PRINCE OF DARKNESS RETURNS......

I've been feeling pretty poorly and out of it for the past few days - so much so that I had no idea till just a few minutes ago that Peter Mandelson had returned to Government. Let's just say it has not improved my health one iota.

One can only echo John McDonnell's response ie to being "gobsmacked" at this appalling development . The appointment is also of course an utter slap in the face for all those soft lefties who have been rallying round to Brown's defence in recent weeks.

I include in that people like Jon Cruddas and of course the trade union leaders who have deluded themselves that Brownism is somehow different from Blairism. Tony Woodley 's justification for not demanding more radical policies is always that at least it's not the "Blair witch project." Today, according to the Independent, they were "too shocked " to comment.I bet they are. Becayse the Blair Witch project has risen from the dead , is back in the Government casting spells , and frankly we might as well bring back Blair because he never really went away. So if there is anyone out there still with hopes that Brown would herald a bew political era, prepare to bury them once and for all now. Mandy, and all he represents, is back in Government. UPDATE 6.07pm. Just seen Mandelson on news and Brown's justification for bringing him back. This is truly a last ditch throw of the dice for New Labour. Now I shall resume trying to get over vile virus......

WERE WE BUGGED?

A day spent largely trying to shake off a hideous bug which has already lain me out cold for 48 hours. I'm determined it will not destroy my birthday, which is tomorrow. So an industrial strength curry it is and several large hot toddies as recommended by Mr Bill Stickers . Have spoken to several people who also attended last week's Convention Of The Left in Manchester and it seems many have been similarly afflicted . Clearly, not a sectarian strain. Tomorrow's birthday is not in any way significant but the older you get the more significant all birthdays become. Because there are fewer of them to come....so I had better make the most of it.

LOBBY YOUR MP TO SUPPORT THE EMPLOYMENT BILL!

Parliament resumed on Monday and one of the first pieces of looming legisaltion is the Employment Bill , which urgently needs support.
This article is by John Hendy QC, National Secretary and John Usher, Director, United Campaign to Repeal the Anti-Trade Union Laws .My powers of editing are limited due to hideous cold but it requires none anyway. Please lobby and support........

The United Campaign has launched a postcard campaign in support of amendments to the Employment Bill. Please download a model letter from our website at www.unitedcampaign.org.uk, or contact us at info@unitedcampaign.org.uk for copies of the postcard. We are hoping to reach as many of our supporters as possible in the short space of time that we have. The card is for your MP. The Employment Bill will be back before the Commons soon after Parliament resumes on 6 October. We need to fill MPs postbags with as many cards and letters as possible to raise the profile of the amendments. They are a step forward to reclaiming the fundamental trade union rights recognised in every significant human rights treaty and constitution put in place since World War II. The rights for everyone to form effective trade unions, with the ability to engage in collective bargaining and to withdraw labour, have been recognised as fundamental in international law – including Treaties ratified by the UK and binding on it. But these have been seriously eroded particularly in the UK to such an extent that unions are almost powerless to prevent the growth of poverty and inequality. Pay and pensions do not keep pace with inflation and are falling in value. Dignity and equality in the workplace are under pressure. Democracy suffers. Yet the fundamental legitimacy of collective rights cannot be denied. The Canadian Supreme Court, only last year said: “Recognizing that workers have the right to bargain collectively as part of their freedom to associate reaffirms the values of dignity, personal autonomy, equality and democracy that are inherent in the Canadian [Constitution].”
The European Court of Human Rights (also last year), in deciding that the UK law that forbade unions from expelling fascists was in breach of the European Convention, held that the Convention protects “the right of trade unions to draw up their own rules and to administer their own affairs.”
The United Campaign continues to promote the issues contained in the TUC backed Trade Union Rights and Freedoms Bill which the government failed to support last year. The trade union movement now has the opportunity for positive amendments to the Employment Bill, currently in Parliament. Everyone can help by spreading our postcard campaign encouraging MPs to support amendments and following the Campaign as events unfold.
We understand that there may be three areas of the Employment Bill which can be amended to strengthen trade union rights. These would provide for:
Better protection against dismissal or victimisation of workers taking part in lawful industrial action.
Filling loopholes in the law to prevent the use of agency workers replacing striking workers
Fairer balloting procedures cutting the 'red tape' that unions face when balloting members for industrial action by placing a duty on employers to supply information that trade unions need to comply with notice and balloting requirements.
There may be more. The three listed are moderate in the extreme. Whilst we all appreciate that, if enacted, they would still not be enough for the UK to come into compliance with the international conventions on labour rights which it has ratified, the amendments would still be a significant step towards that goal. Please support the campaign by sending a postcard or a letter to your MP or you can write to them via the website at www.writetothem.com. Order more postcards from info@unitedcampaign.org.uk or download a model letter from our website at www.unitedcampaign.org.uk

A WEEK IS A LONG TIME IN POLITICS

A week ago I was enjoying the balmy sunshire in Manchester and sitting outdoors chewing the fat about the future of the Left. One week later I'm coming down with a filthy cold and the weather is foul . Do not expect interesting blogging for next few days......paracetamol is beckoning

VICTORY IN GARDEN STREET BATTLE

Last night I spoke on behalf of Hebden Royd Town Council to a packed meeting - 300 people - on the thorny issue of whether the Garden Street development should go ahead. After more than three hours of discussion the planning committee voted to echo the unanimous objections of HRTC. Well done to the campaigners, well dome to ward councilor Nader Frekri and Planning Committee member Peter Coles who in particular wiped the floor with the oppposition. There will of course now be an appeal - but I reckon the campaigners will be more than up for the battle - whicb isn't about NIMBYISM, but the fact that what we need in Hebden Bridge is more affordable and social housing, not more retail opportunities and exec apartments at a time when the whole economy is about to fall around our ears.....

WHY "CHOICE" ISN'T THE ANSWER

My own ineptitude is entirely to blame for the fact I travelled 25 miles today to a hospital appointment that did not exist. So tomorrow I will set out again for Bradford - a train and bus journey of around 90 minutes each way.
The reason why I have to traipse all this way is because my nearest hospital in Halifax chooses not to offer the treatment I require - at least not complete with anaesthetic and I am afraid I am a complete and utter wimp .
So having been told it was not on offer in Calderdale I had to go back to my GP and do a ring around myself as is the way with New Labour . Now you could argue this is a Good Thing. At least I have a choice. But the fact is that Calderdale Hospital, wonderfully modern though it is, was built with PFI money and clearly won't incur costs, as they see it, unnecessarily. I was told I had no choice as far as this particularl procedure was concerned and the only reason that I knew alternatives were available elsewhere was following a conversation with a friend who is a GP. Most other women round here would not. In other words, women in Calderdale are not getting the "choice" which women in Bradford do unless they plead and beg for it. And, when it comes to the Lottery of drugs treatment, things are even worse.
We should be proud of our NHS - and proud of what Labour has done to build it in the past 60 years. But the market-led approach to healthcare should be one of the fuirst things which Gordon Brown abandons if he wishes to stay in Government. Universal healthcare should be exactly that. Universal

GOODBYE,BUTCH

When I was a schoolgirl, the female world was divided into two camps. Those who idolised Paul Newman. And those who were fans of t his sparring partner Robert Redford. The two films they made together remain classics and seriously good therapy if you're in need of the feel-good factor. So I was saddened earlier today to read of the death of Paul Newman. Because he really was one of the good guys. An American liberal, he opposed war in Vietnam, was on the CIA's list of potential trouble-makers and raised millions for charity with his salad dressing, Newman's Own. As if all that weren't enough he was a brilliant actor and remained devoted to his wife, Joanne Woodward, for over 50 years. Pretty rare in Hollywood. His last film, The Road To Perdition, is a truly brilliant evocation of the 1930's in America and I recommend you seek it out.

DRESSING FOR THE OCCASION....

Today, the Observer ran a profile piece on Sarah Brown.It included the rather interesting information that her superficially unglamorous outfit for taking the stage at Labour Party Conference cost somewhere in the region of £900. More or less equivalent to a month's pay on the Minimum Wage.

Now Sarah has every right to spend her money as she pleases and she is clearly a charming woman who is devoted to her husband. However, I thought she had no place on that rostrum. It was frankly, manipulative PR mangement in the worst American traditions. And the "downhome" clothes she wore were of course far above the means of the "hard working families" we hear so much about.

Indeed, one of the key problems we now have in politics is the fact that most Cabinet Ministers, and most MPs for that matter, simply have no idea about how ordinary people live or what it is like to manage on the Minimum Wage.Or NOT to be a member of an HWF and trying to struggle on a single wage .Last night, I had dinner with a friend whose daughter has just split up with her partner. She's a low earner but just above the benefit threshold . Her disposable income after paying all the household expenses is now £10 a month. So her mother, a pensioner, is having to bail her out.

