MORE COUNCIL HOMES ANNOUNCED BY GOVERNMENT

One of the key policies passed in recent years at Labour Conference was allowing local authorities to build more council homes and freeing them from the current constraints which mean that last year only 375 homes were built. It is a shame it's taken so long for the Government to take note but this is undoubtedly a step in the right direction.........

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article5614919.ece

REBELS ON HEATHROW EXPANSION

Here's the list.........

Diane Abbott, Hackney North and Stoke Newington
Harry Cohen, Leyton & Wanstead
Jeremy Corbyn, Islington North
Jim Cousins, Newcastle upon Tyne Central
Frank Dobson, Holborn & St Pancras
David Drew, Stroud
Frank Field, Birkenhead
Paul Flynn, Newport West
Dr Ian Gibson, Norwich North
John Grogan, Selby
Kate Hoey, Vauxhall
Kelvin Hopkins, Luton North
Dr Lynne Jones, Birmingham Selly Oak
Peter Kilfoyle, Liverpool Walton
John McDonnell, Hayes and Harlington
Andrew Mackinlay, Thurrock
Bob Marshall-Andrews, Medway
Michael Meacher, Oldham West and Royton
George Mudie, Leeds East
Chris Mullin, Sunderland South
Gordon Prentice, Pendle
Nick Raynsford, Greenwich and Woolwich
Martin Salter, Reading West
Virendra Sharma, Ealing Southall
Alan Simpson, Nottingham South
Andrew Slaughter, Ealing Acton and Shepherd's Bush
Andrew Smith, Oxford East
David Taylor, Leicestershire North West

VIRENDRA SHARMA RESIGNS FROM GOVERNMENT

The Government narrowly won the Heathrow vote - by a majority of 19. It's a Pyrrhic victory. Following the vote Virendra Sharma, MP for Ealing, has quit as PPS to Phil Woolas.
One can only hope, in the interests of both the environment and winning the next Election, that others follow. This fight is far from over - in fact it has only just started.

ANDY SLAUGHTER RESIGNS FROM GOVERNMENT

The battle over Heathrow is likely to have many casualties - some of them will be London Labour MPs who are likely to lose their seats as a result of the Government's decision to plough on with moves to build a third runway and thereby alienate voters on the flightpath. Environmentally, as Ministers Hilary Benn and Ed Miliband have let it be known, it is simply not the right thing to do. Politically, it's sheer madness.
Gerald Kaufman, MP for Manchester Gorton, once famously described the 1983 Manifesto as being the " longest suicide note in history." Backing the Heathrow plans could well cost us the next General Election. So I applaud Andy's principled stance in steppping down as PPS to Lord Malloch-Brown. It's not only a principled stance - it throws a lifeline to all of us who want to see Labour win.

PFI HOSPITALS IN TROUBLE

Interesting piece in today's Morning Star. Could this be the end of PFI in the NHS?

http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/index.php/news/britain/nationalise_pfi_hospitals_insist_activists

SWEET DREAMS ARE NOT MADE OF THIS......

Last night I dreamt I was punched on the nose. I hope very much this is not going to happen but suspect it is a consequence of the anxiety-inducing experience of trying to stand as a PPC. I've spent the last 48 hours fighting my corner and contacting people. It's what you have to do to stand any chance at all of being shortlisted but it's lonely work which requires iron will and thick skin
The other consequence is I've had to focus very much on local stuff so my apologies to blog readers for not really keeping abreast of the wider issues - or at least blogging about them. At some point in the future a normal blogging service will be resumed .

80,000 JOB LOSSES IN A DAY

Anyone doubting the depth of the recession should read this piece in today's Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/jan/26/job-losses-uk-europe-usa

ENGLISH JOURNEY

Have spent six hours travelling this evening from London to Halifax. A cheap but endless journey which gave me time to read a biography of J B Priestley whose very homespun version of socialism inspired such works as An Inspector Calls and Angel Pavement as well as his "English Journey" through the provincial towns where people in the North were suffering due to the Great Depression.
In the light of the BBC's disgraceful refusal to publicise the Gaza charity appeal, it was interesting to read that his wartime Postscript broadcasts - listened to by millions - were similarly banned by the BBC because they showed "left-wing bias."
The ban on the Gaza appeal - which was read out by Tony Benn on the Today programme - is both absurd and inexcusable. Let's hope the decision is reversed.

