‘No Return to Cruelty’

Press release:

Steven Campkin, Green Party prospective parliamentary candidate for Ashford,
pledged “no return to cruelty” as he backed an IFAW in Action campaign to
protect the ban on the cruel sport of hunting with dogs.

Five years after the Hunting Act came into force in England and Wales, IFAW in
Action, a part of the global International Fund for Animal Welfare movement, has
published a new report ‘No Return to Cruelty’, and released a three-minute
compilation of video footage showing examples of hunting cruelty before the ban.

The new report and footage were sent to MPs and prospective parliamentary
candidates, urging them to remember the horrific cruelty inflicted on foxes,
deer, hares and mink before the introduction of the Hunting Act and to work to
protect the ban.

Steven said: “Hunting for so called 'sport' is barbaric and repulsive and has no
place in a civilised society. I fully support the hunting ban but would like to
see it better enforced, and would go further and ban any activity that exploits
animals. The Hunting Act was introduced because the majority of the British
public found it abhorrent that animals could be chased and ripped apart for fun.”

Conservative Party leader David Cameron has pledged to allow MPs a free vote on
whether to repeal the Act if he becomes Prime Minister. This is despite the fact
that a return to hunting would be completely out of step with the views of the
majority of the British public, including his own party.

Polling by Ipsos MORI* in September 2009 found strong cross-party support for
maintaining the ban, including almost twice as many intending Conservative
supporters backing the Act as those that want it repealed (62% vs 33%). Overall,
75% of the British public do not want fox hunting to be made legal again.

Robbie Marsland, UK Director of IFAW in Action, said: “As a nation of animal
lovers, the majority of the British public have long opposed animal cruelty and
do not want the archaic practice of hunting with dogs to return to our
countryside. We urge everyone to visit our website and remember why this vital
ban was introduced.”

To read the No Return to Cruelty report and view the footage visit w where you
can also email your other local parliamentary candidates and ask where they
stand on the issue.

Ends apprx. 740 words

What's the Point?

With the Green Party conference in full swing it's difficult not to feel inspired and aspirational. A fantastic speech from Dr. Caroline Lucas kicked off proceedings, my good friend Stuart Jeffery, standing in Maidstone, was involved with our brand new Green Party health policy, and we've got loads of coverage in national media from radio 4 to the local papers.

Meanwhile I've been sat at home, unable to attend the conference due to work pressures, but answering the first slew of letters from constituents and NGOs. And it was those that reminded me why I got involved with the Green Party in the first place. I was protesting outside the Novartis labs thinking "this is pointless! What we need is representation at the political level."

I was unaware of Caroline Lucas' work in the European Parliament, and Animals Count and the Animal Protection Party didn't exist back then, but I've always believed if you think something needs doing then you're the person for the job so, that evening, I checked out all the political parties for their animal rights policies, to find that only the Green Party actually had one!! (I found out later that the Lib Dems had dropped theirs shortly after the Hunting ban came in, but I don't know how true this is.) So I joined, there and then. Best thing I ever did!

Since then my eyes have been opened to so many other issues that I almost forgot my original reason for joining, but these issues are symptoms of the same problem, and their is only one problem: fear!! And the powers that be feed off and manipulate this fear. Energy deficit, swine flu, terrorism, climate change, etc. Where's the hope, the optimism, the unquenchable fire in the human soul?

It's out there. All these e-mails I'm getting: "will you support us?" "what do you think about this?", "what will you do about that?!", they are from people who live in Ashford who care about Ashford, animals, the environment, child poverty, but not in a fearful way, in a way that gets them up and out and doing stuff, holding the powers that be to account, not just sitting there and taking it. People like me!!

The exploitation of animals must stop, we are animals. The rape of Nature must stop: we are a part of nature. The enslavement of the poor, wherever in the world they are, must stop now! For we only behave like this because we are in turn slaves ourselves: slaves to the capitalist system, to advertisers, to the bankers. To our own fears. And to a parliament full of politicians trying to use the system to line their own pockets, because they are also slaves to their own fears. Set them free, bless 'em, vote Green Party. Or, even better, join us! I've got vacancies...

Maybe I'm caught up in the whole "glass is half full" thing that accompanies seeing your team doing well, but that's when we get up and get stuff done. Positive vibes, man!! They work!

Iraqnophobia

You know of a neighbour living a few streets away, he has a bad reputation and he may have some weapons in his house. He may not. You feel something needs to be done about him. Do you:

A) Try not to provoke him?

