Do Labour think the British people are fools?

On a visit to Cardiff, David Cameron accused Labour of not listening to the British people and, instead, treating them like fools.

He attacked the Government for being “desperately weak and divided” and stressed we are seeing a “slow dance of political death” where Gordon Brown isn’t able to reshuffle his Cabinet, but they don’t seem able to get rid off him.

David said “the heart of Labour’s failure” was the fact they “spend all their time treating the British people like fools” - and he slammed Gordon Brown for claiming that the public don’t want a General Election:

“He’s not listening to what the people want: they want a General Election now.”

In the European Elections, the Conservatives topped the poll in Wales for the first time since 1931 - and David stressed we are now a “Party for the whole country”:

"We are a one nation party. Whether you are black or white, rich or poor, from the north or south, straight or gay, you are part of our country and we are proud of you."

David promised that the Conservatives would “redouble our efforts” to prove we’re a modern, compassionate Party that can replace "this tired, discredited, divided and hopeless Government” and create a better Britain.

Sign the Conservatives' petition for a General Election

Time for Brown to go, Nigel tells Mail

UKIP's sensational Euro elections result means one thing for the Government: Gordon Brown must go.

UKIP Leader Nigel Farage told the Daily Mail: "He has always derided us and said the things we stand for are nonsensical.

"It is time Gordon Brown went and I am confident that now there will be many Labour backbenchers signing that petition to get rid of him."

Plaid MPs: Euro polls show that Dissolution debate urgently needed

Following the extent of Labour’s losses at the European elections, Plaid MPs will emphasise the importance of the debate calling on the dissolution of Parliament to be held this Wednesday (10 June).

Plaid Cymru and the Scottish National Party (SNP) will use Opposition Day time allotted to them to present a motion to dissolve the present Parliament.

Plaid Cymru’s Westminster Leader Elfyn Llwyd MP said:

“The polls from the European elections leave me in no doubt that the UK is in urgent need of a General Election.

“Gordon Brown needs to come to Parliament and respond to our debate. Labour’s performance in the European elections is proof that the UK Government has lost the authority to govern and the respect of the people. It is essential that we restore the trust and confidence in the whole Westminster system and their elected members.

“There can be no argument against the entire House of Commons submitting itself to a vote of the people who elected them either.

“Plaid Cymru and the SNP are giving Parliament the chance to give the people back their say – and this can only be the beginning of a shake-up in the political system. We need reform of the MPs' expenses system, a fully elected House of Lords and in Wales , a referendum on full law-making powers.”

SNP CELEBRATE HISTORIC ELECTION VICTORY

PARTY WOULD WIN AT LEAST 27 WESTMINSTER SEATS ON EURO RESULT

The results of the European elections would mean that the SNP would win at least 27 seats at the next Westminster elections, according to an analysis using the Electoral Calculus model, and reinforcing the SNP’s position as the leading party in Scotland.

A national extrapolation of today’s historic result would result in the following number of MPs in Scotland:

SNP - 27
Lab - 15
Tory - 7
LD - 9

In reality, the SNP could do even better. For example, the national extrapolation gives Stirling to the Tories – whereas the SNP won the Stirling Council area in the European elections.

Other highlights from the European elections result in Scotland are:

* The first time the SNP has ever won a UK-wide election in Scotland.

* This is the best result for any party in Scotland in a Euro election since PR was introduced - the previous high point was Labour at just over 28% in 1999.

* Labour’s share of the vote in Scotland is their worst since the 1910 General Election.

* The SNP vote in Scotland is higher than the Official Opposition Tory vote across the UK - 29.1% for the SNP compared to 28.6% for the UK Tories.

