Finally after all the mess and fuss the dreaded Tesco has opened, many local shops know their days are numbered. The giant corporation has achieved a certain notoriety recently by; by illegally sellin alcohol to children, leaving their trolleys all over town and cutting down dozens of protected trees. Is the cost of having this monster in town worth it? Labour politicians clearly think so, they spoke up for it an numerous council meetings. Other parties don‘t seem to have an opinion on this, so in effect the greens are the opposition. We need to ask in whose interest they are acting, putting corporate profits ahead of the towns citizens.

The new Tesco will; kill off local diverse shops, make traffic worse, increase flooding by building on a flood plane and it has changed for the worse the character of the largely Victorian brick buildings of the Oxford Road. Land that was once used by the people of Reading has become the property of a corporation, we‘ve lost a valued hospital for the benefit of a giant profit making machine that is only interested in making even more money. Their plans to build a new express store on the Oxford Road can only exacerbate this. Also expect an increase in traffic and climate change emissions, as more people drive to the shops.

Some local Councillors think our local shops wont have any problems, but they are already in trouble. In 2003 Reading West businesses are down by 25, in 2004 by 15. Labour seem destined to loose some of their core supporters over this, the shopkeepers and Coop movement traditionally support them but are now in danger of closing their shops. This is before Tesco have even started in Reading West, so much for boomtown Reading.

I propose a customer loyalty card scheme run by and for the local shops to help them survive.
Some Labour politicians think the small shops will be helped by the new Tescos and they will diversify and grow, but Tesco are moving into new areas all the time; every little helps.

Adrian Windisch, Reading West candidate for the Green Party
18 Kent Road, Reading RG30 2EJ
07802 671606 0118 9567190 adrian@windisch.co.uk

See more at:
www.tescopoly.org
www.neweconomics.org/gen/marketsvssupermarkets220506.aspx

and see other loyalty card schemes at:
www.haslemere.com/news/item.php?id=99
www.actionaid.org.uk/100697/loyalty_card_launched.html
www.independent.co.uk/news/business/sme/retail-local-loyalty-pays-off-399222.html