TRAMP THE DIRT DOWN.....

I suppose it was inevitable. One year ago, Margaret Thatcher was treated to tea and buns at Number 10. Now Gordon Brown is said to be in talks with the Queen about a state funeral for Margaret Thatcher. In one word, why?

Aside from it obviously being an insult beyond measure for all those chucked on the dole in her 11 years as Prime Minister, I see little reason for this.

I just about remember Winston Churchill's funeral. My granny had the TV on, She was no Conservative, but she wanted to pay her respects - it was only 20 years since the war had ended and I suppose you can see why a grateful nation wanted to honour the man who had led them through the dark days of the Blitz ( even if they voted in Attlee immediately afterwards) .

In my lifetime, several ex Prime Ministers have died. Macmillan, Wilson, Callaghan, Heath. No-one suggested state funerals for them.

Unlike Elvis Costello, I would not dance on Thatcher's grave. Unlike Gordon Brown, I would not honour either a woman whose name is synonymous with misery for millions of working people in this country. She all but destroyed the trade unions and labour movement in the 1980's. Hardly something to be celebrated.

STAND PIES AND STRAWBERRIES

A busy week. Four school assemblies , a walkers' action meeting, and today the delights of the Mytholmroyd Gala and later on strawberries and cream with the Old People's Welfare Committee. You could get very fat being Mayor but I am trying not to...... Lurched from one massive Yorkshire buffet to another today but managed to avoid the vast cakes and even the ( always) irresistible urge to eat those little party pies was contained within reasonable limits.
Tomorrow is the Civic Service in Mytholmroyd - so I am having a rare Saturday night in to recuperate. Amid the readings will be the famous verse by Pastor Martin Niemoller about standing up and being counted. Sometimes - it can have unpleasant consequences. I'm not particularly thick-skinned and it's not pleasant being lambasted. But, on balance, I would still rather express my opinion than not.

UNIONS ROUND ON HUTTON'S PRIVATISATION PLANS

Just one simple question- why isn't John Hutton in the Conservative Party? From today's Morning Star.......

FURIOUS union leaders rounded on New Labour after Business Secretary John Hutton boasted that Britain leads the world in privatising public services.
Mr Hutton proudly unveiled a slanted study led by right-wing economist DeAnne Julius, which recommended more "outsourcing" of public services to profit-hungry privateers.
He pledged: "We will now come forward with measures to support the future development of this sector."
Ms Julius's report claimed that so-called competitive tendering has led to cost savings of between 10 and 30 per cent and also improved service quality in some cases, although it was vague about what benefits had accrued to users.
She said: "Together, these firms provide a huge range of services - from welfare-to-work at the local level to complex military support packages - and, in doing so, make a significant contribution to UK citizens and taxpayers."
But public-sector union UNISON pointed out that the advisory panel appointed by the government for the review was packed with privateers holding lucrative public service contracts.
"We need a genuinely independent review of the public services industry, one that asks whether its increasing role and influence is really in the interests of taxpayers and public service users, rather than simply asking multinational companies what would make their lives easier," said general secretary Dave Prentis.
"Lately, we've heard the usual complaints about the government listening to the trade unions too much, but this exercise shows who's really calling the shots."
Unite assistant general secretary Gail Cartmail called the report "a thinly disguised case for privatisation which fragments public services and does not deliver value for money.
"It is time for an end to this market madness. We are campaigning for the retreat of private-sector involvement in our public services."
General union GMB, which also represents thousands of public service workers, said that the review was "like asking foxes how to make it easier to get into the henhouse."
National officer Brian Strutton said: "This is a completely one-sided report, as you might expect.
"It starts by assuming that public-sector services are best provided by the private sector, but there is no evidence that this is the case.
"It should be balanced by a similar report about in-house services which are generally examples of excellence."
"The idea the report puts forward that public services are an industry is both wacky and dangerous," said Mr Strutton.
"Care for the elderly isn't an industry. Schools are not an industry. Nursing is not an industry. Industry puts profit first and public services are fundamentally different."
Despite the volley of criticism from the labour movement, Mr Hutton claimed: "The ideological battle over using private and third-sector providers is over."
Civil Service union PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka countered that, in the same week as the Julius report, the Commons public administration select committee had said that there is no compelling evidence to support the government's claim that the third sector is "transforming" public services.
"It is appalling that this Labour government is now more obsessed with selling off our public services to put profits in the pockets of millionaires than caring about the lives of the millions of people who rely on those services," he added.

