The first is easy. If building more facilities for car use solved congestion problems, road safety problems and climate change, we would have solved it all years ago. We have continued to build roads and car parks, and car use has continued to grow, outstripping its new facilities in just a few years. A car park through the village of Portinscale will make life worse for its inhabitants and do nothing to reduce car use. The solution long-term is to build a car park by the A66 and run shuttle buses from there to the various tourist destinations, keeping cars out of our quiet valleys.

The second is more complicated. I really want to be able to support the removal of the dam/weir at Crummock, the rewiggling of Park Beck and the Cocker and the naturalising of lake levels. The removal of concrete from the natural environment before it starts to crumble has to be a good thing and there should be long-term benefits to wildlife – flora and fauna. I recognise that change is always difficult for people to accept. Remember how controversial the rewilding project at Haweswater was in the planning stage and how it has become one of our national treasures? United Utilities were involved in that too. 

In principle this must be a good thing, however United Utilities have not made it easy to support the Crummock project. The Environment Agency has pointed out faults in the flood reduction modelling, (largely to do with the use of previous flood risk maps), which is now being reworked. Cumberland Highways needs more information (largely on the surfacing of rights of way, and on car parking arrangements) before they can reach a decision. Natural England doesn’t seem to have responded as yet. I am therefore glad that the Lake District National Park has suspended the planning application until such time as the correct flood risk modelling has been done and further data has been provided to Cumberland Highways. I also wait with interest for Natural England’s response.

When the planning process is resumed, I hope to be able to support it. I know that it will be monitored by statutory agencies (both Natural England and the Environment Agency) while it is a live project and trust them to ensure it is properly delivered. 

Cllr Jill Perry

The post Crummock Water appeared first on Allerdale & Copeland Green Party.

The background is set against reductions and proposed cuts. Pensioners had already had winter fuel payments cut. Eligibility for PIP payments, designed to help people with disabilities, is due to be restricted.The Government wants to become more efficient and reduce its own service costs by 15%.  These are measures to cut expenditure, not improve lives.

Stamp duty has increased, making it more expensive to buy a property and employers’ national insurance contributions are up. These are to make money for the Government, not improve lives.

Carla Denyer from the Green Party called this month “Awful April”. On top of all the cuts, it’s the month when most of us see our household bills rise. These include Council Tax, energy bills and broadband. Some things you have a choice in who provides them or whether to have them at all, but, for example, my own water bill from United Utilities has increased by £122.15 this year and there is no other provider locally.

The minimum wage has gone up, so have state pensions. While this is good news, as the tax threshold stays frozen some of the increases will be eaten up in tax and then disappear paying increased bills.

Investment will be on increased defence spending and housing. In respect to housing this won’t mean providing money, but a change to planning to make it easier to get schemes approved.

I’m not saying being the Chancellor is easy but a short term balancing of the books won’t get us anywhere. There are a lot of more creative ways to increase revenue. One is through tax reform, including increases for the highest earners and those with the most assets. Then you need to spend money to get the economy moving again. That could be in better public transport or funded energy efficient social housing. These would improve lives.

So I don’t know who abducted the Spirit of the Labour Party, but for the sake of us all, please give it back.  Otherwise that prosperous future the Chancellor says she wants won’t be happening anytime soon.

Jane Hall

Green Party Member

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 Late last year the Green Party members put forward a motion asking the council to restrict the use of glyphosate as a weed killer due to its devastating direct and indirect effect on flora and fauna, including a link  to several forms of cancer. In recent years it has also been demonstrated that glyphosate has a detrimental effect on the gut of animals producing a higher risk of neuropsychiatric disorders. The pesticide has been banned or restricted in many countries including France, Vietnam, Denmark, and The Netherlands. 

The motion presented to the council was not asking for an outright immediate ban on the use of this pesticide. It was proposing a phased withdrawal over three years giving an opportunity to trial less harmful alternative weed treatments. You would have thought this to be a perfectly rational, sensible approach that mirrored the fact that over 80 boroughs in England have already banned or restricted glyphosate use. However, the motion was defeated by 28 votes to 6 with one abstention. Now what are we to make of this? Could it be that some of our democratic leaders view the Green Party as a motley collection of tree huggers and butterfly chasers with idealistic views that are unworkable in practice? Surely not! Whatever the reason, the warnings of environmental groups including Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, the WWF, as well as the Green Party have not been fully heeded. 

