WENDY ON THE CHOPPING-BLOCK!

You really could not make it up..... just winding down for the night and about to switch computer off when heard on PM that Wendy Alexander ( the other Scot to be appointed Leader this year without an election) could be forced to resign over accepting an illegal donation from a Jersey businessman - and writing him a thankyou letter.

HEAD FOR LABOUR HOME.....

In my first enthusiasm for blogging ( which has since dissipated somewhat) I used to spend far too much time on Labour Home , where my pseudonym was grimupnorth........ During the run-up to the (non) leadership contest and Deputy Leadership contests, it was a great place to go for a verbal scrap and, often, entertaining as wel as informative. In recent months I've stopped being a regular as the format is now a bit dreary and it tends to be dominated by fans of the status quo. However, LRC supporter Duncan Hall has just posted an article on the current crisis enveloping the Govt and, as with everything Dunc writes, it's worth a read. His analysis is absolutely correct.

A GREAT DAY TO GO OUT CAMPAIGNING?

If you are a Labour Party member then you will have received, like me, an e-mail urging you to join the big Campaign Day tomorrow. What fantastic timing....... Cabinet Ministers fighting like rats in a sack over who did what in the dodgy donations scandal, talk of Jack Straw replacing Brown as "caretaker "Prime Minister, knives out for Harriet Harman, Labour 11 points behind in the opinion polls. None of which detracts from the fact that 99.99 per cent of Party members are of course honest, hard-working and committed and have absolutely nothing to do with this mess. But the latest farrago is not one from which we are going to recover quickly. As it happens, I have pressing work commitments tomorrow and cannot go out leafletting ( or whatever) . The best of luck to those who do because they are going to need it......

LET'S BLAME THE RUSSIANS,,,,,,,

More unbelievable guff from P Toynbee in today's Guardian.If I appear to have a minor fixation with the female columnists who act as propaganda machines for Gordon Brown/New Labour then it's largely because I am also a journalist and find it utterly baffling they get paid so much money for writing such garbage. Polly, for example, simply cannot believe that it's possible Russia has better literacy levels than this country. In fact, she says the Russians are way above us because they , er, fiddle the statistics. Really.
When I visited the Soviet Union ( as it then was) in 1989 people were desperate for books - Penguin novels were prized items and other languages were taught as a matter of course in schools. Even the youngest of children could speak some English and/or German.
How can reading skills improve when no-one picks up a book? In very recent conversations with older students, and I'm talking university level, I'm amazed at the fact the vast majority simply do not read. Nor see the need to. But were I 30 years younger with hundreds of satellite channels, ready access to computer games, and junk magazines with no words but plenty of pics of "celebrities" , maybe I would be the same. My generation got one hour of children's TV , precious little spending money and public libraries offered us escapism now found 24/7 elsewhere. In Russia, I suspect, things are as they were here 40 years ago. As for the rest of Polly's article well it's the same line trotted out by Jackie Ashley the other day. And, talking of Russia, I have no doubt they would both have been gainfully employed on Pravda. Because their blind loyalty to this Government is similarly unacceptable.

POLICE TO INVESTIGATE ABRAHAMS DONATIONS

Headline news @ 6pm: Looks like the police are now definitely to investigate the dodgy donations. So here we are again. Less than six months after Brown becomes PM with the promise of a different kind of politics, more questions being asked by Scotland Yard. It beggars belief, really. Frankly, this is a small, elite coterie at the top of New Labour. Unfortunately, it rebounds on all of us. And the electorate are not going to be impressed. God knows what the next round of opinion polls will bring. It really is time the Party cleaned up its act along the lines suggested here

RETAIL THERAPY

Today is not a good day in our family calendar as it's 21 years today since my mum died. But instead of dwelling on the past I did what she would have wanted me to do. Which is go out and celebrate life by spending some money on myself.
Oddly enough, I was stopped in the street by someone from BBC Woman's Hour doing interviews and, for once, the media were not remotely interested in my political views. No, I was asked what I thought of the Whistles shop window in King Street, Manchester. Well, I had two thoughts, One: I could not really afford any of the clothes ; Two, they were all about size 8 so a bit impractical. But I gave it my best shot which, to anyone who knows my penchant for NOT shopping, is a bit of a laugh, really.
I tend to scour the charity shops , buy shoes when the existing pair are completely done for and so on..... Anyway, in the wake of this interview I proceeded to spend quite a bit of the hard-earned money that I have in reserve on utter fripperies.
I hate consumerism and think Christmas is basically a huge commercial con which gets too many people into far too much debt but even so occasionally we all need the odd treat. Then I got back and opened the big box of chocolates which a friend brought round the other day. Probably not quite such a good idea.......

THE REAL SCANDAL

So it looks as though the dodgy donations story is going to run and run. Nothing the papers like more than subterfuge and possible scandal. This Abrahams guy was apparently barred from the list of candidates for the local council in Newcastle - which takes a bit of doing.........He is clearly an eccentric ( am being kind) and the kind of person you would run a mile from.
The real scandal is of course not the Labour Party's utter ineptitude in this matter. Bad as it is. The scandal is a Leader completely at sea and at odds with the hopes and values of his increasingly small band of members. 170,000 and going down.....At the grassroots, the reality is seriously starting to kick in that Brown is NOT the saviour of even social democracy. Even moderates like Peter Kenyon are talking about Brown "riding roughshod over the working class." Right-wing rhetoric, the "big tent" , betrayal on climate change, authoritarian and punitive attitudes to immigration, pronouncements on unemployment benefit which would have been applauded by Norman Tebbit. And now reneging on promises to allow councils more freedom to build new homes,The list goes on and on ... . in the first six months of his premiership, Gordon Brown has disappointed many . Mr Bean, by comparison, is rather endearing.......

DEFEND COUNCIL HOUSING - AGAIN !

Back in the "halcyon days" of Gordon Brown's honeymoon as Leader, much was made of his renewed commitment to council housing. Now it appears that our hopes were a) a little premature and b) will be dashed unless serious pressure is put on the Govt and MPs to amend the Housing Bill which was discussed this week. See John McDonnell's blog for more details and links .

IS IT TIME FOR A SEQUEL?

Back in 1996, I was enthralled by Peter Flannery's Our Friends In The North - a truly epic tale of north-east political corruption, encompassing also revolutionary socialism , sexual liberation, gangland corruption and the birth of New Labour. In the last episode Mary, (played by Gina McKee) was about to become a Blairite MP. At the time the programme was transmitted, precious few of us realised the awful implications of this. How interesting it would be to find out what had happened to the fictional characters. My guess is Mary would now be in the Cabinet, former Marxist revolutionary Nicky (Chris Eccleston) would be a Number 10 spin doctor, Tory businesman Tosker dead of a heart attack and alcoholic Geordie (Daniel Craig) working for the voluntary sector. The new series would , obviously, end at the Trimdon Labour Club with a prominent local businesman in the front row as Tony Blair (played by himself) announces his resignation. ......

