In this month’s letter to my MP I address his update on Voter ID, and his claims on the benefits of the proposed Western Link Road.
On voter ID, remember to register and get a photo ID if you want to vote in person, and don’t already have one. Mr Mayhew says:
‘Local Elections for Broadland District Council and North Norfolk District Council are fast approaching. With photo ID now required to vote in UK elections, it’s the right time to ensure you’ve got everything you need to vote on Thursday 4th May. Don’t have photo ID? There are options:
‘I was very pleased to meet Norfolk County Council’s Western Link Team. The missing link road is one of issues most frequently raised with me. It is vital that we build this road to stop the terrible rat running that villages currently endure, reduce traffic emissions, improve access to markets for swathes of Norfolk businesses and knocks twenty minutes off ambulance response times to the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital.’
Here’s my letter to Jerome Mayhew MP, I am looking forward to his reply.
Dear Mr Mayhew,
Thank you for your latest newsletter, an interesting read as always.
I’m writing in response to your updates on the Western Link Road, and Voter ID.
To address the latter first. We have never had a problem with electoral fraud in this country. This seems like a deliberate ploy by the Conservatives to exclude young voters, further alienating them, as they are less likely to vote for your Party. Why is it that student cards are not an acceptable form of ID, but bus passes for the over 60’s are? This is yet another erosion of our rights in this country, which when coupled with the PCSC Act and Public Order Bill is leaving us in a scary place (1930’s Germany-like).
On the Western Link. Your newsletter claims this is one of the most frequently raised issues with you; I wonder if you count the number of people that are against it in your tally? I know I have corresponded on this with you before, but why is it so vital we build this road given the damage it’s going to do? Rat running in villages is not pleasant, but set against ecological destruction, environmental damage, increased emissions we can’t afford and the impacts these will have in terms of increased floods, wildfires, and harvest failures in Norfolk, I’d take rat running; I live in the countryside and have to contend with some of this myself.
On the rat-running front, there are other avenues that can be explored, such as camera controlled gates (they have these in Trowse now).
You say the road will reduce emissions, how exactly? Building the road will blow Norfolk’s carbon budget for a start, and it is proven that increasing the number of roads increases the amount of cars/traffic, and thus emissions. I did a quick internet search and found this study on it, from the Government website – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/induced-travel-demand-an-evidence-review . There are plenty of other studies out there, however the evidence is that road capacity improvements increase traffic – induced travel demand.
This report also backs up the induced traffic effect I referred to earlier.
Moving on to ambulance response times. I think a more pressing concern is the wait times ambulances have to offload patients when they get to the N&N, which I hope have improved after recent issues. The NHS is massively underfunded and under constant attack by the Government, who seem intent on privatising it. Your claim that it will reduce ambulance response times by 20 minutes is spurious, as surely it won’t really make any difference for much of Norwich, where ambulances will still need to travel into the City. I don’t think we have a problem with ambulance response times (see – http://www.ambulanceresponsetimes.co.uk/), I think it’s more a fundamental problem with a lack of support for our doctors, nurses, and hospital infrastructure, and what happens when ambulances reach hospitals.
So, we’ve debunked the emissions point, as well as the economic benefits, and addressed the ambulance response times point. In addition this road was going to cost £64m a mile if it goes ahead, probably more now. We’re in a cost of living crisis and Norfolk County Council are slashing public services, including welfare, people are going hungry, homeless and can’t afford heating. Wouldn’t it be better to spend this money on public and active transport, as well as welfare services? Investing in public transport and reducing personal car ownership is really where we need to go in terms of reducing congestion and emissions; I really liked the £2 cap on bus fares recently. The cost could also severely damage the county council’s finances if government funding is not secured; less likely now Liz Truss is no longer PM.
Please consider withdrawing your support for this road. It’s going to destroy ancient woodland, rare chalk stream habitat, endangered Barbastelle bat colonies, and pollute the local landscape. It will increase traffic and emissions because that’s what new roads do. The road is also a blatant move to open up the Norfolk countryside to more development and destruction, for the profit of a few.
I look forward to hearing from you, and would welcome an opportunity to discuss in person at one of your surgeries, if possible?
Yours sincerely,
James Harvey
I’d encourage everyone to write to your MP on issues you feel strongly about. With the right to protest being eroded we need to make our views known. If you’re unable to get out on the streets then at least write a quick email.
Here are a few recent pictures of Gideon, cos he didn’t want to be left out.
Gideon hiding, not very wellTaking in some sunshineGideon getting some lap time
And a couple of things I dug up from my garden recently, which were most excellent. Looking forward to planting more vegetables this year, especially with supermarket shortages and prices going up.
I think this has been brewing since Christmas, however a few things have happened today which made me really want to write it. If you don’t want to read this in its entirety then please skip to the end, there are a couple of call-to-actions I implore you to consider. And when I say you, I mean all my friends in Norwich and around the country, my family, people I’ve met on my travels; please consider taking some sort of action to get us out of the mess we’re in. There will probably be some swearing in this post, and it’s quite raw. I might forget to include asterisks.
Here’s a picture of Gideon being judgemental, to ease things in. But we will be judged by future generations for not doing enough, of that I have no doubt. We’re being judged by the current younger generation. Gideon reminds me that we are very much a part of nature, not apart from it or above it. When nature dies, we do too. He is wise (but sometimes quite stupid like when he thinks the weather will be better through the back door compared to the front door).