TENNIS WITH TONY......

A game of tennis with Tony Blair was one of the star prizes at a fund-raising dinner for Labour last night. Other goodies included lunch with Alex Ferguson and the chance to be a character in a novel by Alistair Campbell. I gather after-dinner entertainment was provided by Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees. His repertoire, I understand, included that well-known Bee Gees number Tragedy. In Labour's dire financial circumstances, not the wisest of choices. "Stayin' Alive" might have been a better bet.........

DON'T WAIT UP.....

For over 30 years, I have been an inveterate fan of by-elections. The best one was in Chesterfield in 1984 when Tony Benn got back into Parliament after losing his seat but there have been other memorables. In Moss Side in 1978, Vanessa Redgrave stood for the WRP ( she lost) and there were bad ones for Labour like the Bermondsey by-election in 1982 when the Liberals ran a homophobic campaign against Peter Tatchell . Glasgow East is going to be the one which may determine Labour's future but tonight, in Haltemprice and Howden, the result is a foregone conclusion.

I still think David davis is to be admired for standing on the 42 days issue. In the end, I was less convinced that Bob Marshall-Andrews and Tony Benn should officially back him. Labour is in such a bad place at the moment that it doesn't exactly help.......But, given this weeks' debate in the Lords it is seriously likely the conclusion will be is that the legislation is both impractical and illogical. So no late-night stuff for me tonight . But in two weeks' time, will be glued to the TV

BORIS BACKS THE LIVING WAGE

Surefootedness is all in politics and Boris Johnson has scored a populist coup by announcing he will pay the Living Wage - £7.40 an hour - to all staff employed by the Greater London Authority and related bodies, including Transport for London.
A cynic might well argue this is a populist ploy and typical of the way the Tories are now positioning themselves as the party of social justice. Such a stance may once have attracted hoots of derision and, as we know, the truth is rather different but sadly at the moment they are stealing march after march from Labour.
I was glad to note Gordon Brown making it clear on his stance on Mugabe at the G8 summit but some closer attention to domestic matters including the plight of the low-paid - and a real increase in the Minimum Wage -would be seriously helpful to Labour's chances of recovery. He should also stop the tough talking to the unions and accept their demands at the Warwick 2 meeting in a few weeks' time. Several large slices of humble pie are required from the Prime Minister if he is to win back our supporters.
Talking of which I'm sorry Gordon but I really could not face another lunch of cabbage soup . After three days of stoical munching through a concoction of dried beans, onions and a Savoy mulched up in the liquidiser, it has ended up in the bin. The good news is I just found some half-price broccoli and celery at the co-op so will get going again at the chopping-board.

LET'S BUILD MORE SOCIAL HOUSING - NOT LAY PEOPLE OFF

Fears of recession deepen as the housing industry faces a serious slump - and serious implications for jobs.
Today, major players Bovis and Redrow have revealed they are in the process of shedding about 40 per cent of their workforce - 400 jobs at Bovis, and around 550 at Redrow.
The news comes a day after another housebuilder, Persimmon, announced that 1,100 full-time staff had been cut since January.
Last week, other developers including Taylor Wimpey and Barratt Developments together revealed around 3,200 job losses. Why? Because the demand for homes to buy has been drastically hit by rising prices, falling wages, and general fear of economic downturn. Yet affordable homes are needed now more than ever.
The slump in the homeowner market could be used as an opportunity for now redundant development sites to be transformed into places where social housing could be built. Thousands live in sub-standard rented accommodation. The Government should step in and facilitate the building by local authorities or housing associations of much-needed homes for rent. And save the jobs of thousands of building workers in the process

HE WALKS THE LINE ....