The SNP also…

* …won 22 of Scotland’s 32 local authorities – a historic first

* …won in East Lothian – where the seat of Iain Gray - Scottish Parliamentary Labour leader – is located

* …topped the poll in Edinburgh South West - seat of the Chancellor Alistair Darling

* …beat Labour into third place in East Renfrewshire by coming second – the seat of Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy

* …was just 2.8% behind Labour in Glasgow – one of only two councils controlled by a majority Labour administration

Commenting on the analysis and the overall result, SNP leader and First Minister Alex Salmond said:

“The Westminster analysis shows how historic this result is for the SNP. Not only are we up 10 points from the last European election, but for the first time ever we have won a UK-wide election in Scotland. We have also won with a much greater margin of victory than even the Holyrood win two years ago.

“A projection of winning at least 27 Westminster seats is an excellent springboard for the SNP in the run-up to the General Election – which should come sooner rather than later. The key to delivering a strong Scottish voice at Westminster – as in the European Parliament – is a strong SNP vote, and a block of 20 MPs.

“Labour MPs must now be quaking in their boots at the prospect of the SNP winning across their former heartlands.”

The SNP's Euro Campaign Manager Joe FitzPatrick said:

"This result was a massive vote of confidence in the SNP Government, and a rejection of Labour. It shows more people than ever before believe the SNP is on their side, and that voting SNP works.

"We are witnessing a tale of two governments - the SNP under Alex Salmond is demonstrating competence, credibility and success, while Gordon Brown's government dithers its way from crisis to crisis as the Labour Party's vote disintegrates.

“The people of Scotland like what they get from the SNP Government – investment in jobs and services, and action to fight recession, and want more powers for the Scottish Parliament so that we can do even more.

“This is Labour’s lowest share of the vote in Scotland since BEFORE World War 1 and the emergence of the modern Labour Party. And it is an extremely poor result for both the Tories and the Lib Dems, who along with Labour have gone into reverse from the last European election.

“The SNP have won all over Scotland – north, south, east and west - including in Alistair Darling’s seat, in Iain Gray’s seat, and we beat Labour into third place in Jim Murphy’s seat. Of the 32 local authority areas, the SNP have won 22 - an astonishing achievement.”

[Green Mail] Greens make further progress in county elections

In yesterday's county elections the Green Party continued to make steady progress.

The party made its breakthrough onto four county councils - Cambridgeshire (1 seat), Devon, Gloucestershire and Suffolk.

In Norfolk the Greens held 2 seats and gained 5.

In Lancashire the party successfully defended 1 seat and gained a second. Lancaster Greens also held a city council seat in a by-election, and continue to hold 12 seats on the city council.

Unfortunately the Greens had effectively lost 4 seats before the campaign began, due to council reorganisation and boundary changes (in Eastern and North East regions). The only unexpected loss was 3 out of the 5 Green Party seats on Oxfordshire County Council.

**Greens gain most at Labour and LibDem expense**

The Green Party ended the campaign with 123 councillors on 42 councils, up from 119 on 41.

Of the Green Party's gains, 7 were from Labour, 2 from the LibDems and 1 from the Conservatives. This too continues a familiar pattern.

The party's steady progress in the 2009 elections was reflected in recruitment, with an 8.5% growth in membership during the six weeks of the campaign.

**Greens look forward to the general election**

The single most encouraging result was in Norfolk, where the Greens won more votes than any other party in both Norwich North and Norwich South parliamentary constituencies. This bodes well for the target constituency of Norwich South, which will be contested by Adrian Ramsay, the Green Party's deputy leader and currently leader of the opposition on Norwich City Council.

And in Lancashire, in the Lancaster and Fleetwood target constituency the Greens outpolled everyone except the Conservatives.

Make it more than a protest - vote for a million jobs, says Green leader

On the day that a ComRes voter-intention poll puts the Green Party on 15% - ahead of the LibDems for the first time since 1989 - Green Party leader Caroline Lucas made a final appeal to the public to make tomorrow's vote more than a protest vote.

Dr Lucas, who was first elected to the European Parliament in 1999, said:

"A Green vote is much more than a protest against the big three. Let's remember they've been discredited not just by the expenses scandal but by their lack of commitment to putting social and environmental justice at top of political agenda."

"It isn't just about where the protest vote goes, it's what it achieves when it gets there. Britain has had Green MEPs for a decade now, so you know we've always stood up for public services, for protecting people's rights and for making the EU more democratic, more transparent and more accountable to the voters."