When something happens (like a wildfire in California, a series of floods, or a record-breaking storm) that shouts out our planet is struggling, – rather than admit that we might have a fundamental problem, some folks bury their heads in the sand like our dear old ostrich hoping that when they pull their heads out everything will be ok.  Well, it ain’t. 

The thing is, we all must change our view of what is important. In recent years we have grown used to streets and kerbs free of weeds (not like in the 1950s when I grew up!) but what really is the harm in a few wildflowers? Let’s give nature a chance.

Keith Fitton

Chair, West Cumberland Green Party

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Readers may have failed to notice amongst all the news noise about the American election, but the climate summit COP29 has been taking place over the last fortnight.

Ahead of the conference, it set itself the goal of “deep, rapid and sustained emission reductions now to keep temperatures under control and stay below 1.5˚C, while leaving no one behind” and Greens called on our Prime Minister to show leadership on the world stage, by ensuring COP29 commits to: 

• urgently transition away from fossil fuels 
• provide the finance promised for adaptation and mitigation, and to fund the loss and damage many are already experiencing due to climate impacts.

The venue of Azerbaijan was already controversial because of the country’s strong economic reliance on oil and gas, and then the President told the conference that oil and gas were a “gift from God”. Now scientists, environmentalists and politicians are calling for a 7-point reform of the COP process to ensure actions match the policy which has been thrashed out over the previous 28 years.

We need to move urgently to a new phase of implementation, where COP becomes the forum to hold governments to account and push forward a change agenda, including supporting countries to adapt to the impacts of the crisis already being felt. We must exclude fossil fuel companies and lobbyists, strengthen the representation of developing world countries who are most impacted by climate change and focus on making change happen. 

Prime Minister Starmer made a strong start by announcing an 81% cut in emissions by 2035. The setting of an interim goal is good – it avoids kicking the can down the road until it is too late. 

But as well as clean energy we need moves on energy reduction – mass insulation and public transport investment. Labour in government has downgraded the retrofitting of homes, failed to make solar panels on new housing compulsory, and increased bus fares by 50%, scrapping its commitment to £28 billion for green growth, while promising to invest £22 billion in carbon capture and storage. Scientists and environmental campaigners say this is an unproven technology that risks prolonging our reliance on oil and gas, just what the fossil fuel companies want. Rachel Reeves may have promised to be the first green chancellor but the first green chancellor will still be a Green Chancellor.

This year we are almost certain now to breach the 1.5 degree rise in global temperature, which was promised as a target upper limit only 9 years ago. When readers see this column, we will still be waiting for the final agreement from COP 29. Will it deliver anything more than a climate jamboree, or will it have developed a process for measuring actions against promises, and bring real carbon reductions?

Cllr Jill Perry

The post COP29 or COP out? appeared first on Allerdale & Copeland Green Party.

The honeymoon period for the new Labour Government is officially over. 

They have decided we cannot afford to pay the winter fuel payments to everyone over 65, and so will only pay it to those on pension credit. I hesitate to write about this as I am one who will lose that benefit. But we can afford our fuel bills. There will be many who cannot and face another winter of deciding between heating and eating. Potatoes and cauliflower have gone up 20% since last summer. Carrots by 14%. These are not luxuries; these are basic ingredients of healthy eating. 

According to Paul Lewis, money saving expert, over 2 million pensioners are poor and many others are hard up but not quite poor enough to get pension credit. There are also nearly 900,000 pensioners who would qualify but don’t claim it. As I get older, I understand that the faff of filling in the forms may just be too much for some people. So, if you know someone in this situation, please help them to make the claim. It’s worth it not just for the extra money but also for the other benefits it unlocks. Call 0800 991234 or check online at entitledto.co.uk

This is especially important now as the energy regulator Ofgem has raised the price cap by 9.5 per cent just before the onset of winter. For the average household this means an increase of about £150, so for most pensioners the winter fuel payment would cover the cost of the increase, but not much more.

