Drive Faster; Kill People Kill Planet

"Our Roads are among the safest in Europe, so lets change them." So says Tory Transport Minister Philip Hamond, who seems to want more deaths on the Road. The speed limit on motorways could be raised from 70 to 80 Mph, making them less safe, as well as increasing emissions.

Perhaps this isn't too surprising, it was Tories who called for an end to speed cameras and cuts to health and safety. Monbiot analyses it here, "Tory Boy racers".

The government has admitted that its proposal to increase the speed limit on motorways to 80mph would lead to more pollution and increase the risk of road deaths.

Ben Stewart of Greenpeace sais: "The more we learn about the new speeding rules, the worse it looks. This was meant to be the decade we finally made the big push to get off oil, instead we have a government driving hell for leather in the wrong direction."

Sian Berry, from the Campaign for Better Transport, agreed the DfT underestimated the impact: "In practice, real fuel consumption will increase much faster than the DfT traffic models predict, so carbon emissions will be higher." Previous research has shown that a medium-sized petrol car increases its emissions by 15% when going from 70mph to 80mph, while diesel cars with engines of more than two litres increase their emissions by 25%.

Meanwhile Keith Taylor, the Green MEP for South East England has welcomed today’s decision by the European Parliament to support 20mph speed limits in urban areas. The measure was part of a report, adopted by the parliament, which aims to improve road safety across the EU.

Decades ago in the USA high fuel prices cased a maximum speed limit of 55 mph. We should be looking at reducing the speed limit today to reduce emissions and increase safety. Here is a campaign to go back to 55 mph.

R.I.P. Wangari Maathai, Nobel Prize Winner and Kenyan Green Party Founder

This week, the world mourned the sudden death of Nobel Peace Prize winner and conservationist Wangari Maathai, who was undoubtedly one of the Worlds true heroines.

She fearlessly stood up to the government and individuals whose actions were a threat to the environment. She founded the Green Belt Movement, an inspirational tree planting initiative. She became increasingly critical of worldwide governance, falling-out with politicians in Kenya, felt deep disillusionment with the World Bank, the IMF, Britain and other former colonial powers. Increasingly she sided with the world's poorest people, becoming a hero of the worldwide ecological and African democracy movements.

She set up Mazingira, the Kenyan Green Party, winning 98% of the votes in her constituency, and then joined the coalition that finally overthrew Moi in 2002. She was a junior environment minister in the government of President Mwai Kibaki between January 2003 and November 2005.

In the virtual world, her life was celebrated in more than 3,000 online news articles, several hundred obituaries and countless tweets on the social media website, Twitter.

Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete said: “Rest in peace Dr Wangari Maathai. A great woman, an inspiration for many women across Africa, a magnificent visionary & embodiment of courage.”

Hilary Clinton, US Secretary of State said: “Wangari Maathai understood the deep connection between local and global problems, and helped give ordinary citizens a voice.”

Muhammad Yunus, the founder of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh and a Nobel Laureate, put it simply, saying, “Let us all plant a tree to honour Maathai”.

While His Holiness the Dalai Lama offered sombre condolences to the family of his fellow Nobel Laureate.

Former South African President Nelson Mandela chose to upload a few photos of Prof Maathai at the third Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture on his Facebook page.

A Solar Roof For All Saints, Wokingham: Guest Blog

Here in Wokingham we could be only weeks away from having our own solar panel array, if all goes according to plan.

Will you help realise the dream of using the huge roof of The Cornerstone community centre to generate cost-free and clean electricity and bring in vital Government funding which can be used for local community projects?

How to support
Simply by signing up at the Energyshare website you can increase our chances of getting funding for the project. The more signed-up supporters the scheme gets the greater our chance of success. To become a supporter sign up at:

www.energyshare.com/all-saints-wokingham

Click “Support this Group” and then click "sign up" and follow the instructions. The system will send you a verification email with a link to click through. Once you have clicked through you are shown as a supporter. Please ask your friends, family and colleagues to sign up too! It only takes a few minutes, and each supporter makes a difference. Applications close on the 30th September 2011, but we have a real chance of success.

