ANDY BURNHAM MP, NOT FIT TO LEAD THE LABOUR PARTY

Only a couple of days ago i wrote what is below for the Friends of the Earth campaign to stop water fluoridation. Amongst other things i warned of the danger of the return of Andy Burnham MP. Now we learn that he has thrown his hat into the ring for the Labour Leadership contest.

THE WAR ON FLUORIDE MAY BE SEEM TO BE OVER BUT THE SKIRMISHES WILL HAVE TO CONTINUE.

With the departure of the Labour Party into the wastelands of opposition, its nice to think that they have taken their fluoride with them. Sadly the fluoridistas can be found in many places and there are many mugs of all political persuasions who can be seduced into wicked ways. Consequently we must remain vigilant, continue the work of opposition and spreading the word about the dangers of fluoride and fluoridaiton.

Having said this however, its important not to continually duplicate our work or reinvent the wheel by passing on the same old details. Its not just the fluoridistas with their "safe, effective and Optimal" twaddle that become victims of pedantry. The anti movement can easily fall victim to this in their zeal to publicise the truth. At such times, opinion and fact can easily become confused.

Now that the Labour Party are debating who will be the next leader one should be cautioned that besides the Millibands, and Ed Balls, our old " friend" Andy Burnham has already had a couple of mentions in interviews about leadership. Some of my fellow campaigners have reassured me that Burnham is strictly lightweight. I hope they are right and leave you to decide whether he is a fact or merely an opinion. . But he does have a way of popping up where he is least expected or wanted.

We must continue to target not just the Burnhams but also newly elected MPs and Councillors, especially those who have not expressed any opinion so far. We can save ourselves a lot of work now and reduce the size and complexity of our letters and press releases 30by concentrating on the most obvious and self evident aspects of water fluoridation and only reiterate the more detailed material if challenged or when more details are requested. Some of these key points are as follows.

Fluoride is toxic in all its forms to humans and animals and toxicity depends on both dosage and the time scale.

Fluoride is even worse when containing trace elements of other toxic chemical.

In the vast majority of cases, it has little or no value although it is good at killing rats and roaches.

A patient can only be prescribed medicine by a doctor on a one to one basis having obtained the individuals consent and considered his general health and medication.

A politician, elected or otherwise is not your GP and has no right whatsoever to prescribe this muck to you.

Since writing the above we have learned today, 14th May that Andy Burnham has of course changed his mind from his original statements about the Labour Leadership in which he seemed to rule himself out of the contest. Now he intends to stand as a potential leader. Its important that we dont underestimate this change.

Many of our number tend to not only dislike Burnham but actively dislike him . I am pleased to count myself amongs these dissenters. His performances always looked nervous to me and many consider him a lightweight.. one friend said he reminded him of a rabbit caught in car headlights. He is certainly always on hand and more than willing to help, when the Labour Government needed someone to do a dirty job. Its bad enough that he helped push the thoroughly nasty piece of legislation known as the Water Act 2003 through a virtually somnambulent House of Commons. This Bill was a nasty Piece of junk full of weasel words which actually empowered the SHAs to order the the Water Companies to add the toxic fluoride waste to our drinking water. And this even if every living soul in a community actively opposed it, including the Local Councils. Thus the act was a sneaky piece of work designed to hoodwink anyone unwise enough to assume that our MPs were intelligent and selfless people, concerned only with the betterment of their faithful electorate. Come the day, come the man as they say and of course Andy Burnham and his cronies at the British Fluoridation society were ever willing and able to do their damnedest to see the Bill went through.

Perhaps not surprisingly, Burnham was rewarded by advancement into the ranks of minister and became Secretary of State for Health.(sic) Naturally it was not until we pointed out that he was working for the Fluoridistas when he became a minister (and therefore batting for both sides with potential financial gain to the members of the press,) that he suddenly found it necessary to resign from the BFS due to the rather obvious conflict of interest. We know now that many MPs were tweaking their income via expenses but to do this when one is a Minister of the Crown does seem to be pushing the boat out a bit.

