you and your organisation to consider this alternative, as campaigns, petitions and marches have been shown palpably to have failed!We look forward to you contacting The Socialist Party for more information, as to how this Societal Transformation can be achieved. Yours Fraternally,Steve Colborn.The Socialist Party CandidateEasington Parliamentary Constituency.
DJP wrote:steve colborn wrote:I do indeed oppose frackingYou're free to have you're own opinion on this but should election candidates really be stating positions that have not been agreed on by the party as a whole? Or if they do should they not emphasise that this is their own opinion and not that of the party?
Election candidates should be stating the view of the Ecology and Socialism SPGB pamphlet from 1990 and the An Inconvenient Question SPGB pamphlet from 2000
Quote:Since the publication of our Ecology and Socialism pamphlet of 1990 environmental problems facing the planet have got much worse. We said then that attempts to solve those problems within capitalism would meet with failure, and that is precisely what has happened. Recent research on increasing environmental degradation has painted an alarming picture of the likely future if the profit system continues to hold sway. Voices claiming that the proper use of market forces will solve the problem can still be heard, but as time goes on the emerging facts of what is happening serve only to contradict those voices.and the resolution of SPGB conference from 1992
Quote:That this Conference instructs the EC to ensure that the SSPC, the Publicity Committee, the Meetings Committee and all writers and speakers in the presentation and content of our case lay stress upon the positive aspects of it, i.e. they should ensure that we are understood to be advocates of a new world society, where sound ecological values underlie productive activities38 Degrees hustings: Monday 27th April, 7:00pm The Volcano Theatre, 227 High Street, Swansea, SA1 1NY
Promotional video and poster produced by the organisers of hustings in Whitstable on 30 April.http://youtu.be/7fbW5wZ1HBQhttps://meetyournextmp.com/event/61-whitstable-hustings
Howard Pilott wrote:I've just received a lovely letter from a voter enclosing a cheque for £50, made out to me, apparently to cover expenses.Howard will be forwarding this amount to Head Office.
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