Joan Humphries, whose grandson Kevin Elliot was killed in Afghanistan in August last year, was the main speaker. She said that 100,000 Afghan civilians have died as a result of the war, 60,000 of whom were women and children. There have been 7,000 coalition forces deaths.

Mrs Humphries spoke of the "export of western terrorism to the second poorest country in the world" and said, "I lay the blame for the death of my grandson at the floor of the present and past US and UK governments." She said that the war "is nothing to do with protecting British citizens...It is about capitalism and imperialism". Mrs Humphries concluded by saying that "getting the troops out is the best way to support them".

At the inquest into her grandson's death, Mrs Humphries was told that the person who killed Kevin Elliot ought to be charged with murder. She asked the question, "How can someone who's defending their country be accused of murder?", and made the comparison with French Resistance fighters killing Nazis invaders.

Mrs Humphries will be speaking at other meetings organised by Stop the War Coalition around the country in London today. She said that she is currently in very high demand, particularly from the BBC.

The war in Afghanistan is faltering, with almost every day's news testifying to the disaster unfolding under the NATO occupation. The military and political establishment is split in both Washington and London, President Karzai and his regime are entirely discredited, and the resistance to the occupation is growing, in spite of all contrary predictions. Yet David Cameron is talking, albeit somewhat half-heartedly, of another five years of war.

Green Party leader Caroline Lucas MP, together with MPs from the two nationalist parties, have called on Liberal Democrat and Labour MPs to support the amendment, under which the £100 billion Trident renewal would be included in the forthcoming strategic defence and security review. Current government plans are to exclude the Trident renewal from the review.

The parties hope to gain further support from the ranks of Labour, the Lib Dems and the Conservatives before pushing the amendment to a vote this evening (Monday 7 June). In the coalition agreement for government the Liberal Democrats claimed that they "will continue to make the case for alternatives" to Trident.

Green Party leader Caroline Lucas MP said today:

"As we begin a new parliament with a new government, the time has come to rise above party politics and fundamentally challenge the decision to renew Trident.

"We cannot continue to lecture countries such as Iran on the implications of their nuclear programme whilst proceeding blindly with our own - a move which would be both hypocritical and dangerous.

"Moreover, nuclear weapons remain a costly distraction from the real security threats we face, like climate change. The billions being spent on Trident replacement could be much better spent on investing in developing the infrastructure we need for a zero carbon economy, as well as in protecting public services.

"To use the money on a project that will make Britain and the world a far more dangerous place is politically irresponsible, morally bankrupt, and economically obscene."

Note:

1. The amendment, which will appear on Monday morning's order paper, reads:

As an Amendment to the Address, at end add-

"but respectfully request that the Government include as part of its Strategic Defence and Security Review a full examination of the Trident nuclear missile system, and any possible replacement."

2. The Conservative/Liberal Democrat Programme for Government document states, at page 15:

"We will maintain Britain's nuclear deterrent, and have agreed that the renewal of Trident should be scrutinised to ensure value for money. Liberal Democrats will continue to make the case for alternatives."

The council will now start consulting the schools and residents to help them make their decision. Included on the list are Cherry Orchard CE Primary School and Blessed Edward Oldcorne Catholic College, both in Timberdine Avenue, where speed has been a source of worry to local residents and parents, who have called for a lower speed limit.

Paul Snookes, a resident of Timberdine Avenue and member of the Green party, said: “We are delighted to hear that Timberdine Avenue is one of the first roads likely to have a 20mph speed limit introduced. The majority of residents, along with both schools, overwhelmingly want this to happen sooner rather than later.

“We have been told that there is every likelihood that this will happen this year. As voters and taxpayers, we expect our elected councillors and local government officials to make this change as soon as possible in order to improve the safety and quality of life of those who live in and use Timberdine Avenue.”

The news their school has been shortlisted will also be welcomed by parents and teachers at Stanley Road Primary School.

The road outside the entrance to the school had been described as a “rat-run” and headmistress Anne Potter said there had already been a frightening number of “near misses”.