B) Do some proper research and consult the authorities?

C) Get some mates together, break into his home and slaughter his family, thus making yourself at least as bad as him?

George Bush, surely the worst neighbour in the 'hood, chose 'C', and Tony Blair chose to follow him. Turns out the bad neighbour in question was all talk with regard to his weapons horde.

Mr. Blair showed absolutely no remorse today, despite me shouting "Squirm, you bastard, squirm!!" Even more despicable, he said he would do it again, and mentioned Iran in connection to this. Apparently Iran might have weapons of mass destruction and may be a threat to the rest of the world. Sounds like a couple of countries I could mention...

And where's Mr. Bush in all this? Playing golf? Laughing maniacally, having crapped on the rest of the planet, and wiping his arse with Tonys' soul?

Dear Mr. Green,

Today Mr. Tony Blair showed no remorse for leading us into an illegal war, implied he would do it again even without the evidence of W.M.D's and warned, during the inquiry, that we must take a "tough line" with Iran.

In 2003 you voted "very strongly for the Iraq war" (source: theyworkforyou.com), and I am sure you regret that decision, but it seems, general election miracles notwithstanding, that you may soon find yourself in a similar position again. Can I ask you to assure myself and the people of Ashford you will not make the same mistake next time?

Steven Campkin
Ashford Green Party PPC

Is there any humanity in the house of commons, or is it just one big vivarium?

B)

Sense and Sensibilities: The Criminal Justice System.

I've just been invited to join a group on Facebook calling for a "review of minimum sentences applied to violent crimes".

I have not joined, but let me explain:

While my sympathies lay with Ben Neilsons family, I just do not believe longer sentences necessarily work, and that's the only reason. The criminal justice system in Britain is certainly one of the more humane, despite calls from the far right for the return of corporal and capital punishment, but it still doesn't actually tackle the problem: there are no evil people, just ignorance and stupid actions. Anyone who kills, from the soldier to the psychopath, from the slaughterman to the executioner, believes they are somehow justified, or exempt from societies rules.

This is why I believe in rehabilitation as opposed to punishment: Education, not Legislation. (And you can quote me on that). These people already hate society, that's why they do what they do, so punishing them is just going to make them worse. I'd like to make it clear that they MUST NOT BE ALLOWED TO GET AWAY WITH IT, but the focus of the criminal justice system must be on stopping them doing it again. They must be removed from society so that they cannot harm anyone else, but they must not be relieved of their responsibilities by just locking them away or stringing them up, as that would be "letting them get away with it", making us no better than them, and all at the taxpayers expense!

But I still think even this is missing the point, treating the symptom while ignoring the cause. Harsher jail sentences for paedophiles presupposes that children shall continue to be abused, and seems to me little more than a witch-hunt where we get to satiate the same animal instincts as drive the rapists, murderers and paedophiles themselves, using innocent children as bait.

This is not one of my more popular points of view!

But I'm not interested in being popular, (except on election day, of course) any more than I am interested in indulging my more base lusts, I'm interested in protecting children and creating a fairer society, and that rests solely in the realms of education.

Children look to their fathers (or equivalent) for guidance on how to conduct themselves within the 'tribe', girls looking for a blueprint of their future partners, boys for a role model of how to act and react. Later on in life the school system takes over and the teachers take on the responsibility of role model. People do not respond well to being told what to do, but look for those that lead by example, responding better to encouraged good behaviour than they do to punishment for bad behaviour, which just leads to frustration and resentment. (This generally applies to all social animals, such as chimps and dogs.) Taking this as a starting point we can start to 'fix' what Mr. Cameron calls our "broken society", and puts into action Gandhis words:

"We must become the change we wish to see in the world".

Letter to KM re: North School Farm

"Ashford Green Party is utterly opposed to the plans for 25 new houses on the current site of the North School Farm in Essella Road.

The farm itself is a valuable resource for young people to learn self-sufficiency, organic farming and animal welfare, valuable skills with Climate Change and Peak Oil looming. I myself learned a lot from that farm while I was at The North School. It could also provide a valuable source of income at local farmers markets in these cash-strapped times where education is underfunded in favour of an illegal war.

The traffic problem has also not been addressed properly, with the danger at the junction of three roads and a petrol station brushed off by Kent Highway Services.

