POA- THE FIGHT CONTINUES

If the Government is squaring up for a fight on public sector pay then my guess is they are going to get one. With no promises on the table from Ministers doggedly sticking to Brown's "no surender" line, prison officers are understandably keeping their powder dry at present. But let no-one under-estimate the determination and anger out there from the people at the sharp end of the growing divide between well-paid executives and front-line workers.
As POA general secretary, Brian Caton says today: "We will continue to press for no more and no less than what we should have been given by an independent pay review body appointed and selected by the government.
"And if the government continue to want to stage pay across the public services, then they'd better get ready for a rough time at the TUC, and at the Labour Party conference because we're not going to let this go." It is our duty as socialists in the Labour Party to support their fight all the way.

DIANA - THE TRUE STORY

As the faithful gather to mark the 10th anniversary of Diana's tragic demise with a memorial service, some thoughts on that day. I remember it well as I was travelling back from Edinburgh to Glasgow having spent the night crashed out on someone's floor for the last night of the Festival.

At Waverley station, early morning editions of the papers were already in circulation. They proclaimed that Dodi Fayed was dead and Diana badly injured. By the time we got to Glasgow, the news had been confirmed that she was dead. Even for Republicans, this was not a cause for celebration. I remember feeling very sorry for her two small sons - and obviously any life cut short so horrifically and meaninglessly is to be regretted. Then came the hysteria.

Ten years on, things are a lot more muted but, predictably, the whole thing has been hijacked by the gossip columnists. It was probably right that Camilla opted out - a front-row seat was hardly appropriate in the circumstances.

But , basically, how is it that we as members of the Labour Party never seem to take up the far more important cause of getting rid of this absurd royal anachronism in the first place.?

Willie Hamilton aside, the last person associated with the Government to even whisper Republican sympathies was the late Mo Mowlam. Today, Blair, Major and of course Brown will be putting on their most solemn of faces and bowing and scraping along with everyone else. Cliff and Elton are in tow along with a bunch of other aristos and no doubt there will be blanket coverage obn the TV. But for how many years longer?

When i was a child in the 1960's the Royal Family were still held in high regard by the vast majority of working people ( my parents got in serious trouble when they wouldn't fly a union flag for the Silver Jubilee in 1977) . Are they still? I think probably not.

The encouraging thing if you have no time for this last bastion of feudalism is that the "Royals" have certainly plummeted in popularity terms in recent years. Diana ( who I came across a couple of times as a cub reporter) was their most glamorous possible icon and could render hardened male news reporters speechless with her undoubted charisma.

Once the Queen shuffles off, my guess is things may change. The thought of King Charles 111 on the throne should convert a fair few waverers - but probably not enough to put an end to the monarchy in my lifetime.

SEND IN THE CLONES

Once upon a time, Labour MPs were men and women who had earned their spurs in the trade union movement or local government. They were people who had served their communities - often with little or no thought to financial recompense. Today, regrettably, a new breed of Labour MP is in the ascendancy. Look at most shortlists for safe Labour seats and you will find them packed with New Labour clones who have done bugger all apart from act as interns at Westminster, carry bags for MPs and Ministers , and generally toady up to the leadership with the eventual aim of getting on the Parliamentary panel. Sadly, many of them are successfully doing so.
Frankly, there is scant chance of changing the Parliamentary Labour Party until a)more people on the left start getting involved b) constituencies open their eyes a bit and realise they are being steamrollered and c) re-claim control of the policy-making process. If you think I am blogging this with certain individuals in mind, that might well be the case. Trouble is, there are plenty more of them in the pipeline......

ALAN JOHNSON AND DAVE PRENTIS

One word to Dave P after listening to Health Minister and one-time Deputy leadership candidate Alan Johnson defend the indefensible Brownite stand on public sector pay on PM - why????

BROWN'S "PRUDENCE" IS A NATIONAL SCANDAL

Gordon Brown is surely winding us all up. Have just heard him quoted on the radio re the public sector pay crisis. The talk is of "discipline" , essential apparently to control inflation. He will, according to the BBC, "do nothing to jeopardise our economic stability." Rough translation? If you are a nurse , prison officer, or public sector worker lobbying for more money then you can expect zilch, nada, nothing from this latterday Stalin ( I use the word in its lingustic context) . Still, at least we know where we stand and the gloves are off.

We now have a society in which company directors cream off bigger profits than ever before and for which there are waiting-lists for yachts and Rolls Royces. A Govt which wil NOT tax the rich because it is "intensely relaxed " (to quote Peter Mandelson) about people having lots of brass ( as long as they are not working-class) A Govt which encourages the activities of private equity companies, a Labour Party whuch is funded by wealthy, influential capitalist pals of the PM in the business community. Nothing new , most will say. And, since New Labour came to power, they are absolutely right. But at least it's now crystal clear that Brown is what we on the Left always said he was - a staunch defender of capitalist interests and the real source of the New Labour policies which disgrace a Party founded to stand up for trade unionists and working people - not treat them with utter contempt.

CASH-STRAPPED

For the first time in a long time I'm facing a "challenging" financial situation. Which in the long-term I am sure I will recover from. But let me tell you that having to think about every penny spent really does sharpen up the radicalism.
I find it outrageous that Govt Ministers on upwards of £100,000 a year sit there pontificating on the TV about public sector workers who are fighting derisory pay awards. Do they really think prison officers are striking for the sake of being militant? Mark Serwotka, leader of the PCS, has warned that there will be more industrial unrest in the weeks and months ahead and who could be surprised by that. Interest rates have gone up, food prices are rising, utility companies and company directors make fantastic profits and we pay for their privilege.
And as ever the lowest-paid are expected to sit back and take it on the chin. And let's get one thing straight. My current circumstances mean I'm managing on roughly the same amount as a rookie prison officer. But I have a very small mortgage by most people's standards, I don't drive, and have no financial dependents. With the best will in the world ( and lots of lentils) it's pretty difficult . How on earth people with kids, mortgages and the general expense of living in the south-east manage I just don't know. Maybe they should ask Jack Straw and his henchmen to try it for a bit.

