Audio: 'My First Ever Political Speech'

by TOMMY HOLGATE

By Tommy Holgate, Peace Party PPC, Chesterfield.

To put this video into context, it was a local hustings event organised by several campaign groups including CND and Save the NHS.

We'd not been invited as organisers wanted to keep timings down, having had an unusally large number of 11 candidates standing last time.

In 2015 there are 7 of us. 

I only found out about the event the day before, when it was referenced on an invite to another hustings a fortnight away.

I was told that 'people wanted to hear about how the candidates party would influence national issues', and that - despite being a national party - us, having only 4, weren't quite substantial enough.

I happily accepted not being on the panel when organisers said I could have 3 minutes at the end to 'say whatever I liked'.

But when I turned up on the night, to find Conservative Mark Vivis and Ukip Stuart Yeowart both absent - and that this had been known prior to my initial telephone call - I did rather wish I had been given the opportunity to join the debate that now only had 4 panellists.

It's already enough of an uphill battle trying to spread this message in politics, so I felt like I had a bit of a bit between my teeth when I got to the microphone.

Lookng back, I appreciate that organisers have a job to do, and perhaps I took it a bit personally, but there can be no regrets.

The week before, our leader John Morris had appeared on BBC's Daily Politics.

Before which, I texted to say what a naturally friendly man he is, and that just by being himself he will win people over.

The day before this inaugural speech, I had asked for some advice on how to remain peaceful in political debate.

He said: "Well I do recall recently being advised by a political colleague that the best way to deal with things is to be yourself."

Wise words.

So the method employed in the speech above combines genuine care for people's welfare, a bit of mild humour, and an acknowledgement that much of current political discourse is predictable and similar - party lines trotted out left, right and centre, mudslinging between parties, blame games stretching back 30 years and so on.

Speaking of the word 'trot', I've heard voices say: 

"Shouldn't you be trotting off to deliver some more campaign literature door-to-door?"

Too right. Back in a bit.

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My First Ever Political Speech

By TOMMY HOLGATE

Notes taken . . . trimming your spiel into 180 seconds means little room for waffle

Tonight, Friday 17 April, I shall be delivering my first ever political speech to a hustings event organised by a series of local campaign groups including CND and Save The NHS.

Due to a massive panel in 2010, when a number of independent candidates and small parties stood, the debate itself will remain between the four big parties.

I have, however, been given 3 minutes to say what I want at the end of questions, prior to each candidate's wrap-up statement.

And I think it will go something like this:

"I am thankful for this opportunity to bring the word 'Peace' into political discussion.

I read a Dalai Lama quote the other day...

That 'without inner peace, it's impossible to have world peace'.

Then Lao Tzu said:

If there is to be in the world, there must be peace in the nations.

If there to be peace in the nations, there must be peace in the cities.

If there is to be peace in the cities, there must be peace between neighbours.

If there is to be peace between neighbours, there must be peace in the home.

If there is to be peace in the home, there must be peace in the heart.

Following Lao's chain backwards up to the top, we can see the link between pursuing a peaceful existence in our personal life, and the possibility of a planet living in harmony.

Perhaps much like yourselves, I'm still trying to achieve it in my personal life, but with the knowledge that the more I acknowledge peace as more than just a word on a flag at Glastonbury, and something that can be present more in our day-to-day lives.

That's why I've moved home after a decade working in the media in London so that I can settle and spread a positive message in the local community - via a series of creative means.

I've got a job teaching tai chi at the local leisure centre, but can't start until after the election - or indeed if elected - as being a Councillor and working for the Council do not go together.

So, if elected, I would like to offer free tai chi and dance classes at the weekends.

I wasn't going to 'go into politics' for another 10 years but got so fed up with the younger generation's lack of representation - and consequently interest - in the political sphere.

So, having just turned 30, I'm here to bridge the gap between teenage first-time voters, which incidentally should be lowered to 16, and the current goings on in Parliament.

So many people just won't vote for anything that currently exists, such is the level of disenchantment, that offering something genuinely fresh, like a party promoting Compassion as a topic to be taught on the curriculum, withdrawing from all military intervention, and - crucially - giving a voice to the pursuit of peace within said political sphere.

My personal political sway is such that I believe we should look at emulating the success of Portugal's decriminalisation of drugs, where drug-related deaths have fallen without any increase in overall public usage.

We should follow Finland's education model that sees the country consistently top international rankings for education systems - by following a path away from the evaluation-driven, centralised model that much of the Western world uses and worrying less, for example, about competing with countries like Singapore in mathematics, piling pressure on children because we need to be able to compete in the global economy.