OXBRIDGE RADICALS REUNITED........

Turning away for a moment from Labour's squalid donations fiasco, it was good to see protestors out on the streets demonstrating against the disgraceful decision by the Oxford Union to allow Nick Griffin and David Irving to spout their racist bile.

Inevitably, this led to comments from more reactionary commentators about "privileged" students grandstanding. Well, I was glad to see a bit of a revival of student radicalism.

At Cambridge in the 1970s, we weren't all swanning around in Brideshead Revisited mode.

Rock Against Racism and the original Anti Nazi League were in full flood. Coaches of women students went down to London for a Reclaim The Night march in Soho in 1978 ( on similar lines to the one held in London on Saturday night) .We even had a rather bizarre "Blue Jeans Day" in which we all wore denim to show solidarity with gay men. As someone pointed out at the time, as we all wore denim anyway, how would anyone know....

Still, we were pretty solidly egalitarian at my college though I daresay some of my former comrades have long gone over to the dark side and become very rich. But not all.

In fact, two of my exact contemporaries in COLS - Cambridge Organisation of Labour Students - are now on the National Committee of the LRC. Which, statistically, is pretty extraordinary. One of our other contemporaries, " Red Andy" Marr, used to sell Socialist Action in the market square and sport a Lenin cap. Well, we all know what happened to him....

OUR FRIEND IN THE NORTH.......

Hazel Blears, John Hutton, Margaret Jay, all mixed up in the Abrams scandal. Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch......... As Gordon turned down the unknown donor and Harman didn't even query it methinks she could be toast. Geoff Hoon , meanwhile, blethering pathetically on Channel 4 News This really is a car crash.

IS HARRIET'S HEAD ABOUT TO ROLL?

So, Harriet Harman took a dodgy donation from Abrams in the name of one of his financial conduits. Will she have to resign? Consensus after today's Press conferencwe seems to be that Brown was not quite 100 percent behind her. We shall see.

Amused to hear Bob Marshall-Andrews on PM describing this as "Shakespearian tragedy" which I think frankly is bigging up a fairly depressing re-run of the last days of the Blair regime with poll ratings to match. Bob, I understand, was very recently going round Westminster telling everyone Brown was the "real deal" and a great socialist. Presumably he has changed his mind.Philip Gould also talking tosh on the radio about Peter Watt and his "great integrity" on World At One which could well be so but after all the cash for honours stuff just isn't going to wash with the public. Like Victor Meldrew, they just DON'T BELIEVE IT and we're going to have to do better than this To be fair, Watt has done the decent thing and resigned.

But, if Bob is right and we are in Shakespearian mode. Two thoughts.

"When troubles come, they come not in single spies but in battalions."

"Something is rotten in the state of Denmark."

GOOD NEWS

Protestors have seemingly stopped the Oxford Union debate with the odious David Irving and Nick Griffin going ahead........

AND BAD NEWS....

Lead story on 10pm news is that Peter Watt, Labour's General Secretary,has been forced to resign over the latest donations scandal. Tomorrow's PM press conference should be interesting......

BRANSON'S BID ACCEPTED BY GOVT

Optimistic as ever , I have just joined a Facebook campaign group to Nationalise Northern Rock. But it looks as though the £900-plus of my money as a taxpayer which has already been ploughed into it will now be appropriated by Richard Branson and eventually make a nice fat proft for both Branson his shareholders. The Government has just confirmed it will back his bid to absorb Northern Rock into "Virgin Money." What a woeful lack of radical imagination on the Govt's part. And a woeful waste of public money....

SYLVIE KRIN STUFF

I sometimes don't know whether to laugh or cry at the New Labour cheerleaders in the Guardian. A classic one today. Got back late from my teaching hours to catch some serious anger at a piece by Jackie Ashley in today's CiF. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,2217024,00.html

Ashley is a serious journalist, an intelligent woman who presumably has a fine political brain. Yet she is still trotting out the tiresome line that we haven't seen the "real" Gordon , who presumably is this progressive social democrat we were promised just an election or so ago. "I've met him," she coos. And we're supposed to be impressed. So what? I couldn't care less if she has dinner round Number 10 every night . We are surely judging the man on his policies, not his social skills. And these are, increasingly, found wanting by anyone who is part of the mainstream Labour family. Never mind the hard left.

Her piece today is positively embarrassing in its sycophancy. Sylvie Krin stuff. So let's get real. Gordon is in a hole. One entirely of his own making. Borne largely of a dogged refusal to steer left of centre and stay true to the Labour principles he supposedly believes in.

The blogs are starting to fill with nasty personal innuendo about the man which I have no time for at all. But let's stop this pretence still being touted by the soft left that somehow Brown's "vision" is about to glow red . They are all in utter denial.

What you see, as the left said all along, is what you get. It's now up to the PLP to decide if they want this rightward tack to continue - or do something about it.

DONATION DEJA VU......

On a personal note, I have not had the greatest of weeks. But Labour's has been worse. Northern Rock, data going missing, dreadful poll ratings and then today the papers were splashed with more bad publicity about donations, with Jack Straw expressing concern about the" transparency" of donations to the Labour Party after a property developer admitted channelling the money through friends to keep his identity secret.
Labour has launched its own internal inquiry into the £400,000 received from Ray Ruddick and Janet Kidd, with Straw calling for watchdogs at the Electoral Commission to look into the donations .Here we go again......

ONCE A CATHOLIC...

Today, I have decided, I will go to Mass. This is not some act of piety . I'm not a devout Catholic. Nor even a good one. I have lapsed more times than I've said the rosary. But occasionally I feel the need for some spiritual solace. And it's cheaper than retail therapy and not as fattening as chocolates. The last time I revealed my closet Catholicism to a group of lefties they were, well, a bit horrified. But I draw strength from people like Kathy Kelly, a wonderful peace campaigner I met a couple of weeks ago who is a member of the Catholic Worker movement ( which I must confess I had never heard of until I researched the article. The big difficulty with Catholicism is not the teachings of Christ or Thomas Aquinas ( the basis of the CWM) but the sexual edicts from the Vatican As a 16-year-old, I can remember arguing fiercely with a Jesuit priest that the Church's teachings on contraception were utterly illogical. Anyone remember the "rhythm method" ........
I also believe in a woman's right to choose . No woman undertakes to have an abortion lightly and contraception should therefore be universally available, and free . And many make the mistake of assuming all catholics are reactionary on these and other issues . Far from it.
The Parish Priest at the church I am going to is an active socialist and Labour Party member.has organised coaches to anti-war demonstrations, solidarity missions to Peru. Monsignor Bruce Kent, after all, was the leader of CND . Anyway ( she said defensively) I'm not about to turn into Julie Andrews. Even if the hills are on my doorstep.......