"You know if you elect more Green MEPs they will fight for all those things, and also for the economic policies that could create a million green jobs in the UK, to help tackle the recession and the climate crisis."

Comedian Alexei Sayle endorses the Green Party

Sayle's vote will hopefully help elect Liverpool-based Green Party candidate Peter Cranie, and thus deny racist BNP leader Nick Griffin a seat in North West England.

Alexei Sayle said, in an email to Peter Cranie this morning:

"One of the great things about Britain is that, unlike in a lot of Europe, we have never let extremist parties of the right get anything but a tiny toehold in our electoral system. I'll personally be voting Green this time but whoever you support you should use your vote to continue our noble tradition and keep the BNP out."

Yesterday Peter Cranie held a photocall in Manchester with leading comedian and satirist Mark Thomas, who has made a YouTube video endorsing the Green Party and saying that "all the other parties are crap."

And this morning another well-known comic, Mark Steel, wrote in the Independent newspaper:

" ... the cheery note is that the Green Party has attained credibilty while retaining its principles, and seems to be the home for many people who opposed the Iraq war, oppose the rule of bankers and private finance, and feel it might be worth looking at doing something about the fact the planet's about to melt. So I'm voting for them tomorrow ..."

Joanna Lumley has also said that she is voting for Green Party leader Caroline Lucas in the South East region.

With the Greens polling on 15% in the latest ComRes survey, the party is "cautiously optimistic" of winning more MEP seats. The Sunday Telegraph has suggested that the Greens could win eight MEP seats, with the Independent predicting ten.

The Choice Voters Face

Today, Gordon Brown highlighted the choice voters face at the ballot box this week on a visit to the East Midlands.

"But I also want to say explicitly to the people of the East Midlands that the BNP do not have the answer to any of these challenges facing Britain. Despite what they may claim to represent - they actually stand against everything that makes this country great.

"There are some people who argue that Labour has somehow abandoned the white working class. Nothing could be further from the truth: I will never forget where I've come from and the people and causes I came into politics to represent.

Earlier in the day the Prime Minister joined campaigners including Jason Isaacs, at the “Hope not Hate” vintage bus, an annual tour run by The Daily Mirror and Searchlight that campaigns against racism and celebrates diversity.

Greens on 15% overtake Liberal Democrats

A poll to be published the day before the European elections suggests the battle for third place will be between the Green Party, the Liberal Democrats and UKIP.

In the new poll, conducted by ComRes, the Greens have overtaken the Lib Dems for the first time since 1989. The poll suggests the Greens may be about to match their historic 1989 Euro-election vote of 15%.

The poll shows support for the different parties as follows:

Conservative: 24%

Labour: 22%

UKIP: 17%

Green: 15%

Lib Dems: 14%

BNP 2%

If the poll proves accurate, the Greens will probably win seats in the North West, Yorkshire and the Humber, West Midlands, East Midlands, South West and Eastern regions plus Scotland, as well as holding existing seats in London and the South East. The Greens may even scoop up a second seat in the South East, with Brighton councillor Keith Taylor joining party leader Caroline Lucas, who was first elected in 1999.

Last Sunday's Telegraph/ICM poll showed the Greens on 11%, ahead of UKIP nationally for the first time in the campaign. The Sunday Telegraph suggested that "the resurgent Greens" might win eight seats.

And in an earlier Green Party/YouGov poll, 34% of respondents said they would either definitely vote Green or consider voting Green if they knew more about the party.

Caroline Lucas, leader of the Green Party, said: "It's not all protest vote. I think our manifesto for a million jobs, aimed at tackling the recession and the climate crisis at the same time, has probably struck a chord with a lot of people."

"In the last few days of the campaign we need to work hard to mobilise the Green vote, because in a proportional election every vote counts. A 15% Green vote would mean a half-dozen or more extra Green MEPs to go and fight for those million jobs in the Green New Deal."

