BUILDING THE RESISTANCE - AND REBUILDING THE LEFT

On Saturday at the LRC AGM Chair John McDonnell MP will be outlining our policy platform and work programme for the coming months in the run-up to the General Election. For those of you who can't make Saturday's conference, our strategy is here:

http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/index.php/news/content/view/full/83153

WHY I'M STANDING FOR THE NEC

At the LRC Conference on November 14, there will be hustings for the NEC nominees. And, with so much misinformation already flying around the blogosphere, I thought it best to set the record straight.
There are four nominees and two places. They are NOT gender specific. So any combination of candidates could make it to go forward to the CLGA slate. ie two men, two women, one woman, one man. I am not on any slate .I am standing on my own merits with Christine Shawcroft, Gary Heather and John Wiseman. May the best person win.
But it is NOT about individuals. It is about why it is crucially important the left strengthens its position on the NEC. So, whoever wins is not on some personal bandwagon but there to represent LRC policy AND to stand firm on our agreed position of two places on the CLGA slate. That's the bottom line. And all of us must be prepared to stick to it.
I am standing because I don't think the CLGA has worked collectively . I think ordinary Labour Party members have been let down. And I think it's time we had CLP representatives who stand up for them.

FACTION FIGHTING - NOT A FUTURE THE LRC WANTS

In the forthcoming contest for LRC Vice-Chair ( the only one to be contested) I have set up an entirely personal Facebook support group and I think that's fair enough.I would expect other candidates to do the same.
What is NOT fair, to put it mildly, is to suggest there is a joint slate against me. So I would like to thank Andrew Fisher, who is standing as LRC Secretary , for setting the record straight by making it clear he will be supporting me
I am very disappointed that others have chosen to suggest otherwise via what looks like a quasi-official Facebook group but I will happily, if re-elected, work in tandem with whoever else wins one of the two Vice-Chair positions. And the rest of the Exec, National Committee and anyone who has constructive ideas on how to progress the LRC.
At the end of the day, I stand or fall by the work I have put in. And that's down to the people who actually turn up on the day on November 14 to vote for me. But I would like to thank the affiliated groups and individuals who have given me supporting nominations so far.
They include Greater London LRC, Cambridge LRC, Greater Manchester LRC, Lambeth and Southwark LRC and of course my own LRC in West Yorkshire.

YEAR OF THE HUSTINGS - AND NOW THERE ARE MORE....

For someone who is basically terrified of speaking in public, 2009 has been a baptism of fire.
To date, three Parliamentary hustings in Keighley and another in Calder Valley. OK I did not win those paticular battles but it was very good experience in overcoming stage fright.
A friend who is a trade union leader gave me the sound advice many months ago that the only way to beat nerves on these occasions is just to keep on keeping on doing it. And, yes, it gets easier. A bit.
Which is just as well because I will be facing some rigorous questioning at the LRC Conference on November 14 when I will be one of four candidates standing for two places on the CLGA slate for the NEC.
I hope this will all be done in a spirit of friendliness and comradeship and I hope that whoever wins will take the LRC forward and work towards a more cohesive and constructive presence on the NEC.
I'm also standing for re-election as LRC Vice-Chair and I hope those who attend our conference will recognise the hard work I've done in the last 12 months at various locations/meetibgs/campaigns and re-elect me so I can carry on building LRC groups across the country and encouraging activists to get involved. Much remains to be done ......

BUILDING THE RESISTANCE IN THE LRC

Chilling, isn't it, to watch the Tories in Manchester? Chilling because we know that in a year's time these chumps ( to use Mandelson's favourite, ahem, swear-word ) are likely to be in charge of the country - and Labour will be consigned to Opposition.
Such thoughts are not defeatist. They are realistic.And maybe our only hope of escaping this fate worse than death is to draw up the battle-lines now and make it clear what the difference is between us and the Tories. The problem is of course that cuts are also on Labour's agenda - what a difference it would make if we came out fighting instead of bowing to the demands of the CBI and IMF.
The LRC AGM on November 14 has the theme of Building The Resistance. And where we can, we MUST campaign against the threats we face to working people and the trade union movement.
Internal victories like having grassroots control of the NPF will mean precisely nothing if we're in the throes of a Tory Government. So in the months ahead it is absolutely vital that we campaign to retain as many Labour MPs as we can. promote socialist policies in and outside the Labour Party, and do not get so pre-occupied with navel-gazing that we lose sight of the bigger, terrifying picture.
On Wednesday night I'll be talking to the Greater Manchester LRC on the implications, politically, post-Labour conference and the week after I'm going over to Hazel Grove CLP to do something similar.
In my year as LRC co Vice-Chair, I've done my best to encourage others to mobilise and form local groups to give LP members a bit of hope that there is a progressive alternative. I hope to be re-elected in November to carry on that work.
The juggernaut of a Conservative Government is staring us straight in the face and now is not the time to abandon the radical policy changes we've called for in recent years. Policies like nationalisng the banks under democratic control, taking back control of the private utilities, defending union activists in struggle, could yet save us. Platitudes won't do it. Principles might. Now is the time... to come to the aid of our Party. And the Mps who are now fighting for their political lives. Here's what one of them, Jeremy Corbyn, MP for Islington North, has to say on the matter
http://l-r-c.org.uk/news/story/five-steps-to-the-return-of-labour-jeremy-corbyn/