Louis Stephen, head of Worcester’s Green Party, who has been campaigning to get the speed limit reduced along Stanley Road and Timberdine Avenue, said: “We are very pleased about the common sense decision to put in 20mph limits at the school.”

The other three schools in Worcester which made it on to the list are Oldbury Park Primary School, Oldbury Road, St John’s; Red Hill CE Primary School, Midhurst Close, off London Road; and St George’s CE Primary School, St George’s Lane North, Barbourne.

Read the full story in the Worcester News.

He labelled the party's coalition with the Conservatives an "unholy alliance" and tore up his membership card before openly following fellow ex-chairman Alex Keers and defecting to the Greens.

Mr Hartley said he felt the Liberal Democrats had crossed three "red lines" by compromising on proportional representation, nuclear power and Trident in order to form the new government which, for him, could not be crossed.

He said: "I think there's a misunderstanding between policies and principles. You can change policies to meet the country's needs, but not the principles.

"The more democratic edge will be uncomfortable, but the liberals are a bit overpragmatic in their approach."

As reported in your Worcester News on Friday, Mr Keers has also defected to the Greens.

He said: "If they were still holding firm on some of the principles I think I could stomach the coalition."

Mr Hartley now believes the Greens are the best party to represent his interests as "their red lines are not give-away-able".

Louis Stephen, leader of Worcester's Green Party, said he was very pleased to have Mr Hartley on board and would encourage any other progressive liberals to sign up.

Mr Stephen said: "Unlike the Green Party, the Liberal Democrats have abandoned plans for proportional representation, abandoned their plans for scrapping university tuition fees and Trident."

(The above was taken from an article in the Worcester News).

Alex Kear, a former Liberal Democrat Worcester City councillor, said Mr Clegg had "committed the unforgivable sin" by forming a coalition government with the Conservative party. As a result, 32-year-old Mr Kear has joined the Green Party as a fully paid up member.

Mr Kear, whose parents were early members of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) – a predecessor to the Liberal Democrat Party – said: "I have stuck with the Liberal Democrats my entire life but now, I’m afraid, I can’t do it when they have betrayed me and betrayed my confidence."

"They have really upset me. My confidence in the Liberal Democrats has gone."

Mr Kear, who was appointed chairman of Worcester’s Liberal Democrats last year after spending two years as vice-chairman, said leaving the party had been a "very big decision" for him.

“I have still got a lot of friends in the Liberal Democrats and I have found it hard to leave them behind,” said Mr Kear, of Ombersley Street, Droitwich. “I’m finding it difficult to cause them damage but I think Nick Clegg has committed the unforgivable sin.”

Mr Kear said he thought only right wing Liberal Democrats had got seats in the cabinet and questioned how the party had managed to get hold of so much power despite effectively finishing third at the general election.

"I feel it’s a stitch-up," he said.

Mr Kear said he had lost trust in all three main parties and joined the Greens because of its "fair agenda" and stance on proportional representation and Europe.

Louis Stephen, Worcester’s Green Party candidate at the general election, said: “Hundreds of thousands of Liberal Democrat voters voted last week to keep the Tories out of government and they are going to be very disappointed.

"The Green Party is now the only mainstream party committed to scrapping Trident and introducing true proportional representation in government."

"As a former Liberal Democrat myself I welcome Alex Kear to the Green Party with open arms."

(The above was taken from an article in the Worcester News).

The number of votes in Cathedral ward are still going up -

• 2006 - 280 votes
• 2007 - 333 votes
• 2008 - 384 votes
• 2009 - 495 votes
• 2010 - 764 votes !

Go to the Elections page to view the figures for both the local and general election.

http://www.worcesterstandard.co.uk/news177416.html

'Worcester College of Technology students yesterday asked parties for clarification on the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) scheme which rewards means-tested school leavers for good attendance and achieving objectives...