Judgemental Gideon
I was in an online meeting earlier which included several young supporters of Just Stop Oil, people who have also taken action with Extinction Rebellion and other environmental campaign groups. I was listening to their personal stories, what they are feeling, what they’ve gone through, what motivates them to take action. Some of them have only just turned 20 and are terrified about the future, about what is happening right now. These are extraordinary individuals, they are my friends, I love them all. I was immensely moved by some of the accounts they shared, I could feel my eyes tearing up and that big lump in my stomach and heart I get when I feel emotional and anxious.
Why the f*ck have we allowed this to happen? What are we doing to ourselves? Why are these young adults so afraid for their futures? Why am I worrying about asterisks in swear words when the situation is so awful? My friends don’t dare consider having children, and long term plans are a luxury they don’t risk dreaming about.
I take action on the spokesperson team for Just Stop Oil, as well as Extinction Rebellion sometimes. I watched this interview on Good Morning Britain again earlier. I’m sorry, Richard Madeley is a bastard. He treated Miranda with utter contempt, and was a patronising fool. Miranda was excellent, intelligent, thoughtful, passionate (although I hate that word), and clearly understands how dire a situation we’re in far better than anyone else there. How dare they and other journalists accuse young people of taking action to boost their egos? How fucking dare they sit there being anything but journalists telling the truth and going after the real criminals, when ordinary people are suffering and dying all around the world whilst they sit in their comfortable, privileged seats paid for in the most part by historical colonialism. It fills me with rage, grief and a fair amount of despair, but I can use that. I can definitely use that; hope may be lost but love and rage drives action.
Here is the interview on GMB, watch it and tell me you think Madeley or the other guest they have on should be given any more airtime?
I am not doing enough. I take action with Just Stop Oil (JSO) and Extinction Rebellion. I have joined the Green Party and am going to stand as a district councillor to try to make things better for local people. I still sign petitions although I don’t know why, they don’t seem to do anything. I still write to my MP, I did so earlier this week about the abhorrent profits Shell and now BP have made off the back of the energy crisis, whilst we’re in a cost of living crisis. I’ve stood and sat in roads with placards, filmed and live-streamed countless actions, banged drums, put up posters, handed out fliers, helped with talks, been to picket lines, spray painted protest artwork. Not been arrested but that seems inevitable now the Government have brought in, and are trying to bring in more draconian anti protest and anti freedom of speech laws. It’s like the V for Vendetta film but this isn’t a fantasy, it’s actually happening; ordinary people are being arrested in their homes for doing nothing but exercising their democratic right to freedom of speech and freedom to protest. The police have arrested journalists for fucks sake. Do we actually live in a democracy, I don’t think so, although it’s still just about ahead of the likes of Russia and Syria. It’s getting very like 1930’s Germany, have politicians, media and business not studied history? Have we learned nothing?
I’m not doing enough though. And this isn’t ego talking. I wake up every day, and often during the night, thinking I’ve got to do more. Why am I bothering thinking about a pension, my job, about saving to buy stuff I don’t actually need when the world might be unliveable in many places within the next 50 years; it’s already starting to happen now with 1 person dying every 36 seconds from climate induced drought/famine in parts of Africa.
I have a niece who is 9, a nephew 11, god children who range from 5 to 12. I am terribly afraid they won’t live to my age. I’m 47. How can I protect them from what’s coming? Food and water shortages, extreme weather, war caused by mass migration and battle for remaining resources, I could go on but it makes me want to cry, again. I wish I was being sensationalist but scientists are telling us, via peer reviewed studies, just how bad things are and how much worse they’re going to get. But the Government and media just seem to ignore it, and as a consequence the general public seem to mostly ignore it too.
Okay, photo break. Well done and gratitude if you got this far. I wish I could describe better the emotional state I’m in; guilt, sadness, grief for sure, and massive amounts of rage. It doesn’t have to bloody be this way but the system we’re in seems incapable of realising where we’re at and what we need to do.
A world within a worldGideon loungingA time to reflectEverything is fine
Consulting notes I made earlier. I don’t want to write an essay on this, so I’m going to summarise why I’m really scared, sad, depressed, anxious, fucked off, desperate, angry, so concerned for people that are being utterly mislead or suffering right now. Here goes (list not exhaustive and if I was more talented I’d turn it into a poem).
Bee killing pesticides the Government keep licensing, plus Glyphosate use. Dumping sewage in rivers – Government voted to say that’s fine. HS2 – costing billions and report out today says it’s destroying nature. Licensing new oil and gas fields, and opening new coal mines – Tories are doing it when every other political party, climate scientists (other scientists too), Antonio Guterres etc say no. Building new roads – we don’t have the carbon budget for them and they destroy ancient woodland/habitat – local Western Link Road plans for example. Fucking grouse shooting and moorlands – urgh. Fixation on growth and GDP – it’s killing us, other models of existence are available and more promising in terms of the existence bit. Freedom of speech. Freedom to Protest. Actual democracy. Media ineptitude (although a few local journo’s have been great) and failure to tell the truth. Refugee crisis and our failure to take responsibility and be welcoming. Intolerance. Racism. Sexism. Transphobia – extreme right wing in Norwich have been at it recently. Insect numbers plummeting (this is really serious, think windscreens and bugs). Artic/Antarctic ice melt. Glacier ice melt. Greenland ice sheets disappearing. Amazon rainforest tipping point. Electric vehicles being hailed as the solution. Ocean acidification. Ocean over-fishing. Global North just keep on consuming (buying stuff). Global South just keep on dying as a result. Institutional police racism, misogyny, sexism – no wonder a lot of people don’t feel safe to protest – sort your own house out before you arrest anyone. Hurricanes. Rain bombs. Drought. Famine. Air pollution. Flooding. Wildfires. People striking for fair pay, terms and support – NHS, teachers, railway workers, ambulance drivers etc
These things are all happening right now. And are going to get worse. I need to do more.
