The Conservatives are dangerous

Chris Turrell (The News, 24 September) states that “we – the Conservatives – have been pointing out that you cannot push up public borrowing to its present astronomic level without serious consequences”.

But the Conservative policy of let-the-bad-banks-go-bust (i.e. do nothing) would be a disaster. It would result in a total British economic freeze, bringing great difficulty to everyone who uses a bank account and the death of many businesses as they just could not function. Thankfully for the planet, the British Conservative Party economic policy has not been adopted by any government.

The Conservatives are not to be trusted either on foreign policy. In August 2006, Georgia stupidly fired the first shot in attacking Russia over South Ossetia. Georgia lost the war in a few days but not before David Cameron had given them his support and demanded that NATO members should give immediate membership to Georgia. Vote Conservative for World War III?

David Young

The Green Party General Election candidate for Bracknell.

Letter to the Bracknell Standard

Many people in Bracknell are suffering major financial difficulty due to greedy bankers and weak, lazy and self-centred politicians who have failed to protect the interests of voters. I call for legistlation to cap bankers’ bonuses. Also as a temporary measure, that nobody to be paid a pension of more than £4,000 a month, after tax.

Unemployment in Bracknell will become worse. Now is not the time for the rich to become hugely richer nor for those in poverty to become destitute.

David Young

The Green Party General Election candidate for Bracknell.

Cllr Alan Browne

I was very sorry to read of the sudden death of Cllr Alan Browne.

I had known him for 26 years as we both took part in lots of community activities in Birch Hill over that time. He did not have an easy personal life but was actively involved in many things for example: chair of the school PTA, member of the Community Association Committee, school governor, charity trustee, member of the Neighbourhood Action Group and Bracknell councillor.

He has been my political opponent. Of course he was not afraid to speak his mind but this sharpness is surely to be commended. It is not good to fluff about and local politicians must resist the temptation to “face both ways”. Our disagreements were conducted positively but there was always a twinkle in his eye.

David Young

The Green Party General Election candidate for Bracknell.

Well done to Bracknell Council!

I write to commend Bracknell Forest Council. Probably the person concerned is the Head of Libraries and Information.

I borrowed a Real Time Electricity Monitor free from the Great Hollands library. (There are 10 available.) It is simple to use and shows people how to save on their electricity bills. I have now demonstrated it in some 25 houses in Birch Hill. Six homes will now make savings of over £10 a month by turning high-usage appliances off at the wall.

They care about their money; I care about not wasting irreplaceable resources.

David Young

The Green Party General Election candidate for Bracknell.

19 Perils

Robert Lee (The Standard, August 13) asks if the Green Party is a political party or a religious organisation.

I believe that the human race faces 19 perils. They are melting permafrost releasing vast amounts of greenhouse gases, deforestation, loss of polar ice making us warmer, unstable weather, horrific flooding, rising sea levels, disruption of the system of ocean currents, devastated wildlife, increased chance of nuclear conflict, fanatical terrorism, starvation causing food wars, insufficient drinking water, overfishing, acidic seas, new diseases, old diseases moving north, additional coal-fired power stations, the use of irreplaceable fossil fuels rather than renewable energy (from wind, water and sun) and the population
explosion (in my lifetime from around 2 billion to nearly 7 billion).

If world politicians get together on our behalf and act quickly, I believe that the first 18 of these perils can be solved. For the sake of the future of humanity, the Green Party demands that they do this.

Some religious people believe God will look after everything for those that believe in the “true faith”. Other religious people are shocked that our generation of the human race is ruining God’s gift of human life. But the Green Party is a political party determined to motivate voters to demand the elimination of the world’s perils. Of course we have the support of many religious people, and their leaders, but the whole population is welcome to join the campaign and receive the thanks of everyone’s grandchildren.

David Young
The Green Party General Election candidate for Bracknell.

Three letters from Bracknell Standard require a reply…

Three letters (The Standard, July 30) need me to reply.

Mark Brown makes many good points but I must explain one thing. There is far less oil in the ground than people realise. OPEC nations sell their oil on the world market on a quota system, depending on each nation’s stated reserves, which are unverified. In 1985, in an attempt to sell more, Kuwait announced that its reserves had suddenly doubled. All the other OPEC nations then did the same, to protect their quota. Since then, all the claimed reserves have remained at the same level. The last major oil discoveries on the planet were in the 1960s, so it’s nonsense for OPEC to claim that the amount still in the ground is twice what it was in 1984.

Secondly, Robert Lee uses the word “unpleasant” and believes I am “scaremongering”. For my part, I cannot understand why, with all the weight of the scientific warnings, there are still people who won’t accept that the human race is in the worst dangers of its existence. Furthermore that these dangers can probably be fixed if we can persuade vote-seeking world politicians to act soon. And that means in the next 12 months. Even the boss of Esso, Rex Tillerson, is aware of the issues and earlier this year called for a tax on carbon usage, although this is not in his company’s interest.

