Prominent Eastern Region Greens have spoken out against this attack:

Peter Offord, Norwich Green Party Councillor, who took aid into Gaza last Christmas as part of the Gaza Freedom March, said:

"These people, many of whom I have met, are peacefully trying to carry out what governments have failed to do: to relieve the suffering of the people of Gaza by carrying in humanitarian aid and raising the Israeli siege of Gaza as the violation of humanitarian law that it is - and since all land borders are blocked and Gaza's airport bombed - what method of transportation are they left with? Their cause has been sanctioned by all people of conscience."

C'llr. Rupert Read, long-time peace campaigner and last year's lead Eastern Region Green Party candidate for the European Parliament, said:

"Foreign Secretary William Hague - a prominent member of the 'Friends of Israel' organisation - has issued a statement deploring the loss of life. But that isn't enough. All of those killed have been civilians engaged in a humanitarian task; and they have been killed by Israeli troops operating outside the law, piratically, in international waters. We in the Green Party condemn their actions; and, if our government fails to issue a similar condemnation, then we will be left with no alternative but to conclude that this new government is soft on Israel, and is not serious about opposing internationally illegal violence, extra-judicial murder and war."

________________________________________________________________________

CONTACT:

C'llr. Peter Offord 01603 405098 / 07757 752 485
Councillor Rupert Read, 01603 219294
Mike Medhust, Eastern Region Green Party Press Officer

Notes for editors: The largest vessel in the convoy, the MV Marmara, is flying the Turkish flag and Turkey is a NATO ally. Over 600 people on 6 vessels, including 24 UK nationals, including Nobel peace laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire, European legislators and 85 year old Holocaust survivor Hedy Epstein, were carrying 10,000 tonnes of aid to Gaza to relieve the Israeli imposed siege that is stopping all supplies into the 25 mile long strip of land. (Gaza is one of the most densely populated areas in the world with 1.5 million people, many of them refugees from the 1948 Nakba surviving on a strip of land of 139 sq miles.)

"I was standing in the election out of anger and disillusionment with the mainstream parties," Barfe explains. "In particular, I was disillusioned with Labour, having resigned as a member 13 years ago, when university tuition fees were introduced. However, as I prepared for the hustings, I read all of my opponents' manifestos in full and found myself agreeing with a lot of what the Greens were offering. Talking to Graham as we cycled, then meeting other Waveney Green Party activists, I realised that here were policies and people that I could support. I was committed to seeing my own campaign through to the bitter end, but I joined the Party online as soon as I got home after the count. After years of being a terrible old cynic, it's a delight to believe in something again."

Graham Elliott, the Green Party parliamentary candidate for Waveney said, "We welcome Louis Barfe into the Green Party and appreciate his honesty in saying that he has found a a home in ‘One of the Above'. If more people had found the time to meet their candidates, read their manifestos and listen to them debate policies and local issues the result may have been very different!"

The election of the first ever Green to Parliament represents a truly historic moment. Hundreds of thousands of Green voters across the country now have, for the first time, a voice in Parliament, and genuinely progressive views on issues such as the economy, health, and the environment will now be heard.

After the result was declared, Caroline Lucas said: “The emphatic support of voters in Brighton Pavilion show that they do want to support a party whose values represent fairness, social justice and environmental well-being. They have shown that they are prepared to put their trust in the Greens, despite the overwhelming national media focus on the three largest parties and a voting system that is fundamentally undemocratic. I feel humbled by their trust in me, and I am excited by this vote of confidence and I'm looking forward to the challenging task of fully representing the voters of Brighton.

“This victory is no accident: it is the result of the hard work and commitment of thousands of Green Party members and supporters not only in Brighton but from right across the country over the past months and years. It is their work and support that has helped deliver this win, and the victory is as much theirs as it is mine.

“Thanks to the confidence that the voters of Brighton Pavilion have shown, Green principles and policies will now have a voice in Parliament. Policies such as responding to climate change with a million new ‘green’ jobs in low-carbon industries, fair pensions and care for older people, and stronger regulation of the banks will be heard in the House of Commons. I will also use my influence as an MP in the city of Brighton & Hove to push for affordable housing for the city, a new secondary school for the city, and greater backing for the city's creative industries.

