Saturday, June 08, 2024

UK

Arming Israel’s war on Gaza: Tory scandal, Labour shame


Leave a Commenton Arming Israel’s war on Gaza: Tory scandal, Labour shame
“Far from being gesture politics, the unwillingness of the US, UK, and other governments to halt arms sales has emboldened Israel which is pressing ahead with its attack on the Palestinian people in defiance of international law and international outrage.”
Carol Turner

By Carol Turner, Vice-Chair of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament & Convenor of CND’s International Advisory Group

If anything can convince the British government, out-going or in-coming, that the UK must halt arms exports to Israel, the Rafah offensive should. Day by day, hour by hour, the toll of Palestinian dead and injured slowly mounts. As far back as December President Netanyahu made clear that military operations would go on throughout 2024. In the midst of the Rafah carnage, and despite the international outcry, he recently reiterated this.

David Cameron has dismissed the idea of halting arms sales as gesture politics. Britain, he claims, supplies ‘less than 1% of Israel’s arms’.i Grant Shapps recently told parliament ‘defence exports to Israel are relatively small—just £42 million last year’.ii This deliberate misdirection is echoed by Labour.

The UK is among the world’s biggest arms exporters, the seventh largest in 2023.iii Arms manufacturers in Britain need a government licence to export military goods, software and technology overseas.iv Applications are evaluated against criteria which include Britain’s obligations under international law and the risk that exported items might be used in the violation of human rights.

No arms export licence should be granted if there’s a clear risk the items: v

  • might be used to ‘commit or facilitate’ internal repression or a serious violation of international humanitarian law; or
  • would undermine internal, regional, or international peace and security.

Existing licences can be revoked if they don’t match the criteria. But the government has resisted the introduction of post-shipment verification or end-use monitoring of military exports from the UK.vi

BAE Systems is a British company and leading supplier of parts for American F35 fighter bombers that the US supplies to Israel. They are being used against Gaza. Campaign Against Arms Trade and others point out that 15% of every US F35 supplied to Israel is built in the UK.vii

This means Britain is complicit in what’s happening to Palestinians across the Occupied Territories right now.

Individual MPs have spoken up. Leyla Moran, a British Palestinian and a LibDem MP broke the parliamentary consensus by speaking on national media about what was happening to her family there. Labour MPs Richard Burgon and Imran Hussain recently delivered a dossier of evidence on Israeli war crimes in Gaza to the International Criminal Court, evidence compiled from a series of panels they organised in parliament.

In April this year, UK opinion pollsviii showed a majority in favour of banning arms sales after aid workers were killed, including three UK citizens. Plaid Cymru wanted parliament reconvened. Green Party spokespeople have called for the cancelling of all arms export licences, and the LibDems and SNP want suspension.

Last October, Labour MP Zarah Sultana introduced a Private Members Bill calling for a halt to exports to countries ‘where it cannot be demonstrated that arms sold will not be used in violation of international law’ and led a Westminster Hall debate in December. At the end of March, recognising Israel would disregard the UN ceasefire resolution, she coordinated an open letter to Cameron, condemning the government’s failure to act, and calling again for a suspension of arms sales. It was signed by 134 parliamentarians from across the parties, including a Tory peer.

Under pressure from the solidarity movement which, week after week, has taken to the streets in cities and towns across the country, both Conservative and Labour have slowly been forced to increase criticism of Israel. To date, actions have not followed words. Not a single step towards halting British arms exports has been taken by the government, nor has any demand they do so come from the official opposition.

CND takes this issue very seriously indeed. Israel is one of only nine nuclear-armed states in the world, and the only one that doesn’t admit to having them. Israel has not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty designed to limit their spread and secure nuclear disarmament.

The nuclear risks involved in the war on Gaza may not be as remote as they seem. Since the October attack by Hamas, a few Israeli politicians have floated the prospect of using nuclear weapons against Iran or Lebanon. Most of the drones and missiles Iran launched against Israel in April were taken out before they reached their targets. One missile was not. It successfully reached its target, Nevatim in southern Israel, near the Dimona nuclear facility.