My best mate Coun Dave Young has the dubious accolade of being the most frequent visitor to my blog. He is also a mega-fan of the late, great Johnny Cash who I became converted to after seeing the film Walk The Line. In a world where we can garner many political enemies, we need our allies. So as a tribute to the friends who do walk the line when it matters here's a fab picture of the coolest man in country. More in the Guardian

HIGH NOON IN EASTERHOUSE

Glasgow East is a tough, traditional Labour constituency. The kind of place where a monkey with a red rosette would once have won without blinking. Now it has become High Noon for Gordon Brown. In recent days I have been excoriated for suggesting as much but that is the truth and the truth is something I do not shy away from.
Those still in the bunker hurl the usual insults about the Left being "dinosaurs" and subscribing to outdated ideology. But the truly outdated ideology here is that of New Labour.
Yet, with Armageddon staring him in the face the Prime Minister urdges stern warnings to trade unionists and tells people to eat leftovers as he tucks in to a lavish banquet at the G8 summit.
In a strange accident of timing, "Warwick 2", a gathering of trade unionists and the National Policy Forum, is only two days after the by-election. One ray of hope is that thousands of progressive amendments have been tabled by constituencies on everything from Trident to trade union rights and council housing. Let us hope that many are taken on board and that at least get a hearing at Labour Party Conference.
But this is thin stuff compared with what really needs to be done - which is a seismic shift in Government thinking. I remain pessimistic this will happen.
If Labour fights a good campaign in Glasgow East - then maybe we can hang on to the seat. The fact it should even be in doubt shows just how serious a situation we are in. And, no, it isn't just the usual suspects who are putting their haeds above the parapet to say that.
Manchester Blackley Labour MP Graham Stringer, hardly a serial rebel, says in today's Morning Star "The mood has really hardened against Gordon. Labour MPs, before the Crewe by-election, were saying they didn't want to win because it would prolong the agony and they are now saying the same about Glasgow East.
"The truth is that winning Glasgow won't save Gordon Brown and losing it will probably mean the end is even sooner."

PROGRESS /Compass meeting in Liverpool

I wasn't there - John Spence was . See what you think.........

Latest Rumour Is........

That Harriet Harman is going to step in and challenge Gordon Brown in the event of things turning for the worse. Ironic, really, given her allegiance to "Team Brown" but a year ago. However, it is perhaps a measure of how bad things are that I find myself thinking it would at least NOT be Miliband or Purnell. And of course a woman......If this scenario ever came to pass ( and I think it's just the start of the silly season, really) HH would NOT be the first female Leader of the Labour Party. Technically, that's Margaret Beckett. I do know women MPs of the Left who have time for her. I cannot really comment. Other than to say never underestimate the ambition of any politician. And that, in a straight fight between Harman and New Labour Suits like Burnham or Balls, I would support her.

TRADE UNIONS GET COLD SHOULDER

Tony Benn always famously says that politics is not about personalities - but policy. So let's remind ourselves WHY many of us opposed Gordon Brown becoming Leader . It wasn't his lack of charisma, his prudent Presbyterian ways ( of which being a Northern Ireland hybrid I know plenty) or any other personal deficiencies.
It was the fact we knew that the path Gordon Brown was going to take, pro business and anti trade union, was not a Labour agenda which would win back our core supporters. Now, at a time when the trade unions are basically propping Labour up from bankruptcy, and appealing in very reasonable terms for some modest reforms at Warwick 2 , here's his answer.
If it sounds familiar, that is because it is the same neo-liberal guff he was spouting when he debated with John McDonnell and Michael Meacher . Now, as then, it's simply unacceptable rhetoric from a Labour Prime Minister

"Successful governments are those whose eyes are fixed on the future not harking back to the past. The countries that prosper in the future will be those that combine fairness with flexibility to achieve full employment.
"So there will be no return to the 1970s, the 1980s or even the 1990s when it comes to union rights, no retreat from continued modernisation and there can be no question of any re-introduction of secondary picketing rights.
"While we will push ahead with our family-friendly agenda we will do nothing that puts employment and future prosperity at risk."

