David Mottram: Green Party candidate for Levenshulme, 2012

It's been a long time but...

2012-03-02T22:22:00.001Z

It looks as though the City Council's Planning Committee is finally ready to approve the proposed development of the Elbow Street/St. Mary's site in Levenshulme at its next meeting on 15th March. Whilst we can all wish that a different balance of scheme was on offer, it's time to say 'Yes'.

The Levenshulme Community Association & others submitted well-argued criticisms of the proposals last year, but there are two obvious reasons why it's now become time to give critical support. First, the design has changed. They are modest changes, but worth something - for instance, the height and mass of the proposed flats have been reduced. Second, we really must have a development of the site. In its present state it is a terrible eyesore, and the risk has been growing since 2009 - when this proposal was first presented - that failure to develop will trigger further decline of the centre of Levenshulme.

If it is approved, though, residents want to see the scheme go ahead. If approval is followed by silence & inaction there will be bitter anger from local people.

Oh, and as became clear at the 'Meet the Developer' pubic meeting held on Tuesday (28th February), we don't want any of the handful of retail units in the development to be handed over to yet another bookmaker's - no, thanks, we said. People will write to the City Council before the committee meets to ask that this is made a condition of the outline planning approval.

David Mottram, 2nd March

Brighton's Green Council, still

2012-02-27T11:39:00.000Z

Nine months into running Brighton & Hove City Council the Green Party councillors were forced to make a significant political judgement last week, the subject of real debate at our party's national conference in Liverpool at the weekend (24th-27th February).

Last Thursday the full Council voted down the Green budget for 2012-2013. The 11 Labour and 18 Conservative councillors united to oppose the proposal to raise council tax by 3.5% put forward by the 23-strong Green group of councillors. In a second vote Green councillors then voted for the revised budget - essentially their own budget - but with a council tax increase limited to 2.5%, resulting in additional cuts of £1.2 million in 2012-2013.

Some in the Green Party have argued that our councillors should have resigned, rather than concede this defeat and continue to lead the Council. But Beatrix Campbell, speaking at a fringe meeting, made a powerful point: 'When voters support us we need to get involved in the practice of governance, take responsibility, and 'do the Green thing institutionally'".

The budget that has passed - a budget of over £750 million - protects children's services in full and includes more funds for youth services. It also includes a range of measures for energy efficiency and carbon reduction. And it provides for a reduction in 19% for the salaries of the most senior staff. A pity Manchester's Labour councillors couldn't achieve the same?

This isn't the 1980s. The powers of local authorities are much more constrained now and we either make choices about allocating resources within shrinking central government-dominated budgets, or we walk away from local electoral politics: Greens in Brighton are not doing that, any more than we would in Manchester.

David Mottram, 27th February

Green, Left, Local

2012-02-23T20:31:00.000Z

Adrian Ramsay, deputy leader of the Green Party, today (23rd February) launched Manchester Green Party's manifesto for City Council elections on 3rd May. The manifesto titled Green, Left, Local invites 'disillusioned Labour and Liberal Democrat voters in the city to vote for local Green candidates'.

The launch meeting was held at the Friends Meeting House in Mount Street. Adrian was joined by panel members Deyika Nzeribe, Green Party candidate for Hulme, and Amy Howard from Manchester Young Greens for the event; Adrian was to speak to Manchester Young Greens at Manchester University this evening before travelling on to Liverpool for this weekend's Green Party conference.

The manifesto identifies four priority areas - jobs, housing, children & young people, and transport - and describes the local election campaign as taking place against a background of job losses and public service cuts. 'There is an alternative', it says. 'The Green Party proposes a Green New Deal to generate jobs, build a sustainable low carbon economy, protect the environment and create more equal opportunities and rewards for everyone.' The Green Party offers a programme focused on the local economy, environment and equality.

It's an interesting political context. This year the Liberal Democrats are defending 12 of their remaining 20 seats on the City Council - including the Levenshulme seat - but they lost every seat they defended last year (May 2011). The Green Party can become the principal party of opposition in Manchester. And local democracy requires more councillors from other parties to challenge over-mighty Labour.

Cast a positive vote for the Greens in Levenshulme this May. A Liberal Democrat vote will be a wasted vote; not only will the Liberal Democrat candidate lose, but the Lib Dems are now going nowhere in local Manchester politics.

David Mottram, 23rd February

Community microgeneration

2012-02-21T22:41:00.004Z

Solar, hydro, wind, as sources of renewable energy - what can we do in Levenshulme?

Well, not hydro power. The requirement for an existing weir, or at least a six foot drop in the level of a water course, aren't going to be met here. Wind? Turbines are very susceptible to the varying microclimate of urban areas, and on existing structures - houses - they can cause damage. Solar? Now you are talking.

At a seminar today held at the Manchester Environmental Resource Centre (MERCi) we heard that although the government has reduced payments under the feed-in tariff for the national grid, the fall in cost of solar panels this year can compensate for income loss. And whilst panels need to be in more-or-less south facing positions, they don't depend on full sunshine to generate power - they need daylight but cloud cover isn't a barrier (good news in Manchester...)

Apparently a study for Cooperatives UK has identified success factors for community-based microgeneration schemes, including: existing community activism & networks; a clearly-defined geographical community; and local volunteers with relevant professional skills. This sounds like Levenshulme. And new regulations for private landlords will set minimum requirements for energy efficiency in their properties from 2014, and there are a lot of private rented properties in Levenshulme (more than the Manchester average).

So this can be the moment. But how can we make it easy & cheap for households, streets and neighbourhoods to move to low carbon and energy saving living? Have a look a http://carbon.coop - and let's get serious about local possibilities in Levenshulme.

David Mottram, 21st February

Ninety minutes to settle the future of Levenshulme

2012-02-03T09:46:00.000Z

The inaugural meeting of the Levenshulme District Centre Partnership on Tuesday (31st January) was a ninety minute affair. Could we start by identifying the priorities for Levenshulme, we were asked, and record them on post-it notes? But I thought we'd done all this before? Develop the St. Mary's site, perhaps?

There were around 25 people in the room, including traders, residents, representatives of different faiths, local authority officers, and police. The stated purpose was to bring people together to promote implementation of the Levenshulme District Centre Action Plan, 2009-2019.

The draft terms of reference spoke of creating 'a long term partnership structure'. This makes the blood run cold - isn't this absolutely the last thing we need? Couldn't we meet, instead, only if we are going to achieve some quick action? After all, we have been waiting since the Plan was published in 2009.

Two main points came out of the meeting. First, there is enormous goodwill and commitment to improve Levenshulme, reflected in the attendance and the range of the discussion. But second, as one resident observed, the City Council are 'crap at community engagement' and there was little sense - once again - of any real intent to listen to residents & traders and to deliver early action.

Reading the 'short-term actions' for 2009-2010 from the Action Plan there is a slightly obscure reference to looking at 'options to improve access' to the station, for instance. Not much progress there, then. 'Agree on suitable development at the Elbow Street and St. Mary's site'? Oh dear.

Council officers, we learnt at the meeting, have so far also failed to receive the small payment agreed in principle by Balfour Beatty in acknowledgement of chaos and business disruption they caused in summer 2009 when they dug up Stockport Rd and closed Albert Rd. You may remember that the deal was much publicised at the time - and credit claimed by local councillors. From my memory the funds were to be used to improve the look of Stockport Rd. But nothing has happened.

Pretty hopeless. Can the Partnership make an impact in the face of this immobilism? Probably not.

David Mottram, 3rd February

Palestine matters in our local politics

2012-01-20T10:22:00.001Z

Last night's meeting of the Manchester Palestine Solidarity Campaign heard first hand accounts of a study visit to Israel/Palestine in December. Many people in Levenshulme recognise the injustice experienced daily by Palestinian Arabs at the hands of the Israeli government & settlers in occupied territories - and after all, our MP Gerald Kaufman is a foremost critic. The personal accounts last night were very powerful.

One image sticks in my mind. The Palestinian village of Ajur has been demolished and the Jewish National Fund have planted trees and created a park in its place, obliterating all evidence of the previous settlement. Houses for settlers are now being built, with funds donated from Britain. The new sign on the edge of the development advertises 'A house in the heart of the British Forest'.

With this sort of British financial support for illegal and unjust land expropriation it's important for the rest of us to show our solidarity with the Palestinian people, particularly in a neighbourhood like Levenshulme. This is an issue which can unite local people across party boundaries - Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green - and bring together people from diverse ethnic & faith backgrounds.

At a Green Party street stall on Stockport Road in early 2010 a passer-by said to me that they wouldn't vote Green because the party supports the Palestinians. Can I invite you to support the Greens because we do?

David Mottram, 20th January

2012 re-launch: Sunday 15th January

2012-01-16T09:38:00.001Z

Meeting voters at the doorstep for the first time this year was the usual experience: it's hard to get into the January streets (it's cold for a start) but, once out there, talking to people about the issues is always intriguing.

Some positives from one Levenshulme street:

Discovered a new resident who is a university researcher in local government. Lesson: Levenshulme is full of people with professional knowledge and skills.

Identified a voter involved in Cuban solidarity work who is interested in our planned Levenshulme public meeting to contrast urban food production in Havana & Manchester (7.30pm, Wednesday 14th March at Levenshulme Inspire). Lesson: some voters place global political connections high amongst their priorities.

Heard a rumour about uncertainty over the future of the Post Office Deli (POD) but met Terry later and he confirms that they are exploring a new cooperative structure to expand the business. Lesson: people care about a business like POD and want reassurance that it can survive & prosper.

But meeting this sample of voters - on one street - confirms what we discovered last year:

People who usually vote Labour are prepared to hear the case for a local Green vote. Why vote in Manchester to gain yet another Labour councillor in May when there is an alternative local choice? Why not register a positive vote for a candidate who says the things you believe - challenge the cuts and work to protect local public jobs & services?

Some voters describe themselves, either wearily or angrily, as 'former Liberal Democrats'. Why would former opponents of Manchester Labour want to shift to Labour when the City Council remains the same old 'one party state'?

Perhaps the writing is on the wall for the Liberal Democrats, but why vote to reinforce Labour's electoral stranglehold in Manchester?

Last year's local election was the opportunity to give a kicking to the junior partner in the Coalition government: vote Labour. But if Liberal Democrats are permanently weakened here - or finished - there is a chance to promote a new opposition to Manchester Labour: vote Green.

David Mottram, 16th January

Stop press: New Levenshulme Baths and Library

2012-01-09T14:39:00.000Z

The Manchester Evening News (9th January) reports City Council plans for a new combined Baths and Library for Levenshulme. Three questions: How? When? Where?

Where's the money coming from? There might be a case for capital investment to save future revenue costs - new buildings may be cheaper to run - but the City Council still needs to find the funds. The golden days of the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) are behind us. And unlike east Manchester we do not appear to have access to Sport England monies. So how will it be funded?

When? Is this a 'promise' made three months before the local election campaign? Will it prove slightly less than a promise after May? If they don't have the money, they don't have a promise.

Where? The co-location of the current Baths and Library at the junction of Barlow Rd and Cromwell Grove creates a sense of a local centre. Levenshulme isn't just one place; it has several different 'centres'. If the current Baths and Library are closed, and the carnival moves on, won't this locality face blight and decline? What's the plan for afterwards? And for the beautiful Carnegie library building?

It's wrong to simply say 'No' to the possibility of good quality new provision, whatever reasonable reservations we might have. But we do need to know more. The lack of any real consultation with local residents, and the sense of pulling a rabbit from a hat, is typical of Manchester Labour, and it feeds suspicion and cynicism.

So, over to you Manchester City Council: how, when, where? And what's the plan for the existing buildings and the local centre at Barlow Rd/Cromwell Grove?

David Mottram, 9th January

'A crackpot system'

2012-01-08T20:14:00.003Z

Yesterday Helen Penn, Professor of Early Childhood at the University of East London, spoke at a conference in Manchester about protecting Sure Start and childcare provision. She described childcare here as 'a crackpot system' - she's absolutely right.