It feels like we’re going backwards with the current Government, and big businesses. The BP boss Bernard Looney has said he’s gonna invest more in oil and less in renewables for Christ’s sake (other gods are available to profane). Shell and BP have announced record profits, billions of pounds, profiteering off the back of a war and putting us into a cost of living crisis.
Why on Earth do we think this is all acceptable? There are other ways of living that would bring us closer together as people, communities, faiths. We could be happier and healthier, yet the current system is driving us into an existential crisis; repeat, young ones today won’t live to my age if this continues, and thousands are dying right now because of our greed, ineptitude, ignorance and unwillingness to change. It’s so frustrating because it could all be so much better.
Please help. I and many others are sick, quite literally, of trying to change things. And I count us lucky as we’re not the ones suffering and dying from drought, famine, or fighting for resources. My home isn’t being flooded or burnt as many people’s are round the world, or even here in the UK.
Join Just Stop Oil. Join Extinction Rebellion. Join Friends of the Earth. Join Greenpeace – checkout their current oil rig occupation. Join Stand Up to Racism, ACORN, a Union, anything that makes a difference. Take some sort of action; yeah, write some letters, sign petitions, join digital storms on Twitter, Insta and Facebook. Just do something whilst we still have time (1.5C target is blown by the way).
And don’t let the Government and Oil/Gas companies get away with Greenwashing or blaming individuals. We can only do so much with recycling, stopping flying, stopping buying, or moving to a vegetable diet. We need SYSTEM CHANGE, otherwise we’re trapped.
As promised. Links to stuff you can do.
Join Extinction Rebellion and many other organisations in London on 21 April. Thousands will be gathering. Police won’t arrest you. Peaceful protest that won’t disrupt the public. Find out more and sign up here – I’m gonna repeat my plea to friends, family and colleagues at this point – https://extinctionrebellion.uk/ – IF YOU CAN’T DO ANYTHING ELSE THEN PLEASE JUST COME TO THIS (sorry for shouting)
Come to a Just Stop Oil talk about Our Responsibilities At This Time. Learn that it’s totally possible for you to make a difference, and meet like-minded people that stop you feeling so alone – https://juststopoil.org/events/
Stay safe my friends. Stay in contact. Hug your loved ones. Keep learning, reading, communicating, organising and taking action ✊
Oh, and vote Green, we can win, and it’ll make a hell of a difference.
This morning I ascertained that pyramid tea bags are easier to throw into a mug at a distance of 2 metres, than the standard round tea bags. I feel I’ve done some important science.
I wish decision makers, the courts and big business would listen to scientists more. It feels like they should do, rather than paying too much attention to the likes of Rupert Murdoch and his minions, or fossil fuel company lobbyists. Shell just announced grotesque profits of £8.1bn in the last quarter.
Meanwhile we have a cost of living crisis and a climate crisis. People are dying from famine and drought in Africa, and 33 million people have been displaced in Pakistan due to floods. Harvest failures around the world, heatwaves, wild fires, permafrost melt, extreme weather, ocean death, the list goes on. People will die from the cold in the UK this winter as they can’t afford to heat their homes, and others can’t afford to buy food. The London fire brigade had their busiest period since the Second World War this summer due to wildfires; 60 people lost their homes in the UK.
All this is being driven by our continued reliance on fossil fuels, which is being driven by these massive energy companies (BP, Shell, Exxon, Gazprom etc) and their greed, plus a complicit Government. Our futures and our children’s futures are at stake, as well as much of life on Earth. Large regions of the planet are likely to become uninhabitable during my lifetime, and the target to contain global heating to 1.5C above pre-industrial averages is blown; the UN have said today that there is no credible path in place to meet this. Billions of people are going to have to move – mass migration – resulting in war for remaining resources and the rise of the far right. It’s already happening.
More reports from climate scientists out yesterday; they, the IPCC, Antonio Guterres, Sir David Attenborough, Sir David King, they’re all screaming from the rooftops that we need to slash emissions now, but they’re being ignored in favour of growth and profit. Check out the lancet if you want more info – https://www.thelancet.com/countdown-health-climate. This ongoing mantra that economic growth is good is false. It’s killing us.
But yeah, why should we listen to scientists? Why listen to people that really know their stuff and are shouting into the void about how dire the situation is? They’re desperate, grief stricken, in tears a lot of the time. They’re telling the truth, but our criminal Government aren’t listening. Even worse a lot of the scientific papers or statements by the IPCC (Inter Governmental Panel of Climate Change) don’t tell us exactly how bad it is, as they’re peer reviewed to ensure mass consensus on what’s published, and often dumbed down due to pressure from oil and gas industry lobbyists. If you want to avoid becoming overly depressed about it avoid having a pint down the pub with a climate scientist.