MAKE DO AND MEND......

This post was written three hours ago - interrupted by a power cut. Nice to know that rising utility company prices are paying dividends for the consumer......... still, amid the serious pain of rising food and fuel prices, we now know what to do . The advice to hard-up householders from our Great Leader is to re-discover the thrifty ways of our forbears and , hey, maybe the average household could save £8 a week.
Actually, I'm something of an expert in cheese-paring. Last week I bought a chicken ( free-range, reduced) for £2.50 and managed to make an excellent coq au vin for two AND roast the other half which meant there were two more meals for me - and the cat had the dodgy bits. Then I boiled up the carcass and made soup. My fridge is a beacon of non-waste. But, frankly, it is not enough to keep the wolf from the door. In fact the wolf is pretty much sitting down at my dinner table with his teeth bared and ready to tuck in.
In years to come, I will no doubt look back at this fallow period employment-wise and laugh about it. The reality at present is not so funny for me- nor millions of others facing penury.
And sitting round in the dark for several hours while electricity suppliers get their act together is even less amusing........
It is a gross miscalculation on the part of Number 10 to issue wartime-like pronouncements on belt-tightening when our oppos on the well-off side of the fence are richer than they have ever been. I always thought it was the job of a Labour Government to look after the less well-off and aim to make things more equitable. But no, it's all our fault for being wasteful.
Meanwhile, the vultures are gathering around Gordon Brown and the line seems to be if Glasgow East goes down the tubes then that, basically, is it.
Someone has suggested I will take great delight in the loss of this hitherto safe constituency. That is, to be blunt, bollocks. I think it will be an absolute disaster - and terrible news for EVERY Labour MP in the UK. So what to do? Can we really go on with a Leader who clearly won't take the steps necessary to turn Labour's fortunes round ie change of POLICY. In a word, no. And it is arguable it would be better to pull the plug now than carry on with a Leader who is, I'm sad to say, an electoral liability.

FARCE IN GLASGOW EAST

You couldn't make it up....Labour has had to draft in Margaret Curran MSP a last-minute candidate in Glasgow East after the hot contender pulled out amid allegations of housing benefit fraud - doesn't look good does it? . The SSP has announced it will stand Frances Curran.....yes a candidate with the same surname. Not exactly helpful to Labour....I hope I am wrong but I predict another Crewe and Nantwich - and a serious Labour leadership crisis

LENIN AT THE LAUNCH OF SOUTH YORKSHIRE LRC!

Today I met Lenin at the launch of the South Yorkshire LRC.........Lenin Williams, proud son of a socialist and trade unionist who helped transform Wortley Hall, near Barnsley into the stately home of the Labour movement in South Yorkshire. Run as a co-operative and since 1951 owned and run by the labour movement, the Hall has offered support and solidarity to socialists from all over the world. In 1984, it served meals to striking miners and their families. Delegations from Cuba, the former Soviet Union and ANC have also visited.

Yesterday, around 50 people took a break from the beer and bouncy castles of the annual South Yorkshire Show to hear local MP Mick Clapham talk with some anger and a lot of passion about the disappointment people have felt in the 11 years since New Labour came to power. He reiterated that fact that it is only by changing policy direction that we can escape disaster at the next General Election. And that he welcomed the forming of the local LRC as a way of putting pressure on the Government and re-building Party membership .
Mick reported that in his own constituency, Party membership had fallen from about 750 to about half that number. The other speaker ( apart from me) was Joe Simpson of the Prison Officer's Association, , who gave a stirring speech in support of the POA's fights on pay and the right to strike.

From my point of view, there were many encouraging things about this meeting. Firstly, apart from those who had come with me from Hebden Bridge, there was absolutely nobody there who I already knew. South Yorkshire clearly has many Labour Party members ( and ex members) still keen to engage in ideas.