Far from being gesture politics, the unwillingness of the US, UK, and other governments to halt arms sales has emboldened Israel which is pressing ahead with its attack on the Palestinian people in defiance of international law and international outrage.

The next 5 weeks of general election campaigning is an opportunity to make our voice heard by every candidate in every constituency across the country. CND members should act, and act now.

i David Cameron, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, 12 May 2024 at https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001z828/sunday-with-laura-kuenssberg-arms-to-israel-gaza-protests-eurovision

ii Grant Shapps, Hansard, House of Commons, 20 November 2023 at https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2023-11-20/debates/776C2068-C460-402F-8826-ECAE91256A56/UKArmsSalesToIsrael#contribution-7ACCD6F1-79D9-4859-9429-EFA71569E209

iii D Pieter et al, Trends in International Arms Transfers 2023, SIPRI at https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/2024-03/fs_2403_at_2023.pdf

iv Louisa Brooke-Holland, An introduction to UK arms exports, House of Commons Library Briefing, 24 January 2024 at https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8312/

v Louisa Brooke-Holland and Nigel Walker, Arms export licences for sales to Israel, Housse of Commons Library Briefing, 7 December, 2023 at https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CDP-2023-0223/CDP-2023-0223.pdf

vi Committees on Arms Export Controls (CAEC) joint report ‘Developments in UK Strategic Export Controls’, 9 January 2024 at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/caec-report-on-uk-strategic-export-controls-government-response

vii BAE Systems, F-35: a trusted partner on the world’s largest defence programme, at https://www.baesystems.com/en/product/f-35-lightning-ii

viii YouGov polls in March and April, reported by the Guardian and others, showed majority support for a suspension of arms sales to Israel, see for example https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/03/majority-of-voters-in-uk-back-banning-arm-sales-to-israel-poll-finds In May, YouGov found opinion had remained static: ‘56% would support the UK ending the sale of arms to Israel for the duration of the conflict in Gaza. Only 20% would oppose this move’ reported https://yougov.co.uk/politics/articles/49366-british-attitudes-to-the-israel-gaza-conflict-may-2024-update

WeThink digital polling, reported by Byline Times in April, found 68% of those surveyed would support a ban, compared to 32% who were opposed https://bylinetimes.com/2024/04/03/brits-want-the-uk-to-ban-arms-sales-to-israel-but-its-political-parties-arent-listening/

Posted by at No comments:
UK
Labour has ‘historic opportunity’ to reverse NHS privatisation, says campaigners

Labour called on to pledge to take outsourced NHS services in-house during first term



Hannah Davenport 
3 June, 2024 

Labour has been told it will have a ‘historic opportunity’ to reverse NHS outsourcing in its first term, if the party wins the general election.

Assuming Labour takes office on July 5, campaign group We Own It has laid out a plan for Labour not to renew private NHS contracts which are set to expire in the first term of the next government, as analysis has found a huge majority of contracts will need renewing over the next four years.

Based on an analysis of NHS contracts, data has shown that the next government will inherit 7,452 contracts, worth a total of £29.1bn, between for-profit private companies and local, regional and national NHS entities in England.

The public ownership campaign group found that 93.7% of these contracts are scheduled to expire before July 2029, worth £19.7bn, leaving the next government with the choice of whether to bring these services back into the NHS.

Over £1bn is the estimated profits private companies stand to make from all NHS outsourcing contracts the next government will inherit, according to public sector procurement specialists Tussell. This money could help hire over 27,000 NHS nurses, or cover the cost of knee replacement surgeries for over 71,000 NHS patients, We Own It argued.

Professor of Accounting at the University of Edinburgh, Christine Cooper, said: “The evidence suggests that measures to bring back outsourced contracts would enable better public services at lower cost.

“Whether to outsource to the private sector is no longer a question of ideology, it is a question of economic interest and empirical evidence.”