COP27 starts on 06 November. I’m not holding out any hope for anything concrete to come out of it in terms of legally binding cuts in emissions. They’ll be a tonne of green washing, and once again I expect the largest delegation will be from fossil fuel companies sowing misdirection and scepticism about what is scientific fact – https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-63316362
When ordinary concerned individuals, including scientists, protest about Government inaction and their complicity in the destruction of our futures, they get chastised and locked up, called selfish, told they’re damaging their cause. Protest and non-violent civil disobedience is our last port of call in demanding change. We’ve known how bad things are for 30 or 40 years, but writing letters, signing petitions, and talking to politicians hasn’t changed anything. We know a direct action form of protest works, it got people the vote, including women via the Suffragettes, and the Chartists (working class rights). It worked for the American civil rights movement, and the Indian independence movement. It can work for the greatest crisis humanity has ever faced.
The Government want to bring in the Public Order Bill to silence freedom of speech and stop protests. There are measures in the Bill that will turn us into a police state similar to Iran, Russia or Syria. Tracking devices on people regarded as potential trouble makers, bans from protesting, curfews; even if you haven’t attended a protest before. I find this both terrifying and enraging. How have we let things come to this? Suella Braverman wants to bring in laws that will slide us into fascism. She dreams of putting refugees on plane flights to Rwanda for god’s sake.
So yeah, maybe more people need to listen to scientists. We’ve got a few years to turn things round, or we face societal collapse.
Here’s a short film I put together of ordinary people from the East of England taking direct action outside the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy last week. Brave and eloquent individuals doing all they can to demand change.
Looking forward to the Norwich beer festival later. Argh. Cognitive dissonance. Maybe I’ll try and write a blog post on that next.
Today has to go down as pretty memorable in terms of stuff that’s happened in my lifetime, although not in a particularly good way. Liz Truss resigns, the shortest ever UK Prime Minister; not in terms of stature, rather in terms of term served. It really seems like the blind leading the blind in the Tory party at the moment. A shambles. Complete chaos. Other adjectives no doubt apply. The ‘Have I Got News For You’ Twitter account summarised things quite well:
BREAKING: Only 67 more Cabinet ministers till Christmas.
BREAKING: The Government.
Truss resigns. U-turn expected imminently.
I mean, you really couldn’t make this up.
Here’s a nice picture of Gideon, my cat, just to calm things down a bit before I continue. He doesn’t really care about UK Politics, although he is a bit vexed about me going down to London repeatedly to complain about the Government and Oil companies, leaving him without lap time and treats (lies).
Gideon getting some well earned lap time
If this blog post ends up not making much sense it might be because I’ve caught covid again. I caught it the first time around in September 2021 and it wasn’t too bad, aside from losing my sense of smell and taste for a bit. This time I have the annoying persistent cough and am generally feeling a bit crap, hence this post might go off-road. Gideon says it’s my fault for going to the germ filled capital and leaving him to fend for himself (the latter is also lies).
Alright, on to the serious stuff. Because the farce going on in the Houses of Parliament at the moment is nothing compared with the challenges facing ordinary people in the UK. Or the challenges we face on a wider front due to the climate and ecological crisis. Thousands in the Global South (non-western nations) are already dying.
I was thinking about it today, and whilst the Tories can’t even agree on a Prime Minister and Cabinet, the following is happening:
UK people are being forced to choose between heating or eating, or can’t afford either. Children in the UK are suffering now, and 1000’s of the elderly may die this winter due to the cold.
I read about a kid today who pretended to eat stuff out of an empty lunch box cos his family can’t afford food, and he doesn’t qualify for free school meals. He didn’t want to be embarrassed in front of his friends.
Inflation and interest rates are hitting ordinary folks hard, whilst the rich just get richer. Big energy companies like BP and Shell are making record profits at our expense, and the Government refuses to tax them.
Division in the UK, between the rich and the poor, as well as different communities, is getting worse. One has to conclude this is an active policy by the Government to make sure we don’t unite against them.
Harvests are failing around the world due to extreme weather, driving up food prices. I read East Anglian potato harvests are down by as much as 50% due to the hot and dry weather.
Floods in Pakistan have killed thousands and displaced 33 million people. Imagine for a minute if that happened in the UK.
Floods in Nigeria kill 100’s and displace over a million. One person every 36 seconds is estimated to be dying from hunger in East Africa. Drought and famine in Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia and South Sudan – list not exhaustive. These crises are all exacerbated by Climate Change but you won’t hear about it as much because, you know, it’s Africa rather than Florida.
The Amazon and rainforests around the world continue to be slashed and burned to make room for farming – mostly cattle or to grow animal feed. The Amazon is now at, or may have crossed, a tipping point towards savannah/desert.
Wildfires still rage, heatwaves are getting worse and killing people, conflict for remaining resources is increasing often breaking out into all out war (e.g. Ukraine).
The refugee crises just gets worse and worse, many of them climate refugees, and we want to fly them to Rwanda.
Civil liberties, the right to protest and freedom of speech are being restricted and criminalised by the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, and now the Public Order Bill; please look the latter up as it’s truly dystopian and scary, and will turn the UK into a police state like Russia, Syria or Iran.
