A VERY BRITISH PURSUIT.....

I'm a bit of a fan of political diaries - most politicians leave their memoirs to the time when they have taken the Chiltern Hundreds and retired from Westminster. Not so Chris Mullin.

The MP for Sunderland is standing down but befiore he goes he's publishing his memoirs of life in Government in a ( very) junior capacity.

I've been reading them on-line and the tone is frankly, tedious and embittered. A former man of the left, and author of the spendid A Very British Coup, Mullin became a devotee of New Labour ( see Tony Benn's diaries) and briefly, clearly, cherished dreams of senior office. Enough to eschew independence as a backbencher for the toil of junior ministerial life .

To his credit, Chris Mullin voted against the Iraq War and in latter years has re-gained something of his "cred" but to my mind someone who has benefitted from the patronage of Government office should not now be publishing personal tittle-tattle about senior figures at a time when Labour is in serious trouble. He may be leaving it all behind him. But the Party is going to be fighting for its life at the next election .

On a personal note, I've met Chris Mullin and have no doubt he is a clever man who once had reason to harbour dreams of high office. But when charisma bypasses were invented he was one of the first in the queue for the operation

Sean Penn-GiveThat Man An Oscar

Tonight to the flicks to see Sean Penn in Milk, a reallly excellent film which served as a therapeutic way of recognising the intricacies involved in the political process. And

a remnder how far we have travelled in the last 30 years when it comes to LGBT issues. Brilliant stuff, and he deserves an Oscar. Also a role-model for anyonje fighting the Establishment

UPDATE: He won!

HEATHROW DEMO IN DOWNING STREET

Tomorrow I'm taking a day off from campaigning and intend to catch up with all the news I have missed while knocking on doors and delivering leaflets. In case there is anyone out there interested in aspiring to be a PPC, let me warn you it is a long, slow process which demands time, stamina and considerable personal , political and financial investment.

I'm pleased to note there was a protest yesterday in Downing Street against the third runway at Heathrow - a decision which, interestingly, Jon Cruddas described as "craven" in an article in yesterday's Independent. As he is now a bit of an unofficial cheerleader for Harriet Harman, one could speculate that the Cabinet is clearly divided on the issue. It's clear that the protests will continue on the ground and the local MP John McDonnell was one of the speakers at yesterday's protest, organised by environmental campaigners. Labour MPs in London and many other parts of the country know this is one decision which could cost them their seats, and put Labour into Opposition, unless it is reversed.

NUJ ACTION IN LEEDS

FACEBOOK has the details here.

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://www.nujleft.org%2F2009%2F02%2Fheroic-struggle-taking-place-in-leeds%2F

ON THE ROAD AGAIN......

I've spent most of the week getting out and about in Keighley and talking to Party members. Which precludes much time for blogging. Tomorrow I'll be on the road again then off to an NUJ rally in Leeds where journalists are on strike.
Next week in Manchester there is a rally against Royal mail privatisation at the Mechanics' Instute - Feb 26 - organised by the Public Services Not Private Profit campaign,
Tonight I'm off to an extraordinary meeting of my CLP to ask NEC members some questions on their decision to not endorse our PPC - which means the whole selection will be re-run and of course that we have lost an excellent candidate.
When Labour is in such difficulty nationally and when decisions are made which one does not agree with it would be easy to become disaffected. The only thing one can do when either campaigning on a personal or wider level is to keep on keeping on. And that is what I intend to do.

KAUFMAN ON GAZA

Gerald Kaufman, MP for Manchester Gorton, has been around since I was too young to vote. He would never describe himself as being on the left of the Labour Party but he is one of the best constituency MPs there is - and on Palestine his stance has been admirable.
Last night he spoke at a benefit for medical aid in Gaza and this is what he said:
"The slaughter we have seen in Gaza is only the latest blood soaked episode of many. In Gaza they have not got sewage, they have not gotmedical supplies or hospitals, they have not got schools to go to.
"It is for us to demonstrate that what is going on in the Middle East can't be excused by saying Jews were killed in the Holocaust. Many of my family were killed in the Holocaust. They did not die to provide cover for Israeli Jews to kill Palestinians."
"What we have to do is to give a voice to the people who care until Justice is brought to the people of Palestine.
"Nobody believed that apartheid would go in South Africa. But it did go. Now Apartheid in Palestine has to go. And it will go if we work for it to go. The erection of an Apartheid state can not go on. "

GOODBYE BILL

Three months ago I attended a meeting in Manchester of the Mayors For Peace working group. One of the people at that meeting was Councillor Bill Risby, who sadly died yesterday .

I'm pretty much at a loss to know what to say as Bill and his family have been part of my life for over 30 years.

Bill devoted his life to the labour and trade union movement. He was , right until the time of his death, a passionate advocate for peace and an instigator of the Nuclear Free Zone movement. He was a former Lord Mayor of Manchester, a hard-working Labour councillor in north Manchester for over 40 years, and a committed family man . Above all, he was a fundamentally decent person who I would always refer to when people asked me why I stayed loyal to Labour. We used to joke that the Party had moved so far to the right that he had somehow ended up on the "left." But he remained loyal to Labour and remained hopeful that one day his brand of moderate socialism would win the day. Many of the great and good in Manchester have been paying tribute today. I'm just glad that I knew him for so long - and will always remember him with great affection. Two days before he died, he sent me a message of support for my campaign in Keighley. That will stay on record as a tribute to the support he showed me through decades of political and personal friendship. It won't be forgotten

SENDING OUT THE WRONG MESSAGE

It's a gloomy Sunday for Labour as a new opinion poll in the Independent puts us 16 points behind the Tories. The other bad news is that David Freud, architect of the proposed Welfare Reform Bill proposals, is to join the Tories as a Shadow Welfare spokesman.
What does that say about the people we are entrusting with the future vision of the Labour Party? I think it says that the Government has been entirely on the wrong track on this one and needs to get back to basics and admit the proposals were misguided and wrong.
At a time when thousands are losing their jobs and every day the recession bites harder, Labour needs to change tack and get back to being Labour - before it is too late.

MORTALITY AND THE MEDIA

There is something inherently obscene about the media feeding frenzy on celebrities who are dying of cancer. A horrible relish with which it charts the physical decline of people once regarded as objects of desire - now obviously wracked and ravaged with illness.
Paparazzi photographers prey on the sight of former heartthrob Patrick Swayze, terminally ill with pancreatic cancer. And still smoking.......Why wouldn't he? .
Jade Goody, desperate and dying, is the stuff of front page news as she fuels the tabloids with ever more horrible stories of last-ditch treatment and how she is determined to make as much possible money out of her plight.
This is an invidious and frankly vile use of people's suffering to boost newspaper sales and make the rest of us feel a little better about another mundane Sunday morning - in which we can all kid ourselves we are among the immortals and no such trauma will ever happen to us.
It is also an inhumane and disgraceful indictment of our dumbed-down newspapers and magazines that make capital out of other people's misery. We are all on a one-way ticket to oblivion. So why is it news?