CHRISTMAS LIGHTS GO ON IN HEBDEN

OK, hardly the big political struggle. But I was instrumental in improving Hebden's frankly tatty Christmas lights extravaganza. Legged it back from Manchester to make the carols round the tree with friends including fellow Councillor Janet Oosthuysen ( pictured with me) , who I sincerely hope will be standing for the "big council " in Calderdale in May. Janet was with me in London for the LRC conference last weekend and will be a fine addition to the Council. The weather was, actually, very grim. But our spirits round here on the left are pretty sunny.

TONY LLOYD BACKS KAREN

Heartening day at the rally and demonstration in support of Karen Reissmann today in Manchester . I was really pleased to see Manchester Central MP Tony Lloyd speaking up in support of a fellow trade unionist who has been wrongly victimised. Yes, we in the Labour Party have a different position politically. But this is about a hard-working woman who has been sacked for speaking out about the conditions of mental health patients. As Tony said, we stand together to support each other in the labour movement. Whatever our diffrerent views . My NUJ coleague jenny Lennox was also on the platfom along with many of Karen's co-workers. People travelled from as far afield as Glasgow and London to support her and many trade union reps were there -including the RMT, NUT, NUJ, many UNISON branches. A great day and a great feeling to be with people committed to fighting for the NHS. This is where we on the left need to be. Out there, campaigning, talking to people and making it clear there are many of us in the Party who are not sticking rigidly to the New Labour agenda. Support too from Coronation Street actor Chris Bisson, Shameless writer Paul Abbott. Loads more banners than I have seen in recent times. We have to win this campaign. And I think we will.

POLL MELTDOWN FOR BROWN BUT LIGHTS ON THE HORIZON IN HEBDEN BRIDGE

A poll splashed across today's Guardian gives Labour 31 per cent - its worst rating since the last days of Tony Blair. The "Brown bounce" is but a memory and many must be rueing the day the election was called off. Meanwhile have a busy day going to the Manchester protest in support of Karen Reissman and then, by way of contrast, straight back to hebden bridge for the official Christmas lights switch-on and carols round the tree. Should hopefully have photos of both.

TIME FOR MANCHESTER LABOUR TO SHOW KAREN SOLIDARITY

Enough of internet spats. I will be getting on the train to Manchester tomorrow to show a spot of solidarity to sacked UNISON activist Karen Reissman, who got a standing ovation at last week's LRC conference . The demo starts at 1pm tomorrow in the Peace Gardens in St Peter's Square. My comrade Miles has lots of background on this and .I note with particular concern that Manchester's Labour councillors have not been supportive. With, apparently, one interesting exception. I can confirm Miles's suggestion that Moston councillor Bill Risby was the only one to speak out in support of Karen at a Labour group meeting. Which is a) pretty ironic and b) a bloody sad reflection on the state of the Labour group . I've known Bill for over 30 years and he's a friend, a lifelong socialist and former trade union leader (SLADE) In my (long-gone) youth, we in the Manchester LPYS regarded Bill as a "sell-out" and indeed he was on the right of the Party then. He thought we were a bunch of barmy young Trotskyists ( we probably were) Even more ironically, many of those councillors who now are NOT coming out in support of Karen were regarded then as dangerous lefties. So I suspect the reality is this.

Bill has stayed where he always was politically - a decent moderate Labour man committed and supportive of any trade unionist wrongly sacked. Others, I suspect, prefer to dwell on the fact that Karen is an SWP member and somehow justify her treatment on sectarian grounds. Toeing , of course, the New Labour line....Why in God's name haven't the Manchester MPs spoken out in support of a woman who only last week received a letter confirming she was to be promoted - days after she had been sacked for speaking up for patients. Yet again, Labour is wrongfooted on a seriously important issue. It is enough to make one despair.

UNITED WE STAND......

A couple of days ago I posted what I thought was a pretty inocuous blog on the LRC conference. However, it resulted in a major slanging-match with all kinds of allegations being bandied around. So let us be absolutely clear.
About 250 to 300 people attended the conference with views ranging from the Compassite left to the Alliance for Workers Liberty and beyond. Speakers also represented a broad spectrum. Jon Trickett from Compass and moderate left Welsh AM Jane Davison. More "left" views were represented by Mark Serwotka from the PCS and Joe Marino of the Baker's Union.
The whole point of the day was to have an honest debate on the future of the left. Obviously, there are many differing views on this. Mark Serwotka didn't hold out much hope for the Labour Party but urged us to carry on fighting from within. He made it clear that in certain circumstances, he would support RESPECT ( or other left) candidates against right-wing Labour. I don't happen to share Mark's view on this. I think small parties like RESPECT , or the SP, only weaken the left. But , yes, I can see where he is coming from because the state of the Labour Govt is pretty dire. No, I won't be campaigning for any candidate who isn't Labour becaue I would get kicked out of the Party and that's not a very good strategy.
Some of the unions who back the LRC are disaffiliated from Labour. Should they be in it ? Why the hell not? The RMT still has a strong Parliamentary Group led by John McDonnell as indeed does my union the NUJ, also for solely ethical reasons not affilated to the Labour Party . I sincerely hope at some stage the FBU and RMT will come back to Labour and would regard their involvement with the LRC as a real positive on that score.
The big barney was, however, reserved for a comment or two I made about Jon Trickett and Jon Cruddas. In the former case, I thought it strange that Trickett should make a (very) long speech highly critical of Brown and not refer or explain to the reasons why he had nominated him. Frankly, a lot of us were listening in disbelief. Fine words, as they say, butter no parsnips..... but Trickett was listened to politely. Cruddas, as i pointed out in a throwaway remark, would probably not have been. Hardly controversial stuff. Stating, in fact, the bloody obvious. Yet I was accused of being "uncharitable"
So let's get this straight. I think nothing would be better than for the Compassites and centre-left to link up with the 30 or so socialist MPs to build a 100-strong PLP grouping which could really have an impact . More unites us than divides us. All that stuff.
But painful facts have to be faced. The biggest one being that Gordon Brown is NOT a closet leftie. Maybe he was once. He certainly isn't now. He goes on doggedly with plans for ID cards, more authoritarian terrorism legislation, Academies, nuclear weapons, third runways etc etc etc.And don't get me started on the cuts to disability benefit
In my very humble opinion the only way forward is to unite and campaign behind the polices like Trident, social housing, PFI, climate change, the issues which did win big backing from members in the deputy leadership campaign. But when was the last time you heard ANYONE on the centre-left really speaking out . And I don't mean anodyne pieces on Comment Is Free. If people like Trickett REALLY have a problem with the New labour agenda ( and I'm pretty convinced he does) then they should start working with the Campaign Group, LRC and grassroots campaigns around the issues we agree on. Let's hope this becomes a reality in the months and weeks ahead. Otherwise Labour will continue to slump further and further behind the Tories. And no wonder....

