FESTIVE READING -THE LRC RED PAPERS

One of the most disheartening things about the immediately pre-Christmas period is the sales signs going up . Now the majority of the UK population has spent up for the festive season, High Street retailers are already gearing up for the capitalist bonus of "bargains" which will increase their killing even further.
Today I finally got my act together and had a tree delivered. Tomorrow, I will frantically sign and address cards and maybe this weekend buy family and friends some modest presents but on the whole I find the corporate spectacle which Christmas has become pretty dispiriting.
One thing I've not had the chance to do recently is digest some serious reading on the economic prospects (bad ) for 2010 and, with some days off work over Christmas, I plan to go throught the Red Papers published by the LRC and get my head round some serious socialist analysis
The Papers are here and can be downloaded.They are an invaluable resource for those of us in need of facts and figures
http://www.l-r-c.org.uk/policy/LEAP

BONUS CULTURE MAKES MOCKERY OF DARLING'S POLICY

Earlier this week, the Chancellor was criticised for his failure to adopt stringent regulation on the banks bailed out by US. Today's Mail reports the bonus culture is back......
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1198904/City-banks-reward-staff-mind-blowing-bonuses-months-bringing-world-economy-brink-meltdown.html
The Left Economic Advisory Panel's take is here

WILL DARLING'S GAMBLE PAY OFF?

Last night I attended a meeting in the House of Commons where the Budget and its impact was discussed .More in the link below. And thanks to Graham Turner for giving me a copy of his book on The Credit Crunch .

http://leap-lrc.blogspot.com/2009/04/30bn-worth-of-cuts-and-privatisation.html

CLAWING BACK THE CONFUSION OVER THE WILDCAT STRIKES

The LRC case regarding the current spate of wildcat strikes is here


http://leap-lrc.blogspot.com/2009/01/wildcat-strikes-eu-and-uk-labour-law.html

ADD YOUR VOICE TO THE STORM OF PROTEST.....

The compass website has an on-line copy of the joint signatory statement on welfare reforms which hundreds have already signed. You can add your voice and find out more by going to the following links........


http://www.compassonline.org.uk/campaigns/campaign.asp?n=3451

http://leap-lrc.blogspot.com

http://www.pcs.org.uk/en/campaigns/welfare-reform/welfare-for-all.cfm

PUT THE ROSETTES BACK IN THE ATTIC.....

A week ago things were getting quite feverish as the papers - and Number 10 - spun talk of a snap election. A new poll for the Guardian, giving the Tories a 15 per cent lead, is likely to end all the speculation. Other polls suggest things aren't quite so bad but don't expect an election any time soon.

People are worried about their jobs, their homes and their prospects for the future. Promises of tax cuts fior the rich if and when Labour wins an election in 2010 - and a small cut in VAT - are both too little in terms of policy shift and maybe too late in their ability to shift public opinion significantly.

Tonight as I made my way back over the Pennines from seeing my dad in Manchester, the shops were awash with cut-price offers in a manner only usually seen a few days before Christmas. People are clearly too scared to spend what money they have. With good reason.

In the past couple of years on various platforms I have often heard Tony Benn say that for the first time in his life the general public are to the left of a Labour Government. I think that's right. I think they want to see fairness, they want to see working people being treated decently. And they will not be content with sops or gimmicks any more. Labour has to re-gain the people's trust.

Some on the soft left have had a go at me this week for not being ecstatic about Darling's pronouncements. Judging by the new opinion polls, I'm far from alone. It's time for a proper, socialist alternative. and fundamental changes to address basic inequalities in our society.

As LEAP's Andrew Fisher rather more succinctly puts things on their excellent blog.

Our job is to keep the pressure up on the Government to ensure they do not row back from these moderately redistributive steps, and that the Crown Dependency Review results in a clampdown on tax havens. Then there are the welfare cuts to campaign against, council housing (still off the agenda) to campaign for , and bank nationalisation too . . .

PIPS NEED TO SQUEAK MUCH LOUDER......

Assiduously been listening to the bulletins etc on the
Government's U-turn on the economy. It's a step in the right direction but not exactly grounds for hoisting the Red Flag from my front door.
LRC Chair John McDonnell MP has today been explaining what the Labour left's take is and the link to his Comment Is Free piece is below.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/nov/24/pre-budget-report-taxandspending

QUANTUM LEAP......