Somebody else's love of money shouldn't be making your 10-year-old kid stressed over some SAT resits.

And the Swiss referendum system, their much-envied Direct Democracy, is something I would love to see here in Britain. That gives a maximum amount of self-determination to citizens, as well as adding a sense of stability to the political system.

I fully support all the campaign groups who have organised this evening and would love to be able to spend a bit more time in the future to get to know you and support in a tangible way wherever possible."

Let's see how that goes...

PS - as I was typing this I heard myself from the interview I did on Peak FM in Chesterfield. I was speaking quite low and calm, but it ended up sounding like a croaky OAP, as opposed to Vin Diesel, which is how I had imagined! Probably good to sound somewhat serious though, despite the juxtaposition between political subject matter and the tone of local radio... Probably.

Speaking of the word 'probably', I've heard people say: 

"There's no 'probably' about it, the people need to be better represented within government."

Too right. We're working it.

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This week in Peace Politics...

By TOMMY HOLGATE

Peace FM . . . it's great to be able to raise healthy topics on the radio

One week ago, The Peace Party had just made a landmark appearance on BBC's Daily Politics.

In the space of a couple of hours, our Twitter following nearly doubled, from the modest starting point of just over 200 [welcome to those of you who have just joined us :)].

Two days later, we were featured on the Daily Telegraph website in a piece that led on my free dance and tai chi pledge, but also gave good coverage to some of our key policies and ideas.

This spawned myriad responses, some saying nice things, others claiming that the Monster Raving Loony Party "has got some competition".

Among other names, the terms 'ridiculous', 'naive' and 'idiot' appeared.

But it's OK. 

For me it would be ridiculous not to be pursuing the possibility of peace - no matter how small a possibility that is perceived to be.

This morning I visited the local radio station Peak FM to do a pre-recorded interview that will be trailed throughout the month.

It was my first one as a politician and I think I managed to answer the questions posed in a way that didn't involved too much 'umming and ahhing'.

The host described me afterwards as 'a bit of a dreamer'.

Once again, it's OK.

I would rather pursue the dream of a better world than accept the false reality that there is nothing we can do to bring about positive change in our lives.

Meanwhile, Mr Morris has been shining at local hustings, unafraid to speak up for the promotion of harmony.

Peaceful point . . . John Morris will always stand for conflict resolution

"Good", said the Guildford candidate on seeing the recent ES headline 'Our military forces face a long struggle to even stay in service'.

"Our work is being done for us! 

"BUT, a withering away of the army, navy and air force is only half the Peace Party's desires. The government now needs to establish ways to re-train and re-educate society AWAY from its current love of all things military. 

"Each one of us needs to learn the great variety of non-violent ways to resolve conflict, to peacefully resist those we disagree with, learning to treat others as we wish to be treated ourselves."

In the spirit of pursuing the possibility of a better future, our General Secretary contacted BBC Radio 4, imploring them to investigate alternative financial strategies, such as the Modern Monetary Theory.

David Brown wrote:

"When discussing the economy, the 'More or Less' programme routinely accepts the received wisdom that government expenditure must be financed by tax or borrowing or both.

Modern Monetary Theory clearly shows that this is not the case and therefore that the whole case for austerity is fallacious. This is an extremely important issue and is fundamental to a proper and informed analysis of economic statistics.

While I accept that MoL cannot ignore the received wisdom it should not accept it uncritically. May I suggest that MoL at least investigate and give a reasonable amount of air time to the MMT viewpoint."

Here's an article that explains Modern Monetary Theory in plenty of detail.

Speaking of modern money, I've heard people say: 

"We could all do with a bit more of it, couldn't we?"

Too right. We're looking into it.

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About Peace...

By TOMMY HOLGATE

Wise words . . . I'm willing to attempt to understand the 'enemy', if Einstein recommends it

It's been an interesting few days regarding Peace Party matters.

Today marks the end of nominations week, during which candidates gather 10 signatures from the local ward, sign myriad boxes and pay the £500 deposit. 

Basically, it's now official that I shall be running in the elections as both a Prospective Parliamentarian and Local Councillor.

This time just over six months ago, I was on the train to Guildford to meet the party's co-founder and leader John Morris for the first time. So it's been a case of diving in the deep end somewhat...but what better way to learn to swim than immersing oneself in water?

John is a pacifist, who originally founded The Pacifist Party, which joined with ex-pirate radio DJ Jim Duggan's People's Peace Party in 1996 to form 'The Peace Party - Non-violence, Justice, Environment'.

As John pointed out on BBC's Daily Politics this week: "I prefer not to use the word pacifism, as it gets muddled up with 'being passive'. Being peaceful is a very active role to take."