Read more
As well as generating thousands of pounds in Government pay-outs every year for the next 25 years for local projects, an array of photovoltaic panels will cut the Cornerstone's annual electricity bill in half, reducing pressure on hire charges for all in the community who need to use the building

Another aim of the project is to champion solar energy in the town so other local community buildings will follow.

Technical feasibility has been confirmed by the original architects' team of the 7 year-old Cornerstone building. It has the green light from the professionals and the benefit of their expert guidance on exact numbers and positioning of the solar panels.

Now planning permission from Wokingham Borough Council is being applied for.

Funding needs to be found. Local community support is vital to success in the scheme's application to Energyshare - a national fund founded by River Cottage and British Gas to support inspiring, community-led renewable energy projects which will create real change.

The scheme has almost 400 signed -up supporters at present and on that basis has already made it on to the shortlist of 100 projects in the country being considered by Energyshare for funding. To make it into the final shortlist it needs many many more supporters– thousands rather than hundreds would be good!

The Cornerstone is a community centre owned by All Saints Church Wokingham and run with and for our local community. Its mission is to enrich the lives of the people of Wokingham and deepen our spirit of community.

All Saints Church is a double holder of the Churches Together in Britain and Ireland Ecocongregation award, dedicated to caring for creation and reducing its carbon footprint.

To become a supporter sign up at
www.energyshare.com/all-saints-wokingham
Click “Support this Group” and follow the instructions

THANK YOU!

Your support can bring benefits to Wokingham for the next quarter-century and help save many communities worldwide from the worst effects of climate change.

Tom Clancy Predicted 9/11

After 9/11 there were many conspiracy theories. I don't recall any mention if this book however.

Its chilling to read about a plane deliberately crashed into Washington DC killing hundreds including most of the senate and the president. Its a Japanese pilot in this case but the book is about an Iranian plot to take over Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi. Theres a muslim agent in the secret service, and others spreading the ebola virus around the states; hoping to destabilise the USA.

Tom Clancy's, 1994 novel 'Debt of Honor' has a jumbo jet being crashed intentionally into Capitol Hill, killing most of the top functionaries in U.S. government. The follow up novel 'Executive Orders' (1996) starts just after this crash.

I suppose there are so many disasters predicted in novels and film it may be just a coincidence; but I think Clancy should get some credit. Of course its also possible that he gave the idea to terrorists. Interesting that he chose the Capitol building for the plane to crash into, I'm still not sure why the World Trade Centre was seen as such an important target.

Save The Children

Sign up to Save the Children petition.

In 2010, they helped 3 million children through our work, ran world-class programmes to save children's lives and challenge world leaders to keep to the promises they've made to give children a brighter future.

In the UK we're campaigning so that no child is born without a chance. As part of this campaign we're calling on the Chancellor to make childcare support for struggling families in the UK more affordable. Affordable childcare is crucial so parents can earn enough to give their children the best start in life.

You can learn more about this campaign on our website. In the meantime if you are interested in campaigning in your local area or would like more information on the campaign please email us at campaigns@savethechildren.org.uk.

Farm Shops

Its always interesting to find some new farm shops, so today for the first time a link to John Howarths blog as he has links to some I hadnt known about.

Here is my own post about farm shops from some time ago.

He starts with Wellington farm shop, in my view overpriced. Theres another one nearby (2 miles) but it seems little known The Organic Farm Shop, Holdshott Farm, Reading Road, Heckfield, Hook, Hampshire RG27 0JZ, 0118 932 6650

He then lists:
crazybear Stadhampton, Oxfordshire
fielders farm shop Theale
vicars game Ashampstead RG8 8SJ
Grays Farm and pick your own farm, Wokingham RG40 3AN

Sustainable Shower Wins Prize

A British entrepreneur’s award-winning shower that could save 5.3 million tonnes of CO2 annually will soon be available to consumers. Guest blog about a green innovation.