KEIGHLEY- SNAPSHOT OF RECESSION

In the past few weeks, I have been travelling by bus over the moors to Keighley, where I am aiming to stand as PPC. Under NEC rules, I cannot talk about the process. But I can talk about the town, which featured on tonight's BBC News.
In many ways, the neighbouring constituencies of Calder Valley and Keighley are mirror images of each other. Both have rural, affluent areas and also towns of high unemployment and much deprivation. They both share unwelcome advances by the BNP - which are fought with serious hard work by the local Labour Party and MPs Linda Riordan and Ann Cryer.
In recent years, heavy manufacturing industry has collapsed in West Yorkshire. Major employers have deserted the area and shops and businesses are closing at a rate of knots. It is small Northern towns like Halifax and Keighley which bore the brunt of the last recessioin and they will bear the brunt of this one.
They both have a record of Labour MPs like Ann Cryer and Linda Riordan who are prepared to stand up for their constituents and be an independent voice at Westminster. Whoever is chosen to fight the Keighley seat should be someone unafraid to speak their mind and help ensure that the Government has the right policies to get us out of this recession. It simply won't be enough to say the Tories would do it worse and look back to better days.
We need to address the basic concerns which people have about their homes, jobs and their livelihoods. They want answers - not soundbites. So let's start by making it clear that this is NOT a "credit crunch " - it is a full-blown recession. Whoever is chosen to represent the constituency I am fighting, I hope they will take that on board.

LABOURLIST - AN APOLOGIA FOR THE STATUS QUO

People who read this blog regularly know my views on the Welfare Reform Bill. And anyone who had illusions that the highly-touted "independent" Labourlist would be anything other than a mouthpiece for the status quo should read James Purnell's latest posting. I was pleased to note that Mary Honeyball MEP has similar views as I do on this brainchild of Dolly Draper. Even more pleased that she gave me a plug. Thanks.

THE POLITICAL ARENA.....

There was a piece in today's CiF about the decision of Caroline Kennedy to withdraw from the race for the US senate. At 52, she's roughly my contemporary and although we're worlds apart in every other way I can possibly think of I do sympathise with her decision.
You really do have to have a thick skin to survive any form of public life - especially these days when complete strangers can hurl abuse on website forums. It is also incredibly tough putting your name foward for positions, making speeches, and trying to "sell" yourself to people in a few minutes of soundbites. Then there are the backstabbers, the people who delberately set out to undermine you and, of course, the tough job of smiling brightly and keeping quiet when you can see a red mist fast descending in front of your eyes.Not forgetting the unfortunate press photographs which do you no favours whatsoever.... Do I have a thick skin? No. Am I trying to acquire one. Yes. But I suspect I never will.

SLASH AND BURN, SAY THE LIBERAL DEMOCRATS

There is a mythology in UK politics that the Liberal Democrats are to the left of the Labour Party. No doubt there are certain Lib Dem MPs who ARE a little more radical than my omrades in Westminster but that certainly can't be said of the Liberal Democrat group in Hebden Royd Town Council.
Last night I presided over a budget meeting where they they voted down moves to appoint a new youth worker to improve life for young people in Hebden Bridge and Mytholmroyd. They also cut thousands from the grants budget and opposed a move by Labour group leader Dave Young to put £40,000 into the budget for Central Street. At the end of the meeting, they looked very pleased with their "prudence." This clearly marks the end of consensus at a local level. Shame.

CLOSURE OF GUANTANAMO BAY

Even if he doesn't do anything else, this was reason for America to back Obama. A hideous chapter in US history brought to a close.

