Blackpool by the sea

I am off tomorrow morning to Green Party conference in Blackpool. There I will be proposing a radical and progressive motion on migration policy, which will bring us into line with our fellow Green parties across Europe in time for the European elections on June 4th.

I will also be chairing a fringe on Friday night organised by the LGBT Group on 'Homophobia in Eastern Europe' with Aleksandra Krestowska from the Polish Greens speaking. On Saturday I will chair one of the two Green Left fringes, this one being on NATO Expansion to the East with Andrew Murray of Stop the War Coalition. There will be another Green Left fringe on economics with Sean Thompson and other speakers. I will also attend the AGM of the Green Party Trade Union Group, where I am standing for re-election as Treasurer. I also intend to vote for important amendments to the Green New Deal economics policy, which include provisions for returning large scale energy production to state control and for a 'Just Transition' policy for workers made redundant in decaying industries, which would ensure that they are re-employed in new green sustainable production. This is a policy advocated by the TUC and many European trade unions.

I will also be chairing a fringe meeting on Sunday night on 'Democratisation in the NHS' with my good friend and famous health activist, Malcolm Alexander, Chair of the National Association of LINks Members. Malcolm will be speaking about empowering patients and communities in running the NHS.

Along the way, I will do a fair amount of networking and attend several other meetings which may add to my overall knowledge of things political, environmental, social and economic. I gather that several Greens from Scotland will be attending, including Patrick Harvie, one of the Green Members of the Scottish Parliament, who has acquired quite a reputation in Scotland recently for holding the SNP government to account.

Anyway, all in all I am sure that it will be a positive experience and will also see the launch of our European election campaign. Only a little over two months left to go now until Euro day on June 4th. I may not be blogging from the conference but if not will return to the blogosphere on Monday, all being well.