Since that performance, many people responded on Twitter saying 'world peace will never happen'. But we are keen to bring to mind that the idea of peace begins at home, and how we treat ourselves and others.

There is plenty of terror and understandable fear in the world today. So in the spirit of claiming one's own power back, I try to live, as Jim Carrey said, choosing love over fear. It's not always easy, but it is rewarding.

Even the attempt to bring peace into one's own life [again, not always easy!] helps the wider cause, as the more we can bring the higher vibrational mindsets [love, empathy etc] into our personal existence, the more comfortably society's consciousness will shift towards the possibility of a peaceful world. 

As John posted on our Facebook page:
"Peace is conceived by so many as the time that follows from the termination of war. The Peace Party recognises that peace is so much more than that. Its members and supporters work for the transformation of social, political and economic structures to ensure an enduring time when everyone is learning and re-learning to treat others as they wish to be treated themselves. Peace is a process to be engaged in, not an end in itself."

In the interest of further exploration of the concept of peace, here are a series of quotes from a variety of incredibly well-respected individuals on the topic:

Mahatma Gandhi: "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others."

So it's OK - nigh on advisable - to be nice to other people without needing anything in return. 

Martin Luther King: "Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal."

Ah, so it is something we should enjoy acknowledging in our day-to-day lives and within our bodies I suppose.

John Lennon: "Peace is not something you wish for, it's something you make, something you do, something you are and something you give away."

Great news! So we can even create a bit ourselves and spread it around. Nice one.

Albert Einstein: "Peace cannot be kept by force, it can only be achieved by understanding."

The man synonymous with the word 'genius' recommends attempting to utilise empathy even towards an 'enemy'.

Jimi Hendrix: "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will know peace."

I suppose the value systems of the elite financial ruling classes needs to shift. 
In order to do so, maybe we need to try and understand them.

Mother Theresa: "Peace begins with a smile."

Good point. I'll try and bear this in mind as much as possible!

Speaking of smiling, I've heard people say: 

"There's not much to be cheerful about in politics at the minute is there?"

I know. But that is changing.

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'Peace Man' on BBC's Daily Politics

How about chat . . . John Morris, right, being interviewed by Andrew Neil [pic: BBC]

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

ONE may refer to the 2015 election as a 'volume of soirees' - as the smaller parties are beginning to get heard.

And this week, one of the smallest parties got to have their say on BBC's Daily Politics show, when Peace Party leader John Morris - known affectionately as Guildford's 'Peace Man' - was interviewed by Andrew Neil.

John asserted that the defence budget could be better spent "not bombing, shooting and rocketing people out of existence."

Andrew sympathised that his principled stance must be "like pushing a very large rock up a big hill."

- Here's a transcript of the 5-minute conversation...

Andrew: Peace Party, synonymous with pacifism, or different in some ways?

John: I prefer not to use the word pacifism, as it gets muddled up with 'passive' and being passive. Being 'peaceful' is a very active role to take.

Andrew: Do you feel depressed by the tenor of the times when you see events in the Middle East with IS, and in Russia/Ukraine with Mr Putin?

And I read at the weekend that Pakistan is massively increasing its defence budget, developing battlefield nuclear weapons. It's not good is it?

John: It's not good, and neither is our 'defence budget', or rather 'preparation for war' budget. £40bn a year the UK currently spends.

Andrew: That's about 2% of our GDP. Not huge.

John: Not huge, but think what that money could be used for.

Andrew: Do you think we shouldn't spend on defence at all?

John: Eventually.

Andrew: We'd all like that eventually wouldn't we?

John: Yes, of course. Nobody wants war - everybody wants peace.

Andrew: Except maybe IS. Do you think, that in this dangerous world, where most people are concerned that we should spend more on defence, that you would like to see less spent on defence?

John: I would like to spend a lot more on alternatives to shooting, bombing and rocketing people out of existence, because the main purpose of peace is to protect all life. Peace Party stands for the protection of life.

Andrew: What would you say to the point that the best way of preserving peace, is to be strong?

John: One can be strong, but without having a gun or a bomb at your disposal. There are other ways of dealing with conflict, other than using a military organisation.

Andrew: But Hitler didn't walk in to the Sudetenland because it was too strong, Argentina didn't invade the Falklands because our defences were too strong. In all these cases it was because we were too weak.

John: Yes, but of course it is easy to bring up these particular instances, but one must look at the whole background, and the lead up to them. This is what we do.

In following peace one must look at all that is going on.

Andrew: You have a principled position, but do you feel sometimes as though you're pushing a large stone uphill? Even the tenor of the times are difficult for you?