NO TO HEATHROW EXPANSION

It's quite extraordinary that , on the one hand, the Government pledges commitment to the environment. Then, on the other, is hell-bent on projects like expanding Heathrow.
The other day, I was in London for a meeting, arriving at King's Cross. The new rail terminal there is a wonder to behold and I can't wait for my first opportunity to travel on the Eurostar from there. Being a flying phobic, I have travelled to France and Italy by train and - it's wonderful. Last year I was forced to abandon overland plans and fly to Spain from Stansted. It was a miserable, tortuous experience. Two hours to get through security, one hour wait on the runway. More delays coming back. Apparently travel time from Heathrow to Frankfurt is 90 minutes but the whole experience takes a good five hours. Is this really an argument for expansion? Why aren't we doing more to get people on the trains to Europe by improving rail links to London , ofering cheaper fares. No, it's not a panacea but it would be a start.
Ministers like Ruth Kelly show a depressing inability to think out of the box ( to use a Blairite phrase) a woeful lack of imagination, and of cpurse a deermination to stick to the agenda of big business.
In today's Guardian , Kelly says abandoning expansion plans "might salve green consciences" will have no impact on the environment, because the global appetite for air travel will continue to grow at 5% a year. So, we might as well trade arms to anyone because people are always going to kill each other .. does it never occur to these people that you HAVE TO START SOMEWHERE. She then trots out the Brownite line which is always used against the left and the green lobby.
"If Heathrow is allowed to become uncompetitive, the flights and routes it operates will simply move elsewhere. All it will do is shift capacity over the Channel. It will make us feel pure, but with no benefit to the rest of the planet." That is, to say the least of it, a sweeping, fatuous statement. I hope those living in the area - and beyond - now redouble their efforts to fight the third runway. The Govt has ( just for a change) made up its mind ahead of any consultation. But the fight against the third runway will continue

CAROLINE BENN

Tomorrow marks the seventh anniversary of the death of Caroline Benn and today for some reason I feel compelled to write about her.

Probably because in recent years, I have observed at fairly close hand the sheer courage of Tony Benn as he carries on stoutly campaigning without the woman who was his "socialist soulmate." It always makes me feel more than a little sad because their story is the stuff of fairytale. They met as students at Oxford University and he proposed to her nine days later. She accepted. Later on, Tony bought the bench he proposed to her on and re-located it to their home in West London.

Throughout the many years they were married, Caroline Benn combined family life with commitment to socialism. She was president of the Socialist Education Association and her best-known book was a 1992 biography of Keir Hardie. She worked as an OU tutor and was a member of ILEA ( the Inner London Education Authority) and co-founder of the Campaign for Comprehensive Education. From a female perspective, she was also an extremely glamorous and elegant woman.

In 1981, I remember sitting in the foyer of Brighton's Grand Hotel ( no security cordons in those days) shortly after the news Benn had lost the deputy leadership by the narrowest of whiskers. We all were, as you may imagine, utterly gutted. Tony and Caroline came in to rapturous applause and stood on the hotel stairway acknowledging our support- gracious and inspiring in defeat.

A couple of years later, when Hilary Benn lost Ealing North in 1983, they were out in force at a post-election party - supplying champagne to cheer us all up ( even though the Benns don't drink!).They were in short a team . And , as anyone who has read the latest volume of Benn's diaries will be aware, it's taken tremendous willpower and commitment on Tony's part to carry on. So I will be thinking of him tomorrow.

CHILD BENEFIT DISASTER MUST BE INVESTIGATED

I'm probably in a minority in this country as one of the people NOT to be affected by the child benefit fiasco. Just had a phone call from a friend seriously concerned and no doubt millions of others will be wondering how on earth a database of such magnitude could go missing in a courier van. Somewhat surprised to see Chancellor Alisdair Darling NOT on the evening news and being substituted for by a junior Minister, Jane Kennedy, who could at least have shown a sliver of genuine remorse .
Earlier today, I was criticised for "deriding" the PLP. Well, I'm not making any apologies for saying this should NOT have happened and it casts the Government in a seriously bad light. Another own goal to the Tories and, far worse, a real worry for milions of families. It must be investigated and it must be sorted out. Now. And, just a thought, how does this fiasco impact on tbe plans for ID cards........

LRC National Committee

Thanks to West Yorkshire LRC for nominating me for National Committee and glad to report I came top of the poll in affiliates section. Next meeting is in London on december 15 and will endeavour to put regional issues on the agenda. We need also to be thinking about local events for the new Year and would be particularly pleased to hear from anyone who would be willing to join a list of speakers willing to speak to local Branches /GCs about the LRC . Also ideas on recruitment....... Please contact me 07989352406 or e-mail me.......The full list of committee members can be found at http://www.l-r-c.org.uk/ Thanks again, Susan

NORTHERN ROCK MUST BE NATIONALISED..

Strange old world when the Liberal Democrats are calling for nationalisation but there you have it. The view is one also shared by rabid "lefties" like Will Hutton. But it's clear Brown's stubborn attitude and ideological opposition to anything remotely " socialist" will resist this one all the way. Would be good to see Jon Trickett putting his money where his mouth is and joining in a Labour campaign for what is basically a common sense solution to safeguard taxpayers. With Brown hitting all-time lows in the personal ratings, you would think he would listen to reason....as Darling is just his puppet, highly unlikely.

LRC CONFERENCE

Actually I am too tired to write much in the way of detailed political analysis . It can be found elsewhere but just to note the following. Yesterday was a good turn-out with around 250 people attending . The mood decidedly more upbeat than the debacle of Labour Party Conference. Possibly because people were actually allowed to speak. Good speeches as ever from John McDonnell and Jeremy Corbyn, Tony Benn. Good to see Jane Davison AM on board too ( though she should have been given a time-limit) and conference offered solidarity to victimised UNISON activist Karen Reissman who got a standing ovation. Michael Gavan , another UNISON mmeber threatened with the sack, got a rousing reception too.
LRC is growing steadily following the John4Leader campaign, despite the disappointments of this year. ASLEF are the latest union to affiliate.
Compass's Jon Trickett MP had lots of lefty rhetoric in his rather rambling speech about New Labour and why the Government were way off course,.All very well banging on now about re-claiming the Party but he , er, did have a chance to change the agenda and NOT give Brown an easy ride. Anyway, the audience was largely polite and bridges have to be built I suppose . But I wonder what Neal Lawson would have made of his speech....
West Yorkshire LRC resolution in support of lowering leadership threshold passed unanimously and only real dissent was over an ambiguous motion from the AWL which suggested LRC might support non-Labour candidates. It was, quite rightly, thrown out.
No we can't - as if we did we would get thrown out of the Party. It's a no-brainer. As Owen Jones and many others said, the road to oblivion. Remember Lesley Mahmoud.....
Thanks to fellow bloggers Stroppy Bird, Jon Rogers, Tami and Marsha Jane for their excellent company after the conference ( can we have an organised social event next year as an added incentive for those who travel hundreds of miles....) . And a special thanks to Linda Riordan MP for giving me somewhere to sleep! Just as well the other residents who got there at same time could sort out my ineptitude with the fob and keys. Now have to work out how to fill two hours' teaching tomorrow. May do more considered piece tomorrow .Forgot to say got voted on to National Committee - so back in London soon.