ONCE YOU BECOME THE STORY.....

Long ago Alisdair Campbell was forced to resign as a Number 10 aide after he "became the story" during the awful days of the Hutton Inquiry.
In a much lesser kind of way, it looks as though his former ally Derek Draper has lost the plot in a screaming match with David Hencke of The Guardian.
Hencke is one of the good guys in the media - a genuinely independent-minded kind of political journalist
Draper once had a career as Peter Mandelson's aide and left politics for a while to pursue a career as a psycho-analyst. The spat is allegedly over whether he lied about his credentials.
My brains are pretty scrambled tonight after answering myriads of questions in Keighley but one thing I do know. Derek Draper has made himself a bit of a laughing-stock - thanks to his obviously humoungous ego, the whole venture seems doomed.

WHAT HAPPENED IN CALDER VALLEY

As this is now in the public domain via the local press I just want to post some thoughts on the fact that the Calder Valley selection is now going to be totally re-run.
The first is that a highly marginal constituency now faces a Herculean task in hanging on at the next election. The second is that individuals who opposed our elected candidate, Janet Oosthuysen, deliberately and wilfully went to the media with disparaging remarks and personal allegations which were utterly groundless. The third is that the NEC took six months to decide not to endorse her. Which means that a whole two years after our MP announced she was standing down we do not have a candidate in place. It is an absolutely appalling fiasco which has led many members just to walk away and/or consider resigning from the Party.
I'm glad to say that Janet is not one of them. And neither am I.
Our CLP is having a meeting with NEC members next week and I will be raising all my concerns then. The biggest sadness in all of this is that our constituency is utterly torn asunder and that we have lost much of the support which would have enabled us to win. It is not a result which any of us , particularly those of us who stayed quiet in the hope that justice would prevail, and that the NEC would support us, wanted.

SUSAN PRESS 4 KEIGHLEY ON FACEBOOK

My support group is here. Over 200 members already and a bit of a morale booster in what is a fiercely-fought campaign by all the candidates. To join, just click on the link...........and meanwhile I will keep on keeping on. Much to do in the next four weeks........
http://www.facebook.com/board.php?status=256&uid=59137719107#/group.php?gid=59137719107

CAMPAIGNING IN KEIGHLEY

Most of my energies in the past few weeks have been put into making the shortlist in Keighley. And I'm delighted to have done so. I've won two nominations, including the Co-op Party and I have substantial support in other parts of the constituency. I've spent the past couple of days drafting key messages which will be revealed to Party members in the coming period. But just a couple of pointers.

I think Parliament needs more people with years of ordinary work and life experience.
MPs need principles and I remain absolutely committed to socialist values and the Labour Party. But high ideals on their own are not enough. Relating to constituents is just as important.
I’m putting my name forward because I’m a credible candidate for this particular constituency. I’ve lived in West Yorkshire for over a decade and have years of experience as a Labour councillor serving my local community. Since May 2008, I’ve been Mayor of Hebden Royd. My endorsers include some of the best names in the labour movement - with one or two surprises. At this stage, I'm keeping mum about who they are. But watch this space.........

OLD RED EYES IS BACK

The world is not passing me by but for now I'm going to have to focus on a place 10 miles over the Pennines - and plan my campaign strategy . It wasn't in the gameplan to get a nasty attack of conjunctivitis only hours before a crunch meeting. Put it down to the nervous stress which all my fellow aspirers agree is part of the deal if you put your name forward for PPC. Just as well it's not a beauty contest....... Anyway, the eye drops are kicking in so I'm now off to discuss our plans over Sunday lunch at the Stubbing Wharf.
If I had had much time to blog this week ( which I obviously haven't) , I would have commented on the outcome of the oil refinery strikes, I think Jeremy Clarkson and Jonathan Ross are grossly overpaid and utterly bereft of wit and intelligence and should be sacked ( one rule for Carol Thatcher another for them?) . And I wish the CWU all the best in its fight against the Royal Mail part- privatisation plans which are soundly opposed by a majority of Labour MPs, trade unionists - and the Great British Public.

KEIGHLEY PPC SELECTION

As I'm sticking rigidly to the rules I'm not going to elaborate on the process or discuss other candidates. But the campaign now continues until the final countdown.........

JOHN McDONNELL'S STATEMENT ON THE STRIKES AND NEED FOR SOLIDARITY

In recent days, some have accused the LRC of staying silent on the issue of the recent strike action. This is neither a fair nor an accurate portrayal of where leading people within the LRC have been stating their case. John McDonnell's own statement regarding the dispute can also be read on his blog

THE TRAGIC MEDIA TRAJECTORY OF JADE GOODY

This blog is usually resolutely NOT about my personal life but as this morning I had to visit my GP for a routine check-up it's made me think about the media circus around the life - and seemingly death - of Jade Goody.

Famous initially for being stupid, she's actually not that daft as she's made millions since she appeared on Big Brother and courted publicity to the nth degree in the seven years since.

Last year, she returned to the show only to be drummed out after making racist remarks. Now she is clearly dying - and making money out of the process. Unashamedly , and with some bravado, she has said that any cash she is likely to receive for the many prurient accounts of her illness which have appeared in the media is not for her but for the two small children she will leave behind.

But the fact she's now in the final stages of cervical cancer is, according to the medics, almost certainly down to her foolishness .

As many women of my acquantaince are only too aware, this is one of the few cancers which can be cured if preventative steps are taken once you become a sexual being. Namely regular check-ups - and follow-up treatment if there is something wrong.

Thanks to a new generation of vaccines, younger woman will hopefully not have to endure the frankly unpleasant indignity of the smear test. But for most of us from an earlier generation it is a necessary procedure.

Jade, whose anguish I do not belittle, has herself admitted that she ignored the warning signs that what seems to have been a horribly aggressive form of cervical cancer had returned. And, sadly, it seems that is likely to lead to her premature death. There is a tragic irony in the fact that someone who became famous on Big Brother on account of being stupid will now die because of it. And, maybe, a salutary lesson for many other women too.

ONCE A THATCHER.......

Carol Thatcher has been sacked from her freelance post on the One Show over offensive remarks regarding a tennis player. Seems she was following in the footsteps of her dad - and possibly mother. There is no excuse for her vile remarks -which she did not have the decency to unconditionally apologise for. It'snot about being "pc" her comment was unequivocally racist. Well done, BBC.