Osborne sets out plans for EU spending transparency

George Osborne has launched a new transparency drive ahead of the European elections taking place this Thursday.

The Shadow Chancellor promised to “shine a spotlight on where our money goes” in Europe.

And he outlined a series of measures which build on the transparency initiatives already announced by our MEP candidates:

• Transparency on the cost of Britain’s contributions to the EU, with the cost of transfers to the UK published at each Budget
• Transparency for EU spending administered by the UK government, and a push for more spending transparency across the EU as a whole
• Real accountability for EU budgets, with Conservative MEPs continuing to refuse to approve the EU accounts until they have been signed off by the auditors
• Transparency for MEPs’ and Commissioners’ expenses, including the British EU Commissioner, with all expense claims published online

George promised that no longer would "British taxpayer's money (disappear) into a Brussels black hole”:

“We will have a right to know: how much money we're giving to Europe; where it's being spent; and that the accounts show it's not being lost in fraud. And we're going to make sure that Britain's top Eurocrat and MEPs set an example to the rest of them by publishing their expenses."

Buoyant Greens launch last big push

Green Party campaigners will be be pulling out all the stops this week, encouraged by today's Sunday Telegraph/ICM poll which puts the Greens on 11% - ahead of UKIP nationally for the first time this campaign.

With 11%, the Greens would expect to return two or three new MEPs, as well as holding their existing seats in London and the South East.

In the county elections, the Greens remain confident of gains in Norfolk and Lancashire, capitalising on the strength of city council Green groups in Norwich and Lancaster. But in the South West, Devon Greens may be about to bring off a surprise result, a party spokesperson said today.

Poll shows Greens "least likely to put self-interest first"

The Greens have been further encouraged by a YouGov poll last Friday which indicated that Green politicians were by far the most highly trusted to put their country before their own financial interests. This, say the Greens, suggests that a significant proportion of any anti-sleaze protest vote would go to the Green Party.

"Vote for a million Green jobs"

With a UN think-tank this week warning that climate change is already killing 300,000 people a year, and costing the world $125bn a year, the Greens will be reinforcing the main message of their 2009 campaign - Vote Green for a million UK jobs, to tackle the recession and the climate crisis at the same time.

Green Party battlebus in North West, South East this week

The party's campaign bus began its tour of the North West target region today. On Wednesday, the final day of the campaign, it will take party leader Caroline Lucas MEP on the last leg of her South East constituency tour.

Stopping the BNP leader - one of the historic results of the 2009 campaign

Despite much media speculation - not least by the BBC - that disillusioned voters may vote for the racist BNP, the Greens have consistently oupolled the racist party. With Respect having withdrawn from the North West election and endorsed the Greens against the BNP, and Libertas' top North West candidate having done the same, the anti-racist coalition built by the North West Greens appears to have been successful. Green Party candidate Peter Cranie looks set to deny BNP leader Nick Griffin the eighth and last seat in the North West.

The Greens say that the election of Nick Griffin would constitute the biggest step forward for the far right in British history - and preventing this would be one of the most historically significant outcomes of the 2009 campaign.

UKIP overtake Labour!

Dear supporters,

With polling day now less than a week away, today's Populus poll for the Times shows UKIP on 19% of the vote. We are in clear second place and well ahead of Labour and the Liberal Democrats nationally. The poll merely confirms what UKIP activists across the country have been seeing for themselves on the streets. We are getting a fantastic reaction on the doorstep. The UKIP vote is increasing. The Labour vote is collapsing and the Conservatives are wavering. With Nigel Farage's excellent Question Time performance on Thursday and an overwhelming response to our final Party Election Broadcast, we are certainly on a roll.

We can expect our opponents to attempt to throw all kinds of insults and accusations at us in a desperate last-ditch attempt to claw back votes. But UKIP have been a zero-tolerance party on misuse of expenses. No party is immune from scandal - it is how we deal with it that matters. UKIP have sent a clear message: no-one can treat the electorate with contempt and remain a UKIP MEP.