PRISONS MINISTER SHOULD BE LOCKED UP!

Where do they get them from? Just watched Prisons Minister David Hanson MP ( never heard of him before) squirming and squealing on Channel 4 News. Put on the spot, he absolutely failed to convince - and sounded just like a Tory defending the twin indefensibles of low pay and bad working conditions. Some interesting statistics which i didn't know. And which help explain why the POA is on the picket line for the first time ever. Since New Labour came to power, prison officers have faced something like 10 times more violent incidents and there are thousands more inmates locked up in increasingly overcrowded prisons - to what avail? This Govt is tough on crime alright, but what about its causes? hace any of these measures actuaklly reduced the incidence of crime? The POA is clearly determined to see this one through. Looks like your honeymoon is over, Gordon.
9PM UPDATE: Strike now over with fresh talks with Govt tabled for Friday. 90 per cent support reported!

STRIKE ACTION AT HEATHROW

Maintenance workers at Heathrow and Gatwick airports have voted overwhelmingly for strike action next month over a pay dispute.
Over 80 per cent of GMB members working for Emcor, which provides maintenance, cleaning and security services at the airports, will walk off the job for 24 hours on 7 September.
The union said 100 workers would strike after members overwhelmingly rejected the firm's pay offer in a ballot.Naturally, Emcor is playing down the possible knock-on effects. But the message from the low-paid is coming across loud and clear. They have simply had enough of being treated badly. And are prepared to stand together to fight for a better deal

EMPTY RHETORIC

Just listening to radio coverage of Mandela's visit to London and heard Gordon Brown make a seriously good speech about fighting oppression and the need to try and eradicate global poverty. I really don't want to score cheap points but it's a bit of a shame he doesn't match the fine rhetoric with domestic and foreign policies which as socialists we could be proud of. Brown's commitment to fighting Third World poverty is undoubtedly sincere - but how can that seriously be done by offering, as he does, whole-hearted approval to the capitalist ideologies which put people in desperate straits in the first place?

As I write, Jack Straw is trying to get an injunction to stop the "wholly unjustified" prison officers striking by using the Tory anti trade union legislation which Labour in Opposition once promised to repeal.

This Govt's double standards are unbelievable....UPDATE: 2pm. Yes, "Justice" Minister Jack Straw has successfully obtained an injunction against the POA. Thatcher would be proud, wouldn't she ......PS: Starting salary for a prison officer is less than £18,000 a year

DREAMS OF SPIRES TURN TO NIGHTMARES

Every so often, I have a dream in which it's about one week to go to Finals and I have done no work at all for my Eng Lit degree. God knows why I am still getting this dream almost 30 years after I graduated but it's probably a sign of anxiety. Probably also an expression of subconscious incredulity, with the hindsight of a 40-something adult, that I ever got to Cambridge University.

The odds weren't exactly in my favour as none of my family had gone to university ( that vile word "uni" had not been invented then) but self-belief is a marvellous thing and it simply never occurred to me that it was, to say the least of it, pretty unlikely. I was also helped by the fact my A Level grades and entrance exam were good enough to get me a a place without an interview - in which I'm sure I would have bombed out utterly.

Anyway, by way of contrast, 30 years on, my 18-year-old nephew, a bright sparky kind of lad, decided 12 months ago he would NOT be going to university.And his mind has not been changed at all by last week's confirmation that he had four A levels, with reasonable grades which were better than he expected. Why? The spectre of a student loan, spiralling debt and , above all, the fact he knows his parents are already cash-strapped supporting his sister at University.

Now I've heard all the arguments from New Labour drones who supported tuition fees and top-up fees in the first place. I accept modifications have been made to make things easier for those on low incomes. The harsh fact is, as yesterday's Indy revealed, it's simply not enough. And that decreasing numbers of state school kids are seeing university as an option. Particularly if they are from a working-class background. Hardly rocket science, is it?

Yes, middle-class parents will probably scrimp, save and do their damndest to ensure their kids make it to higher education. How exactly can families with no money, no history of university backgrounds, and fear of debts and overdrafts , feel the same motivation or enthusiasm at the prospect of financial penury.

Let me put it this way. If my parents had had to fork out and subsidise my three years at college - and I had had to take out a student loan - well it just wouldn't have happened.

We need to start campaigning again for a return to a universal grant system based on progressive taxation. An ideawhich seems to have completely slipped off the left's radar.

PRISON OFFICERS WALK OUT

Gordon Brown is always banging on about the threat of terrorism, the importance of security, and takes a generally authoritarian stance on matters of crime and punishment. So it's kind of ironic that our prison staff are clearly under-valued and under-paid. And of course the Govt is quick to condemn today's strike action as "illegal." Maybe it is ( thanks to Tory anti trade union laws which New Labour has failed to repeal) It is also entirely justified.
Let's face it, how would Ministers feel if THEY were being offered a pay deal which amounted to a below inflation "rise" ( compare and contrast with levels of director's pay below)
The one-day strike by the Prison Officers' Association,backed by 87 per cent of POA members, is an entirely understandable expression of frustration at increasngly difficult working conditions - and obviously financial hardship.
Around 140 prisons are expected to be affected and the strike is expected to last at least 24 hours.
POA chair Colin Moses says today: "This is about the treatment given to prison officers in England and Wales. We have been given a below-inflation pay award, of 1.9%, for the second year running," Expect more industrial action in the months ahead as anger mounts over Brown's determination to keep public sector pay down .

TOUGH AT THE TOP ?

From Guardian City pages today.......
Boardroom pay at the UK's top companies soared 37% last year as full-time directors were rewarded with inflation-busting increases in basic salaries, big cash bonuses and substantial payouts from share schemes.
The surge in pay, which takes the average total pay for a chief executive to £2,875,000, is more than 11 times the increase in average earnings and nearly 20 times the rate of inflation as measured by the consumer price index. The ratio between bosses' rewards and employees' pay has risen to 98:1, up from 93:1 a year ago - meaning that the work of a chief executive is valued almost 100 times more highly than that of their employees.

STILL LEAVING THE PARTY......