THE HYPING BEGINS FOR WAR IN IRAN

Today's speculation in the Guardian comes just 48 hours after I interviewed peace activist Kathy Kelly (pictured) for the next issue of Labour Briefing. Kathy , who has been nominated for the Nobel Peace prize three times, has faced prison, financial ruin and considerable personal risk in her 30 years as an anti-war campaigner and worker with the displaced and dispossessed. Her contribution is , frankly, humbling. And I learned much in the course of research for the article. She launched Voices In The Wilderness in 1996 , has been to Iraq many times and is currently working with Iraqi refugees in Jordan and Syria. Kathy told me she believed the next few moinths would see many attempts by the US Govt to justify military conflict in Iran. She is also a co-ordinator for Voices For Creative Non-Violence, who are already planning a programme of peaceful civil disobedience to counter-act the voices for war. I got up early to finish the article as I am travelling to London today for the LRC conference and won't be back till Sunday. A report back will follow but do not expect to have time for much blogging. Unless, of course, I get desperate withdrawal symptoms......

RULES MUST BE OBEYED

In case you are wondering why a former post on selection of a local council candidate has been removed, someone has complained about the process so we have to do it all again. Despite the fact this was discussed with an LGC observer, voted on and it was overwhelmingly agreed by the Party members present that the selection would proceed . We almost didn't have a contest at all and the person chosen on the night won by a mile. But, no, we've got to do it all again. I won't comment further but draw your own conclusions......

WE GOT THERE FIRST......

Where Hebden Bridge leads, London follows! Amused ( and slightly annoyed) to note that today's big news in the Independent is the fact our capital city could soon be a plastic bag-free zone. Tiny Hebden Bridge took this step TWO MONTHS AGO.
If pressed, the co-op now has bags under the counter but also seels bio-degrardables for 5pence and everyone in the twon got their own eco-friendly shopping bag in a movebacked financially by the Town Council.
Still, well done to the 33 authorities in the London Councils group voted for legislation to prevent shops in the capital handing out free plastic bags. In the next fortnight Westminster Council will present a private Bill to the House of Commons which would apply to every London shop, as the Independent says, " from the humblest newsagent to Harrods."

STRUGGLE TO SAVE REMPLOY MUST GO ON

Saddened to read that hopes of thousands of REMPLOY jobs being saved could be lying in tatters. A rally held in Bournemouth at Party Conference was positively euphoric at the news Minister Peter Hain had pledged a moratorium on closures. But now management has announced

plans to axe 28 factories employing over 2,000 disabled workers.
The proposed cull involves just 15 fewer sites than were originally earmarked for closure.
The firm originally said that it wanted to close or merge 43 plants with the loss of 2,500 jobs, sparking a massive union campaign.
But, in a "final" proposal to the government, bosses now say that they intend to merge 11 plants and close 17.
GMB general secretary Paul Kenny, who was at the Bournemouth rally, said: "At the Labour Party conference, the government agreed a new direction based on 'choice' for disabled workers, using public procurement to generate a steady workload to secure the future of the Remploy factories as allowed under EU rules.
"Yet, a mere six weeks later, we have the absolute disgrace of a failed response from a failed management, putting forward, in public, proposals which completely ignore what was agreed at Bournemouth that will lead to the sacking of over 2,000 disabled workers."
Ominously, Peter Hain is not being clear about thew Government's intentions, saying "Now that we have the proposals, we will need to study them in detail before making a final decision on the way forward." Let's hope the "way forward" does not mean accepting the closures.

WHY DON'T THEY STOP SPINNING.....

My post yesterday contained a missive from my local MP which looks suspiciously like one of those mass posting jobbies which New Labour specialise in. ie a PR exercise. This "autumn survey" claims to want to know what I think about local policy ( which is fair enough) and national issues. There then follows a mini-poll asking which Party I most identify with. The idea is I post this ( buying my own stamp) and send answers back.
No disrespect to anyone involved.But leaving room for about 200 words on both local and national issues does not strike me as enough space. To put it mildly. And recent experience suggests that what I think ( or anyone else for that matter) is not regarded as particularly important by the powers-that-be in Government. Let's face it. The Government has been told what we think. Many times.
We wanted more social housing ( forget the "affordable" guff) no new generation of Trident, troops home from Iraq, no more Academies, no more PFI, and the railways to be returned to public ownership. For starters. A couple of dozen trade unions and over 100 MPs ( including mine) told the Govt in no uncertain terms a week or two ago that they wanted to pass a Trade Union Freedom Bill. It was blocked - again. So forgive me for being cynical but I do not see the point of filling in a form and reiterating points which have been made time and time again at my CLP and at Party Conference. And resolutely ignored by New Labour.

DON'T STAND SO CLOSE TO ME......

I have survived. Just. Four hours of teaching and a baptism of fire which has to constitute the most scary day this year. Two hours is a long long time in the classroom and I will never complain about having to make a five-minute speech again. After the first session my throat was giving up on me and I could feel a migraine coming on. Thank God for aspirin....When I was last in a classroom Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister and the miners were on strike, The students I was teaching today were not even born....... but I'm not telling them that.
They seemed happy enough at the end of the day (blind them with science and hand-outs) and I'm sure it will be less stressful next Monday. Maybe.
PS: They were not at all impressed with my tales of meeting Prime Ministers etc.....but at least I now know who 's lead singer witb the Arctic Monkeys.

MORE GUFF ABOUT THe TB/GBs

Bet you all can't wait for yet another TV film about the Blair/Brown years. The ever sycophantic David Aaronavitch is the one Chosen to interview Tony about his 10 years in Number 10. Yawn yawn yawn. It all sounds like a re-hash of old stuff to me and just confirms what we all already know. They loathe one another.
But tellingly, in the programme Former Cabinet Secretary Lord Butler apparently accuses Blair and Brown of acting like a "revolutionary cell" inside New Labour and attacks Blair for refusing to consult the Cabinet about a Govt decision.
"[Mr Blair] said to me: 'They will all agree'. I said: 'That's not the point, we have Cabinet government in this country, it is a big decision and people will expect the decision to have been taken by the Cabinet.'"
Blair tells Aaronovitch: "I didn't want any argy-bargy. If you'd had a Cabinet discussion and people saying it's a bad idea and that had come out, the Government would have ended before it began." One wonders why he didn't go the whole hog and just abolish the Cabinet. Well, actually, in real terms, he did.

