Labour and Brexit
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UK University Workers Set for Strike Action
UK University Workers Set for Strike Action Members of the University and College Union (UCU), the national union for academic staff in the UK, are set to strike at 60 universities for eight days between 25 November and 4 December 2019. This follows a highly successful pair of strike ballots among UCU members in higher education: one on pensions, the other on pay, equality, casualisation, and workloads. The pensions strike continues the long-running dispute over proposed cuts to the United Superannuation Scheme (USS), the main pension plan in what are known as the “pre-92” universities. [1] The cuts in question would see members lose tens of thousands of British pounds in retirement income. In February and March 2018, proposals to change the USS from a “defined benefits” scheme to a “defined contributions” scheme (which would make final pensions depend on investment performance rather than workers’ contributions and effectively spell the end of guaranteed pension benefits) led to the largest strike in UCU’s history. Academic workers joined picket lines at 61 universities for 14 days. Additionally, 26 campuses saw student-led occupations in solidarity with striking staff: almost certainly the largest wave of direct action in the UK student movement since the 2010 protests against the trebling of tuition fees from £3000 to £9000 per year. [2] The 2018 strike ended in a temporary gain of time for USS members. UCU and the employers’ consortium, Universities UK (UUK), established a Joint Expert Panel (JEP) to assess the assumptions, process, and methodology underlying the USS’ valuation. The JEP’s first report in September 2018 recommended adjusting the valuation, but the employers refused to implement these recommendations. -
Unite Executive Council Report
UNITE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL REPORT COMMENCING AT 9.30 A.M. ON 3 RD DECEMBER 2012 EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MINUTES Minutes of the Meeting of the Executive Council held on 17 th , 18 th , 19 th & 20 th September 2012 were agreed Matters arising out of the Minutes - a number of matters arising were raised from previous minutes, of which many feature in the main agenda. In relation to minute 486 however it was confirmed that officers would be clearly identified regarding responsibility for remitted motions and it was also confirmed that any lay member acting as a “stand down” officer, may not take part in the unions constitutional committee structures FINANCE & GENERAL PURPOSES COMMITTEE Minutes of the Meeting of the Finance & General Purposes Committee held on 18 th October 2012 were accepted. Minutes of the Meeting of the Finance & General Purposes Committee held on 22 nd November 2012 were accepted REPORT OF THE GENERAL SECRETARY The GS provided a comprehensive report on actions and events since the September EC meeting but specifically highlighting: • CPHVA Annual Conference in Brighton on ‘The Future of Public Health Nursing’. • Speaker at Jack Jones Trust Launch event in Houses of Parliament. • Labour Party Conference – with thanks to Unite delegation and speakers • Visit to Northern Ireland, where Con-Dems austerity haver resulted in a 40% reduction in capital expenditure • Gibralta visit to mark the 40 th anniversary of 1972 General Strike (6 days) General Strike There was an extensive debate about motion 5 at the TUC Congress about considering the practicalities of the General Strike. UNITE has had to fight to ensure this wasn’t dropped from the agenda and to avoid a defeatist consultation document being circulated to unions. -
Police Exercises, Training Spaces and Manoeuvres
94 THEORY ON DEMAND CHAPTER 6: TERRITORIAL DETERMINISM: POLICE EXERCISES, TRAINING SPACES AND MANOEUVRES SAM HIND In 1983, a table-top game was developed in the UK.1 In 2003, a Specialist Training Centre (STC) opened.2 Each was designed to allow police officers to prepare, plan, and train for real-world public order incidents such as protests and riots, by enrolling them in ‘wargames’. Although there is a well-documented history of military and entertainment wargames3, far less has been said on police wargames. In both the table top game and the STC, the act of playing acts as a disciplinary device scripting future, possible maneuvers – much like the mutable full-sized game maps discussed in chapter 8. From the 1960s onwards, I argue that there has been a ‘shift’ and a ‘switch’ in policing tactics, consistent with a ‘(para-) militarization’ of protest policing within the UK over the last 30 years,4 affecting the nature of such manoeuvres. Up until the last 15 years or so, the main objective in the deployment of such (para)military tactics has been to disperse protesters. The original identification of this shift marked the start of an intense, public debate on the changing role of the police in public order situations. Northam argued in Shooting in the Dark5 that these decisions were rooted in a strategic, organizational and tactical cross-fertilization between colonial police officers, forces and protocol and mainland British equivalents. ‘Short-shield tactics’, ‘batons rounds’ and ‘snatch squads’ – three of these new strategic, organizational and tactical protocols – originated in British colonial outposts in Hong Kong and Northern Ireland. -