Brit entrepreneur Nick Christy was announced as the winner of a global green challenge, championed in the UK by People's Postcode Lottery.

Nick and his team have secured £435,000 from the Postcode Lottery Green Challenge to bring his sustainable shower to market. His winning entry, the Water Recycling Shower, reduces water usage and energy costs by an impressive 70%.

The Postcode Lottery Green Challenge jury were impressed by Nick’s effective and innovative invention, his solid business plan, and the ease with which the shower could become a common feature in all households. On his win, the 40 year old declared “It’s fantastic. The prize money puts my team and me in a position to devote ourselves full-time to getting this shower on the market.”

“If we were to achieve even just a 1% market share in Europe, USA and Australia, 5.3 million tons of CO2 and 211,574 gigalitres of water could be saved annually. This could have an enormous positive impact on the environment.”



The shower’s special design means it reduces water and power consumption without reducing water flow at the showerhead so it does not forfeit the showering experience for its green credentials. The shower design is completely hygienic. The ‘recycled’ water is filtered and heat pasteurised as it is heated for use.



Now in its fifth year, the Postcode Lottery Green Challenge encourages people to think creatively about fighting climate change. Previous winning British ideas include a flat roof turbine, designed by Yorkshire man Dean Gregory of The Power Collective.

Dale Farm Eviction

what a shame that the Dale Farm communuty is to be broken up by Basildon council. The residents owm the land but dont have plamming permissiom for all of it.

A shame that it could not be settled by negotiations but rather what many are describing as a battle. there are better ways to do things. People may get hurt and lots of money has been wasted.

Update
Activists have aparently been building brick walls as barriers.

Shut Down DSEi

Green Party MP Caroline Lucas hasfound cluster munitions openly being promoted at the Defence System and Equipment International Exhibition (DSEi) being held in London, in breach of UK law.

Caroline Lucas said, “ I’m shocked that the British Government seems unable or unwilling to police arms sales happening here on its own soil. This is the second breach this week of the UK export control act 2002, and who knows how many others are happening.

Since the government has demonstrated that it is unable to control arms sales in this country, this exhibition should be shut down.”

New Threat Bath Road Reservoir Reading

Message from the campaign to save the Bath Road Reservoir. I have supported them since this blog in 2007. Despite the sucess in January the developers are back again with another proposal.

Thames Water has partnered Bewley Homes and will be submitting a new detailed planning application for the Bath Road Reservoir site in the very near future. In case they have failed to contact you – Thames Water are holding a public consultation about their new plans on Sat 24th Sept, in Downshire Square Church Hall, from 2 – 6pm.

We URGE you to attend this consultation tomake your views known– after losing at the 2010 Public Inquiry; they will have revised this planning application, so there is a greater likelihood of it being accepted.

Whilst the Localism Agenda proposes to give communities a stronger voice, Reading Borough Council cannot reject planning applications simply on overwhelming public opposition; there must also be legitimate planning reasons. The outcome of the Public Inquiry meant some previous objection reasons will not carry weight (e.g. biodiversity, traffic and parking); so future objections will need to focus around issues such as it’s appropriateness in respect to the nature and character of the local area (density, building heights, materials etc), and potential damage to the
setting of the Water Tower and historic environment.

Attending the consultation will allow you to voice any opposition and concerns about aspects of their proposal – e.g. their insistence on keeping 2.5 and 3-storey buildings despite previous recommendations of a maximum of 2-storeys; the proposed numbers and density; the height of the building platform and the buildings themselves; the lack of community amenities; the demolition process – prior to any building, the site would be flattened and concrete broken up (meaning about 2 years of noise 9-5, with all the dust, noise, dirt on the roads, vibration (potentially
increasing the risks of subsidence problem).