DON'T CHOKE ON YOUR CORNFLAKES.....

I didn't know whather to laugh or cry when I saw Anthony Seldon's piece today on Tony Blair. It's basically a sycophantic justification of why poor Tony needs to be paid £240,000 for a speech - complete with the strapline "A man's got to get by.." It seems Blair's market value is decreasing by the day so obviously he has to profit massively now. Don't read it if you suffer from high blood pressure......
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,2208725,00.html

WEAR YOUR POPPY WITH PRIDE

Tomorrow will be joining other councillors for annual Remembrance Day procession to war memorial then civic service in local church. And, yes, I will be wearing a red poppy. There was a time when it was fashionable on the left to wear white poppies. They were sold by groups like the Quakers and CND. But, largely, that trend has died out. I know one or two people who still manufacture their own but, actually, had a bit of an altercation in the pub last night with someone planning to do exactly that.

I pointed out that the local members of the Royal British Legion would not a) applaud his peacenik tendencies but b) feel insulted. I also pointed out it was a pretty pointless gesture which would do nothing to stop war. And, most importantly, I added that attending services like tomorrow's is NOT to glorify war, but honour and respect those who have died.

My generation is, I hope, the last to have wholesale direct family experience of war. My father (87) was in the Army in the second World War and my grandfather fought in the First World War, coming through the Battle of the Somme. He was so grateful to be alive that afterwards he remembered a priest who had assured him he would survive. On that basis, he converted to Catholicism.

Many might laugh at such naivete (no doubt the clergy said that to everyone as a comfort) but the fact is I would not be sitting here had things gone very differently for the men in my family.

Many families tomorrow will remember their loved ones who have died much more recently in Iraq and Afghanistan. To pause for a minute or two and honour their memories is not to be a warmonger - it's common human decency.

WHY THE MINIMUM WAGE IS NOT ENOUGH

I have spent the last two days doing some casual work at a shop in Hebden Bridge. A bit of much needed extra money while I seek more job opportunities. At £6.00 an hour, slightly over the minimum wage.
It was a great feeling to get proper cash in brown envelopes but my feeling of euphoria soon evaporated. Yesterday, I got the daily rate without tax adjustments. Today, I got two days' tax taken off. So the grand total tallies up at £35.00 a day.
The shine has just been taken off even further by the window-cleaner just knocking at my door and having to hand over £6. It suddenly has a whole new meaning. That was one hour's work today. So my weekend funds are depleted even further. However, as I have no dependents, I really shouldn't be whingeing.
Throughout most of my professional life, I have been very lucky. For some years I even made the supertax bracket. Those days are long gone. However on Monday, I'm doing some teaching work for £30-odd quid an hour which means basically I will earn more in four hours than i have done in two 7.5 hour days. Stating obvious maybe but for years I took that kind of rate of pay for granted.
In recent years , much to my annoyance, I've heard many people ( largely middle-class and well-paid) bang on and on about the minimum wage as if it represented some socialist Nirvana . Blair's finest hour etc etc ( although Blair actually opposed it) I agree that it was a Good Thing and that without the minimum wage things would be even more awful and that people would be even lower-paid. The Minimum Wage should also be properly enforced to protect casual workers. However, let's stop pretending that it is anywhere near a Living Wage ( which would be nearer £8 an hour) . £175 take-home a week is not enough to keep one person, never mind a family.
In fact, I suggest all those Ministers and members of the Govt who wax lyrical about it try a couple of days working for the basic rate. It just might make them think......

TEXTING FOR KAREN

First thing this morning I got a text message from a friend urging support via my mobile phone for NHS worker Karen Reissman, sacked by Manchester Mental Health Trust for speaking out on behalf of patients. UNISON members backed a strike today to defend her and I am glad to note that John McDonnell is now seeking to raise her case in Parliament.It would also be nice to see some Manchester MPs putting their heads above the parapet for once....Karen addressed our NUJ rally on Monday in Manchester.

NO RESPECT TO GALLOWAY ..

You have to hand it to George Galloway.He really can pull in a crowd. Apparently, about 130 people gathered in Manchester to hear him speak the other night. Shame what he actually said, though. According to my NUJ comrade Miles, who reports the meeting on his blog , the less than Gorgeous one denounced the trade unions for still sticking with labour, saying: "That which they call Labour is not Labour.I'm not a Marxist, a Communist, a Leninist, or any kind of ist."I'm just Labour really. Britain doesn't have a Labour Party."

Right, so presumably he isn't a sociali-ist , then. "Just Labour " "Just george." Just, actually, an incredibly vain, self-seeking politician whose undoubted skill as an orator has led a couple of thousand supporters up the blind alley they call RESPECT. Which is now about to sink.

To say that Britain " doesn't have a Labour Party" is a massive insult to the comrades who stood by him and didn't want him expelled in the first place. Not to mention the thousands who joined him on anti-war demos and formed Labour Against The War. What an absolute tosser....

GOVERNMENT ARMS DEALER QUITS

No time really to blog today but somewhat horrified to read that multi-millionaire Blair crony and Defence Minister Lord Drayson, the man in charge of flogging those nice weapons of mass destruction, has got a sick note from his boss Gordon Brown. Except that he isn't sick. Far from it.

Indeed, the 47-year-old Minister he has taken a "leave of absence" from the government in a bid to take part in the 24-hour Le Mans race.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, Drayson says: "A number of special circumstances have now presented me with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take my racing to the next level.
"I have the opportunity to race next year in the American Le Mans series in the US, a key step towards my eventual dream of success in the Le Mans 24-hours endurance race."
Brown's letter back is pretty ingratiating"You are of course lucky to have that opportunity but you are showing your customary boldness and imagination by pursuing it . He already looks forward to "your return to government when your leave of absence ends".

Nice to see such a cavalier approach to the responsibilities of Govt being encouraged. Oh, in case you didn't know, Drayson was at one time Labour's biggest individual donor . Patronage is a great thing if you have lots of money to flash around....

GOOD NEWS AND POSSIBLE BAD NEWS

I'm glad to see plans for flexible working, allowing parents to tasks home and have a better work-life balance, being considered by the Government. I know many mums and dads who have a seriously hard time juggling working hours, childcare, and struggling with the cost of after-school care etc.
But , ominously, signals that the row over trade union donations is to be re-opened. Guardian claims today Brown's aides are saying he wants to introduce laws limiting party spending as well as caps on individual donations at around £50,000. Plans to extend state funding of parties have been dropped.Union leaders are apparently insistent that they will not tolerate any cap on donations. Well, we've heard it all before . But this time they had better mean it.