“Finally, as this election shows, the first-past-the post voting system used for general elections is utterly discredited. I will be strongly backing calls for a referendum to replace it with a form of proportional representation that properly reflects the needs and views of 21st century voters. If a form of proportional representation is introduced, the Green Party is confident that its true level of support nationally can be represented properly.”

The results were:

Simon Wright	Liberal Democrat	13,960	29.4%	-0.6%
Charles Clarke	Labour	13,650	28.7%	-8.7%
Antony Little	Conservative	10,902	22.9%	+1.1%
Adrian Ramsay	Green	7,095	14.9%	+7.5%

The Conservative and Lib Dem vote shares remained about the same as the last General Election, while the Labour vote crashed by about 9%.

The Green Party's vote in the constituency was up by over 7%.

Norwich Green Party will now refocus its efforts on becoming the largest party on Norwich City Council at the next local elections. The Green Party currently holds 13 seats - just two seats behind the ruling party, Labour.

A repeat of the 2009 local election results, when the Greens won 7 of the 13 County Council seats in Norwich, would see the Greens become the largest party on Norwich City Council.

MP Pledge

If elected as MP for Witham:

1. My top priority will be to represent the people of Witham constituency
2. I will take no second jobs that conflict with being an MP
3. I will not work for lobbying companies
4. I will not take overseas trips at taxpayers expense
5. I will make sure that details of all my pay and expenses are made fully public

James Abbott said:

"I am totally committed to the need to clean up politics. The behaviour of many MPs during the last parliament was totally unacceptable. MPs have to accept that they are only there because voters elect MPs to parliament to represent them and they can only work as MPs because taxpayers fund their salaries and expenses.

If elected as the first MP for the new Witham constituency, I want to play a part in restoring some of the lost faith in our democratic system."

Daisy, 22, a former Minster College and Hereford Sixth Form College pupil, made her political debut for the Greens when she stood for election to Herefordshire Council aged 19, one of the youngest council candidates in the country. Her action earned praise from her Conservative opponent John Stone, whose rural seat would otherwise have gone uncontested at election time.

Now based in Colchester as a student at Essex University, Daisy was recently selected as the Green Party candidate for Braintree.

"There is no stopping Daisy," said her mum, Felicity Norman.

"Since going away she has taken on roles of responsibility at her university and student union - she is one of life's 'can do' types.

We are very proud that she has risen to the challenge of the general election. She is highly articulate and would make an excellent MP."

Across the UK, the party will field over 300 candidates, also a record. And in London, the Greens will stand in every seat - 73 in total.

Mounting voter distrust of the "main three" parties, coupled with a surge in support for the Greens at the European and county council elections in 2009 is pointing towards a swing to the Greens in 2010. Less than a year ago, the Greens beat Labour in 26 out of 56 divisions in Essex and increased their vote share from about 6% in 2005 to about 9% in 2009. For the first time in Essex, the Greens came second in county council contests - in Witham Northern and Abbey, Colchester.

In Eastern region, the Greens have made steady gains at each election in recent years and are now hoping to take control of Norwich City Council. A recent spectacular by-election victory in Mid-Suffolk saw a swing to the Greens of over 30% from the Tories - proving that the Greens can challenge all the "main parties".

The Greens are also putting a big effort into the local elections which will also be held on May 6th. In Colchester there will once again be a full slate of 20 Green candidates for the borough council elections, where the party hopes to win its first seat.

You can find out more about the candidates here.

In Essex there are already 8 candidates selected with selections underway in more constituencies.

The Greens are also putting a big effort into the local elections which will be held on May 6th - the same day as the General Election is expected. In Colchester there will once again be a full slate of 20 Green candidates for the borough council elections.

In London, the Greens look set for an historic first-ever full slate of parliamentary candidates.