Years ago, Michael Portillo spent a week with a working-class Liverpool family for a TV documentary and was genuinely shocked at the fact their income was roughly what he spent on a good dinner out in London. So I suggest that John Hutton, James Purnell, Hazel Blears and all the others who tell us how grateful we should be for the Minimum Wage and how only those who are "pulling their weight" should get benefits swap salaries with the low-paid or jobless- it might give them a reality check. And it might also stop them being so smug and self-satisfied

THE BATTLE OF GARDEN STREET......

It's not very often that Hebden Bridge is in the national papers - and when it is it is usually some twee little piece about house prices . But today's Independent outlines the massive opposition to the Garden Street development. Along with hundreds of others I will be at tomorrow's planning meeting in Calderdale to make the case against this development.

Given the economic climate, what's actually needed in this town is new social housing - NOT more executive apartments

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALICE!

The happiest of bithdays to my friend and comrade Alice Mahon, who celebrates her 71st birthday today. I had the pleasure of spending a lot of time with Alice over Labour Party Conference and she is truly an inspirational role-model when it comes to standing firm and sticking to principles. Alice is also co-chair of the West Yorkshire LRC and will be at our AGM on Saturday October 11 at the Trades Club in Hebden Bridge

CONVENTION OF LEFT

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/sep/25/labourconference.labour

The above link takes you to John Nicholson's thoughts on the Convention Of Left. Predictably.lots of right-wing trolling follows. But I think that is a great insult to all those who put their hearts and souls into the occasion. Hundreds turned up - and enjoyed serious debates. Well done to all and look forward to COL 2009................

INTO THE REAL WORLD...

I'm far too tired and drained of adrenalin to write much today but just to note Brown's speech has been undermined completely by the leak of Ruth Kelly's resignation. The left often gets accused of treachery but the Blairites and right-wing are positively Machiavellian in their intrigue. How deeply dispiriting it all is.
By way of contrast, last night's Convention Of The Left meeting got around 250 people, enjoyed a sparky debate, and the mood in the pub afterwards where I stopped off briefly before getting train home was positively euphoric. Thanks to all the organisers, particularly John Nicholson, for inviting the LRC to take part. I know when we started out in January some people were sceptical the Labour Party still had socialists. Or that Labour Party lefties could work with others without falling out. Just one small point. Miles, stop asking when we're all going to up and leave the Labour Party. As Bob Griffiths said so pertinently, that route has already been tried quite a few times recently and it hasn't, er. worked.......

OUT OF THE BUBBLE....

I have just got home from Labour Party Conference. I will be heading back to Manchester tonight for the final session of the Convention Of The Left Rupa Huq wrote a predictably sneering piece in Comment Is Free but the Guardian have just rung me and hopefully there wil be a counter to that from John Nicholson. John Nicholson was once Deputy Leader of Manchester City Council. He is now a member of RESPECT. One of the thousandsof socialists the Labour Party has lost in the last 20 years.
The reason I did not get round to blogging from Manchester was because I was busy sorting out media interviews and other events for the alternative event in the Friends Meeting House. I didn't miss much by not being in the Conference sessions for most of the time. The unions saw to it , in their usual turkeys voting for Christmas fashion, that the Calder Valley resolution was defeated. Thanks to the CWU for suppoting us, though. 22 per cent of the CLPs backed it - despite us being denied a proper debate ( three speakers onb 10 rule changes- pitiful) and despite some serious spinning that it was an anti-Brown resolution. As our delegate said clearly, we wanted to ensure that next time there was a contest all wings of the Party could be represented. People like Tony Woodley and Derek Simpson, who have splendid rhetoricsal skills, obviously can't cope with that, because they vetoed UNITE support.
I was asked at the last minute by the CLPD to withdraw the resolution but refused. Why? Because rule changes can only be proposed every two years - in 2010 the reality is that we will have many fewer MPs . And New Labour will alays find some excuse to try and stifle Party democracy. Frankly, we had nothing to lose. Until the trade unions start getting real and stop kidding themselves about where we are then we will carry on , not sleepwalking, but as someone said to me last night, being frogmarched to disaster.
I watched Brown's speech. The American Convention-style schmaltz was embarrassing and
deeply cynical. There was much talk mof fairness in Gordon Brown's speech. Don't be fooled.
We are now the pro-business , pro-market, Party which only helps people who" pull their weight" and restricts immigration to those who are expedient to the economy. We continue to employ troops in Iraq and Afghhanistan.
There is much to be proud of in the NHS. But what the choice agenda really means is a drugs Lottery and billions wasted on PFI. Hpowever glowing Gordon's rhetoric, however faux socialist it may sound, that is the reality. At the Convention Of The Left, these issues were debated for hours. Labour delegates are lucky to get five minutes. One positive is that many people involved in the Convention Of The Left were delighted to meet what's left of the Left in the Labour Party. I hope some of them will consider joining us. This year 200 constituencies didn't even bother to send delegates. It is hardly surprising...

GRIMMER FOR GORDON IN MANCHESTER....

The political situation could not be worse for Gordon Brown. Capitalism is in crisis, there is a global credit crunch. And thousands of people look set to lose their jobs in the wake of the takeover of HBOS by Lloyds TSB. So it's nice to know that Andy Hornby, the man who brought HBOS to the brink of collapse as chief executive is to keep his £2million-a-year job.
Amid this chaos - and the worst ever polls in Labour's history - leading figures in the Labour Party like John Prescott are sticking to the "steady as she goes" script and even launched a campaign this week for a fourth term. What planet are they on, exactly?

Gordon will survive the Labour Conference. The cheerleaders will see to it he gets a standing ovation. Voting has been abolished so there will be no embarrassing defeats. The trade union leaders will rally round him. But outside the parallel universe of Manchester Central the real world is waiting. Personally, I will be to-ing and fro-ing between the Conference and the Convention Of The Left , which is already attracting national attention from papers like the Guardian which normally eschew any left events. I urge others to do the same.

Once Conference is over , and our hangovers have been thoroughly nursed, the real world will still be waiting. In the shape of the Glenrothes by-election. If Labour loses, there is no way that Brown will survive. Many on the centre-left are running scared and say he is better than any alternative. That is only true if he gets up in Manchester and ditches his New Labour ideology. I don't expect that to happen. Another by-election loss and Gordon is out. If that happens, I hope he goes with some dignity. We will then be able to have a leadership contest which under current rules will need 45 names to get on the ballot paper. Let us ensure that if that happens this time round we have a truly representative contest - and put John McDonnell on the ballot paper. Now I'm off to Manchester......

DIRTY TRICKS DEPARTMENT

Today a story appeared in the Halifax Courier quoting me as "spokeswoman" for the Calder Valley CLP. The Courier has basically lifted a piece I wrote some months ago about our rule change motion for the LRC website and quoted me as "spokeswoman" for the CLP. I know many people from the constituency read this blog so I just want to set the record straight. The first I knew of this story was when a comrade from Halifax rang me to tell me it was in tbe papers. I will be ringing the Courier tomorrow (today) to lambast them because my personal views do NOT represent anyone other than myself and if they had had the grace to ring me I would have made it clear I was speaking in a personal capacity.
But let me be clear. Our constituency passed this motion - now on the agenda at Labour Party Conference - 17 months ago. Long before the Blairites started plotting against Gordon Brown. It's not an atack on anyone. It was designed as an attempt to ensure that in future - when there is a vacancy - there would not be another "coronation."The good news is that many constituencies are going to support it .The bad news is that some are confusing a principled stance with the dirty tricks and manoevring of the New Labour Right.

TORIES AT 52 PER CENT ...........

Apparently, the latest MORI poll that's going to be the headline story in tomorrow's papers. Roughly translated - 121 Labour MPs left. What a great legacy for New Labour. Just how long can Brown stay in office? My guess - as long as the next by-election defeat. And that will be it......

LABOUR LEFT FIGHT'S BACK

Can I point my readers in the direction of a new blog from Owen Jones who is back in the blogosphere .Owen, along with felow LRC blogger Marsha Jane Thompson was one of the driving forces behind the John4Leader campaign. Welcome back, comrade!

BAD CALL BY THE NEC

As a mere ordinary Party member, I'm witnessing the current shenanigans over the leadership with a growing sense of disbelief. Because it seems the NEC is living in a parallel universe from the rest of us. They seriously think they can get away with not issuing nomination papers - on the basis they have got away with it for 11 years. In the short-term, they have won. In the long-term, a seriously bad call.