Sad to report I have just had an e-mail from a local Labour Party member who has just resigned. Here's why...and here's why the Left MUST put pressure on Gordon Brown and the Govt.
"When 500 or more people were killed recently by a bomb in Iraq. I like most sane people was horrified. I did not see one government minister talk about this in the media. Its as if these people do not exist. I can no longer stand by morally and justify campaigning and helping a party that has in my opinion lost its way from the humane stand point.
We have failed in the greatest possible way internationally and I had hoped that the new change in government would of taken this on board and at least had the guts to apologise properly.Our young men are DYING FOR NOTHING we stand by and say NOTHING.
It is nothing more than a disgrace.
When you try to discuss any of this with our party members at the top you get the cold shoulder or a call centre run by an anonymous person who is not really connected to the parties routes.I cannot support this immoral behaviour anymore and have decided to use my influence and work in other ways to try and do my bit for REAL SOCIALISM."

FAT CATS GET FATTER

I have often been barracked by New Labour supporters as being an oppositionalist who doesn't recognise the great work done by Blair ( and now Brown) in reducing inequality and re-distributing wealth by stealth. This line is also one often trotted out by wealthy media folk like Polly Toynbee and Martin kettle.

Tbe reality for most of us is that the gap between rich and poor in this country is wider than ever. Not exactly something to shout from the rooftops at the forthcoming Bournemouth Conference, is it? .

Today's Guardian ( though actually these gross inequalities were discussed three days ago elsewhere has the bare statistics - they speak volumes.

City bonuses have increased by 30 per cent to a record £14bn this year. The rise is twice as big as in 2006. The bonuses of course come against a background of record debt, rising bankruptcies and home repossessions.
Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that bonuses across the economy rose 24 per cent this spring to £26.4bn, comfortably exceeding the country's entire transport budget. More than half, £14.1bn, was earned by the 1 million people in the financial services sector. The figure for 2006 bonuses was £10.9bn. For those with the money, life couldn't be sweeter. Apart from the fact they may have to wait five years for a Rolls-Royce - such is the waiting-list. At the top end of the market, property prices in London have gone up 30 per cent.Meanwhile, public sector workers are being offered 2 per cent pay increases. And expected to be grateful.

I am reminded, for some reason, of Neil Kinnock's 1985 Leader's speech , which talked in pretty vitriolic terms of the "obscenity" of "a Labour council , a LABOUR council, delivering redundancy notices in taxis " ( which by the way was never true). Is it not even more disgraceful that after 10 YEARS of Labour Government an egalitarian society is further away than ever.And, that our Prime Minister and Chancellor refuse to even contemplate narrowing the gap by introducing fair and equitable progressive taxation. No wonder Brown's pal Ronnie Cohen is warning of riots in the streets.....

100 NOT OUT

Congratulations to Coun Matthew Brown from Preston ,who is my 100th Facebook Friend. Whatsmore, I have actually spoken to him in my real life, which is an unusual phenomenon in this virtual networking facility. Catalogued extensively in the media and now recognised as a political tool of some significance, Facebook was unbeknown to me before the John McDonnell leadership campaign. Now it is a way of life, an addiction. And I'm only half joking.....

You can spend hours messing about, creating groups which are in-jokes to youand your pals, updating your "status," trawling around to see what people are up to. And, even worse, get caught up in the minefield of "Comparing Friends", doing quizzes and generally wasting time. So, today, no more internet distractions. Quick shuftie round the newspapers and that will be that. Unless, of course, I get any more Facebook messages.....

NEEDS MUST....

Before anyone else points this out, I agree it's more than a tad ironic that ads for "I Love Gordon Brown" T-shirts are sporadically appearing on this blog. In my defence, I am as much a victim of capitalism as anyone else and trying to increase what is currently an extremely modest income by installing the Google Adsense facility - over which I have only limited control. This may well be only a temporary measure as freelance journalism always picks up in the autumn. In the meantime Gordon, only kidding.......

ADIOS ALBERTO

Another Bush ally (has he any left?) bit the dust today as US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, embroiled in a row over the sacking of eight US attorneys, formally announced his resignation, which will take effect on 17 September.
Members of Congress have accused Gonzales of abuse of office over the sacking of federal prosecutors. He is the latest in a run of senior officials, including Karl Rove and Donald Rumsfeld, to leave the White House. Lame duck President? I sincerely hope so....the more his authority ebbs away then the easier it gets for this Govt to finally start the wheels in motion for an exit from Iraq.

A TAKE-AWAY-FREE ZONE

The average person, it's claimed today in the media, spends £365 a year on takeaway food. A lot of money - for very little nutritional or ideological reward.

A bit ago I read a book called Fast Food Nation - actually about America and the global junk food industry and well worth a dekko if you're a bit of an addict and want to find out some extremely good reasons for not funding the corporations who are ruining our health..Indeed, I can recall on my first -ever visit to the US being amazed at the number of grossly overweight people there were wandering about.

Almost 20 years on, the UK is fast catching up. No wonder. According to the study being quoted in today's papers, some gargantuan versions of take-out meals like burgers, fish and chips and chicken tikka masala amount to 3,000 calories - that's roughly a day and a half's worth of calories for the average person in ONE MEAL.

Now I have to declare an interest in this story as am currently on stringent diet which bans all forms of curry/chips/pizza etc but even when not I have never ever seen the attraction of takeaway food. Basically, it's all the expense without the fun of sitting down and enjoying a meal out. Clearly, and withoiut being smug because I have no cause to be, I am in a minority.

At a time when there are more food programmes on the TV than ever before, the irony is that fewer and fewer of us are bothering ( or even care) about what we eat as long as there's plenty of it.....