I’ve not added lots of climate and ecological items to the above list, but lets not forget oceans are dying from over-fishing and acidification, insect numbers have plummeted, rare habitats are still being destroyed, we’re still slaughtering mammals for sport or ‘scientific research’, and parts of the world are becoming uninhabitable. Greenhouse Gas emissions are still going up, and we’re seeing dangerous levels of methane released from the permafrost that could trigger a rapid extinction level event. Oh, and storms really are getting fiercer and more frequent.
People often ask when societal collapse is going to happen? When will the apocalypse strike? I think it’s already happening right before our eyes. Given all the above how can it not be? We’re hanging on by a thread and whilst it could take years, there may be no coming back from it now.
I really think mainstream media is very much to blame for a lot of this. They fail to report key issues, concentrating instead on trivialities and celebrity culture. They vilify or ridicule ordinary people taking action to try and bring about change, and scare off anyone else who was thinking about taking action. A few billionaires own the majority of mainstream media. I think it’s safe to assume they’re just protecting their own interests at everyone else’s expense, and most are blind to it because we’re hit with their messaging day in day out. Just watch the film ‘Don’t Look Up’ to see what’s happening; terrifyingly accurate.
But it’s ok, because the world’s Governments have got this all in hand, haven’t they?
Bollocks they have. COP26 was a failure, and COP27 is likely to be too with fossil fuel companies having far too much influence, and green washing endemic. In politics short-termism is rife, egos abound, lobbyists make sure the Government doesn’t upset the status quo, and the police and criminal justice system is clamping down on any dissenting voices. Any politicians who make it into serious positions of power seem to only have their own interests at heart, or are narcissists, or frankly psychopaths.
So what can we do? Just start doing something at least. Recently I’ve been down in London taking direct action with Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil. Why? Because nothing else is working and civil disobedience has a track record of bringing about a change. Writing letters, signing petitions, talking to your MP or even going on marches have very limited if no impact. Check out this film clip from Zoe Broughton of Lora Johnson, a Just Stop Oil activist.
Lora tells it like it is, whilst being arrested ✊
At the moment 100’s of Just Stop Oil supporters are being arrested down in London for demanding a different future, an end to new oil and gas projects. 1000’s of Extinction Rebellion activists have been arrested over the last few years for demanding the Government tell the truth, act now, and form citizens assemblies to guide us through a just transition.
We’re not saying stop using oil and gas right now, we’re saying we can’t afford the emissions from any new projects, and yet the Government wants to license 130 new oil and gas fields. This goes against what climate scientists, the IPCC, Sir David King, Antonio Gueterres, Sir David Attenborough and many others are saying. We have 2 to 3 years to rapidly reduce green house gas emissions and transition away from fossil fuels or it’s game over. Renewable energy is 9 times cheaper and much quicker to build than extracting new oil and gas, which can take decades to come online.
Why on earth would we want new oil and gas, it’s only purpose at this stage is mega profits for a minority at everyone else’s expense, especially those that live and are dying in the Global South.
Politicians and mainstream media, and members of the public led by this toxic media, are vilifying ordinary people fighting for a future which doesn’t involve more famine, war, death and societal collapse. Here a film mash up I made of a recent Just Stop Oil protest in Trafalgar Square. I’ve got more in the pipeline from last week.
These protestors, ordinary people of all ages and from all walks of life, are some of the kindest, most selfless and courageous people I have ever had the privilege of calling friends and taking peaceful action with. They’re people that have properly emotionally connected with the danger we’re in, not just understood the facts and figures. They are retired, students, have jobs and have taken holiday, or yes they might be between jobs sometimes. And yes they still have to use fossil fuel products because that’s the system we’re stuck with at the moment; we’re all hypocrites to one degree or another.
Yet we are being called selfish, arrogant, and accused of destroying the cause we’re fighting for. Critics say we block emergency vehicles when in fact we have a blue light policy which means we always let them through. The media have slammed two young women for throwing tomato soup on a Van Gogh they knew was covered in glass protection, and two climbers for shutting down the QE2 bridge for two days. People say I agree with your cause but not your methods and that we’re hypocrites; that’s ok, just do something.
You’re all hypocrites
So many claims are being made, many of them false, about our actions, however look at what is happening. Spoke persons from Just Stop Oil (JSO) and Extinction Rebellion (XR) are being invited on TV and Radio shows to debate these issues. The newspapers are covering our actions. The public are talking about the climate and ecological crisis, new oil and gas, and insulating homes. People are starting to understand that the cost of living and energy crises are linked to the climate and ecological emergency; we can solve them together with a just transition. And thousands are joining movements like JSO, XR, Enough is Enough and Friends of the Earth. Yes, JSO actions can be regarded as radical and down right annoying, however they push the window, and as a result more people join the more moderate activist flanks.
People hated the Suffragettes and Dr Martin Luther King when they were active, yet the actions they and many others took are regarded as justified and necessary now. Martin Luther King explained the need to create tension to drive change far better than I can.
MLK theory of change
Please look beyond the headlines when you hear about people taking non-violent direct action to demand change, to demand a survivable future, to demand we stop ecological destruction and new oil and gas projects. They’re not doing it to piss you off, or because they want self-attention, they’re doing it because they’ve realised we’re screwed and this is the only option left to them. And now the Government want to clamp down even harder on these legitimate protests.
