UK wide:
We did exceedingly well considering the Labour surge and to come out with a Green led Council in Brighton is brilliant. We also made other gains across the country proving that Green politics is not just the preserve of Brighton as so many commentators seem to think. We are close to becoming the biggest group on Norwich Council; have strong representation on Lewisham and Lancaster Councils and a total of around 150 councillors in England including some Councillors in new areas. There is only one common denominator in these disparate areas of the country – sheer hard work on the ground. We have shown again that politics based on principle is a viable way forward so long as it is backed up by action that improves people’s lives.

Wales:
The massive disappointment was Jake Griffiths failing in his bid to get elected in South Wales Central. We thought he needed 7%. As it turned out he would have needed 8%. He achieved 5.2%, representing a modest 1.2% rise on last time. The problem was very simple. The region consisted of 8 constituencies that stretched from Cardiff and the Vale to Rhondda and Pontypridd. In the two constituencies that the Cardiff team have worked consistently for several years, they achieved 9.2% (Cardiff Central) and 8.6% (Cardiff West). In the Valleys it was the same 2%ish that is typical of our baseline support where no work goes in.

Across the whole of Wales, we achieved 3.4%, which on a truly proportional system would give us 2 out of 60 seats in the WAG (with the BNP getting the same, incidentally). This election shows that even with a supposedly more proportional additional member system, the effort required to achieve anything electorally is extraordinary for smaller parties. We ended up with the same 4 parties carving up the 20 regional seats as won all the 40 FPTP constituency seats.

At least we are within striking distance of achieving representation via this system. Chris Simpson achieved the same 5.2% as Jake standing in just one constituency, Ceredigion, at his own expense I believe. I am delighted that he got his deposit back for achieving over 5%, but this still left him a distant 5th out of five, even in a very quirky seat (PC hold, but swing to LD in second and Labour just 1000 votes ahead of the Greens in 4th place).

The appeal to Labour voters to put more thought into their second votes largely fell on deaf ears. There were 72000 labour votes binned in our South Wales West region; over 85000 in the key South Wales Central region (where less than 6000 heeding the call to 2nd Vote Green would have got Jake in); and nationally 350000 votes achieved just 2 top-up seats, even though they already had won 47% of the seats with just 42% of the votes in the constituencies! The nonsense of the system also meant that the Lib Dems got 4 top-up seats for 76000 votes whereas we got nothing for 33000 votes and 6th place (but then neither did UKIP for 44000 votes in 5th place).

South Wales West:
Ranking the 7 constituencies in order of our % vote gives:
Swansea West (4.2); Gower (3.2); Bridgend (2.35); Swansea East (2.1); Neath (1.9); Ogmore (1.9); Aberavon (1.8). Whole region = 2.6%

So well done Keith Ross for some reward for all his hard work in Swansea West over a long period. The Gower surprised me a bit, but I was pleased that Bridgend came next and suggests we have made a bit of difference since getting going last November. But overall, we are behind the national average. Add this to the fact that we fell into 8th place, behind UKIP (5th), Socialist Labour (6th) and, most disturbingly, the BNP (7th); and it is clear we have much work to do.

Socialist Labour are a bit of an enigma. This is the Party backed by Arthur Scargill. They have no real presence on the ground and the general feeling is that they pick up votes intended for the Labour Party (some deluded supporters might still think that Labour is vaguely socialist), and they may even have ‘nicked’ a few of of us as they were listed next to us on the ballot paper with a logo very similar to ours with a casual glance.

It would not appear viable to even contemplate a serious challenge in this region next time around as things stand. 7% would have been enough this time around, but that means roughly trebling our support region-wide. Without active members in every constituency, or enough to work every constituency, we would only be likely to suffer the same fate that befell Jake.

Bridgend:
The Bridgend results mirrored those of the Region as a whole. I had hoped that we might be able to glean information from the count to give us some idea of the pattern of our support across the constituency. The local Labour party had a team of a couple of dozen successfully getting sample scores from just about every ballot box. This was all fed into a laptop and gives them a very detailed pattern of their support across the whole constituency. It helps them immensely in targeting campaigning resources. They put all their attention into the Constituency ballot, with the simpler 4 choices on it. They therefore also know the patterns of support for all their 3 main rivals. We had just myself, Delyth and Gareth in attendance with clipboards and pens at the ready, and had to focus on the big, complex A4 ballot papers for the regional vote – with 11 choices on it!!. Many thanks to both of them for being there and doing their best.

We did some sampling on the area-wide postal votes, which was happening before the polling station boxes arrived. This was actually fairly encouraging, giving results that suggested 4-5% may be realistic. However, once the polling station boxes started arriving we were quickly spinning tops! We also did not have the preparation in place to know that where all the polling station names/numbers related to. We ended up with some pretty crude and patchy results which threw up some interesting enough impressions.