CLAWING BACK THE CONFUSION OVER THE WILDCAT STRIKES

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


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

SNOWED IN AND SNOWED UNDER

I was supposed to be in London tonight for the initial meeting of a new LRC campaign group. But acts of God have intervened so I have spent the day working on my campaign in Keighley. If anyone out there is interested in doing similar let me warn it is a long, arduous and stressful process. One which has utterly wrecked my New Year's resolution not to smoke.
Today's inclement weather has confined me to barracks - the moors are more or less impassable. So after seven hours bashing away at the sharp end I'm off to the pub.....

MANDELSON GETS IT WRONG

Peter Mandelson ( see link below) is apparently telling workers who have gone on strike at the oil refineries that they must not hinder the process whereby migrant labour is being employed at their expense. The Norman Tebbitt approach. All they have to do is go and find a job in Europe - thanks to the "flexibility" of the market system
This approach is utterly misguided and dangerous. It's also fuelling the Daily Mail-led xenophobia we have already seen during the strike action and fails to address the basic problems whicb are
1. Employers can get away with offering lower rates of pay because the Working Directives and the legislation on the minimum wage is not enforced properly for casual and agency workers- despite intense lobbying by the TUC
2. The Government's lack of support for the unions means foreign workers are being wrongly demonised. ALL workers doing the same job should be paid the same rate of pay regardless of where they are from and should be encouraged to join the unions.There should be no undercutting
3. We should be blaming the bosses, not the people from Europe who are working for the lower rates of pay, for this crisis. Most importantly Gordon brown should NEVER have promised "British jobs for British workers." As I said at the time, it is a slogan which the BNP would support. And now it is coming back to haunt him.......

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/you-can-go-and-work-in-europe-mandelson-tells-strikers-1522527.html

MORE COUNCIL HOMES ANNOUNCED BY GOVERNMENT

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

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

REBELS ON HEATHROW EXPANSION

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

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

VIRENDRA SHARMA RESIGNS FROM GOVERNMENT

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

ANDY SLAUGHTER RESIGNS FROM GOVERNMENT

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

PFI HOSPITALS IN TROUBLE

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

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

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

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

80,000 JOB LOSSES IN A DAY

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

ENGLISH JOURNEY

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

KEIGHLEY- SNAPSHOT OF RECESSION

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

LABOURLIST - AN APOLOGIA FOR THE STATUS QUO

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

THE POLITICAL ARENA.....

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

SLASH AND BURN, SAY THE LIBERAL DEMOCRATS

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

CLOSURE OF GUANTANAMO BAY

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

TWO MILLION......AND COUNTING

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

JOHN MORTIMER REVISITED

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

Labourlist Watch

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

GAZA CEASEFIRE

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

THE X FACTOR......

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

A VERY BRITISH PROTEST

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

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

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

POLITICAL SUICIDE

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

LabourList - the missing links......

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

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

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

GORDON AND THE PRINCE

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

THE WEEK AHEAD....

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

GRASSROOTS BRANCH OUT WITH NEW BLOG

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

TRADE UNION LEADER TO SPEAK AT WEST YORKSHIRE LRC MEETING

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

OBSCENE AND INEXCUSABLE

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

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

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

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

SOLIDARITY - GOOD AND BAD

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

MANCHESTER GAZA DEMONSTRATION

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

STYLE COUNSEL FOR NEW YEAR'S EVE.....

The tabloid pictures of Paul Weller in a drunken heap in Prague are a timely reminder to my generation that some things just aren't done anymore. And collapsing in a comatose state with your better half is probably top of anyone's list. I am about to embark on a sub-zero tour around the town with several friends and experience has taught me not to go out before 9pm and to make an orderly exit from the pub well before midnight.........that is the plan anyway.Just before Big Ben strikes I will smoke one of the cocktail Sobranies a friend bought me for Xmas and I am giving the rest away. 2009, if nothing else, will be a fag-free year.
As for 2008 well like most years after a certain age it has been a mixed bag of good and bad stuff and I expect the same of the New Year. One thing I do hope is that I will end it a bit healthier so to that end I will be taking a bit better care of myself . I suggest P Weller does the same unless he really does want to be a sad old git! A Happy New Year to all blog readers ........

FROM THE PALESTINIAN SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN....

(Lebanon, Tuesday 30 December) - Today the Free Gaza ship "Dignity"carefully made its way to safe harbor in Tyre, Lebanon's southern-mostport city, after receiving serious structural damage when Israeli warships rammed its bow and the port side. Waiting to greet the passengers and crew were thousands of Lebanese who came out to show their solidarity with this attempt to deliver volunteer doctors and desperately needed medicalsupplies to war-ravaged Gaza. The Lebanese government has pledged to provide a forensic analysis of what happened in the dark morning, when Israel rammed the civilian ship in international waters, and put the people on board in danger of losing their lives.The Dignity, on a mission of mercy to besieged Gaza, was attacked by the Israeli Navy at approximately 6am (UST) in international waters, roughly 90 miles off the coast of Gaza. Several Israeli warships surrounded the small, human rights boat, firing live ammunition around it, then intentionally ramming it three times. According to ship's captain Denis Healy, the Israeli attack came, ""without any warning, or any provocation."Caoimhe Butterly, an organizer with the Free Gaza Movement, stated that,"The gunboats gave us no warning. They came up out of the darkness firing flares and flashing huge flood lights into our faces. We were so shocked that at first we didn't react. We knew we were well within international waters and supposedly safe from attack. They rammed us three times,hitting the side of the boat hard. We began taking on water and, for a few minutes, we all feared for our lives. After they rammed us, they started screaming at us as we were frantically getting the life boats ready and putting on our life jackets. They kept yelling that if we didn't turn back they would shoot us."
Cynthia McKinney, former U.S. congresswoman and Green Party presidential candidate, was traveling to Gaza aboard the Dignity in order to assess the impact of Israel's military onslaught against the civilian population of the Gaza Strip. According to McKinney, "Israeli patrol boats...tracked us for about 30 minutes...and then all of a sudden they rammed usapproximately three times, twice in the front and once in the side...the Israelis indicated that [they felt] we were involved in terrorist activities."The Dignity departed from Larnaca Port in Cyprus at 7pm (UST) on Monday 29 December with a cargo of over 3 tons of desperately needed medical supplies donated to Gaza by the people of Cyprus. Three surgeons were also aboard, traveling to Gaza to volunteer in overwhelmed hospitals and clinics. The ship was searched by Cypriot Port authorities prior to departure, and its passenger list was made public. Israel's deplorable attack on the unarmed Dignity is a violation of both international maritime law and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea,which states that "the high seas should be reserved for peaceful purposes."Delivering doctors and urgently needed medical supplies to civilians is a just such a "peaceful purpose." Deliberately ramming a mercy ship and endangering its passengers is an act of terrorism.
CALL the Israeli Government and demand that it immediately STOP attacking the civilian population of Gaza and STOP using violence to prevent human rights and humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people.Mark Regev in the Prime Minister's office at:+972 2670 5354 or +972 5 0620 3264mark.regev@it.pmo.gov.ilShlomo Dror in the Ministry of Defence at:+972 3697 5339 or +972 50629 8148mediasar@mod.gov.ilMajor Liebovitz from the Israeli Navy at:+ 972 5 781 86248

A HAPPY NEW YEAR?