It was Burnham of course that also brought us such unwelcome and far from benign legislation as ID Cards and databases, yet another fine example of the decreasing importance of Democracy and Human Rights. Clearly there is little Burnham won't do to further his interests and now its payback time. After days of denying any interest in the leadership contest, today he changed his mind and was ready to take part. Possibly this was fueled by resentment that two of his babies, ID cards and the databases had gone down the tubes when the new Coalition Government abandoned them. Its also true that Fluoride has lost its champions in the Labour Government, Little wonder that he wants to get even. Now via the leadership he could gain control and at some time in the future lead a new Labour Government into an Andy Burnham style Police State, replete with ID Cards, Public Order laws Databases and all the other paraphernalia of the proto-fascist state.

People have short attention spans and easily forget the prior activities of Burnham so its important that we remind our friends and neighbours what a piece of work Burnham really is. I have said in my blog on several occasions that someone who spends all his time pushing fluoride onto an unwilling audience and environment is really not fit to be an MP and if we add to this the other activities and shenanigens of Burnham, he is definitely not fit to be a minister let alone the Prime Minister. I think we should all be told.

THE POWER IS OVER BUT THE MALADY LINGERS ON.

WILL THE POLITICIANS MISS THIS GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY FOR ELECTORAL REFORM?

Few people can have missed the fact that none of the main parties in the General election bothered to discus Environmental issues. The exception being the Lib Dems who even replied to our enquiries about fluoridation with a strong rejection of any such policy and its to be sincerely hoped that they will continue to raise this issue whatever roller coaster ride they are now committed to.. The Conservatives did at least reply to the first enquiry but although theorectically opposed to fluoridation they seemed unaware of the legislation already in place which enables the Government to bulldoze such a policy through any public opposition should they choose to. they did not reply to our request for clarification however.

The now discredited New Labour Project did not apparently feel the issue of fluoridation, important enough for them to bother themselves with and far to pre-occupied with everything else to even bother to reply to our second request at all. One must remember that the Labour Government never did have a policy or a mandate for fluoridation but passed it hurriedly into Law in 2003. This seems fairly typical of New Labour. They didnt have a mandate for ID Cards, or massive data bases and displayed a contempt for science and scientists, even those they had appointed themselves. Nor did they feel any restraint to stop them passing fluoridation legislation which all the other parties had given the cold shoulder. In short, the Labour Government have never had a mandate for water fluoridation, dont have a mandate now and were not elected to carry out such a policy. Now that they have little chance of forming a Government and the country is broke, the prospect of fluoridation is further away then ever and the best thing we as opponents can do is to continue to make it difficult and expensive for the pro-fluoride lobby to promote or advertise fluoridation let alone bring it into operation.

All the parties need to seriously discuss and tackle the problems of pollution, depletion of resources and generation of hazardous waste. by increasing efficiency, waste reduction, alternative energies (not including nuclear), and sustainable transport, and, no party that claims to be "greening" itself or its policies can be taken seriously if at the same time it is advocating the addition of highly toxic industrial waste to something as rare and vital as fresh drinking water. In that direction lies not just hipocrisy but actual madness.

If the results of the General Election are saying anyting positive and I for one believe they are, it is that the public now expect politicians of various persuasions to work together for the good of the country, not the party or the individual politicians themselves but for all of us. The parties now have a golden opportunity to introduce PR in some workable form so that massive majorities and political excess will never again allow governments like the New Labour regime (still clinging to power in desperation at the time of writing,) or the conservatives as in the time of Thatcher and Reagan, to blithely play fast and loose with the electorate and its wishes and introduce any old policy simply because they can.

Financially, times are going to get a lot tougher before they get better and in such a climate, any party advocating such a useless and expensive policy as fluoridation is unlikely to get very far and history will not deal kindkly with them. We also have the distinct possibility if the parties cannot agree to work in harmony, of yet another election next Spring or as some say, maybe even this Autumn so this is not the time to relax our pressure on political parties but probably the time to increase it.

Electoral Reform should at the very least make governments more representative and democratic and not make individuals who are tempted to vote for the smaller parties feel they are wasting their time or votes. This has frequently been the most common reason people give for not voting for the Lib Dems or the Greens. Every vote should count and all views and opinions should be heard and debated. Despite the strong rise in popularity for the Lib Dems this time round, when push came to shove the support did not translate into votes and the only reason anyone can suggest is that there was a last minute loss of confidence which made people bottle out.

