The People Reclaim the Forest of Dean - VICTORY IS OUR'S

THE LAST SIGN COMES DOWN

Watched by a jubiliant crowd, Baroness Jan Royall removes the last Hands off our Forest (HOOF) sign at Speech House today in a symbolic act to mark the government's complete "yew-turn" on forest disposals and the Public Bodies bill.

HOOF has always pledged that when the Forest was safe we would remove all the signs and yellow ribbons and return the Forest to its natural beauty.

The Forest may not be completely out of the woods yet, so to speak, as the HOOF statement printed below explains, but for the time being at least the threat to dispose of our Forest and all the other publicly owned forests of England has been removed.

Forest Privatisation: Cameron a Stranger to the Truth

Here is a statement.

"The idea that all Forestry Commission forests are open to the public and do not charge is simply not true," said the prime minister. "

Many forests, such as the New Forest, are not owned by the Forestry Commission and have much better access, no parking charges and very good records on habitat. While we are having this consultation, we should bust some of the myths that have been put around about this idea."

And here, by way of contrast, is another statement. "In 1924 the management of the New Forest passed to the Forestry Commission under the Forestry (Transfer of Woods) Act, 1923 and became vested in the Minister of Agriculture rather than the Sovereign."

Someone made a fool of themselves in the Commons this week, we think.

We think it was Dave.

Guardian

OFFICIAL: Cabinet of Millionaires funded by the City

The Financial Times have reported that the ‘Conservative party has attracted a surge in donations from London’s Square Mile, with funding from financiers and City firms accounting for more than half of the £22.5m the party pulled in last year’:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/132d302c-33c1-11e0-b1ed-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1DXS2sTAz

As the Committee on Standards in Public Life concludes its inquiry into party political finance with a final hearing in London next Tuesday, don’t hold your breath waiting for it expose let alone outlaw the symbiotic relationship between the City and the Tories.

We will also witness the spectre of City bankers. who got us into this mess and who we bailed out, get multi million pond bonuses

TORIES SOFT ON BANKS

Lord Oakeshott spoke out on the Governments negotiations (project Merlin) with the banks on capping their profits and bonuses, stating:

‘If this is robust action on bank bonuses, my name’s (Barclays boss) Bob Diamond and I’m going to claim my £9million bonus next week.’

He said the Treasury ‘are being taken for a ride’, accusing Treasury officials of ‘an awful combination of arrogance and incompetence’ and saying: ‘Most of them couldn’t negotiate themselves out of a paper bag.’

Unsurprisingly, Lord Oakeshott a Lib Dem Treasury spokeperson was immediately asked to resign by his Lib Dem Treasury colleagues, simply because his statements were in conflict with the views of the Cabinet of Millionaires who’s majority party, The Conservative Party is funded by bankers.

Government by the Rich - For the Rich

No Prime Minster - Don't Insult NHS Nurses

No Prime Minster - Don't insult NHS Nurses

Millionaire and Eton Educated Tory Prime Minister David Cameron has been accused of insulting NHS staff.

In his interview on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme this morning, while launching the Governments NHS privatisation agenda he said, in relation to the NHS, that

"Britain shouldn't put up with a "second rate" service."

John Healey, the shadow health secretary, said: "David Cameron also seems to see the NHS as second rate when everybody else has seen big improvements by Labour in recent years and public satisfaction is now at an all time high.

Nora Pearce UNISON Nursing Convenor at Kingston Hospital stated "The NHS has the highest approval rates in its history, It is delivering in very difficult circumstances. The Prime Ministers statements are an insult to millions of hard working NHS nurses and professional staff."

New Tory Lies on Fuel Costs in Rural Communities

Before the General election the Tories promised to introduce a "fuel stabiliser" to avoid excessive fluctuations in petrol at the pump.

Now in Government, the Tory/Lib Dem Government have set about raising VAT on Petrol forcing the price of a gallon of petrol towards £6, with another tax rise planned for April 2011.

With a growing outcry at the growing cost of petrol, the Government have belatedly worked out that such a move will impact disproportionately upon rural communities, coupled with theTories slashing rural bus and train services.

Both Cameron and Lib Dem Minister, Danny Alexander have claimed they are examining the introduction of a "fuel stabiliser" and "action to specifically help rural areas".

Danny Alexander Treasury Minister, stated in the Sunday Telegraph (16th January 2011) that "remote areas would soon be able to enjoy a discount on the duty they pay for petrol".

He said: "We recognise that this for many families is a serious issue. We are seeking to address that problem by looking at this idea of a fair fuel stabiliser, by taking steps to relieve the burden of fuel costs in the most remote communities."

Yet as with bankers bonuses, rural communities should be very cautious about believing such "woolly" statements. Remember, Cameron stated previously that he would tackle bankers bonuses and limit them to £2,000 a year, in reality nothing happened and the the Tories friends the bankers are still cashing in million pound bonuses, courtesy of the Government of millionaires.