I may no longer spend most of my days in a newsroom but good to know have not lost my political nous. Newsnight led tonight on the Tories abandonment of triangulation and the aparent divide opening up between Labour and the Tories. They also interviewed Graham Turner, one of the advisors to the Labour Left. Before you start singing the Red Flag, it might be helpful to take a look at the new Red Papers which have been produced by the Left Economics Advisory Panel. They are here

IS THIS OUR CLAUSE 4 MOMENT....

The reason I haven't been saying much about the financial meltdown we've witnessed in the past few weeks is very simple. I'm not an economist, I'm not qualified to comment at length and frankly I think the nuts and bolts of what is going on are best left to others who are au fait with finance.
But nevertheless it is kind of heartening to watch the Sunday night News and hear the pundits predicting that this really could be the end of the Thatcherite consensus and the notion that markets can be left to go their own sweet way - with no control or regulation. We have even heard Gordon Brown criticise the City bonuses and greed which have contributed to this collapse.
Now maybe it is time for the Government to take a deep breath and commit to full-scale nationalisation of the banks and finance institutions - ie what we used to call "the commanding heights of the economy" not a bail-out which as far as I can ascertain is unfortunately playing fast and loose with taxpayers' money.
LEAP - the Left Economic Advisory Panel - is suddenly to the fore in all this commentary and an emergency rally is being held tomorrow night in the House Of Commons , Committee Room 10, at 7.30pm. More details on the LEAP blog. I look forward to hearing all about it from those who live rather nearer to Westminster than I do.

KEEPING TRACK OF THE CRISIS.....

There is some seriously expert commentary on the current crisis over at the LEAP blog. Latest to contribute is the LSE's Rosamund Stock, who took part in the Convention Of The Left a couple of weeks ago in Manchester. All the contributions are academic but also accessible and cogent explanations of why the markets are failing and why they will always fail society in the long-term. Recommended reading for anyone who wants to keep track of the case for a socialist economy - explained by those who seriously know what they are talking about
http://leap-lrc.blogspot.com/

WHY A BAIL-OUT COULD COST US DEAR

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/oct/08/creditcrunch.banking
Posted on Comment Is Free earlier today.........

PEOPLE'S PROGRAMME

http://leap-lrc.blogspot.com/2008/10/peoples-programme-for-crisis.html
See above link for the LEAP - Left Economic Advisory Panel - statement on the current financial crisis.

QUANTUM LEAP.....

The LRC's LEAP - Left Economics Advisory Panel - is furthering the weekend's conference with a new blog outlining the way in which what was a fundamental debate on the future for socialists both in and outside the Labour Party should continue. The link is on the right........ and you can contribute to the debate

LEAP conference report

The new and excellent blog Harpymarx has an illuminating report on this. I am still collating my notes and wil be posting something later.

NOT JUST A TALKING SHOP

Shiraz Socialist questions the wisdom of this Saturday's Beyond The Market Economy conference in London. On the basis, and forgive the over-simplification, that no matter how good Labour Left policies may be, we have no chance of implementing them. I must confess this is an argument which I find exceptionally tiresome.

Last Saturday, I did what I swore I would never do again, and got into a huge row with an ex Labour Party member who I have to hand it to because he left in 1987. His line was "how can you support war criminals" to which of course, one says, I don't. I support the 140 MPs who voted agaunst war in Iraq, Blah, blah.We've all had those arguments in the pub on a Saturday night.This weekend's event, to which I will be going, will have a rather higher level of debate.

It is a serious attempt to bring people on the Left together, discuss capitalism and how it's failed us and advance progressive, socialist solutions to the problems which we face.

I will be there just to shut up and listen because , whatever other strengths I may have, I stake no claim to being an economist and I also admit a lot of my politics is tribal. But this is not, as comrade Shiraz suggests, just another talking shop.

Along with the experts from LEAP - the Left Economics Advisory Panel - there will hopefully be trade unionists, students and grassrots campaigners of all ages . Have we given up on the Labour Party? No. Are we working also with those outside it? Yes. We are also getting out there and campaigning. What we are not doing is sitting at home moaning and not doing anything so I urge as many who can get there as possible to do so. And I'm sorry, Ron, for shouting at you.But please don't write us all off yet.....