PEOPLE'S CHARTER- A CALL TO POSITIVE ACTION NOT POLITICAL DIVISION

In today's Morning Star, John Haylett outlines in an excellent piece why the People's Charter should be supported. Its modest goals have the support of millions of activists in the labour movement yet major unions like UNITE and the GMB have withdrawn their official support. Their line is that it is some kind of clarion call for a mass walk-out from the Labour Party and a new Party led by John McDonnell, who is one of the higher profile Parliamentarians to have supported it. At best, this is a misunderstanding of the Charter's aims. At worst, it is deliberate mischief-making. The rumour mill, fuelled by MPs like Jon Cruddas, has been suggesting for some time that groups like the LRC are to follow the kind of trail which the ILP did in the 1930's and split from the Labour Party. Nothing could be further from the truth. As Haylett points out, over 30 Labour MPs and a broad swathe of unions have lent their support to the Charter. It is a serious failure of the "Big 4 " to join their ranks - given people like Tony Woodley and Paul Kenny originally pledged support. If you haven't signed already, you can do so on the link below. On Saturday June 20, at the Morning Star conference in London, the LRC will be spearheading calls for support


http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/index.php/features/the_fear_factor