A VERY SOCIALIST SUNDAY

Thanks to Halifax MP Linda Riordan (pictured) and former MP Alice Mahon , who served the same constituency for 16 years, for a splendid Sunday afternoon gathering yesterday.
It's not been a good year for the Left. But I'm glad to note our spirits remain undimmed and both Alice and Linda will be contributing to an LRC event I am helping to organise in Hebden Bridge in September.
In the course of my journalistic career, I have met and interviewed dozens of MPs and aspirants to Westminster.
Increasingly, those who make it into the House of Commons are cardboard cut-out New Labour apparatchiks who have no knowledge ( nor do they want to) of how ordinary working people live or manage on a salary way below the backbencher's take-home..
Many have never had a "proper" job in their lives and just act as Westminster bag-carriers for a bit until picking up the safe seats sorted out for them by the powers-that-be in Labour HQ.
Such machinations were going on in Halifax a couple of years ago but Linda Riordan and her loyal supporters in the CLP outflanked the New Labourites on the NEC ( and locally) who tried to stop her selection getting the green light. This really shouldn't have to happen and CLPs should be free to choose whoever they want as MP. Which takes time. So,no, I'm not hoping for a snap election.Today's Guardian now suggests that won't happen.

NO CHANGE IN CALDER VALLEY?

A strange rumour is sweeping our constituency that sitting MP Chris McCafferty will NOT be standing down at the next election. Given that our selection process has been stalled, this may or may not be the case. Given all the talk of a spring election, it may well also be that it's been decided our best chance of winning is with an incumbent MP. Who decides? Well, clearly not the humble foot-soldiers who knock on doors and do the legwork. It remains to be seen whether or not this is true ......more anon.

COMMON SENSE IN SCOTLAND

Common sense has prevailedc in Scotland,where Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill has scrapped plans for a £100 million prison to be run by the private sector .
The 700-cell jail, to replace Low Moss near Bishopbriggs which closed in May, will instead be run by the Scottish Prison Service.
Mr MacAskill said: "Prisons are for public safety, not for private profit. So we are drawing a line in the sand. If only this Govt, still hell-bent on PFI and privatisation, would take a similar view.
PS: On another note good to see Ian Davidson MP piling up the pressure on the PM for a referendum on the new EU constitution. However, will this (yet again) be a rebellion which peters out pathetically when push comes to shove. I hope not. Brown really can't get away with this one.....

ONE PREZZA IS ENOUGH...

Thanks to the always excellent David Osler for some interesting thoughts on the possible succession of Prescott junior to the Hull East seat being vacated by his dad. The other wannabee here is apparently Chris Leslie , the erstwhile MP for Shipley who was ousted at the last election. Surely, surely, surely there are some PRINCIPLED candiates out there with no family "form" or nepotistic advantages who might just want to serve the good people of Hull as best they can. It seems a long time ago that Prescott was regarded as being "of the left." And it is. He is one of those characters who for a long time it was hard to dislike but in recent years he has become a bumptious caricature. And I'm not even going to go near his Benny Hill-style antics with his secretary.

With a reported £1M pension, a nice little sinecure in the Council of Europe and God knows how much money stashed away, Prescott should be happy to stand down and let his CLP decide. Not try and hand over the seat to his son. Still, not all political dynasties are bad news. Anyone got John Cryer's phone number.....

THE STUPID AMERICAN

My guess is that the profoundly wise novelist Graham Greene will be spinning in his grave after being invoked ( a quote from Greene's book The Quiet American) by President George Bush in his latest rant about Iraq. Ignoring most of the advice from military strategists, Bush continues to insist American forces will stay there as long as he is President. Which, for the record, is another 15 months.

Bush is so deluded that he even has the temerity to make comparisons with Vietnam - where US policy similarly encouraged extremism and guerrilla warfare. In Vietnam, of course, then Labour PM Harold Wilson did NOT make the fatal mistake of committing British troops to military action. And Gordon Brown has got to start listening to the wiser voices on this side of the Atlantic who counsel an exit strategy - fast.

By the way, how crass is Bush's assertion that America is the "greatest force for human liberation the world has ever known." Right, well tell that to the 655,000 Iraqis who have died since spring 2003 - with God knows how many more to come. Not to mention the victims of the many other repressive regimes aided and abetted by America over the years. Chile, Nicaragua, I could go on.......plus the CIA's.FBI's hounding of anyone remotely on the left

PS: The film version of The Quiet American, an exceptionally good anti-war polemic starring Michael Caine, was made before 9/11. American distributors banned it for a year before release.

TITLEY BY NAME.......

Just been watching Gary Titley defending the indefensible on Newsnight. He is aptly named.......The Greater Manchester MEP was holding forth on why Brown doesn't need to have a referendum on the new EU constitution. Despite the fact this was of course promised by Labour and previous PM Tony Blair. His behaviour towards RMT leader Bob Crowe, putting forward the case FOR a referendum, was typically dismissive. But remember, Titley is a man who already has plenty of form when it comesto arrogant behaviour towards union representatives. Titley it was who last year switched Dave Prentis's microphone off during a key debate on the NHS at Labour Party Conference. And all I can say is, he made a right t** of himself again tonight.

AN ETHICAL FUNDING POLICY?

First, the good news.The Labour Party is beginning to drag itself out of the financial mire incurred as a result of the dodgy loan deals struck during the last election. According to the Electoral Commission, Labour raised more than £5 million in the final three months of Tony Blair's premiership, declaring new donations of £5,033,964 in the three months to June 30.
Now the bad news. Labour still has debts of £20.2 million ( so all this talk of snap elections is silly season flim-flam) . And the list of donors is, to say the least of it, dubious.
It includes Iranian-born industrialist Mahmoud Khayami, who fled to Britain in 1979 following the fall of the Shah, donating £500,000. Even more questionable is the £250,000 each from venture capitalist and leading Gordon Brown backer Sir Ronald Cohen, City financier John Aisbitt and Nigel Doughty, who is thought to be the chairman of the private equity firm Doughty Hanson & Co. That's right. The smae private equity companies condemned by the unions and left MPs and currently asset-stripping right across the globe. I'm with Nottingham South MP Alan Simpson , who says "Robin Cook famously declared that Labour would have an ethical foreign policy. At this stage, it would be nice to have an ethical funding policy."
PS: Maybe Gordon can use some of the money to pay back Manchester City Council the £238,000 cost to council tax payers of the supercasino bid. I was never a fan of the project, but it seems only fair that council tax payers should not have to pick up the tabfor Blairand Brown's policy whims.....