Brixton 1982-2011: the Socioeconomic Background of Rioting and the Narratives Employed by the Media During the 2011 Riots
Brixton 1981-2011: rioting, newspaper narratives and the effects of a cultural vanguard Henri Kurttila Master’s thesis English philology University of Oulu 24 January 2014 Table of Contents 1. Introduction 1 2. Initial analysis: rioting in the context of Brixton 5 3. Overview of Brixton and the Brixton riots 9 4. The 2011 riots 15 4.1. Mark Duggan: media and the background of the riot 20 5. The golden hour: first days of rioting 26 5.1. The Guardian 28 5.2. The Telegraph 34 5.3. Daily Mail 37 6. After the riots: development of the narrative 42 6.1. The Guardian 42 6.2. The Telegraph 46 6.3. Daily Mail 49 7. Narrative conflict and the socioeconomic explanation 53 8. The cultural vanguard 58 9. Conclusion 71 References 76 1 1. Introduction Over the last three decades, the London district of Brixton has seen a total of five riots. Three of them were major and two of them were minor, but the 2011 riot was by far the largest in scale. The riot originally started in Tottenham and spread to a number of other boroughs in London over the next few days. Later on, unrest appeared in other major English cities as well. For these reasons, talking about the 2011 Brixton riot is somewhat misleading, even though it is a term which was used by various media outlets for a short period of time. At the moment, the two prevalent terms used with regard to the riots are the 2011 Tottenham riot and the 2011 England riots. -
Tee 1919 Race Riots in Britain: Ti-Lir Background and Conseolences
TEE 1919 RACE RIOTS IN BRITAIN: TI-LIR BACKGROUND AND CONSEOLENCES JACOLEUNE .ENKINSON FOR TI-E DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH 1987 ABSTRACT OF THESIS This thesis contains an empirically-based study of the race riots in Britain, which looks systematically at each of the nine major outbreaks around the country. It also looks at the background to the unrest in terms of the growing competition in the merchant shipping industry in the wake of the First World War, a trade in which most Black residents in this country were involved. One result of the social and economic dislocation following the Armistice was a general increase in the number of riots and disturbances in this country. This factor serves to put into perspective the anti-Black riots as an example of increased post-war tension, something which was occurring not only in this country, but worldwide, often involving recently demobilised men, both Black and white. In this context the links between the riots in Britain and racial unrest in the West Indies and the United States are discussed; as is the growth of 'popular racism' in this country and the position of the Black community in Britain pre- and post- riot. The methodological approach used is that of Marxist historians of the theory of riot, although this study in part, offers a revision of the established theory. ACKNOWLEDcEJvNTS I would like to thank Dr. Ian Duffield, my tutor and supervisor at Edinburgh University, whose guidance and enthusiasm helped me along the way to the completion of this thesis. -
A History of the University of Manchester Since 1951
Pullan2004jkt 10/2/03 2:43 PM Page 1 University ofManchester A history ofthe HIS IS THE SECOND VOLUME of a history of the University of Manchester since 1951. It spans seventeen critical years in T which public funding was contracting, student grants were diminishing, instructions from the government and the University Grants Commission were multiplying, and universities feared for their reputation in the public eye. It provides a frank account of the University’s struggle against these difficulties and its efforts to prove the value of university education to society and the economy. This volume describes and analyses not only academic developments and changes in the structure and finances of the University, but the opinions and social and political lives of the staff and their students as well. It also examines the controversies of the 1970s and 1980s over such issues as feminism, free speech, ethical investment, academic freedom and the quest for efficient management. The author draws on official records, staff and student newspapers, and personal interviews with people who experienced the University in very 1973–90 different ways. With its wide range of academic interests and large student population, the University of Manchester was the biggest unitary university in the country, and its history illustrates the problems faced by almost all British universities. The book will appeal to past and present staff of the University and its alumni, and to anyone interested in the debates surrounding higher with MicheleAbendstern Brian Pullan education in the late twentieth century. A history of the University of Manchester 1951–73 by Brian Pullan with Michele Abendstern is also available from Manchester University Press. -
Policing Large Scale Disorder: Lessons from the Disturbances of August 2011