BLOGGING HOURS CURTAILED......

Good news for my bank manager. Blogging hours will be curtailed as of now due to extra professional duties teaching media relations to students at a local university. Good news for me as sitting at home all day in front of computer in splendid isolation is not good for soul.
Only one day a week but enough to keep wolves with very sharp teeth from door.
Pre-Christmas duties also in Hebden Bridge shop. Should still find time to comment on important events but also wish to broaden horizons. Have just come across excellent blog called A World To Win. Clearly written by people with more time than I to gather their thoughts and statistics. I plan to read it regularly and recommend you do the same.
http://aw2w.blogspot.com/
PS: Very odd today being in college environment. Felt about 1000 years old . Last time I was in a classroom, about 1984, coloured felt-tip pens were all the rage. Onward to Powerpoint.....

QUEEN'S SPEECH - WARMED UP POLITICAL LEFTOVERS

Not much media enthusiasm for the Queen's Speech. Not surprising as most of it already announced. Some random thoughts. Extending detention to 56 days is a figure picked off the back of a fag-packet - and populist tosh for the Daily Mail niche market currently courted by the leadership. Why does Brown want to re-run this one , on which Blair was defeated.....Odd how the MI5 allegations on child terrorists allegedly being "groomed" were released to the press 24 hours before but call me cynical. Raising school leaving age to 18? Sounds OK in principle but reality is unless you do something about the endemic causes why NEETS not attending school then it will probably be a) costly and b) counter-productive. As well as being disruptive for schools and teachers. Compulsory language tests . as someone said today, "lace-curtain racism." I truly wish Brown would stop listening to Paul Dacre and start listening to his Party.

WIDNES NOT REVISITED....

I knew the tale of Paul Simon writing Homeward Bound on Widnes railway station in the 1960's. I never understood why...until today when I was wandering around in the rain trying to find something nice to say about a place which is, well, grim in the extreme. Wet through from marching down Manchester's Peter Street in the rain, I discovered to my horror that the famous railway station is a one-mile walk from the town centre.

Had a vision of the young Paul Simon carrying a guitar feeling utterly pissed off and wondering why he'd crossed the Atlantic. PS: Another famous Widnes person is local hero Alan Bleasdale - according to the taxi-driver on way back to station, he went to school there.

STANDING UP FOR JOURNALISM

About to head off into Manchester to suport the NUJ's Stand Up For Journalism demonstration . Then on to Widnes to take some pictures of restaurants. The latter is something I would never have done until recently . But, increasingly, in this digital age, writers are being asked to take pictures and vice-versa. In an ideal world, we wouldn't do it. Reluctantly, the NUJ agreed last year that in the real world this is what happens. And freelances , in particular, just cannot afford to turn work down on the basis they won't overlap. Teaching, wriiting and taking photographs are all part of many journalists' portfolios these days. Without the multi-skilling, we just wouldn't survive. Anyway, on to Manchester......

RESPECT - THE FINAL CURTAIN

Showing my age yet again, I was reminded yesterday ( as I was in the area) of a Manchester demo organised in 1978 in Whitworth Park by the Youth Campaign Against Unemployment. YCAU. This Militant-led initiative was distinct from the, er, CAYU - the Campaign Against Youth Unemployment. Which was supported by the TUC.

So here we are again 30 years later seemingly making the same kinds of mistakes. On Saturday November 17, for example, there are now three competing left conferences. The LRC, the official RESPECT conference, and apparently a breakaway conference organised by their former icon George Galloway. You really couldn't make it up..

We all know the jokes about the People's Front Of Judea, but seriously my hope is this in the long-term will be a boost for the left IN the Labour Party.

Because what little credibility RESPECT, Galloway and the SWP had has been shot down in flames. Their always dodgy marriage of political convenience has ended in the usal tears and recriminations.

My message to anyone understandably pissed off with the latest sectarian shenanigans is to come and join us at the Conway Hall. More details here

UPDATE: Sorry, there are apparently FOUR conferences. The other one is the Socialist Party, But my analysis still stands. Well, all the more so, really.

HAZEL O'CONNOR AND THE COST OF POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT

Last night I was persuaded (someone paid for my ticket) to head down the Hebden Bridge Trades Club to see Hazel O'Connor. Hazel, who? will probably be the response of anyone under 40. But for about five minutes, back in the 1970's, Hazel was as famous as her contemporaries Annie Lennox and Madonna. However, she had signed a duff record contract and spent years wrangling with the money men to sort it out.In the meantime, she retired to Ireland and has only been back on the circuit for a few years.
Frankly, I only knew Will You? her one hit record ( which in my misspent youth we used to refer to as a "copping off" song) and had low expectations but she was good, surprisingly political , and at 52 she can still stomp around and belt out her music. The place was packed ( OK, it only holds 150 max) with people who had paid £8.00 a ticket on average (£10 non-members) - whether waged or unwaged. Which brings me to my next bit.
Comrade Miles from Manchester seems to think that asking people to help pay for political events is a bit, well, out of order. The £15 ( waged) and £10.00 (unwaged) cost of attending the LRC conference is, he satys, too much. I disagree.
Yes, it would be really great if it was free - but the harsh fact is that conference venues have to be paid for as do the staff who staff them. The venue ( it was formerly held in the TUC's Congress House) has been switched to save money but I daresay it still runs into the thousands. Leaflets have been printed, costs have to be met. Why? Because in case you hadn't noticed the left does not get the corporate sponsors . The COMPASS conference, which gets far more funding from the big trade unions, cost a similar amount. My Visitor Pass to Labour Party Conference cost an eye-watering £90.00 - and that DOES have the big names pouring in money.
My point is this. Asking people to pay the financial equivalent of a round of drinks or a cheap curry ( we paid £15.00 each last night for a meal in a modest Rusholme establishment) to further the cause of re-building the Labour Left really isn't that much to ask .Is it?
Every year, I hand over a couple of hundred quid to my trade union the NUJ. Actually, as a freelance, I "get" far less for my money than a staffer in terms of what can be done to improve my income. But it's paid out of solidarity. For the same reason, I have a standing order for Labour Briefing .It really does surprise me that people who are I have no doubt concerned about the current bloody awful state of the Labour Party are quibbling over tenners. And, for the record, I'm currently utterly skint.

SOCIALIST NOT SECTARIAN.....