Among the big contracts that could be brought in-house are, a £128m deal with Serco to provide catering and cleaning services to University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, and a £2bn contract by Danish diagnostics company Compleo Health Limited.

QI presenter Stephen Fry backed the new research as he blasted, “14 years of the worst outsourcing in the entire history of the NHS”.

“Politicians have historically presented outsourcing as a neutral choice, but it clearly isn’t,” said Fry. “It’s resulting in billions leaving public services in the form of profits, which could instead be used to provide a better service to everyone. And as we see with water, the railway and the NHS, it has not worked.”

The latest polling by We Own It and Survation found that eight in ten people want the NHS to be fully in public ownership. The group has encouraged Labour to make the same pledge for the NHS that it has for public transport, and commit to take almost all outsourced NHS services in house in their first term.

Lead campaigner at We Own It, Johnbosco Nwogbo, said: “Only the NHS has A&Es, trains doctors, and treats everyone however complex their case may be. Building up the NHS to treat everyone who needs care is the most efficient and effective reform a Labour government could introduce.

“The first step is to take back NHS outsourcing contracts when they expire. Labour will get a chance to do right by the NHS, and the public is looking to them to protect the NHS.”

(Image credit: Flickr / Diego Sideburns)

Hannah Davenport is news reporter at Left Foot Forward
Posted by at No comments:
UK

Diane Abbott confirms she ‘intends to run and win’ for Labour

Abbott also denied 'factually incorrect' claims she was offered a peerage if she stood down

June 3,2024 
Left Foot Forward

Diane Abbott said on Sunday evening that she intends to ‘run and win’ in the general election for Labour in the Hackney North and Stoke Newington seat.

It comes after Keir Starmer ended speculation about Abbott’s political future in the party last week and said she was “free to go forward” as a Labour candidate, after she had the whip restored following more than a year long investigation.

On X, Abbott wrote: “I am the adopted Labour candidate for Hackney North & Stoke Newington. I intend to run and to win as Labour’s candidate.”

She also made reference to rumours that circulated over the weekend in the media suggesting the veteran Labour MP had been offered a peerage if she stood down, Abbott slammed the claims as “factually incorrect.”

Sharing a Guardian article on the topic, Abbott wrote: “This is factually incorrect. I have never been offered a seat in the Lords, and would not accept one if offered.”

Yvette Cooper Labour’s shadow Home Secretary also denied the allegations earlier on Sunday morning. It comes after a number of Keir Starmer allies and members of Labour’s national executive committee have picked themselves for safe seats ahead of the general election, amid accusations that left-wing candidates had been ‘purged’.

This includes Keir Starmer’s former advisor Chris Ward in Brighton Kemptown after Lloyd Russell-Moyle, a figure on the left of the party, was deselected at the last minute. He was among a group of left-wing candidates who won’t now be standing for Labour.

Diane Abbott had accused the party of carrying out a “cull” of left-wing candidates last week. And in a now deleted tweet posted last night, Abbott accused Starmer of telling “lies” after he told the media “I’ve got more respect for Diane than she probably realises”, suggesting the fallout from the row continues.

Hannah Davenport is news reporter at Left Foot Forward



Diane Abbott’s future still in spotlight amid new row over Starmer ‘lies’ post


3rd June, 2024, 
© UK Parliament/Roger Harris:


Diane Abbott has declared she intends to “run and win” as the “adopted Labour candidate” in Hackney North and Stoke Newington, as the national executive committee prepares to sign off candidates this week.

Her situation was thrust into the spotlight again on Monday after a BBC journalist posted a screenshot reportedly of a post from Abbott’s X account, which read: “More lies from Starmer”. Nick Eardley said the post was subsequently deleted.

The apparent post referenced an article in The Observer in which Starmer said he respected Abbott more than she realised and the row over her candidacy did not arise as a result of a party purges.

It also came after Abbott disputed an allegation that she was offered a peerage if she stood down.

Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper had similarly on Sunday morning denied allegations some former MPs were offered peerages to stand down to let allies of the Labour leadership take their seats.