We appear to have done better than average (c5%) in a few areas, such as parts of Maesteg (eg Garth) and Oldcastle (Jonathan Spink’s old stomping ground); whereas we seemed to do particularly poorly in a few other areas, such as Morfa (town centre) and Porthcawl. I had hoped that Sustainable Wales’ high profile in Porthcawl might be beneficial – but it appears not. Unfortunately, we were unable to spot ballot boxes from wards that we have talked about as possible targets.

OVERALL – It is clear that we have to clearly target our efforts if we are to achieve any electoral success at all. I think it confirms that the strategy we have talked about for the BCBC elections is the right one. We have to work within the confines of a system that is skewed very heavily against us (see AV below). The experience in other parts of Wales and the UK as a whole underline this. But there are also shining examples that if we are prepared to commit to the long haul, breakthroughs are possible. And furthermore, where we have seen breakthroughs happen, the general experience is that people like our principles and our integrity, and it becomes possible to build relatively quickly on these breakthroughs.

Finally,
NO to AV
Mixed feelings here; which would have been the case whatever the outcome. Nick Clegg was spot on when he described it as a “grubby little compromise”, but then it was HIS grubby little compromise to get his grubby little hands on a slice of Government. I hope he feels suitably chastened by his kicking at the ballot box to realise that it was a deal never worth doing.

Time will tell what this result really means. If it really is the British public saying that they are happy with the tried and tested way of doing politics, then the British Public really has to stop moaning about our politics – and that includes the 60% who could not be bothered to express any opinion on the matter. Does anyone really believe this?

I prefer to spin this the other way. People are thoroughly disillusioned with our politics and the grubby little compromise offered no real prospect of that changing. People saw through the appalling campaigns of exaggeration and misrepresentation of both sides of the argument. There was not enough in it to merit any enthusiasm at all. Clegg played nicely into the hands of the Tory interests that always have and always will benefit disproportionately from the present system.

Looking forward, I am pleased to see determination on the part of all with a true interest in improving our democracy, to continue the argument and battle on. We have to continue fight for real alternatives and real democracy. It is the end of the beginning – not the beginning of the end that some are portraying it as.

The AV referendum has given me some consternation. It is a bit like being asked whether I want my left arm or my right arm chopped off. I don’t want either option, thank you very much!! As far as I am concerned, PR is the only way to properly democratic politics. But as there is no choice but to have one or the other, there is, of course the lesser of two evils with choosing an arm to lose (as a right hander, it would be bye bye to my left arm). So it is with AV or FPTP. There is clearly a very small advantage in opting for AV, so YES to AV it will have to be.

As for the first WAG ballot paper, we have just five options:

• Carwyn Jones – Labour
• Alex Williams – Conservative
• Briony Davies – Lib Dems
• Tim Thomas – Plaid Cymru
• Abstain

Ordinarily, I would have no trouble choosing the Lib Dems from this motley crew, as I abhor nationalism  and the Lib Dems used to be the least right wing of the other three. See: http://www.politicalcompass.org/ukparties2010

As brave as I believe they were to enter a coalition with the Tories, Clegg has cosied up too close to Cameron for the Lib Dems to be an acceptable option at the moment. They deserve the bloody nose they are likely to get.

This leaves us with Carwyn Jones and Labour. The only realistic challenger is Alex Williams for the Tories, and as this is obviously unacceptable, despite Alex being a nice guy, I feel compelled to back Carwyn on this occasion. I would probably have abstained in the belief that Carwyn is probably safe enough, but as many Labour supporters are backing our 2nd Vote Green message (rather than waste their second vote), preferring us as allies to the other options, I feel we should repay the favour and back Labour on the first ballot, given the Conservative challenge in this seat is within striking distance. So, again without any great enthusiasm, I will vote Carwyn Jones, Labour on the first ballot.

Andy Chyba
Chair Bridgend Green Party.

Greens will need around 7% across South Wales Central on the 5th May to make history and elect Wales Green Party leader Jake Griffiths as the first Green AM.

Greens have run their campaign in the region based on the slogan “2nd Vote Green”. They are only appearing on the second ballot paper and are appealing to supporters of Labour and other parties to give them their second vote.

Their campaign has shown how 74,000 Labour votes were binned in the last election because the proportional electoral system makes means that the large amounts of votes Labour get on the first vote makes it all but impossible for them to win seats on the second.

Last election, wasted Labour votes allowed the Tories and Plaid Cymru to win the four regional seats last time around. With Plaid Cymru refusing to rule out a coalition with the Tories, Greens have warned a vote for Labour could let the Tories in through the back door.

The poll also puts the party significantly above the Lib Dems who are on 5% in the region, as disillusioned supporters turn to the Greens.

Having last year achieved the historic breakthrough of winning their first Westminster seat, the Greens are pushing hard for a second breakthrough this year.

Caroline Lucas, who became Britain’s first Green Party MP last year, said:

“Today’s poll is more great news for the Green Party in Wales. Following my election last May as Britain’s first Green MP, a breakthrough in the Welsh Assembly would be part of a chain of successes, joining Green colleagues in Northern Ireland, Scotland and the European Parliament.”