The truth is this Tory/Lib Dem Government will not hesitate to abandon rural communities on issues such as the cost of fuel and cuts in public services. Rural Tory and Lib Dem MP's will be silent and their friends in the NFU and Countryside Alliance missing.

Rural Communities urgently need to stand up and be counted, take direct action to defend their way of life on all fronts.

Labour's Great Cornish By Election Victory

First Labour and Coop Councillor at Cornwall Council

January 14, 2011

by Jude Robinson
Labour Councillor - Cornwall

It feels terrific to have been elected as the first Labour Councillor on Cornwall’s still new Unitary Council and as the first Co-operative Party Councillor.

The election results were

Mike Champion MK 32

Paul Holmes Liberal 61

Jacqui Merrick Green 31

Anna Pascoe Lib Dem 152

Denise Pascoe Conservative 203

Jude Robinson Labour & Co-op 230

I managed to get four hours sleep but am now sitting in my home – yesterday’s campaign centre – surrounded by soggy leaflets, canvass sheets and coats thinking about all the work ahead and still excited by it all. Strange people, politicians – and I suppose I am officially one now as an elected member.

The Unitary elections were a real low for Labour in Cornwall. In this seat in May 2009, we got 11% of the vote and came fifth. This time, we won with 32% share of the vote.

There has been a huge amount of good will coming my way, from people in all parties and I am very touched by that. My parties, Labour and Co-op, have been fantastic and to have had such support from members and friends all over the country has been both amazing and daunting. It is a lot to live up to and after finally finding the time to get my very unruly hair cut today, I have a lot of work to do.

I owe a huge thank you to all those people who helped: local members and those from other constituencies in Cornwall, the team from Plymouth, friends from Bristol, Devon, Linda and Benny Gilroy and all the supporters in Camborne, who voted for me and Labour even though they were showered with Lib Dem leaflets telling them it was pointless.

More people in Cornwall should go with their hearts and vote Labour. It would surprise everyone to realise just how much support there is here from people who have been persuaded that they have to vote Lib Dem to ‘keep the Tories out’.

Well Cornish lads are fishermen
And Cornish lads are miners too
But when the fish and tin are gone
what are the Cornish boys to do?

In 1998 Crofty tin mine (Camborne) closed, despite a massive campaign by the 200 tin miners and their union the Transport & General Workers Union(now Unite),

The defiant words painted on the walls of the Crofty tin mine (Camborne) read

"Cornish lads are fishermen and Cornish lads are miners too but now the fish and tin are gone what are Cornish boys to do?"

To which Camborne in 2011 has answered by voting Labour X

Country Standard Note:

Lib Dem Leaflet put out during the Camborne By election Jan 2011

Cameron's Constituents Give Labour Landslide Victory in Witney

Cameron's Constituents Give Labour Landslide in Witney

Labour has won a stunning by-election victory (6th January 2011) in the heart of David Cameron's constituency of Witney in Oxfordshire

Duncan Enright the Labour candidate took 480 votes or 67% of the vote to take the East Ward.

Liberal Democrat Mark Balaam got 123 votes and the Green Party's Kate Griffin got 117.

East Ward, Witney Town Council Result

Duncan Enright, Labour 480 (66.7%)

LD 123 (17.1%)
Green 117 (16.2%)

The election was called after Conservative Louise Chapman was disqualified for not attending a single meeting in six months.

The Lib Dem candidate narrowly held onto second place.

Duncan Enright was an excellent candidate, with a team of activists from across Oxfordshire who spent December in the snow and cold knocking on doors and leafleting in what must have seemed to have been a daunting objective of securing a Labour seat in a traditional rural Tory bastion.

On the doorstep concerns over Oxfordshire County Council and central Government cuts resented with voters.

Tories skiing in Klosters - While British workers face the sack !

We're all in this together

at Christmas ???

Like other members of the Government of millionaires, Tory Chancellor George "Gideon" Osborne defied the economic gloom and swinging cuts, by taking his family on holiday to one of Switzerland’s most exclusive ski resort of Klosters, where chalets can cost up to £10,000 a night.

According to one ski instructor working there, the Chancellor was a guest of honour at a drinks reception for skiers in Marden’s Club earlier in the week.

It is not Mr Osborne’s first ski trip to the area. In the past he has stayed at the five-star Fluela Hotel in Davos, where a large double room costs up to £500 a night.

Millionaire financier Nathaniel Rothschild – a schoolfriend of Osborne’s and fellow member of Oxford University’s riotous Bullingdon Club – owns several chalets in Klosters and Davos.

Meanwhile, back in Britain, nurses and teachers face the sack.

We're all in this together !

Why - Lick The Feet That Kick You !

Why ? Lick The Feet That Kick You !

Will you cheer for "more work and less pay".... Will you cheer to be taunted that your want of work at such times means "you won't work" ? Will you cheer for all manner of insult and abuse, when, in distress, you approach those who are in authority ? Cheer these things and you lick the feet that kick you.