A string of candidates supportive of leader Keir Starmer have been handed candidacies in Labour-held seats in the past week, in a centralised selection process attributed to the surprise general election but controversially leaving local parties with no say.

One former MP is reported to have told colleagues they were offered a seat in the Lords to pave the way for another candidate to take their seat. One source alleged to The Sunday Times that Diane Abbott was among the MPs offered a peerage if she were to stand down.

But Abbott said on X on Sunday: “This is factually incorrect. I have never been offered a seat in the Lords, and would not accept one if offered. I am the adopted Labour candidate for Hackney North & Stoke Newington. I intend to run and to win as Labour’s candidate.”

Abbott’s comments come after Keir Starmer said the until-recently-suspended politician could stand in Hackney North.

It was widely seen as a significant rowback after party figures had repeatedly suggested it was a matter for the national executive committee, and disputed claims from some party sources she would be barred. Abbott had then recently vowed publicly to stay on as long as possible.

Yvette Cooper said of the peerage claims on Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips: “No party can do that. It’s not the way the system works. There’s a whole process with the indpeendiet committe that will vet nominations.”

She added: “No party can make those sort of commitments…the thing we do know -we’ve seen a series of quite shocking Conservative resignation honours lists from Boris Johnson to Liz Truss.”

Labour would change how this process works, she added.

Labour and Abbott were approached for comment.

Posted by at No comments:

 UK

“A systematic campaign of racism, Islamophobia & bullying” – Faiza Shaheen statement

, , 1 Commenton “A systematic campaign of racism, Islamophobia & bullying” – Faiza Shaheen statement
“It is the end of a systematic campaign of racism, Islamophobia and bullying from some within the party which began when I first announced that I wanted to run for Labour again.”

Following the factional late removal of Faiza Shaheen as Labour’s candidate for Chingford & Woodford Green in the General Election, Faiza has released the following public statement.

At 9pm last night I learned by email that Labour has removed me as its candidate for Chingford & Woodford Green, less than six weeks before the General Election. The day before, I received an email from the Labour Party summoning me to a “change of circumstances” interview at 6pm that day. At no point did anyone speak to me personally.

My husband was at work and I undertook the interview with three members of Labours national executive – Michael Wheeler, Gurinder Singh Josan and Wendy Nichols – with a crying baby on my lap, with no time to prepare, and suffering from mastitis. My friend, Dawn Butler MP, was allowed into the virtual meeting with me but was told she must stay silent.

The thrust of the questioning was that I had “liked” posts including historic tweets liking Green Party candidates, and criticising Israel and its action in Gaza, and, as a result, I was damaging Labour’s electoral chances. For the record, I immediately condemned the actions of Hamas on October 7th. I support the immediate release of Israeli hostages and organised a vigil with local rabbis, imams, priests and reverends straight after the attack, allowing local people to grieve and reflect together.

I do not see this position as incompatible with the view that there should also be a ceasefire in Gaza, where thousands of women and children have been killed, and humanitarian aid is being denied to starving citizens who are not responsible for the actions of terrorists.

Seats like ours are crucial if Labour is to form the next Government and I have worked tirelessly for over six years to elect our first ever Labour MP here. On the doorstep, one of the key concerns voters have is Gaza, with many angry at the position the national party has taken. I have gone out of my way to address their concerns and persuade them that Labour is still the right choice for the country and that we are worthy of their vote.

It has been challenging for me to fight the campaign with a newborn baby but I have built solid support here for Labour. I have good relationships with local businesses and community groups and everywhere I go people stop me in the street to talk to me about their hopes for change in this marginal seat.

I am heartbroken at this decision, but it does not come as a surprise. It is the end of a systematic campaign of racism, Islamophobia and bullying from some within the party which began when I first announced that I wanted to run for Labour again. There are numerous examples of how I have been singled out for unfair treatment. This includes being banned from speaking publicly about my experiences of racism within the party, stripped of a paid party organiser when 7½ months pregnant (the only candidate in a key marginal seat not to have one) and told to “curb the attitude” when I raised that Labour was not taking the concerns of the Muslim community seriously enough. I have not experienced this level of relentless hostility in all my personal or professional life – not even from the Conservatives.