This year, the Green Party is pursuing the same targeting strategy that has seen the party treble its number of council seats in a decade. The three target seats, selected as having the best prospects of a breakthrough, are:

• Brighton Pavilion - Caroline Lucas, the party leader and the area's MEP since 1999, was favoured by 35% in an ICM poll in December 2009 by voters in the constituency, 8 points ahead of the Conservatives, with Labour trailing a poor third. The YouGov/PoliticsHome survey of marginal constituencies in October last year also predicted a Green win in Brighton Pavilion, where the Greens hold a majority of the local council seats and have outpolled all other parties at every election since 2005.
• Norwich South - Adrian Ramsay, the party's deputy leader, has built his local party into a powerful electoral machine. From 7 councillors in Norwich in 2005, they now have 20 councillors (13 on the city council, where they are the only Green Party group in England to be the official opposition group; 7 on the county council). The Greens have outpolled all other parties in the last three rounds of elections in the whole city of Norwich, and finished 3,000 votes ahead of second-placed Labour in last year's Euro-elections - increasing their number of county council seats in Norwich on the same day from 2 to 7.
• Lewisham Deptford - Darren Johnson, the party's trade and industry spokesperson, is the current chair of the London Assembly. Johnson has been elected to the London Assembly three times in a row. He has twice been elected to Lewisham Borough Council, securing the highest vote of all 54 Lewisham councillors. Lewisham is the strongest local party in London for the Greens, who now hold 6 council seats where in 2005 they held 1.

In Essex the Greens are not expecting to win parliamentary seats, but are looking to significantly improve their vote share in a number of constituencies. At the 2009 County Council elections, the Greens finished ahead of Labour in many divisions across Essex and in the new parliamentary seat of Witham, the Greens came second to the Tories in the aggregated vote across the 2 Witham County Divisions.

Cllr. James Abbott, Essex Greens Co-ordinator and parliamentary candidate for Witham said

"There is a greater need for the Green Party challenge than ever before, with the "main three" parties increasingly similar in their policies and none of them offering the right policies on issues like jobs, the NHS, public transport and pensions.

In Essex the Greens offer a distinctive local alternative to the other parties. Our long standing policy of supporting recycling and opposing waste incineration is increasingly finding favour with the public. Investment in the green economy is a key measure to secure sustainable jobs at a time when the economy remains fragile."

Peter Lynn, parliamentary candidate for Colchester added

"Our stance on NHS services has been popular in Colchester at a time when people do not trust any of the other three main parties. People are recognising that only the Green Party are standing up for public services."

More information about the Green Party's General Election Candidates is available here.

Rachel Eburne has been elected to join Andrew Stringer and John Matthissen as the third Green Party councillor on Mid Suffolk District Council, following the defection to the Greens of Babergh DC Tory councillor Dean Walton earlier this week.

In 2007, the Greens took 16% in Haughley & Wetherden. Yesterday, Rachel Eburne won with 61% of the vote, with the Conservatives in a distant second place at 24%.

Full Result:

Green Party	444	(61%)
Conservative	176	(24%)
Lib Dem	51	(7%)
Labour	32	(4%)
UKIP	25	(3%)

Eburne said that three factors were key to her win: "First, I was a local candidate and involved in my community. Second, we have a hard-working Green county councillor, Andrew Stringer, and people appreciate his efforts. Finally and crucially, I found a deep disaffection on the doorstep with politics from other parties that were not relevant to everyday concerns -- things like our position on better broadband access, and our work on reducing local traffic speeds and litter."

Caroline Lucas, leader of the Green Party said, "This is a great result, with a by-election win off the Tories. Once we elect a few Greens in an area, people like what they see, and it leads to even more Green councillors. It also shows our commitment to grassroots politics at a time of deep dissatisfaction with mainstream politicians."

The local Green Party ran a measured six week campaign, building on the local record of delivering on practical issues across the wards they represent at District and County levels. Once nominations closed, there was emphasis on Rachel as the only truly local candidate, living in the ward and brought up in nearby Woolpit. Campaigning included hugely successful community litter picks in both villages, and a poster board in almost every street in the ward.

Rachel Eburne is a former Director of Women's Environmental Network (WEN). She and husband Richard Stacy, who is the Chair of the 1^st Wetherden and Haughley Scout Group, now live at Haughley Green and their two children attend the local Crawford’s CEVC School. Her interests revolve around supporting local initiatives, such as better cycling and foot paths, local food production, community orchards and greater access to domestic renewable energy.