Eighty percent of childcare in this country is provided by the 'for profit' sector, standards are completely hit-and-miss, and fees are uncontrolled.

The statutory framework for providing childcare leaves the private sector to profit at the expense of families & children. Did you know that Labour's Childcare Act 2006 makes a presumption that 'private, independent and voluntary' providers will meet childcare needs, and that local authorities are only empowered to fill gaps? This is yet another example of Labour's ideological commitment to private capital and markets. And Labour's commitment to the concept of parental choice in childcare - with families buying care from a wide range of potential providers with child tax credits and their own income - includes absolutely no constraint on the fees charged. In the rest of Europe provision is overwhelmingly in the public sector, with controlled and lower charges.

But what really stuck in my craw was Helen Penn's account of credible peer assessed Canadian research which presented a model for measuring quality of childcare showing that 'not-for-profit' provision is of between 7.5% and 22% higher quality than 'for profit' childcare.

It's what we always knew - the public sector delivers higher quality at lower costs, to the great benefit of families and communities.

And one more thing. If a private provider decides that the profit isn't enough, or if the business fails, the service can be closed without notice. How's that for a benefit of letting the market rule - here today, gone tomorrow?

Childcare - and not only Sure Start early intervention work - should be mainly provided in the public sector, with fee levels capped by law.

David Mottram, 8th January

Right to work? Right to live?

2011-12-23T09:56:00.004Z

Reading 'The South Country' by Edward Thomas (first published 1909) he writes 'Fancy men adopting as a cry "the right to work". Apparently they are too broken-spirited to think of a right to live'. This puts me in mind of current politics.

Loss of jobs and income is proving devastating to hundreds of thousands of people across the country. The Right to Work campaign - led by socialists and trade unionists - is a challenge to that, adopting a campaign title first used in the 1970s. But what ever happened to the more recent debate about other values for living? Simplifying our political response to the global financial & economic crisis to a fight for jobs is a problem. What sort of jobs and what sort of lives?

As a society we need to promote different values, based around sustainable ways of living, social solidarity and mutuality in cohesive neighbourhoods. Yes, jobs are important, but so is the choice not to be in paid employment, and instead to contribute to society in other ways. The foundation needs to be a basic Citizens Income, not the right to work in a paid job. This is Green Party policy.

Speaking in a different political age - the time of the first Right to Work campaign - Tony Benn addressed a Labour Party conference with the words: 'The crisis we inherit when we come to power must be the occasion for fundamental change, not the excuse for postponing it' (1973).

We really do need to think more deeply about the future direction of our society. And now is the time.

David Mottram, 23rd December

A wet Sunday evening in December

2011-12-11T18:39:00.001Z

Difficult to be motivated to get out of the house on a wet Sunday evening in December? Evidently not for Manchester Young Greens, the university-based supporters of the Green Party. This evening eight of the group came to Levenshulme to help distribute our December Levenshulme Newsletter.

In recent years the political parties have lost active members. In Levenshulme the evidence appears to suggest that the Liberal Democrats, in particular, are thin on the ground; Labour seem to do slightly better. But the enthusiasm of young supporters of a third party to come into the ward to lend their help - outside an election period and in difficult weather conditions - suggests that the political ground can shift.

Perhaps, faced with Labour's unhealthy dominance of Manchester's politics for decades, and the Liberal Democrat meltdown, the Green Party really can challenge to win City Council seats in May 2012?

To do it we need active supporters working on the ground: this evening they were here.

David Mottram, 11th December

Community First? Never heard if it...

2011-12-10T22:42:00.001Z

The government are providing small scale funding for some of the more deprived local government wards in England under a new 'Community First' programme. Levenshulme ward gets £34,000 over the four years 2011-2015.

The government's agent for the programme, the Community Development Foundation, claims that it's an innovative approach supporting grassroots community action, on the grounds that anyone in a relevant ward is free to set up a panel and make the claim to manage allocation of the funds. But this looks like a typical top-down government initiative designed to undermine local democracy. It devolves responsibilities to self-appointed local residents, in effect constructing a fake 'free market' in community action which can be dominated by the sponsoring government department (in this case the Department for Communities and Local Government). And the amount of money involved - measured against the scale of local service cuts - is pitiful.

Levenshulme Community Association has preempted others by creating a Levenshulme panel. At the meeting today - with some new co-options - there is a provisional panel of seven in place, meeting the first requirement to secure the funds.

There are two steps to take now to make the best of this. First, having established a provisional panel membership we need to work to change its composition to better reflect Levenshulme. There are five men and two women - with only one member from a south Asian background - and this needs to change. Second, let's hope that with only £34,000 to spend over four years we focus the funds where they can have most impact. What about giving priority only to projects designed and led by Levenshulme young people brought together from diverse ethnic backgrounds?

Declaration of interest - I'm a member of the panel but intending to recruit my own replacement in the New Year...

David Mottram, 10th December

Community action: the real thing

2011-12-04T18:09:00.001Z

Forget the Big Society (yawn). This weekend to my direct knowledge local people have been busy working as volunteers in community action to improve Levenshulme. Two examples:

The community orchard plan for the Fallowfield Loop - near the Crayfield Rd and Kersh Avenue entrances - is going ahead. David Beetham from Friends of the Fallowfield Loop met the representative from Sustrans earlier on Saturday morning (3rd December), they identified the revised site for the fruit trees, and then David met c. 15 local people at lunchtime to report back. Clearing the site will be underway this winter. Great.

Delamere Neighbourhood Group organised their annual Winter Event on Sunday lunchtime (4th December), with wreath-making etc near the junction of Delamere Road and Stanhope Street, and a major activity moving newly-delivered soil into planting boxes in the nearby alley.

The weather for both days was very bad - with periodic driving rain.

It really is time that the commitment to social solidarity, altruism, and sheer determination displayed by some of our neighbours is properly recognised. These independent campaigns and actions - nothing to do with political game-playing or colluding with the government to offer public services on the cheap - are essential to any sense of neighbourliness and collective self-esteem in Levenshulme.

David Mottram, 4th December

Keith Whitmore

2011-12-02T14:16:00.001Z

The South Manchester Reporter (1st December) carries the news that Councillor Keith Whitmore is 'disillusioned' with the Liberal Democrats - at national level, he says - and will stand down after 33 years in May, when he faced re-election. This is not a surprise.

It's also not the full story. At least as likely a reason for not standing is that Keith thinks he can't win. John Commons, as successor candidate, will face an uphill fight in Levenshulme to overcome the impact of the Manchester Liberal Democrat meltdown.

The Reporter story has a couple of interesting angles. First, it implies - but does not say - that Keith was de-selected as Liberal Democrat candidate by his party. Presumably this is not true? Second, the leader of the Liberal Democrats in Manchester, Councillor Marc Ramsbottom, is quoted in the story as saying that they are 'confident of holding on to some of our seats' (in May 2012). Interesting that he can't bring himself to say that they are confident of holding on to Levenshulme. It's not surprising though, because they're not.

David Mottram, 2nd December

Manchester's urban ecology

2011-12-02T13:04:00.001Z

Last night's meeting of the South Manchester Environmental Forum (1st December)* was a really powerful expression of how people who care for the natural & built environment are promoting social solidarity too.

Some examples:

The Moss Cider Project are running their cider press - yes, in Moss Side - on apples donated & collected free locally. And because local children are really interested & involved they are thinking they need to make apple juice too..
The Carbon Co-op are working in individual streets to share experience, bulk-buy home insulating materials, and identify finance to 'retrofit' older houses to radically improve home energy efficiency and cut fuel bills.
The Manchester Local Exchange Trading Scheme (LETS) provide a mechanism for users to trade goods and services between themselves - they use a notional currency - and giving the option for users to 'pay' credit balances towards a social/community fund to support people not able to contribute.

There is something important here about combining positive environmental and social impacts, and promoting an attractive urban ecology.

And doesn't it feel far, far away from the shallow political opportunism and vacuousness of Cameron's 'Big Society'?

* The South Manchester Environmental Forum is supported by Action for Sustainable Living. As an organisation they are doing good things. Look them up at www.afsl.org.uk

David Mottram, 2nd December

Levenshulme Labour? Or Manchester Labour?

2011-11-29T16:48:00.001Z

The latest Labour leaflet - 'Levenshulme Rose' - barely mentions Levenshulme. That's easy to explain, because it's a standard design and content for all wards in Manchester.

Two points to make really. First, they would, wouldn't they? Clearly there is great economy of scale in printing tens of thousands of a glossly leaflet, varied only to slot in a 'personal' statement and photograph of the Labour candidate for the individual ward in May 2012. The big parties do that.

But, second, Labour have got nothing to say to Levenshulme voters except 'Use your vote next May to show you reject the policies of the Coalition government'. Apart from the breathtaking cynicism of this, coming from a party which in government would have pursed essentially the same policies, there is the troubling question about what Labour might have to say to Levenshulme local voters?

The current Levenshulme Green Party newsletter, for example, identifies the huge local increase in the number of young children. This is a major public policy issue for the ward. We need more primary school places and more safe play spaces. But, above all, we need to work really hard to bring together a growing and increasingly ethnically diverse young population.

The fact that Labour has chosen a candidate from a South Asian background for May 2012 - which is positive - cannot be allowed to be some sort of alibi for not discussing the issues.

Where is the politics - where are the policy choices - being offered to local voters by Manchester Labour? Nowhere to be seen.

David Mottram, 29th November

Levenshulme's monthly 'food market' - failing

2011-11-25T18:21:00.001Z

The first food market in Levenshulme held in March - by the Village Green - was a success, measured at least by presence of at least ten stalls and plenty of visitors. But the second was much smaller. Passing by today before 2.00pm there was nothing left of the market, supposedly open till 4.00pm. So what's gone wrong?

Two obvious, and fatal, weaknesses. First, Manchester Markets were not able to offer a Saturday as market day, apparently, because they are fully committed at other city locations on Saturdays. So we get Fridays. But that's no good; the people with money to spend, and time to shop, are at work on Fridays (well, many are).

Second, the few stalls are selling luxuries - gifts, cakes, and premium priced products - and not offering good quality basic foods. Organic, locally-grown vegetables? Not here.

Perhaps an alternative community-based initiative is the answer? The local authority-led plan for a farmer's market, featured in the District Centre Plan, seems to have come to nothing.

David Mottram, 25th November

The bomb site: latest

2011-11-17T19:25:00.001Z

Will it ever change? St.Mary's site seen from Stockport Road, November 2011

The City Council and prospective developer Raymond Boyle appear to remain locked in mortal combat over the St.Mary's and Elbow Street site. Apparently a planning application may now go to the Planning and Highways Committee on 16th February. Or not.

After two years of their private debate - because local people certainly haven't been included - City Council officers earlier this autumn told the developer to go away and change his proposals. At the time it had looked as though the planning application was about to go to the Committee, but suddenly it wasn't. Why?

What's going on? It's difficult from the outside to know, of course, but the answer obviously lies somewhere with either the City Council or Mr. Boyle, or both.

Let's be clear. The recent proposal was not the right balance between housing and open space, and there were plenty of concerns - widely shared locally - about the impact of the proposed development as it stood. But there is an overwhelming feeling in Levenshulme that the site needs to be developed. The heart of the district looks like a bomb site.

Why is the City Council blocking development? If it isn't, what's the problem? And to quote a local campaign slogan from the past, Who is Looking After Levenshulme?

David Mottram, 17th November

So, how many Green votes are there?

2011-11-17T17:23:00.001Z

Interruption to blog postings is partly because we have been busy meeting voters. This may not sound very dramatic but it is for the Levenshulme Green Party. We are knocking on doors to identify voters who might consider supporting us and we have never done this before on an organised basis in Levenshulme. What are we finding?

First, lots of people are out (and a few simply not answering) whatever time we are calling - they get the 'Sorry we missed you..' leaflet with contact details for the candidate. Second, of course, we meet the people who really are not interested and also those who are committed to vote for other parties. There appear to be more of the first then the second: no surprises there then? Third, we meet a few people who are Green voters and who we didn't know - this is great. But fourthly, we meet significant numbers of people who have normally voted and supported other parties but who are prepared to consider us - these are the really key contacts.