I really wanted to win this seat – I grew up here, went to school here and live here now. I wanted to win for my neighbours and my community because they deserve better. I am so desperately sorry that this has happened but would like to sincerely thank everyone who worked so hard for me and Labour in Chingford & Woodford Green.

Today I have been meeting with my campaign and legal teams to discuss my next steps. This is not the end of my story and I will be releasing all the detail of what has happened to me publicly.

Faiza Shaheen left shocked after being blocked from standing as Labour candidate

Further candidates deselected from Labour causes controversy


30 May, 2024 

Faiza Shaheen announced last night that she will not be standing as a Labour candidate in Chingford and Woodford Green following ‘questions’ over past social media posts.

In an emotional interview, Shaheen told BBC Newsnight on Wednesday that she had been deselected by Labour ahead of the general election. According to Shaheen, she had found out earlier that evening, firstly via the press, while she was out campaigning.

Shaheen has been Labour PPC for the east London constituency since 2018 and had already started drumming up support in the area for her general election campaign, taking on Iain Duncan Smith from the Conservative Party for a second time.

The decision was based on 14 tweets that raised concerns over her suitability as a candidate. Shaheen said one was about her experiences of Islamophobia within the party, and another about liking a sketch by a Jewish comedian that referred to critics of Israel coming under attack. She said she had since apologised at a disciplinary hearing about a tweet that “plays into a trope” about Jewish people.

Speaking to Newsnight, Shaheen said she was in a state of shock at “being treated this badly after being such an active member of the party.”

Commenting on one of the social media posts in question, Shaheen said: “Am I not allowed to talk about my experiences of Islamophobia and the double-standards I’ve see?”

Labour campaign group Momentum slammed it as “vindictive and cruel treatment of another woman of colour candidate.”

It follows speculation around Diane Abbott’s political fate in the Labour party and comes after the deselection of Llloyd Russell-Moyle yesterday over a complaint, which the former Brighton Kemptown Labour candidate described as “a vexatious and politically motivated complaint about my behaviour eight years ago”.

Now Labour’s national executive committee will appoint new candidates, with just weeks to go until the general election.

Hannah Davenport is news reporter at Left Foot Forward


The left-wing candidates who won’t be standing for Labour in the general election


The figures on the left who have been deselected by Labour.


1 June, 2024 
LEFT FOOT FORWARD

Speculation surfaced this week that Diane Abbott would not be allowed to stand for the Labour party in her Hackney North and Stoke Newington constituency in the forthcoming election. On May 31, Keir Starmer ended the speculation, telling reporters she is “free to go forward” as a Labour candidate.

Prior to Starmer’s announcement, the veteran Labour politician Diane Abbott accused the party of carrying out a “cull” of left-wing candidates.

The controversy surrounding Abbott’s future with the party, placed the spotlight on a number of figures, considered to be on the left of the party, who have been deselected by Labour to run as candidates, ahead of the June 7 deadline. At that point, all parties must have submitted the candidates standing in the general election.

Here are the left-wing figures who have been blocked from standing as Labour candidates in the general election.

Jeremy Corbyn

The former Labour leader, who led the party from 2015 to 2020, has represented Islington North since 1983. Corbyn had the whip removed in November 2020 after he insisted that the accusations of antisemitism in the party while he was leader had been “dramatically overstated for political reasons.” Corbyn officially launched his campaign to be an independent MP this week, saying he wanted to be an “independent voice for equality, for democracy, and peace.”

Sam Tarry

In October 2022, Sam Tarry was deselected as an MP by local Labour members, amid a row in the Ilford South constituency. Tarry, who is in a relationship with Angela Rayner, has alleged serious concerns about the conduct of the campaign against him to Labour HQ claiming that he had discovered “ghost members” who had left the constituency or died. The former trade union official who helped organise Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership campaign, was sacked as shadow transport minister in July 2022, after he attended a picket line to support RMT workers.