The Green Party now have 126 councillors on 43 councils across England and Wales.

Councillor Dean Walton, a member of Babergh District and Sudbury Town Councils, was elected in 2007 to represent Sudbury East ward. At Babergh, Cllr Walton is currently a member of the Scrutiny Committee, will continue to represent his constituents as an independent, and has applied to join the Independent group on the Council, which has no party in overall control.

At Sudbury Town Council, Cllr Walton is a member of the Highways & Footpaths and Finance committees and is chair of the Leisure & Environment committee.

At Great Cornard Parish Council he is a member of the Recreation & Leisure committee and is vice-chair of the Policy & Finance committee. Dean also serves as a Governor of Great Cornard Middle School.

Brought up in Sudbury, Dean has always lived in Suffolk, returning to Cornard after some years in Stowmarket. Youngest member of Babergh District Council and father of three daughters, he has been an active volunteer in local conservation activities.

Particular local issues on which Cllr Walton has been active include opposing a mobile phone mast beside Great Cornard Middle School, poor air quality in the town centre and fighting against short stay car park ticket machines. He has also opposed the scale of housing development intended for the Sudbury area under regional and local plans, the Stansted flight paths and is concerned by the routing of new pylons through special landscape areas. Dean said :

Green Party Councillors asked the Council to call for fees to be abolished altogether, but this proposal was voted down by Labour and Conservative councillors, who supported retaining the current fees of up to £3,000 per year for students.

Lord Browne, the former boss of BP, is chairing an inquiry into the effectiveness of the current fees system which Norwich South MP Charles Clarke introduced in 2004. Many fear it will result in fees being raised again, discouraging young people from poorer backgrounds from going to university and saddling those who do with even bigger debts after graduation. Tonight Norwich City Council backed the campaign against fees being increased.

Councillor Ramsay, who will be making a submission to the Browne Inquiry on behalf of the Green Party, commented: “I am pleased to be joining the student demonstration against tuition fees. If I replace Charles Clarke as MP I will fight for tuition fees to be replaced by a fairer funding system involving a return to grants for students so that talented young people can go to university regardless of their background.

“Norwich already has a lower proportion of students going to university than most UK cities and I'm concerned that tuition fees are putting them off. The only fair way for students to pay towards their education is through income tax after they enter employment. To invest in a fair future, where universities nurture the talent of young people from all backgrounds for the benefit of society, we need to abolish tuition fees.

“I’m pleased that Norwich City Council is supporting the campaign against increasing tuition fees. It was just disappointing that Labour and Conservative councillors were unwilling to join our call for fees to be abolished entirely.”

Other key highlights at tonight’s City Council meeting were:

• The Council passed the Joint Core Strategy, agreeing plans for over 20,000 new homes to be built in greater Norwich over the next 20 years – but Green Party Councillors opposed the strategy, arguing that it did not do enough to ensure that new developments are adequately served by local infrastructure such as schools and public transport; and highlighting the concerns of Natural England that it will result in a deterioration in the local water supply.
• The Council passed a Green Party motion calling for the County Council to provide funding for additional grit boxes in the city so residents can more easily make pavements safe during snowy and icy weather.
• Green Party Councillor Adrian Ramsay pressed the Council to approve proposals from a private company for new city centre recycling banks for batteries, CDs, mobile phones and ink cartridges. Brian Morrey, the Council’s Executive member in charge of recycling, said that he was working with council officers on how the council could pursue the proposals.

Formation of huge councils, whether one or two for Suffolk, would have lacked widespread support and left a democratic deficit as each councillor struggled to serve far too many electors. An effective County takeover of District services would have further enlarged a management structure which is already so big that policies and services are rarely "joined up."

This decision opens the way for further progress by Babergh and Mid Suffolk councils towards further service integration, and possible merger, a far better way to move to eventual relatively local Unitary councils. Partnership working is steadily increasing without the costly ministrations of the Boundary Committee, primarily between pairs of councils (Forest Heath and St Edmundsbury, Coastal and Waveney), but also more widely, such as the back office and public contact joint venture, CSD, which handles finance, human resources, web presence and call handling for SCC and Mid Suffolk.