House of Commons Home Affairs Committee Policing Large Scale Disorder: Lessons from the disturbances of August 2011 Sixteenth Report of Session 2010–12 Additional written evidence Ordered by the House of Commons to be published 22 December 2011 Published on 22 December 2011 by authority of the House of Commons London: The Stationery Office Limited The Home Affairs Committee The Home Affairs Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration, and policy of the Home Office and its associated public bodies. Current membership Rt Hon Keith Vaz MP (Labour, Leicester East) (Chair) Nicola Blackwood MP (Conservative, Oxford West and Abingdon) James Clappison MP (Conservative, Hertsmere) Michael Ellis MP (Conservative, Northampton North) Lorraine Fullbrook MP (Conservative, South Ribble) Dr Julian Huppert MP (Liberal Democrat, Cambridge) Steve McCabe MP (Labour, Birmingham Selly Oak) Rt Hon Alun Michael MP (Labour & Co-operative, Cardiff South and Penarth) Bridget Phillipson MP (Labour, Houghton and Sunderland South) Mark Reckless MP (Conservative, Rochester and Strood) Mr David Winnick MP (Labour, Walsall North) The following members were also members of the committee during the parliament. Mr Aidan Burley MP (Conservative, Cannock Chase) Mary Macleod MP (Conservative, Brentford and Isleworth) Powers The Committee is one of the departmental select committees, the powers of which are set out in House of Commons Standing Orders, principally in SO No 152. These are available on the Internet via www.parliament.uk. Publication The Reports and evidence of the Committee are published by The Stationery Office by Order of the House. All publications of the Committee (including press notices) are on the Internet at www.parliament.uk/homeaffairscom. -
The Diversity of the Met's Frontline
Police and Crime Committee The diversity of the Met's frontline December 2014 Police and Crime Committee Members Joanne McCartney (Chair) Labour Jenny Jones (Deputy Chair) Green Caroline Pidgeon (Deputy Chair) Liberal Democrat Tony Arbour Conservative Jennette Arnold Labour John Biggs Labour Victoria Borwick Conservative Len Duvall Labour Roger Evans Conservative Contact: Matt Bailey email: [email protected] Tel: 020 7983 4014 Role of the Police and Crime Committee The Police and Crime Committee examines the work of the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) and reviews the Police and Crime Plan for London. The Committee can also investigate anything that it considers to be of importance to policing and crime reduction in Greater London and make recommendations for improvements. ©Greater London Authority December 2014 2 Contents Chair’s foreword 4 Executive summary 6 1. How diverse is the Met’s frontline? 9 2. What should the Met do to recruit a more diverse frontline? 13 3. How should the Met support and develop its BAME and women officers? 20 4. How can the Met promote wider cultural change? 30 Appendix 1 Recommendations 34 Appendix 2 Endnotes 36 Orders and translations 39 3 Chair’s foreword London’s police force must reflect the city it serves. The desire to have a Met police force that represents the diversity of London is not new. Government and the Met have been grappling with this issue ever since the 1980s when Lord Scarman’s report into the 1981 Brixton riots highlighted the need for the Met to have a more ethnically diverse police force to improve community confidence and cohesion. -
The Inner Workings of British Political Parties the Interaction of Organisational Structures and Their Impact on Political Behaviours
REPORT The Inner Workings of British Political Parties The Interaction of Organisational Structures and their Impact on Political Behaviours Ben Westerman About the Author Ben Westerman is a Research Fellow at the Constitution Society specialising in the internal anthropology of political parties. He also works as an adviser on the implications of Brexit for a number of large organisations and policy makers across sectors. He has previously worked for the Labour Party, on the Remain campaign and in Parliament. He holds degrees from Bristol University and King’s College, London. The Inner Workings of British Political Parties: The Interaction of Organisational Structures and their Impact on Political Behaviours Introduction Since June 2016, British politics has entered isn’t working’,3 ‘Bollocks to Brexit’,4 or ‘New Labour into an unprecedented period of volatility and New Danger’5 to get a sense of the tribalism this fragmentation as the decision to leave the European system has engendered. Moreover, for almost Union has ushered in a fundamental realignment a century, this antiquated system has enforced of the UK’s major political groupings. With the the domination of the Conservative and Labour nation bracing itself for its fourth major electoral Parties. Ninety-five years since Ramsay MacDonald event in five years, it remains to be seen how and to became the first Labour Prime Minister, no other what degree this realignment will take place under party has successfully formed a government the highly specific conditions of a majoritarian (national governments notwithstanding), and every electoral system. The general election of winter government since Attlee’s 1945 administration has 2019 may well come to be seen as a definitive point been formed by either the Conservative or Labour in British political history. -
INDEPENDENT SOCIALISTS AFTER the DECEMBER 12TH GENERAL ELECTION from Illusions in a Lexit Brexit to a Disillusioned Lexit from Brexit Politics