As the bombs and rockets continue to rain in the Middle East, all that talk just a week ago of peace and goodwill rings more than a little hollow. Watching the appalling scenes in Gaza is enough to make one despair at man's inhumanity to man. But at least people round the world are registering their horror at the carnage and calling for a ceasefire now. It is utterly horrendous that Israel continues this obscene onslaught on a country wherem as Jeremy Corbyn points out, the vast majority of people are struggling to even survive.
The Govt has announced some £6million in humanitarian aid for Palestine which is good news but of course it will not get through until the killing stops. That is why all of us must do what we can in protest - be that braving the cold to wave banners in Hebden Bridge, going to London or Manchester for the national demonstrations on Saturday, or even just thinking beyond our immediate concerns to imagine how horrendous life must be in Gaza at the moment for all the Palestinians .
It is hard to imagine this will be a happy New Year for any of them.If you want to join in any of the demonstrations , details are on the stopthewarcoalition website....

GAZA VIGIL HEBDEN BRIDGE

Had call earlier tonight from friend who with thousands more had braved sub-zero temperatures in London to make the Gaza protest outside the Israeli Embassy. Well done to all the thousands who are protesting all over the country. Tomorrow night at 5pm we are doing out bit here in Hebden at 5pm at the traffic lights in the centre of town. I will be there. Bring a candle....

FAG END OF THE YEAR.....

It's that time of year when you find yourself mooching round the house and getting a bit melancholy - thinking of the past year's disappointments and also safe in the knowledge that 2009 will also have its fair share of knockbacks. There is also the dreadful news from Gaza and no doubt there will be more before the current wave of violence ends.
In my mooching I just came across a speech I wrote in 1981 when I was trying to stand as a local councillor in south-east London. It is hand-written and, amazingly, legible, as things had to be in those days before computers. I would have written it in one draft and it is VERY long.The interesting thing is, of course, that most of what I said then I would also say today so either I am utterly immature or else capitalism and socialism are, now as then, mutually incompatible.It's interesting to ponder what would have happened to my life had I actually been selected as the candidate for Anerley ward .The chances are that I would have stayed in London instead of moving back north in 1984. Who knows.
Today there is a Gaza vigil in Halifax which I can't make due to another commitment but let's hope for some better news and let's also hope that the election of Barack Obama brings us some positives.
At the fag end of the year, I also resolve that once again I will give up smoking - the "sneaky fags" partaken of at times of stress have escalated to the pitch where I can no longer pretend I am not a smoker - and after my recent bout of flu and several chest infections in 2008 it is utter madness to carry on.

KEIGHLEY PARLIAMENTARY SELECTION

I have been bloggingfree for the past few days as I have been very busy writing my CV form for the forthcoming Parliamentary selection in Keighley. It has taken many hours and has been perused by one of my most trusted comrades so here's hoping that I get through the first stage - which is to be nominated by a Branch or affiliate. Some have counselled that I have no chance as a left-winger but let me just say that if someone with 30 years' experience in the Labour Party and trade union movement cannot at least have a go what kind of Party are we in ? I leave it to the members in Keighley to decide. In 2007 they wished to nominate John McDonnell as Labour Leader and so did the sitting MP Ann Cryer so let's just see what happens.... Obviously I have a campaign strategy and tactics but I will not be revealing them on the blog .But journalists in the area who wish to interview me are of course welcome to get in touch......

DEATH OF A RADICAL

Youth so they say is wasted on the young - not sure whether that's true or not but my leftie rhetoric is definitely wasted on my sister's kids, who have somehow missed out on the political gene enjoyed by previous generations and can't be doing with any of it. Which is fair enough. They are nice kids, intelligent and I have doted on them since they were babies but it is kind of dispiriting that they say they "don't believe in" anything. I don't mean to sound pious ( probably do) but I find the notion of life without some sort of moral compass very bizarre, indeed pointless. Today as we entered the No Man's Land between Xmas and New Year I was reading Harold Pinter's obituary ( predictably I suppose I have always been a fan) and the following quote from a recent lecture leapt out at me.

"Sometimes a writer has to smash the mirror- for it is on the other side of that mirror that the truth stares at us. I believe that despite the enormous odds which exist, unflinching , unswerving, fierce intellectual determination, as citizens, to define the real truth of our lives and our societies is a crucial obligation which devolves upon us all. It is in fact mandatory.

If such a determination is not embodied in our political vision we have no hope of restoring what is so nearly lost to us - the dignity of man." Quite.

HEATHROW EXPANSION SET FOR GREEN LIGHT FROM GOVT

Influenza has turned my brain to mush in past few days so thanks to Comrade Curlew ( she knows who she is! ) for alerting me to the fact that Gordon Brown is, against all received wisdom, and in the face of serious opposition, seemingly hell-bent on Heathrow expansion.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/dec/20/heathrow-third-runway-brown

See also John McDonnell's blog for comments and video from the recent Climate Change demonstration.

HAVE YOURSELF A. MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS

I try not to be cynical at Christmas. And four days comatose with flu ( from which still recovering) has left me weakly succumbing to seasonal schmaltz even more than I usually do . My annual helping of kitsch classics normally includes The Railway Children ( filmed just down the road on the Keighley and Worth Valley line), The Sound Of Music and, if possible, Meet Me In St Louis. The latter film also includes my favourite Christmas song ever ie Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas. Why so? Because, unlike many other seasonal ditties, it recognises that, for most of us, this time of year is tinged with sadness as well as happiness. It also recognises that the best way to deal with the whole process is to concentrate on the positives rather than negatives. And, trite as it sounds, count one's blessings. Thus, I have managed to get out of bed, will make the HB carol service in the square at 6.30 and then train to Manchester where tonight and tomorrow will spend Christmas with my immediate family, most notably my 88-year-old dad whose health gave us serious cause for concern earlier this year. We shall drink champagne ( bought by said parent) , eat a splendid meal ( which I don't have to cook) and do the same things millions of other families across the country do. It's not the stuff of Hollywood movies, it's not going to be anything spectacular. But there is still plenty to celebrate. I wish all my blog readers a " merry little Christmas " Even those who don't agree with a word I say......