Secondly, those who had no idea what the LRC was ( but came to meeting anyway) were really enthusiastic. There was another comrade there from Sheffield LRC, so we are building links now right across Yorkshire and the Humber. And as fun as thr blogosphere is nothing actually makes up for the chance to meet people face-to-face and know you are not on your own - with most political events taking place in and around London, it can be a little dispiriting on the Labour Left.

So - Yorkshire now has at least three LRC groups. Together with Nottingham, Merseyside and the North-East we are slowly building a swathe of support which goes way beyond London. I hope as many regional LRC members as possible stand for election to our National Committee at the LRC conference in November- in the meantime let's ensure as many as possible get to the Convention of the Left in Manchester

SNOUTS IN THE TROUGH

Yesterday, during my weekly stint in Oxfam , I picked up an excellent bargain. A brand-new IKEA bathroom mat for just £3.99. Somehow, I cannot imagine the likes of Home Secretary Jacqui Smith perusing the local charity shops for dinky household items. They don't need to - thanks to the "John Lewis list." Actually, my brother-in-law works for John Lewis so I could probably take advantage of his staff discount. Tbe fact is that, even with a discount, John Lewis is way off my scale. And millions of others on ordinary incomes and ordinary lifestyles. Yet MPs feel entitled to take £23,000 a year from the public purse so their second homes can look good.
No wonder people are disgusted with their political representatives - they do not live on the same planet as the rest of us. Even Peter Kilfoyle, Militant witch-hunter turned left-winger ( of a sort) arged for this disgraceful example of "snouts in the trough" syndrome.
As Westminster corresponder David Hencke says in today's Guardian: " If MPs think the public are going to be sympathetic to the case for cash for pergolas, kitchens and plasma screen TVs in their London homes, they do not live in the real world.

LET'S END THIS STERILE DEBATE - AND GET OUT IN THE CONSTITUENCIES

There is nothing more guaranteed to see the Left throwing rocks at each other than the endless debate about whether socialists should stay in the Labour Party - or leave. So let's talk about the real world. Where at the next election ALL Labour MPs face a struggle to stay in Westminster .

Such is the nature of the Labour meltdown that it's not just New Labour MPs who are in danger. My constituency Calder Valley has a wafer-thin majority( 1300) but as we're in the thick of the process of selecting a PPC I'll leave comment on that for later.

Next door is Halifax, where we have an LRC supporter Linda Riordan (pictured) and in the next valley Batley and Spen, constituency of Mike Wood. You won't see Mike on national platforms or on Newsnight. But he is a rock-solid, down-to-earth socialist whose voting record is impeccable on everything from 42 days to the Trade Union Freedom Bill. His majority is only a couple of thousand. Across the Pennine border in Pendle is Gordon Prentice. Gordon, unlike Mike and Linda, is not a member of the Campaign Group nor as far as I know officially signed up to the LRC. But he votes "left" far more often than some members of the Campaign Group and , unlike some of them also, nominated John McDonnell as Leader.

Talking to comrades from elsewhere in the country, we are pretty fortunate in this part of the country in having such traditional Labour representatives at Westminster. But we could well lose them. Pretty soon.

If Labour loses Glasgow East then Gordon Brown will be in an impossible position. Under pressure , he may stand down. In which case I don't think the public would countenance another unelected Prime Minister. There could well be a snap General Election in which case none of us will have the luxury of theoretical angst about the "reclaimability" of the Labour Party. Constituency by constituency, we'll be fighting to stop a landslide Tory victory.

Now I can understand there will be many with New Labour MPs who won't feel particularly inclined to bust a gut to return MPs who voted for war, privatisation , 42 days, and all the other policies which have brought us to the edge of the abyss. So my message is very simple. Put your energies into places where hard-working socialists are at risk of losing their seats. Here in West Yorkshire, we will welcome any help we can get. Because, like everywhere else, we are suffering from the loss of activists fed-up with this Government's endless triangulation to the right. BUt now we have a serious job to do......to try and ensure that Left MPs do not go down with the rest of the sinking ship that is New labour

KEITH VAZ AND THE LETTER

Anyone seriously surprised that the 42 days vote was won by Tammany Hall-style backroom dealing? We know the DUP were bought off , that MP after MP was bribed, cajoled and bullied into toeing the line. That , let's face it, is how Brown became Leader without a contest. And people wonder why Labour is doing so badly?
The electorate is not stupid. The electorate has had enough. At what price did Brown win that 42 days vote? One which may bring him down in the next few months.