I'm just going out so have no time to post on this now but am infuriated to see Chris Paul describe me as a "sectarian splitter." to Bob Piper, a fellow blogger . Chris, frankly, veers all over the place and I can't work out where he stands most of the time.
As the sectarians in RESPECT and the SWP implode, Labour's LRC remains our best chance of re-building the Left and inspiring others to join us. No apologies for that. No apologies for pointing out the COMPASS route is getting us nowhere. And no, in response to another poster, I don't spend 15 hours a week in allegiance to the LRC cause...... but maybe I should

WALTER CRANE - SOCIALIST AND ARTIST

This afternoon I am heading to Manchester's Whitworth Art gallery to see a new exhibition on the life of Walter Crane. Born in Liverpool, Crane was THE foremost socialist artist in the UK for many years and his iconography was used for many years - and much imitated - on posters and leaflets advocating left-wing causes. Originally, a supporter of the Liberals, he gradually developed socialist views and spoke out in favour of the Communards who attempted to overthrow the French government in 1871. Deeply influenced by William Morris, he became involved in both the Art Workers' Guild and the Arts and Crafts Society, creating designs for wallpapers, printed fabrics, tiles and ceramics. Eventually, he became a Marxist and joined the Social Democratic Federation, later falling out witb the SDF, jooning the Fabians but resigning over their support for the Boer War. All his life, he remained a committed socialist. His artwork also graced many children's books and I'm looking forward to seeing it at close hand. Then going for a curry in Rusholme afterwards........

We LOVE THE NHS!

Today, thousands of NHS workers are converging on London for a national demonstration. The "I Love The NHS" demo is seeking to protest at the Government's continuing agenda of privatisation and below inflation pay rises.

Disturbingly, Health Emergency 's Geoff Martin has revealed that the same privateers fingered in Michael Moore's new film Sicko ( which I haven't seen yet but am told is excellent) will be given the green light to take over the commissioning of local health services.
United Health, which features heavily in the expose of the scandal of the healthcare system in the US, has been fined millions of dollars in recent years for cheating patients, inflating prices and delaying payments.
Geoff , never exactly a man to pull his punches, says that if anyone wants to know where the NHS could end up in 10 years, they should take a look at Sicko.
"Nye Bevan, the founder of the NHS, must be spinning in his grave at the idea that a Labour government would open the door to the worst of the scum ever spewed out by the privatised US health system." Good luck to the demonstrators......

"RED" KEN NO MORE

What exactly does Ken Livingstone think he is doing defending Sir Ian Blair? He should resign - now.

To be honest, I don't have that much time for Ken. OK, he's a good street fighter and the way he was stitched up over the Mayor stuff was dreadful but have always thought he is, as my Mum used to say " a bit of the road with everyone." Pretending to be left, then cosying up to Blair ( and now Brown) when it suited him. Posturing aganst privatisation, then advocating crossing RMT picket lines and slagging off the union. His halcyon days as a left hero are long behind him. Indeed, many years ago ie 1988 I was interviewing him about a book he had just written and had gone to considerable trouble trying to get it read beforehand. I met him and his publisher for dinner and he was sneering and unpleasant about journalists. And pretty offhand with me. Some people say he would have been a good Leader of the Labour Party. I couldn't disagree more........

ALL SOULS DAY.

Today is All Souls' Day - everyone knows about Hallowe'en but the old feast days in the Christian calendar were All Saints Day (yesterday) and then Nov 2, when people pray for the departed. A fitting day I suppose to go to a funeral which is, sadly, what I'm about to do. My departed friend was no saint. He drank far too much, much of his personal life had been a disaster. My entreaties to him to eat properly fell on stony ground and by most yardsticks of material success, he had failed utterly. Yet people will remember him as a kind man, with a generous spirit yet one who didn't suffer fools or charlatans gladly. In the end, as someone said ( no time to check but think it was Philip Larkin) "what survives of us is love." By all means correct me if have quoted wrong person but the sentiments are absolutely right......

STUCK UP NORTH.....

Did I want ads for flights to Saudi Arabia on my blog? No I did not...... indeed if I were not stuck out in the sticks, I would most definitely have been protesting ouside the Saudi Embassy in London last night. Were I not 300 miles up the M1, I would probably spend most of my spare time at one meeting/demo or another. As things stand in deepest hicksville, commitments can still get out of hand. Tonight for example I have an important NUJ meeting clashing with our bi-monthly fund-raisers for local Labour Party. Which means a pan full of curry must be delivered to the Trades Club en route to union activity. Expect ads for takeaways to appear very shortly ......and apologies for the vagaries of Google over which I have little control.....

HELLO MRS CHIPS

On Monday, I will be in Manchester as part of the NUJ's Stand Up For Journalism day. Ironic, I suppose, that the following day I will be heading off to a local college to hopefully resume a teaching career I abandoned 23 years ago in favour of journalism.

Since 1984, when I taught English at an ILEA (Inner London Education Authority) college in London, media studies and related subjects have mushroomed - so much so that there is often more work for freelances TEACHING journalism than there is in writing it. The freelance world has been pretty tough of late so I am hoping a part-time return to the classroom may also herald an upturn in my fortunes. And, no, Google Adsense does not bring in lots of dosh!

POLICE FOUND GUILTY IN DE MENEZES CASE

Today, the Metropolitan Police have been found guilty of breaching health and safety laws over the shooting of innocent Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes.
The 27-year-old died following a "catastrophic" series of errors in the operation which ended in his death. He was shot seven times by specialist firearms officers at Stockwell Tube station after being mistaken for failed suicide bomber Hussain Osman.
Prosecutors at the Old Bailey set out 19 alleged failings in the police operation in the hours leading up to the shooting on July 22, 2005.
The jury convicted the force on the second day of its deliberations.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair was in court to hear the verdict.
The force has been fined £175,000, plus £385,000 costs. Unfortunately, that will not bring Mr de Menezes back to life. The police statement that these officers "thought they were protecting London" just doesn't wash.....the police must be made acccountable and I doubt this is the end of the story. Should Sir Ian Blair resign? The answer I'm afraid has to be yes.....

EVERY LITTLE BIT DOESN'T HELP.......

Well done (not) to the Competition Commission on Wednesday for coming up with proposals to make it easier for supermarket giants to open new stores - and dismissing concerns that the grocery giants are driving smaller retailers out of business.
Yes, the answer to fears over the monopoly grip of chains such as Tesco is seemingly MORE supermarkets, not fewer.
In its frankly bizarre report, the commission also concludes that supermarket chains could be forced to sell undeveloped "land banks" and end the use of covenants stopping rival chains from using sold-off land.

Now I live in a weird place which does NOT have a major supermarket. Frankly, our local co-op often resembles the heyday of the Soviet Union in its lack of goods and is a bit of a joke . But that's still infinitely preferable to a Tesco or a Sainsburys, which would definitely spell the end for the two butchers, greengrocer's , cheese and wine shop and the modest fresh veg and fish markets we have here every Thursday. The nearest Tesco is seven miles away in Halifax - Morrisons four miles down the road. That's enough supermarkets for anyone, surely. As a local councillor, I will continue to fight these unwanted and unnecessary superstores , which are running small retailers into the ground all over the country.