...Louis Stephen...said EMA would continue as it is if left to them.'

http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/8123121.Question_time_for_college_students/

'During the debate, Mr Stephen said the balance between the number of managers and nurses needed to be addressed...'

http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/local/8126035.Candidates_go_head_to_head_on_air/

Green candidate for Battenhall Paul Snookes has been part of the campaign to reduce the speed limit on Timberdine Avenue to 20mph. He was quoted by the Worcester News:

"Five residents here in Timberdine Avenue knocked on every door in our street and asked people if they supported our campaign to have the speed limit reduced to 20mph, as is the case in the Battenhall Road area. Almost all of those surveyed - which equates to 91 per cent of all households in Timberdine Avenue - agree that there is a problem with excessive vehicle speeds in the street and are in favour of the speed limit being reduced."

(Note: Paul initiated and led the Timberdine campaign, which was not led under the banner of ‘Green Party'. None of the other residents involved in the campaign have any affiliation with the Green Party.)

[1] http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/8107423.Schools_20mph_zones_list_soon_to_be_revealed/

[2] http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/4878811.Residents_want_20mph_speed_limit/

He received a round of applause for saying that 0.7% of Britain's GDP is not enough for international aid, and that 1% ought to be pledged. Independent socialist candidate Peter Nielsen went onto say that Scandinavian countries have been contributing 0.7% GDP in international aid for over 40 years.

Photo: (l-r) Robin Walker (Conservative); Jack Bennett UKIP); Peter Nielsen; Bishop Michael Nazir Ali (Chair); Alastair Cutteridge; Mike Foster MP (Labour); Louis Stephen.

Out of shot: Andrew Robinson (Pirate Party); Jackie Alderson (Lib Dem); Andrew Christian-Brookes.

• Worcester University (22nd Apr);
• Worcester Trades Council Forum (22nd Apr);
• Worcester Sixth Form (23rd Apr).

They all seem to have gone well. The Liberal Democrat candidate has been at none of these debates, which has only helped Louis highlight how the Greens are the genuine alternative. The remaining hustings are:

26/04/2010 19:30 'Churches Together' at St. Paul's

27/04/2010 14:15 Worcester Technology College

28/04/2010 13:00 BBC Hereford and Worcester

Louis Stephen appeared on The Politics Show on Sunday 18th April, explaining some of the policies and principles that the Green Party stand for. Click on the image above to view this in the BBC iPlayer (interview starts 48 minutes in).

The National Union of Students (NUS) has launched the Vote for Students campaign to encourage candidates to pledge to protect student interests by opposing attempts to lift the cap on student top-up fees.

The Vote for Students funding pledge states:

"I pledge to vote against any increase in fees in the next parliament, and will put pressure on the Government to introduce a fairer alternative."

NUS President Wes Streeting said:

"The vast majority of the general public is against higher fees, and although this review has been set up to report after the general election, voters deserve to know where their MP stands on this highly emotive issue.

I am delighted that Louis Stephen is standing up for students and their families in Worcester by signing up to this pledge. He has demonstrated [his/her] determination to give every young person in Worcester a fair chance to go to university."

A recent YouGov poll commissioned by NUS revealed that 88% of the public does not think the review should even consider increasing fees, while a majority believes that it should look at alternatives. Last year, research by Opinionpanel showed that a political party’s position on tuition fees would affect how 79% of students would vote in a general election.

The Greens are the only party to have met the demand by the National Pensioners Convention for a state pension that would ensure all British pensioners are above the poverty line.

Pensions are in crisis. The full state pension for a single pensioner is only £95.25, a massive decline since the link with earnings was broken by the Tory government in 1979. Many pensioners, especially women, don't even get a full state pension. The Green Party would introduce a pension that would pay pensioners a liveable amount, without means testing and would be linked to the rise in average earnings.

View the Green Party local manifesto

(requires Adobe Acrobat Reader).

To learn more about the Green Party policies for Worcester, go to the Policies page.

Talking about the scheme, Louis Stephen, the Green Party's General Election candidate in Worcester, said "I am delighted that this project is going ahead. We have been lobbying for some time to get real investment into the rail network, as it will help reduce carbon emissions at the same time as creating thousands of jobs. I want to see as many of those jobs as possible created here the West Midlands, the cradle of engineering."

However, despite favouring the highspeed rail plans the Green Party are already calling for much further action to be taken.