SOUTH YORKSHIRE LRC LAUNCH

It is just under a year since the LRC went national and started to form regional groups across the UK. One of the first was in West Yorkshire. In difficult times politically, we have held it together and met regularlyin Halifax and Hebden Bridge. It would be great to report we now have hundreds of members in and outside the Labour Party. What we have is a base to build on - and a core of supporters loyal to the principles on which the Labour Party was founded.
On Saturday, I wil be speaking at the launch of the South Yorkshire LRC. I think I am billed as Susan West but it's an easy mistake to make...... the meeting is part of the Wortley Hall weekend hosted by the co-op and local MP Michael Clapham will be key speaker. What am I going to say?
First, let's make one thing absolutely clear. I understand there have been recent accusations in my locality that the LRC is a "party within a party" on the lines of Militant. It is not.
The constitution of the LRC is loosely similar to that of the Fabian Society and anyone who does not believe me is welcome to peruse it.
We do not stand candidates against Labour. Those who do stand against Labour cannot join the LRC . Our meetings are open, democratic, with no centralised control.
Policy is decided at the annual AGM .
In times like these, it is understandable that people yearn for "quick fix " solutions to the abyss the Left is looking into. There aren't any.
The hopes we had of "re-claiming " the Party once Blair had gone have not really materialised. Party membership still falls. Trade union leaders let us down.
But the only, serious way we can fight back is from the bottom upwards. Ones and twos, Branch Labour Parties and Constituencies. Talking, also, to comrades who cannot stomach the thought of officially aligning themselves with the Labour Party.
I think they are wrong. I think projects like the "Campaign For A New Workers Party" are utter folly. They only play into the hands of the right. But let us try and have respect for each other's values.
In the shape of the LRC, we have a 1500-strong group which is now the largest on the Labour Left. And, to the right of us, there is Compass.
I have little faith in its leadership. But I do believe there are issues on which we can and must work together with the ordinary members - many of whom are also members of the LRC.
But what is also absolutely crucial is that as many Branch Labour Parties and CLPs afiliate to the LRC to increase our representation at a national level. The South Yorkshire LRC is part of that movement and I look forward to meeting more people on Saturday.

GAME UP FOR GORDON

I think it was Harold MacMillan who said that "events, dear boy, events" govern political successes and failures. And apologies for not blogging earlier today but like many others in these very difficult times am fire-fighting financial Armageddon and trying to work out how to survive. Kind of stops one feeling creative.....
This much I know. Gordon Brown has had it. The reality is anyone, and I mean ANYONE, would deliver better election results than the co-architect of New Labour has a cat in hell's of doing.
Glasgow East , if lost, will spell the end for Gordon Brown. I have that on reliable authority which I am not at liberty to distribute. Let's just say it's a senior Labour figure.
Now I think that's a sad end to a political career which started so spectacularly well and if only Gordon had hung on to his socialism but frankly I am more concerned now about the many decent Labour MPs who will go to the slaughter if Brown refuses to go quietly.
What we are looking at now is basically a salvage operation - a damage limitation strategy. I have not very much time for Jack Straw. Nor Alan Johnson. But they are, if truth be told, the likely caretakers. Miliband won't go anywhere near this extremely poisoned chalice. In any case, he could be out at the next election
My take is this. If either of them have the Party's interests at heart ( and they probably do) now is the time to go to Gordon and say - you had your chance, you've messed it up, now our priority is saving the Labour Party from annihiliation. The Tories do it. And now must we.
Or we may never have a Labour Government again in my lifetime.