Our Commisserations go to our campaigners in Liverpool who will probably not be pleased to note that in the local elections, the Lib Dems have lost control of Liverpool Council to the Labour group. Better news from Brighton however who have elected the countrys first Green Party Member of Parliament.. Our sitting MP here in Pendle has also been displaced. He always reckoned that fluoride was a good idea and claimed to have read of its valuable properties yet sadly was never ever able to recommend to me, any of this pro-fluoride nonesense literature or even engage in a debate about it. He has been replaced by a Conservative who told me several months ago when he first came canvassing that he did not like the idea of fluoride.

We dont care what Party anyone belongs to (within reason) because anyone can be green or at least greener, and anyone can oppose water pollution and fluoridatioN and learn to embrace the experience as a steep but necessary learning curve on the road to environmental enlightenment. The first step towards this goal is cross party co-operation and the psychic step even before this must be electoral reform. If the Tory and Labour Party do not embrace this philosophy, there is really not much hope for them. PR must be the default position and the Lib Dems really really must listen to their own members calling loudly for electoral reform. Without it there can be no further progress and the death knell for the Lib Dems will be heard rining across the land. They will never again get a chance like this, a chance which people have waited a couple of generations to realise. All that this really requires is a functioning brain and a conscience two qualities collectively usually known as common sense, a quality which has not been apparent in the recent regime which has seemed overly concerned the the minutae of peoples private lives whilst in other areas change for the sake of change was the order of the day combiuned with an apparent joy in throwing its weight about. Perhaps its time for politicians of all persuasions to truly remember that they are elected to serve, not to rule and heeding the words of Confusious might help them concentrate more clearly on the real issues and the ways and means. As the ancient Chinese Book of Changes says. "The Inferior Person acts through power, the Superior Person does not act this way!"

Brian Jackson.... Pendle FoE

WHAT WILL GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS MEAN FOR THE FLUORIDE CAMPAIGN.

If by some miracle, Labour were to be re-elected with a big majority it would be business as usual. They would persist if they could with their mindless policy. They didn't get a mandate for fluoridation at the last two elections so its daft to think that they would stop now. Of course finances may intervene. If Labour get in with a small majority they will get stiff opposition from the Lib Dems who have only recently woken up to the threat from fluoridation. The Tories would probably join in two, they are good at U Turns despite the famous Thatcher quote and there will probably be the prospect of savage cuts to front line services despite what they have said.

If the Lib Dems hold the balance with a Hung Parliament they will probably be joined by the Greens who also strongly oppose fluoridation and even UKIP oppose it. So even now on polling day i have my fingers, eyes and legs crossed for a dead heat Whatever else should happen, we will probably have to continue fighting the Fluoride Campaign on all fronts until its finally banished and no long a part of policy. Otherwise, like bypass and runway proposals, they have a habit of suddenly re-appearing at some time in the future when they hope that we have all forgotten the dangers and uselessness of fluoride and fluoridation.

ITS TIME THE PARTY LEADERS DEBATED FLUORIDE OPENLY

Discussion of fluoridation by the main party leaders is well overdue mostly because A... The Labour party are afraid to get into a discussion about it because it would just mean further embarassment and B... the Conservatives dont even understand it or the laws that were forced through parliament by the Government in 2003. Consequently the NPWA, UKCAF, WMAF have all been working their fingers to the bone to alert the public to how they are being bamboozled.

Jonathan Eyre at Leeds FoE has been doing sterling work in recent weeks, not least when he covered for me on this Campaign when my computer was knocked out by a DOS attack. Currently he is following on from the good work initiated by Pauline Johnson also of Leeds and is writing to candidates across the city and asking their views on water fluoridation etc. the idea being that those who support or promote fluoride use whether in Water supplies, childrens school milk or even supermarkets selling fluoridated salt are not to be recommended as potential MPs, Councillors etc etc.

So far we know from replies that the Lib Dems object strongly to fluoridation along with the Green Party and UKIP. The Conservatives object in principle to mass medication although they dont seem too clear about the Water Act 2003 which gave power to the SHA/PCTs to compel water companies to add this muck. They will need to be watched. We wrote to them a couple of weeks back asking for clarification of their position but so far only silence.

Labour did not bother to reply at all and like most of the pro-fluoride lobby, they dont wish to get involved in arguments that they cannot scienticall justify. One might expect Labour candidates to be more gung ho about this policy but i notice that they are not even mentioning it in their manifesto as far as I am aware at the time of writing. but one would suppose they would start promoting it strongly if they are re-elected and there are a still a few pence left in the NHS piggy bank. Available cash of course does seem to be increasingly unlikely who ever should become the government and the promotion of fluoride will take a great deal more cash than its already absorbed. The unscrupulous and misleading rubbish circulated by the SHA's and PCTs has been exemplified by the sham consultation in Southampton where the Advertising Standards Authority upheld complaints brought by HAF and UKCAF and will be keeping a close eye on them in future.

