The Letter

                                  R F Hughes                                                                                                            (No mobile phone, computer,TV)

Mr D Cameron MP                                                                                               House of Commons, London  SW1  0AA

Dear Sir,

I am the founder of a ‘Sustainable’ Community Action Group in your Constituency that is actively taking measures to reduce our ‘Carbon Footprint’ and become more efficient in energy use. We are also addressing the issues of waste, recycling and ‘buying local’. My group represents about 5% of our community, and a wealth of knowledge, enthusiasm and experience in sustainable lifestyles.

In the course of raising awareness of general and specific ‘alternative’ solutions to these issues, questions are being raised about which I would welcome your advice.

My aim is to gain clarification, not to engage in political incitement or accusation. I merely wish to apprise you of the ‘state of play’ at the front line.

The most often point raised is this; how are we supposed to convince those who are still in the thrall of expanding market pressures to consume at ever increasing rates, to break the habits of a lifetime ?   These – the majority – understandably cannot see the point in curbing their spending habits, seeing this as a restriction or imposed limitation to their ‘rights’ of choice and aspiration.  (False rights, earned not by necessity or need, but enforced by a system that depends on them for its profit margins.)             
There is certainly no incentive for them to do this while the ‘capitalist/consumer’ system of cheap, often foreign, mass manufacture of goods and imports of out of season and exotic foods continues to be the driving force of the economy, and their apathy is strongly encouraged.

Indeed, the whole concept of sustainable living is completely counter-intuitive to consumer ‘market’ needs and expectations.

How then do we make the Transition to a more sustainable way of life in sufficient numbers to meet the targets the government have committed us to?

Those of us, who have always lived frugally, aware of the impact we have on the planet and trying to do the ‘right’ thing, have always  been ridiculed for our views and pushed to the fringes of a consumer obsessed society. 

Indeed, without the trappings of this consumer obsessed society, such as TV, mobile phone, computer, car etc… we are actively ostracised and discriminated against on a daily basis.   However we are the ones upon whom you are now calling to lead the Transition and create your ‘Big Society’.                                   
 In fact, we are the only ones who understand the issues and are prepared to spend our – voluntary – time in trying to raise general awareness of them.

But we cannot compete with unelected, unaccountable, inaccessible multi-billion pound corporations who seem to be determined to wring the last penny of profit out of the planet in complete disregard of the irreparable damage they are doing.  (The planet is a finite resource.)

How do you reconcile the needs of individuals and communities, with the impossible aspirations of the greedy few?  

The vast majority of your ‘ State Nanny’d ’ population are simply no longer capable of thinking beyond their latest acquisition, having been subjected to incessant, specifically designed and refined advertising campaigns all of their lives, with the added promise that the government will ‘take care’ of them for the least effort on their part.        

They are hardly capable of thinking for themselves at all, in a sustainable framework.

The demograph of people who remember post war rationing, ‘making and mending’ and ‘going without’ are not only dwindling, they feel that they have contributed enough. They lost the value of their pensions, have been taxed heavily and live in fear of an increasingly violent and uncontrolled society, a collapsing NHS and being forced to sacrifice their homes for whatever dubious care is available.   They see no point in going without any more, at this stage in their lives and there is no answer to that.  Why should they be made to feel guilty for having been good and diligent consumers – as was required of them – all their lives ?

This is a small amount of the feed-back I’ve experienced, and while the few of us who form the Sustainability group are no less intent upon ‘making a difference’, it would be very helpful to have some authoritative support and answers, if there are any, to the points I’ve raised.

We voted for you and look to you for leadership/guidance in these matters, that are crucial to the survival of, well, all of us…   

We meet on the first Tuesday of the month (next 4^th October, 1^st November) informally and in private at the White Horse PH, Stonesfield and offer you or a representative a standing invitation to join us for discussion.

Or may I/we meet you in one of your local constituency surgeries ?

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Yours sincerely,

R F Hughes

Sustainable Stonesfield CAG

P.S.  Have you managed to think of a good generic label for the sustainability movement/party that is in the process of developing ?     Assuming that ‘communism’ or’ socialism’, while being totally accurate, bear the wrong connotations to a ‘Tory’ party and have already been much over-used, to the detriment of their original meanings.


I sent this on 28th August 2011 and frankly did not expect a reply. America bankrupt. Middle East about to descend into civil war. Greece about to default on the ridiculous amount of debt it's got itself into (despite clear warnings before they joined Euro that this is precisely what they would do). Not a chance the leader of the country would reply to little old me an my pedantic rantings.....or was there ?