London Assembly list hustings

Below is the text of my speech at the hustings for the selection of candidates for the London Assembly list. The hustings took place at the London Green Party AGM on Saturday.


Good Afternoon, I'm Jon Nott.

I'd like to paint you a picture.

Imagine a London where the tube ran on time, where the tube was a publicly owned and publicly accountable service, properly maintained and properly staffed.

Imagine a London where traffic levels are a fraction of those today and air pollution is a thing of the past.

Imagine a London where there is affordable housing for all who need it.

Imagine a London where the economic focus is shifted from the city to the 300 urban villages which make up this great metropolis.

Imagine a London where our green spaces are the valued and vibrant hearts of our our local communities.

But this is not some utopian dream, this is a vision of a Green London, the vision which drives me as a Green politician.

It is the embodiment of the Green principles which make us different from the other parties.

We should be proud of our achievements, but we should not be satisfied with being the fourth party in London - Londoners deserve better.

We must be practical and set ourselves realistic and achievable targets, but we must never forget the vision which drives us.

A vote for me is a vote for pragmatism driven by vision.

A vote for me is a vote for aiming high.

Let's make London Green.

Please vote Jon Nott first on the London list.

Brent East by-election

Despite the hard work of many Green Party activists over the past few weeks, Sarah Teather, the Liberal Democrat candidate, won the Brent East by-election.

Noel Lynch made a good showing, but failed to improve on the general election result. This is probably due to a number of Green supporters voting tactically to make sure that Labour lost the seat. Unfortunately this sends a very mixed message to Tony Blair as the Lib Dems shifted their position on the Iraq war so often that a vote for them can hardly be described as an anti-war vote.

Brent East by-election

I spent a few hours leafleting last night and some time on a polling station today and it is clear that there is strong suppport for the Green candidate Noel Lynch.

Turnout looks likely to be very low and this throws the result wide open.

Child Poverty Action Group strike

As an active member of my trade union branch, I was pleased to be able to visit the picket line at Child Poverty Action Group yesterday morning and lend some solidarity to a group of workers who are being asked to accept reduced terms and conditions.

This is believed to be the first strike by staff at a "household name" charity, but it is unfortunately a symptom of a growing problem in the voluntary sector.

As the sector becomes more professional, there is an increase in tension between highly skilled and committed staff who expect decent pay and conditions, and some voluntary management committees who expect staff to work for a pittance and be glad because they are working for "a good cause".

There is much scope for improved relations between the unions and voluntary management committees, many of which seem to see unions as an enemy rather than partners in the struggle for a better world.

A report of the background to the strike action can be found on the Society Guardian site.

Mayoral candidate visit to Islington

I spent an enjoyable Tuesday evening at a social event where Islington Green Party members and their friends met Darren Johnson, the Party's candidate for Mayor of London in next year's elections.

Gillespie Festival

I missed the final day of Green Party conference in order to be back in London in time for the 20th Gillespie festival. Held in Gillespie Park, which was reclaimed from railway lands 20 years ago and is now uder threat from the Arsenal stadium redevelopment, the festival is one of the best community festivals in London.

The day was made even better by the fact that I won a bottle of champagne in the raffle.

Green Party conference

I attended the Party's autumn conference in Lancaster from Thursday 11 - Saturday 13 September.

You can view a record of conference on the Green Party site, but my personal highlight was the speech of CPS leader Mark Serwotka. He highlighted the overwhelming number of reasons for trade unionists to give up on the Labour Party, which has abandonned its roots as the party of working people, and to work with progressive parties such as the Greens.

canvassing in Finsbury Park

On the evening of Tuesday 9 September we held a successful canvassing training session in Finsbury Park with Cllr Claire Nash from Leeds.

Run London

On Sunday 7 September, after six weeks of training, including several sessions on the hills and beaches of Thassos, I took part in Run London. I completed the 10km circuit of Richmond Park in 1 hr 1 min 37 sec.

This is the first time I have taken part in an organised run since the 2000 London marathon.