Thursday, December 17, 2020
The Future Potential For A Green Deal
There are technical problems in running this site and the paragraphs have had to be separated via sets of dots..............................................................
On Sunday the Dronfield Labour Party Discussion Group held a talk and debate via Zoom. The following is a report of the event by Rosie Smith, the Group's Secretary.....................
The speaker was Dr Jonathan Perraton from the University of Sheffield Economic's Department, who addressed us on the future potential for a Green New Deal. He gave a comprehensive overview of challenges involved in carbon reduction............................
He told the meeting that it is unlikely that the UK will meet its carbon reduction targets for 2050. There have been reductions in carbon emissions to date, but a lot of low-hanging fruit, easy ways to reduce carbon emissions have been done now. The projected reductions will soon level out, and will not fall sufficiently by 2050 without more radical action.......................................................................................
He proposed reinvestment in green infrastructure projects and jobs creation. he noted that Labour's Green New Deal and the similar GND in America both emphasised the creation of high skilled green jobs. He noted as an economist that investment in infrastructure and jobs brought benefits to the government and GDP as people pay taxes on their wages and spend their wages in the economy..................................................................
He noted that government has significant capacity for borrowing. Current interest rates are incredibly low and government borrowing at this level will become comparatively smaller over time as GDP increases (even at current low rates of increase in GDP). In addition to this, borrowing from UK financial sector carries little risk, as the British State will 'exist forever' and therefore lenders need not worry about default. He also advocated for quantitative easing because the state then only owes money to itself......................................................................................
He noted that the coronavirus crisis has shown that states can act in an emergency. They have been shown to place a lot more value on human lives that the financial markets would have predicted (even in the UK with its abysmal death toll)..................................
In the discussion John Halstead asked an economic question about government borrowing.
Whilst Martin Lawton argued that borrowing is not necessarily needed - money from the defence budget could be reallocated to Green policies. This point was widely supported by the meeting..................................................................................
Roland Lovatt and myself asked about nuclear power. I was very surprised to see a commitment to nuclear power in the 2019 Labour manifesto. Both Corbyn and myself are members of CND and I was alarmed that this had made it into the manifesto. The speaker said that he wasn't in favour of nuclear power but thought it was probably inevitable that it would be used to provide green energy in the short term. He did say that improvements in battery capacity and wind and solar power becoming cheaper may provide an alternative in the future.......................................................................................
We had a good discussion where other points were pursued.
Monday, June 8, 2020
Zoom In - On Political Education
"Political Education Together" Seminar on ZOOM
Wednesday 17th June 2.30 to 4pm
We're going to continue what we started via meetings in Durham, Sheffield and Birmingham on ZOOM.
- Join with us in putting on this Seminar.Are you free? Are other RWF people free?It will be about establishing what is needed with regard to political education,clarifying good practice, learning from each other and building for the future.It would be great if RWF could contribute. Are there other people you would
want to invite? I'm going asking various partners to outline the key questions
they think the Seminar should begin to answer.What are your key questions?BestKeith Venables
Monday, March 2, 2020
March Discussion Meeting
Dronfield Labour Discussion Meeting
Topic: Neoliberalism and Education
Speaker: Hilary Povey
Time: 8pm to 9.15pm
Date: Sunday 8th March
Venue: Contact Club, Snape Hill Lane, Dronfield, S18 2GJ.
Hilary
Povey will address us on Neoliberalism and Education. She is Emertius
Professor in Mathematics Education at Sheffield Hallam University. She
previously worked as a maths teacher for the Inner London Education
Authority. She is interested in social justice issues in education and
the role of historical awareness in combatting neoliberalism. She
is an active member of Broomhill and Sharrow Vale Branch Labour Party
and campaigned in North East Derbyshire, Sheffield Hallam and Putney
constituencies in the recent general election.
Info on future meetings
The
next two discussion meetings will focus on green issues. In April we
will be addressed by Jonathan Perraton, Lecturer in Economics at the
University of
Sheffield on Labour's Green New Deal policy and the following month we
will discuss new clean and green engergy to heat our homes, power our
cars and reduce carbon emmissions.
Hope to see you all on Sunday,
Rosie Smith
Dronfield Labour Party Political Education Officer
Monday, February 3, 2020
February Discussion Meeting
There is a discussion meeting scheduled for Sunday 9th February at 8pm in Dronfield Contact Club. See details below.
Dronfield Labour Discussion Meeting
Topic: Social Housing in the UK and the Netherlands - is a cooperative model the way forward for UK social housing?
Speaker: Rosie Smith
Time: 8pm to 9.15pm
Date: Sunday 8th February
Venue: Contact Club, Snape Hill Lane, Dronfield, S18 2GJ.
Social
Housing in the UK has been under threat for several decades. What was
once a mass social programme aimed at providing adequate housing for the
general population, has been reduced to an under-funded, part
privatised model of housing welfare that is accessible only by the most
vulnerable - and yet many are still falling through the cracks.
The
Netherlands' social housing model is delivered in an entirely different
way to social housing in the UK. Tenants associations provide low cost
housing that is accessible to a large proportion of the population.
Residents are shareholders in the tenants association and have a say in
rent setting, and upkeep and improvements to the housing
block/estate/street.
Discussion questions:
1.
What are the pros and cons of state owned and administered social
housing versus autonomous, tenant run social housing models?
2.
Many of us on the left would like to see the Right to Buy stopped to
preserve our remaining Council houses, but would this alone solve our
social housing problems?
3. What should future Labour housing policy be to ensure a robust housing safety net for all?
Info on future meetings
Upcoming
discussion group dates are 8th March and 12th April (second Sunday of
every month except August). I am in discussions with the leader of
Sheffield TUC to come and speak about 'Sheffield Needs a Payrise'
report, and I am hoping an Economics Academic from the University of
Sheffield may come to address us on the Green New Deal.
Hope to see you all on Sunday,
Rosie Smith
Dronfield Labour Party Political Education Officer
Tuesday, January 7, 2020
January Discussion Meeting
We have a discussion meeting scheduled for this Sunday evening, 12th January at 8pm in Dronfield Contact Club. See details below.
Dronfield Labour Party Discussion Meeting
Topic: Life Long Learning for Social Change
Speaker: Bob Heath
Time: 8pm to 9.15pm
Date: Sunday 12th January
Venue: Contact Club, Snape Hill Lane, Dronfield, S18 2GJ.
Bob Heath will address us on the subject of Life Long Learning for Social Change.
A
member of the Labour Party for 58 years and life-long learner himself,
Bob was a miner for 10 years between 1950 and 1960. He benefitted during
this time from the opportunity to do Day Release study and attend the
Sheffield University Extramural Department. In 1959 he received a N.U.M.
scholarship to Ruskin College.
Several
of our Discussion group members attended Ruskin College in Oxford and
Coleg Harlech in Wales. For some, like Bob Heath and Harry Barnes, it
provided a springboard to further educational opportunities.
Following his time at Ruskin, Bob spent a year in Montreal, Canada as a Travelling
Research Fellow at McGill University. He then studied for an Economics
and Sociology degree at Hull University. After a short stint at Keele
University, Bob was a Lecturer in Economics and Industrial Studies at
University of Sheffield Extramural Department for over 30 years.
He retired in 1998, but he's still learning.
All welcome for an interesting discussion.
Happy New Year to All!
Rosie Smith
Dronfield Labour Party Political Education Officer
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