We strongly urge you to attend and have your say in your future and that of the area; but to also not be seduced by their glossy presentation – these proposals will have huge impacts. Express your objections to the unsatisfactory parts of the plans (e.g. 2.5 and 3 storey buildings, heights, density, building platform heights, lack of amenities) and express to TW the sort of ‘conditions’ we would want in place to minimise the impact, were it to go through – these could include restricting demolition work on weekends, effective air quality and noise monitoring,
damping down demolished concrete to reduce dust spread, noise limitations,
breaking up the concrete off site, restrictions on vehicle sizes etc.

On this day we also hold our annual ‘street party’ with attractions for both children and adults, BBQs, music etc - beginning at midday. We will host hourly walks from Western Road round the corner to TW’s consultation in Downshire Square - starting 2pm at the north end of Western Road - to ensure that everyone is able to attend TW’s consultation. We invite you to join us, not only in attending this consultation but also to the street party - we will thank everyone who attends the consultation and comments with a glass of punch and an invite to the street party!

If you have any questions please telephone either:
Graham on 07808 143649
or Mel on 07866 500854
www.savethebathroadreservoir.co.uk

Ten Years On From 9/11

I'v been listening to people reflecting on the events on ten years ago. One thing that surprises me is how few see the oppertunity lost.

The world was in such shock after the attack, the USA could have got most anything it wanted. Instead of launcing an intelligence gathering excercize on Al Quada, with a view to making the world a better place, healing the woulds that divide us, they launched a 'wat on terror'.

It started with bombing Afghanistan, followed by Iraq. Rather than make the world safer they put everyone in danger. They promised to keep our values but the rule of law seems damaged, perhaps irrepairably. Where is presumption of innocence, proper trials, freedom of expression and protest. Now the authorities are linked to torture and Guantanamo, despite many promises, is still open.

They even made Al Quada seem far more powerful than they were, instead of a small group they were made to seem to represent all muslims! To many people today the word muslim is unfortunately still linked to terrorist. This never hapened with catholics during the troubles, for this I blame Bush and Blair.

Even today do people have any idea what motivated the terrorists? According to an article by Jason Burke:

Bin Laden made his own agenda clear in a series of public statements. The Islamic world was under attack from a belligerent West set on the domination and humiliation of Muslims, he said, and it was every believer's religious duty to fight back. It was not a case of 'hating freedom', he claimed, but of desiring freedom from supposed American-led oppression. He repeatedly listed the various parts of the world - Palestine, Kashmir, Chechnya, Afghanistan and, latterly, Iraq - where he felt Muslims were oppressed.

Bin Laden's attacks aimed to radicalise and mobilise the Islamic world. The purpose of holing American warships or destroying the Twin Towers was primarily to scare or damage America, but was also intended to inspire those in the Muslim world who had hitherto rejected his extremist message. Bin Laden realised that many were pleased to see the US wounded and humiliated and went to great lengths to ensure that only targets that would be widely regarded as legitimate were hit. Suicide bombers were an integral part of this strategy, supposedly demonstrating the power and righteousness of their cause by their own self-sacrifice.

He doesnt seem to mention the US troops stationed in Saudi Arabia. Aparently almost all those troops left Saudi in 2003.

Then there is the USA support for Israel, about which much has been written already.

I recall some descussion of uniting the Muslim world, a Caliphate Khilafah). The Arab spring will have changed this posibilities, but I have heard little discussion on this.

UK Housing Shame

Housing conditions in Britain are among the worst in Western Europe and cost the nation about £7bn a year by adding to the pressure on the NHS and other public services, says a major study.

An alliance of housing experts warns that a lack of affordable, decent homes, cuts to local authority housing budgets and the Coalition Government's benefit 'reforms' (cutbacks) are creating "real hardship, misery and ill-health" for some of the country's most vulnerable people.

Almost 4,000 people are sleeping rough on London's streets, an increase of 8 per cent since last year. About half of these are from the UK and the rest from a wide variety of other countries, notably Poland.

Many Libdems campaign on housing issues so this is an issue that may deepen unhapiness within the coalition. At some point the Libdems will notice that they are propping up a government that has not delivered on any progressive promises.