Please, whatever you are capable of: Just start doing something.
Just Stop Oil are taking action in London throughout October and into November, meet 11am ish outside Downing Street. Extinction Rebellion are planning to get one hundred thousand people out on the streets next April. There’s a big multi-movement march planned in London on 05 November. Don’t be a bystander, get involved in the fight for our futures.
A calming cat picture of Gideon to round things off, hiding in a wrapping paper tepee for some reason. He is still vexed about me going to London, but really thinks humans are making a right old mess of things and need to step up.
Not sure if I should get ill more or less often if it makes me write blog posts like this. I think I’ll go and watch Question Time to relax now, that should be interesting.
The week draws to and end, and I’ve even written some Christmas cards and acquired a few gifts. Almost feel semi-organised, with only mild levels of pre-festive stress and worry about stuff I haven’t done. I like Christmas, when it gets to the actual few days of celebration, but not the weeks of build up.
Gideon has been decidedly unstressed. In fact he appears to be doing very little as we approach mid-winter. This was mostly him today.
Reply from Jerome Mayhew below, but if nothing else please watch the film from George Monbiot at the end of this post, it’s really important…beware of the clowns.
Just getting comfortableVery very tiredGame over manWhy do I have to get up?
Now you’ve enjoyed the cat pictures, here’s the response from Jerome Mayhew MP, to the email I sent him earlier this week. To be fair on him, he responded very quickly and comprehensively. The bit about public transport is ok, the rest I mostly find dubious – I’ve inserted a few comments in square brackets and in italics. I shall be replying when I have some time. Let me know what you think…
Dear Mr Harvey,
Thank you for your email. You have raised a number of points with me so please do forgive the length of my reply.
Weston Link Road
Whilst I do not have a constitutional say over whether the Norwich Western Link takes place, as this is a matter devolved away from MPs, I do support the scheme. I agree that none of the potential routes for the WLR is without very considerable costs in terms of impact to an otherwise lovely part of our countryside [If all the proposed routes are bad, then why go ahead?]. So what we are looking for is the least-worst option. The County Council has undertaken extensive consultation on which route to adopt and, on balance, Option C was found to be the best in terms of its impact on local communities, environmental impact, value for money and through the benefits it will provide to local transport links and safety, by removing the rat runs between the A47 and the NDR. Whilst some people, would prefer one of the other options, without there being a significant failing in the process of consultation, I don’t feel able to argue against the outcome that the consultation produced. In addition to those opposed to it Option C has wide-ranging support including Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, Norwich Airport, Norfolk Constabulary, Norfolk Fire and Rescue and the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership. [Using the emergency services to justify more roads doesn’t work for me. More roads equals more traffic, more emissions, and they’ll still get held up. Plus emergency services are going to be under massive pressure due to climate crisis over the coming years]
Having spoken with the Council I understand ecologists have carried out extensive bat surveys over the last three years across a wide area to the west of Norwich, most recently completing further bat radiotracking surveys earlier this month. Consequently, the Council are developing mitigation proposals to take account of the data collected and are planning to put in considerable measures designed to support local bat populations, including green bridges, underpasses, and improving existing habitats and creating new ones. [The Barbastelle Bat colony is one of the biggest if not the biggest in the UK. They are an endangered species and the road would destroy the colony]
The Council have asked Dr Packman several times if she would be happy to share the data behind the conclusions she has drawn about barbastelle bats and the Norwich Western Link, including the locations of any barbastelle bat roosts her surveys have identified. To date the data has not been provided. As I am sure you can appreciate without seeing this data the Council cannot comment on the conclusions Dr Packman has drawn and will continue to base their proposed mitigation and enhancement measures on the evidence they have collected through their surveys. [The research he is referring to is being written up and checked pre-publication – it needs to be fact checked thoroughly to ensure it cannot be disputed, only wish the Government did more of that]
Public Transport
Given the majority of Broadland is not served by rail the only realistic public transport we can talk about are bus services. I fully accept that the current service needs improving as it fails the needs of the majority of residents with infrequent, poorly used and diesel powered buses. The only way I can see the majority of the network being improved is through the adoption of new technology. For example, smaller vehicles which have the right capacity and ride sharing technology which enables on demand door to door service. This is something I have previously raised with Norfolk County Council to see if there is appetite for a trial run in Norfolk.
In addition to this technological solution, earlier this year the Prime Minister announced £5 billion of new funding to overhaul bus and cycle links for every region outside London. This package of investment will boost bus services by focusing on a range of priorities, set to include:
Higher frequency services, including evenings and weekends, to make it easier and less restrictive for people to get around at any time of day
More ‘turn up and go’ routes where, thanks to higher frequency, people won’t have to rely on timetables to plan journeys
New priority schemes will make routes more efficient, so that buses avoid congested routes and can speed passengers through traffic
More affordable, simpler fares
At least 4,000 new Zero Emission Buses to make greener travel the convenient option, driving forward the UK’s progress on its net zero ambitions
Cycle routes will also see a major boost across the country with over 250 miles of new, high-quality separated cycle routes and safe junctions in towns and cities to be constructed across England, as part of this multibillion pound package.