Lloyd Russell-Moyle

On May 29, Lloyd Russell-Moyle announced that Labour had told him that he would not be eligible to be a candidate at the July 4th election. The MP for Brighton Kemptown, who was elected in 2017, said he believes the deselection is a “vexatious and politically motivated complaint” about his behaviour eight years ago.

In a personal statement on social media, Russell-Moyle said the complaint letter “came out of the blue” from someone anonymous to him.

“This is a false allegation that I dispute totally, and I believe it was designed to disrupt this election.

“There isn’t enough time to defend myself as these processes within the party take too long, so the party have told me that I will not be eligible to be a candidate at the next election. I’m gutted.”

Faiza Shaheen

Faiza Shaheen, an economist in economic inequality, has been blocked by Labour from standing in Chingford and Woodford Green. The decision was based on a series of tweets that allegedly raised concerns over her suitability as a candidate. One tweet was about her experiences of Islamophobia within the party, said Shaheen, and another about liking a sketch by a Jewish comedian that referred to critics of Israel coming under attack. She said she had since apologised at a disciplinary hearing about a tweet that “plays into a trope” about Jewish people.

Speaking on BBC Newsnight, Shaheen said she was in a state of shock after receiving an email informing that her candidacy had been blocked. In the 2019 general election, Shaheen came within just 1,262 votes of unseating Iain Duncan Smith. She claims she has faced a “systematic campaign of racism, Islamophobia and bullying,” and has announced she will challenge the decision in the courts.


Jeremy Corbyn formally launches campaign to be independent MP for Islington North

Corbyn said he wanted to be an "independent voice for equality, for democracy and for peace"



Chris Jarvis 
30 May, 2024
Left Foot Forward

The former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn formally launched his campaign to be elected as an independent MP for Islington North last night (29 May). Corbyn is standing as an independent after being blocked from being a Labour candidate in the general election.

At a packed meeting, Corbyn started the launch by saying that he wanted to be an “independent voice for equality, for democracy and for peace” and slammed what he described as a “political system that is no longer, sadly, offering the hope to so many people that it should.”

Corbyn continued by saying: “Politics should be about hope. Politics should be about making sure that those that are silenced are heard, those that are pushed aside are brought back in, those whose needs are so often unmet. It short, it is about the hope that we can bring to people. That’s what politics ought to do.”

Among the specific policy areas Corbyn pledged to campaign on were scrapping the two child benefit cap, ending sanctions for benefits claimants, taking public services such as water and Royal Mail into public ownership and introducing rent controls in the private sector.

He also claimed that almost the entire constituency had been leafleted since he announced his candidacy less than a week ago.

The Labour Party has selected Praful Nargund to contest the seat. While Labour’s current national poll rating suggests they are on tack for a landslide victory at the election, Keir Starmer’s party will no doubt be worried that Corbyn’s local record and high profile will see him return to parliament on an independent ticket.

Chris Jarvis is head of strategy and development at Left Foot Forward

Posted by at No comments:

UK

Defend the Right to Strike Campaign targets the General Election


Leave a Commenton Defend the Right to Strike Campaign targets the General Election
“We must grab this real opportunity to ensure that we see an intake of MPs committed to repealing Minimum Service Levels as a priority, combining a mass of sympathetic parliamentarians and a strong campaign pressuring Westminster from the outside.”

By Henry Fowler, Strike Map

Campaigning with councillors and candidates

Here we go again. Nearly five years on from the last time, we are going to the polls on 4 July 2024. Unlike 2019, when the radical overhaul of labour law and the enhancement of workers’ rights contained with the Institute of Employment Rights ‘Manifesto for Labour Law’ was the basis of Labour’s manifesto, this time round, the radical improvements to employment law and workers’ rights we need are in danger of not being prioritised.

Despite Keir Starmer’s Labour confirming back in January 2023, that a future Labour government would repeal the latest attack on our right to strike – Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 – the recent series of attempted ‘U turns’ on the New Deal for Working means there is a real need during this election campaign to ensure the abolition of anti-strike laws remains high on the election campaign agenda. 