In various guises over the years, I have tried and campaigned for Party democracy to be restored. Groups like CLPD and Save The Labour Party have tried unsuccessfully to get this rule over nomination papers implemented. Now the Blairites are discovering just how undemocratic and unjust the Great Clunking Fist of the Brownite machine can be. Last year, they were a party to us not having a leadership election. Now they realise they were wrong - but are discovering just how determined Gordon Brown is to stamp out any opposition. To say it doesn't look good is an understatement. Stalinism at its best.

The faction-fighting between the two New Labour camps ( because that is what it is) does not interest me. It makes no difference whether Brown, Miliband or any other neo-liberal is Leader.

The tragedy is that while they scrap the Labour Party is almost certainly going to hell in a handcart. Had the NEC done as it should, at least we could have used that opportunity for an honest and open debate.Instead, it will be backstabbbing and off-record briefing on a grand scale around the Manchester conference centre.

ORWELLIAN WORLD.....

The NEC has just issued the following missive on the leadership issue. Quelle surprise. Those MPs requesting nomination papers are being blocked .Much as I think little of any of the plotters, surely this is against all notion of democracy ? Nothing new there, then as far as Labour Conference goes......



16 September 2008
Internal procedural debates will not divert the Labour Party from building a fairer Britain -
Dianne Hayter, Chair of the Labour Party's National Executive Committee (NEC) and speaking on their behalf, said:"The Labour Party National Executive Committee is in agreement that internal procedural debates will not divert the Labour Party from our mission of building a fairer Britain and helping people through these challenging times."The NEC fully endorses the view of the Labour Party's General Secretary and the party's independent legal advisors. A Leadership election when in Government can only be held if requested by a majority of party conference on a card vote, only Labour MPs can trigger the process and the NEC is confident that most MPs know their responsibilities under the rules."The Labour Party has followed this procedure for 11 years, as long as we have been in government under these present rules, and it has not required the issue of nomination forms at any time."The NEC has a responsibility to ensure the party follows these long-standing procedures and we will do so. The Labour Party will not waver from its historic responsibilities to our country and to those in greatest need."

ONLY THE LEFT CAN SAVE LABOUR.....

John McDonnell, who will launch the Convention Of The Left with Tony Benn on Saturday , makes the case for Labour's left in today's Comment Is Free. Here's the link.http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/sep/16/labour.gordonbrown?commentpage=1&commentposted=1

INFAMY, INFAMY......

Former Tribune editor and Conference rabble-rouser Mark Seddon has an interesting piece in today's Guardian. I don't concur with his view that one must always be loyal to the Leader. Sometimes, Leaders don't deserve our loyalty ie Blair and Iraq. But as he says the attempted putsch by the Blairite cabal smacks of nothing else but self-preservation. It will also do nothing to improve Labour's chances at the next election. For that reason, I do not support the essence of what they are doing. Which is - to ensure another Blairite replaces Brown . There are muddy waters here because as I understand Party rules they have every right to demand those nomination papers. But the only reason they want them is to get rid of Brown - and stop the Left taking part in a future contest. If by some chance they get the 70 MP names needed for a contest then frankly we are stuffed. Because no left challenger be it John McDonnell or Jon Cruddas or anyone else can get those numbers. Step forward Miliband or Purnell in a bogus "no contest" v Gordon Brown. In those circumstances, who would you vote for ? Preferably, none. In reality, even Brown is better than either Miliband or the oleaginous Purnell. Policy? No difference.The only way forward is this. To continue to press for policy change. To campaign for and defend "real" labour MPs and trade unionists now facing annihilation because of New Labour's mistakes . And, if Brown goes after the Glenrothes by-election ( still my prediction) to try and ensure a left canddiate on the ballot paper, a proper debate and the final nail in the coffin of Blairism. Janet Anderson and co are like dying wasps at the fag-end of summer. But, frankly, not as appealing.

I TOLD YOU SO 2

Well, the gloves are off. Re-arranging the deckchairs on the Titanic is going to be a spectator sport at Labour Party Conference. Some of us have more constructive moves up our sleeves. Watch this space.......

BAD NEWS FROM SCOTLAND

Well, neither Cathy Jamieson ( soft left) nor Bil Butler (left) won. Rubbish. Have spent all day running round like blue-arsed fly raising money for local charity and can't be bothered to comment. Sometimes, you just think why do we bother..............however I know next week will bring more challenges which I will not duck....

WE MUST STOP THE BLAIRITE COUP!

Just before Gordon Brown became Leader , there were reports that Tony Blair had chaired a "war council" of his supporters in a bid to stop Brown taking over. Reluctantly, they came to the conclusion that a challenge wasn't possible. The word was they would give Brown a year and then they would go for the jugular. It's now clear that is precisely what is happening. And we now face the very serious danger of a leadership contest utterly unrepresentative of grassroots' opinion.
Several Blairites are among a cabal which has apparently requested nomination papers ahead of next week's Conference in Manchester. An article in Progress is calling for Brown's head. It's absolutely clear what they are up to. 70 names are needed for a leadership contest - there is no way that the left or the soft left could muster those kinds of numbers. The Blairites possibly could. What then? Miliband v Brown ? Choice between a rock and a hard place. In fact, no choice at all. I think the right are desperate to oust Brown before events force him out and force a contest which might take the party in a left direction. The trouble is, as we are hamstrung by the rules , we can do very little to stop them. Any suggestions?

TOLD YOU SO.....

Just watched the BBC News - with Siobhan McDonagh calling for a leadership contest. It's just the start..... One week before Labour Party Conference and the knives are clearly out for Gordon Brown. No coincidence either that the London MP used to work for John Reid.
Reid's own hopes of a leadership bid, you might recall, were well and truly shafted by a dirty tricks device which saw age-old "revelations" being published in the Mail On Sunday shortly before he announced he was throwing in the towel. That particular tale of a drunken lunge on Dawn Primarolo was timed to do maximum damage and stop Reid even thinking of challenging Brown. It did.
Now I didn't have much time for John Reid. Nevertheless, I thought that dredging up some ancient instance of inappropriate drunken behaviour was an outrageous tactic. Well, now the chickens are coming home to roost. As things stand, it's unlikely anyone will get the 70 names they need to challenge an incumbent Prime Minister. However, the bars and reception rooms of the Midland Hotel will still be awash with intrigue.
But let me make it plain to anyone who thinks otherwise. The Calder valley resolution to be debated in 10 days' time is not about attacking Gordon Brown. It is about ensuring there is a fair and honest contest IN THE EVENT OF A VACANCY.
However, this is my prediction. If Labour loses the Glenrothes by-election in October, the pressure on Brown will become unsustainable. He will have to go. All the more reason to have a new rule in place which does not leave any contest as the preserve of New Labour ferrets fighting for their political lives. An open honest debate about principles - not nasty backstabbing .

UPDATE: Daily Telegraph on-line 8.43pm

The Daily Telegraph understands that about a dozen Labour MPs, including several former senior ministers, have asked officials to provide nomination papers for a leadership contest at the party’s conference later this month.
They include Janet Anderson, Kate Hoey, Frank Field, George Howarth, Joan Ryan and Graham Stringer, all former ministers. Jim Dowd, a former whip, has also been involved in the operation, as has Lord Alli, the Labour peer. Former Cabinet ministers close to Tony Blair are also preparing to add to the pressure on Mr Brown with public interventions over the weekend.

IN THE REAL WORLD...

There is plenty going on I could blog about - or not. But at the moment the real world is intervening and I don't have much time. Am currently juggling various lobbying and publicity for Labour Party Conference/Convention Of Left with raising money for charity, cleaning house for house guest Sunday night, feeding friend's cat and other even more mundane aspects of life.
I'm going to be fair and say that the Government means well in its piecemeal policy on energy. But the extra lagging and double-glazing they are suggesting does remind me of one of those wartime missives (not that I was around!) they used to issue about making do and mending.
What happened to the extra payments that were promised? Why does the Chancellor doggedly ignore the obvious clamoys for a windfall tax? And why don't actually take the bull by the horns and say the New Labour unsayable - which is that the private utilities shoul be taken out of the hands of the profiteers and back into public ownership. People need a reason to vote Labour. Taking on the energy companies properly - instead of ducking the issue - would be a bloody good start.