Of course, it’s not just pensioners who face this crisis not of their making. This will be deeply worrying news for all those people already struggling to pay their bills. 

While the Labour Government has said that establishing GB Energy will reduce bills in the future, it must invest in improving the energy efficiency of homes too. We need a nationwide programme of government-backed, council-delivered home insulation starting immediately to help people keep their bills down for good.  Insulating people’s homes means they can stay warm while using less energy, save money and produce fewer harmful carbon emissions. 

Cllr Jill Perry

The post Honeymoon Period Over appeared first on Allerdale & Copeland Green Party.

Some would say the new Labour Government has got off to a cracking start. Already, though, there are questions about finances. It is great that the King’s Speech reset the tone to concentrate on public service rather than private gain, but Green MP Adrian Ramsay pointed out that Labour will not achieve its goals if it stays hampered by the monetary rules the previous Conservative Government set. As George Monbiot said, “Never let your opponents define the terms of a debate.”

The nearly 2 million people who voted Green, and lots of people who voted Labour wanted to see clean rivers and seas, an end to the cruel two-child benefit cap, no climate-wrecking oil and gas extraction from Rosebank (planned oil and gas field off Shetland), and local authorities to be given the powers to introduce controls on private rent levels. It won’t be delivered if we stick to Conservative spending rules. Even the recommended pay increase for health workers and teachers won’t be delivered unless the Government borrows more, taxes more, or cuts something else. “There is no fourth option” says Institute for Fiscal Studies director Paul Johnson.

That’s why the Green manifesto promised to raise taxes on the rich and superrich, and to increase borrowing to fund the shortfall in the investment we need.  Labour is fixated on economic growth to provide the funding, but we know that the earth cannot sustain such growth. As we approach Earth Overshoot Day (1st August this year) it’s worth remembering we are breaching the carrying capacity of our planet.

According to Oxfam the richest 1% of the population have more wealth than the poorest 70%. They could have afforded to pay some of that wealth in taxes to support the public investment we so urgently need. We call on Labour to change their minds about tax increases for the rich and superrich, so that we can all benefit from a society that functions.

Cllr Jill Perry

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Buses are a lifeline. They connect communities, ease loneliness and enable people to live full lives. They are vital to accessing work and education, especially for the 35 per cent of low-income households that have no car. They play a key part in cutting congestion and pollution.

But buses are in peril. More than a quarter of English bus services have been lost in a decade, and 16 per cent were cut in the first year of the pandemic alone.

The NOW card for people over 60 and temporary help from government in the £2 maximum single fare scheme, which runs until the end of this year, help only where there are buses to catch. Money from the cancellation of HS2 northern leg (Bus Service Improvement Plan BSIP and BSIP+) will help too. But despite this, service provision on surviving routes can be poor. Town services that run only every 30 minutes are not going to encourage car drivers to abandon their “cocoons”. And even these frequencies are at risk of being cut or hours of operation reduced.

Stagecoach has upset many communities with their change to timetables for the summer season. No consultation, no warning, just cuts and changes. Changes to the X4/5 service leave Braithwaite with a less frequent service and the residents, tourists and providers of tourist services are very unhappy because the service was well-used. Meanwhile residents of the Bassenthwaite side of the lake are not happy either because, although they have a more frequent daytime service along the A591, the evening service has been curtailed, and the one small bus a week which went through the village itself was cancelled last year.

People who live in Ireby are upset because their service (which only ran one day a week anyway) has been axed and left them completely cut off.

Cumberland is trying to use its BSIP money wisely to subsidise those services which are most likely to become viable. People want to use buses more frequently and leave their cars at home, and we all understand the need to travel by more sustainable methods. However, with car travel still too cheap and vast sums of our money spent by Government on roads and facilities to cater for them, it certainly isn’t easy for many people.

While various members of various political parties make the right noises about increasing rural bus services, the private ownership of public services means there is a fundamental mismatch in priorities. The first duty of a private company is profit for its shareholders. The first duty of a public service is to provide a usable service to as many people as possible. Until we have a Government which is prepared to grasp the nettle, make car travel less attractive and bring public services into public ownership, rural areas will be at the mercy of commercial companies.

Alistair Grey

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