“Green Party Leader Coming To Hullbridge And Hockley”

It’s probably been a looooong time since a leader of one of the political parties came to our district. David Steel stopped off for a photo at Rayleigh Weir in 1983, but we can’t recall any others since then.
However according to Cllr Michael Hoy, the leader of the Green Party, Natalie Bennett, will be coming to Hullbridge and Hockley tomorrow.

Clearly the election there is hotting up…..

We’d like to officially deny the rumour that David Cameron was going to come, but was afraid of getting marooned in Watery Lane!

Watery Lane

About the author, admin

  • Big deal, tin pot party leader. Of all the countries in all the world, isn’t it strange how many lefty foreigners freely CHOOSE to come to live in England and then modestly proceed to tell us how ‘terrible’ it and we all are, and how they do things better!! Note especially, ‘Following her election as party leader Bennett told a press conference that the policies of the Green Party were “the only viable way forward for British people, for the world”.’ All on the back of a majority of votes she gained from within 3127 party votes cast nationally!!

    Natalie Bennett
    From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales
    Assumed office 3 September 2012

    Personal details
    Born 2 October 1966 (age 46)
    Sydney, Australia

    Alma mater
    University of Sydney
    University of New England
    University of Leicester

    Natalie Louise Bennett (born 10 February 1966) is the leader of the Green Party of England and Wales. She was elected to her position on 3 September 2012. A journalist by profession, Bennett was editor of The Guardian Weekly from December 2007 until March 2012, and previously its deputy editor having also worked at other British newspapers.
    Early and personal life
    Bennett was born in Sydney, Australia. She was educated at MLC School for girls in Burwood, New South Wales. Later she completed a Bachelor of Agricultural Science (Hons) degree at the University of Sydney, a BA (Hons) in Asian Study through the University of New England, and a Master’s degree in Mass Communication through the University of Leicester.
    Career
    Journalism
    Her first job in journalism was at the Eastern Riverina Observer in Henty, New South Wales, Australia. She then worked for the Cootamundra Herald and the Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth. She spent two years as an Australian Volunteer Abroad working in the Office of the National Commission of Women’s Affairs, before moving to the Bangkok Post newspaper, where she was chief foreign sub-editor. She has been writing for the Guardian’s “Comment is Free” section since 2006. She is also a blogger.
    Political career
    Bennett stood for the Green party in the 2006 Camden Council election for Regent’s Park ward and in the 2010 Camden Council election for Somers Town ward, losing both times. She was the internal communications coordinator on the national executive of the party from September 2007 to August 2011.
    In January 2010, she was selected to stand for the Parliamentary seat of Holborn and St Pancras.She came in fourth with 2.7% of the vote. She stood in the 2012 London Assembly elections, becoming the fourth placed candidate on the London-wide list for the Green Party.
    Bennett, who has considered herself a feminist since she was a young child, founded the Green Party women’s group and is a trustee of the Fawcett Society. She became interested in environmental issues when she obtained a degree in Agricultural Sciences, becoming a member of the Green Party in 2006. On 3 September 2012 she replaced Caroline Lucas as leader of the Green Party of England and Wales. 3,127 ballot papers were returned in the 2012 Green Party leadership elections, a turnout of 25.1%. This turnout was defended by Bennett who said in a BBC interview “if you hold an election in the month of August you kind of expect that turnout won’t be particularly high”. Following her election as party leader Bennett told a press conference that the policies of the Green Party were “the only viable way forward for British people, for the world”.

  • Green Party policy:
    ‘RR554 Therefore, all aspects of sex work involving consenting adults should be decriminalised. Restrictions and censorship of sexually explicit material should be ended, except for those which are aimed at protecting children. Workers in the sex industry should enjoy the same rights as other workers such as the right to join unions (See WR410), the right to choose whether to work co-operatively with others etc. Decriminalisation would also help facilitate the collection of taxes due from those involved in sex work. Legal discrimination against sex workers should be ended (for example, in child custody cases, where evidence of sex work is often taken to mean that a person is an unfit parent).’
    [Green Party policy website- accessed 22/04/13]

    Immoral madness

  • I can confirm that I did indeed visit today, and saw Watery Lane happily now not looking like that.

    I also spoke to quite a few residents of The Dome and heard about their problems with lack of transport and pedestrian access, and around the issues affecting residents of park homes. If anyone would like to contact me about ways to improve the national legal framework and regulations, I will be happy to work with Green MP Caroline Lucas on the issue.

    And in response to Mr Seagers, in case anyone was wondering, I am a British citizen – a status that I chose rather than it occurring by accident of birth.

  • Dear Alison,

    I just saw your contribution. You might like to know that our policy of decriminalisation of sex work is backed by the Royal College of Nursing, the Women’s Institute and the National Association. Of Parole Officers. The is considerable evidence that this is the best way to keep vulnerable women and men safe.

    Regards,
    Natalie

  • Mr Seagers,
    Natelie Bennett appears to have had a very impressive education with excellent results. Are you able to tell readers of this site your educational achievements ?

  • Thank you for the information Natalie. However, I do not agree that advocating a more liberal stance on pornography and sex work keeps people safe. I believe that it promotes immorality and demeans people. I think that adopting such a policy would attract more unscrupulous people to the industry, placing more ‘workers’ in danger and requiring a high level of policing in times of scarce resources. I do not want to live in a society that decriminalises pornography.

    I never vote on single issues but this is one of several policies that I personally feel to be morally bankrupt.

    I could go on but I’m saving my energies in order to rant about UKIP and other such nasties.

  • Alison,

    Many years ago Britian joined the Economic European Community, over the years this body has morphed into something the British people did not vote for. It has imposed it’s loony Heath and Safety / Human Rights / Mass immigration rules onto this country and UKIP is the only party that can rescue us. I think you will find your pro – European friends pretty thin on the ground.

  • The mess with the Euro gives UKIP some very easy targets at the moment!

    But I really doubt that UKIP are the answer to anything. They still seem to be very much a one-man band under Nigel Farage. The most attention other UKIP members have got is when they are jailed- In 2007, Ashley Mote, an MEP who represented South-east England, was jailed on 21 counts of benefit fraud, totalling £65,000. In 2009, Tom Wise, former MEP for East of England, was jailed for two years after falsely claiming thousands in expenses.

    In terms of policies, if UKIP had their way , we would be out of the EU, which would jeopardise so much of our trade. UKIP would scrap the directly elected Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly, which would probably lead to them going their own way. A UKIP government would be spending another 19 billion a year on defence which we couldn’t afford. They would be encouraging employers to offer contracts with less holidays and maternity leave.

    The EU has very little to do with the European Court of Human Rights. I suspect any problems with Human Rights Legislation are down to the way our courts interpret it (the rest of Europe seems to manage OK). Ditto with Health and Safety (the rest of Europe seems to manage OK)

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