If we can convince these 'possible Green' voters - by personal contact now & later and with other communications - we will have real prospects of progress in May 2012. The possible Green voters are from all three of the other parties but mainly, as you would expect, from Labour and Liberal Democrats.

Some Labour voters are ready to hear the message that Manchester really doesn't need to gain yet another Labour councillor next May, others that the Green Party stands for the same political and ethical values that Labour once held but have now abandoned. And the Liberal Democrats? The vote may rally slightly compared to May 2011 but they are still in deep electoral trouble. Voters of both these parties - Liberal Democrat & Labour - present a real opportunity for the Green Party, particularly with a local and established Green candidate in place.

So, how many Green votes are there in Levenshulme? Our initial 'voter contact' on doorsteps suggests around 25% of likely voters could support the Greens next year (compared with 15% this year and 11% in 2010). This is not to say they will. But it is encouraging.

David Mottram, 17th November

Greater Manchester Citizens?

2011-10-29T18:59:00.003+01:00

How to work for greater fairness in Manchester - in incomes, work, families, neighbourhoods - was the subject of a conference today hosted by Equality North West. The conference heard from Councillor Andy Hull about the Islington Fairness Commission as a vehicle for promoting the equality agenda [*]. We felt, though, that there might be better places to start for campaigning in Manchester.

In fact perhaps we need to start with Greater Manchester? Although there are big inequalities in income within Manchester itself the real divide is between many inner old urban areas in Manchester and neighbouring districts, and the rich suburbs which ring the city - think Bowden, Bramhall and Worsley. And economic development, public policy and local services are increasingly decided at a Greater Manchester level.

Creating a Fairness Commission for Manchester - and nine more for other Greater Manchester districts? - risks substituting structures for action. The best way to start campaigning on inequality might be to dramatise individual cases of inequality. What about identifying a sympathetic Premiership footballer from Greater Manchester to join an office cleaner to discuss their respective feelings about the case for balancing rewards for high performance with the need for a higher basic minimum? The print and broadcast media would love the story.

We need to know where the big inequalities are, but also to say what they look like. Poor and rich are more divided in this country now than since the 1920s which means that 'one half has no idea how the other half lives'. So let's tell them. London Citizens have campaigned creatively to identify and highlight the divide in rewards and life chances between Londoners, so what about creating a campaign here and calling it Greater Manchester Citizens?

We must tap into the public feeling that material rewards are now grossly distorted. Remember yesterday's news story that the pay and other financial rewards of FTSE100 chief executives increased by 49% last year? That's corrupt and immoral. Time to make a fight of it.

* See www.islington.gov.uk/fairness

David Mottram, 29th October

South Manchester public transport: not fit for purpose

2011-10-17T16:28:00.004+01:00

Streets around Levenshulme station these days have more car parking by commuters. Some streets are becoming obstacle courses for pedestrians, cyclists and other motorists. Read on...

"Your story 'Tram stop parking woe' (Reporter, 13th October) about commuter parking near the two new Metrolink stations at Chorlton and St. Werburgh's Road raises wider questions. Commuter car parking is an issue too for residents near Levenshulme rail station, in nearby Buckhurst Road and Osborne Road. It's great to encourage people to travel to work using trams and trains, but not at the price of turning residential areas into parking lots.

Remember the phrase 'joined up government'? There's nothing very joined up about some local transport planning. So often new and high profile infrastructure developments are driven by access to expensive private capital funding and the preoccupation with delivering the big investment and the new technology. And it's not just Metrolink. Remember the congestion charge proposal in 2009? Levenshulme station was right on the boundary of the inner zone and it doesn't take a genius to see that one consequence was going to be a very significant increase in commuter rail use from Levenshulme, with resulting extra car parking in already crowded streets.

A few double yellow lines around station entrances, or a couple of bicycle racks, are not my idea of an integrated transport policy. They won't solve the problems you report at Chorlton any more than they would in Levenshulme. As a city we simply must get to grips with the re-design of transport and public spaces for a healthy, low carbon future.

Firstly, we need to shift the balance away from car use by creating a more dense, cheaper public transport system. We cannot get by with a few tram routes to the city centre, two main South Manchester local rail routes into Manchester, and a few major bus corridors - including Stockport Rd and Wilmslow Rd - but many neighbourhoods lacking any decent bus services. It must be made easier to make whole journeys by a mix of public transport. Many more residential areas, workplaces and businesses need to be directly accessible by public transport. Can we also please have zoned ticketing, with single tickets for whole journeys allowing for use of any mix of trams, trains and buses?

Secondly, pedestrians - and cyclists - always seem to be the lowest priority. Many more people would walk for short journeys if we did more to separate motor vehicles from pedestrians. Fuller streets - with more people on foot, that is, not cars - would be safer. They would also be more neighbourly. Streets could also be 'green corridors' with more trees and green space. It's not hard to imagine and it would be better for everyone, young and old. And the costs - compared to the benefits - would be low.

We are not going to solve problems of commuter car parking in residential streets by a quick fix. We need a completely different vision."

[Text of letter for publication to South Manchester Reporter - but do they still have a letters page?]

David Mottram, 17th October

Getting ready for May

2011-10-05T20:04:00.000+01:00

A very good meeting today to plan the campaign for 2012, including drafting a short manifesto for Levenshulme for the City Council election on 3rd May. We are starting in third place, but don't intend to stay there.

This time we are going to meet more voters before the election campaign itself (April-May next year), with regular door-to-door calls - we piloted the approach in June-July and now we are ready to go.

Campaign coordinator Nicholas Wilkinson also insists that we make proper use of Facebook this time - still working on that one...

Levenshulme needs some new politics. People voted Labour in May 2011 both to punish the Liberal Democrats and to elect a new councillor to bring fresh energy & activity in representing local people. Clearly they achieved the first aim, but equally clearly not the second.

Didn't we deserve more from Labour? Levenshulme needs a Green councillor.

David Mottram, 5th October

2nd October: Labour not welcome here?

2011-10-05T08:58:00.001+01:00

Green Party members joined the 35,000-strong TUC protest against the Tories - March for the Alternative - on 2nd October (pictured).

Douglas Alexander, Labour shadow Cabinet member, was quoted last week at the Liverpool Labour conference as describing the Greens as a 'one issue' party. That will come as a surprise to the Unison and Unite trade union members on the march alongside the Manchester Green Party on Sunday. We were distributing the Green Party's Stop The Cuts leaflet which makes very plain our argument: 'Instead of cutting public services we can tackle the deficit in other ways'. The answer includes increase taxes for the very wealthiest, clamping down on the billions lost through tax evasion and tax avoidance, scrapping Trident nuclear weapons and bringing troops home for Afghanistan (current cost £7 million per day). And we need to re-build the economy to face up to and counter climate change.

Are these arguments - this morality - simply beyond Labour?

They are out of office and off the scale. They appear to have learnt nothing from their years celebrating the triumphs of big finance & economic globalisation, and fighting brutal wars in south west Asia.

One of the trade unionists on Sunday made the point that we cannot simply reject the public sector cuts - we also have to put an alternative. Quite right. Obviously not a Labour supporter, then.

David Mottram, 5th October

Private business & the public realm

2011-09-23T21:16:00.001+01:00

Increasingly private business interests drive the development of our neighbourhood, and shape the public realm. The power of Council or other public leadership to shape our area is declining. Speak to local people and everyone can see the dilemma.

First, look at the presence on Stockport Road of the Nawaab restaurant. Large scale old premises put to positive use, a major component of the local service economy, bringing people into our district - it's great to feel that Stockport Road is alive & that we live in a busy city environment. But the management appear to care little for the neighbouring public space. Trees planted outside on the pavement with public money to improve to physical environment? They felt they were in the way, so they cut them down. Fireworks in the street to welcome wedding parties? The Council banned that on safety grounds, but who cares? This evening (Friday 23rd September) the Nawaab's manager stood outside and watched as Stockport Road reverberated with the explosions of powerful fireworks.

Second, the proposed Elbow Street development. Everyone knows that building 146 housing units on the site is too much. But the developer argues that it's that or nothing - take it or leave it, he says. A resident in Stanhope Street made a good point this evening saying that we need a new primary school not new houses at the centre of Levenshulme. The developer in contrast wants to make money - or perhaps to recover his earlier investment in buying the land at an inflated price? - and warns residents against challenging his proposals, because then we might end up with nothing.

Both cases raise the same dilemma. Private business investment in Levenshulme is essential to our future. But there is an imbalance of forces in guiding planning & development in the neighbourhood. Nobody has confidence that the City Council is willing or capable of acting in our interest as the people who live here.

We want new investment & development in Levenshulme, but we also want improved public spaces & public services.

Why don't our voices count for more? The firework display this evening outside Nawaab looked great, but it also completely blocked the public footpaths, was unsafe, and was not supposed to be happening. We need to challenge this arrogance & disregard of our interests.

David Mottram, 23rd September

And the band plays on

2011-08-26T15:57:00.005+01:00

The government wants to be seen to be green and 'pro-business'. The themes are combined in the document Enabling the Transition to a Green Economy: government and business working together (August 2011). But the focus is on sustainable growth - clearly not possible with finite resources on the planet?

The document makes ambitious claims, just like Manchester - A Certain Future, the City Council's climate change action plan. The government says that manufacturing industry should adopt the 'lean-manufacturing' model which most international companies already employ. The target of 20% increase in renewable energy use against the 1990 level is open to the obvious charge, that 20% of next to nothing remains next to nothing. Households recycling 50% of their waste by 2020, when other countries already achieve 70%? Building zero-carbon homes from 2016? But what about now?

The government's document also makes no mention of taxing aviation. The City Council continues its commitment to Manchester Airport. Neither central nor local government are getting to grips with the damage done by promoting the continuing expansion of commercial aviation.

In 2008 the Manchester Airports Group (MAG) PLC - 55% owned by Manchester City Council - expressed an interest in bidding for London Gatwick Airport. And these days MAG is the largest UK-owned airport operator, running Bournemouth, East Midlands and Humberside airports too.

Both the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition government and Manchester's Labour Council share the same political outlook : speak green, act for short-term big business profit, and compromise all our futures.

City Council elections are due in Manchester on 3rd May 2012: vote local, think global.

David Mottram, 26th August

Elbow Street (St. Mary's) development - it's back

2011-08-10T16:18:00.014+01:00

Last year the South Manchester Reporter ran a headline '£20m plan is back again' (8th July 2010). Well, a year later it's here again. After two years of wrangling behind the scenes the Planning & Highways Committee looks set finally to consider essentially the same application for development on the site at its meeting on 15th September (*).

Last year some local residents responded to the application with criticism about the proposed density - the proposal now includes 146 houses & flats and some retail units - and with scepticism that it would ever be built.

Behind the appearance of a major development to regenerate the centre of Levenshulme is this really nothing more than a speculative gamble on the value of a possible planning approval? Questions were asked last year about whether there was even a market here for new private housing presumably aimed at younger & first time buyers. Nothing that has happened since makes the prospects look any rosier.

Apparently the main change since last year is to the routing of traffic on the site and to car parking arrangements.

The final words of the Reporter story last year were 'The developers were unavailable for comment'. They probably still are.

What's going on?

(*) The planning application reference number is 088984. The documents are available under 'public access' on the City Council website at www.manchester.gov.uk

David Mottram, 10th August

Speeding idiots & dozy City Council

2011-07-29T18:14:00.004+01:00

The South Manchester Reporter printed a story this week (edition 28th July) about speeding traffic in Elbow Street, Levenshulme. Here's the text of my response:

"John Howard isn't the only person in Levenshulme complaining about dangerous and fast car driving in residential streets ('Grandad aims to Elbow out his street's "rat run" drivers, Reporter, July 28th).