When this process has gone much further, within existing financial constraints, it should, as Government now suggest, be possible to shape a uniquely Suffolk way of creating Unitary Councils, by agreement between councillors elected by the public. Schools and social services are better suited to local oversight and should be devolved to the enlarged Districts. County-wide partnerships of Districts and SCC have already been formed to manage waste and tackle climate change, and this pattern should be extended to provide specialist services such as Libraries, Archaeology, Adoption, Bridge Engineering and Special Schools.

This is the pattern the Green Party proposed to the Boundary Committee more than 18 months ago, and it is a matter of regret that it took such a tortuous route to arrive at the same answer.

Ends

Ffi Cllr. John Matthissen 01449 771742 07976 308128

Cllr. Mark Ereira-Guyer 07545 423841

Cllr. Andrew Stringer 07774 199061 01449 780339

Adrian Ramsay, the Green Party General Election candidate for Norwich South, said:

"A unitary council for Norwich will strengthen local democracy, ensuring that decisions for Norwich are taken by councillors elected by Norwich residents, rather than councillors from rural areas. A unitary council is only justified when it brings power closer to the people - that is why a unitary Norfolk would have been disastrous, and why the Green Party Councillors fought hard to avoid such a decision."

FURTHER INFORMATION / INTERVIEWS

Adrian Ramsay (Parliamentary candidate, Norwich South): 07940 930465

Andrew Boswell (Norfolk County Council): 07787 712788

Clare Stephenson (Norwich City Council): 07769 273974

John Francis (media officer): 07713 654784

About Norwich Green Party

* It has 13 Norwich City Councillors (Labour 15, Lib-Dems 6 Tories 5)
* It has 7 Norfolk County Councillors serving 7 of the 13 Norwich county wards.
* In the 2009 European election, the Green Party secured more votes than any other party in the Norwich City Council area, gaining 25%.
* In the 2007, 2008 and 2009 local elections the Green Party has secured more votes across the Norwich South General Election constituency than any other party. If people vote the same way at the General Election, Adrian Ramsay will replace Charles Clarke as MP.

"The Green Party are developing, they know they've got a lot of support and the other parties better take notice because they work hard, they are young and they are keen. I've no doubt that Norwich could fall to them in the future."

Dr Ian Gibson, former MP for Norwich North.

She and Peter Offord, both long-standing Green Party members, were in contention over the role, but Jessica was selected last night at a hustings and selection meeting.

Ms Goldfinch, 43, said:

"I feel so proud to represent the Green Party in Norwich North for the next General Election. I have come to know a lot passionate and wonderful people, from all walks of life through my work in the constituency. Many of these people struggle through some very difficult circumstances and I would be honoured to serve them as the Norwich North MP."

Ms Goldfinch is a single Mum of one daughter and works as a teaching assistant at a High School in Norwich North. Jess lives on Connaught Road and has been a Norwich resident for 12 years, during which time she was a City Councillor for Nelson ward from 2003 until 2006.

Ms Goldfinch will be working to build on the advances made in the Norwich North by-election last year when the Green vote more than tripled in the 2005 General Election, while the vote shares of Labour and the Lib-Dems went down.

Norwich North residents are encouraged to visit the Green Party shop on Dove Street, in the city centre, to find out more about Green policies and to discuss issues affecting their area.

A further round of selections is due to be made on February 4th, when Green Party candidates for the Broadland, Gt. Yarmouth and South Norfolk constituencies will be named. They will join Adrian Ramsay, deputy leader of the Green Party, who has already launched his campaign to unseat former New Labour Home Secretary Charles Clarke in Norwich South. The Green Party has named Norwich South as one of its top three target seats in the country along with Brighton Pavilion and Lewisham Deptford.

The result gives new confidence to the Greens’ local candidate, Adrian Ramsay, that local election vote share translates to General Election votes and that he can win the Norwich South seat from Charles Clarke.