WENDY, QUEEN OF SCOTS....

So that's it then. In the absence of a contest, arch-Brownite Wendy Alexander is now Leader of the Scottish Labour Party. Just been watching her on the news and less than impressed. yes, I know I would say that wouldn't I but seriously, her schoolmarmy " change or die" mantra is at least 10 years out of date. People in Scotland have already made it clear they want nothing to do with New Labour policies on everything from Trident to top-up fees. One of the saving graces of the previous Scottish administration was that it didn't go down the marketisation road despised by socialists in the Labour Party. Now Alexander is proposing more Brownite/Blairite "reform." I am pretty disappointed (probably not surprised) there has not been at least the chance of a debate. The only way, I suppose, is up.......

JACK STRAW FUELS RACISM - AGAIN

I thought maybe Jack Straw had learned from his comments over Muslim women wearing the veil, which caused much mischief, and anguish for Muslim communities. But this was obviously naive of me. Today, on the Today programme, he has been using the worst stereotypes imaginable to explain why black boys apparently under-perform at school. This, says Straw, is because their fathers are absent. Something endemic, he says, in black culture.
Really? A quick head-count of the couples I know ( where I live is a white, largely lower middle-class and middle-class community) sees very few people now co-habiting with the person they originally married (or set up home with). Many more women I know are single; most not by choice; some are gay and lesbian parents.
Society, whether Straw likes it or not, has changed irrevocably. It may not be anyone's ideal. I would probably accept that children are better off with one stable home and two stable parents. But most kids learn to make the best of their circumstances and singling out young black men in this way is wrong, unhelpful, and frankly, racist.
Some years ago, I did a report on GCSE achievements in Manchester's young black community.It was my job to put the best spin possible on the results. We found that one of the major issues affecting these youngsters was not their sex, but whether or not their parents ( one or two, it didn't matter) had jobs, and what their economic circumstances were. This far more than sexual irresponsibility ( which is what he means) is surely to blame for community problems.
Jack Straw should keep his stereotypical views to himself. All they do is fuel organisations like the BNP. Which, to be fair, is surely not his intent.

ALBANIA MARK 2

Many on the Labour right seem to take great pleasure in the stifling of debate. Inevitably, the likes of Luke Akehurst are now laughing their heads off at the prospect of a shoo-in for Wendy Alexander in Scotland. Quite why, when Labour are at least 14 points behind the SNP in the opinion polls, I fail to see. In the long-term, the joke may well be on them. With a weary sense of deja vu, I find myself utterly bemused at this Party's unwillingness to discuss the arguments, debate the issues, or even slightly challenge the status quo.I also find it quite extraordinary that not even six MSPs can be mustered to mount a challenge.
In the case of Scotland, Labour desperately needs a fresh image, and a socialist agenda ( why else has the SNP gained ground , right or wrong it's perceived as well to the left of Labour) People also need reminding of the radical (and I mean radical) values of much of the Party and the trade unions. UNISON Scotland, I don't need to remind many of you, nominated John McDonnell for Labour leader. But, as of now, the hopes of the left seem to lie in tatters once again.

BAD NEWS FROM SCOTLAND

No point beating about the bush. Absolutely awful news from Scotland, where it seems the left can't even muster six MSPs to mount a challenge to the status quo. Apparently, only 2 MSPs turned up to yesterday's emergency meeting of the Campaign for Socialism, with two apologies and votes of support. Which leaves the CfS two short of the six it needs for a contest. This is particularly depressing as, in fact, the chances of left support outside the Holyrood bubble were significantly better than they are in England and Wales. I have a hunch ( and it's only that) consensus couldn't be reached on who should stand....whichever, another shoo-in in Scotland is both demoralising for the left and a bad tactic by Scottish Labour.Wendy Alexander is just a more photogenic Gordon Brown. Without the support which Brown is enjoying at the moment......

RETURN OF SWAMPY

By my watch, as I gather the spuds and veg for Sunday lunch, it's almost 12 noon - and so good luck to the Heathrow protestors who today begin their day of direct action. Sincerely hope there is no violence and that it all goes well. Good coverage in the press - much sympathetic. I see that Swampy ( real name Daniel Hooper and media star some 10 years or so ago when he famously fought the second runway at Manchester Airport) has returned to offer solidarity.....Let's hope the Heathrow campaigners are more successful than the Manchester ones were. Given the rising tide of public awareness on climate change, I think they have a fighting chance.

TIME TO GO......

Today's Indy reports that senior military chiefs have told the Government that Britain can achieve "nothing more" in south-east Iraq, and that the 5,500 British troops still deployed there should move towards withdrawal without further delay.
Last month Gordon Brown said after meeting George Bush at Camp David that the decision to hand over security in Basra province – the last of the four held by the British – "will be made on the military advice of our commanders on the ground".
Two generals have told The Independent on Sunday that the military advice given to the Prime Minister was, "We've done what we can in the south [of Iraq]". Commanders want to hand over Basra Palace – where 500 British troops are subjected to up to 60 rocket and mortar strikes a day by the end of August. The withdrawal of 500 soldiers has already been announced by the Government. The Army is now allegedly drawing up plans to "reposture" the 5,000 that will be left at Basra airport, and aims to bring the bulk of them home in the next few months.
When Parliament resumes in October, the utmost pressure must be put on the Govt for an immediate withdrawal strategy.

WENDY'S A TARTAN TONY.......

An interview in the Scotsman with likely Scottish Labour leader Wendy Alexander (pictured) makes for dismal reading. The language is horribly reminiscent of Blairism at its worst. ie "radical" "renew" MEANING marketisation, "choice" and a lurch away from traditional labour policies. Labour is way behind the SNP in Scotlansd yet Ms Alexander seems to be laying the blame for this, not on Brown's Blairite agenda, but (of course) trade unionists and Labour Party members loyal to our core values.