The local authority complacently reject claims of speeding and use of streets as 'rat runs', yet local people themselves see and hear the evidence daily. It is disgraceful - and simply wrong - that Council officers use the argument that 'casualty rates in the road are not high enough for new safety measures'. It's their standard response. They made the same argument in relation to nearby Gordon Avenue. In effect they say 'Let's wait until people are killed or seriously injured, then we can act'. How truly appalling.

It's not just a question of money but of political will. Across England local authorities of different political colours have supported 20mph speed limits in all residential areas - the 20's Plenty campaign - but the City Council appear to have no interest. It's characteristic of their wider response on highways issues. In Levenshulme the Delamere Neighbourhood Group put forward a considered and widely-supported proposal for Delamere Road to be made one-way to help to resolve serious traffic flow problems, and the immediate response of the Highways Department was to refuse to meet them. After months - is it now years? - nothing has happened.

The Green Party says that the City Council needs to budget for the re-design of local residential streets, both to create safe, shared space for all street and road users, and to improve the health of our neighbourhoods. The other political parties may not agree. But in our local politics there is no reason why Labour and Liberal Democrat councillors cannot line up with Greens to say that Levenshulme would benefit enormously from a decision to set and enforce a 20mph speed limit for all residential streets. It's not the complete answer, but it could make a real difference. So what about a joint declaration of support for the 20's Plenty policy from the Levenshulme candidates for next May's City Council election?

David Mottram,Green Party candidate for Levenshulme"

Note : This letter was printed in the Reporter edition of 4th August

The Spirit Level, and Levenshulme

2011-07-17T15:46:00.021+01:00

Kate Pickett, co-author of The Spirit Level: why equality is better for everyone (Penguin, 2009), spoke in Manchester on Friday at a seminar organised by the Institute for Public Policy Research North. Social cohesion and the sense of belonging in neighbourhoods are dependent, she said, on levels of income equality; the more unequal a society, the worse.

Whilst this is the overall message, how does this match the experience of individual neighbourhoods?

Data in The Spirit Level show the UK to be one of the most unequal of the developed societies surveyed. The expectation is that cohesion and sense of belonging are likely to be poorer in Levenshulme than in otherwise broadly comparable older urban areas in Sweden, say, or the Netherlands. This may well be true. But there might be some mitigating factors, because there appears to be a more positive picture in Levenshulme than in some other roughly comparable districts within the UK.

The UK and international evidence shows that segregating housing by income appears to be detrimental both to the health & wellbeing of the rich who move out, and to the poor who are left behind. And the more unequal societies are more segregated by area of residence. This may be a key issue locally; lack of segregation may be helping us.

Levenshulme has an extremely diverse housing stock, ranging from very poor quality privately rented terrace houses in north Levenshulme, to well-maintained owner-occupied Victorian villas & modern detached houses towards the west of the district. The spatial development of the suburb in the nineteenth & early twentieth centuries, reproducing characteristics of some London inner urban areas, always gave a real social & income mix within a small compass.

The dynamics of the city centre economy, and the south Manchester residential property market in the past ten years, have brought new young professional people into the district, at the same time as a marked increase in local south Asian populations. The wide range of housing type has been one draw. Amongst the incomers there are wide variations in occupations, educational background and income - as well as ethnicity - but the combined effect is to have 're-made' Levenshulme as a neighbourhood within the space of a few years.

At the moment it seems to me that local people's overall view is that we get along pretty well together. Of course there are people who don't like the change. But is it possible that, far from presenting a problem, the new arrival of these very diverse people is a lifeline for cohesion here?

David Mottram, 17th July

Opinion polls & the doorstep

2011-06-24T21:55:00.005+01:00

The Guardian/ICM poll published on 21st June squared with the local evidence. The figures were Labour 39%, Conservative 37% and Liberal Democrat 12%. Or, as the headline in The Guardian put it, 'PM's honeymoon over and Lib Dems at 14-year low'.

But the main story, reflected in Manchester, is that whilst the Coalition is not faring well in the polls - the Liberal Democrats particularly are badly-damaged - Labour are not performing strongly either. They had their moment of glory in May at the expense of the hapless Liberal Democrats - at least in Manchester - but they are unconvincing.

This was reflected in doorstep responses from electors in Rushford Park canvassed a week ago. Previous voters of all three main political parties expressed interest in voting Green locally - Liberal Democrats were 'disillusioned', and Labour voters didn't see the point in adding to the party's overwhelming City Council majority. And Tories can never win locally.

The failing national Labour leadership of Ed Miliband and our local one party state - you can vote how you like in Manchester but the City Council will always be Labour - provides a good platform for electoral challenge from the Left by the Greens.

Another finding of The Guardian/ICM poll? The Green Party appears to be picking up support, registering national support at 3%.

David Mottram, 24th June

Death and life of urban areas

2011-06-01T08:34:00.010+01:00

It's fifty years since publication of New York urban campaigner Jane Jacobs' book The Death and Life of American Cities. It has some lessons for Levenshulme.

As an advocate of urban preservation her work was often criticised as promoting gentrification of old urban areas, with middle class people moving in to renovate old property, and consequently driving up prices and forcing out lower income people. This happened in parts of Manhattan, as it has in parts of London and other English cities.

Ben Rogers of Demos writing in The Guardian, though, made some interesting & positive points about her work which might apply for Levenshulme:

'She argued that dense, mixed-income mixed-use neighbourhoods...with amenity-lined streets and small parks, had a huge range of benefits unappreciated by modern urban planners.'

'Her arguments that relatively dense, lively city neighbourhoods tend to discourage crime, foster inter-generational and inter-ethnic integration and promote "social capital" have become received wisdom - though it took the police and local authorities a long time to catch up with her and not all of them are there yet.'

'Her belief that urban planners and architects should not be realising visions, but creating and preserving resilient and adaptable neighbourhoods - places which can largely look after themselves - still resonates.'

If you look around at the mix of people and services we have - at the moment - it seems to me Jane Jacobs had something to say about why we can have a very positive local future.

Attractive & safe local parks, the library, the swimming pools and other public services need to be protected and developed. They are essential elements in the health of our neighbourhood.

The message about the social & economic value of urban green space was also reinforced by this week's published study of the health & wellbeing gains of access to urban green space (national ecosystem assessment, by DEFRA). In the words of The Guardian headline 'UK green spaces"worth £30bn in health benefits"'

We cannot afford to lose local services & amenities.

David Mottram, 1st June

Outside Manchester

2011-05-09T20:12:00.004+01:00

The Green Party gained seats in last week's local elections.

On Brighton & Hove City Council we are now the largest party, with 23 out of 54 seats, the first time the Greens will lead a local authority in England. In Norwich we added a seat; with 15 seats we are close behind Labour as the largest party. Across the country we now have 130 councillors on 43 councils.

Oh, and in the Canadian general election last week Greens won the first ever seat in the federal parliament.

But inside the UK, what a startling result in Scotland? The AV referendum may have been lost - decisively, of course - but the implications of the SNP victory could be much more significant in political terms that the alternative vote was ever going to be.

David Mottram, 9th May

Levenshulme result, 5th May 2011

2011-05-08T09:44:00.005+01:00

Labour: 2210

Liberal Democrat: 1204

Green: 627

Conservative: 194

Labour won in every Manchester ward, generally with big margins, and Levenshulme was no exception with Labour securing over 50% of the total vote. The Liberal Democrats were swept away after winning every previous local election in Levenshulme for 32 years.

The Green Party remained in a clear third place in the ward. The Green vote increased as a percentage from 11% (2010) to 15% (2011), with slightly fewer votes - 627 compared with 664 - but on a much lower voter turnout of 38% compared with over 50%.

The Green campaign consisted of distribution of a Manchester Green View leaflet in February, an election leaflet in April, 30-40 posters displayed, stalls on Stockport Road on 9th and 23rd April, participation in an election hustings (28th April), and the personal presence of the candidate around the ward (including some individual discussions with interested voters).

For the Green Party Levenshulme produced the third best result in Manchester this year, as it did in 2010.

What did the campaign & the outcome say about future prospects for the Green vote in Levenshulme?

In the face of the big swing to Labour we more than held our ground;
Personal support from some electors for the Greens did not always transfer into votes - some potential supporters voted Labour to defeat the Liberal Democrats and to register visceral hatred for the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition government;
Some loss of 2010 Green votes to Labour was balanced by new votes from Liberal Democrats;
The local political context may be different in 2012, with Labour's own record in Manchester under closer scrutiny & with a new Labour candidate, and Keith Whitmore defending his 33 year record as a Levenshulme councillor;
During 2010-2011 the Green Party did not contact electors on doorsteps through the year or run an active campaign based on voter identification - it was an uneven fight against Labour & Liberal Democrats. We have the potential to greatly strengthen the vote if we do the work.

Across central & south Manchester the Greens can supplant the Liberal Democrats as principal opposition to Labour. We will only do that, though, with more resources - people, money - and campaigning locally year round.

David Mottram, 8th May

Only one choice to make?

2011-05-01T18:27:00.007+01:00

There are four candidates on the ballot for Levenshulme, with the Tories invisible as usual. The presence of local posters for the other three reflects the three way choice. Well, actually, a single choice.

The first option is Labour or Liberal Democrat. They are the same in political and ideological terms, though they try to convince us otherwise. They believe that huge public expenditure cuts are needed to cut the deficit. In Manchester Liberal Democrats offered an 'alternative budget' in March which was no alternative: they simply shuffled the pack & came up with a slightly different balance of cuts than Labour. In the absence of any substantial difference the electoral battle between to the two parties has become very personalised & tense.

Yes, some people do feel a visceral dislike for the Liberal Democrats because of the Coalition with the Tories. But does this imply that Labour's grotesque collusion with Bush in invading Iraq was the lesser crime?

If we can get away from the simplicities of political partisanship - being powerfully for or against Liberal Democrat or Labour - they represent exactly the same sort of politics.

The second option is the Green Party. We do not share their politics. As our party says 'These budget cuts are an ideologically driven assault on our welfare state. They will starve public services and favour the free market. They will hit the poorest hardest'. In this local election the overriding issue for voters must be the future of local public services.

Whether you believe that the Greens can win this time in Levenshulme, or not, you can cast a positive vote for local services & jobs and a vote of opposition to the cuts consensus of Labour & liberal Democrats.

And, by the way, whatever the final vote tally early on Friday morning we can know with certainty that Labour will still control the City Council, as it has done without break since 1971. Awful, isn't it?

Time for a change in our local politics.

David Mottram, 1st May

Wrecking the street environment

2011-04-22T10:02:00.010+01:00

Seen Stockport Road recently (pictured above, today), near the Iceland store? This is the state of our 'district centre' at the start of the four day Easter holiday weekend.

A couple of days ago there was a related press story: 'Workers who dig up roads on behalf of utility companies often leave local councils to rectify their bad work, the Local Government Association reports' (Metro, 20th April).

Why do we put up with this shabby treatment from private companies providing public services? Why can United Utilities - in this case - get away with sending in contractors to dig up pavements, abandon the site for days at a time, and no doubt finally finish with a botched job?

Elsewhere in northern Europe municipal authorities take pride in street design and the quality of the street environment. In the UK local councils appear to have lost the capacity - the will? - to protect our interests against the cowboy contractors working for greedy privatised utility companies.

Green politics gives a central place to global issues of protection of the environment & ecology. But we must also be the principal supporters of healthy & attractive local street environments. In a densely-populated, old urban area like Levenshulme the renewal & maintenance of street spaces needs much higher priority.

Councillors in Manchester appear simply to ignore this. Many of our streets already look semi-abandoned by the local authority, even before the incompetence & profiteering of the utility companies.

Remember the old line from the 1970s and 1980s about Liberals & community politics and their campaigning preoccupation with broken paving stones? Pity they didn't stay true to that commitment, either.

David Mottram, 22nd April

Identity politics: an Asian vote?

2011-04-19T09:57:00.011+01:00

The Labour party campaign in Levenshulme is visibly highly identified with some of our local south Asian residents. This raises some interesting issues.

Firstly, Labour is proving locally - as it has elsewhere - its capacity to engage the active support of men from south Asian backgrounds. And it does appear to be men, not women.