Peter Poole in Brighton FoE however received a very promising rebuttal of any attempt to fluoridate his town. and this from their own Labour Candidate. Well done Brighton who were luckier than my fellow constituents here in Pendle. I was rather dismayed when I learned that our own sitting Labour MP actually thought water fluoridation was a good idea although on what ground i do not know. I have asked a few times about this but all he would ever say was that he had read the evidence. Clearly he must be privvy to evidence the rest of us do not have as he has never produced any.

At least the lack of funds promises to delay any further Labour Party expansion of fluoridation and a Hung or Balanced Parliament should also slow it all down even more or at least long enough for us to ring the death knell on the whole sorry, immoral, pointless and expensive waste that we have endured so long. Lets hope that this outbreak of common sense in Brighton is sustained, virulent and spreads like wildfire amongst Labour's ranks.

Its also very sad that in a land with an allegedly Free Press, we should have to wait for the Press in Iceland, Scandinavia and Russia to tell us the truth about the fluoride ash from the Icelandic volcano. So safe is this "Naturally Occuring" fluoride that all the farm animals have had to be taken indoors to live on last years dwindling hay and silage and water drawn from wells because surface water and snow melt is heavily contaminated. OK the levels of deposition here in the UK are not inches deep as they are in Parts of Iceland but that is no reason why we should have to endure a government willing to force this poison upon us when even its own specially convened committee who produced the York Report were completly ignored (as usual).

Fluoride is so safe in fact, that it softens the animals bones to the extent that the poor creatures cannot even stand up and of course all their teeth fall out. Its true to say that the dosage is the important thing but its a bit rich when such a defence emanates from the pro-fluoride lobby and its sycophants who have absolutely no idea how much fluoride we are already getting from our diet but are ever eager to give us more and more whether in drinking water, table salt or even childrens school milk.

As the election draws ever nearer, there is no better time to write, email or phone your local candidates and ask them for their position, and if you find writing letters to these people to be difficult or tedius, you can at least copy and if necessary, adapt the letters sent out by Jonathan and see what replies you get. You could also try sending copies to your local and regional Press and Media, you can reach a lot of people that way and a lot of people is what we need in a country with a voting system that ensures that the party with the lowest vote, still gets elected with a stonking great majority. No Wonder the power hungry candidates are so afraid of a Hung or Balanced Parliament, that would really spoil their fun and force them to enter into proper debate and take notice of expert opinion etc etc but i digress just a tad.

The message to get over to candidates the media and the electorate is actually quite a simple one Namely, that fluoride is a very nasty toxic substance whatever its source, it doesnt even protect peoples teeth but actually damages them and much else besides. And finally of course that any friend of fluoridation is no friend of ours or the environment. And, if MPs etc really want to find favour with the electorate, in the hopefully sustainable future, they will have to abandon Junk Science and the too cosy relationships with vested intrests and those not too particular about how they dispose of toxic waste. They can start by opening their minds a little and meditating on the idea of the precautionary principle. In the meantime hang in there everybody. Good Luck in all your Campaigning.

Brian Jackson

SOUTHAMPTON PRIMARY CARE TRUST CLAIMS CRITICISED BY ADVERTISING STANDARDS AUTHORITY

SOUTHAMPTON PCT CLAIMS CRITICISED BY ADVERTISING STANDARDS AUTHORITY

Southampton PCT has now been instructed by the Advertising Standards Authority to remove all references from its published material to one of the claims made during the water fluoridation consultation.

This follows official complaints made by three members of Hampshire Against Fluoridation and UK Councils Against Fluoridation about misleading claims in advertisements by the PCT to promote water fluoridation.

During the consultation, the PCT claimed in their advertisements that "By topping it up to one part of fluoride per one million parts of water, it would be possible to make a major difference to the teeth of adults and children locally, and for future generations"

consult with the CAP Copy Advice team on future claims relating to fluoride.