DON'T EXPECT THE UNIONS TO SAVE US

The Guardian's Helene Mulholland is at TUC Congress- today her blog suggests that some MPs reckon the only way that Brown will go is if the unions step in. She quotes an anonymous MP ( and I have no idea who it is) suggesting that is in fact the PLP's only hope of avoiding disaster. The plain fact is, they won't do it. Earlier today the Independent reported how Woodley, Simpson et al sat down for a cosy dinner with Brown (chicken tarragon and chocolate tart, sounds great... ) and were impressed with his conciliatory tone. Why won't they do it? Well, they loathe Milband (Simpson apparently called him a smug a******* at a Morning Star fringe meeting and they will not, either, swing behind a left candidate for the leadership. Sio what's the point because another new labour leader won't help us one jot.
They are, as Mrs Thatcher used to say, "frit." At Warwick, the unions had a REAL opportunity to make Brown and the NPF change policy direction. They blew it. So no matter how much they huster and bluster, I won't believe a word of it. The last time I believed Derek Simpson was at the Conference in 2006 when he publicly said " we don't do coronations in the Labour Party." Six months down the road he helped Gordon Brown step quite effortlessly to the throne. The trade union leaders are the architects of our misfortune - and they are even more cowardly than the PLP. At least some of the MPs occasionally rebel on principle. If Gordon is going to go, it really is down to the people in Westminster.

LAGGING THE LOFT.....

Over the weekend I was discusing the windfall tax issue with some comrades who are close to COMPASS. Now I have signed the Compass petition and I fully support it ( though what we really need is re-nationalisation of the utility companies) however I wonder what will happen to the laudable aims if , as sems likely, the Govt ignores the loud pleas for a windfall tax.

Today's Guardian reports that Ministers and the country's leading electricity companies are expected today to finalise a £1bn plan to " improve energy efficiency" and help cut soaring fuel bills.
Gordon Brown is also expected to announce improvements to the cold-weather payment scheme and the restoration of up to £100m of cuts in the government's own warm-front programmes but all this just doesn't go far enough. It is also a seriously missed opportunity to restore faith in Labour
I was rather taken with the typically acerbic wirds from Tony Woodley, the joint general secretary of Unite, who rightly pointed out "This can't be addressed by lagging the loft, as some crackpots around the prime minister have suggested. Without help with fuel bills now, we'll be lagging the coffins of the elderly if we have a cold winter."

But what I want to know is what will the trade union leaders and MPs actually DO if their campaign falls on stony ground. As happened last year on the REMPLOY issue - despite Woodley's fighting talk at a Conference rally.

THE LEADER'S SPEECH......

If I were into conspiracy theories, I would find it highly dodgy that our delegate's Conference pack did not arrive unscathed. Sans fringe guide, sans invites, but thankfully with those all-important credentials intact .Sans, however, that all-important invite to the Leader's speech which in a spirit of altruism I have handed over.

Actually, it's interesting that tickets are now being doled out as a matter of course. In Blair's day, this was the Holy Grail of the Conference for many. And a seat was not guaranteed.

Two years ago, the queue in Manchester stretched from one end of G-Mex to the other. As it was Blair's last speech, I actually did try to get in but ended up watching the show on a screen outside the main hall. The politics were rubbish but it was a tour de force of showmanship as you would expect from a consummate actor.

One year one from his debut as Leader, Gordon Brown will not be facing a wave of anticipation as he mounts the rostrum. The audience will be anxious, and probably underwhelmed if reports if the recent NPF are true. Worst of all, it's utterly unlikely he will be announcing the change of direction which is needed to turn round Labour's fortunes. The change which really would deserve a standing ovation.......

THE GANG OF FOUR......

Blogging sparse of late due to family stuff but hopefully now more time back to keep up to speed on the political world . Am glad to read on Union Futures that my union the NUJ has won another battle . In a postal ballot at the Northcliffe-owned South West Wales Media, journalists at the South Wales Evening Post, Carmarthen Journal and Llanelli Star voted by 45 to 34 in favour of formal recognition of the NUJ. Well done Lawrence, (the full-time organiser in that part of the world) Today, also, the NUJ will formally launch a new coalition with the RMT, FBU and the PCS at a fringe meeting at the TUC Congress. None of these four are affiliated to Labour.In my union's case that would be an impossibility as we're supposed to be politically neutral ( yes, I know) .The others, sadly, do not want to be part of the Labour Party. But they do have groups in Parliament and one of their most active champions is John McDonnell MP who will be at tonight's meeting. I wish the venture well and look forward to finding out how it goes in the weeks and months ahead. Am sure it will be on the agenda at our next ADM in 12 months' time.

THE VIEW FROM THE TUC FLOOR.......

Depressing reading from the BBC website. Yes I know it's a lazy way of blogging but I'm playing catch-up woith six different things at the moment. No comment needed, really.



ROB MACKIE, NATIONAL UNION OF MINEWORKERS

The government is going downhill fast. It is just becoming less and less popular with people. It's sinking. The problem is that Gordon Brown and his colleagues are going away from what Labour is meant to be all about. They are not doing anything to help our members. They've got to do something soon or they will pay a heavy price at the election.
ROSA DAVIES, UNISON

Things are getting worse and they don't look like getting better soon. Financially we are no better off under Gordon Brown. I think he has been an abominable prime minister. I didn't mind Tony Blair so much. He didn't do anything that really annoyed me. The feeling is that Brown is being a bit stupid. We don't have to have such a big tax on fuel, for instance. He's not doing anything to help that's really relevant. I would rather not vote at all than vote for the Tories or the Liberal Democrats, but traditional Labour values seem to have gone out of the window.
ADRIAN JONES, UNITE

Brown isn't listening to the people. He has maybe about 18 months to start doing so, or we will end up with a Tory government. I don't think replacing Brown will solve anything, but all the normal working man sees is unfair taxation, while massive companies, especially fuel companies, are getting away with paying very little. Last year I thought we were ready for a change of Labour leadership. I was optimistic that Brown, who had been a strong chancellor, would be the same as prime minister, but he lacks the same strength as Blair. Blair was more vocal and could think on his feet. I actually preferred Blair to Brown. We are feeling exposed to the global economic problems and it's the government's job to protect us from that.
ELIZABETH TAYLOR, NATIONAL UNION OF TEACHERS

I just can't believe how lost Gordon Brown is. He's missing the point at every turn. We thought he would be more competent than that. PR is so important in this age and Brown is sending out the wrong messages. Of course, it's clear Blair got out at the right stage and there are big problems, but I think Brown should resign. He can't go back and sort things out now.
ALAN CARR, UNIVERSITY AND COLLEGE UNION

Brown hasn't done terribly well. He's failed to communicate and to take the concerns of union members seriously. The problem with talking about replacing Brown is that there's no heir apparent. I think the door is close to being completely closed for Brown. There was a chance to do something new when he took over from Blair, in areas like the policy over Iraq. But the opportunity was lost. Brown should implement some radical policies like the SNP have in Scotland. There was feeling when Brown came in that he was substantially to the left of Blair. There isn't that feeling now.

MESSAGE TO NEWS OF WORLD - CHECK YOUR FACTS

I have come to this late because I got home very late last night from London and have spent most of today to-ing and fro-ing from Manchester but it seems my journalistic colleagues on the News Of The World have picked up - inaccurately - a story about my constituency's resolution to annual Conference
Yesterday, the NoW reported that "rebels are plotting to hijack the Labour Party conference with a spectacular protest against Gordon Brown." It also stated a resolution backed by CLPs would aim to unseat Gordon Brown. Wrong on both counts. The resolution from Calder Valley states quite clearly that the proposition to lower the threshold is when THERE IS A VACANCY. It's been tabled in the interests of democracy and the interests of a proper, transpsarent debate. This, of course, is not exciting enough for the News Of The World so they have been economical with the truth - and told a fib. Let me be absolutely, 100 per cent clear.
This resolution aims to rectify the mistake made last year when there was not a contest - it is about giving all wings of the Party a say. It is NOT about" hijacking" anyone. But it might of course annoy New Labour.......

A MATTER OF HONOUR?

Charles Clarke is now a political "heavyweight" in one sense only. He weighs too much. In typically bruising and bullying style, he's just had another go at Gordon Brown and says he should consider standing down "with honour". Of course, Clarke is still pissed off that he never got the chance to stand against Brown in a leadership contest. Ever since he has doggedly pursued an agenda of personal, not political , criticism of the man.
The irony of all this is of course that if Brown were to be replaced by one of Clarke's mates ( or heaven forfend Clarke himself) it would make not one iota of difference to Labour's poll ratings. In fact things would probably get worse as the Government would lurch even further to the right. It was Clarke, remember, who suggested people should start paying for NHS treatment, Clarke who with Alan Milburn launched the 20/20 Vision thing......( what happened to that by the way) . So Clarke is no friend of those of us who want to see a return to Labour values. Quite the opposite.However in two weeks' time we the ordinary members have the chance to ensure that next time there's a leadership contest - and it could be sooner than we think - we really do have a choice. The Calder Valley resolution changing the PLP quota for nominations from 12.5 to 7.5 per cent of the PLP will be debated on the Tuesday of Conference .My take on it is here.