Secondly, faced with a ward with a shifting demographic the Labour campaign is definitely pitching to secure 'the south Asian vote'. Does it exist? Is this wise? Can it work?

Twenty percent or more of the Levenshulme ward population is of Pakistani, Indian or Bangladeshi background. But this is not a single racially or ethnically identifying block of voters. One elector yesterday, for instance, relayed an anecdote about Asian Labour men being turned away angrily at the doorstep of his Asian neighbour, who was offended by the apparent strategy of selecting 'Asian' households from the electoral register to encourage them to display posters for Labour candidate Aftab Ahmed: he rejected being identified as an 'Asian voter', rejected the assumption that this should identify him as separate from his non-Asian neighbours, and saw no reason to vote on racial or ethnic grounds for an Asian Labour candidate. The volatile politics of south Asia are also going to be reflected in Manchester votes.

Thirdly, we have an irony that after the promotion of diversity in politics - often taken to refer to including people from visible ethnic minorities - the Labour presence is not at all diverse. As an example, at the seven Levenshulme ward polling stations last year the tellers for Labour were almost without exception Asian men (from my recollection, around 12 Asian men out of 13 Labour tellers in total at mid morning).

One key element of the Levenshulme Liberal Democrat vote used to be seen, wrongly or rightly, as people with Irish backgrounds. Levenshulme demography and our local electoral politics are changing fast.

David Mottram, 19th April

Green election launch in Manchester

2011-04-16T17:54:00.009+01:00

On Thursday 14th April Councillor Hawaran Hussain - pictured second from right - formally launched the Manchester Green Party local election campaign. The Manchester party is standing 28 candidates in the 32 Manchester wards. The party is giving priority this year to local campaigns in Chorlton & Hulme as well as Levenshulme. The three candidates from those wards are pictured (left to right, Brian Candeland [Chorlton], Ruth Bergan [Hulme], and David Mottram [Levenshulme]).

Councillor Hussain from Bradford Council (Green, Shipley Ward) is unusual as a Green councillor from a south Asian background. The Manchester Green Party needs to reach out more effectively to minority ethnic communities. We need both to build more electoral support and to draw in new members & activists from diverse minority communities.

Our Green Party analysis of issues in global politics & international development and our strong opposition to the West's wars in south west Asia are a good foundation, though not enough. We need to engage with more electors from minority ethnic backgrounds - on the doorstep.

A visitor from London at our meeting on Thursday commented on the presence of party members from visible ethnic minorities. That's a recent change, in itself not enough, but a positive change.

David Mottram, 16th April

Unbelievable Labour

2011-04-11T08:32:00.004+01:00

The latest Levenshulme Rose leaflet from Labour continues the main theme of their campaign; Labour are defending Manchester against Conservative & Liberal Democrat cuts.

A quote from the leaflet: 'The Lib Dems can't play at being the opposition any more because they are the locally elected representatives of THIS Condem Government'. But what about re-writing this as 'The Labour Party can't play at leading the fight against the cuts any more because they are the controlling party of the City Council imposing them'?

'They are treating the voters of Levenshulme as if we are fools when they claim to oppose local cuts yet support their Party in Government', says the Labour leaflet. Are we supposed to have such very short memories? We all remember the thirteen wasted years of Labour government & the disastrously under-regulated banking system they promoted and celebrated. Huge cuts in public expenditure were going to be the result under Labour, too, had they won the general election in 2010.

And talking of treating the voters as fools, remember the Labour game playing over the reprieve of Levenshulme Pools from closure?

The Labour Council proposed the closure. Having stirred up a hornet's nest they quickly stepped back and presented themselves as the saviour of the Pools by reversing the planned closure. They did that to gain short term political advantage. That reversal of policy was made public during the morning of Monday 28th February at a meeting of a Scrutiny Committee of the Council attended by campaigners against the closure. But by mid-afternoon households in Levenshulme were already receiving a Labour leaflet with the headline 'Life Line for Levenshulme Baths'. I wonder if this leaflet - 'Levenshulme Baths Special' - had been prepared in advance, with fore knowledge of the planned policy change. Well, yes, of course.

You really can't trust the Labour Party.

David Mottram, 11th April

1,609 Green election candidates

2011-04-11T08:20:00.005+01:00

The Green Party is standing 1,609 candidates in elections for English local authorities on 5th May, the second highest total ever. In Manchester we are standing 28 candidates (out of 32 wards).

Securing large numbers of candidates means access to a party election broadcast. This will be on 27th April, on BBC1.

The Green Party candidate total is 16% higher than in the last equivalent elections. Interesting to see that the Liberal Democrats nationally are fielding fewer candidates. Getting candidates onto the ballot paper takes a fair amount of work, even before parties organise any sort of campaign. The decline in Liberal Democrat candidates probably suggests a fall in membership & morale across the country. No surprises there, then?

David Mottram, 11th April

Getting real on Sure Start

2011-04-09T17:11:00.006+01:00

The Council Leader, Richard Leese, is coming to Levenshulme on Wednesday to listen to concerns about the future of local Sure Start [13th April, 4.00pm, at Broom Lane Children's Centre]

He's coming to show he listens because cuts to children's services are politically dangerous. It's election time. Labour need to appear responsive, and it's not just Richard Leese. At a meeting today I heard Levenshulme Labour candidate Aftab Ahmed speak persuasively about how best to represent concerns to Leese on Wednesday. He spoke about the need for the Council Leader to hear strong expressions of local anger about uncertainties over the future of the service; and he even appeared to say we must work to delay the tender process for contracting-out Sure Start.

But hang on. It was Labour in government who re-doubled - and more - the pace of privatisation of public services after 1997. And it's the the Labour Council's own budget proposals which anticipate the end of all Council-run childcare services in Manchester.

Let's get real. The Labour Party are not being honest about their politics. Councillors & candidates are trying to position themselves as strongly community-based champions of local public services, like Sure Start. But this contradicts both the party's national & local policies, and the budget decisions of the City Council itself.

Can they have it both ways? Will local electors buy it?

David Mottram, 9th April

Local election hustings & the cuts

2011-04-07T09:02:00.005+01:00

You've got to hand it to Levenshulme. When local electoral politics is dying in many places in Levenshulme it's getting better. The latest is that Love Levy Hate The Cuts will host a hustings for City Council candidates for the Levenshulme and Gorton South wards. The venue will be Inspire, on Thursday 28th April from 7.00-9.00pm.

When a local hustings was organised for the 2008 City Council elections Keith Whitmore - a councillor since 1979 - said that he thought it was the first for at least 30 years. Well, here's the second.

To quote the headline from the current Green leaflet for Levenshulme, 'Stop The Cuts: Protect services for all', and from the text of the story, 'The Green Party is the only party in this election against the cuts' (in Levenshulme ward). Sounds like a head start in debate with the other parties on 28th April?

Nominations have now closed for the election on 5th May, and in Levenshulme ward there will be four candidates: the three parties which support big public expenditure cuts, and the Green Party.

In Gorton South the position is different. There are five candidates, with Sean Hughes for the Greens joined by Angelique Bueler of Respect in opposing Labour, Liberal Democrats & Conservatives on cuts.

This local election feels more important and intense than recent City Council elections. How could it be otherwise when our local authority has cut £109 million from its budget? When Labour & liberal Democrats are playing the blame game, with mutual recriminations about who's most responsible?

The most recent Liberal Democrat leaflet makes a point of saying (again) 'It's a two horse race round here! Greens can't win here!'. Really? Perhaps the voters should decide? Come along to the hustings on 28th April and make your own judgement of the parties & the candidates.

David Mottram, 7th April

Save Levenshulme Library?

2011-03-31T12:53:00.009+01:00

'Levenshulme Library is not closing' is the headline story. But there's more to it than that.

Opening hours are being reduced. Sessional services are being cut, including the homework club and the rhyme and singing group for mothers & babies. And long-serving, experienced & very committed Levenshulme Library staff are leaving. This is bad news.

This hollowing out of the service which the library can provide will be echoed in other City Council services. When we think about the huge scale of local authority cuts this year we really must acknowledge the depth of impact of all the cuts - big & small - on our neighbourhood. And it is not over yet. The City Council will be back for more.

Forget for a moment the Library as a source of books & other learning resources. Think of the Library instead as a safe, warm & attractive public place. The people who use the Library reflect the full diversity of Levenshulme - forget the politicians' slogans about promoting 'community cohesion' and just look at the library users. The building is located in one of the poorest parts of south Manchester. And this library is a model of all that is best in the public sector and in public service.

Here is the very bad news, though: the City Council will try to close Levenshulme Library in the next few years. This time wasn't the moment. First, they have just spent money on its refurbishment. Second, they have no immediate replacement scheme to offer (in due course they will try to combine the library with other services on another site). And thirdly, they knew what they were taking on if they tried - hundreds of local people in the street and on television screens.

There are many reasons it's worth fighting for the library. Another is that it's a beautiful Edwardian period building in which to house a library. Another reason why we need to fight the closure threat when it comes.

David Mottram, 31st March

Green victory in Germany

2011-03-29T20:54:00.018+01:00

A moment to reflect on a bigger picture.

On Sunday the German Green Party more than doubled its vote to 25% in state elections in Baden-Wurttemberg. The Green Party's Winfried Kretschmann will become 'minister president', leading a coalition with the Social Democrats. On the same day, in Rhineland-Palatinate, the Green vote tripled to 17%. 'The Green vote was helped by the argument in Germany over its 17 nuclear power plants' (The Guardian, 28th March). German Greens on the rise & growing resistance to nuclear power? Sounds like Europe in the 1980s. But a quarter of a century later history is not going to repeat. This is a different world.

The impact of economic globalisation - including the rise of Asia & the relative decline of the United States and Europe - sometimes feels beyond comprehension. Everything we thought we knew for certain is changing around us. And an electoral shift in Germany last weekend is not simply an echo of events from the end of the Cold War in the late twentieth century.

In the aftermath of the global financial dislocation since 2008, and faced with the empty political consensus shared by other parties, the Greens represent an alternative course. We do not accept unconstrained economic globalisation. A sustainable society will mean renewing local economies and shifting investment into creation of 'low carbon' jobs. It also means defending and re-working the European social model to be fit for the twenty-first century. This argument is winning ground in Germany. The Green vote can no longer be dismissed simply as a liberal, middle class, lifestyle vote. The political culture in Germany is friendly to the Greens, too. The victory in Baden-Wurttemberg - and the gains in Rhineland-Palatinate - were possible because of an electoral system giving proportional representation.

And there is nuclear power. The old arguments remain about the real costs and risks of civil nuclear power programmes. But the evidence of global corporate greed for short-term profit, which almost brought down the international banking system in 2008, strengthens the perception that big nuclear energy companies cannot be trusted. And they can't.

Perhaps the rise of the German Greens will be followed by new progress for Greens in Britain? The latest opinion poll in Scotland for their parliamentary elections on 5th May, by the way, shows Greens ahead of the Liberal Democrats.

David Mottram, 29th March

Electoral reform, or parliamentary reform?

2011-03-20T19:35:00.012Z

The Green Party supports a Yes vote in the referendum on the Alternative Vote (AV), to be held alongside the local elections on 5th May. But there is also a good case against. This is not the 'Let's stick with what we know' or 'Let's hurt the Liberal Democrats' argument, but a wider issue about the quality of our parliamentary democracy.

First, a question. Did you know that Whalley Range ward is part of the Manchester Gorton parliamentary constituency? This was a change implemented in 2010 and it makes no sense. It is typical of many constituencies which no longer represent distinct areas & geographical identities, but instead draw together random populations in the interests of trying to produce constituencies with roughly equal numbers of voters*. The Act providing for the referendum also reduces the number of UK constituencies from 650 to 600, magnifying the problem. Single member constituencies no longer make the sense they once did. AV applies a new electoral mechanism to a deeply flawed system.

Secondly, our Parliament is a mess. The Lords should be abolished. More importantly the Commons is failing; too much legislation, badly drafted, and bounced through the Commons without proper scrutiny, with the executive completely dominating. By European comparison - or compared to the Scottish parliament - our legislature is deeply inadequate.