Quote Wendy:

" Scottish Labour stands at a critical juncture in our history. We can either choose the path of continuity and conservatism ( she means socialism) or we can choose to be radical and bold (Blairite) .
"We cannot simply wait for the SNP to fail. Now is the time to reach beyond the party's comfort zone (socialist values) . This is the time for Scottish Labour to reflect, reform and renew (lurch sharply to the right) . I hope the Campaign for Socialism can stand a candidate - preferably Elaine Smith. If not, Scottish Labour is likely to go down the Blairite road. Which will be a huge, huge setback.

TIME FOR REAL ACTION ON HOUSING

Sometimes I yearn for a more spacious home. However, in the light of the Govt plans to extend the HIP scheme I suppose I'm thankful that my house (purchased 1996 before things went absolutely crazy round here) has only two bedrooms ( despite originally being TWO dwellings) .For it seems that the 11 million people in the UK with three-bedroomed properties will now have to sign up to the Home Information pack scheme if they wish to move on. This costs a substantial amount of money - on top of the huge bungs that go to estate agents and solicitors. And I think the Govt is missing the whole point of the current homes crisis. Lack of information isn't the problem, but lack of homes, and lack of money to buy them.The market is absolutely bloated with over-priced properties and young first-time buyers face a mountain of debt to even get on the property ladder. Many others are living in dread of more interest hikes or unemployment as they struggle to pay their mortgages.

It's time Gordon Brown addressed the real housing problems in this country - tinkering with cosmetic stuff like the HIP programme isn't the answer.

IRISH AND MANC REBELS COMBINE IN ANTI WAR ANTHEM

One I missed earlier - Ex Stone Roses man Ian Brown ( now 42) and outspoken Sinead O'Connor are combining in a new single, Illegal Attacks It tells the story of a British soldier in Iraq who gets caught up in a night operation in which a mother and father are taken hostage and both the song and accompanying video will be posted on the Stop the War Coalition website.
Brown's lyrics do not exactly pull any punches ....."So what the fuck is this UK, Going in with the US of A in Iraq and Iran and Afghanistan. There's hardly a day goes by, How many sons have to die?... These are illegal attacks so bring the soldiers back."
The protest song is released on September 17.......News that Brown, one of the many lads whose career was nurtured by the late Tony Wilson, is still going strong has cheered me up in a week when I have felt pretty sharply the intimations of mortality. Am pretty sure that maverick lefty Wilson would approve.....another of his proteges, New Order's Peter Hook , is another fervent supporter of STWC.

TORIES REVEAL TRUE COLOURS

It's a sign of the times (Labour 10 points ahead in the polls) that David Cameron is now well and truly at the mercy of the Tory right. Witness the first leakings of the "back to basics" ultra-Conservative agenda being proposed by John Redwood and his policy review team. Today, it's revealed that old chestnuts like scrapping inheritance tax and lowering business tax to make things more "competitive" are top of the agenda. Unsurprisingly, the report is apparently also calling for a review of British workers' rights, including opting out of the EU social chapter - the directive which guarantees workers a four-week annual holiday entitlement - and making it easier for firms to fire people. So much for Cameron's "compassionate Conservatism." I actually doubt policywise this is what he wanted. But the sad fact is that he has nowhere to go now but to the right. Indeed, he's a victim of Brown's success in taking on board much of the Tory agenda , wooing business chiefs and generally being very clever indeed ( though not in a way which any socialist would find gratifying) in staking out the centre ground. Cameron's decision to promote himself as another Blair was also a grave mistake. Minus Blair, but with exactly the same policies, New Labour is way ahead.
How we move in a leftward direction is another matter entirely. But one thing at least is clear. The Tories are the same old Tories and those of us on the left who, to coin a phrase, "fight and fight again" to bring back Real Labour policies , also know that even a pale pink Labour Government is better than Redwood and his cronies.
BTW: I have been put on standby by the Press Association for a snap General Election......maybe Gordon will go before Christmas......but I doubt it.

PENNY TURNS UP AT HEATHROW

Hebden Bridge campaigner Penny Eastwood makes headlines today after taking part in the Heathrow No Third Runway protest. Penny was apparently being held in a west London police station last night after she superglued herself to a gate at the camp on Tuesday night.
Police used chemical debonder to remove her hand from the metal gate before arresting her on suspicion of criminal damage. Penny is a member of Plane Stupid, the organisation targeted by a limited High Court injunction obtained by airport operator BAA.
She is the third person to be arrested in connection with the Heathrow climate protest.

ELAINE 4 LEADER!

Well, maybe there won't be a coronation in Scotland after all. Thanks to Dave Osler for the news that left-wing Labour supporters are to consider challenging Wendy Alexander for the leadership of the party in Scotland.
The Campaign for Socialism has apparently called an emergency meeting this weekend which will discuss the possibility of fielding a candidate. Any nominee would require the support of six MSPs to force a contest. The obvious challenger to Wendy Alexander would be Elaine Smith, a principled left stalwart who was a prominent supporter of the John McDonnell campaign. I first met Elaine in 2004 when she spoke at a fringe meeting I helped organise at the Manchester Spring Conference. She was a breath of fresh air. Since then, Elaine has helped build the Campaign For Socialism in Scotland and recently took part in the LabOUR Commission on Party democracy. Only 6 MSPs are needed to ensure a contest - but as ever word is that finding the requisite number of left labour MSPs will not be easy.Let's hope for once this is good news for the Labour left.

JACK McCONNELL RESIGNS......

Former First Minister Jack McConnell has resigned - no tears in this quarter. Bad news, though, is that Wendy Alexander may be uncontested. For God's sake, not another coronation.....

BACK IN THE BLOGOSPHERE......

In case you were wondering .....John McDonnell is now back in the blogosphere - and fighting the good fight at Heathrow. I'm now off to fight the good fight at our town council meeting, and hopefully do a much better chairing job than the Lib Dem Mayor who is on holiday...... and rather fond of the sound of his own voice

IRAQ - FORGOTTEN BUT NOT GONE

Note with horror 200 more deaths in a suicide bombing attack in Iraq - and 5 civilian deaths (including that of a five-year-old girl) thanks to a raid by US troops. Without being callous, this is a nation which gets hysterical about the tragic disappearance of one child. Yet every day people are dying in Iraq and we're seemingly completely inured to the ongoing hideous legacy of Blair's foreign policy disasters. I hope when Parliament re-convenes (if not before) that voices will once again be heard calling for some kind of endgame to this four-year war. The days of the big demonstrations may be over, the killing sadly isn't.