TWO MILLION......AND COUNTING

Today it was confirmed that 225,000 redundancies have been announced in the last three months. Upwards to two million out of work - the highest figure since 1995.
Signs we are heading back to the 1980's are there on every High Street across the country . From Woolworths to upmarket reestaurants like Fishworks, the closure signs are going up.
In my next door village of Mytholmroyd, a swanky gastro-pub hailed as a sign of the
area's renaissance has just closed its doors amid rising debts and a shrinking clientele. And it's not just the north where things are looking grim.
Last week in Chiswick, a grateful restarateur about to close at 9pm welcomed a group of us as the only customrs he had had al night. People just don't have the dosh to eat out like they used to.
The thousands made redundant by Woolworths and Adams stores will now be looking for work. It's our job as a Labour Party to create the economic conditions we need to get people back to work. Otherwise we are going to see widespread distress of the kind not seen since the Thatcher years, when many of us supported the People's March For Jobs.
Let's start by properly nationalising the banks and holding them to account so the money we have bailed them out with can be ploughed back into the economy. It is time for Gordon Brown and Alisdair Darling to really bite the bullet and acknowledge that the days of prosperity, which Tony Blair aknowledged the other day were more down to "luck" than anything else, are well and truly over.

JOHN MORTIMER REVISITED

Meant to post this earlier today but just to say was sad to learn of the old cove's death. Met him on a couple of occasions when I interviewed him in the 1980's and he was the archetypal champagne socialist - and incorrigible flirt -. Nevertheless a man who spoke out with passion and conviction on behalf of the left.

Labourlist Watch

I was expecting all-singing all-dancing stuff from the Labour Establishment -funded operation which is Labourlist
From a purely cosmetic ( not political) point of view this is a badly designed website and as for the writing, well it's seriously tedious.
Alex Hilton's Labourhome allows anyone of any political persuasion in Labour's ranks to have their three'pennorth and , yes, occasionally, it's boring. But more often than not it's an entertaining read. And, much as my politics differ from those of Luke Akehurst, he's kind of cornered the market in being the Richard LittleJohn of the Labour Right. Albeit not such a good writer.
For blogs to work they must be free-spirited . Draper's reads like a turgid feedback from seminars at Progress and the Fabian Society Hardly surprising when most of its contributors hail from one or both. What possible appeal could it have to people on the doorstep? Where's the passion? Where's the politics? Where's the satire? Given the resources which have been ploughed into this much-touted operation, it is a complete dud.

GAZA CEASEFIRE

The world seems a better place this morning following the news that Israel has unilaterally declared a ceasefire in Gaza and David Miliband is , like the rest of us, welcoming the news which has followed three weeks of intense pressure from millions of ordinary people aghast at the conflict, which has seen the deaths of over 1000 people. Miliband said a couple of days ago that he regretted the "war on terror." It's rather a shame that politicians only come to their senses after thousands have needlessly died in the process.

THE X FACTOR......

The reason I am posting at 6.23am in the morning is that the adrenalin surge has not quite worn off from yesterday's meetings which included three hours chairing the LRC National Committee in London then straight onto a train and back north for the the preliminary hustings for Parliamentary selection in Keighley. It's quite a task having to deliver a three-minute resume of why you are standing and, despite lots of public speaking in recent months, it was still pretty nerve-wracking stuff . It's now up to the members who goes forward to the final process but whatever the result of that I was delighted to meet an exceptionally friendly bunch of comrades from the constituency. I would also like to thank the other contenders , who maintained throughout a spirit of friendliness and sisterly solidarity while we were all biting our nails in the "green room" after drawing lots.

A VERY BRITISH PROTEST

I have spent most of the afternoon up in Keighley and worlds away from the furore over John McDonnell being suspended from the House Of Commons. But the chances are it will be an issue as I face the first hurdle in Parliamentary hustings in the next few days.

I think John's constituents in Hayes and Harlington and indeed anyone who believes in Parliamentary democracy will fully understand why he felt compelled to pick up the mace and formally hold the House in contempt in the wake of the Government decision over Heathrow. It is one thing to propose a controversial policy - quite another to steamroller it through without a vote. It is, as John said, a "national disgrace." And sometimes in life you just have to take direct action - utterly mindful of the consequences.

As I said earlier, this is an own goal by the Government and one which it will live to regret. The LRC must now unite around a massive campaign to stop this environemntal and political folly. I still believe the will is there to defeat these wrong-headed proposals.