Why should we put energy into campaigning for a slight change to the electoral system - because that's all AV is - when the constituencies make no sense and the Commons needs to be transformed?

But one further question: how to vote? AV can help the Green Party. Supporters can vote Green as first preference, knowing that in most constituencies their second preferences will be counted too. This should strengthen our vote. It's not very uplifting, and it's certainly not a democratic revolution, but Yes to AV makes sense from our party's point of view.

Let's keep our eye focused on the main target, though. We need parliamentary reform, including proportional representation from multi-member constituencies, not this dog's breakfast.

* Manchester Gorton consists of a mishmash of wards in an arc across east and south Manchester: Gorton North, Gorton South, Longsight, Levenshulme, Rusholme, Fallowfield & Whalley Range.

David Mottram, 20th March

Politics of the Pool

2011-03-11T23:41:00.003Z

Below is the text of a letter to the South Manchester Reporter, sent on Friday 25th February, and subsequently published in the edition of 9th March:

"The community-based campaign to save Levenshulme Pool is inspiring. It's drawing in large numbers of people, including lots of children and people from a wide mix of backgrounds, sharing in challenging an unjust and disgraceful proposal. The campaign demonstrates what's best about politics. Yes, it is a political fight, but one led by local people acting collectively to fight to change a wrong political decision which directly affects and angers them.

But then we have two local political parties playing electoral games with the future of the Pool. Liberal Democrats and Labour are each claiming to be the Pool's principal defender.

The Liberal Democrats say they fought to protect the Pool against closure threat twice before, in the 1980s and the early 1990s, and they fight again now. But how would they fund the Pool and what else would they cut to save it? The Labour party says it will the close the Pool in its budget proposals for 2011-2012, but distributes leaflets putting themselves at the front of the fight against local cuts, including the Pool.

Can I suggest what might be happening here?

The Labour party is targeting to win the Gorton South and Levenshulme wards from the Liberal Democrats in the City Council elections on 5th May. In fact Levenshulme Pool is in Gorton South ward, and so is Councillor Simon Ashley, leader of the Liberal Democrats on the City Council and standing for re-election in May. Councillor Ashley has to be seen to fight with his Liberal Democrat colleagues to save the Pool, and his job. Is it just possible, though, that Labour will pull a white rabbit from the hat and back-off from the closure proposal in 2011-2012? An eleventh hour reprieve might do wonders for Labour prospects in Gorton South in May.

If it happens we can all celebrate - though perhaps not Councillor Ashley. Be clear, if it does, where the credit really belongs. If Levenshulme Pool is saved it will really be a victory for independent community action, led by local people.

Be clear, too, about the bigger story. The savage cuts to service and jobs in Manchester are wrong, but they are also unnecessary and dangerous. The government should put higher taxes on personal and corporate wealth and stop tax evasion by the rich and powerful. There is an alternative. And the fight in coming months will need to go wider than a brilliant local campaign for Levenshulme Pool.

David Mottram, Levenshulme Green Party"

[The announcement of the reprieve for the Pool was made on Monday 28th February]

David Mottram, 11th March

Budget vote: bitter defeat?

2011-03-11T22:56:00.008Z

Witnessing the massed ranks of Labour councillors voting for £109 million of City Council cuts on Wednesday (9th March) was a bitter moment. Amongst other disasters the 2011-2012 budget ends funding for Manchester Advice and dismembers the youth service. What a reversal from the popular ambitions, even in the Conservative-dominated 1980s and 1990s, to promote & develop local public services?

The defeat represented by the budget vote raises some very basic questions about our current politics. The two principal political parties in Manchester are resigned to play-acting, competing with each other to offer slightly different cuts packages, without challenge to the underlying political assumption that cuts are necessary & without any attempt to resist. But the trade unions are silent too. On Wednesday I expected many hundreds of Town Hall trade union members to lay siege to the Council meeting, but there were just a handful. The public protest was dominated instead by the local activists of the Socialist Workers Party.

But these are the early days. First, there will be national political developments. The future focus of concern about cuts will widen from Council services to include growing anxieties about under-funding & privatisation of the NHS. The TUC sponsored protest march in London on 26th March is expected to be large - maybe over 100,000 people - and this may mark a new stage in challenging unnecessary and dangerous expenditure cuts.

Second, we are yet to see how the City Council's cuts play out. We may see expressions of a great depth of anger when services close & jobs go after April. It is also entirely possible that the implementation of the cuts will be a fiasco. One councillor suggested to me that the proposed cuts cannot be achieved. The budget proposals were not properly thought through, and there may be more bad news to come even within the current 2011-2012 financial year.

The fight isn't over yet.

David Mottram, 10th March

Manchester Against the Cuts

2011-03-06T17:36:00.004Z

Under the banner 'Manchester Against the Cuts' perhaps 1,500 people marched in the City Centre yesterday (Saturday), finishing with a protest rally in Albert Square, including members of the Manchester Green Party. Maybe it is just me, but surely these numbers were very disappointing?

One aspect of the attendance struck me strongly, though. There were at least fifteen people present to my personal knowledge who were both Levenshulme residents and not members of any political party. It is difficult to imagine that any other district in Manchester contributed the same local mix of people.

There is one reason why this happened. The campaign fought since 8th February to save Levenshulme Pool has been enormously powerful, both in its public impact and in motivating individuals to be activists in defence of basic local services. There is nothing like one victory to make people believe that others are possible.

David Mottram, 6th March

Levenshulme: 'Inner Core South'

2011-03-03T14:20:00.003Z

Some years ago a Housing Corporation typology of Manchester's districts defined Levenshulme as having the characteristics of Manchester's 'Inner Core South'.

This identified six features of Levenshulme ward which sound right to me:

pre-1919 terraced houses
some re-development since 1945
impact of decline of local manufacturing industry
links to more prosperous suburban neighbourhoods to the south of the ward
significant student numbers
large minority ethnic communities.

Levenshulme has also been described as a transitional zone in our part of the city, between residential areas to the south & west and industrial areas to the north & east. This also sounds right. Levenshulme bridges the gap between Heaton Chapel and Gorton in more ways than one - we are a much more diverse place by demographics & income than either.

The statistics reinforce this picture, showing Levenshulme as somewhere around or slightly above average for Manchester wards by measures of income, health etc. But this average disguises great variation within the ward, which combines some of the poorest and richest parts of south Manchester.

In short, Levenshulme is an interesting place.

David Mottram, 3rd March

Arrival City

2011-03-02T22:51:00.006Z

Levenshulme is busy with the lives of new arrivals, many from outside the UK. Many of the new people are from South Asia, but also Africa (and elsewhere). We might have been a case study in a recently published book 'Arrival City: How the Largest Migration in History is Reshaping Our World' (Doug Saunders, Heinemann). Unlike some other older urban areas in Greater Manchester we live with 'a rich brew of aspiration, entrepreneurship and impromptu social organisation'. We are part of the arrival city of Manchester.

The book's argument is that the skills, youth & energy of poor migrants make for modern urban success stories. They are 'the bubbling soup from which new opportunities are born', to the benefit both of the new arrivals and established populations.

'Things don't always work out', he says. And it's very easy for any of us to feel frustrated when the streets are noisy & busy; sometimes we don't understand the languages we hear.

But, on the other hand, do we really want silent streets? Do we want a neighbourhood increasingly empty of young people? Do we want Stockport Road to be full of boarded-up shop premises? Not for me. We are living with the consequences of vast new global flows of people.

It's time to put the positive case for welcoming the new arrivals. Of course dealing with change is complicated, but it always was. It's hard to imagine that the Irish immigrants of the 1940s onwards were always welcomed with open arms in Levenshulme - I'm sure they weren't. Taking the long view, though, the Irish presence is an essential part of Levenshulme life. Let's learn the lesson. And let's continue to re-make our neighbourhood to face the future.

David Mottram, 2nd March

Local history is a winner

2010-11-01T21:31:00.006Z

This evening the Delamere Neighbourhood Group hosted a talk on Levenshulme local history by author & historian Chris Makepeace. Sixty people - yes, sixty people - turned out at the Baptist Church hall on a windy, dark evening. A majority present were probably over age 60.

So what's this about older people not going out of doors after dark? Interest in the history of this neighbourhood is clearly very powerful. It draws people out, literally. But there was at least one other factor. Older people came with other people, not alone, and in at least one case a well-known local man of around 90 who lives alone was brought along by a younger neighbour. And, yes, other younger people were there, too.

By coincidence the City Council hosted a conference today exploring how to develop Manchester as an 'age friendly city'. Manchester is one of twelve cities globally working on the issues under a programme promoted by the World health Organisation (WHO).

One simple lesson was evident from Levenshulme this evening: promote & support residents' associations & groups. They do have the capacity to work across the generations and value learning about the past.

David Mottram, 1st November

A message from 1972

2010-08-17T11:41:00.004+01:00

Jimmy Reid's recent death led to reprints of his speech made as rector of Glasgow University in 1972. It's worth reflecting that he was right on local government:

'The power of local authorities has been and is being systematically undermined. The only justification I can see for local government is as a counter-balance to the centralised character of national government'.

If this was true in an expansionary age for public services, how much more true in the new age of austerity heralded by the three principal UK political parties?

Reid was speaking on the eve of the corporate reorganisation of local government implemented in 1974 which distanced local councils from their electorates and degraded local democracy. Abolishing small local authorities - the boroughs, urban districts & rural districts of pre-1974 - meant of loss of connection with local councils for many people. It meant many fewer people as councillors. And fewer people bothered to vote.

Since the early 1970s it has got worse. The progressive view for the reform of local government in recent decades has surely been to introduce a fair & proportional local voting system and to restore to councils the right to raise their own money. But it begins to look as though this agenda for local government reform is gazing at the past as a 'golden age' (which it wasn't, by the way). It has no resonance in contemporary mainstream political debate.

The real issue for Greens and for people on the Left is that successive right-of-centre governments - Labour, Conservative & (now) Liberal Democrat - are content to dismember local government, with councils left as local agents for central government programmes & managers of local 'partnerships'. Far from strengthening local government, they want it weak.

It's back to Jimmy Reid's argument. The real purpose of local government is as a counter-weight to central government - accordingly conservative central governments will do what they can to break local government. And not a murmur from the local politicians of the main political parties.

David Mottram, 17th August 2010

Tesco: good or bad?

2010-06-14T10:43:00.004+01:00

Well, bad, obviously. But is it, for Levenshulme?

The think tank Demos has published a report claiming that 'big supermarket chains have a key role to play in regenerating Britain's poorest communities'. This has been followed by the counter-claim by the New Economics Foundation that Tesco & the other grocery giants act like 'giant vacuum cleaners, hoovering wealth out of an area' - this is more like it. Who could possibly believe that the Tesco in Burnage - or their giant store in Gorton - serves the wider local interest? Balance the low paid jobs created by Tesco against the destruction of existing jobs in local businesses, and it's profit for Tesco and loss for us.

But what about the impact of the opening of the Tesco Metro in Levenshulme? The critique of Tesco monopoly power focusses on their global corporate power & profit, and the analysis of the damage they do 'in the poorest communities' looks at the impact of giant stores like those in Burnage & Gorton. The case for the prosecution is very powerful. It's right.

We need to be honest though and acknowledge that many local people - including me - value the existence of a local supermarket and felt the loss of the Somerfield (formerly Kwik Save) store in 2006, closed as the owners sold the site for its capital value. In 2007 some of us were actively engaged in trying to secure a Co-operative store in its place - we favoured a mutual business with a commitment to fair trade. But they were not interested.

Tesco were. They sell a range of basic grocery goods not available at other local shops (e.g. cheeses). The store is accessible on foot by large numbers of people in a densely-populated neighbourhood with high proportions of families with young children, older people, and households without cars. It is supported by most local traders who recognise that the numbers of people shopping locally for other goods & services fell when the Somerfield store closed in 2006.