HAF Chairman Stephen Peckham said "We have always argued that the PCT and SHA made exaggerated claims about water fluoridation

The ASA’s scientific experts ruled that there was no good quality evidence to support this statement. Consequently, the PCT have agreed not to repeat these claims and have also agreed to that were not based on good evidence. The fact that the PCT have now had to promise the ASA not to repeat these statements about making a major difference to adults removes one of the key arguments made by the PCT and SHA for imposing the scheme."

During the consultation PCT staff repeatedly said that water fluoridation would help "everyone" and the SHA in its consultation document also stated that water fluoridation benefits adults - despite the lack of evidence to support such statements.

Stephen Peckham added "It is likely that many people were influenced by these claims during the consultation and may have given support to the scheme thinking it would benefit them. The truth is that there are no such benefits. The fact that the PCT willingly withdrew this claim must also raise serious questions about other statements they made to promote water fluoridation to local people."

Following the PCT’s assurance not to repeat this claim, the ASA have dropped this particular clause from their final ruling which is published today (21 April 2010).

HAF Chairman: Stephen Peckham.

　

Brian Jackson writes,

Full marks and congratulations go out to HAF and to UKCAF for challenging the PCT statements. It is also probably worth checking carefully any other statements from your local PCT or SHA for similar gaffs. and then referring them to the findings by the ASA. The menace of fluoride although not yet destroyed is now becoming increasingly remote.

Open Letter on the British Dental Association Manifesto from John Spottiswoode

Dear Madam,

I received the British Dental Association letter to Candidates for the General Election, forwarded from Green Party Headquarters. I need to make it clear to you that I cannot support your manifesto, particularly point 5 on the promotion of fluoride. In fact I very strongly oppose the use of fluoride as it is:

Ineffective (the supposed benefits are more than outweighed by the dis-benefits, even if the flawed and biased data for five year olds is to be accepted);

Unethical (it is wrong to force everyone to take 'medication' via their tap water);

Unsafe (there is a mass of peer-reviewed and published scientific data giving grave concerns over the health effects of fluoride

Uneconomic (the supposed savings from fewer fillings is more than outweighed by the costs of delivery and the 'externality' costs of dental fluorosis. Even assuming no more serious side effects for which there is a mass of evidence.)

The addition of fluoride to the water supply has been a massive local issue in Southampton and after a thoroughly disgraceful and biased Public Consultation the population were not fooled and have voted repeatedly AGAINST adding fluoride. Every serious candidate in the parliamentary elections in Southampton now opposes the introduction of fluoride against the wishes of the population.

The BDA need to look at the science with a properly open mind and realise that fluoride affects much more than the teeth. Introducing it to the water supply leads to systemic fluoride poisoning. The data on benefits to five year old children's teeth is biased as in fact that result comes from the systemic poisoning of our children, as those in fluoridated areas have their teeth erupt around a year later (more than 50 studies have shown this).

With teeth erupting later it means that the teeth have been exposed for less time, meaning fewer cavities. If you look at the difference later in life there is NO statistically significant difference in cavities (if you want to quote to me the recent meta-study please read it properly before misinterpreting the findings).

So I call on the BDA to do some proper scientific homework and stop promoting fluoride. I will certainly oppose water fluoridation at this election and wherever I can.

Yours faithfully,

John Spottiswoode, BSc, BA, PMP

Green Party Candidate for Southampton Itchen.

　

From: Peter Poole, Brighton at Brighton FoE

Following my mention of candidates' election surveys, I received the following note by mail this week. I hope it might be helpful in lobbying other Labour candidates:

Dear Mr. Poole,

Thank you for taking the trouble to return one of my survey forms the contents of which I always read and are very useful to me in gauging local people's views on a variety of issues.

Personally I do not believe that Fluoridation will be put forward as a possibility in Brighton and Hove and it is clear to me that this is an area where people do not want it. I would support local residents in their opposition, if it is put forward for this area. Yours sincerely,

Simon Burgess

Labour & Co-operative Party candidate

for Brighton & Kemptown & Peacehaven

PLEASE KEEP SENDING ANY REPLIES YOU RECEIVE FROM POLITICIANS AND WANNABEES TO THIS ADDRESS. fluoride@foe.co.uk SO WE CAN PUBLISH THEM. ..... MANY THANKS.

