Those cheeky scamps at the Scottish Green Party have managed to include me in their manifesto. Well, okay they didn't include me, just a picture mash-up I did for this blog a few months back. Specifically, this image which appears on Page 4.
As if I wasn't going to be biased enough, they're trying to bribe me with flattery!
Commitments are in red, my comments are in black:
We reject the idea that the mere possibility of Carbon Capture and Storage, an unproven technology that’s still in development, should be used to justify new fossil fuelled power stations.
Nor should “energy from waste” be used as an excuse for another generation of industrial incinerators
begin a national energy efficiency and energy demand reduction programme
The first step is the easiest, and the first step should be reducing our existing energy demand.
insulate all domestic and public sector buildings to a high standard
provide incentives for combined heat and power schemes and for district heating
This seems to be an idea who's time has come - all the parties are championing local schemes. Talking of which...
extend the feed-in tariff to cover all micro-generation and community-owned renewables and begin a retrofit programme to add micro-renewables to public buildings
oppose new nuclear power stations, and decommission existing ones as they age
reduce the volume of coal burned in power stations as renewables come online
begin the long term strategic planning needed to provide charging points in time for [electric] vehicles coming onto the market
We know they're coming, so why not plan now?
seek to renationalise the railway network
expand the high speed rail network, which must be built to serve Scotland, not just London and the southern half of the UK
This is a no-brainer for anyone who lives north of Birmingham.
oppose airport expansion, to ensure that carbon cuts elsewhere are not wasted
decrease demand for transport through stronger local economies to meet communities’ needs
Greens will introduce a supermarket regulator
You know what? I think the only party who have not pledged to introduce a supermarket regulator is the SNP. Maybe the 'S' in their name actually stands for 'Sainsburys'!!
tighten controls on industrial fishing and put the emphasis on sustainable fishing, including regeneration zones, no take zones, quotas for bycatch of non-target species, onboard observers and marine protected areas
impose a moratorium on new fin-fish farms pending an enquiry into their environmental impacts
It's about time someone looked at these objectively and independently.
abolish Trident replacement, and scrap the existing nuclear fleet
As Billy Connolly once said, you could fill the missiles with doughnuts and no one would ever know. But hell, it's not like the country could do with £100 billion, is it?
push for a global treaty on greenhouse gas emissions
Whaddya mean you weren't expecting that one??
commit a minimum of 1% of GDP in aid to developing countries
drop the debts owed by the most indebted countries which cannot afford to repay them
Didn't Tony Blair sign us up to this in 2005? Obviously he moved mountains to ensure it happened...
oppose arbitrary caps on immigration
urgently end asylum destitution and the imprisonment of children in the asylum system
Holding children in detention camps is Britain's Shame, and one that we would have condemned other countries for once upon a time.
So there you go, selected highlights of the Scottish Green Party manifesto.
In my completely biased opinion I like this one the best!
0 comments:
Post a Comment