HOME IS WHERE THE CASH IS

Yesterday I was in Warrington and while sheltering from the interminable rain I found myself inside an estate agent's shop window. If you live in that part of the north-west, the Government's quick-fix suspension of stamp duty is good news. There was very little for sale over £150,000 - I even saw a house for £75,000 but unfortunately I have not the slightest inclination to up sticks fior an even grimmer part of the north. And therein lies the rub as far as Gordon's latest populist ploy goes. 1. It's only for a year and 2. It only affects a tiny proportion of the housing market.
Last week I happened to be staying in Chiswick - it was a sunny day and i was idly glancing in the estate agent's window. Basically, my ( considerable) capital from selling this house would not buy me a garden shed in any desirable part of London. Which is why the hard-pressed British public is likely to be underwhelmed . If you live in the south-east, it's meaningless.
Also, the basic problem we have is nowehere near enough social housing for RENT.
OK, Communities secretary, Hazel Blears, yesterday unveiled a £200m "rescue" package, aimed at helping 6,000 people with mortgage repayment problems enter shared ownership schemes. Plus, 10,000 first-time buyers earning less than £60,000 will benefit from loans of up to 30% of the price of a new home, while £400m already committed for new council homes is to be released early. Fair enough. But frankly it's just not enough - we need a wholesale commitment to building thousands of new council homes, we need local authorities to have the power back to do so. We also need brave steps like local authorities being able to buy back reposssessed homes and take them back for good into the public sector.

TOP 100 LEFT BLOGGERS

Tired out after long day taking pics in Warrington, getting bus from there to hospital where my dad is still in dock but hopefully on tbe mend, and on to planning meeting for Convention Of The Left. Just two weeks to bo...... and just time to note before I crash out that made number 58 in Iain Dale's Top 100 Left Bloggers. Congrats to Stroppyblog , Harpymarx and Labour Left Forum - LRC supporters all - for also making the list. No , it doesn't mean a thing but I would have been slightly gutted not to have made the list.....which is below


http://iaindale.blogspot.com/2008/09/top-100-left-of-centre-blogs.html

AT LEAST I DON'T HAVE TO QUEUE.....

Well, I never. My Labour Paty Conference credentials have just arrived a whole three weeks before it starts which means thankfully I won't have to queue ( as per usual) for late accreditation. But I must warn fellow delegates and visitors that the process for putting your pass together is a little technical and I have already managed to mess it up.
This year may also be the first for some time in which there are not "lanyard wars" as the official tag has been paid for by UNITE - not as in previous years dodgy outfits like Sky TV. A reflection, perhaps, of how the Party is now dependent on the unions for money.
On another note, I was slightly lambasted over the weekend for being pleasant to Alisdair Darling. I was only pointing out at least he was telling the truth about the economy.....the point is of course that without a change in policy in favour of the low-paid and the many (not the few fat cats) people will continue to be, as he put it, "pissed off" with the Government. Hope everyone else gets their credentials in good time - could be a sign of course that there are fewer of us going this year.......

DARLING TELLS IT LIKE IT IS

Sunday papers awash with talk of a rift between the Chancellor and the Prime Minister. Why? Because Alisdair Darling has quite patently told the truth and actually it's a refreshing change from the usual twaddle and fudging. He even said (shock horror) that people were "pissed off" with the Government. Well, they are, aren't they?

I heard a rumour once that darling used to be a Darling of the left ie Militant. Well, true or not, in this particular case he has not toed the democratic centralist Cabinet line - and I think more of him for it, frankly.

WOOLLY JUMPERS AND WINDFALLS

I had my first sighting yesterday of the new crop of brussels sprouts . Coupled with the arrival of corn on the cob in our local co-op that means autumn is almost upon us. I'm not upset in one way as I haven't had the most pleasant of summers - but the falling temperatures are going to hit all of us hard when it comes to fuel bills.
I'm a long way from being in fuel poverty but nevertheless I will be donning extra woolly jumpers, lighting the wood-burning stove and basically doing anything I can to cut costs.
If we don't as a Party do something radical to ensure the utilities pay for their rank profiteering we will not be forgiven. The windfall tax proposal, now backed I believe by 93 MPs, and thousands of activists, is an excellent one which I think would win the Government some much-needed support. On another note I was pleased to see that the Treasury is actually considering allowing local authorities to buy back homes which are repossessed . I furst heard of this proposal some months ago from Tony Benn at the LRC's LEAP conference and it is a bit heartening to note the Govt going even some way towards more council housing.

HOW ARE WE GOING TO VOTE?

Intriguingly, the Independent reports today that activists are going to "try and force a vote" on windfall tax at Labour Party Conference. I hope this is so and I will urge our delegate to support but how exactly are we going to "vote" as contemporary motions have been abolished. Presumably, it will be a symbolic vote ? If passed, it will at least show we can raise issues and get them debated. And next year let's bring back contemporary motions.......

BENN AND McDONNELL BACK THE CONVENTION OF THE LEFT ......

I was asked last night to circulate the following statement which will be the basis of debate at the Convention Of The Left in September in Manchester . Inside Labour, the Convention is backed by the LRC and Labour Briefing. Outside Labour, support comes from a range of groups including RESPECT, the Green Left, the SWP, but NOT the Socialist Party (they are, one assumes, still vainly trying to launch their Campaign For A New Workers 'Party)
The Convention is a lot more realistic and united. It's not about standing alternative candidates to Labour ( otherwise the LRC could not be involved). It is about standing together on what unites as as people on the left - NOT indulging in faction-fighting, splitting and wrecking ( as per usual)
We're awaiting support from a variety of people who wil be making a prominent contribution to the debate in a few weeks' time. Tony Benn and John McDonnell MP are among the first to do so In the meantime, I have a little but nevertheless important caveat. I think we must distinguish between "New" Labour and of course the Labour Party which is not, and never will be the same as those who have hi-jacked our aims and dreams over the last 11 years. Those still remain. Beyond that, I agree........here's the original statement

"We explicitly challenge Labour’s programme of warmongering, neo-liberal privatisation and failure to tackle environmental destruction.
We believe that there is an alternative. The wealth exists in the world to abolish famine and poverty and to pay for our essential needs; the debt-fuelled culture of conspicuous consumption does not produce a fairer or happier society – and is anyway unsustainable; and peaceful collective public enterprise is preferable to the private profit-making of the unregulated market and its escalating competition for scarce resources. The problem is capitalism, which produces only for profit not need, which destroys the environment and carries out endless warfare in pursuit of market domination.
But we also believe that we must win these arguments. The Left is weak and has been repeatedly forced on the defensive. We must find ways to develop and promote alternative positive policies and demands – of peace, social and environmental justice, public ownership, workers’ rights, civil liberties and equality.
We must join together with all those seeking a better society, as an anti-capitalist left fighting for an alternative socialist society.
The Convention of The Left therefore aims to debate alternative strategies that are critical of capitalism – environmentally and socially just, inclusive and peaceful, pluralist, tolerant – in pursuit of a greater common objective that benefits the many and not the few. We aim to ask ourselves the essential questions – the whole Convention is a kind of “Question Time For The Left” – and we hope to arrive at some of the answers.
We also aim to encourage participation from below, not top-down platforms. We want to start defining new ways of working - so that we can join together in making policies, putting forward demands and campaigning in practice - regardless of the organisations (or none) that we may belong to or support.
We are not saying that this means the construction of another political party. But we do resolve to find ways that the Left as a whole can co-ordinate action both nationally and locally wherever we can. We are not aiming to displace existing united campaigns, but to strengthen these and to encourage working together across the widest range of organisations and individuals.
We therefore resolve to encourage the development of local left forums, and support those already in existence, in order to promote discussion and co-ordinate united action across the Left, in an inclusive, participatory, pluralist, tolerant and democratic way.
We also resolve to hold a “Recall Event” on Saturday November 29th at which we will seek agreement to ideas and demands emerging from the Convention.

BACK ON DUTY

Very heartened by comradely messages . Thanks again.
Long day today backwards and forwards to Manchester but politically back on duty as managed to fit in crunch meeting of the Convention Of The Left. Only three weeks to go till this and of course Labour Party Conference. Where did the summer go.......now have to frantically catch up on stuff I should have done several weeks ago. Will report back more when I have fine tuned some thoughts tomorrow......

WHEN TROUBLES COME...

This was never meant to be a personal blog. I think that sort of thing is best reserved for friends and family. But I have been touched by the messages of support from people I don't know but who have left kind thoughts about my father. I also found out today that members of my family who I haven't seen for ages read it so I'm just posting a personal thank-you to all. My dad is still in hospital and we're coping on a day-to-day basis. I hope he will rally round. I just don't know.
The point is I suppose that we spend most of our lives denying the fact of our ( and others) mortality but it is just something that has to be faced. Found out also today that a young cousin of mine has just died and that my late mother's sister, who I have always regarded as a "second mum" is now in a care home in the West of Ireland with Alzheimer's. Have spent most of the evening in tears. Not for me but for the fact that life is often very difficult for those whose loved ones are ill and in trouble.
As Shakespeare said, when troubles come they come not in single spies but in battalions.........but in times of difficulty I suppose we also find out who our true friends are. I think these things help us through the bad times. They also make us appreciate the good times - which in an effort to be optimistic I hope will one day soon return.
Whatever our political differences, whatever our arguments, let's hope we all share a common humanity which makes us look out for each other. My dad would say that's what socialism is all about.......

