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June 2016
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Candidate Interview: Peter Allen (Green)

Green Party candidate Peter Allen, pictured on Uppermill High Street yesterday.

Green candidate Peter Allen has described his party as “the voice of hope” in the Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election.

Mr Allen also used an interview with Saddleworth News to say he believed the government was wrong to cut public sector jobs, and called for higher taxes on the wealthy and tougher measures on tax evasion to help reduce the deficit instead.

He explained: “We’re against all cuts in public services. Not only are they immoral and unjust and will lead to massive deprivation, but also we think that they’re not going to be an effective way of reducing public expenditure and reducing the deficit.”

Mr Allen continued: “If a public sector worker on an average wage of ÂŁ25,000 was made redundant, the actual saving to the state once reduced taxation and the payment of benefits is taken into account, could be as little as ÂŁ2,000. So it doesn’t actually make a lot of economic sense.”

He pointed to research which suggested that “around ÂŁ70 billion” could be saved by increasing taxes on higher earners and significantly reducing the amount of money lost in tax avoidance. He added that the Greens would support some spending cuts, such as “an immediate end” to the war in Afghanistan.

Mr Allen said the Greens opposed the scaling back of the government’s school-building programme, which meant the planned new Saddleworth School in Diggle had to be shelved. He said: “If a local decision is that there needs to be a new school in this area, which would be a decision that would be appropriately made locally, then that would be something that we would want to see carry on.”

On the related issues of the new Tesco at Greenfield and the impending parking restrictions in Uppermill, Mr Allen recognised the convenience of supermarkets, but added: “On the other hand, people also have a commitment to local shops on local high streets. I know there’s a vibrant one here in Uppermill, and I know there’s a parking problem.”

He went on to suggest: “I’m wondering whether the Tesco car park couldn’t be used by people shopping here in Uppermill, and perhaps Tesco could lay on free buses so people could actually continue to shop in Uppermill as well as using Tesco, and that would be something that Tesco would be contributing to the community, and quite rightly so.”

Mr Allen said he was fully behind Network Rail’s plans to expand the railways in our area, which includes the re-opening of the disused Standedge tunnels and perhaps a new station at Diggle. He said this and other infrastructure projects could be paid for by “a massive shift away from investing in road building.”

Reflecting on the actions of Phil Woolas, which have led to this by-election taking place, Mr Allen said he remembered the former MP as a contemporary of his from his student days in Manchester. He condemned the leaflets sent out by Mr Woolas in last year’s general election, adding: “The Green Party welcomes the multiracial and multicultural nature of modern Oldham and modern Britain, so we don’t think immigration is a problem, we actually think it’s a quality.”

Mr Allen lives in Glossop and is an advice worker in Manchester. I interviewed him at the Jamaica Blue coffee shop in Uppermill yesterday. We also talked about the cuts at Oldham Council and tuition fees, and he spoke at greater length about his views on Afghanistan.

You can listen to our conversation in full here.

A total of ten candidates are contesting the Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election. You can read and listen to interviews with Labour’s Debbie Abrahams here, Pirate Party UK candidate Loz Kaye here, Stephen Morris of the English Democrats here, UKIP’s Paul Nuttall here, and Liberal Democrat Elwyn Watkins here.

Check back later today for an interview with Conservative candidate Kashif Ali.

The other contenders are the BNP’s Derek Adams, David Bishop of the Bus Pass Elvis Party and Nick “The Flying Brick” Delves from the Monster Raving Loony Party.

Polling day is a week on Thursday. Plenty of other well-known political figures have already been campaigning in our area. An interview with the Deputy Prime Minister and Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg is here, while a chat with Lib Dem Business Secretary Vince Cable is here. You can hear from Labour leader Ed Miliband here and here, and an interview with Conservative Chairman Baroness Warsi is here.

To read full coverage of the by-election so far from Saddleworth News, click here.

8 comments to Candidate Interview: Peter Allen (Green)

  • Geoff Frost

    I wonder if Mr Allen has asked the Glossop Tesco to provide parking spaces and free buses into Glossop town centre?
    It’s private business, industry and entrepreneurs that provide the finances for public services to exist. More taxes on successful people will not solve the problem of inflated and wasteful public services.

    And why the heck should a successful private enterprise like Tesco provide free buses and clog up their car park so that shoppers can shop at their opposition outlets? The main problem with the Greens and their ilk is naivety.

  • Jake Welsh

    Good work from Peter Allen.
    Totally disagree with Geoff there, public services should be owned and paid for by the public out of taxes. A free bus to and from Tesco would provide Tesco with more customers, make it easier for pensioners and disabled people who can’t drive to get to Tesco and also would help keep the shops on the high street stay in business.
    Tesco are only successful because they put other companies out of business, I like having local corner shops where I can get to know the owner who also works behind the till. I don’t like the service at Tesco where the workers are pushed hard and don’t enjoy the job and often don’t even smile when they demand money off you at the till. I support Peter Allen because I support local shops.

  • Cllr Ken Hulme

    I might not agree with everything the Greens say - I certainly don’t want giant wind turbines on our moors - but I’m glad they are around and they raise some interesting questions and have some stimulating ideas.

    Too much of ‘political debate’ these days amounts to bland PR slogans and ‘messages’ with the main parties chasing the ‘middle ground’.

    We need some radical ideas and a wide ranging debate - its essential for a healthy democracy. Greens certainly help out in that regard. - So do the Pirate Party as well - glad they’re standing.

  • Geoff Frost

    Jake: So you are saying Tesco should provide free buses, should that apply to ALL supermarkets throughout the country - or is this just another ‘Saddleworth is a special case’ nonsense.

    Supermarkets are successful businesses not charities and if local shops have gone out of business because of the supermarkets it’s because shoppers have decided not to shop at local stores. It’s what is called competition and is a fundamental aspect of free markets and democracy.

    And many local shops have NOT gone out of business because they provide excellent service and goods better than the supermarkets - exactly the reasons why I continue to use certain shops in Uppermill and Greenfield (yet do a weekly bulk shop at a supermarket).

    Regarding taxes, public services only exist because of private industry. Without wealth creation in the private sector there would be no money at all for public services.

  • Emily

    It’s quite common for a major development to be required, as part of the planning process, to provide something for the local community. That’s common practice, not naivety.
    And the Green Party isn’t opposed to private industry - on the contrary, it advocates grants to encourage small businesses to start up in areas like home insulation and renewable energy.

  • mark anthony france

    Pete Allen represents a real alternative to the Established parties… I hope he does really well next Thursday.
    The first every Green MP Caroline Lucas was brilliant when i saw her on Question Time…we need more Green MP’s … good luck to peter

  • Edward Holmes

    The land based GREEN wind turbines are all heavily subsidised and ‘generate’ a heathy income for the owners even when standing still ( most of the time) they make NO real contribution to our power supply. But the BIG selling point is that once built the site becomes INDUSTRIAL LAND, so when the ‘Revolving white Elephants’ are at their end of life ( which is not long) the land has changed from Green Field to Brown Field XXXXXXX

    What a Con, and these Green Rotting Cabbages fall for it. Sad?

  • How far are the greens into Brussels?