According to the ICM Research opinion poll, Green candidate Caroline Lucas, the party leader, has a significant lead in the Brighton Pavilion constituency. The results show that she has the support of 35% of voters followed by the Conservatives on 27% and Labour on 25%. What’s more, 63% of Labour and Lib Dem voters in the sample said that they would vote Green if that party was best placed to stop a Conservative win. If voters carry through their intentions at the general election, the Greens would win the seat from Labour with a majority of almost 3,500 over the Conservatives.

There are interesting similarities between Brighton Pavilion and Norwich South. In both cities, the Green Party has thirteen city councillors. In the European elections last year the Green Party came top in the voting across the area corresponding to the respective parliamentary constituencies.

Adrian Ramsay, who is deputy leader of the Green Party, already knows that if people in Norwich South vote the same way in the General Election as they have in local elections over the past three years, he will win the seat, a victory which, on current trends, would mean the first two Green Party MPs going to Westminster.

References:

• www.greenparty.org.uk/news/icm-poll-puts-greens-ahead-in-target-westminster-seat.html
• news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/vote2007/councils/html/ml.stm
• www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/downloads/bhcc/Results_for_website.pdf
• www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/poll-surge-suggests-greens-on-course-for-first-commons-seat-1863895.html

With Labour popularity at a low ebb, Green Party deputy leader Adrian Ramsay is determined to unseat the former Home Secretary, Charles Clarke, in the Norwich South constituency at the coming General Election.

Among his backers will be former local Labour activists who helped get Mr Clarke elected in the past. One of them, former Labour councillor Andy Pearmain, introduced Cllr Ramsay at the launch party. Other former Labour and Lib-Dem councillors were also on the guest list as well as Green Party members and supporters, representatives of local businesses and charities and people from the community who've worked with the Greens to resolve local issues.

The party took place at one of Norwich's landmark buildings, the medieval merchant's house known as Dragon Hall. There was a different kind of dragon in attendance when members of the Hung Sing martial arts school performed a traditional Chinese dragon dance to bestow good luck. Guests enjoyed food and drink donated by The Greenhouse café, and music from two bands.

Green Party members are in buoyant mood about Ramsay's chances. Green support in Norwich has been building every year since 2002 and the party now has 20 local government seats across Norwich - all but two of them in Norwich South.

On Monday night, Adrian Ramsay set out his values and vision for Norwich which he believes will take Green Party support to the next level, making him one of the first Green MPs. Adrian said:

"One more Labour, Conservative or Lib-Dem MP toeing the Party line in Parliament is not what Norwich needs. Norwich needs an independent voice - of the type we used to have in Ian Gibson - to ensure it gets noticed."

Adrian Ramsay also announced that he would be standing down as leader of the Green Party group of councillors on Norwich City Council in order to focus entirely on the General Election campaign.

He has held that job since he was first elected to the council in 2003 at the age of 21. Norwich Greens will elect a new council group leader at a meeting on December 7th. The post has added significance since the Greens aim to overtake Labour in the local government elections next year to take control of the council for the first time.

Notes to Editors:

The vote share in Norwich South in the 2009 local government elections was:

Green Party 34%
Lib-Dems 25%
Conservatives 22%
Labour 18%
UKIP 1.5%

Changes in City/District council representation corresponding to Norwich South area since the period going into the 2005 General Election:

Green Party up 8
Lib-Dems down 11
Labour no change
Conservatives up 3

- The Norwich Green Party has 13 Norwich City Councillors (Labour 15, Lib-Dems 6 Tories 5) . It has 7 Norfolk County Councillors serving 7 of the 13 Norwich county wards. In the 2009 European election, the Green Party secured more votes than any other party in the Norwich City Council area, gaining 25%.

Above Left: Adrian Ramsay launches his campaign bid.

Above Right:Chinese dance in Dragon Hall

The Age of Stupid *THURSDAY* November 19th @ 7:30
(Wivenhoe Football Club, £4 admission to support Transition Wivenhoe )

November 24: Garbage:The Revolution Starts at Home + The Story of Stuff

December 1: An Inconvenient Truth

December 8: Invisible

December 15: The Real Dirt on Farmer John

more info at: http://www.essex. ac.uk/ces/ films/infoa. shtm

Directions : http://www.essex. ac.uk/visiting/ maps/colchester. aspx (use entrance 1 for car parks)
Location of Lecture theatre: http://www.essex. ac.uk/colchester /guide.aspx
(LTB 9 is on the top floor of the Lecture Theatre Building - entrance L7 on the webpage map)

The report explains that building work on the five bedroom property near Bury St Edmunds had got underway when Suffolk County Council - which bought the house valued by agents at between £450,000 and £500,000 - found out about the neighbour's conviction.