That is why last week during our campaign call with councillors, our Defend the Right to Strike campaign launched two new actions to build our campaign to defend the right to strike during this election period. 

The first of these is our open letter to Keir Starmer MP for labour councillors to sign. It is critical that building on a strong start to our campaign, which has seen a number of local authorities confirm they will not issue work notices, that we generate pressure on the Labour leadership from below, to ensure any future Government will repeal Minimum Service Levels as soon as possible in the new Parliament. 

Our second newly launched action was our general election candidates pledge. This pledge enables anyone standing in the general election to confirm they will prioritise campaigning to repeal the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 and other anti-union legislation. 

Developing strong links with candidates who want to support this campaign provides us with a foundation for ensuring that there will be a group of MPs that are committed to defending the right to strike.

Campaigning against the Bill and Act

Our work with councillors and candidates are the latest in a long line of actions and coalition building we have been a part of with campaign groups and trade unions. In January 2023, Strike Map and the Campaign For Trade Union Freedom launched a letter for workplace reps to sign on behalf of members in defiance of this law, this saw union activists representing over one million workers take the action.

This was followed quickly by a successful rally and action planning on the future of the campaign, which developed this action document on how we oppose this latest law politically, within our communities and within our trade unions. 

After the passing of this act and it becoming law, our coalition was clear we must stop this law from being used, rather than waiting for the first union to be sanctioned and putting up with its continued use until a new Government repeals it.

We recognised that local authorities held a particularly important place in the working of the Act. In education, councils are the biggest of employers of teachers and ancillary staff, bigger than any academy chain. Many local councils or regional authorities have responsibility for light rail, that is underground railways and tramways. Councils or combined authorities also have responsibility for fire and rescue services. These three sectors include many thousands of workers, trade union members, who could be impacted by an employer issuing a work notice, compelling selected workers to attend their work, if staff go on strike.

That is why in March of this year, alongside 14 national trade unions and campaign groups, we launched our write to your council leader. This provided a simple postcode tool to enable the public to lobby their council leader to ensure that as many local authority employers announce they will not use work notices when confronted with a strike of their staff.

We combined this tool for the public with a campaign briefing for all councillors and a model motion. These resources were provided to encourage individual councillors to sign our campaign pledge. Over the last few months, this campaign has had a real quick impact with Bolton, Dumfries and Galloway, Glasgow, Islington, Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield, South Lanarkshire, all confirming through motions and or public statements that they will not use work notices as they could do under the terms of the Minimum Service Levels legislation. 

Although repealing the latest anti union law is important, our campaign has always been clear that abolishing the latest law provides the space for a national conversation about repealing the last forty years of anti-union laws, documented here. 

Elections come and go but we must grab this real opportunity to ensure that we see an intake of MPs committed to repealing Minimum Service Levels as a priority, combining a mass of sympathetic parliamentarians and a strong campaign pressuring Westminster from the outside, producing a strong platform for rebalancing labour law in this country. 

We hope you can support our actions detailed below and help us defend the right to strike through this election and beyond. 

Our campaign is proudly backed by: Association of Educational Psychologists (AEP), Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF), Bakers, Food & Allied Workers Union (BFAWU), General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU), Hospital Consultants & Specialists Association (HCSA), National Education Union (NEU), Peace & Justice Project (PJP), Public & Commercial Services Union (PCS), Psychotherapy & Counselling Union (PCU), Transport Salaried Staff Association (TSSA), United Road Transport Union (URTU), Arise.

Actions you can take

  1. Labour councillors letter to Keir Starmer MP

If you are a Labour councillor, sign our letter to Keir Starmer MP to ensure he prioritises defending the right to strike in the next Labour Government.

  1. General Election candidates pledge

Standing in the GE24? Or know someone who is, ask them to sign our campaign pledge.

  1. Councillors pledge

Pledge to support the campaign as a local councillor here.