[Ok, so on public transport I think we can agree, to an extent, but it needs even more investment]
Thorpe Wood
Thorpe Woods are a mixture of semi-natural woodland around compartments of commercial planting which was harvested under their FC woodland management plans. Given the encroachment of Norwich on three sides and the increasing informal use of the woods by these residents, together with the small scale of the commercial plantation, it is no longer suitable to continue to use the site for commercial forestry. The area of commercial forestry was planted in the first place because it was poor quality land, and had since developed poor ecological value due to its heavy monoculture [this is really outdated terminology – it’s old Heathland that would regenerate quickly if left alone. As a friend said – Here, in Thorpe, right on the edge of Norwich, we have 200+ acres of prime lowland heath / ancient woodland / wood pasture habitat, containing more rare & scarce plant species than almost any other site outside of SSSIs] . So the Thorpe and Felthorpe Trust decided that the best future use of the land was to supply local housing need and thereby secure the long term future of the wider woodland for public access, biodiversity growth and recreation.
The planning process undertaken by the Thorpe and Felthorpe Trust is a matter of public record, which included the right to appeal to the planning inspector, who spent six days hearing evidence from all interested parties as well as visiting the site, before coming to her decision granting outline planning permission. I agree that we should protect and manage the mature native woodland in Thorpe Woods, work to improve biodiversity and focus on ecological management. As made very clear in the report of the independent Planning Inspector this is exactly what the Trust will be doing; giving for ever and for free c.140 acres of Thorpe Woods as a community woodland for everyone, whilst improving ecological management, biodiversity, public access and recreation. The Planning Inspector found that: “… the development proposals as a whole would protect and enhance the biodiversity of the District.” This is even after the new housing is taken into account. She went on to conclude that the plan, “…constitutes Sustainable Development.” [I, many local ecologists, and the residents of Thorpe are going to have to agree to disgree on this. You can’t improve biodiversity by destroying important habitat]
The development site is now the responsibility of Hill Group, to whom any enquiries about the development should be directed. [Yes, we’re doing that – keeping an eye on their plans after you sold the woods to them for millions]
Planning
We do need to build new homes for younger generations as our local population expands and the size of individual households decreases. That being said, I think any new homes that are being built should be in keeping with the area and should bring with them sufficient infrastructure investment so that the additional population do not impact negatively on local public services. I note from your own address that you live in new build estate, which until a few years ago was a field. [Thanks for that, yes I do live in a new build that was built on old agricultural land I think – ecological deserts most of the time, due to intensive farming, not the same as cutting down woodland]
Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill
The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill contains a huge number of useful additions to our criminal justice system, as the rather unwieldy name implies. Many of these are uncontroversial and I would certainly not want to delay their introduction by voting against this Bill. Many of the provisions are also a direct delivery of Conservative manifesto pledges from the election, so it would also be deeply undemocratic of me to seek to prevent their introduction. The clauses relating to non-violent but highly disruptive protests are there to help the police to manage the new wave of protest direct action, where the aim is not so much to protest as to cause chaos and inconvenience to as many people as possible. We all have a right to protest and to make sure that our voices are heard, but it is a right to protest, not to prevent. Why should one section of the public have an unfettered right to impose massive disruption on the rest of society? What about their right to get on with life? Where competing rights clash, the law must maintain a balance. Modern protest movements, such as Extinction Rebellion, game the system, and disruption, not peaceful protest, is their objective. The law needs to adjust to maintain the balance of competing rights, and I think this Bill helps to achieve that.
Is this new power open to abuse? Yes it is, like every power that the police have, but there is no difference between this power and every other power that we loan to the police. It is open to challenge and review through the press and the courts. As a democracy, we are well used to holding those in power to account. Every single member of the public has the power to become a citizen journalist immediately through their ‘phone. As a result, the police are subject to review and oversight like never before.
The setting up of illegal traveller sites can be a nuisance for local communities and an inappropriate development of open space. Many local residents across the country are concerned about anti-social behaviour, fly-tipping, and noise related to unauthorised sites.
After two consultations on this issue, as part of the Police, Crime, Sentencing & Courts Bill, new laws will be introduced to increase the powers available to the police in England and Wales. The Bill will introduce a new criminal offence where a person resides or intends to reside on any public or private land without permission and has caused, or is likely to cause, significant harm, obstruction, or harassment or distress. In addition, the Bill amends the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 to broaden the list of harms that can be considered by the police when directing people away from land; and increase the period in which persons directed away from land must not return from three months to 12 months. Amendments to the 1994 Act will in addition allow police to direct trespassers away from land that forms part of a highway.
I can reassure you that the Government has taken steps to ensure that those exercising their rights to enjoy the countryside are not inadvertently impacted by these measures.
These new measures are a proportionate and necessary increase in powers for the police. The Government has made it clear that only a minority of travellers are causing problems, such as through abusive behaviour and extensive litter and waste at illegal sites. The vast majority of the travelling community are decent law-abiding people and we must ensure that there are legal sites available for travellers. As of January 2020, the number of lawful traveller sites increased by 41 per cent from January 2010. The Government has also given £200,000 to support projects working with Gypsy, Traveller and Roma communities to tackle discrimination, improve integration, healthcare and education.
[I don’t know where to start with his commentary around the PCSC Bill. Organisations like Amnesty say it’s bad, very bad. It is going to curtail freedom of speech, and put people in prison for speaking out against the Government. 1930’s Germany anyone? See film fro George Monbiot below for more info]
It’s been over a year since I posted on my blog. No excuses really, it’s just been a hectic, rollercoaster 18 months. I’m hoping to post a bit more from now on, on a variety of topics.