The excuse they gave a year ago was that they could manage the economy, they have not delivered even on that promise. The Libdem conference is soon, lets see how they respond.

Update: Camerons answer, build more houses on marginal land, change planning laws to favour developers. Meanwhile the rich can have as many homes as they like. It just seems so wrong to me that some people have two homes while others are homeless.

Green New Deal Email Your MP For 1010

Dear MP,

Good housing - living in a warm home shouldn't be a luxury.
Rocketing fuel prices - letting heat escape through our draughty doors and leaky windows is literally throwing money away.
Our inefficient houses are bad news for the climate too – did you know three-quarters of the energy we use in our homes is for heating?
The only way to effectively tackle the rise of fuel poverty is with a major programme of energy efficiency, retrofitting all properties to basic minimum standards

Yours sincerely,

Adrian Windisch
This email was sent via 10:10. http://www.1010uk.org


No-one likes seeing their hard-earned cash disappearing through the roof, walls and windows, but that's the reality for millions of us who live in draughty, underinsulated houses and can't afford to do them up this winter.

Now we have an opportunity to fix this. The government claims to be working on a new policy to provide loans to cover the cost of energy-saving home improvements. Repayments are linked to, and automatically deducted from, the money you save on fuel bills.

But as always, the devil's in the detail. With just days till MPs debate this for the last time, there are some big problems with the deal as it stands.

This could be the most important bit of practical climate legislation for years. It's crucial that our MPs get this right, so let's make sure they know it!

Click here to email your MP now

Climate minister Chris Huhne has said the Green Deal will bring a 'once-and-for-all refit' of Britain's homes, making sure your street is 'ready for a low-carbon future'. There are three big things that need to change if that's going to happen:
Cheaper: Green Deal loans could have interest rates as high as 10%. If they want to offer a proper alternative to a bog-standard bank loan, they'll need to bring this right down.
Quicker: As things currently stand, landlords with the leakiest houses won't have to fix them until 2018. That's 680,000 households potentially facing six more long cold winters. We can do better.
More attractive: If the government really wants people to take this up, they need to make it as attractive as possible. Think council tax rebates, cuts in stamp duty and mandatory efficiency reporting on sale properties.

Time is tight, but if we all email our MPs this week we can push this issue right to the top of their agenda and make sure these problems get fixed.

Since the beginning, 10:10 has been about cutting our own emissions, while using our combined weight to push for policies that make it easier to do the right thing. If we can get MPs to fix the Green Deal in parliament, we'll have helped tackle one of the biggest obstacles to low-carbon living in this country.

Daniel Vockins
10:10 campaign manager

A Wind Of Change

Since 18 December 2010 there have been a wave of revolutions:
Jasmine in Tunisia with President Ben Ali going into exile after 24 years in charge,
and Egypt with President Mubarak on trial after 30 years;
a civil war in Libya resulting in the fall of the regime there after 42 years;
civil uprisings in Bahrain pearl revolution,
Syria ending its 47 years of emergency rule,
and Yemen after a 30 year rule from President Saleh.

I cant recall a wave of change like this since 1989 when Poland, Hungary, East Germany, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia and Romania left Soviet influence.

Clashes at many other areas including the borders of Israel show the Arab Spring is not over yet.

Some have predicted 2012 is the year of great changes, its easy to scoff but no-one predicted what has happened in 2011. Or that the world financial crisis would happen in 2008. I'm not sure Boris getting to run the London Olympics is quite the disaster that was predicted.

A more sustainable world is what is needed, and that means planning for future generations, not using all our scarce resources on ourselves. Climate change and peak oil are coming soon, the effects are being felt now. That means extreme weather and rising fuel prices. I expect the poorest will go hungry and those on marginal land, low lying or at the edge of deserts will have problems.