OUT OF ACTION BECAUSE.....

I didn't see the closing or opening ceremonies of the Olympics. In fact I haven't seen much this week beyond buses and trains as I have been focussing on family issues and looking after my 88-year-old Dad who's still conalescing so frankly the travails of the Labour Party are not my top priority at the moment.
There is little to inspire. And I haven 't got a lot new to say that can be said in a constructive fashion. So circumspect is where I am at the moment.Hopefully things will be a little more inspiring once the Party conference season starts - and Press Senior is able to get out and about again.

PREZZA AND CLASS ...

Two years ago in Manchester a contrite John Prescott apologised for embarrassing the Labour Party via his affair with Tracey Temple. Today the ex-DPM was on the front page of the Daily Mail cavorting with Jodie Marsh for some spurious "documentary" on social class. What is it with politicians like Prescott that they cannot retire from the limelight gracefully? And, worse, hang out with Z-list "celebrities"
Given how much Prezza famously hates the media, he doesn't half go out of his way to court publicity and predictably silly headlines. Whatever endearing qualities he once possessed as the Government's token working-class hero are long gone.......

ANN CRYER TO STAND DOWN

The BBC reports that Ann Cryer, MP in the neighbouring constituency of Keighley, is standing down. Sad news that yet another member of the Campaign Group is to go - but possibly an opportunity for a left woman if it's AWS. Left activists in Keighley CLP persuaded Ann Cryer to nominate John McDonnell for Leader - they have my best wishes in choosing a successor. I might even put a CV in myself.........
There will be those who will herald Ann's retirement as another nail in the coffin of the PLP left. Not necessarily. The Campaign Group has ceased to be the only benchmark of left cred and there are sundry other MPs outside the Group who stand firm against New Labour. I'm optimistic more will be selected
I met Ann when I was in Keighley recently for a Civic Service - very impressed by its multi-cultural flavour. You do not often get imams reading from the Quran in a Catholic church.....

THE LABOUR WAY IS THE BETTER WAY...........

My thanks to young Strowger of Hebden Bridge for sending me to my bookshelves in search of the 1979 Labour Manifesto. Title as above. At the time, I can recall many of us thought the slogan a tad bland ( which it was) and in any case "Sunny Jim" Callaghan was well to the right of where most of us young trouble-makers were. You know what?

The sad thing is that Labour's middle-of-the-road, moderate 1979 Manifesto would now cause apoplexy in the ranks of New Labour. Public sector pay to be in line with the private sector, increased public ownership, backing for the nationalised Girobank and National Savings, increased investment in public sector railways, more money for council housing, long-term unemployed (12 months) to be offered a job or re-training - NOT benefit cuts.No new generation of nuclear weapons. These days, the LRC puts forward a similar programme and gets accused of being loony left. THIS was the policy programme agreed by Callaghan, Hattersley, Jenkins and Benn. The broad church we used to be proud of .

I quote the opening Manifesto paragraph:"The Labour Party is a democratic socialist Party and proud of it. We seek to build a stromger and more prosperous Britain - and we are determined to see that all our people share fully in that prosperity.We want a Britain which is open and democratic and which puts fair earnings for working people and the needs of the under-privileged before the demands of private profit." Wouldn't change a word. Would you?

GO BILL!

Below a shameless cut and paste from Bill Butler's website. Shame he's not standing for Leader but at least there is a clear red line here between the policies he believes in and New Labour.

"We need a strong leadership team at Holyrood which will work with all sections of the party to shape a progressive policy programme and build the modern organisational structure needed to deliver it.
I will be calling for a root and branch review of the party’s structure, and constitution to meet the demands of the 21st century political arena. I also pledge to involve all members and affiliates in a revamped Policy Forum process; an inclusive process in which all sections of the movement can take part. I believe the voice of Labour’s membership is central to the party’s policymaking process and campaigning strategy.
I will argue in favour of policies which:
tackle poverty and inequality,
promote jobs,
develop people’s skills and widen access to education and training,
encourage parity of esteem between Holyrood and local government,
enable democratic involvement,
create safer communities,
support culture and sport,
build a better integrated, more responsive transport system,
protect our environment,
provide lifelong educational opportunities for all, and
improve our NHS.
Policies that make a difference, including:
The taking back into public ownership of the railways
Re-regulation of the buses
The establishment of a Scottish Investment Bank
The expansion of apprenticeships
A root and branch reform of the Council Tax
Greater investment in public sector rented housing
An equality of funding between PFI and conventional procurement

LIFE ON MARS

I have been reading Michael Palin's Diaries ( see below) and they are a fascinating account of the years from the beginnings of Monty Python ( 1969) to the election of Margaret Thatcher ( 1979) . For most of this period I was at school or university - meanwhile Palin and pals were becoming megastars both here and across the Atlantic.
These days he's largely renowned as that nice man who does the travel documentaries but the Diaries remind one just how anarchic and anti-Establishment Monty Pythion was perceived to be at the time. Interspersed with the personal moments are references to the politics of the time. Palin, as you would expect from such a thoroughly decent chap, is ( or at least was then) a solid Labour supporter and a political animal . He notes things like the 1975 Referendum on the Common Market, the three-day week in 1974, Labour's libertarian stance on homosexuality and abortion, and other radical issues of the day, including the famous gig for Amnesty International in 1975. The book is a thoroughly entertaining snapshot of the time - even if it does make me feel terribly old......

IT''S THE POLICIES, STUPID.....

To the Guardian on-line this morning after night of insomnia ( got to sleep 5.30am but got through 300 pages of Michael Palin's Diaries) to read that changing Brown with Miliband would make absolutely no difference to Labour's poll ratings.
Maybe I'm just exhausted from lack of sleep but is anyone really suggesting this is front-page news. Why, exactly, would changing the face ( but not the policies) change anyone's mind? In the ICM poll, when people were asked to choose the best prime minister between Cameron and Brown, or Cameron and Miliband, the Tory leader beat both men by the same 21% margin.Well, he would. Because no matter how much fresher-faced he is , Miliband has exactly the same policies .And frankly people have wised up to that.
Labour MPs still sunning themselves in Tuscany or wherever need to take that on board and come back determined to change direction. A change of leader, in itself, would change nothing. A change of leader, and a change in policy towards the left-of-centre, would. Interesting. though, that more Tory voters are minded to vote Miliband. Will this news stop a coup in its tracks? We shall see in Manchester........at the moment we are still on course to lose 140 seats.

THE UNKINDEST CUT..

Call me cynical, but would last night's documentary about female genital mutilation have even got off the drawing-board had its protagonist not been young, attractive, extremely middle-class and more than a little bit ditzy. "The Perfect Vagina" examined in rather unnecessary detail why more and more women are having their sex organs trimmed to suit society's apparent need for women who look like Barbie dolls.
Lisa Rogers should be applauded for bringing to light a disturbing trend -one which beggars belief some 50 years after the first stirrings of "women's lib." The footage of a young girl screaming in pain as her vagina was injected before surgery is not something one forgets in a hurry. But some of the film was, frankly, a little too prurient. And Rogers was so worried about the (hardly necessary) prospect of splaying her legs for the plastic surgeon making thousands out of this criminal practice that she completely forgot to give him the excoriation he so richly deserved.
Surgeons who make money out of young girls' insecurities are frankly scum and one wonders if the result of this programme will be raised consciousness or more customers ? The sight of Rogers "having a Brazilian" was frankly also unnecessary. The assumption this is commonplace practice was extraordinary. I don't know any women who go in for it but maybe it/'s a generational thing.
Other criticisms? The documentary was also appallingly snobbish. Rogers's cool middle-class male mates had of course the right attitudes towards women and their "bits." Her working-class builders, by way of contrast, were sexist oiks. A representative study? Hardly. And finally the "dippy hippy" she made fun of was actually employing a technique I read of years ago in feminist Bible "Our Bodies Our Selves" - namely women's self-help groups examining each other's genitalia for reassurance. Not my cup of tea either - but hardly a new phenomenon. In conclusion, this is an issue which needed to be taken seriously. This documentary was just froth.

