Articles by Adam Ramsay


Hello, I'm a co-editor of Bright Green. In my day job, I work for student campaigning network People & Planet. Once upon a time, I was a student politics hack at Edinburgh and I'm involved in various bits of activism, including through UK Uncut, No Shock Doctrine, Oxford Save Our Services, the Green Party, False Economy, UK Feminista, and various other bits and pieces. Along with Ali (also Bright Green co-editor) I run the recipe blog http://101waystocookmushrooms.wordpress.com.
http://twitter.com/#!/AdamRamsay

Caroline Lucas stands down: space for someone to lead

Posted on May 13, 2012 | 7 Comments

So, it’s now public – the rumours that Caroline Lucas is standing down as Green Party leader have been confirmed. It’s a good move. Perversely, because we didn’t used to have one, we Greens have a long history of talking about what a leader is for. One of those roles – the role we used [...]

On environmental colonialism, the Amazon, and Scottish beavers

Posted on May 9, 2012 | 3 Comments

When people ask me about my political background, I often talk about my parents. I explain that, though they aren’t nearly as far left as me, they brought me up to have an interest in politics, and to care particularly about the environment. There’s one particular lesson they taught me which, in retrospect, makes me [...]

Miliband kicks nurses and unemployed young people

Posted on May 9, 2012 | 4 Comments

Friday was Ed Miliband’s day. Labour’s rise in the local elections revived his leadership and gave him a chance once more to articulate his message without the media sniping at his heals. Such opportunities are rare for party leaders – the space to say what they want to say, the time to craft a message, [...]

LOLBoris and LOLObama

Posted on May 7, 2012 | 1 Comment

OK, I’m going to make a clear prediction: Barack Obama is gonna win. I should add that, when Gordon Brown was 10 points down in 2010, I predicted he’d be the next PM: that the disastrous Tory campaign would fail to convince people. When Ken was a mile behind, I was confidently asserting that he [...]

A report from the doorstep

Posted on April 4, 2012 | 4 Comments

I love election campaigns, for a simple reason. It is one of the few times that I get around to knocking on doors and talking to people. And people are awesome. It is through conversations with people about the difficulties in their lives that I learn how the issues on which I campaign are truly [...]

Fortnum and Mason trial C – Not Guilty

Posted on March 23, 2012 | 3 Comments

What a wonderful final scene of the first act of this farce. When the CPS chose to prosecute only 30 of the 145 people arrested in Fortnum and Mason’s on the 26th of June, we laughed at the arbitrary criteria on which we were chosen. The judge then recognised that we couldn’t all fit into [...]

Shop a Scrounger – the £1500 F&M poem

Posted on March 14, 2012 | No Comments

We always knew things in Fortnum and Mason were expensive. But this poem cost Danny Chivers £1500. He was among those found guilty yesterday of ‘aggrevated trespass with intent to intimidate’, and fined one and a half grand. Here’s the poet demonstrating what he did that was so ‘intimidating’: Shop a Scrounger from Pete Speller [...]

Fortnum and Mason trial B: the farce rolls on

Posted on March 12, 2012 | 8 Comments

Westminster Magistrates Court, 12 March, 2012: Fortnum and Mason trial B. You can read my write up of ‘trial A’ from November. By the time I arrived at the Westminster Magistrates Court this morning, the judge had finally worked out what the charge before him was. Which helps move things along, I suppose. I am [...]

Why I support independence

Posted on March 11, 2012 | 12 Comments

Governments should be closer to people. I wish politicians would stop deciding to send teenagers to kill and die in foreign adventures. But if ministers are going to launch a war, they should not issue their commands from a limestone palace hundreds of miles away. There should be a good chance they know some of [...]

New editor at Bright Green – Alyson Macdonald

Posted on March 2, 2012 | 1 Comment

Alyson Macdonald has agreed to join the Bright Green editorial team. Alyson, who is a regular contributor to the blog, is active in feminist and tenants’ rights and anti-cuts movements. Over the last year or so, Alyson has written numerous popular and thought provoking pieces for Bright Green. These have ranged from her number crunching [...]

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