Save The NHS Debate - Hove and Portslade MP Candidates

went to a brilliantly heated and absolutely relevant and topical public debate at Glebe Hall in Hove on Friday night, featuring an impassioned local electorate voicing their concerns on healthcare to three candidates from the Tory, Labour, and Green parties.

The evening was focused on the budget for the NHS,... which is struggling under the weight of an aging population and cash strapped coffers. Founded in 1945 upon the principle of free healthcare for all, has the time come for the NHS to be opened up to privatisation in order to help pay for it?

The short answer is No.

The longer answer is Never.

Though all of the candidates (at times) made interesting and valid points, there was definitely no winner at the end of the evening, with the general consensus of the crowd seeming to loathe all politicians across the board.

Only the Green candidate though was astute enough to mention the importance of the TTIP (see post from 11 Feb) which would open up the NHS to transnational corporate privatization overnight. Actually, some parts of the NHS are already private (Specsavers provide eye and hearing care), but at least these services are still free (though the Tories have suggested a £10 fee?)

Best quote from the evening:

"its not a financial crisis, its a political crisis"

Next Save the NHS public debate is at Friends Meeting House in Brighton on March 24th, featuring Green MP Caroline Lucas among others.

 
















NHS SOS 


See you there...

"Shout It Out" - Brighton Sings No To Council Cuts

 

went to see these guys with avis at the weekend, an excellent little musical show about how we will all be affected by proposed budget cuts to Brighton and Hove Council. 

 

In 15 short minutes we heard Liv and Matt sing the “Austerity Blues”, give a ukelele rendition of George Michael’s “Faith”, as well as a nod to the George Osbourne Classics including “Affordable Housing – Youre Having A Laugh”.

 

Well done them, and to B&H Greens for organising! Hopefully they’ll be out and about again soon, making people smile, and raising awareness of how the Coaltion Government intends to slash Council funding by £17 million this April, and each year after that until 2019...

 

http://www.brightonhovegreens.org/news/our-city-our-future-anti-austerity-campaign-launch-in-brighton-and-hove.html 

Global Divestment Day!

Its Global Divestment Day, where people around the world are putting pressure on their bank, favourite celebrity, pension fund, city council, politicians, school, university or other local institutions to withdraw any money they have invested in fossil fuels, and reinvest it in more sustainable ventures, like renewable energy.

There have been demonstrations in many cities, such as here at Harvard University:

http://www.thecrimson.com/image/2015/2/12/divest-harvard-canyon-massachusetts-hall/

We can do out bit by signing the petiton here:

Divestment Day Petition 

No To TTIP

this is something ive been looking into for a whlie, the friendly, warmly titled "TransAtlantic Trade and Investment Partnership"... or TTIP.

Now,... doesnt that sound lovely? A mutually beneficial partnership in trade and investment with our strange talking cousins across the sea. What could Curtis possibly have against you might ask...

quite a heck of a lot, I would answer.

In a nutshell, the TTIP is a vehicle for big multinational corporations to remove the last hurdles to their unchallenged power over us poor voiceless masses. If the European Parliament passed the TTIP today in its current form, this would:

  

* create an “Investor vs State Dispute Settlement” tribunal, giving companies the ability to sue

governments if their policies affect profits, putting business on a par with government.

* open up public services to competition from transnational corporations, allowing for a further wave of privatisations in key sectors such as health and education.

* allow US companies to challenge bans on fracking in Europe

* allow American foods which do not currently measure up to European Food Safety standards to become available (such as genetically modified foods, beef thats been injected with growth hormones, and pork carcasses that are washed with chlorine).

* further undermine data privacy laws and civil liberties which have been under attack since George and Tonys 'War on Terror'.

 and there are plenty of other clauses too which dig in our environment, our welfare, and our democracy.

The TTIP is still a way off being passed by the European Union, but there is no time to waste in letting your local MEPs know that you want them to vote 'No' when it does come up.

You can do so here:

https://www.writetothem.com/

Ive written to 6 of my 9 MEPs so far, and am saving Farage til last!

Dont be a Donut, and get writing those emails !!

and to find out more on TTIP, check the link over on the left of my page.

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The Dynamics of Modern Money

I went to another great talk chaired by my good friend Dr Mick Taylor on Friday, looking at the way that money is made in Britain, and how it could be better.

He explained how money is created and how it flows through the economy, tending to make the rich richer and the poor even poorer. We looked at how new money is injected into the economy by banks only through the creation of debt via mortgages and loans. We also looked at how austerity doesn’t work, and why it is unfair for the public to bail out banks when they fail.

The talk concluded by looking at alternatives to make money fairer, such as having a tax on financial transactions, creating a mutual credit system, or by taking away the power of private banks to create money and giving sole responsibility for this to the Bank of England.

It was a great talk, and included many seemingly simple ways to re-shape the way the money is created to make for a fairer society.

Here a brief description of the evening from the Headstrong Club website:

New Economics

and here's the man in action at a talk that was given as part of TEDx Brighton 2013:

Merchants of Doubt

Went to see this at Komedia last night; an excellent documentary based on a book of the same name, about how fossil fuel companies employ various ‘experts’ and ‘scientists’ to go into the media and cast doubt on the impact (or even existence) of global warming.

The film makers show how many big oil and coal companies use the same tactics against climate science that were used to debunk evidence that smoking was harmful fifty years ago. These skeptics are paid to go on TV and write articles discrediting climate change with phrases like “theres no consensus in the scientific community” and “no one knows for sure” and “its too soon to tell”.

They also play on the idea that the Green movement is in some way a new socialist conspiracy, calling environmentalists “watermelons” (green on the outside, red on the inside). Its a brilliant film, right up to date and makes you question who you chose to believe in the media. The general gyst is, not people who have a lot to lose from switching to renewables!

heres the trailer:

Whats It Like Living In Brighton and Hove

To all my Brighton friends. 

If you want to tell Brighton and Hove City Council about any good or bad experiences you've had renting property in the city, and what you'd like to see change, you've got until 7th Feb to do it.

For me it has been two sides of the coin. 

I had landlords that have ignored any complaints of damp, or of ineffective heating in the bitterest of winters ("the radiators worked fine when I lived at the property"), who have done nothing to arrest leaks and faulty electrics, who have hired cowboy workers, who have been un-contactable and absent from the country for months at a time... and who have had that audacity to raise rents despite such negligence!

Then, on the flip-side, my current landlord is an absolute gem, who will quickly investigate any problem with the property, and often provides improvements to the flat because a certain corner 'could do with a lick of paint' and appliances 'are a bit old'.

So, being an arsehole isnt necessarily a prerequisite of being a landlord, it just too often seems to be the case. And too often I've felt powerless as a tenant to seek any change.

I think what would be really useful is more support for tenants to be able to take measures when conditions aren't improved and complaints aren't fixed. We need to know who we can contact and how we can contact them. And what our rights are and what we can reasonably expect as tenants, and what is expected of us.
 
So, Dont be a Donut, take 15 minutes and let 'em know your thoughts so things can begin to get better:


http://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/…/whats-it-living-private-r…

alternatively, email this person: karen.amsden@brighton-hove.gov.uk


To end on a positive, here's an example of some people doing good to try and change rental prices in the city: 

http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/11604548.Campaign_calls_for_Brighton_and_Hove_City_Council_to_control_rents/?ref=mr