These are powerful arguments too. We may not like Tesco as a business, but there's a problem: in Levenshulme the local small-scale store - until they try to expand it? - is a positive benefit to most local people. Whatever the global arguments about Tesco negative impact it's difficult to make the case against this particular development.

Ask them in the street and people here would overwhelmingly say 'Yes' to Tesco... in Levenshulme.

David Mottram,

14th June

Local government? Or councils?

2010-06-03T17:17:00.004+01:00

An interesting comment recently from Rob Whiteman, chief executive of IDeA, the Improvement and Development Agency for local government (The Guardian, 12th May):

'In a way we don't have local government. We have elected councils working alongside quangos and national departments. The way national government can change the form and function of local government at will is unconstitutional in most other countries'.

Local authorities as recently as the 1960s and early 1970s had great autonomy, directly planning & managing huge public programmes. From the mid-1970s governments of all parties have curtailed the freedoms of local government to raise their own income and to make significant local choices about policy & services. In the UK this centralisation of power has been regarded as simply a matter for decision by national government.

It is a commonplace that England has one of the most centralised systems of public administration in Europe, and people on both the Left & Right have long argued for a re-balancing of power and for a renewal of local government. But wouldn't it now be refreshing to imagine that in the new age of political reform - taking Nick Clegg seriously for a moment - our local government might be both restored to real power, and gain a constitutional protection against future dismemberment?

And, of course, strengthened local government would surely require an accompanying shift to fair votes in local elections?

David Mottram,

3rd June

Q. What is the Labour Party for? A. Controlling Manchester City Council

2010-05-21T18:42:00.003+01:00

Defeated as a government Labour faces an obvious crisis. What's the point of having a third right-of-centre party offering technocratic management based on endorsing untrammelled market capitalism and making no challenge to the worst consequences of economic globalisation ? Why not try the Tories and the Liberal Democrats instead? What is the point of the Labour Party?

The answer, locally, is to control the City Council. They are pretty good at winning local elections in Manchester.

After the brief high water mark of 38 councillors in 2004 (out of the total of 96), the Liberal Democrat opposition on the City Council has weakened. It's not just that they remain down to 33 councillors - there was no net change in seats on 6th May - but they are being defeated progressively outside middle class south Manchester. Although they gained seats in Chorlton and Northenden, they lost Gorton South and Rusholme. This could have further ramifications: these wards are the two wards represented by the Liberal Democrat leader & deputy leader who will need to face re-election in 2011 or 2012. Oh dear.

But of course it's worse than that. Liberal Democrats in coalition with Conservatives in London is unlikely to go down well with Manchester voters. In fact it's difficult to think of where else the Liberal Democrats are likely to do worse in local elections in 2011 & 2012 than Manchester.

My personal view at this stage is that electorally the coalition government will be relatively well-supported in its early stages by a fearful & conservative English electorate. And of course they probably don't face any early electoral tests. But this will not carry through to local government votes - in local elections, in northern cities, the Liberal Democrats are going to be punished.

However shambolic the adjustment of Labour to opposition at Westminster proves to be - probably very shambolic - the Labour Party in Manchester will be putting the champagne on ice for a night of victory after the polls close on 5th May 2011. And they may have expectations even of gaining Levenshulme.

In fact in Levenshulme it's going to be more interesting than that because the Green Party will be a serious factor too. More to follow on that...

David Mottram, 21st May

The Green vote in the Gorton parliamentary election, 6th May 2010

2010-05-09T17:04:00.005+01:00

The parliamentary election in Gorton saw Gerald Kaufman re-elected with a bigger majority, with a very disappointing result for the main challengers, the Liberal Democrats. That was the big story.

Behind it, though, is another one. Faced with three voter choices to the left of Labour, the Greens significantly out-polled both the Trade Unionist & Socialist Coalition (TUSC) and Respect.

Some thoughts on the outcome for the Greens:

Justine Hall for the Green Party secured 1,048 votes (2.7%) and fourth place, based on very little active campaign and no election mailing. It was a better than average Green result, the third best in the North West, and better than the Green results in the other two Manchester seats contested, Central and Withington.
The transfer of Whalley Range into the Gorton constituency (556 Green votes in the local election, the fourth largest local vote for the Greens in Manchester) may have helped. There may have been a positive impact from the limited Green campaign in Levenshulme (664 local Green votes), which had included a leaflet to the whole ward in February promoting Justine's candidacy (as well as the local candidate & campaign).
The Greens may have been attractive to some voters who in other circumstances would have voted Liberal Democrat. Qassim Afzal was widely-regarded as a poor candidate, with his selection controversial amongst local Liberal Democrats.
In contrast to the Greens - benefiting from relatively wide awareness of the Green Party - decent TUSC and Respect votes were always going to need to be built by hard work on the ground. Both candidates were put in place too late. Presenting the electorate with two competing, relatively little known Socialist candidates was a problem.

David Mottram, 9th May

The Levenshulme local vote, 6th May 2010

2010-05-09T16:35:00.005+01:00

Whatever the shallowness & inadequacies of the local Liberal Democrat and Labour local campaigns they gained enormous numbers of votes from the surge in turnout for the general election, with most people voting a party 'ticket' - for the same party - in the two elections. Accordingly, the City Council election last Thursday may not prove a good guide to the 5th May 2011 local election (unless, possibly, there is a second general election on the same day again?).

There were still, though, two new & powerful pointers to future local elections in Levenshulme.

Firstly, the Liberal Democrats are in trouble. They can no longer assume that Labour are always going to be beaten. The electorate is changing and the local Liberal Democrats aren't. And it's not just in Levenshulme - Liberal Democrats lost Gorton South & Rusholme to Labour.

Secondly, this changing electorate has potential for the Greens, too. The Green Party percentage vote held up compared with 2008, but the number of votes doubled (from 327 to 664). This resilience in the face of the surge in votes for Liberal Democrats & Labour, and the fact that 664 local electors have voted Green, gives a strong foundation for work to build the vote for 2011.

Levenshulme may be changing to become a highly contested ward.

David Mottram, 9th May

Campaign active: blog silent

2010-04-29T16:55:00.005+01:00

The double election campaign has been underway since 6th April, and the blog suffers. If the other choice is getting leaflets out, posters up, or helping Green candidates in other places - or indeed taking the day off - then writing the blog has been neglected.

What's the update, then, on the City Council election campaign? Some practical points:

Nearly four thousand copies of the 'Green View' leaflet have been distributed across the ward since 10th April (an earlier leaflet was distributed in February & early March).
Posters are in shop windows of around 16 local businesses.
A street stall on Stockport Road has operated from 11.00am on successive Saturdays
There has been some limited sample canvassing of households.

How does it appear to be going? Some thoughts:

People are receptive to the political argument that the duopoly - always a Labour-controlled City Council, always Liberal Democrat councillors for Levenshulme - damages their interests. The need for more local political competition strikes a chord. Some electors say they are prepared to consider casting a local Green vote though they will be supporters of other parties in the parliamentary election.
Neighbours & slight acquaintances ask me how it's going, and sometimes strangers acknowledge me in the street. There is evidence of some personal support for me as a candidate with a prior history of local activism, at least in my part of the ward.
Electors I speak to don't seem to have met other candidates or other parties on the doorstep or the street. And there are fewer election posters - at least at this stage - in private houses than in previous elections. Liberal Democrat posters are surprisingly few.
My approach in conversation with electors has been to acknowledge that the existing councillors 'do the casework', but fail to lead & to campaign for Levenshulme. Several times this has evoked the response that the councillors are less effective than I say!

The local election count will be held from 1.00pm on Friday 7th May (with parliamentary election counts taking place overnight). What sort of result might be expected?

One outcome could be a significantly stronger third place for Greens, with some corresponding damage to the Liberal Democrat majority or percentage vote. Or, there may be significantly more Green votes than in 2008 (327 that year), but no increase in percentage vote because of the higher turnout of 'loyalist' voters for Liberal Democrats & Labour. Both these results assume an improved vote for the Green Party based on a modestly-resourced campaign, but no radical change in the local electoral politics of Levenshulme.

It could be better or worse than this, of course. One Liberal Democrat source suggests that we are on target to come second and to reduce the Liberal Democrat majority. But we simply cannot know the impact on the local Green vote of the 'double election' on 6th May, or any effect of the rise of Clegg & the Liberal Democrats in national opinion polls. Nor, either, though, the fact that the Liberal Democrat candidate is new and little-known...

And, by the way, can I still go away for my planned week's walking in Cornwall from 10th May if there is a Green victory in Levenshulme?

David Mottram, 29th April

Council tax, 2010-2011

2010-03-22T10:29:00.005Z

'With a new year and new decade, we face new challenges and opportunities' (About your council tax, Manchester City Council, March 2010). More purple prose from our local rulers.

Reading between the lines it transpires that council tax will provide 9% of the City Council's income for 2010-2011. Business rates - centrally raised and allocated from Whitehall - will give 20%. With 15% raised from City Council fees & charges that leaves well over half coming direct from central government.

One of the main 'challenges' - but it's not a new one - will be how to pretend to be accountable to local tax payers whilst actually dependent on the whims of central government. The Department of Communities & Local Government and Department for Children, Schools & Families decide on the City Council's income for 2010-2011, not Manchester Labour councillors. Local democracy might imply that local authorities are responsible for raising the income they spend. Not in the UK.

Public spending cuts loom, whilst City Councillors are asked to move the deck chairs around on the deck of the Titanic.

David Mottram, 22nd March

Global & local futures

2010-03-16T11:54:00.004Z

Local authority expenditure cuts are planned in Manchester & elsewhere from 2010-11 onwards. There will be very big cuts, and the poor and socially excluded - many of them non-voters - will be worst hit, because they are disproportionately dependent on local authority services. One immediate impact will be to deepen inequality & social dislocation in Manchester. So why do it?

Tories, Labour & Liberal Democrats accept the reasoning that public expenditure cuts are inevitable on the grounds that (a) the finance markets will punish the UK if there are not deep cuts and (b) they are not willing to re-think how we fund public services. But this is completely wrong. A generation ago the political challenge we face now was captured by Tony Benn (1973) in these words: 'The crisis that we inherit when we come to power must be the occasion for fundamental change, not the excuse for postponing it'. That is how we must view politics in 2010.

The people who created the global financial crisis are the richest people on the earth. They are the same people who are destroying the earth, by grotesque exploitation of - above all - African, Asian & Latin American people & environments. They do not take a long view; they use their power to seek maximum short term profit.

We live with a deep crisis of politics & morality. How can we meet this to shape a sustainable & healthy global future?

The response needs to re-assert the interest of the vast majority of the world's people in creating a more stable world economy. Greens are at the centre of this debate - powerfully so in Europe - and we need to use every political & electoral opportunity to open up the challenge to the conservatives of other parties.

At one level Green Party councillors in Manchester will need simply to work to influence local policies & budgets within the constraints of financial settlements agreed by central government. But beyond that we will need to be loud & consistent opponents of the character of twenty-first century capitalism, promoting & linking up with national & global campaigners for a more just world.

David Mottram, 16th March

Afghanistan & Pakistan crisis in our own neighbourhood

2010-02-23T18:06:00.003Z

Some of my Levenshulme neighbours originate from Pakistan, near Peshawar. They are Pukhtoon, which means that by nationality & ethnicity they are also associated with the population living in adjacent areas of Afghanistan. The experience of their extended family remaining in those border territories is that the the fighting - and the NATO militarisation of the conflict - is having a terrible impact, including forcing families to move from their homes.

We need to acknowledge that the British participation in the NATO campaign in Afghanistan is not only leading to loss of life there - of large numbers of Afghan & Pakistani civilians, as well as over 250 British service personnel - but causing great heartache here for people with close family connections to the region.

This seems to be ignored in news & commentary about 'Afghanistan'. The anxieties & personal concerns of our neighbours reflect the fact that Pukhtoons live in areas spanning the border of Afghanistan & Pakistan. The intensifying war leaves their extended families exposed to ever more threats to their lives & livelihoods. It leaves these neighbours worrying about the next news report of more civilian deaths, just as others worry about sons & daughters serving in the British forces.