If we can hold firm, and manage one last push over the next few days then we will achieve the goal stated by Nigel Farage at the start of this campaign - to beat the government across the country at a national election. This has never been achieved by any 'fourth' party in history and could be the focal point for forcing a general election.

If you've been out campaigning, please keep up the good work - whether it's leafleting, street stalls, internet forums or just persuading family and friends to vote UKIP - for a few more days. It may seem like a tall order but with our current momentum, we only need a further 5.5% swing from the latest poll to topple the Conservatives and win the European elections. How could they then deny us a referendum on EU membership?

We had planned to make no further appeal for funds during this campaign as our supporters have already donated massive amounts of money. But one last push now could make a massive difference to the future of our party, and our country. If you are in a position to help, please donate here or call Freephone 0800 587 6 587.

Yours,

Paul Nuttall (UKIP Party Chairman)

Jonathan Arnott (UKIP General Secretary)

Conservatives: 6 DAYS TO GO: How you can help us win

Help us win on Facebook

If you're on Facebook, you can help our European election campaign by donating your status to the Party in the run-up to June 4th.

We will automatically update your status with messages explaining why people should vote for change at these elections.

Donate your Facebook status now to help us win and send a clear message that it's time for change.

---

War Room Briefing 3

Eric Pickles speaks to you from the campaign trail in the latest edition of the War Room Briefing. He explains the issues that are coming up on the doorsteps, and stresses the importance of convincing people not to vote for fringe parties at the upcoming elections.

Frank Cottrell Boyce - Vote Green to stop the BNP

In a short film, Frank Cottrell Boyce, the Liverpool-based screenwriter and author -- whose acclaimed films include "24 Hour Party People" and "Welcome to Sarajevo" -- explains why after voting Labour all his life, he's backing the Greens in this election to stop the BNP in the North West of England.

Vote Green on the 4th of June, in both local and European elections.

It's the economy, stupid!

Today the Green Party launches its European election manifesto titled: "It's the economy, stupid."

The manifesto promises to rapidly create a million jobs through a Green New Deal. It stresses the need to make Britain's economy work differently in order to protect and improve public services, to create a fairer society and to tackle the climate crisis and impending problems like peak oil - as well as the immediate problem of the recession.

**Good economics v bad economics**

The slogan has been borrowed tongue-in-cheek from US President Bill Clinton - but, say the Greens, it carries a very different meaning coming from the Green Party. A spokesperson explained today:

"Jonathan Porritt said back in 1991 that if you want to see how green a political party is, look at it's economic policy.

"Britain's biggest parties are still pursuing an economic model that puts private profit before the public good. They put the Thatcherite-Blairite ideology of privatisation before people's real needs. This has driven the erosion of Britain's public services, threatened our National Health Service, and badly damaged our public transport infrastructure. So-called 'liberalisation' made the credit crunch possible. Boom-bust economics has widened the gulf between rich and poor and it has plunged us into recession again. All this has to change."

**Age of Stupid**

He continued: "Look at the climate crisis - probably the biggest single threat to the world's future prosperity and well-being. Climate change begins and ends with the economy. It started with how the economy transformed through burning too much fossil fuel, and it can only be dealt with by transforming the economy again, to a low-carbon economy.

"A low-carbon economy will bring social benefits like stability, energy security, sustainable jobs, better health, hugely improved public transport, and so on. Fixing all these things means changing the basis of how our economy works.

"We really are living in the Age of Stupid. We know what the problems are, we know the consequences of causing climate change and we know how to avoid the worst of the consequences. We need to change one thing above all to get out of the Age of Stupd - we need to change the economy."

**Investing in change - that starts to pay for itself**

The massive job-creation and other benefits in the Greens' manifesto would be brought about for an investment of £44bn. Much of this would be found from a variety of "good housekeeping" measures:

* £10bn from improved tax collection and the abolition of tax havens.
* £3bn from cancelling new roadbuilding.
* £1bn from scrapping the government's ID cards project.
* £2bn windfall tax on non-renewable energy companies.
* £3bn from not renewing Trident contracts.