POLITICAL SUICIDE

I'm not able to blog much at the moment due to real time commitments but a couple of minutes must be allotted to Geoff Hoon's announcement - taking place as I blog. Exactly why the Govt seems so determined to commit political suicide by giving the green light to the third runway at Heathrow is a mysterey to me. It is both a wilful disregard for the promises made on climate change and a slap in the face for the many south-east Labour MPs who now face losing their seats as a result of this disgraceful decision.
It will not of course go ahead, ultimately, because by 2010 there could be a change of Government or hung Parliament and the Tories have already said they will oppose the move. No-one wants to see the Tories in power but, in sanctioning this proposal, the Cabinet has just made it much more likely. Environmental and strategical madness

LabourList - the missing links......

It's groundhog day again as Alan Milburn returns to the fold which means of course he is set to be another contributor to the new New Labour blog offering which is LabourListThis is allegedly the creme de la creme of Labour bloggers but of course its roll-call is overwhelmingly neo-liberal.

I probably would not have a problem with that - hardly a surprise - if it didn't claim to be an exciting new venture which will engage all Labour-supporting bloggers "at every level." Fact is that it another top-down initiative minus dissent and real debate which seems both unnecessary and a little dull.

We can already read Luke Akehurst's denouncements of the left on his blog - LabourHome is a far more eclectic mix of views from across the whole political spectrum. So is Liberal Conspiracy. Conclusion? I really don't see the point. And can anyone tell me what happened to the equally trumpeted Alan Milburn/ Charles Clarke initiaitve 20/20 Vision? I predict the same fate for this blog which seems to be living in a parallel universe in which it is 1997 .Its self-congratulatory tone is also regrettable.

GORDON AND THE PRINCE

It should come as no surprise to anyone that a member of the Royal Family has reactionary views. But I find the Prime Minister's comments re Prince Harry's racist remarks a little disingenuous. Gordon Brown rightly said the comments were "unacceptable" but went on to say they played "no part in our life" and that we should give him the benefit of the doubt. Well, I have no doubt that is the diplomatic thing to say if you are Prime Minister but the truth is that Harry's remarks DO play a part in our lives. Especially here in West Yorkshire where such stories are oxyden to the BNP
They give credence at the highest level to the notion it is somehow not so bad to sneer at someone because of their colour. They reinforce racism. And they are profoundly damaging and insulting. Let's not forget this is the lad who is so oblivious to the real world that he thought it was a hoot to wear a Nazi uniform to a party. And, if anyone in Govrnment or even the Conservative Shadow Cabinet made such a remark they would instantly be sacked. Harry may be an upper-class buffoon. He is also third in line to the throne. Regrettably.

THE WEEK AHEAD....

It has seemed somehow, inappropriate to blog given the sheer horror of the Gaza situation. I wish I ciould be at the Gaza demo in London today but as I have three imminent trips to The Smoke coming up in a 10-day timespan it wasn't possible. So solidarity to all the people I know on the march ( and those I don't) .
I'm shortly off to an LRC meeting on the theme of privatisation - interested to read that John Prescott has now come out against the Royal Mail sell-off plan mooted by Mandelson , which should be helpful in garnering PLP support. The Welfare Reform Bill will also be discussed in Parliament this week and a decision is expected on the Heathrow third runway.On a personal note, am also going to be heading over to Keighley where I'm standing for PPC. So, a busy week ahead .La lucha, as they say in Spain, continua

GRASSROOTS BRANCH OUT WITH NEW BLOG

Pleased to report that the Grassroots Alliance - the left-of-centre reps on the NEC and their supporters - has a new blog which rather amusingly has sent the right-wing blogger Luke Akehurst into nuclear ranting mode - denouncing the rather moderate Peter Kenyon as a lefty. As any fule no, Peter 's major concern is improving Party democracy and building membership - he has worked tirelessly for years to that end. Which is why he got a place on the NEC.