Friends in Most High Places

It was very good to see that God apparently joined in the fight against fluoridation over the last week or so. He demonstrated that widespread fluoridation was not as advertised and dumped a lot of it across Europe using the Icelandic volcano which only a madmen would try to spell correctly let alone pronouce. Foreign Toxicologists, Epidemiologists and Vulcanologists lined up in the Foreign press and media (but of course not the British Media) to explain the real dangers from the "deadly" ash cloud containing very high dozes of fluoride. This rather took the gloss off the usual lies and misinformation put out by the fluoridistas about how "safe and effective" fluoride really is. Back into your swamp you guys unless you want a good slapping which i think the British electorate are going to give you anyway. And once again we give thanks parises to the Big Man or Woman, up there at Heaven.com for the help and Pelease don't let the other bigger Volcano off its lead. Many of us still remember just how bad it got last time that happened as you can see at this url ....

DONT SQUANDER WATER OR VOTES!

CLEAN WATER IS BEING SQUANDERED.

According to the BBC's Environment correspondent on the BBC World Service last night. The amount of water used in the developing countries to produce and supply the West with food is totally unsustainable. For example, to make one cup of coffee, it takes 140 litres of water. Is this a time for any sane government to be poisoning this fast declining and vital resource? Ask, Brown, and Cameron if you get the chance and send their replies to this forum at fluoride@foe.co.uk and we will publish them.

Its also worth remembering that the politicians and wannabees who normally take absolutely no notice of anything that we the electorate say, are suddenly very interested and they are totally paranoid about the threat from the Lib Dems or the Scots Nats of having what they call a Hung Parliament and what the Lib Dems and the Scots Nats call a Balanced Parliament. The reason is a simple explanation of their typical hidden agenda. The New Labour gang and the Conservatives don't really want to be merely elected, they want a stonking great majority so that they can wield power, which is very different from the situation in a Hung Parliament.

With a big majority they can do exactly what they want and pass any old law they please, no matter how repressive and undemocratic it is. Both Thatcher and Blair's governments exhibited this tendency. Once elected any inconvenient mandate from their manifestos were forgotten and ridiculous privatisations were the rule of the day along with ID Cards, Biometric Passports, and a huge medical database, finger printing of children and compulsory DNA sampling for all and last but not least, compulsory mass medication of our dwindling fresh drinking water with the highly toxic and acidic crap currently vomiting from the Icelandic Volcano with the Unpronounceable name. (Its safe and effective you know! that's why they have also been putting it into children's milk and sanctioning Supermarkets such as LIDL as they add it to table salt. and if you look up into the gas cloud you will see yet another formation of flying pigs )

Its vitally important that we don't let them set a precedent by getting away with this and consequently, none of us should waste our votes by not voting, and never more so than at this coming election when the polls are so close. So, even if you totally despise the major parties, voting for the Welsh or Scots Nats or the Lib Dems, Independents or Greens will carry much more power than usual whilst at the same time robbing the big party megalomaniacs of their plans for domination and total control. For once we have a chance of being decisive and preventing the dinosaur parties of trampling all over us as they stampede for the latest expenses cheque.

Andy Atkins the Director of Friends of the Earth has this last week written to all members to point out that this time round the Environment has been virtually ignored. We have a chance to get our varied and justified environmental concerns and campaigns onto the political agenda and into the press so Please, Please don't waste this opportunity, put all candidates on the spot, demand coherent answers to our questions and a pledge to replacing just talking the talk with walking the walk and get all the major polluters whether in industry or Government on the Run.

CLARIFICATION OF CONSERVATIVE REPLY TO OUR FLUORIDATION QUERY.

FAO
Leader of the Conservative Party
Mr David Cameron MP
and
Shadow Secretary of State for Health
Mr.Andrew Lansley CBE MP
Email lansley@parliament.uk
Website www.andrewlansley.co.uk


