Pete McAskie, Tottenham, Green Party

Tel 020 8881 9300



i.
what do you think is the most important issue in this election?

Global warming

ii.
why did you make the decision to stand in this constituency and for this party (as an independent)?

I lived for 16 years in Tottenham, I care very much about it, it needs more than it gets.

I have considered the environment to be the most important issue facing humanity all my adult life & I have regarded myself as a socialist all my adult life. 

Not to win

iv.
aside from the vote what are you hoping to get out of this campaign?

To give people the chance to vote Green & to make that statement, thus alerting other parties to the importance of Green policies. Check out www.greenparty.org.uk If more people voted for what they really believe in Britain would be a much better place.

v.
in your view what is the greatest threat to our civil liberties at the moment?

Blair's friendship with Bush & their prioritising of a global corporate agenda

vi.
Blair has taken us to war three times since coming to power (not including the occasional ad hoc bombing raid) in the Balkans, Afghanistan and Iraq. Can war ever be justified?

In extreme cases of self defence when diplomacy has been tried and failed. In virtually all cases where an injustice has been suffered there is a better, if slower, way than war. Sadam was atrocious but I'm sure the quality of life for the majority of Iraqis was better when he was in power  than it has been since. Daily rates of violent death were certainly much lower.

vii.
There is very little left to privatise in this country, if you had your way what would be brought into public hands?

The railways. PFI schemes. Things which work better as monopolies generally, eg the utilities.

viii.
Some environmental campaigners have started talking about nuclear power as a way to bring down CO2 emissions - what do you think of this?

We can avoid global warming without it, although it won't be easy. Nuclear power could be an easy short cut but a disastrous one. How many generations of our descendants will be obliged to manage, suffer from & pay for our waste? How many melt downs are acceptable? None. What o the consequences or nuclear prolieration.

ix.
Asylum and immigration will be central issues in this election. What action on this issue would you like to see the next government push through?

To tackle the root cause- global inequality. To allocate at least 1% of UK Gross National Investment for aid by 2010. High priority must be given to cancelling the debts of the world's 52 poorest, indebted countries, and whilst this process is being carried out debtor nations should be able to restrict repayments to a smaller percentage of their export earnings.

To honour the spirit of our international agreements and guarantee protection to those fleeing from persecution. To stop supporting appalling regimes. No more oil wars. To grant asylum seekers human rights while in this country. Not to send them back to tortuous regimes. To educate the public as to the real nature of the asylum situation ( Britain, one of the world's richest countries takes just less than 2% of global refugees, the tabloids try to make people believe we take about a quarter)

x.
What question do you wish was on this list but doesn't appear?

Several questions on the environment e.g. transport, consumerism/materialism. The environment is fundamentally important. We cannot continue undermining life support systems. To continue to do so will lead to unprecedented levels of problems in most matters.
 

2005