I’ve achieved some cool stuff since I last wrote anything. I passed my Level 4 Bushcraft Course (more on Bushcraft plans soon hopefully), finished some work projects, have done loads of climbing, and have been busy with lots of Extinction Rebellion stuff. Despite the pandemic messing lots of things around life goes on, exciting stuff still happens, and friends and family are always there when you need them; have really appreciated support from friends this year, through a few difficult periods.
Oh, and I adopted a rescue cat who keeps me company now I’m working from home permanently. His name is Gideon. He is a menace, but I love him.
Gideon – happiest on a lapGideon – beware the clawsGideon – wrapping paper is a good place to lie down
What has motivated me to write something again? Local politics mostly. I got annoyed with Councillors talking nonsense and not answering questions, and then with my local MP on a variety of subjects. I thought I’d share the letter I sent him this evening, as I’m sure many of his constituents feel the same way. I also think people need to know more about the disastrous Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, which will shortly be enacted into Law and seriously restrict our liberties.
Please read on if you’re interested – I’ve tried not to rant too much!
Dear Jerome Mayhew MP,
I am writing to you after you deleted my and several other concerned constituents’ comments from your Facebook page. I will also be forwarding this to members of the Norwich press, inviting them to publish this as an open letter.
On 12 December, you posted on Facebook reflecting on your achievements over the last two years, since you were elected, and on how you’ve stayed true to your commitments. I and many others have commented, politely, challenging some of these views. All of our comments have been deleted. I find this both undemocratic, cowardly, and as one of your constituents a failure on your part to address my concerns.
Have you perhaps been taking classes from Cllr Wilby on not answering questions? He did spectacularly badly at addressing a question on the NDR recently. Or perhaps you agree with Broadland District Tory Councillors, including Cllr Fisher, that there’s no need to declare a Climate and Biodiversity Emergency, despite all scientific evidence to the contrary?
I shall repeat the comments I raised on Facebook, and would welcome a response.
You claim to be enhancing our local environment, however this is at odds with both your support for the Western Link Road, as well as you and your family’s involvement in the proposed Thorpe Woodlands housing development.
The Western Link Road will destroy ancient woodland, rare chalk stream habitat, endangered Barbastelle bat colonies, and pollute the local landscape. It will increase traffic and emissions because that’s what new roads do. The road is also a blatant move to open up the Norfolk countryside to more development and destruction, for the profit of a few.
Surely public money would be far better invested in green public transport and cycling infrastructure? At a time when more people are working from home, and we need to reduce private car ownership to reduce emissions, it seems crazy to be promoting more car usage.
Turning now to the Thorpe Woodlands housing development. This woodland, a County Wildlife Site, is a remnant of ancient woodland, containing as it does ancient woodland indicator species. It acts as a carbon sink and a refuge for animals and plants to regenerate from, whilst the surrounding countryside is gobbled up by developers. It is very probable that it also acts as a flood defence, absorbing a lot of surface water, for the homes in Dussindale and Thorpe St. Andrew.
You and your family sold this woodland, no doubt for a tidy profit, to developers. This was against the wishes of local residents, many of whom grew up playing in the woods. Broadland District Council refused planning permission. However, the applicants appealed to the central Planning Inspectorate, who overturned local democracy and granted permission. Yet another example of local democracy being ignored for the profit of a small minority, even though Broadland council said the land wasn’t needed for housing.
In the midst of a biodiversity crisis, when the UK has the lowest forest coverage in Europe (13% versus around 38% in the EU), we really need to preserve our remaining woodlands and wild places, habitats and biodiversity. Planting new trees simply cannot make up for established woodland being destroyed; birds and bats can’t nest in saplings surrounded by plastic tubes, trees that will probably die anyway if many of those planted around the NDR are anything to go by.
It appears you are not being entirely successful in protecting the countryside and environment in Norfolk, and certainly not ‘listening to residents’ on this matter.
I’d also like to raise the matter of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill (PCSC BIll), which is now going through its third reading in the House of Lords. This Bill, which you support, recently had last minute clauses introduced that will mean up to 51 weeks in prison for any sort of protest activity. It also persecutes Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, making their way of life illegal. It’s an attack on freedom of speech, as well as our right to peaceful protest, a right that has won the British people so much over the centuries.
The PCSC Bill, along with the Nationality and Borders Bill (Anti-Refugee Bill), are attacks on civil liberties, freedom, democracy and refugees seeking asylum. The Government is seeking to quash any dissenting voices, to silence anyone that disagrees with them. Protest by its very nature will cause an annoyance and disturb someone. We must heed warnings from history, from the 1930s as countries slid into authoritarianism and fascism after introducing similar and more stringent laws. Can you really, with good conscience, support these Bills, which have been widely condemned by organisations such as Amnesty International?
I appreciate you have been working hard to try to build a ‘Better Broadland’, however not being open to criticism or answering questions from concerned members of the public comes across badly. With the Government increasingly under fire on COVID, having one rule for them and one for everyone else, it must be time to start listening to and engaging with your constituents who have different views, rather than ignoring them.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Your sincerely,
James Harvey
Salhouse
Norwich
That’s all for today. I’ll let you know if I get a reply, and hope to write more soon anyway.
Self Propelled 