Dear Sirs,
CLARIFICATION OF REPLY TO OUR FLUORIDATION QUERY.
We thank you for your reply to Miss Pauline Johnson from Leeds and hope that you can furnish us with some important and urgent clarifications.
In your reply, you stated the following... "The amendments made to the water Act 2003 allow an SHA to direct a water company to fluoridate the water supply in an area, where it is in the interest of public health. The SHA must first consult with the local community and businesses in the affected area, to ensure that there is sufficient support. " This is not actually the case as a study of both the 2003 legislation and its effect on Local Communities and the consultation process shows.
When the legislation is studied, it will be seen that it not only gives the right to the Strategic Health Authorities to overule even a 100 percent local objection to fluoridation, but actually compells the Water Companies to add fluoride. This can be shown by looking at the results of polls and consultations in Hampshire and Southampton and elsewhere across the UK. You also say in your letter that you " have no objection to Strategic health Authorities initiating water fluoridation if that is what their local communities are calling for, but I do not see why the Government should seek to press them to do so. I believe the strategic Health Authorities should consult their local communities about these issues, if and when it is deemed appropriate.
Friends of the Earth would agree with the latter part of your reply, but we go further, we too do not see why any Government should seek to press or compell the SHAs to behave in this way but we are fully aware that this is exactly what the current government is doing. Only a qualified medical practitioner can legally prescribe medication to an individual, having first established the patients general state of health and any medication which the patient may already be receiving and of course who also consents to this action. Only then can a doctor prescribe a carefully and scientifically planned dosage program which he must continually monitor.
Mass medication quite clearly fails to meet all these criteria and is thus an abandonment of long established medical and scienfic good practice as it takes no heed of dosage variations, caused by varying water consumtion and additional fluoride in the diet from other sources. It also opens the Government to the possibility of Legal Action which is already being considered in additon to the Southampton Judicial Review currently underway.
Despite this clear abandonment of normal practice, the Current Government has spent tens of millions of pounds promoting this via the recently abandoned British Fluoridaton Society formerly under the chairmanship of Mr Andy Burnham MP. Mr Burnham was promoted to Health Minister but had to be reminded by our campaigners of his conflict of interest and was forced to resign his Chair. If all this was not bad enough, the current Government has at the same time frightened away thousands of experienced dentists leaving dental services in many rural areas and some urban areas, in a pitiful state and the number of NHS dentists badly depleted.
Our members and other organisations in our network indicate massive and sustained objection to the dangerous and discredited use of fluoride and the unacceptable practive of mass medication. Furthermore a growing number have already or are prepared in future to refuse to pay for water contaminated with what is actually toxic industrial waste.
Friends of the Earth Nationally and its Local Groups Network are not alligned with any political party and we guard our independence carefully. We do however respect the precautionary principle and examples of good practice, frequently naming and shaming polluters in both the Public and Private sectors. We are consequently recommending that all our members and supporters carefully vet all candidates in all Local and National Elections with particular emphasis on their views of fluoridation via mass medication and refuse to either support, recommend or vote for any of these, who are not prepared to reject the practice of fluoridation and the allegedly legal methods of forcing this upon the public, irrespective of their Political affiliation.
For all the reasons mentioned above, we are hoping to persuade those who seek Government or public office to abandon all support for wastefull and discredited practices in the NHS such as fluoridation. In the meantime, we thank you for your time and consideration in thismattter and look forward to your reply.
Yours faithfully
Brian Jackson
Friends of the Earth Local Groups
Fluoridation campaign.

Many hands can make light work of course so we would be very graeful if other Campaigners on this network can also help by phoning or writing to individual candidates in their areas to ask for their views on fluoride and fluoridation. and by forwarding the responses they receive back to us so we can add them to the list. This will not only help us to avoid reinventing the wheel and give us ammunition with which to confront successful election candidates in the coming months and help us to focus them upon their election pledges.
Southampton candidates oppose flouride plans
BBC News
... Southampton have said they opposed plans to add fluoride to the city's tap water. ... Campaign group Hampshire Against Fluoridation and other supporters ...
Friends of the Earth would disagree with the statement made by the Conservative Candidate about a Referendum. How can it be possible for a group of people who support fluoridation to impose it upon all the people via the water supply. Even if friends of the Earth thought that fluoride was a good idea which we certainly and definitely do not, how could we impose it upon all other people. All medication should be a private matter between a doctor and an individual patient. and of course with the consent of the patient. I occasionally take an aspirin if i have a headache but it would be absurd for me to insist that readers of this should also take an aspirin, absurd and totally unacceptable. Consequenltly a referendum with binding results is completely unacceptable. If people wish to have fluoride, its widely accessible from toothpaste, tablets or even tea and individuals have every right to self administer, under medical supervision if necessary but they have no right to decide the matter for others. Similarly the PCTs, the SHA. the Council, the BDA and Uncle Tom Cobley also have no rights of imposition on the public. A Majority is not a Medical Qualification
Brian Jackson Friends of the Earth Local Groups Fluoride Campaign