EAST LOTHIAN GREENS SELECT JASON ROSE FOR WESTMINSTER

The East Lothian branch of the Scottish Green Party today (4 Dec) confirmed that it has selected local campaigner Jason Rose to be the party’s candidate for the Westminster election in May.

Jason (centre) with fellow East Lothian Greens

Jason (37) lives in Musselburgh with his wife and young daughter, and is originally from Tranent.

Since 2012 he has worked for the Green MSPs in the Scottish Parliament; before that for Scottish Water, winning a UK-wide award for his corporate communications work. Mr Rose began his career as a radio journalist and presenter. He also founded the Inverness Book Festival and was its director for the first five years, and helped set up a community cinema in the Highlands.

Jason's local campaigning includes revealing the extent of Musselburgh's air pollution problem, and he was heavily involved in Yes East Lothian activities during the referendum. Mr Rose is a member of Friends of Musselburgh Links, Fisherrow Waterfront Group and East Lothian Community Rail Partnership, and advises the Trustees of the Brunton Theatre.

Jason Rose said:

“Everyone accepts the next Westminster election will be like no other. Everything's up for grabs and I have an extraordinary opportunity to get across Green ideas about creating jobs, improving wages and protecting public services.

"As a Belter I'm proud to be running for election in my home county of East Lothian. I’m grateful to East Lothian Greens for selecting me, and for the support I’ve had from party members at recent meetings in Dunbar, Musselburgh and North Berwick.

“The Conservative-Libdem government has punished the poorest in East Lothian and squeezed our public services, and Labour have been a feeble opposition. Labour's sense of entitlement in East Lothian is seriously misplaced, and their very public meltdown follows them abandoning their founding values a long time ago.

"By contrast the Scottish Greens are seeing a surge in membership, a steady rise in the polls and are mounting much-needed opposition on issues such as austerity, fracking and TTIP. I look forward to meeting many more people over the coming months and discussing their priorities for East Lothian."

Susan Moffat, Co-convener of East Lothian Greens, said:

"East Lothian Greens are delighted to have Jason as our candidate. After the referendum this important UK election is expected to provide a real challenge to the Westminster parties.

"The Greens offer the only distinctive and radical alternative to the mainstream parties and we look forward to working hard with Jason in his election campaign in East Lothian."

Get The Fracking Facts

At last night's fracking meeting in Musselburgh we had this briefing available. Please download a copy to get informed, and please share widely.

We also recommend this briefing from Friends of the Earth Scotland.

Further campaigning on this issue soon! If you'd like to join us you can do so here.

MUSSELBURGH POLLUTION: GREEN CAMPAIGNER SAYS COUNCIL DRAGGING FEET

Responding to a briefing paper provided for East Lothian Council cabinet members on the issue of Musselburgh's air pollution problem, East Lothian Greens are calling for swifter action.

Musselburgh-based East Lothian Greens campaigner Jason Rose said:

"East Lothian Council really is dragging its feet on this important issue. Public health is being harmed, as is local quality of life and the economy. Traffic congestion in Musselburgh town centre is a longstanding problem and it's appalling that only now the local authority is trying to establish what's really going on.

"The report showing the extent of problem was presented to councillors in the summer of 2012 but wasn't made public until East Lothian Greens used Freedom of Information laws in summer 2013. It's almost 2015 and only now is the council bringing in a consultant to do a proper traffic survey. This whole issue stems from 1995 legislation - who knows what damage has been done in the twenty years since.

"I find the lack of action on bus emissions baffling. Lothian Buses have said quite clearly that they will roll out their low emissions fleet if the case is made yet I see little sign of East Lothian Council pressing Musselburgh's case. The proposed Action Plan says liaison with transport operators is a possibility when of course it's something the council could be doing right now. The report to councillors claims buses are responsible for 29 per cent of pollutants, which may be the case, but how can they know without a proper survey?

"You also have to question how seriously the council takes the notion of reducing traffic in Musselburgh town centre given the current revamp of the High Street from Pinkie Pillars to the Tolbooth. It involves creating additional car parking rather than less, and it moves bus stops further away from homes and shops. 

"I look forward to the consultant getting started on identifying where the traffic's coming from and going to, what the main sources of pollutants are, and what impact the new housing off Pinkie Road will have. We can then, as a community, get cracking with action to reduce through-traffic and make our town centre a better place to live, shop and go to school."

East Lothian Greens' work on the Musselburgh air pollution problem has been raised in the Scottish Parliament.

You can sign our petition calling for low emissions buses in the town.

GREENS HOST MUSSELBURGH FRACKING MEETING WITH MSP

East Lothian Greens, along with Green MSP Alison Johnstone, are urging people in the Musselburgh area to attend a free public meeting on fracking next week.

A vast swathe of Scotland, from Ayrshire to East Lothian, has been earmarked by the UK Government as ripe for the controversial gas drilling technique with laws due to be passed to allow fracking companies to drill below people's homes without consent.

The public meeting, hosted by East Lothian Greens, will take place in the Musselburgh East Community Association (MECA) centre on Haddington Road on Tuesday 28 October, starting at 7pm.

In addition to hearing from Alison Johnstone MSP - who sits on the economy and energy committee in the Scottish Parliament - the meeting will hear from leading expert, Dr Richard Dixon, director at Friends of the Earth Scotland.

East Lothian Greens campaigner Jason Rose said:

"Communities such as ours are rightly alarmed at the determination of Westminster to allow fracking. It's also a concern that Scottish Ministers aren't taking a tougher line.

"There's huge interest in this issue and I'm pleased that East Lothian Greens are able to give local people an opportunity to find out more and discuss how they can help oppose the threat we face.

"As well as the potential local impacts from drilling for gas, we would also add massively to the world's stocks of fossil fuels - stocks we simply can't afford to burn if we want to limit climate change and move towards a sustainable economy."

NUCLEAR WASTE: EAST LOTHIAN GREENS RAISE TORNESS QUESTIONS

East Lothian Greens are raising questions about proposals by the operators of the Torness nuclear power plant to change the way that radioactive waste is handled.

Multinational EDF Energy want to vary the authorisations for Hunterston and Torness to enable radioactive waste to be moved between the sites for "accumulation" before being disposed elsewhere.

East Lothian Greens campaigner Jason Rose said:

"EDF put in their application to Sepa eight months ago. It's not good enough that most local people are only learning about it now thanks to the media.

"The disposal facilities EDF have in mind may not be based in the UK. How can we be sure the waste will be disposed of properly and why do EDF want to remove the authorised limits relating to radionuclide activity, when we know about the risks to human health?

"Buried within the Sepa consultation is EDF's intention - to allow for accumulation of what they call economic loads prior to disposal. In other words, the company is looking to cut the cost of managing the radioactive waste it generates. This from a firm whose profits are £53 a second and whose chief executive gets a cool £1million in salary.

"Safety of the environment and people's health should be paramount, not a very wealthy private firm's budget.

"It's also worth noting that the accumulation of waste is outwith Sepa's control, and falls to the ONR. This sort of disjointed regulation isn't ideal."

Mr Rose concluded:

"Sepa say it will reach its decision based on responses from the public, so it's important people make their views known. They also say they'll consider government policy, and of course government policy is for the volume and activity of nuclear waste to be minimised, along with the risk of exposure. Trucking this material around the country doesn't strike me as in keeping with those aims."


Sepa consultation

Energy giant raked in massive profit while pushing up costs to struggling customers (Mirror)

Download your copy of East Lothian Green News - Spring 2014 - here!

Download your copy of East Lothian Green News - Spring 2014 - here!

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