LEFT IN THE LURGY....

As happens more or less every Christmas , I have been csuddenly poleaxed by flu and a vile chest infection so don't expect much blogging over next few days. Trying desperately to get well for Christmas Day and can hardly make it to computer......

LET'S NOT BE LOAN SHARKS....

I'm glad to note that one of my local MPs, Burnley's Kitty Ussher, has moved fast to retract claims the Government was considering imposing interest rates of 27 per cent on social loan payments. Joined , also by former Labour Leader Lord Kinnock and Terry Rooney MP who is chair of the relevant Select Committee. But it's sadly a measure of how far things have moved that anyone would even consider it was true. And, frankly, I wouldn't put anything past James Purnell. Update: Sorry about earlier typo to which Duncan has drawn my attention!

NO SPLIT FOR LABOUR LEFT

Jon Cruddas's latest predictions that the Labour Left is set to leave Labour are way off the mark. I don't know how he has the gall to predict that our masterplan is a new left Party when it has been made clear by the LRC time and again that we do not regard this as a viable or desirable strategy.
In a webcast "conversation" with the IPPR and that great socialist Martin Kettle, he baldly states that John McDonnell and other left MPs are planning to up sticks and that the Convention Of The Left - which he played no part - was a surrogate bid to go in that direction. Which is utter nonsense. So there are two conclusions.
Either Cruddas has been wrongly informed, which is excusable, or he is being deliberately provocative in a bid to badmouth the LRC and misrepresent its policy position.
The COL was NOT, repeat not, an attempt to set up a new party. Had it been so, we would not have got involved. If he had done his research properly, he would know that. Such public statements are reprehensible and , as Vice-Chair of the LRC, I'm absolutely outraged he should make them.
The Labour Left has every right to fight its corner, win or lose, within the Labour Party. That's where we are and where we are staying. To suggest otherwise is either wishful thinking or downright malicious.

GORDON AS THE GOOD SAMARITAN

The Times reports an interesting exchange between the Archbishop of Canterbury,
seemingly against interventionist moves by the State in the current economic crisis, and the Prime Minister
Drawing on the parable of the Good Samaritan, Gordon has reportedly said: “I think the Archbishop would also agree with me that every time someone becomes unemployed or loses their home or a small business fails it is our duty to act and we should not walk by on the other side when people are facing problems. "
I entirely agree with what Brown has said and I applaud the fact that the Government did intervene to stop the banks spiralling into financial meltdown. I also applaud the fact that the language is getting tougher on fat cat profits by the City - and there will be more help to homeowners facing unemployment and the prospect of losing their homes.
I just wish the Government would ditch its ideological obsession with privatisation , which in the case of the Royal Mail will lead to more job losses, stop dreaming up punitive legislation on Welfare Reform, adopt a more humane policy on immigration, support a more progressive, equitable tax system so the investments needed to create jobs and make people more secure in their homes could be made. And, above all, recognise that fairness for all, especially the "hard-working families" we hear so much about, is just not compatible with the enthusiasm for globalisation and market -led capitalism which New Labour is still advocating.

BAH HUMBUG.....

I could blame it on the fact I have attended at least half a dozen Christmas plays and carol services in my Mayoral capacity. Could blame last weekend's whistle-stop tour of France and London involving sundry political meetings.

The fact is that every Christmas I end up utterly panic-stricken in the last three days and posting cards on the very last day where it's humanly possible they get there in time. Presents still remain to be bought and I have just done a rabbit caught in headlights tour of the local shops to get the pressies for the friends am meeting tonight for dinner.

One year I got so panic-stricken that I ended up buying the same book for a friend I had bought him for his birthday ( Karl Marx by Francis Wheen) . This year on my birthday he returned the compliment by buying me a DVD version of a video bought several years before.......I hope this experience is not repeated tonight when we all meet up at the St Petersburg restaurant in Manchester. A new culinary experience which I also hope is better than my last experience of Russian food in Leningrad in 1989, when our delegation all ended up with food poisoning. To be honest, it's got to the stage where my dearest wish is probably an alcohol-free few days at a vegan health spa. Still, on with the festivities......

SPIES IN THE CAMP....

It now becomes clear why Derek Draper wished to attend our left-wing bloggers' forum Monday Night. Seems he is lining up his own "bloggerati" brotherhood - needless to say my fellow leftie bloggers are not on DD's invite list which has been leaked to the Guido Fawkes blog.

HELLO, DOLLY< WHAT WORLD ARE YOU LIVING IN?

When you are part of the New Labour elite, life is a parallel universe. One in which you are immensely privileged and get more access to the media than the rest of us .So Derek Draper, writing in today's Guardian, seems to believe a rejuvenated Labour Government is on the up and that it's glad confident morning again for his cronies.
Derek, aka "Dolly" Draper, was one of the architects of The Project and a bag-carrier for Mandelson - he's recently been rehabilitated ( like his boss) Bizarrely, he almost turned up to our meeting the other night of the New Left Media Forum. It would have been interesting if he had because he might have been challenged for once in his take on political life.
I get back from France to find the Royal Mail being privatised, unemployment at its highest for many years and of course the wheels in motion to punish the poor and vulnerable via the Welfare Reform Bill .
We on the left will continue to fight those measures but if they do go through it will be with the help of the Tories who will block a backbench rebellion.
The good news is that the troops are seemingly on the way back from Iraq and due to their complete ineptitude the Tories' lead has been narrowed in the polls.
But that is a hell of a long way from what Draper describes as a " a shift towards Labour values." and a government which is on the side of working-class people. Whatever the empty rhetoric people like Draper and Purnell come up with.

HOME AGAIN

It was an excellent trip. Bizarre. But nevertheless fun to leave HB at 6am on Friday, fetch up in our French twin town via Dover and suddenly be enscogood idea nced at the Xmas party for council workers in St Pol de Ternoise. The trade unions had shelled out on champagne and the mood was grand as Pere Christmas arived with presents for the kids. Then the difficult bit.
Being shipped out on my own to stay with the new Mayor who is a Sarkozy man. As I speak hardly any French, and he likewise Anglais. not an appealing prospect. I waved goodbye to Socialist Party chums with a sinking heart but of course just had to make the best of it in the interests of "jumelage" . The Hebden Bridge Junior Band played splendidly , and much merriment was had despite the freezing weather. Then on to London for a couple of meetings , including last night's Left New Media Forum. Tonight I was in Leeds for a meeting of the Leeds Campaign Group, which is in the process of affiliating to the LRC. So I am utterly exhausted.....
Not least because my haul from across the Channel included a bottle of Grand Marnier for the female friend I was staying with last night in Chiswick. NOT a good idea to open it on returning from Westminster. Tomorrow morning am meeting a trade unionist from Australia so I think it best to crash out immediately......

