Edward Whittaker
Green Party
Bamford Ward
I have been a resident of Bamford for over 20 years.
I have been a member of the Green party for about the last 3 years. I joined the Green party because of the urgency of our need as a community and as a human race to respond to and deal with the damage being done to our globe by our excessive use of fossil fuels and by the impact of our species on the natural ecology of the Earth.
The Green Party wants to see the world become fairer, healthier and environmentally sustainable. While we think globally, we seek to act locally throughout the Borough of Rochdale, including those districts and towns that were not always included in the current administrative district of Rochdale.
We believe that these values require
(a) the reform of our energy use to end the emission of substances harmful to the climate and atmosphere,
(b) the conservation of our natural and material resources, and
(c) building a society
- where wealth and incomes are more equally distributed among all our people,
- where good public services help lift our fellow residents out of austerity and marginalisation,
- which is more user friendly to the quality of life, and
- where decisions are made on the basis of whether they will benefit people, the community and the planet.
These values inform all of Rochdale Green Party’s local policies. All the issues we highlight in our manifesto are interconnected – a fact it is important always to bear in mind.
These are local elections, but national Green Party policies are relevant locally. The council should clearly and openly oppose fracking. Integrated publicly owned railways and buses are common sense.
We will work to bring back railways that have been closed and extend the tram and bus system to make public transport a cheap, safe, reliable and frequent service that will appeal to our fellow citizens and reduce car usage.
The party is firmly opposed to housebuilding on greenbelt land and I will oppose any attempt to build on the Bamford greenbelt.
People have been let down by politicians, both nationally and locally. Politicians who told us to do one thing while they did another. Politicians who saw the Covid crisis as an opportunity to get rich quick. Things can be done differently; all it takes is for voters to reject the tired, old way of doing things and vote for something different – your vote does count!
The Green Party stands for that real change that we need. A real change for Bamford and a real change for Rochdale.