The Tories promised us the greenest government ever, but have not delivered. Some Tory MPs are saying climate change is not happening, only two seem to be making any sense. Local MP John Redwood looks out the window and sees a cold summer, ignoring the 'warmest British spring in 100 years followed one of the coldest UK winters in 300 years.'

Action is needed now, not excuses or red herrings. Let the wind of change blow across UK politics.

September Berkshire Blog Rankings

This is a just as a matter of interest list, not to be taken too seriously. The way they are ranked is controversial, and I have only included the blogs that are in some way related to Berkshire and politics. Suggestions for new ones appreciated, but I don't know how frequently I will do this.

1, = 126 John Redwoods Diary
2, +3 264 babyrambles
3, -1 270 Mark Rekons
4, = 336 Liberal Burblings
5, -2 513 Another Green World Derek Wall
6, +1 911 left outside
7, -1 940 Cartoon Blog
8, +2 1175 Gareth Epps
9, -1 1203 Cllr Richard Willis
10, -1 1537 green reading - Adrian Windisch
11, +2 1798 Redlands Libdems
12, = 1809 Cllr Warren Swaine
13, +1 2007 Cllr Rachel Eden
14, +4 2024 Duncan Bruce
15, +1 2183 Mr London Street
16, -5 2338 Jane is the one
17, -2 2580 Rob White - Bloggy Blanc
18, -1 2743 Tony Jones
19, = 3060 Green Construction Uk
20, = 3231 Reading List
21, = 4916 Cllr Prue Bray
22, = 4391 Adrian Holister
23, = 4885 Cllr Ricky Duveen
24, = 4897 Gideon Mack - Orangutan
25, = 4987 Greening St. Johns

For August see here

Help stop the planning free-for-all FoE, Woodland Trust, National Trust, CPRE

Join environmentalists including Friends of the Earth who call for planning rules that take protecting our natural environment and sustainable development seriously.

The Government claims that the existing rules don't work because developers need a free reign to "build what they like, where they like, when they like." Mr Osborne and Mr Pickles said sticking with the "complicated" current system "puts at risk young people's future prosperity and quality of life"

But its proposed changes could derail the planning of new green industries and decent affordable homes - and push through short-sighted developments like supermarkets and incinerators.

We could also lose local parks, shops and allotments - and our right to a say in our communities. Some forests could be stripped of protection under planning reforms being considered by the Government, the Woodland Trust has warned.

National Trust warns planning changes could tear up countryside. London's green belt could be sacrificed to Los Angeles-style urban sprawl in the name of economic growth under sweeping reforms to the planning system unveiled by the government this week, the National Trust has warned. The 3.6 million-member organisation voiced "grave concerns" on Tuesday over government proposals to slash 1,000 pages of planning policy to just 52 pages in a move that has won the ringing endorsement of property developers.


Shaun Spiers, chief executive of the Campaign to Protect Rural England Chief Executive, said: "The Treasury's ill-informed intervention in the planning debate reinforces the sense that the government's planning reforms are more about boosting short term growth figures than about truly sustainable development."

Climate Change Australia Carbon Tax Petition

427,000 people have signed the petition organised by Avaaz. See their email below.

Right now, a major climate fight is blowing up in Australia; the government is about to pass a law that would cut carbon emissions and get polluters to pay. But big businesses, backed by Rupert Murdoch, are trying to kill the bill.

This carbon pricing law is a win-win measure -- it will push dirty businesses towards clean production and generate more resources for working families. If it passes, it will spur other major emitters to follow suit and could be the next best hope for our climate. But Murdoch's megaphone of fear is massive; he owns seventy percent of Australia's press. If together we can drown out his campaign to crush the bill with messages of hope from across the world, we could help it pass.

This battle is being fought on the Australian air waves now. Sign the urgent petition to back this bold initiative and share it with everyone.

We are all under threat from climate change -- including the droughts and storms that cause forest fires, floods and failed harvests. Australia’s proposal would start to shift its economy to halt it. The measure would make polluting companies pay, encouraging them to become more efficient while funding technologies of the future and increasing support to the most needy. Yet Murdoch -- who has a long history of supporting climate denial -- has joined with mining companies to spread wild predictions of job losses and economic doom.