BLOGGING BREAK.....

Up at 5am tomorrow to embark on marathon coach journey from Hebden Bridge to our twin town in St Pol sur Ternouise - an hour's drive from Calais but 10 hours from HB. Then on to London Sunday night via Dover and not back here till Tuesday.May. or may not, get time to check in. Get those letters/e-mails written to your MP re Welfare Reform Bill.....

WHY WE'RE OPPOSED TO WELFARE REFORM BILL

I watched Channel 4 News last night in disbelief as the normally combative Jon Snow allowed Minister Tony McNulty to baldly state the case for these disgraceful measures as if they were eminently acceptable. The Guardian has also suggested the reforms are broadly acceptable to Labour backbenchers. They are not.
As LRC Chair John McDonnell said yesterday:
"The Government has got its priorities all wrong. It has allowed the bankers to get away with extravagant bonuses and yet is turning on the poorest and most vulnerable.
"It is lunacy to force people into jobs that are not there and to force lone parents to take-up childcare which is either unaffordable or non-existent.
"There is widespread and growing dismay at the Government's dismantling of the welfare state built by the post-war Labour government. This smacks of unfairness and will cause revolt and revulsion across the labour and trade union movement."
Today I also received a missive from a comrade in Islington North CLP who has written to his MP Jeremy Corbyn stating the case against the proposals. It is very clear and a useful template for anyone else wishing to lobby their MP . As follows:

In July the Government published the Green Paper ‘No one written off: reforming welfare to reward responsibility' announcing plans to change the current provision of support.

Many of the plans were unacceptable when they were first published and the worsening economic situation should lead to a fundamental rethink. However the government is pressing ahead despite the current global economic downturn which is leading to increasing levels of unemployment. As a result we have come together.

The government's proposals remove entitlements and fail to value the important work of parents and carers. Parents with young children, carers, sick, disabled, people with mental health problems and other vulnerable groups face tougher tests to qualify for benefits. If they fail they could be cut off with no support. The economy should be geared much more towards caring services for other people, instead of profligate and unsustainable consumerism that only adds to human unhappiness and environmental degradation.

We are opposed to the abolition of Income Support which ends the principle that those in need deserve help. We are opposed to compulsory work for benefits. People should be paid the rate for the job or at the very least be paid the national minimum wage. Why is it that the government is continually obsessed with cracking down on the poor and their benefits, while rich tax dodgers avoid paying their fair share with impunity?

Jobseekers Allowance is shockingly low at less than £10 a day, if it had increased in line with earnings over the past 30 years the rate for a single person over the age of 25 would be more than £100 a week.

The government wants more of the welfare state to be handed over to the private sector. It is wrong to profit from the sick and unemployed. There is also the intention to share information with the police which raises real concerns about civil liberties.
We want voluntary skills training and life long learning opportunities for unemployed people. The government should focus on ensuring that there is more support to access jobs that have fair pay and decent conditions with a guarantee that when people cannot seek work they will not face poverty.

The government should introduce positive measures to challenge discriminatory attitudes held by employers, encourage flexible working practices and expand the provision of affordable childcare.

HOME TRUTHS

Nipped over to Wythenshawe today with some Chinese food and a couple of Tsing Tao beers for my dad whose earlier plan to meet me in Manchester today for lunch was cancelled on doctor's orders.
My dad has voted Labour since 1945 and at 88 remains a Labour man but finds it mystifying that James Purnell is joining forces with the Tories on Welfare Reform.
As he said, it's strange that the Govt can find billions to bail out the banks yet benefit claimants are to be punished in the measures which are causing such widespread revulsion across the labour movement.
Aside from the morality of the issue,why does a Labour Government persist with these draconian "reforms"which, like the 10p tax fiasco, will cost us dearly at the next election?
It's time for all of us in the Labour Party and beyond who are violently opposed to this legislation to stand together and mount a national campaign -lobbying our MPs, getting out onto the streets and making it clear that we did not join Labour to punish people for being out of work. The Welfare Reform Bill is absolute anathema to anyone who regards themselves as a socialist. Let's mount the biggest rebellion yet -and stop it becoming law.

FAREWELL COMRADE NOGGIN

As a child I absolutely adored the TV sagas of Noggin the Nog (and Nogbad the Bad) so a comradely farewell to Oliver Postgate, creator of the aforesaid Nordic hero and sundry other cartoon favourites, including Bagpuss. As well as delighting generations of youngsters, Postgate was a lifelong socialist, CND supporter and pacifist. His mum was the daughter of Labour Party Leader George Lansbury.

WELFARE TO WORKHOUSE- THE FIGHT GOES ON

From the Press Association........
Concern grows over benefit reform
41 minutes ago
The Government faces growing concern from backbench Labour MPs about the scale of welfare reform ahead of moves to get more claimants off benefits and into work, it was warned.
A White Paper will be published on Wednesday, which is expected to signal that claimants could have their benefits cut for failing to attend interviews aimed at helping them find work.
Lone parents could also face a stricter regime as part of the Government's drive to get more people into work, including those on incapacity benefit. Labour MPs who campaign on behalf of trade unions in Parliament said opposing the welfare reforms will be one of their main priorities in the coming months.
John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington) said: "The Government has got its priorities all wrong. It has allowed the bankers to get away with extravagant bonuses and yet is turning on the poorest and most vulnerable.
"It is lunacy to force people into jobs that are not there and to force lone parents to take-up childcare which is either unaffordable or non-existent.
"There is widespread and growing dismay at the Government's dismantling of the welfare state built by the post-war Labour government. This smacks of unfairness and another 10p tax rate, which will cause revolt and revulsion across the labour and trade union movement."
Child Poverty Action Group chief executive, Kate Green, said: "The new bill should not reform an inadequate welfare state into an authoritarian welfare state. We need to create an active welfare state for the 21st century that empowers the powerless by breaking down barriers to work, increasing economic equality and enabling high-quality, self-directed skills development."
Charity group One Parent FamiliesGingerbread has criticised the Government's decision to force single parents with children aged one and upwards to get job-ready or face benefit cuts as "unnecessary and inappropriate".
Chief Executive Fiona Weir said: "We know that single parents want to work when it is right for their children, but asking them to jump through additional jobcentre hoops is not the way to help them achieve their ambitions. As the Government's own research shows, the threat of benefit cuts has a negligible impact on parents' decisions about when to work.
A Government-commissioned report last week called for unemployed people to do a 9-5 day looking for work or undertake community service-style duties such as digging gardens. Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell strongly welcomed the report, saying its "direction of travel" was the right way.