TONY WILSON - MAVERICK SOCIALIST

Like many other Mancunians, I have continued to feel very sad following the death of Tony Wilson. He variously described himself as "Marxist, anarchist, Communist, atheist, Christian! In other words, a one-off. But I love this story about him from his former Granada colleague Rob McLoughlin.- posted today on the Manchester Evening news website

"Once he and Richard Madeley were ordered to read a particular news story on TV straight and without comment."We knew there would be trouble. Richard read the story about Granada's own journalists going on strike in support of the nurses' day of action with true professionalism."As he did so, Tony's clenched fist appeared behind him as a sign of solidarity with the workers!"On most stations he would have been fired but inside Granada everyone just shrugged their shoulders and said `That's Tony'.

ORGREAVE REVISITED ?

I sincerely hope the Heathrow protest stays entirely peaceful. But the police tactics already being deployed seem to be heavy-handed, unnecessarily intimidating and deliberately provocative. Before anyone starts banging on about the terrorist threat and how times have changed, let's just remind ourselves of a couple of facts. There have been many other moments in recent history when police acting on the orders of (then Thatcher ) Gocernment have gone OTT. One was at Greenham Common, when peace protestors ( all female, largely middle-aged and middle-class) were arrested and their camps gradually dispersed and increasing violence. The other was around the same time during the miner's strike in 1984. No left activist over 40 will ever forget the Battle of Orgreave, in which hundreds of mounted police attacked picketing miners at a coking plant. South Yorkshire police were ordered to pay more than £500,000 in damages to 39 miners injured by police.The BBC neatly reversed the TV footage to show the miners first attacking the police and the police then charging. Some things never change, do they?

PROTESTORS INTIMIDATED BY POLICE

Today's Morning Star front page reveals the reality of the way police are treating peaceful protestors at Heathrow. According to the left-wing newspaper, dozens of police barged into the anti-climate change camp outside Heathrow yesterday, searching cars under "anti-terror" laws.The camp's spokeswoman Alex Harvey reveals that police refused to allow the site to connect with the mains water supply and had prevented food, plumbing equipment and other essential supplies from being moved into the camp. Ms Harvey also said that police were stopping and searching people under anti-terror legislation. "It is absolutely diabolical to be using terrorism powers in this way. We are not terrorists - it is a complete abuse of these laws,"
In the Morning Star, local MP John McDonnell describes the police action as "completely inappropriate, intimidating and unnecessary."
He points out that senior officers had previously given multiple assurances that they would allow peaceful protest. "I am now making representations to the Metropolitan Police," the Hayes and Harlington MP added.

FROM HEBDEN BRIDGE TO HEATHROW-GOOD LUCK TO THE PROTESTORS

Many of my friends and colleagues in this neck of the woods are planning a trip down south to join the Climate Change /third runway protest at Heathrow. Ironically, many more than probably would have done had there not been so much publicity about the heavy-handed approach of the police and Downing Street. The inevitable comparisons with Greenham Common are already being made by the right-wing media but most of the coverage has been fair-minded and even sympathetic.

I wish the protestors luck and hope they manage to change the status quo. I remember there were similar protests at Manchester Airport about 10 years ago - but that was way before climate change took centre-stage. Since then, cheap air travel, and the awareness of environmental pollution caused by aviation , has rocketed. So the chances of this protest capturing public support are much much greater.

One of Heathrow's local MPs is John McDonnell. Indeed, his Hayes and Harlington constituency is the epicentre of the protest. Today, he offered unequivocal backing to the campaign, saying : "I wholeheartedly support the camp as it draws attention to the devastation of our community by a third runway. There will be direct action, but we've been trying to make people listen to us for years. This is a last resort. Remember successive governments have promised us no further extension of Heathrow."

£2 CHICKEN? NO THANKS

So ASDA is now selling a £2 chicken - and predictably they are flying off the shelves. The last time I saw a chicken at such a price it was in Netto (I was going through a bad financial patch) and I wasn't remotely tempted

Like cheap clothes from Primark, cheap chicken comes at a cost. In this case largely to the animals who are confined in vile sheds for the paltry six weeks of their lives, fattened up, pumped with antibiotics. And then killed.I would rather eat chicken once a week, and buy a free-range or organic bird, than fuel the coffers of the supermarkets and those who subject their animals to this most miserable of existences. Before anyone posts about me being a woolly liberal, I don't have a family to feed, so I accept I can afford to make that choice. I'm not a vegetarian, either, or unduly sentimental about animals.

But if people really thought about what happens to the meat they are eating then I believe more would eschew rock-bottom prices. Next time you tuck into a cut-proce bird, chew on this thought . According to pressure group Compassion In Farming:

"It is like putting a teenage body on an eight-yearold's skeleton - the bird's system simply cannot cope. A study showed that 26 per cent of British birds are lame at slaughter, and they are also prone to heart failure, sores and blisters." Still hungry?

THE BROWN BOUNCE?

Today's Guardian reports that armed police will use anti-terrorism powers to "deal robustly" with climate change protesters at Heathrow.
Up to 1,800 extra officers will be drafted in to prevent an estimated 1,500 people disrupting the airport over the period of the camp for climate change, which is due to begin on Tuesday. The police have been told to use stop and search powers against the protesters, who have pledged to take direct action on August 18 and 19 but not to" endanger life." An unacceptable and shameful directive from this Government.

24 HOUR PARTY PERSON

Really gutted tonight to hear the news that Tony Wilson has died. It's a cliche , I know, but he really was "Mr Manchester" to my generation, which grew up in the 1970s in the north-west. Over the years, I interviewed him several times. At 40, he said to me he still felt like a sixth-former. And so did I as I was still a bit in awe of him....
A couple of months ago, Wilson wrote a very moving article in the Manchester Evening News praising the NHS and Manchester's Christie Hospital. It was horribly ironic, and a shameful reflection on the NHS, tbat a few months later his treatment had to be paid for by the Happy Mondays as the drug which he hoped was to buy him some time was not available on tbe NHS. He spent his last few weeks campaigning for others to benefit - which was typical of the man, He was one of the good guys- and will be missed. Like thousands of Mancunians, I feel very sad.As someone else has said, a vital part of Manchester has gone. And so has a part of my own life.....