Jake Griffiths, candidate for South Wales Central in May’s Assembly Election, said:

“Green AMs are needed, now more than ever, to challenge the devastating cuts to public services being imposed by Westminster and to get Wales onto the path towards a low-carbon economy.

“Green policies provide a real alternative to swingeing cuts. We would argue for investment into the economy, creating thousands of local and sustainable jobs to beat the recession, address social problems and tackle climate change. These ideas must be heard in the Assembly chamber if they are to become a reality.”

It would appear that 9 out of 10 cats will be voting for AV – that is good enough for me!

It can be compared to Scouts and Guides in some ways, I suppose, but it is built on thoroughly Green values. It is a movement for children and young people, open to everyone from birth to adult. It offers a place where children will grow in confidence, learn about the world and start to understand how to value our planet and each other. At Woodcraft Folk they believe passionately in equality and co-operation everyone is welcome to join their groups.

Every week thousands of volunteers and young people meet in school halls, community venues and a host of other places to learn about big ideas through fun activities like singing, playing and debating.

The aim is to have great fun, but also to try and develop childrens self-confidence and build their awareness of society around them.

Through the activities, outings and camps they help the members understand important issues like the environment, world debt and global conflict and, in recent years, they have increasingly focused on sustainable development.

By encouraging children to think, they hope they will help build a peaceful, fairer world.

See what I mean about thoroughly Green values? Find out more here: http://www.woodcraft.org.uk/

Currently, the nearest groups are in the Cardiff/Penarth area ( http://www.woodcraft.org.uk/where/district/27376 ), but I would certainly love to see it branch out in our direction. Any takers?

Even the camp concept has strong socialist values and sustainability at its core. Its big camp event is called Co-camp. I believe it is partially sponsored by the Co-operative movement. Find out more here: http://www.woodcraft.org.uk/cocamp-2011 . The video on this page was produced by Phin Harper, a fine young man who has been brought up with the movement and now studies at Cardiff University. Delyth and I had the pleasure of meeting and chatting with him at Conference in February. He is an excellent ambassador for the movement.

This posting will disappear down the blog as as time goes by, but to keep details readily to hand I have added their homepage to the Networks list in the column to the right.

Let me know if you have any questions. If I don’t know the answers, I know a young man who does!

This is, of course, one big con. Hythane relies 100% on (fracked) gas for its component elements and requires considerable energy and resources to create, and quite complex infrastructure (and energy) to transport, store and dispense. After all that, it remains essentially a fossil fuel that contributes green house gases when it is eventually burnt. Its total carbon footprint, like methane obtained from shale gas and CBM is likely to be significantly greater than sticking coal and oil into adjacent powers stations. This is before we even get on to the implications of fracking!!

So it is not even remotely a transition to a cleaner energy future. It is more a transition from big business making a fortune from one way of fueling internal combustion engines and thermal power stations, to another way of fueling internal combustion engines and thermal power stations. It is a way to a quicker and bigger buck than investing in the more sustainable renewables and associated technologies that have to be the real future – sooner or later. It will certainly be later, if Eden and all the frackers get their way.

Andy.

This message appears to be getting through. I have had 4 diehard labour supporters (including two councillors) acknowledge the sense of this and pledging to cast their second votes to the Greens. Perhaps they are still socialists after all! Send it to all the Labour sympathisers you can think of asap.

I quote from the leaflet that landed on my doormat: “Alex Williams is committed to protecting frontline health services from Labour’s £1 billion cuts”. I had to double-check. Yes, this is a Conservative talking. I am sorry Alex, you cannot expect anyone to take this seriously. This may be an election for the Welsh Assembly, but you cannot be so utterly at odds the actions of Westminster Conservatives in government.

There is of course, very little difference between Conservatives and Labour over the issue of public service cuts. Both are intent on decimating the services that the poor and vulnerable rely on. It is an absolute lie to say that there is no alternative to these cuts. The Green Party offer fully costed alternatives that would fully protect these services. How would we make ends meet? By stopping tax evasion, especially by big business and the super-rich. By reforming the tax system to ensure the tax burden properly reflects people’s ability to pay, and also makes polluters pay for the consequences of their actions. By slashing defence spending so that a relatively small country like the UK does not have the 4th biggest defence budget in the entire world (to fund us meddling in the affairs of other countries). By creating jobs that create tax payers, instead of putting people out of work to become a burden on the nation’s finances.

The readers of this paper have a rare opportunity on the 5th May. They can stick with the different shades of right-of-centre politics offered by Labour, Conservative and Lib Dems on the first constituency ballot paper, but then they can try voting, on the second regional ballot paper, for what they have traditionally always wanted and always known is best for Wales – a left of centre party that will properly look after the interests of the workers, the less well off and the disadvantaged – the Green Party.

The message to all with a genuine concern for protecting the NHS, and other public services, from Conservative and Labour cuts, is vote Green on the second regional ballot. That includes you, Alex, if you would only recognise it.
     
Andy Chyba
Bridgend Green Party