SPREADING THE WORD......

Tonight back to The Crescent, one of my old haunts from Salford days, to a meeting of the Salford Left Forum, which was originally an offshoot of the Convention Of The Left and now doing very nicely in its own right as a meeting-point for young socialists (note lower case) . Obviously I do not qualify for the latter accolade but I was asked along to say a word or two about the LRC and why I think the Labour Party is still the place to be etc etc .
The meeting was a really interesting mix of socialists, anarchists, members of Young Labour and one or two people I remember from my days in Salford Labour Party. One young optimist described Hazel Blears as a "class warrior" - well, anything is possible in the current climate I suppose. But all in all a friendly evening and, because I am a little older than comrades who are no doubt still arguing the toss in the pub, I am too tired to comment any further and off to bed. Well done, Alex, get those LRC leaflets circulated lad........

DOG WHISTLE POLITICS CAN ONLY AID THE BNP

My little corner of West Yorkshire is a strange little bubble largely populated by white, middle-class liberals. In nearby Halifax, Bradford and Keighley there is a large Asian and ethnic population and, sadly, lots of support for the BNP.
The way to counter racism is not by pandering to dog-whistle attitudes of the kind espoused by the Daily Mail yet today the Mail is positively triumphalist at the news the Government is to crack down even further on benefits and housing for immigrants.
Under new legislation announced by Minister Phil Woolas, some immigrants will have wait up to 10 years for the right to claim UK benefits and council housing
All legal migrants will have to serve a five year 'probationary citzienship' before being considered for a passport.Some will be eligible for benefits one or two years afterwards.
But others will have to wait another five years before they can claim any benefits at all.
Mr Woolas is quoted thus 'Entitlement to benefits should be for citizens of our country, not other people. If you are a citizen you have earned the right to benefits. People must show they are here to work.'
Such rhetoric is singularly unhelpful and profoundly distasteful from a Labour Minister . In areas like West Yorkshire, it can only serve to fuel the racism of the BNP. If we're in favour of "Hope Not Hate" this is not the way to go.

TRIBUNE SAVED BY MYSTERY BUYER.....

I'm glad to note that Tribune has apparently been saved by a mystery buyer. But the jury is out as to what it will morph into after being jettisoned by the union conglomerate which kept it going in recent years. The mystery benefactor wants to broaden it beyond the Labour Party and include more European news and features.
So the danger is it will become another amorphous left-of-centre magazine - and even less appealing. Tribune was once a serious must-read on the Labour Left but lost its major editorial strength when the Tribune Group of MPs disbanded in the early 1990's. It means well, but it is meaningless without a power base in Parliament. And in recent years many of the articles have been ( excuse my language) piss-poor. Still, I wish the editorial and production staff whose jobs have been saved all the best

TIME TO GET TOUGH WITH THE BANKS

For the past few years I have had what's called a "tracker" mortgage. I took it out a couple of years ago in anticipation of falling interest rates. And guess what, Lloyds TSB has now withdrawn it . Still, I'm one of the lucky ones. Unlike many of the High Street leanders, Lloyds is one of the passing on the full interest rate cut to its borrowers. Many of the rest, including those part nationalised by the Govt, are refusing to do so. People are not impressed with this disgraceful attitude -so much so that John McFall MP was on the news last night calling for full nationalisation unless they did the decent thing and responded to the Bank Of England's one per cent reduction. He seemed to see this as a regrettable threat. I think it should be a promise to all the taxpayers who have helped bail out the banks and mortgage companies from imminent collapse.
Gordon Brown told GMTV yesterday: 'I think banks should really pass on the interest rate cut. We are talking to the banks. Remember last time there was a cut, we had to speak to them before it was passed on and we will be speaking to them again.'
Actions speak louder than words, Gordon. Let's stop the banks and lenders taking the mickey and go for full nationalisation and public ownership.It's our money which is propping up these arrogant profiteers after all .

TOP 40 REBELS WITH A CAUSE........

..The numbers reflect the number of times each MP has rebelled since Gordon Brown came to power in 2007. Compiled by a team of academics and the subject of much column inches in today's papers, the figures make for easy tabloid fodder. Yet no Labour MP votes against the Government without serious thought beforehand. And even the most rebellios largely votes WITH the Government. On issues of principle, from the Trade Union Freedom Bill to 42 Days and the up and coming Welfare Reform Bill, we should be glad there are MPs who are prepared to stand up for their beliefs. They are the conscience of the PLP.

Corbyn, Jeremy 148
Drew, David 75
McDonnell, John 128
Hopkins, Kelvin 97
Hoey, Kate 77
Simpson, Alan 90
Davidson, Ian 37
Taylor, David 52
Jones, Dr Lynne 80
Mitchell, Austin 26
Field, Frank 27
Wood, Mike 47
Flynn, Paul 41
Marshall-Andrews, Bob 58
Prentice, Gordon 39
Riordan, Linda 40
Truswell, Paul 26
Abbott, Diane 37
Burgon, Colin 27
Cook, Frank 22
Fisher, Mark 56
Clark, Katy 36
Godsiff, Roger 24
Havard, Dai 21
Skinner, Dennis 34
Cousins, Jim 21
Grogan, John 32
Campbell, Ronnie 16
Dunwoody, Gwyneth 26
Gibson, Dr Ian 42
Kilfoyle, Peter 25
Mackinlay, Andrew 13
Meacher, Michael 26
Dismore, Andrew 13
Caton, Martin 7 19
Gerrard, Neil 25
Clapham, Michael 26
Dobson, Frank 20
Cohen, Harry 23

NEW ADDS TO BLOGROLL

Welcome to Northern Ireland's Johnny Guitar aka Your Friend In The North and Charlie Marks