BRINGING IN MORE BLAIRITES IS NOT THE ANSWER TO GORDON'S WOES

So. Gordon Brown has apparently found the solution to the travails he has recently endured. More progressive policies? A large V-sign to the plotters and pals of Miliband who have been scuttling around for the past few weeks. Well, no. He's going to promote another Blairite.

Guardian reports that Jim Murphy, the Minister for Europe, "impressed the prime minister with his handling of the Lisbon treaty during its bumpy passage through the Commons, and is being pencilled in as the next Scottish Secretary." "Bumpy passage?" We should have had a referendum - the whole business/con-trick of the Lisbon Treaty is one of the reasons why the public remains disenchanted. Risdibly, the Guardian reports that this move is being pushed "to unite the Party." Does Brown ever, ever think of reaching out a friendly hand to those left-of-centre? Now that really might go some way towards healing a few rifts

LET'S TAKE THESE HOMES BACK INTO PUBLIC OWNERSHIP

News today that repossession orders are up by a quarter across the UK. No surprise, really. As the credit crunch bites and food and utilities bills go through the roof then more and more people are going to be in difficulties. I was eminently lucky to buy a house at a time when houses round here really were affordable .I have five years to go on my mortgage but managed in the good years to pay a substantial part off the original £47,000 cost of my house. Most people now are not so fortunate - indeed the very notion of any house for £47,000 is pretty unthinkable.
As this crisis gets worse, more and more people will face the indignity of repossession and possible homelessness. Why should they? Tony Benn came up with an eminently sensible proposition a couple of months back at the Left Economic Advisory Panwl conference - which was for local authorities to buy repossessed homes, take them back into the public sector and allow families to stay there on a renting basis. Indeed, so sensible is this plan that apparently that rabid left-winger Hilary Benn is supportive of the LEAP proposal espoused by his dad. If this became policy, it would be a popular move which might win the Government back some credibility and support.

A LEVELS

Are they getting easier? Oh yawn.......every year the papers run the same old opinion pieces claiming that a piece of cheese could these days achieve "A" grades at A Level. I know one thing. It's an event you never forget.
The day I got my A Level results - Friday August 13 1976 - is etched on my memory for several reasons. One. I did pretty astoundingly well as I was a swot. Two. My friend ( who had done similarly well) joined me in exile that night as most of our pals had done rather less well and did not exactly crave our company. So we consoled ourselves with some vodkas and limes in the Salisbury pub in Manchester. Three. The following day we were going to a wedding involving a schoolmate who had been expelled from the sixth-form for the terrible sin of selling the Militant ( it was a strict Catholic convent) . So 32 years on I often wonder is she still married ( unlikely )? And is she (even more unlikely) still a Militant supporter ?
Just an addendum - I was one of those weird people who actually enjoyed doing exams ( rush of adrenaline and so on). I would have absolutely hated all the coursework young people have to plough through now. So congrats to all, and don't listen to the naysayers......

UNISON SCOTLAND BACKS JAMIESON AND BUTLER

As UNISON Scotland last year backed John McDonnell for Labour Leader, looks like this one is officially the left ticket then....... below from PA:

Labour leadership contender Cathy Jamieson has won the backing of party supporters in the trade union Unison, it has been announced.
The union's Scottish LabourLink - which represents the 55,000 Unison members affiliated to Labour - said it was supporting her.It is also backing Bill Butler for the post of Labour's deputy leader at Holyrood.Ms Jamieson, the former justice minister, is competing against ex-enterprise minister Iain Gray and former health minister Andy Kerr to succeed Wendy Alexander.Members of Unison Scottish LabourLink met all the leadership candidates on Tuesday night.Afterwards chair of the group Pat Rowland said: "We heard a series of excellent presentations from all the candidates in this important election and were impressed by the range of ideas and the quality of all the candidates."However, the committee overwhelmingly believes that Cathy Jamieson and Bill Butler best reflect the key Labour values that Unison believes the party has to champion if Labour is to retain the support of working people."

ANOTHER BY-ELECTION

It's sad news that Labour faces another by-election in Glenrothes following the untimely death of John MacDougall.
Mr MacDougall, an MP since 2001, died last night after what was apparently a long battle against mesothelioma, an incurable cancer of the lungs, aged only 60. He held a majority over the SNP at the last election of 11,000.
That would be enough for Labour to hold the seat in normal circumstances. However, following the Glasgow East by-election last month, circumstances are anything but normal.
Given that MacDougall had a long track-record as a local politician and in the Scottish labour movement, one would hope Labour will hang onto the seat. In the meantime, our thoughts should be not with the pollsters but with his family.

SUPPORT THE CALDER VALLEY RESOLUTION IN MANCHESTER

It's Labour Party Conference in a few weeks' time and already there are dire warnings of plots and intrigue on a grand scale - Johnson and Miliband. Miliband and Milburn. Cruddas and Johnson. Whichever. But as these characters try to stitch things up they should remember one thing. It should be we, the ordinary members, who decide who is Leader and Deputy of our Party.
Last time round , we were denied a choice. And just look at the consequences. Gordon Brown thought he had a free run to do exactly as he wished - which meant the Party and the Government veered sharply to the right. A Leader elected only by the PLP . A complete abnegation of Party democracy. That must never, ever happen again.
Next time there is a vacancy, it's unlikely there will be a "coronation." But under present rules, it IS likely that there will not be a broad spread of candidates. The current threshold was originally introduced to stop left-wing challenges. But it has actually disenfranchised members with varying kinds of views.
And that's why the Calder Valley resolution - one of the few issues you wil actually be able to vote on at Conference - is SO important. Let's be 100 per cent clear about this. It's not about getting rid of Gordon Brown. It's not about stalking horses. The whole point is to make sure the members and trade unionists have a voice. ALL of us. When there is a vacancy.
If you're a CLP or trade union delegate, support our resolution - which will lower the nominations threshold for Leader and Deputy from 12.5 to 7.5 per cent of the PLP.

BILL 4 DEPUTY IN SCOTLAND

In a previous life, I spent a lot of time in Glasgow. Particularly the West End. Fond memories of The Ubiquitous Chip and other haunts but I digress from the fact that I hope Bill Butler gets the Deputy Leadership of the Scottish Labour group in Holyrood. He's convenor of the Campaign for Socialism so would get my vote ( if I had one) .I still think it's a shame Elaine Smith did not stand but anyway good luck to Bill . Cathy Jamieson seems to be the best bet for Leader. Look forward to discussing more with Scottish comrades in a few weeks' time.

DREAM TICKETS ARE OFTEN NIGHTMARES

Being a woman of a certain age, my memories of Labour "dream tickets" go back a long way. Kinnock and Hattersley, Heffer and Meacher, Benn and Heffer, and, oh yes, Blair and Prescott. To my eternal chagrin, I actually voted for the latter.

Prescott, many of us thought in our naivete, would be the Old Labour ballast to stop the right-wing Blair from straying too far from the path of social justice and core Labour values. We all know what happened there. But at least in those days Labour won General Elections .We are now in a very different place. Yet union leaders and a sizeable number of MPs are apparently backing a so-called "dream ticket" of Alan Johnson and Jon Cruddas. ie a Blairite for the top job and a soft-left MP for a job that means nothing. Can someone please explain to me in what sense this would be better than what we have now? Because the bottom line is that New labour would still be in charge.

I would have far more respect for Jon Cruddas if he announced his candidature for the top job. That would be perfectly understandable and an honest position. And a soft left PM would arguably make a siignificant difference to who was in and out of Government.

Instead, the Compass wing is cosying up to the right and basically acting as a toothless buffer zone to hinder real policy changes and give the unions another chance to cop out of backing a real candidate of the left. Would Alan Johnson seriously change tack policywise? Even if he is less "ultra" and frankly more likeable than the likes of Milburn and Miliband the end result will be the same. And was it not Johnson himself who said he "was not up to being Prime Minister." He may have an aura of Harry Perkins. He certainly hasn't got his politics......

A COMRADE OF GREAT COURAGE

Today I sent a card to a comrade who is currently recovering in hospital from an horrific accident. Nigel Pearce of the NUM has been one of the strongest supporters round here of our struggle to re-claim Labour from the Blairites and is a sincere , committed socialist with agreat sense of humour . He has also attended every West Yorkshire LRC meeting I have ever organised -until now.
While on holiday in Spain , Nigel had a motorbike accident and spent many weeks in a Spanish hospital before being flown home a couple of weeks ago. He's come out of a coma, is currently in a wheelchair but so I hear absolutely determined to walk again, "upbeat" and cheerful. In short, a bit of an inspiration to the rest of us. Get well soon, Nigel. Card in the post and will come and see you soon in Wakefield. Your presence is much missed.

