A M Poppy, Chipping Barnet, Green Party

Link / contact details for potential supporters: mobile: 07739-707 217



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

I think the most important question facing all of us is global warming.

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

I am standing in my home constituency. I am doing so in order to give people in my local area the opportunity to demonstrate to all the parties that they want Green priorities - primarily the urgent need to tackle global warming - to be addressed. I think in this election more than before all the parties will be listening.

 iii.
 what kind of vote are you expecting on May 5th?

Higher than the Greens have ever had in this constituency before.

 iv.
 aside from the vote what are you hoping to get out of this campaign?
is there a bit missing from this question?

 v.
 in your view what is the greatest threat to our civil liberties at the moment?
The so-called "war on terror".

 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?

Yes, but it rarely is. It is justified when the state's very existence is
under threat, or for other internationally agreed and sanctioned reasons
only.

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

The question is what "into public hands" means. What is the point of public ownership  if that equates to under investment, or turns a service into a political football? I would prefer to see ownership in the hands of the users - thus I would prefer to see essential services in "community hands".
The Greens have committed to take the railways back into public ownership.

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

I think it is counsel of despair and wrong-headed. Nuclear power is dangerous in a multitude of ways: the mining it involves wrecks landscapes,
habitats and communities. It has brought cancer epidemics from Australia to Canada. The process creates the still-unsolved problem of waste. The dangers of accidents are too amply demonstrated by Chernobyl, and the temptation to saboteurs doesn't need emphasising. At present most nuclear power stations are near the seashore and would be flooded by modest rises in sea level. Other sources of energy will be more effective and more available as soon as the rewards and incentives are put in place.

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?

The Green Party will honour Britain's obligation to those fleeing from torture and persecution under the 1951 UN Convention. Our opposition to arms sales and commitment to fair trade practice will help to build the global environment in which  human beings do not feel compelled to leave their country of origin for nontrivial economic reasons.

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

What distinguishes your political approach from the mainstream?

and it would not do not to include the answer: What distinguishes my approach is its lack of cynicism, its purpose which is to pursue human
happiness in a sustainable planet. Its belief that the positive and generous are as important in shaping world affairs as the negative and selfish, and that fostering them is legitimate, and ultimately the only strategy will work in the long term.

Thanks
Poppy
 

2005