'Afghanistan' is a major domestic political issue - not just a rather abstract foreign policy question - which needs to be central to the coming election campaigns. Make sure your voice is heard. This Western military intervention in south west Asia is deeply mistaken. In making the case for a change of British policy it's time to inject a serious concern for the impact on all those of our neighbours who have personal connections with the region.

David Mottram, 23rd February

easyCouncil or John Lewis Council? No thanks

2010-02-18T19:05:00.000Z

Tories talk about the 'easyCouncil' as the future for local government. Time to pay for what you use, they say. And, just like buying 'cheap' flights today, there'll be no thought for tomorrow. Presumably local services in 'low demand', or needed by people with low incomes, will be cut. Private market 'solutions' to public service needs are a disaster.

John Lewis Council? Labour's response is to talk about a mutual ownership model for council services. Oxfordshire Greens wrote to The Guardian today (18th Feb) comparing the Tories apparent conversion to co-operatives - yes, another pre-election headline - with Labour's 'mutualist' fig leaf of NHS foundation trusts on the route to privatising the NHS.

Let's get real. People want councils to provide good services. And they want to be able to vote out of office councils which fail to do that. The issues are how to organise & fund public services - what level of services & who pays what? - and a fair electoral system to make the politicians accountable. The rest is a smokescreen.

David Mottram, 18th February

Strengthening local democracy?

2010-02-15T16:40:00.001Z

The Department for Communities & Local Government is proposing to transfer more powers over local spending to local councils. Great. But of course it's not exactly from a strong starting point. Did you know that only 5% of local public spending - yes, 5% or one-twentieth - is under the control of democratically elected councillors? Funding for health, police, and schools, for instance, is run now from Whitehall.

One proposal for improving local public services is new 'local carbon frameworks', where environmental success for some councils will mean financial reward. Manchester is one of nine local authorities in the scheme, designed to help government meet climate change goals. But why not put a duty on all public services to promote long term sustainability for local communities & to move towards a low carbon economy?

The public will be given greater access to public data, allowing more scrutiny & challenges on public spending. Information is fine as a first step. But what about a real say in how local public budgets are spent, using approaches like participatory budgeting?

John Denham, Communities & Local Government Secretary for a few more weeks, apparently says that further devolution of powers to local government is one of his goals. They all say that. If he's serious about it why not give the business rate back to local councils? Why not give local authorities the right to raise a much higher proportion of their own revenue, as they choose. And, above all, what about a fair electoral system so that Manchester Labour's 40% of the local vote - if they're lucky - doesn't give them perpetual control of the City Council? Some devolution of power to the local electorate would be a good idea.

Compared to the rest of Europe our local government is weak, dominated by central government directives & funding controls. This is bad for democracy and it needs to change. But don't expect the three parties which dominate English local government to lead the campaign for change.

David Mottram, 15th February

Do you live in Levenshulme?

2010-02-07T18:00:00.000Z

Do you live on Cromwell Grove, for instance, perhaps near the library and the swimming baths? Do you think you live in Levenshulme? The people who decide the local ward boundaries don't think you do - you are in Gorton South ward.

In recent decades the boundaries of Levenshulme ward have shifted west & south. Areas in central Levenshulme have been transferred to Gorton South ward. In contrast, in the south west of Levenshulme ward now are plenty of streets with people who think of themselves as in Burnage.

It's not unreasonable as a candidate to try to want to speak to voters in the street. Maybe a street stall? Try that on a Saturday morning on Stockport Road - maybe outside the Iceland store - and there'll be a problem if you're campaigning for Levenshulme ward. Although the location is fairly geographically central to Levenshulme, lots of people you meet will live in Gorton South ward, as well as other wards.

We've ended up with political boundaries which divide our part of south Manchester into roughly equal numbers of voters, but failing to take account of local historical & geographical identities. Frustrating.

The electoral system needs to change to allow votes to really count, by introducing some sort of proportional representation. But thinking about our local government electoral system needs to include the size & boundaries of City Council wards.

David Mottram, 10th February

What's the point of the City Council?

2010-02-07T09:40:00.001Z

Until the 1960s/70s local authorities used to be powerful expressions of local democracy. They raised a high proportion of their own income through the rates, with a high degree of discretion over spending. In Manchester the rates were set relatively high by comparison with neighbouring districts & the city was well-known for providing a correspondingly higher level of services. Not any more.

After the mid-1970s successive governments decided they would exercise tight control of local authorities, initially to limit public spending. Subsequently - from the 1980s - governments acted to block councils from providing political resistance to market-orientated policies & privatisation of public services. The autonomy of councils was greatly reduced.

The quality of our local democracy has also been degraded by two other developments. Firstly, as electoral turnout has fallen - partly because the City Council finds it very difficult to convince local people about its role these days - the 'first past the post' voting system delivers secure Labour majorities on tiny votes. Councillors for North Manchester & Wythenshawe have been virtually 100% Labour for forty years; Liberal Democrats have developed their own one party territory in South Manchester since the 1980s/90s. It means the same old faces as councillors. Many of them have been there in 'safe seats' for decades.

Secondly, City Council policy decisions are now taken by the Leader of the majority party and 'executive' councillors in paid roles. Until the 1990s the Council's policies were strongly influenced by committees, with councillors' membership proportionate to the party balance in the Council Chamber. Opposition & minority party councillors had access to policy-making in committees, could make their arguments, and could try to secure cross-party support in votes on particular issues. No more. It's all done behind closed doors, by a small number of councillors from the ruling party, dominated by the Council Leader (who most of the electorate couldn't name, by the way).

Like other areas of public policy local government has become incomprehensible to many people, shrunken & distorted to meet complex and ever-changing Westminster & Whitehall priorities.

Greens support the maximum devolution of powers to local authorities and other public bodies. We will get better decisions, with the active involvement of many more local people, if people can see that their votes count, and that the council actually determines what our local public services look like. Until that happens, what's the point of the City Council?

It won't change the City Council overnight - and national legislation is needed to restore the role of local authorities - but we can elect councillors who keep raising these issues & asking the questions. Liberal Democrats & Labour don't do that. Green Party councillors will.

City Councillors should be campaigning to restore local democracy. Can you say that's true of Liberal Democrats in Levenshulme?

David Mottram, 7th February

GMITA? What?

2010-02-02T08:56:00.000Z

Apparently the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) is consulting on whether a 'new Joint Committee' should be set up 'to assume responsibility for the operational delivery of transport functions' in Greater Manchester. At the same time they are also interested in views on 'whether or not the GMPTE should become an integrated delivery body, reducing the proliferation of transport units'. Ironic, that.

Meantime, there was another 40 minute delay on trains into Piccadilly from Levenshulme during yesterday's (1st February) morning peak. You simply cannot rely on your train to come. By comparison with most of the rest of Europe our local train services are rotten. And then there are the buses...

Decent public transport is not going to depend on the current endeavours - however well-intentioned - of local politicians & officers of the Greater Manchester public transport bureaucracy. Over-complicated structures for monitoring public transport are a problem. They duplicate & confuse. But they are not the real problem.

Privatisation of the railways was wrong. Privatisation of the buses was wrong, too. They should each be in a form of public ownership. Responsibility for public transport needs to be with politicians & officers held accountable to the electorate.

Transport policies under Tories & New Labour have been a shocking failure. We are left with a shambolic local transport system dominated by private car usage & chocked roads, with unreliable, over-priced & wholly inadequate public transport. Oh, and cyclists & pedestrians barely get a look in either.

AGMA appears to think that re-jigging the committees is the answer. One feature of the privatising mania since the 1980s is that citizens end up not knowing who is responsible for anything. If you went into the streets of Levenshulme and asked electors to name the Chair of the Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority (GMITA) - what? - how many people would know that it's one of their own ward councillors, Keith Whitmore?

David Mottram, 2nd February

It's the environment, stupid..

2010-01-22T15:09:00.000Z

Ever heard of the Clean Neighbourhoods & Environment Act 2005? Nor me. Sounds a good idea. Apparently the Act gives new powers to local authorities to stop environmental crime, including waste dumping, excess noise, dog fouling, etc.

Have the City Council heard of it either? Some of Levenshulme looks a mess. And the poor street environment signals the right of businesses & individuals to degrade it further by dumping waste & causing physical damage. High profile enforcement of environmental regulations & law would help. But its not the real answer: that needs to be re-design & improvement of streets. It means planning a new balance of use of the space for pedestrians, cyclists & motor traffic, and for green space & trees. We need more people confident & positive about using local streets. Better quality & better used public space will be better looked after. Ever been to Copenhagen or Stockholm?

The abandonment of streets & other public spaces by the City Council - little investment & less interest - is another indicator of the shoddy performance of New Labour's trophy local authority. Do the City Council really think the electorate won't notice the state of the local environment, mesmerised instead by the re-development of parts of the city centre?

In Manchester - certainly Levenshulme - the Green Party must focus on environmental enforcement & improvement as a priority in local campaigning. People would expect us to. And it has the potential to win votes.

David Mottram, 22nd January

Do young people vote?

2010-01-09T17:24:00.000Z

Yes, of course they do. But disproportionately few.

An afternoon canvassing with the Hulme Green Party today, in flats with a youngish population (20s, 30s), revealed a few probable truths:

Getting hold of young voters at home at the doorstep isn't easy. They've better things to do - they're out. And that'll sometimes go for turning out on polling day, too - they won't be home from town...
When they're talking on the doorstep, evidence of very little previous engagement with electoral politics. Never met a canvasser before - as the membership of the older political parties has died - and sometimes inclined to feel uncomfortable & want to end the conversation.
A small number really pleased to see you. Great that someone is volunteering to give time to speak to them.
Usually at least neutral feelings towards the Greens, not hostility, and sometimes better.
No idea about the City Council elections (6th May).
But, if you can identify neighbourhood issues other residents have raised, they recognise the issues & and share the concerns.

The big question - how can we relate most effectively to younger voters to secure fresh interest in electoral politics? And how do we do that in a ward like Hulme, lacking a single neighbourhood shopping & service centre, and functioning as a dormitory suburb for younger city centre workers & students?

And is was bloody cold trying to do conventional door-to-door canvassing in a big freeze...

David Mottram, 9th January

Green Party votes are secular votes?

2010-01-05T11:01:00.000Z

Electorates in the UK with a high proportion of people with religious affiliations are supposed to be poorer prospects for the Greens than more secular electorates. This may be based on the negative, with affluent, graduate, secular, middle class people tending to be strong for the Greens. But why should Muslim religious affiliation be poor for the Green Party in a ward like Levenshulme?

People from South Asian backgrounds - and Muslim in many cases - are a significant proportion of the local electorate (probably approaching 20%). Two obvious factors link their interests with other local people. Firstly, they are much more likely than the Manchester average to live in private property, either buying or renting, rather than social housing. Secondly, for families with children & teenagers there is a serious shortage of local primary school places and facilities for young people. Objectively Muslims here share key interests with their non-Muslim neighbours.

Why should Muslim voters not support the Green Party if we campaign effectively on housing, planning & environmental issues, and for children & young people's services?

One answer might be that Greens are viewed as socially liberal with political positions on gender and lesbian & gay equality, for instance, seen as opposed to some Muslim teaching. But if that's the case, why is it so easy for our Liberal Democrats councillors to be elected? Isn't it more likely that local Liberal Democrats benefit simply from being incumbent councillors, building personal connections and voting loyalty by acting for Muslim 'community leaders' & business people as their constituents?

Perhaps the starting point for the Green Party is to prioritise political work around the key issues for a majority of the electorate - including many Muslim voters - but at the same time to signal concern with wider political questions likely to engage Muslim voters (e.g. Palestine solidarity) and also indicate a positive openness to address the Asian & Muslim electorate (e.g. using some Urdu text in leaflets)?

The Green Party says Fair is Worth Fighting For, and social equality & economic and environmental justice should be the right sort of campaign focus for a diverse urban electorate like Levenshulme. Let's not get hung up on Muslim religious affiliation as a potential barrier to local Green voting. It needn't be.

David Mottram, 5th January