Green Party of England and Wales

Charlotte, we already have more prisoners on life sentence than the rest of Western Europe put together. With the level of drug/literacy/mental health problems among inmates being ignored, we already have the balance skewed in favour of the victim, whilst we warehouse offenders in overcrowded prisons.

On the radio last week, I heard about Northern Ireland's restorative justice scheme, which sounds like a positive solution. It's called "youth conferencing". Young offenders meet with their victims and hear about the harm they have caused. The victim decides a course of action for the offender to take - this could be payment of a fine, a sincere ... Read Moreapology, or community service.

http://www.youthjusticeagencyni.gov.uk/youth_conference_service/what_we_do/video_guide/

I think it would be worth copying in England.

If people want to take a look on iPlayer when they have it up later, the BBC's "The Big Questions" programme just had a discussion about prisons. Peter Tatchell (our spokesperson on human rights) was one of the three people in comfy chairs on the podium.

The Indy also covered the by-election - http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labour-candidate-faces-mission-impossible-in-norwich-byelection-1728002.html

Go Rupert Read!

What are you UKIP ? lol

Nice letter to the editor from someone in Bolton about this story - http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/yoursay/yourview/4467712.Finally_______a_party_we_can_vote_for/

How best to do that? Change anything we are already doing?

I'm thinking I'll visit too, park my 40mpg campervan nearby and cycle in.

but keeping the tanks

I don't think it's helpful if people post off-topic links, which have nothing to do with the case of Blair Peach.

We're going to press release this later today, but the Metropolitan Police Authority has passed a motion saying the Cass Report will be published by the end of 2009.

I'm so proud to have been born in Stroud!!

Very interesting. Thanks for pointing this out.

Mind you, didn't I hear that every competitor and spectator will travel from all around the world to our Olympics by secondhand bicycle, kayak or sailing dinghy? No? Oh, I must've dreamed it then....

What do you mean by "our backyard guys"?

Well, I agree with you, Kim, but I doubt that's what SJ Humphrey was getting at. Anyway, I've adjusted my blog as suggested. Can't do any harm, can it.

Hundreds of thousands of Poles, Latvians and Lithuanians weren't "shipped here by company-owning fatcats." They are EU citizens and they came here on long-haul buses of their own accord. Now, should the government have responded with affordable housing for everyone and living wages for everyone, and promote regeneration that knit communities ... Read Moretogether with involvement? Sure. We need more a Europe that is oriented around social and environmental continent-wide standards, rather than a race to the bottom, in terms of flexible labour markets.

I like the comment of a 'non-greenie' yesterday: "surely the environment and other species transcend left or right-wing politics?".
'middle class' :0) ... I don't think the bottom feeders care much for these ideas... and neither does the marine life.

depends on the destination, no?

The Association of Train Operating Companies are saying that we need 40 new stations and 14 extra lines - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/8099912.stm

Says one contributor, "I try not fly but...". Really, folks, as Green-leaning people, of all the things we might do to make this planet better (or at least less bad), not-flying is surely one at which we could succeed, if only to avoid being ridiculed by un-Greens.

Quite certainly the Met are the worst cops in Britain, (always have been, I guess), but to say things like "was executed by police officers baying for blood!" is wildly silly. He was shot, not executed (an execution is different), and no police officers were "baying for blood". It might make you feel better, Tony, but to talk in such inaccurate and over-emotive terms is harmful to the pursuit of justice.

lets hope the voters turn out and reason is seen. Good luck.

Forgot to say... Good luck to the only party worth voting for.

Mark if you go down to help with the by-election campaign, you might even get to meet SJP, aka Alex ;).