The remaining £25bn would in fact be reduced by some billions as the new jobs increased the country's tax revenue.

Brian Heatley, policy coordinator on the Green Party's national executive committee, explained:

"Like the current government, we would be prepared to borrow. This could, however, be done much more imaginatively than is currently the practice, and with less reliance on international money markets.

"Citizens and institutional investors can provide funding for the Green New Deal by investment in 'green gilts' (government bonds), guaranteed not just in terms of an interest rate, but also in terms of their use to reduce carbon. New green products could be introduced and revitalise the National Savings. Local authority bonds could also be a major vehicle for the funds raised for this programme. And Green MEPs will press for some of this expenditure, such as that on training, to come from European funds, for example the European Social Fund."

Mr Heatley added:

"In the longer term, the package would begin to pay for itself. Increasing energy efficiency means that energy does not have to be generated, and this saves money. As oil prices rise, renewables will be cheaper than the fossil fuel alternatives. Much-improved public transport will mean more people will not have to pay for private cars. None of this is true for responses, like Labour's, that simply encourage consumption."
** **

**Practical vision an "antidote to apathy, cynicism and fears for the future"**

The Greens are saying they are the only party in this election offering the public a practical vision for a fairer society and a sustainable economy - an antidote to the country's current political malaise of apathy, cynicism, mistrust of many politicians, and fears for Britain's economic future.

URL: http://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/2009-05-14-launch.html

UKIP: We'll not be told how to campaign by Harriet Harman

According to today's FT, "Ms Harman will propose that mainstream parties should not share a platform with BNP candidates and that they should avoid campaigning on issues that stoke sentiment against foreigners."

"This is a ludicrous suggestion" said Nigel Farage, UKIP leader. "This is a European election for goodness sake and it is Europe which determines most of our immigration and asylum policy. If we can't talk about these policies when we're about to elect those who represent us in Europe when on earth can we?

"To get Labour, the Tories and the Lib Dems....or LibLabCon as they're sometimes known....all agreeing not to discuss such things simply reminds us of that old truth, that you can't put a cigarette paper between those parties.

"We do intend to discuss these issues. The only way to defeat the BNP is to talk about the issues that affect people. To shy away from difficult areas is to vacate the ground for the bigots and facists."

UKIP Launches Euro Campaign

This morning Nigel Farage UKIP Party leader demanded that the European Elections campaign actually discussed the issues of Europe. Speaking with other leading UKIP candidates Deva Kumarasiri and Marta Andreassen.

He said, “The three traditional parties are all avoiding the issue. They know that the elections in June are about our relationship with the EU, but they are afraid of discussing it”.

The reason is clear. All recent polls now say that a majority of the British people now want a different relationship with Europe. Trading with our friends on the Continent but not being governed by them”.

Marta Andreassen, the former chief Accountant of the European Commission, “We must have a national debate on issues that are key to our relationship with Europe. That it costs £40 million a day is just not good value for money, particularly in the depths of a recession but no-one knows it”,

Deva Kumarasiri, the former Nottingham postmaster said,

“Immigration is out of control, and while we remain in the European Union there is little our government can do about it. This is why the three parties are terrified about the subject, because they know they are powerless to protect our borders. Under the current rules Romanian criminals get free entry but Gurkhas with whom with have a historical and honourable debt of honour are turned away. Nobody in our country thinks this just.”

Farage continued, “All the parties are complicit in the petty, nondescript fraud against their own constituents, but it is only UKIP that, when such things came to light, acted decisively to lance the boil. The others cling on to their bath-plugs and bags of taxpayer funded maltesers.”

On June 4^th there is a clear choice. A vote for the political elite, the status quo that has between them got us into this appalling financial situation, or a clear message of opposition to them and their fellow travellers in Brussels”.

We urgently need change

Labour's Government is falling apart in front of our eyes. The scandals behind the scenes. Humiliating defeats in Parliament. U-turn after U-turn. Cabinet Ministers mocking the Prime Minister. And behind this political pantomime there is no policy, no direction, no vision.