"To offer real choice and really reduceour dependence on air travel the high speed link must not stop at Birmingham, but continue right on up into Scotland," said Mr Stephen.

"It currently takes around an hour and a half to travel from Worcester to Birmingham, which seems daft if the journey on to London will then only take 45 minutes. So this should only be the start. The Green Party wants massive investment in local transport, and for the West Midlands to have a world class system linking the region's towns and cities to the high speed rail network."

The woman were able to give a first hand account of what it is like living in the occupied territories of Gaza and East Jerusalem. Their experiences included the problems of underfunded crumbling schools and severely limited access to health care. They explained what is like to have to queue and pass through Israeli controlled check points, standing in line maybe for an hour, to be standing in the heat maybe waiting with children trying to get to a doctor. Palestinians are compelled to pay the same tax as the Israelis but do not get the same services.

Since the start of the economic crisis, the Green Party has joined with leading economic thinkers in calling for a fresh way forward. The Green New Deal is a bold set of actions that would place the UK at the leading edge of green industry, while reducing fuel bills, creating a million much-needed jobs, and cutting carbon emissions.

The proposals would create a million new jobs in the UK in areas such as renewable energy production, home insulation, improved public transport, community banks and credit unions, local food supplies, and re-use and repair of goods. Thousands of jobs could be created in Worcester alone.

Louis Stephen, General Election Candidate for Worcester, said: "As a country we could create lasting jobs and make long-term savings by investing in green jobs and industries here in the UK. These are the kind of jobs that our country urgently needs to secure a healthy and stable future. Green jobs would not only cut carbon emissions, they would improve people's quality of life, cut fuel bills for everyone, reduce waste, and create energy sources that are clean,secure, and not dependent on diminishing supplies of foreign oil.

"These proposals are common sense, but the Government is failing to take action. The UK is lagging far behind other European countries in terms of renewable energy and green jobs. For example, ten times as many people are employed in the solar industry in Germany as in the UK. With Green MPs in Parliament we could hold the Government accountable for their failure to act, and press for real action to forge a fair and prosperous future."

The decision to complete a ring of tarmac should not be taken lightly. We believe this is a single element which could be incorporated within a much larger transport review that is urgently needed for Worcester, the West Midlands and the nation as a whole.

This strategic transport review should consider such things as future employment and housing areas, and the amount of goods being carried on road, rail and air. A regional plan should plan for people to have the option to live reasonably close to where they work rather than creating dormitory towns where people have to commute large distances to work. The plan would consider modernising and increasing the capacity on the existing rail network. A key measure would be to create a new station on the main line at Norton. Buses and trams would also need to be part of that review.

We need to reduce the amount of noise and pollution present within the centre of our city by improving cycling and walking facilities. We need to reduce the amount of traffic passing through our city. Less through traffic would enable more pedestrianisation of the city centre, making our city centre quieter, safer, with less air pollution and a better place to shop. Building another road without looking at the deeper causes of transport problems is not the answer.

Creating more road capacity often gives a short term improvement but after a few years the capacity is quickly filled. And of course, the new road would cost hundreds of millions of pounds. In the current financial climate our money is better spent on defending the NHS and extending education and training.

In brief - Worcester Green Party cannot support the proposed North West Ring Road as a stand-alone project. However, we would be sympathetic to a new road if it improved the quality of the environment for the people of Worcester and was part of an ambitious strategic plan to reduce the need for high levels of commuting and improved train, bus, tram, cycling and walking provision in the region.

"Workers in both public and private sector are having to pay for a crisis not of our making," said Paul Hunt, the Unison steward for Coventry. "They are looking to attack the working class rather than the banks to get the money back."

In a time of financial difficulty when the public sector is most needed we should be defending jobs and services.

It is clear that irrespective of who wins the coming General Election both Labour and the Conservatives are planning to make deep cuts in the countries budgets. Louis Stephen challenged everyone present at the meeting to use the General Election to raise the profile of the Defend Jobs and Services campaign. The Green Party achieved 17% of Worcester's vote in last years local elections, is the largest progressive party in Worcester and the only real alternative to Labour and the Conservatives.