TRADE UNION LEADER TO SPEAK AT WEST YORKSHIRE LRC MEETING

Manuel Cortes, Assistant General Secretary of the TSSA, which represents 33,000 members in administrative, clerical, managerial, professional and technical jobs in the railways, buses, and the London Underground, ports and ferries, will be guest speaker at Saturday's meeting of the West Yorkshire LRC at the Stubbing Wharf, Hebden Bridge. It starts at 2pm.
Manuel has been one of the key supporters of the Public Services Not Private Profit campaign which in the House Of Commons is led by John McDonnell MP.
All are welcome........

OBSCENE AND INEXCUSABLE

The latest news from Gaza - 30 children dead after another onslaught by the Israelis - is an obscenity. Over 600 Palestinians have been killed in the last 10 days. To blame Hamas , as the Israeli Govt is doing, is disgusting and despicable cant.
Gordon Brown is right to say this is the "darkest moment" yet in the recent conflict but it's therefore time to say enough is enough and that Israel must immediately stop its murder of innocent civilians. Like millions of others, I'm appalled at this latest outrage in the name of some spurious power struggle.

BILLY'S RIGHT ABOUT THE BNP.....

My blogging time is pretty limited at present as I am busy campaigning to get support as PPC in my neighbouring constituency of Keighley, where BNP Leader Nick Griffin stood at the last election . So I just wanted to draw attention to this fine post in today's CiF by Billy Bragg. He's absolutely right..........

Of the 13 million UK citizens who are living below the low-income threshold, just over three million were either unemployed or unavailable for work in 2007. That means there are almost 10 million people out there who are working hard, yet are unable to make ends meet. Over the past few years, the British National party has been picking up votes in those places where house prices are lower than average, where local residents have to face a constant influx of people seeking cheap accommodation and casual employment.
While Middle England has felt the benefit of this growing pool of cheap labour, the working poor have faced ever greater competition for scarce resources such as housing and those other vital social services that make it possible, just, to survive on a low income. Is it any surprise that they see immigration as a threat? However, if the vast majority of the working poor are racist, why didn't they vote in greater numbers for the anti-immigrant platform shamefully offered up by the Conservative party in the last two elections?
Could it be they recognise that the real problem is not immigration, but a global market that has no respect for local communities or national borders? That the unimpeded movement of capital is the root cause of their predicament rather than the mass movement of people? That immigrants are merely a convenient scapegoat for the failure of trickle-down economics?
Yes, they do vote for the BNP in worrying numbers, but more out of frustration than in any hope of getting a solution to their problems. Anyone who has seen BNP councillors in action knows that they are an electoral dead end. Yet, at a time when people are fearful of what the future holds, when the ranks of the working poor are about to be swollen as a result of a bafflingly complex breakdown of the free-market system, then the simplicities of bigotry offer an easy explanation for their dire predicament.
If the Labour Party wants to combat the BNP, it needs to lay off the anti-immigrant rhetoric and address the real problem that keeps the incomes of working poor below the poverty line – the inequalities that have been created by globalisation.

SOLIDARITY - GOOD AND BAD

As I have spent most of the weekend stuffing envelopes, I have had to rely on friends' accounts of the successful Gaza demonstrations yesterday in London and Manchester. I believe there were around 50,000 marching down Whitehall and it was good to see Tony Benn on last night's news leading the marchers. At 83 , he really is an inspitation still and there is a video of his speech on John McDonnell's blog
Jeremy Corbyn and George Galloway were also up front leading the march on the news along with Bianca Jagger..... . George has just about shaken off his Celebrity Big Brother debacle . Meanwhile it's rather sad to see former MSP Tommy Sheridan is now making a complete tosser of himself on the same programme. Difficult to recall that someone so patheticallly narcissistic and self-obsessed used to be a hero of the labour movement. His fatal flaw, along with fellow Militant Derek Hatton, probably too much testosterone and pure vanity. Truly cringeworthy. While his former colleagues were on the march, he was pumping iron and making a prat of himself

MANCHESTER GAZA DEMONSTRATION

Northern comrades who can't make tomorrow's national demonstration in London might want to head for Manchester tomorrow to register their horror at the situation in Gaza . Details of the protest , which starts at 12 noon, at http://www.mancsagainsttanks.org/