A third letter wrongly claims that the Green Party is responsible for HIPs. In fact we find they are ineffective and expensive.

David Young
The Green Party General Election candidate for Bracknell.

Negative politics?

Michael Bentley (Letters, The Standard, July 9) complained that Party politics are too negative. Perhaps I can help.

There is only one essential issue. This is the survival of the human race so that future generations can benefit from as many opportunities as we have had.

We must all complain. In the last 100 years, due to the burning of fossil fuels, the temperature has risen by one degree. There is another 0.6 degree coming that we can’t do anything about.

We need to say we don’t want runaway climate chaos. World politicians must be persuaded to be harsh to their citizens and insist on change.

Across the planet, we must have mandatory cuts in our carbon consumption. The current weak proposals by our Government, if followed by all the developed nations, will only give humankind a 50:50 chance of survival. The latest G8 proposals are pathetic.

So everything important should be focussed with this in mind. A few examples:

1. The charging structure for energy in our homes is all wrong. There is a standing charge, a high rate for some of our usage and a lower rate for the rest. What should happen is the reverse: no standing charge, a low rate for essential needs and a much higher charge for those wasting irreplaceable resources.

2. Air travel should be taxed at the same rate as public transport. It is ridiculous that it costs so much to travel by train and bus but air travel, with its massive warming of the upper atmosphere, should be so cheap. Air fuel should not be VAT free.

3. We need much more energy from renewable sources. I know this will distress the NIMBYists. Too bad – but it’s for the benefit of all.

4. In the current economic situation, able unemployed people should receive technical training and then be paid to improve the energy efficiency of our buildings. Their wages would boost the economy and these free improvements to our homes would mean lower bills for all and a saving of irreplaceable energy. This insulation, solar panels etc would help UK manufacturing industries and also reduce unemployment. It’s a great idea for Government investment, surely much better than giving money to rich bankers.

5. The speed limit on our roads should be 55 mph. This would allow the stocks of oil to last longer. (I saw a forecast recently saying it will all be gone by 2028. I don’t want to believe this, but I do know that since its discovery, we have already used up well over half the planet’s irreplaceable stock that was created so many millions of years ago.)

The earth’s fifth mass extinction killed off the dinosaurs. If politicians don’t fix the perils now, the sixth will be here this century to say an unpleasant goodbye to our grandchildren.

David Young

The Green Party General Election candidate for Bracknell.

When our energy gets much more expensive and the lights go out, we shall know who to blame

John Piasecki (News, July 9) is wrong. The Green Party is not smug. How can one be cheerful during a nightmare? On the only really important topic (ensuring life to future generations), the weak environmental proposals of the Labour Government, if adopted by other industrialised nations too, have been estimated by top scientists to give almost all of the human race only a 50/50 chance of survival. That’s just not good enough. The Labour Government has done some good things but on the main issues they are a disaster. Why do we need a third London airport or to spend £76 billion on replacing Trident?

Mr Piasecki should not brag about the Labour economic record. We all remember the debacle of the scrapping of the 10p tax rate. Why are all these bankers being paid so much and not taxed enough, when we will all be suffering for their failures with several years of poverty. The Government should be investing money into improving insulation in our buildings, encouraging employment in the renewable energy industry and advancing the energy sources of wind, water and sunlight. When our energy gets much more expensive and the lights go out, we shall know who to blame.

David Young

The Green Party General Election candidate for Bracknell.

Lib Dem lost votes

Adam Afriyie tells us (News, June 18) the Liberal Democrats lost 1 in 4 of their votes in Windsor at the 4 June election. I’m not surprised as voters see LibDems as a spent force. I can understand if people elect a Conservative Government at the next election (probably on 6 May 2010). I can understand if people elect a Labour Government at the subsequent election (possibly on 7 May 2015). The LibDems exist for people who can’t make up their minds which of these two parties should govern our nation for the next five years.

But there is a third way, given that Windsor, Wokingham and Bracknell will surely re-elect Conservative MPs at the next election. There is a bigger picture than offering short term bribes and populistic ploys to voters. At elections I hope people will register a protest vote at the lack of will by all three grey parties to solve the huge perils that threaten the planet.

The Earth’s 5th mass extinction killed off the dinosaurs.If politicians don’t fix the perils now, the sixth, will be here this century. This is work that has to be done now, or else future generations will live awful lives.

David Young

The Green Party General Election candidate for Bracknell.

50p tax

I see the Labour Government plans to impose a 50 pence monthly levy on everybodys’ phone line to fund the rollout of “superfast broadband” in rural areas.

This is a disgrace! Why should we all pay for those who already have the pleasures of rural life, to benefit even more. They should pay for their own improvements.

There are many people who just cannot afford this extra tax. They are right up against it due to Government tax increases, diminishing pensions and higher Council Tax.

I call on the Bracknell Labour candidate, John Piasecki, to either justify yet another burden on poor people or else state his opposition to this nonsense.

David Young

The Green Party General Election candidate for Bracknell.