Furthermore, one has to question the wisdom of building yet more houses when we have around 400 empty properties in and around Ashford, and with so many people on the streets or in inadequate accommodation one also has to ask if all these houses the Government wants to build are going to be 'affordable'?"

There is currently a Facebook Group opposing these plans. Please join.

Snow. Snow snow, snow. Snow? Snow, snow.

We've got 58 channels of snow. And if that's not enough there's some more outside. And people are still driving around in it!! It's times like this that community spirit really comes into it's own, as people check on each other, car pool to the shops to get the essentials and everyone is out shoveling snow off the public footpaths.

Any time now.

Any minute...

Well, there's a gang of kids throwing snowballs at slow moving cars, and their own dog, and people on the Jeremy Vine show complaining about the council not gritting paths and accusing those who have opted to not risk life and limb doing a non-essential job of being somehow lazy. The Economy, it seems, is far more important than your life.

I only live about two miles from my workplace, so I was happy to walk in, but I would certainly not blame others for not risking it, and the doctors and nurses and other important people deserve medals for what they go through.

I know there's a shortage of rock-salt/grit/whatever you want to call it, but what about the community payback scheme getting out there with a few shovels, what about the councils employing some temps through the agencies, and how about some good old fashioned community spirit?

More importantly, what about the energy crisis? Gas and electricity consumption has nearly reached record levels, just as we're trying to get emissions down, and with Cold Weather Payments barely covering what it will actually cost for some to stay alive, one has to wonder what we'll be doing in years to come, when Peak Oil hits, energy bills soar and winters get colder.

The problem is not the heating of your home, it's the heat loss, and the solution is to make it easier and cheaper to heat our homes. The Green Party proposes Free Insulation for every home and, indeed, this has been started where there are Greens on the council. This, combined with Microgeneration will mean heating our homes will be cheaper, easier and more environmentally friendly.

So, tomorrow I intend to go buy a spade and get the paths clear around my neighbourhood and see if I can't get some kind of community cohesion going on.

Do not turn off your heating!!!

Please, stay warm and stay active and don't feel guilty about having the heating on in this weather.

It's not a luxury, it's an essential.

Animals at Christmas.

Apparently, in Poland, it's traditional to go vegetarian for Christmas day!* Which makes one wonder, why? and, if there's a good reason, why just at Christmas?

Among the things you can guarantee will be on the telly at Christmas are Dr. Who, the Queen, and animal charity adverts, although the Queen's looking less likely each year, and is certainly less popular than the other two.

But isn't it strange that we celebrate the birth of possibly the most compassionate man to ever have lived by slaughtering millions of animals so we can feast on their flesh, and by presenting children with baby animals they cannot possibly look after. And so we are flooded with adverts from the National Dogs Trust, the RSPCA and, even more worryingly, the NSPCC.

One advert that caught my eye was the Labour partys campaign to keep the Hunting Ban, led by Patrick Stewart. An attempt by Labour to steal any Animal Rights votes available from the Green Party, perhaps? I do hope no-one's really that stupid!

Unfortunately, they are correct about the Conservative promise to lift the ban if they win the next election, I even have an e-mail to that effect from Mr. Damian Green MP, who has refused to sign EDM 79 on the grounds that he sees it as an "unnecessary and ineffective piece of legislation." I would point out that any legislation is "ineffective" if not properly enforced.

With 2009 coming to a close it's not been a fantastic year for animals, with the recession apparently forcing people to abandon their previously loved, four legged "members of the family", while certain breeds of dog have become a fashion accessory/weapon of choice amongst the hooded delinquents who were brought up to believe that "might is right" and "animals are less than human". And then there's the incident in Folkestone of a poor dog being beaten to death on the beach.

And, if the Conservatives win the next election, I'm afraid it's just going to get worse. Labour and the Lib Dems don't have animal welfare policies, and the BNP and UKIP don't even bare mentioning!! If you care about animals, or anything else for that matter, that leaves you with only one option...

I think it's high time we brought back the dog license and extended it to all companion animals (that's Animal Rights talk for 'Pets', btw), and have signed a Care2Causes petition to this effect, and urge everyone who reads this to do the same. I have also signed up for the Vote Cruelty Free campaign, as have most Green Party candidates. As Gandhi said:

“The greatness of a nation
and its moral progress
can be judged by the way its animals are treated”

Of course, were I in a position to sign that EDM things would be different...

(Diekuye, Kamilla!)