DISABLED TAKE TO STREETS IN PROTEST AT WELFARE REFORM PROPOSALS

PEOPLES' DIRECT ACTION NETWORKPRESS RELEASE
Instead of celebrating the International day of Disabled People today, we -and our supporters - are in central London protesting against the government's"Employment Support Allowance" (ESA) and "Work Capability Assessment" (WCA)which are replacing "Incapacity Benefit" (IB).
This punitive economic attackwill hit thousands of the poorest in society, forcing them further into poverty and a discriminatory job market, while thousands more are losingtheir jobs due to the deepening recession.
A DAN spokesperson said: "If the government were sincere in their attemptsto help Disabled Claimants, they wouldn't be cutting benefits or adding new hoops in the process. They would target discriminatory employers and fully appreciate the difficulties those with Invisible and Fluctuating conditionswill have in the job market.
This is a cynical exercise designed to move thegoal-posts in assessments and ensure that many will no longer qualify forthe benefits they have been legitimately receiving."*
Political and media spin - suggesting there has been significantincreases in Incapacity Benefit claims - is misleading. The DWP confirmsthere has actually been a drop in IB claims since 2000.*
A much higher percentage of Disabled People than previously are now livingin the community and claiming benefits, rather than being institutionalised.*
A long hours / short breaks culture (instead of providing flexi-time orwork from home) makes it harder for Disabled People and those with medicalconditions to cope with employment.*
There is a lack of access to meaningful education and training forDisabled People, leading to a lack of qualifications, job skills and therefore decent jobs with adequate incomes.*
ESA and the WCA is an even more punitive benefit and assessment than theprevious procedure . Claimants who fail the new assessment will lose entitlement to Disability Living Allowance (DLA) as well as ESA.
CONTACTS (ON ACTION):Barry: 07508 634 228Clair: 07970 959 791FOR PHOTOS (ON ACTION):Nick: 07956 682 830PRESS CONTACTS:Stella: 07904 935 413Mike: 07956 856 060

WHAT KIND OF WORLD ARE WE LIVING IN WHEN....

Labour Ministers are listening to a crackpot who proposes that "Unemployed people could also be forced to carry out "community punishments" such as litter-picking or gardening if they miss meetings designed to help them back into the workplace."
There are also plans for lie detectors. Work camps , anyone?

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

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


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

http://leap-lrc.blogspot.com

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

WELFARE TO WORKHOUSE

At the recent LRC conference, our Secretary Simeon Andrews referred to a "tidal wave of disgust" at some of New Labour's more reactionary policies. I predict this tidal wave will become a tsunami as James Purnell and Gordon Brown relentlessly try and steer Parliament into voting for punitive welfare reforms - a regime which will be backed by a newly privatised jobs agency. As a member of the Labour Party, it makes me sick to the stomach to read reports such as this one from the Press Association.
In the past few weeks, thousands of job losses have been announced. There will be more as the recession bites. This is what our Labour Government is planning........ no wonder decent people on the left are leaving the Party in droves

James Purnell is considering suspending benefits for some unemployed people
Unemployed people should do a 9 to 5 day looking for work or undertake community service style duties such as digging gardens under moves to tackle the hardcore of joblessness, the author of a Government-commissioned report said.
Professor Paul Gregg said there should be a completely new approach towards people such as parents of young children and those on incapacity benefit.
Virtually everyone on benefits should be required to take steps towards finding a job and should face having their benefits stopped for up to four weeks if they repeatedly refuse to co-operate with attempts to find them work, it was suggested.
Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell said he "strongly welcomed" the report, adding: "
A welfare reform bill will be included in the Queen's Speech on Wednesday, and the report is part of the Government's drive to get more people into work and cut down the numbers on benefit.
Mr Purnell said: "The approach that virtually everyone should be doing something in return for benefits is the right one.
Professor Gregg, of Bristol University, recommended that sanctions should be quicker, clear and more effective, with a simple system of fixed penalties and an escalating series of sanctions for repeat offenders.
The report recommends a swift escalation of sanctions for jobseekers who fail to turn up to meetings and interviews.
Mr Purnell and Prime Minister Gordon Brown have visited Work Directions, a private sector organisation providing employment support and advice to those on incapacity benefit or income support.
Speaking afterwards, Mr Brown said: "We want to get opportunities for people to get jobs. We want to give them all the personal support that is necessary. We want to provide a personal service to everyone. I can assure people, having been here, that there are thousands of vacancies that can be taken up. We are determined to help people." This is not the way to do it.

STOP PUNISHING THE VULNERABLE AND STOP THESE REFORMS IN THEIR TRACKS

On Saturday our local LRC Branch resolved to run a campaign on the horrors of the Government's plans for welfare reform. We were a bit slow off the mark as yesterday's Observer featured a letter signed by a raft of trade union people , anti-poverty campaigners and other interested parties urging a re-think. The statement, co-ordinated by the PCS and signed by Gen Sec Mark Derwotka and Paul Kenny of the GMB, has a raft of signatories including LEAP's Andrew Fisher and Neal Lawson of compass. We will be using it as the basis for our campaign - here's the original text.

As the Observer reported on November 2nd the governments own adviser, the Social Security Advisory Committee has raised concerned about the latest welfare reform proposals.
The welfare state is one of the UK's greatest achievements and supports us all especially vulnerable and unemployed people and their families.
In July the government published the green paper ‘No one written off: reforming welfare to reward responsibility’ announcing plans to change the current provision of support.
Many of the plans were unacceptable when they were first published and the worsening economic situation should lead to a fundamental rethink. However the government is pressing ahead despite the current global economic downturn which is leading to increasing levels of unemployment. As a result we have come together.
The government’s proposals remove entitlements and fail to value the important work of parents and carers. Parents with young children, carers, sick, disabled, people with mental health problems and other vulnerable groups face tougher tests to qualify for benefits. If they fail they could be cut off with no support.
We are opposed to the abolition of Income Support which ends the principle that those in need deserve help. We are opposed to compulsory work for benefits. People should be paid the rate for the job or at the very least be paid the national minimum wage.
Jobseekers Allowance is shockingly low at less than £10 a day, if it had increased in line with earnings over the past 30 years the rate for a single person over the age of 25 would be more than £100 a week.
The government wants more of the welfare state to be handed over to the private sector. It is wrong to profit from the sick and unemployed. There is also the intention to share information with the police which raises real concerns about civil liberties.
We want voluntary skills training and life long learning opportunities for unemployed people. The government should focus on ensuring that there is more support to access jobs that have fair pay and decent conditions with a guarantee that when people cannot seek work they will not face poverty.
The government should introduce positive measures to challenge discriminatory attitudes held by employers, encourage flexible working practices and expand the provision of affordable childcare.
We want the government to rethink its plans. Support our campaign to help create a better welfare state and society.

A HEARTFELT THANKYOU...

To all of you who raised £500 tonight for Overgate, our local hospice. It was a magnificent total and I'm proud of all of you. Particularly the staff at Il Mulino who handed over their tips to help those with life-threatening illnesses. Thanks too to MC Dave Boardman and all the Labour Party and Liberal Democrat councillors who gave support.
There are very few of us who are untouched by the distress which cancer brings. My mother and sister both died of cancer and that's why I chose the hospice as my charity. Tonight, we did our best in their memory and now well on way to achieving my goal of £4000.