John: They are difficult, but people talking to me on the street are friendly, and I believe that we can all find it within to be able to treat other people as we wish to be treated ourselves.

Andrew: One final question. Have you not thought about throwing your lot in with the Greens? Who seem to be not too different.

John: Not too different, but if you look at their defence issue, I don't see abandonment of all weapons in the future.

FOR interview requests or further information, please contact peacepartymedia@gmail.com

Follow @PeacePartyUK on Twitter, or visit our website www.peaceparty.org.uk

Our 2015 Manifesto

General Election 2015

Manifesto

By declaring that the quest for Peace is the central issue in politics, the Peace Party has set a new standard through which all of the problems in society will be solved.

Putting our faith in the good nature of human beings and trusting in their ability to work hard together and as individuals to develop a more compassionate, a more idealistic, a more positive way forward, the Party is showing that we can do it!

Much of our political debate is conducted in a spirit of negativity, mistrust and hostility. The Peace Party believes that there is a better way, that people are capable of compassion, kindness and generosity and it is this belief that informs all of our policies.

The two areas that bring these ideas into sharpest focus are war and poverty. To put it simply, our ultimate objective is to eliminate both of these scourges and, in the process, release vast resources for the benefit of humanity.

With your help and the help of other peace movements throughout the world, we could radically improve the situation.

Foreign Affairs and Defence

We should focus on bringing PEACE and security to the world through dialogue, trade, co-operation and humanitarian assistance. This would be vastly superior to deploying military force. NO intervention in others' wars.

Climate Change

Our aim is to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide to help slow down global warming and climate change by fully developing all forms of non-polluting energy.

Poverty, Inequality

Our aim is to eliminate the huge and growing disparity in income between rich and poor. The structure of taxation will be changed to correct this grave injustice.

The UK is a rich country but many are forced to live in abject poverty. A basic income for all adults would allow everyone to have a decent standard of living and make a major contribution to solving social problems.

Education, including Schools

End student fees! Ensure that properly funded, free education at all levels is available for everyone throughout life.

Human Rights Act

All laws must be based on the basic human rights as defined by the European Convention on Human Rights which is itself based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Peace Party supports the Human Rights Act.

Race Relations and Immigration

Immigrants are not the problem! They enrich our culture and our economy and should be welcomed and celebrated. There must be compassionate and just policies on asylum and migration. 

The Peace Party recognises that the political, social and economic circumstances leading to people leaving their homes are partially caused by the imbalances of wealth in Europe and beyond. We would seek ways to work with other countries in order to help treat the issue at its root.

National Health Service

The NHS is one of the best and most cost-effective in the world. It must continue to be fully funded by the government. NO privatisation - NO profits.

Housing

A housing programme should be in existence to ensure that everyone has a home of their own to rent or buy at prices they can afford.

To get involved... Follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook or contact via our website.

[pic: rotarianactiongroupforpeace.org]

Peace Education Policy...

By JOHN MORRIS

World of information . . . tomorrow's peaceful world begins with today's peaceful education

The organisation, Education International, defines Peace Education in a way that closely matches to Peace Party policy on education in general:

"Peace Education is integrated comprehensive education focusing on life skills covering human rights, democracy, international understanding, tolerance, non-violence, multiculturalism, and all other values conveyed through the school curriculum.

"These are not just lessons for the classroom but lessons for life of immediate relevance, empowering individuals to achieve a just society in which all human rights of all persons are valued and respected.

"Peace education applies to the contents of all curricula, at every level in the education system.

"Peace education is the all-round education of each individual. Peace education should be extended to all learners, including refugee and migrant children, children from minorities and disabled with the objective of promoting equal opportunities through education.

"The training of teachers, education workers and all education stakeholders, including staff from ministries and departments of education is crucial. Educators promote the development of the whole person, so as to enable everyone to contribute to society in a caring and responsible manner.

"In order to recruit and retain the best teachers, governments should give priority to adequate salary, which must provide teachers with a reasonable standard of living for themselves and for their families, as well as the means of enhancing their professional qualifications by developing their knowledge and improving their cultural resources.

"Governments must also focus on providing attractive working conditions including small class sizes, career paths and more opportunities for professional growth and development, financial and other incentives, and support systems for new teachers, such as mentoring programs.

"Education is a participatory and interactive process of instruction and learning, and the curriculum and pedagogy should give prominence to understanding the wealth of distinctive cultural and linguistic characteristics, in response to globalization.

"The educational context should provide programmes addressing psychological and physical violence, including cyber-bullying, through violence prevention, conflict resolution and mediation in all levels of education."

It will be in line with the above philosophies that Peace Party will be working towards with regards to improving the state of the nation's education. 

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