He was jailed for eight years in 2002 for two rapes and a number of counts of indecent assault.

Mark is quoted as saying "It has become clear something has gone terribly remiss.

"I know my colleagues at the county council will have the care and safety of its children and young people as their first priority.

"But I think it is a huge failure of diligence particularly bearing in mind this property was for looked after children who are often incredibly vulnerable."

• You can read the story here.

By Joe Williams

The Regional Assembly Housing Panel was obliged to axe this project because preparatory work had been delayed once Government spending reductions had been signalled by Ministers.

Speaking after the meeting, Green Party Panel member councillor John Matthissen, who voted against the cut, said:

"Climate change is still not being accorded a high priority in Westminster or at the Regional level. Deferring action once again will make a solution more and more expensive, and it will now be difficult to achieve projected cuts in emissions. "

Apart from the climate change issue, the Green Party has for years advocated energy-efficiency measures because they would create many more skilled and semi-skilled jobs, now needed to halt the rise in unemployment.

The two day event, which ran on Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th October, was a chance for young members to discuss party policy and share their opinions on the future direction of the party.

Enthusiastic Young Greens assembled at a community centre for an 11.00am start. After introductions the group began to work through a thoroughly packed agenda.

The group undertook a discussion on the topic of Green Jobs. The discussion was led by Tom Bailey from London. The talk was both interesting and informative; members of the party listened keenly before debating ‘what is a green job?', discussing the concept of a ‘green economy' and the Green New Deal.

The presentation on Green Jobs was followed by another talk.  Green Parliamentary Candidate for Cambridge, Tony Juniper, addressed the challenges ahead for both himself and the party.

Before lunch, a street action was held in the City Centre. The action, 'Green Jobs we're ready', was part of the 350 Day of Action on Climate Change.

After the action, the group headed back to the community centre for a well-deserved rest.

The Saturday afternoon was spent discussing education and child development. The discussion, led by Seb Power of the Cardiff Young Greens, was in-depth, absorbing and insightful. Young Greens shared their views on how education should work in a Green Britain and, as would be expected, the topic proved to be conducive to great debate. As a result of such debate, the group were late for their dinner and had only tackled two out of four prepared sub-topics.

After a fantastic meal in one of Cambridge's fine establishments, members socialised well into the night, discussing all manner of topics. One could be forgiven for thinking that Sunday would be blighted by tiredness, and possibly the odd hangover, after a very long Saturday.

After an impromptu football game, Sunday morning began much as the Saturday had finished. The two remaining education topics were discussed; once again the members' contributions were interesting and varied.

Later in the morning, a talk was given by the Howard League for Penal Reform. A student member gave a fantastic presentation, particularly considering the short notice at which she spoke, on the subject of juveniles in the prison system. Party members listened intently, and after the talk they were quick to show their gratitude to the group's representative for what was a thought provoking session. After discussing the talk, the group took a lunch break.

The afternoon session began with a presentation by Green councillors Alex Phillips, Brighton and Hove, and Marcus Hemsley, Norwich. The councillors shared their experiences of running for office; both were keen to share both the highs and lows of the campaign trail, and painted a vivid picture of their respective experiences. After their talk, members asked questions and discussed the realisation of Green policies in the councils.

The final act in a very productive weekend was the hustings for YG Committee positions. The committee roles to be filled were: Female Co-Chair, Male Co-Chair, Elections and Campaigns Coordinator, Treasurer, International liaison Coordinator, Media Officer, Publications Coordinator, Students Support Officer, Fundraising and Events Coordinator and Web Coordinator. The convention was able to fill the roles to the satisfaction of all members before the end of the session. Details of the portfolio holders and their contact details will be forthcoming in the near future.

By Daniel Childs, Young Greens Press Officer