(Extract from a leaflet entitled "Anti-Humbug".
distributed in the Haymarket, Bristol in 1888
when the Freedom of the City was conferred on Prince Albert)

Cameron - We smashed the place up

“Things got out of hand and we’d had a few drinks.
We smashed the place up and Boris set fire to the toilets.”


David Cameron

Bullingdon Club - Christ Church college, Oxford

1. George Osborne

The 36-year-old MP for Tatton is the eldest son and heir of baronet Sir Peter Osborne, the founder of the upmarket wallpaper merchants, Osborne & Little.

His real name is Gideon but he has used his grandfather's name George since the age of 13. He says: "Life was easier as a George."

At Oxford he edited the university magazine Isis. One issue was printed on hemp paper, made of the stems of cannabis plants.

After leaving university he worked for two years as a freelance journalist before landing a job at the Conservative Research Department. He was made Shadow Chancellor at the age of 33.

He lives in a £1million house in Notting Hill with his novelist wife Frances. As well as his income as an MP, he is a beneficiary of a trust fund which owns 15 per cent of Osborne & Little's shares.

2. Harry Mount

The 35-year- old son of another baronet, Ferdinand Mount, he read Classics at Magdalen. As well as being a cousin of David Cameron, he is also related to the novelist Anthony Powell. After working as a banker, he trained to be a lawyer at the age of 27. He then wrote a book on his two years as a pupil barrister, My Brief Career, as well as a book on Latin, Amo Amas Amat and all that - How to become a Latin lover, for which he recently received a £130,000 advance for the U.S. rights. Formerly the New York correspondent of the Daily Telegraph, he is currently a feature writer for the Daily Mail.

3. Chris Coleridge

A descendant of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the brother of Conde Nast managing director Nicholas Coleridge, and son of Lloyds of London-boss David Coleridge. Studied History at Exeter College.

With Nat Rothschild, he launched a racy publication student newspaper called Rumpus while at university which featured a topless model, a "Page 7 fella" and a guide on how to steal cars, which was frowned on by the local police.

Also featuring on the astrology page of Rumpus, wearing a wizard's costume, was George Osborne. In 2005 Coleridge, 36, founded a company called V Water which sells vitamin-infused water and now has a £1.2million turnover.

4. Lupus von Maltzahn

Schooled in Germany, he is now a management consultant for Accenture. A relative of the wealthy private banker Bruno Schroder.

5. Mark Petre

Son of the 18th Baron Petre, part of an aristocratic family who made their fortune during the dissolution of the monasteries. After Oxford he became the editor of a glossy magazine, International Homes.

In 2004 he was found dead at his family's stately home, Ingatestone Hall in Essex, while awaiting trial for driving under the influence of drugs after his Mercedes collided with a BMW. The sedative Temazepam was in his bloodstream "in excess of the therapeutic dose".

6. Peter Holmes a Court

Educated in Australia, then studied law at Oxford. He was 21 when his billionaire businessman father, Robert Holmes a Court, died in 1990 of a heart attack, aged 53.

After leaving university, as well as heading his father's investment firm, he launched a theatrical company, Back Row Productions, in London. His family's theatre group, Stoll Moss Productions, was sold to Andrew Lloyd Webber in 2001 for £87million.

Jointly owns the Australian rugby team South Sydney Rabbitohs with his close friend, Gladiator star Russell Crowe.

7. Nat Rothschild

Rothschild, 35, is in line to be the fifth Baron Rothschild.

After Eton, where contemporaries remember him as an unruly and wayward student, he studied history at Wadham College.

For many years, it was feared that Nat would self-destruct, like many other young Rothschilds in the dynasty.

In 1996, Nat's cousin Amschel hanged himself at the age of 41, while another cousin, Raphael de Rothschild, died in New York from a heroin overdose aged 23.

Now Nat has turned his life around, and is tipped to become the richest ever Rothschild. He is the heir to a £750million fortune and has made a second fortune in his own right by running the Atticus hedge fund, which manages funds worth £11billion.

Although discreet in his business deals, privately he lives the life one would associate with a Rothschild. His best friend is Roman Abramovich, the owner of Chelsea Football Club, and he is currently rumoured to be dating the young film actress Natalie Portman.

A skilled skier, his main home is in Klosters, Switzerland. He travels between his other homes in Paris, Moscow, London, New York and Greece in his Gulfstream private jet.

8. Jason Gissing

Aged 36, he is one of the three founders of Ocado, the online grocery firm which delivers for Waitrose and now has a £300million turnover.

Coalition Spending Review- Government of the rich, by the rich, for the rich

Governmnet of the rich,
by the rich, for the rich

Coalition Spending Review
Unfair - Unjust

Fightback

Join the Rural Resistance

Modern Conservatives - Just Nasty Toffs

* Click to enlarge

Chris-Riddell
Observer 03.01.2010