Statement about Andy Burnham's bus fares announcement

As members of Friends of the Earth, we welcome moves by government to make greener transport more accessible and attractive to citizens. The recent announcement by Andy Burnham that bus fares will be capped at £2 per journey from January looked, at first glance, like unequivocally good news in this respect.

Many of us, however, felt quite differently about the announcement when we discovered how the government plans to pay for it: by turning the UK’s international aid grants into loans. The effect of this will be that people in many countries in the Global South will be made worse off to pay for something that looks more like a cynical sound bite than a sensible and sustainable policy.

It is unacceptable that a plan for cheaper UK buses pits desperate people in other countries against cash-strapped commuters here. It suggests that we can’t fix the local cost of living crisis, fund greener transport and meet our global aid commitments without somebody losing out.

We think our new PM can do better than that. What do you think? 

Together Alliance march in London

On Saturday 28^th March, a group of us set off to London to join the ‘Together Alliance’ march and we had a brilliant day out!

‘Together’ is an alliance of hundreds of civil society organisations united against the far right. This includes trade unions, faith groups, politicians from a range of parties, charities and campaigning groups including Stand Up To Racism, Greenpeace, Woodcraft Folk, Global Justice, and of course Friends of the Earth. Plus thousands of individuals from across the UK (find out more at https://www.togetheralliance.org.uk/).

Five coaches went to London from Leicester on the day, and we were on one organised by Climate Action Leicester & Leicestershire, along with lots of other groups. We arrived in London and joined the Climate Justice bloc on Park Lane. As we waited for the march to start, we chatted, painted faces, laughed at some of the inventive banners and were entertained by drummers.

The march set off from Park Lane at 1pm, travelling down Piccadilly to Trafalgar Square and on to Westminster, with music at Trafalgar Square creating a party atmosphere and inspiring speeches at Westminster. Or so we heard, as we didn’t actually make it that far! We didn’t set off until 2.45 pm, marching down Park Lane and then halfway down Piccadilly, accompanied by drums and singing, a big XR boat and a great atmosphere, before we had to head across Green Park to meet our coach.

But the waiting didn’t dampen spirits because it was for a good reason – the march was huge! Organisers estimate there were 500,000 there, united in standing up to the far right, celebrating the diversity of the country and calling for more hope and less hate in our politics, media and beyond. It was a great event to be part of.

By Jenny Whillis

Cop 30 – I found a drum!!

Three travellers set off from Leicester FoE to Birmingham on Saturday 15^th November ’25 to take part in the Global Day of Action to join with allies in the climate movement across the country to stand up for a better future.

The UN talks are well underway at COP 30 – the gathering of World Leaders in Brazil to talk about Climate Change - so we are calling on the UK Government to :

Honour the UK’s pledge to protect forests and particularly the Amazon where the talks are taking place.

Demand justice for frontline communities and make polluters pay for a cleaner, fairer future.

End UK complicity in genocide and environmental ruin in Palestine.

We caught the train to Birmingham and went to our meeting place where we were greeted by a very friendly group of people from Birmingham Friends of the Earth sharing their morning activities with us which were banner making, chanting and ooh yes….  We were asked if we wanted to join a drumming workshop!

We were quickly strapped up with drums for a marching band, taught how to use them and shown how the ‘conductor’ controls the band with hand signals and a series of whistles.  Then we spent an enjoyable morning ‘playing’ on them or at least trying to follow what they were all doing. 

We shared an tasty lunch and were then asked if we wanted to march with the drummers!!  So, we did! 

It was great fun, one of the best things I’ve done for a long time – marching through the streets of Birmingham with a group of enthusiastic, like-minded people, joining in with a Global event, making our voices and drums heard.  Fantastic!

A big thank-you to Birmingham Friends of the Earth for making us so welcome – especially when we didn’t always keep up with the rhythm! 

Let’s hope we can ‘find a drum’ at another event!! 

#ThisWorldIsOurs #cop30

 

Melanie Wakley