Kirkburton Parish Council - Helping give young people a voice

At the last Parish Council Elections one of the issues we raised as something we would wanted to progress was to give a greater focus on services for young people. The Parish Council has been fortunate to have such good champions as Cllrs Suzanne Triggs and Ian Lumb who have worked closely with young people around the Parish helping them gain the confidence to successfully argue for a new Skateboard Park facilities in Skelmanthorpe and to seek a Youth Shelter in Shelley.  Talking to the young people you can see it has been a very positive and literally empowering experience for them and they should be very proud of what they have achieved. We've got to see how we can build on this success.

Kings Bridge lights – Pedestrian crossing to be added

 Cllrs Julie Stewart-Turner, Andrew Cooper & Green Candidate Karen Allison at the Kings Bridge junction

A new crossing is to be added at a busy junction for pedestrians. The pedestrian crossing will be at the junction of Damside Road and Kings Mill Road where it meets the end of Newsome Road just before Kings Bridge. The route is a well used route by locals and students making their way into Huddersfield Town Centre. The works will commence in May and take around 4 weeks but the route through Newsome Road over the bridge into the Town Centre will be open with the 2 adjoining roads closed off as work take place.

Councillor Andrew Cooper said,

“We have been asking for a safe crossing here for some time and are pleased to let people know that pedestrian facilities are finally to be installed at Kings Bridge. This is a busy route between Newsome and the Town Centre where people literally take their life in their hands crossing this busy road. The works should be complete by the beginning of June.”

Andrew Cooper - Speech to Sheffield Green Party Election Launch

Caroline Lucas MP endorses Andrew Cooper for 2014 European Elections

Talking Palestine, Israel & the EU with Imran Safdar

Andrew Cooper talks to Imran Safdar on Palestine, the European Union and Peace from Edgar Holroyd-Doveton on Vimeo.

Kirklees Local TV Appearance - 14/3/14

I made it on to video channel Kirklees Local TV this week and quite a treat to share the interview with Tom Hirst, Tory Mirfield Town Councillor who seems to be on the libertarian wing of the Tory Party. He's not a big fan of equality laws and would rather we just managed to do the right thing without them. It doesn't take a genius to work out the pretty dire state we would be without the protection from unscrupulous employers that equality laws have provided.

The portion of the interview that took me by surprise was that a woman in one part of the world has apparently married a dog. I just took this to be a dubious and bizarre skateboarding duck type story and treated it accordingly. Tom however saw this as a seriously moral issue and cited the Bible. I did wonder whether there was a negative subtext from Tom here about recent changes in the law allowing gay marraige. I hope not. He really needs to lighten up a bit.

Overall I enjoyed the experience despite feeling a bit ropey but more opportunity for debate between different viewpoints would make these interviews more interesting to potential viewers.

Greens welcome EU move to cut clutter with single charger for mobilephones - Meanwhile UKIP charge in wrong direction!

Andrew Cooper with a multitude of different phone chargers

The regional Green Party has welcomed a decision passed overwhelmingly by the European Parliament to require all new mobile phones sold in Europe to have a single, compatible charger by 2017 (1). The regulations are designed to cut clutter and protect consumers from the cost of having to buy product-specific chargers if they lose their existing one.

Yorkshire and the Humber Green Party’s Andrew Cooper said,

"What a great idea! I hate having to look for the right charger and fish through different sets of wires for that special socket. Mobile phone companies have had people over a barrel on chargers for years, demanding often exorbitant prices for replacements. They add to the ever growing clutter of redundant plastic and metal waste which ends up in landfill or worse, dumped in the environment harming wildlife."

UKIP have opposed the move claiming that it will harm creativity, but Cllr Cooper, the Greens’ lead Euro candidate in May’s elections, disagreed.

"How will having a single socket harm creativity?" he asked. "We don’t need separate adaptors for TV sets or washing machines, so what's different about mobile phones?

“UKIP are charging completely in the wrong direction! If anything, I hope the EU will extend the ruling to cover MP3 players, cameras and all the electronic gadgets that are increasingly basic parts of day to day life."

The European Parliament decision follows a previous ruling to reduce data roaming charges imposed by mobile phone companies on consumers travelling across Europe.

"This is simple regulation which works. It shows the power of the Parliament to act for the benefit of ordinary people," Cllr Cooper added. "But we need to elect more MEPs who are committed to consumer protection. Greens consistently put people before profit."

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