MENWITH HILL -MPs WHO PROTESTED

Thanks to the following MPs who have all protested to the PM following the (buried on the last day of Parliament) news that Defence Minister Des Browne has signed us up to Bush's missile systems -using Menwith Hill - without any consultation.Why aren't more Labour MPs on this list??? The usual story of spineless adherence to the status quo......
Colin Burgon MP, Martin Caton MP, Mick Clapham MP, Frank Cook MP, Jeremy Corbyn MP, Jim Devine MP, Paul Flynn MP, Neil Gerrard MP, Ian Gibson MP, Fabian Hamilton MP, Mike Hancock MP, Nick Harvey MP, Brian Iddon MP, Lynne Jones MP, Peter Kilfoyle MP, John Leech MP, Michael Meacher MP, John McDonnell MP, Linda Riordan MP, Angus Robertson MP, Clare Short MP, Jon Trickett MP, Phil Willis MP

NEAL LAWSON IS DELUDING HIMSELF.......

Still catching up on politics stuff missed while I was away. And ploughing through the 152 comments following Neal Lawson's blue-sky pro-Brown piece in Wednesday's Guardian, it was striking how few people actually took on board what he was saying. ie that well-meaning pressure groups like COMPASS can somehow push Brown to the left and turn New Labour into a social democratic "progressive" phenomenon to create a "seismic" shift to the left. Clearly miffed by the negative tone of much of his readers , Lawson countered by saying his approach was better than "sterile lists of correctness" , which echoes fellow Compassite John Harris's dismissal of the hard left the other week. And is equally misguided and unhelpful.
It is Lawson and his clique who choose to delude themselves that Brown is politically malleable. This justifies their decision not to back a left leadership candidate and throw themselves heart and soul into the deputy leadership campaign ( hey, what was all that about in hindsight) and, specifically, Jon Cruddas's candidature.Has this changed ANYTHING Brown is planning in the weeks and months ahead. I think not. Yes, there has been a nod to social housing ( but nothing concrete), a less strident tone on Iraq, and Brown's stern , sensible manner appeals to a nation fed-up with Blair's doe-eyed schmaltz.That's it.
The hard fact is Brown is no socialist manque, and I expect his first Leader's speech at conference to make that absolutely clear. It will be be pro PFI, pro Trident, business as usual in Iraq, and pro a "flexible" economy ie kowtowing to globalisation.
What's utterly mystifying about this collective hallucination on the soft left is that Gordon Brown makes it absolutely clear what his position is. He is nothing if not honest.
Yet the Lawsons of this world pretend otherwise - presumably because they won't face up to the harsh alternative Which is to fight within the Labour Party for a fundamental change of direction , stop sticking to a neo-con agenda, and stand up for working people.
Lawson once worked for Brown, his attitudes are basically New Labour.His world is metropolitan middle-class.I'm not surprised by the Alice In Wonderland direction COMPASS has taken. Just a bit tired of them dissing those of us who acknowledge we have a mountain tio climb, but don't pretend we're even halfway there.

THOUGHTS FROM ABROAD......

Finding UK newspapers in the part of Spain we were in (Cantabria) was pretty difficult. Two Telegraphs in 10 days was all we could muster. So impressions of issues back home were obviously a bit askew.

Nevertheless, Gordon Brown's "safe pair of hands" offensive obviously continues and is serving him well in terms of public support. He cut off a holiday in Dorset (compare and contrast with Blair poncing about in posh villas with Bee Gees and Berlusconi) to cope with the FMD crisis. And is not expected to be going back. It has to be said that, however much many of us hated the "coronation" debacle, facts must be faced and the man commands respect in a way which Blair had utterly lost. Which, ironically, as stated elsewhere, creates real problems for the Labour Left in the immediate future. It would be easy to give up the ghost and join in the illusion and wishful thinking that is currently mesmerising so many. Better than Blair? Certainly. A closet socialist? Well, no. So hard as it is campaigning on the issues HAS to continue.

Blair had become a hate figure. An easy target. So it was relatively straightforward for groups like RESPECT to recruit and build entire strategies around George Galloway, "Bliar" and the War. Frankly, they are finished. And, even more frankly, so is Labour's Left unless we get our heads together and have a long hard think about the way forward.

Despite being the joint architect of Blairism, and basically funding the the war in Iraq Brown has cannily changed the mood music so that Labour Party Conference , which I will be attending in a few weeks' time, is likely to be an orgy of adulation.

This is pretty rum of course as in reality Brown is New Labour to the core, trying to take away the last bits of Conference democracy we have and abandon contemporary resolutions (which often embarrass the leadership) . And dissent is still being stamped out.

My CLP, Calder Valley, has been bamboozled into delaying the selection process - which means we're far more likely to get a Parachuted In Candidate if there's a snap General Election. However, we are on the case.....as to what lefties do now the Brown machine is in full flight.Well, some serious red sky thinking is now required......

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FEAR OF FLYING.......

That's it. Never again do I put myself (or my travelling companions) through the mill of flying phobia. A really nice holiday was more than slightly spoiled by the fact it took me two days to get over getting there - and then there were three days anticipating the flight back. Fellow sufferers will know precisely what I mean... gut-wrenching morbid fear which to to others is illogical and irritating. From Leningrad to Lido di Jesolo, Moscow to Mallorca, for the past 20 years I've flown all over the world - and increasingly hated every second of it. Two ridiculously large gins at Bilbao Airport rendered me almost numb this time to the prospect of oblivion but next time we're travelling by ferry (our original intention) or train. Oh, and just to put the lid on it, our knackered old car broke down just outside Stansted and we were brought back in an AA truck (for the second time in three years) My partner's kids of course thought that was great........I wept with joy when I got home.....