  1. Model motion for your council

Download our model motion here.

  1. Campaign briefing for councillors

Download our briefing for all councillors here.

  1. IER briefing on the new anti-strike laws

Read the briefing here.


 

This election we are campaigning to make austerity unlawful – GFTU


, , , Leave a Commenton This election we are campaigning to make austerity unlawful – GFTU
“The damage to our services, our communities and impact on our society has been catastrophic… This election, we must make sure austerity is finished forever.”

By Henry Fowler, General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU)

It has been a long 14 years since that infamous budget in 2010 that devastated our public services, the result of £40 billion of cuts.  

The damage to our services, our communities and impact on our society has been catastrophic. The Progressive Economy Forum estimates this ‘Austerity’ has cost the United Kingdom half a trillion pounds of public spending. 

Our affiliate, the Social Workers’ Union (SWU), recently found that austerity has meant that two-thirds of their members have witnessed young people living in conditions with excessive levels of mould.  

This is not the only impact of austerity, in 2022 the waiting list in England for non-urgent care in hospitals had reached a new record high of 7.2 million people. This is combined with the increase in child poverty, which the No Child Left Behind campaign has said amounts to 3.9 million children – 8 pupils in every class of 30 – living in poverty. And it’s only getting worse. 

Rising poverty and rising waiting lists have been combined with a huge growth of inequality in the UK. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said the gap between the richest in society and the rest of the population has widened over the 10-year period (from 2010); the income share of the richest 1% increased from 7% to 8.2% between FYE 2011 and FYE 2020. 

We cannot let this continue. This election, we must make sure austerity is finished forever.  

That is why as part of a coalition of 10 other trade unions and campaign groups, we have launched the Make Equality Real campaign. This campaign is directly calling on all political parties to make a clear commitment in their election manifestos to make section 1 of the equality act – the socio-economic duty – law, reducing poverty, and helping make austerity unlawful. 

Our petition to all Westminster party leader’s states “the socio-economic duty should be written into the Equality Act 2010 as part of a campaign to end austerity and make equality real. Ensuring that everyone in Britain can live secure and fulfilling lives.” 

Alongside a petition, we have outlined a pledge for all candidates standing in the general election and provided a website of campaign materials for workplaces and social media.  

Dr. Cath Lowther, general secretary of our affiliate, Association of Educational Psychologists (AEP), describes the impact of austerity on the work of Educational Psychologists, “Our members have seen first-hand the damaging impact that 14 years of austerity have done to our vital public and community services, this campaign is about ensuring this cannot happen again in future.” 

We are really proud to be working with the Equality Trust as a key part of this campaign coalition, they have for a long time campaigned for and has seen the positive benefits of enacting the social economic duty at council level. Priya Sahani-Nicholas, the Equality Trust Co-Executive Director, describes the impact of socio-economic duty can have in improving equality when implemented, “As the result of actions taken, Scotland has the lowest levels of child poverty it has seen in 30 years, with 60,000 fewer children living in poverty in 2023 compared with 2017. Reducing inequality and reducing the impacts of inequality should be a dedicated and primary focus of all governments. The UK is the 5th richest country in the world – so we know money is available. We are calling on our elected representatives to prioritise greater equality.” 

We are coordinating this campaign with the aim of uniting both the trade union movement and wider campaigners together to help end austerity. Many of our affiliates have campaigned for years to see an end to austerity and through this campaign we aim to connect them with at home and abroad Europe, working with trade union partners on the continent  

This campaign is supported by: Artists’ Union England (AUE), Association of Educational Psychologists (AEP), Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU) Community, General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU), National Association of Headteachers (NAHT), National Association of Probation Officers (NAPO), National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT), Social Workers Union (SWU), and The Equality Trust. 

Join our campaign and help make austerity history here. 

  • Henry Fowler is the Head of Education, Campaigns and Organising at the General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU).
  • You can follow Henry on Twitter/X and follow the GFTU on Facebook, Twitter/X and Instagram.
  • You can find out more about the Make Equality Real campaign here.
Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)