LRC CONFERENCE AND OTHER ISSUES

I got home tonight after a six-hour journey - plenty of chance to mull things over on the bus.
Including this blog. I've had nearly 80,000 readers since it started in 2007 which is hardly hits of the Iain Dale variety but as Labour Left blogs go it's one of the most popularAnd I really appreciate all the positive comments and support I have had along the way.
Yesterday's LRC Conference was an extremely successful one. More people than last year. More input from the regions. Great speeches from all the platform. But still not enough representation from outside London on the National Committee or indeed in the audience. Those two issues need addressing in the coming year.
I was particularly pleased to learn LRC Scotland will be launched early in 2009 and I intend to be there in Glasgow and meet many of the people who were unable to make the journey south yesterday. I was also pleased that our resolution supporting plans for another Convention Of The Left was overwhelmingly supported .
The message yesterday from LRC Chair John McDonnell was clear - the LRC must work within and outside Labour if it is to fulfil its role as a focal point for campaigns and positive strategies to combat New Labour. And we cannot afford, as LRC Secretary Simeon Andrews so rightly said, to stay in the "comfort zone" of purely Labour Party activity.
Before heading back this afternoon I attended a meeting of the NUJ Left at which several LRC members were present. We are already planning for a conference in the spring.
But conferences and meetings are not enough.
It's fairly easy to attend these events if you're a seasoned activist but the really hard bit is getting out on the front line and building the contacts and respect only earned by hard campaigning graft. Comrades in Manchester, for example, are regularly picketing outside Northern Rock, newly nationalised but repossessing homes at a scandalous rate. I would like to see the LRC involved in more campaigns of this kind.
My commiserations go to the comrades from the north and other parts of the country who did not get elected. Perhaps we need to look at how the NC elections are structured to give them a fairer chance but that's an issue for another day.
Congratulations due to Alice Mahon, though, who got a huge amount of support - she will be a tremendous asset to the National Committee.
Above all, I hope we can all work together in a positive and constructive way to build the LRC. We have done well in West Yorkshire but I acknowledge there is a long long way to go.
I hope that the election of a Vice-Chair from outside London will send a message of solidarity to the comrades in places like Newcastle , Sheffield and Liverpool that their voices are just as important. And it should also be acknowledged that their task , so far from London, is that much harder. I do not think this is always appreciated by those who live south of Watford Gap.
Finally, a heartfelt thankyou to all those who helped me get elected.

LEFT WOMEN'S NETWORK LAUNCHED ON WEB

Can I alert readers of this blog to a new website launched this week by t women's section of the LRC. The Left Women's Network had its first meeting at the LRC Conference in November and plans are already afoot for a conference in July. The website features a pic of my friend and comrade Alice Mahon, chair of the West Yorkshire LRC and other splendid women socialists. It will also act as a noticeboard for important issues and events and the permanent link is on the right

LRC MERSEYSIDE LAUNCH - DECEMBER 8

This Saturday December 8 will see the launch of Merseyside LRC and I have been invited to go along and join in the discussion on the way forward for the left. The mood within the Party has darkened once again in the wake of the dodgy donations scandal - and even more importantly for me - the threat to the trade union link . However, I look forward to a constructive afternoon.
LRC Chair John McDonnell MP and Liverpool West Derby MP Bob Wareing are both speaking and I'm sure there will be plenty of time for people to contribute. People from Greater Manchester ( who are in the process of organising their own LRC events in the New Year) are also going and anyone else is welcome. If you're interested the venue is the People's Community Centre near the RC cathedral at 12noon. Merseyside was once the epicentre of the UK left so let's hope this will herald a revival of radical socialist ideas.

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.