INDEPENDENT SOCIALISTS AFTER THE DECEMBER 12TH GENERAL ELECTION From Illusions in a Lexit Brexit to a Disillusioned Lexit from Brexit PolitiCs ______________________ Sunday Telegraph backs Lexit with ‘revolution’ and a ‘people’s Brexit ’ Contents a) The 2015 general election provided a warning b) After 2015 - an increasingly floundering Left c) Northern Ireland – a different pattern d) Reactionary unionism and Europhobic opposition to the EU e) The largest independent Socialist parties walk into the Brexit trap f) The official Remain and Leave campaigns – two wings of the British ruling class g) The Lexiters’ false arguments h) The political options open in the run-up to the 2016 EU referendum i) From 23rd May 2016 to 8th June 2017 – A victory for the Left or the Right? j) ‘Independent’ Socialists and ‘Oh Jeremy Corbyn’! 1 k) Corbyn and the ‘independent’ Socialists unwittingly help Boris Johnson to victory l) Independent socialists after the December 12th general election m) Independent socialists in Scotland and Northern Ireland/Ireland n) Conclusion a) The 2015 general election provided a warning The centrality of constitutional issues in the current political situation has wrong-footed Socialist organisations both in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) and Ireland (the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland). Far happier addressing ‘bread and butter’ issues, the largest independent Socialist organisations, particularly the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) of Great Britain and the Socialist Workers Party (Ireland) - SWP(I), and the Socialist Party of England and Wales – SP(E&W) (with its autonomous section, the Socialist Party of Scotland – SPS) and the Socialist Party (Ireland) - SP(I), have largely left the constitutional nature of the states they operate in to the ruling class, or political representatives of would-be ruling classes. -
Protest Contingencies Timeline.Pdf
1600 1700 1800 1900 2000 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500 1810 1820 1830 1840 1850 1860 18701880 1890 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 War in Iraq & Keynisian economics Rise of neo-liberal economics Chicago school of economics (USA) + Thatcherism (UK) Political requirement Traditional practice Afghanistan The Industrial Revolution End of Keynesian economics Global The 7/11 public protest as a form of democratic a critical spatial practice an evaluative Oil crisis - global CNN (24 hour news Sky News (24 hour news CNN (24 hour realtime news representation - that of popular sovereignty attitude to a variety of social and spatial International Monetary Fund issues. A series of tactics which are utilised The Battle chanel) launched (USA) coverage) launched coverage) First Gulf War (USA) World Bank Group Reformation English Bill price of oil increases attacks in Economic crash Global Occupy Movement PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC to combat existing hegemonic structures English of Rights of Trafalgar WWI WWII September 19–28, 2000 London 1980 1989 1990/1 Particularly relevant in light of today's political Civil war consinsus present in mainstream politics Particulary relevant in light of the legislative 1066 1689 1805 1914 1918 1939 1945 1955 Vietnam War 1975 2001 2003 2005 restrictions placed on protest since 1970s IRA: Bishopsgate bombing Gunpowder Great fire IRA: Brighton Hotel plot of London Battle of Hastings, start of Act of the Union bombing IRA: Docklands bombing 2007 2010 Antagonism Right to the city 1973 Trade union Chantal Mouffe Lefebvre, Harvey 1605 1666 1707 1984 1993 1996 the middle ages (England) Occupy Wall Street Crash Stock Market Crash attacks in New Wall Street South Sea company Bengal 'The 'The 'The 'The 'The Panic' Black 'The Black Black 1996 York (9/11) Eurozone Economic Bubble Bubble Panic' Panic' Panic' Panic' USA: FIRST GLOBAL Friday Painic' Rights of commoning UK USA USA UK ECONOMIC CRASH USA USA Monday Wednesday Stock Market downturn IRA: Manchester bombing sovereignty crisis .. -
The Work of the Labour Par S Governance and Legal Unit In
1 The work of the Labour Party’s Governance and Legal Unit in relation to antisemitism, 2014 - 2019 The Labour Party March 2020 2 Table of Contents 1. Introduction and Executive Summary ........................................................................... 10 1.1. Executive Summary .................................................................................................. 11 1.2. Scope and Sources .................................................................................................... 19 1.3. Structure .................................................................................................................... 24 2. The work and role of the Governance and Legal Unit in internal Labour Party politics ............................................................................................................................................... 27 2.1. The use of the Governance and Legal Unit for factionalism ................................ 28 2.2. The 2016 leadership election ................................................................................. 118 2.3. Case studies: factionalism in the Governance and Legal Unit ........................... 155 3. The Governance and Legal Unit’s handling of antisemitism disciplinary cases, 2014 – February 2018 .................................................................................................................... 171 3.1. The Governance and Legal Unit’s processes and practices, 2015-16 ................ 172 3.2. Inaction on antisemitism: November 2016