Countries like Denmark, Sweden and Costa Rica have already introduced carbon-pricing, spurring innovation and reducing pollution. If we now embolden Australia -- the worst rich country per person carbon polluter -- to follow their lead, it will generate momentum for other major emitters such as China and the US to follow suit, boosting our chances of a global climate deal next year.

Avaaz members across the world have been strong campaigners on climate change -- our actions together have often influenced governments and companies. Right now, Australia’s people and political leaders need our support to face down the profiteers and renew our hope in climate solutions. Let’s remind our Australian friends that they're not alone in this crucial climate fight:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/australian_carbon_price/?vl

Politicians and businesses often think short-term, when long-term action is needed. When our people-powered movement counters these tendencies and proposes a clear vision of the future we want, we bring out the best in our leaders. Let’s shore up Australia’s resolve, then approach other governments until we achieve the global climate deal the world needs.

With hope,
The Avaaz team.


MORE INFORMATION

Australia plans to impose carbon tax on worst polluters (BBC)

Australia plans to put a 'carbon price' on industrial emissions (CNN)

Australia overtakes U.S. in per capita carbon emissions (Bloomberg)

David Cameron supports Australian carbon tax (The Telegraph)

Political will, public doubts on Australia climate policy (The Economist)

Murdoch media attacks carbon tax proposals (Independent Australia)

Road To Corruption

As usual, all Reading councillors have been offered two free tickets worth £360 for Reading Festival, but Green councillor Rob White says this practice must end. It may start small but coruption is coruption, Cllrs start looking for freebies to 'help' them make descions; where does it end.

Newly reinstated LibDem Cllr Warreb Swaine attempts to defend grabbing the free tickets by suggesting he needs to 'monitor the festival' from inside, clearly getting to listen to some of the UKs top bands almost for free has nothing to do with it. Its this expectation of priveledge that offended people about politicians over the recent expenses scandal. They think different rules apply to them, but they are wrong.

Festival organisers say councillors who claimed weekend tickets, worth over £180 each, had to donate £30 to charity.

Apparently some directors of Reading Buses get free bus passes.

Cllrs are said to get to park their cars in the centre of town for free, most will only use this as a way to get to council meetings, which would be fair enough. One Cllr left his car in this car park for months, thats the slippery slope of coruption.

Maiden Erlegh's Catchment Area Decision

Speaking after hearing that the Secretary of State has finally come to a decision over changes to Maiden Erlegh's catchment area.

Green Park Ward councillor Rob White said: "it is great news that the Secretary of State has rubberstamped the adjudicator's recommendation that radial distance should be used for the tie-breaker. This is wonderful news for people in Reading who live close to the school who were being discriminated against and unfairly excluded by Wokingham Council. "Well done to everyone from the Parents' Campaign and the wider community who has worked so hard to make this happen. "However, in the medium term we need a new secondary school in East Reading. Unfortunately we are still waiting to hear back on that one."

More fair for Wokingham residents who live near the school also.

Wokingham Council.">Wokingham Borough Council confirmed that it was disappointed with the outcome of the Office of the Schools Adjudicator (OSA)’s review of admissions arrangements at Maiden Erlegh School, in particular that proposed tie-breaker arrangements had been rejected.

Maiden Erlegh School's chairman of governors Huw Jones said: "Maiden Erlegh School adopted Wokingham Borough Council's admission arrangements which were determined by the council on March 31, 2011 when the school became an academy on April 1, 2011. The schools' adjudicator acknowledges that the school acted reasonably in doing this. "Now that Maiden Erlegh is responsible for setting its own admission arrangements it will, of course, accept the Secretary of State's direction to amend the ‘tie-breaker’ arrangement to one of simple radial distance and will include this in the school's published admission arrangements. "The governing body is currently looking at future admission arrangements."

Previous posts on this.