We urgently need change. That's why this year's local elections are so important. We launched our campaign this week with a strong, clear message: a vote for the Conservatives won't just get you more for less - a cleaner, greener, safer place to live for fewer taxpayer pounds. It will also give you the chance to show Gordon Brown just how sick, tired and disappointed you are with his Government.

We've been spreading this message all over the country: Newcastle, Derbyshire, Nottingham, Exeter, Plymouth. I love getting on the road and meeting people. It also gives us a chance to do more Cameron Directs - townhall-style events where people can come along, stick up their hand and ask me anything they like. They don't pull their punches and that's just how I like it. You can see what I mean by watching our latest Party Election Broadcast.

The end of the week has been dominated by expenses stories - and I expect there will be many more over the coming months, from all parties. I understand why people are angry about this. That's why as soon as the problems arose I was first out of the blocks, making sure that our MPs and MEPs set out clearly how they spend public money. This is just the first step to a cleaner, more open system. Slowly and surely we're going to re-build the trust between politicians and the people they serve.

The Green who will stop the BNP leader

The crucial battle affecting the BNP's Euro-election dreams will be the one for fourth place behind the three main parties, says today's Independent newspaper and the man best placed to defeat BNP leader Nick Griffin is the Green Party's Peter Cranie.

The big three parties each claim that the D'Hondt regional list voting system used in UK Euro-elections is such a "lottery" that supporting them is the best way to beat the BNP. But the Greens are pointing to the fact that statistically the big three usually take most of the seats, and the final seat in a region almost always goes to the highest-polling of the smaller parties.

In North West England - where the BNP leader hopes to force an entry to the European Parliament - the battle for fourth place, and for the crucial eighth and final seat, is between the Greens and the BNP.

**Recession - "BNP stokes resentment, Greens offer solution"**

While the BNP seeks to make political capital out of the economic insecurities heightened by the recession, says the Green Party, the Greens are offering the antidote to both poverty and extremism - by pushing for massive investment in new green industries, and showing how Britain can afford to pay for it.

The North West Green Party's election manifesto will offer policies that between them could create well over 100,000 jobs in the region that was the birthplace of the world's first industrial revolution.

Peter Cranie told the _Independent_: "A Green vote is a vote for jobs."

And he warned:

"In an environment of economic fear and insecurity, the seeds are being sown - racism and intolerance - by a party that in its constitution bars any person because of the colour of their skin and the home of their ancestors."

**Racism is "blot on the face of our society" and BNP "a disgrace to Britain"**

Peter, a 36-year-old father of a baby boy, who works for a parenting support charity on Merseyside and is the Green Party's national spokesperson on children, schools and families, added today:

"British society is stronger for its diversity.

"British cities like Liverpool and Manchester owe part of their greatness to the migrations that have occurred over the centuries.

"People who come to live here from other countries are our colleagues and neighbours and business partners - they're part of our communities, part of what we mean when we say 'us.'

"Racism is a blot on the face of our civilised, enlightened society and the BNP are a disgrace to Britain.

"Elected Greens have a track record of defending and creating jobs and supporting their community. The BNP, when they've got councillors elected, have done nothing for local people."

He concluded:

"The 4th of June 2009 will be a historic day for Britain. The politics of hope must triumph over the politics of hate."

Caroline Lucas on Elections

In the first of a series of videos for the local and European elections, Caroline Lucas, Green Party leader and MEP for the South East of England, asks us to look at areas of the country where the Greens are doing phenomenally well.

Caroline Lucas, in the video, says it is important to have "people know, for example, that in Norwich, the Greens are the official opposition on Norwich City Council. Having people know that Brighton Pavillion is on the cusp of having its first Green MEP. Places in London, like Lewisham are looking incredibly positive ... There's every evidence that when people believe that the Greens can actually get voted in, they will vote for us."

The local and European elections will be on the 4th of June, 2009.

Future videos will outline support from prominent Greens, and Green policies on animal protection, on crime, and on fuel poverty and housing.