TONY'S SAFEST SEAT

There are not many 83-year-old left-wingers who get positive coverage and picture spreads in the Mail On Sunday but LRC supporter and octogenarian Tony Benn manages to do exactly that today by publicising his "front-bencher" - a contraption he has invented to enable him to sit down while waiting for trains, taxis or whatever. A story which truly epitomises the silly season.........and Benn's now offiicial status as a National Treasure

THE OTHER ALLENDE .....

It's not often these days that I pick up a book and can't put it down. However, at 3.30am have just finished reading an astonishing memoir by the Chilean writer Isabel Allende. Like most books on my bedside table, it's not exactly current as due to the speed with which I read Oxfam is my library of choice. But Paula , published some years ago, is nevertheless worth seeking out. A consummate storyteller, Allende, whose cousin was Salvador Allende, somehow manages to combine the tragic tale of a terminally ill daughter with an ultimately positve spiritual message, political passion and a journalist's eye for the minutiae which make up our lives - and deaths. The Marxist poet Pablo Neruda, who died shortly after the terrible coup in 1973, told her once she was the "worst journalist in Chile. " He was wrong. She's not only a great journalist but a fantastic and inspiring writer. And as a new memoir has just been published may just patronise Waterstone's for once....

SUPPORT THE WINDFALL TAX CAMPAIGN

Tribune has joined forces with Compass in a campaign for a windfall tax - not a cop-out which lets the energy companies off the hook. A campaign very much worth signing up to . Backing already from Tony Benn, Dianne Abbott and Keighley MP Ann Cryer.

BY-ELECTION LOSS IN HEBDEN BRIDGE

Bad result last night for Labour in Hebden Bridge. We lost the West End ward - which reduces the number of councillors we have to six out of 18. Bad, especially, as our candidate was an excellent choice and would have been a real asset to the council. He has also lived here for 12 years with many years' experience in the Labour movement - unlike his Liberal Democrat oppo who moved here just a few months ago. That's politics. And that's unfortunately the state of play at the moment for the moment when Labour stands in elections. Thanks to those who helped leaflet and canvas. Here's to a better result next time.

DO NOT ADJUST YOUR SET......

The increasing desperation at the heart of Government is shown in the fact that Number 10 is to launch its own TV channel. Yes, Gordon Brown's website is receiving a summer "re-vamp," and will apparently soon feature a link to an online portal allowing users to watch television clips of the Prime Minister in action. Does anyone seriously think this will improve Labour's ratings in the polls. ? It is precisely the kind of nonsense that Gordon Brown said he was against when he became Leader just over a year ago. What we need is a positive message to people that we really are, to use the jargon "on their side." How about a windfall tax to cut into the profits of the utility companies whoi are bleeding us dry? Now that might REALLY do something to stem the freefall we are in .

MILBURN AND MILIBAND

It's nice to know that Alan Milburn is going to be the new Chancellor in a Miliband Government. Would be nice, n'est ce pas, if Labour Party members were consulted about these arrangements.
Sadly for the two ultra right-wingers it's down to the grassroots members and trade unions who would be elected in a leadership contest. I suggest you all support the Calder Valley leadership change at Labour Party Conference - cutting the threshold from 12.5 per cent to 7 percent of the PLP in the advent of a contest - which gives us all a say. How dare these apparatchiks and wonks tell us which direction the Labour Party is going to take.

CLARE SHORT IS RIGHT ABOUT MILIBAND

Clare Short has made lots of mistakes in her time - not least not resigning over Iraq. And she was utterly wrong to abandon the Labour whip. Nevertheless, she makes some very salient points re Miliband in today's Independent. She shares my ( widely held) view that Gordon Brown's biggest mistake was not shifting left and sticking with the Blairite agenda. And that Miliband, far from being the answer to anyone's electoral prayers, would be an unmitigated disaster.


http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/clare-short-how-can-miliband-be-the-answer-to-labours-ills-885219.html

BORIS BACKS OUT OF MAYORS FOR PEACE

Until this morning, I wasn't aware that Boris Johnson had disassociated himself from the Mayors For Peace Initiative.But I don't suppose I am surprised. However, given that it costs nothing and is just a global message of goodwill and support for a nuclear-free world, it seems both petty and wrong-headed.
Last year our Town Council signed up to the initiative so I'm pleased to have just signed a statement in support of Cities Appeal backing the Hiroshima-Nagasaki protocol, which is aiming for a nuclear-free world by 2020.
Here's the quote I gave to the local press: ” As a council, we are supporters of the Mayors For Peace initiative and the Hiroshima-Nagasaki protocol is an important part of that process. Its goal of achieving a nuclear-free world by 2020 is one I wholeheartedly support and I’m pleased to offer our support for this global campaign. Relying on weapons of mass destruction to keep the world a peaceful one is madness. If we wish to safeguard future generations, we need to take serious steps to rid the world of the appalling prospect of nuclear war.”

UNITED WE STAND - IN OPPOSITION TO NEW LABOUR

This afternoon I received the (more or less) final timetable for the Convention Of The Left event taking place in Manchester from September 20 -24 ie at the same times as the Labour Party Conference. The LRC is taking part in several seminars and it will all be kicked off at 3pm on Saturday September 20 by John McDonnell MP and Tony Benn. Venue is the Friends Meeting House -only yards from the LP Conference hall at G-Mex.
Unlike the bigger event, there will be no ring of steel . And admission is free ( donations welcome) .Those of us involved in the logistics of bringing together various left groups both inside and outside the Labour Party are currently wracking our brains for a common theme or "line to take" in the common vernacular.
I am still pondering this one but it may well turn out to be about the fact that the issues which unite us on the left are far more than those which divide us. Peace not war, people not profit, .......anyway, the timetable is worth a look on the COL website

THE SISTERS OF SYCOPHANCY

A year ago , Jackie Ashley and Polly Toynbee were extolling the many virtues of Gordon Brown. Now he has been utterly abandoned for the cause of David Miliband. The fact that there is not a cigarette paper between either in terms of policy concerns them not a jot.
Like maiden aunts gushing over a favourite nephew, they now wax lyrical over Miliband in frankly embarrassing terms. This is Ashley today in the Guardian:
I've known him since he was a 16-year-old schoolboy - when he tipped up at my sister's local Labour party, brimming with enthusiasm. Until recently I thought he was nice, bright, charming - but too cerebral to strike, too academic for the very top in politics. But something inside him has shifted. I've been struggling to think what it is, and the real thing is - he no longer looks frightened.
Reminiscent of Sylvie Krin in Provate Eye, isn't it? But sadly, and inexplicably, Ashley and Toynbee are probably two of the most influential columnists we have.
In the world outside New Labour's charmed circle, there is a rather more intelligent perception as to why the Party is in trouble. Quite simply, the policies are wrong, wrong, wrong.
It matters not whether Miliband Senior Junior, Milburn, Purnell or even Balls is our next Leader. They are all New Labour.
The reason people like Jackie Ashley are so desperately bigging up Miliband is they and their pals in Westminster know that New Labour's time is running out . So the plot, conspire and badmouth Gordon Brown. It is an undedifying spectacle. As John McDonnell has said over the weekend, it's time for these people to come out of the dark, declare their intentions and call for a leadership contest ASAP. That is the only honest thing we can now do if the Labour Party is to regain the respect of the electorate. But we do need a proper debate. Not Machiavellian drama.

GORDON BROWN AS TRAGIC HERO

In the early hours of the morning, I scoured the Sunday papers and decided I could not be bothered blogging any more about who's leaked what, to whom and why. The dying days of New Labour are febrile with disloyalty, betrayal, ambition, and all the other ingredients which make politics a very nasty game.
Undoubtedly, it's the policies as much as the personalities which have contributed to this sorry tale. But Brown's innate insecurities have also contributed to his imminent downfall.
He is, indeed a tragic hero - in the literary sense .
Eng Lit students of a certain age will have read A C Bradley's Shakespearean Tragedy - in which protagonists are all assigned a "fatal flaw" which leads to their downfall. Othello's, obviously, is jealousy. Macbeth's ambition. Hamlet's is procrastination. In his 25 years in Parliament, Brown has somehow managed to combine all three of these very human traits. So no wonder he's in serious trouble.
Aristotle also had five prerequisites for tragic heroes . They normally start off being nobly born or blessed with wisdom. Unfortunately, they then fall prey to something called Hamartia, roughly translated as an error in judgment. This then leads to peripeteia - a reversal of fortune brought about because of the hero's mistake. Closely followed by anagnorisis - recognition it's basically his own fault. Then there's catharsis - a purging of all all the above.
Where is Brown amid this Greek tragedy? Stage 4. As he broods on the beach at Southwold,
my guess is he knows that his current malaise is all his own fault. The question is what happens next.
As the Blairite vultures gather round, my guess is he will end up, tragically, like King Lear, alone on the "blasted heath" of New Labour.