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Keeping the Link: Labour and the Trade Unions

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Keeping the Link: Labour and the Trade Unions AUTUMN EDITION 2012 ISSUE NO 75 PRODUCTION EDITOR: RAY DAVISON EAST DEVON CLP AND CLPD publication for CLPs and Labour Party Members www.clpd.org.uk (where this CLPD SW REGIONAL ORGANISER newsletter can be downloaded). For detailed and exclusive NEC and NPF reports, internal All enquiries: [email protected] Party news and debates including Shenanigans, visit www.grassrootslabour.net and for lively Telephone 01395 277481 debates where you can contribute, visit www.leftfutures.org or twitter.com/clpd_labour or email CLPD: [email protected] KEEPING THE LINK: LABOUR Content highlights n Mick Whelan: Keeping the link: AND THE TRADE UNIONS Labour and the trade unions n Peter Willsman: ANNUAL MICK WHELAN, Now, as the government takes an axe to pub- CONFERENCE ALERT – key GENERAL SECRETARY ASLEF lic services, in a bid to reduce the deficit, the rule change proposals from CLPs, trade union movement is leading the fight to changes to Party policy making, key defend those most at risk. With clarity and Without trade un- votes at Conference in Manchester purpose, the trade unions have set out an ions, there would n Kelvin Hopkins MP: Life with Ed alternative economic case, one in which the be no Labour Party. – news and views from the PLP poorest in society, the elderly, the young, the Without the Labour n disabled and the unemployed are not forced Michael Meacher MP: Tory Party many of the to pay for the mistakes of others. In doing so economic policy on fire greatest achieve- the trade unions have forced the Labour Party n Anton Wahlberg: Justice for Lutfur ments of the trade to rethink many of its initial responses to the Rahman union movement financial recession and the line peddled by n Jim Mackechnie: Glasgow would never have government that ‘we are all in this together’. scapegoated for Labour’s failure in become enshrined In large parts the response of Ed Miliband Scotland in law. Despite coming under attack in recent and Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls to the gov- n years from both the right of the Labour Par- Keith Ewing: Labour needs a ernment’s austerity programme – that what ty and the left of the trade union movement, watchdog we need is growth and jobs – now echoes the link between the Labour Party and the n Christine Shawcroft: Spotlight on the responses of union leaders to the crisis. trade unions remains as vital today as it ever the NPF That is to the credit of both the Labour Party has been. The link ensures that the concerns n Noel Foy: Parliamentary reselection and the unions, and is a message that must of more than three million working people – a suitable case for treatment (cont. on p2) belonging to affiliated trade unions remain n Sheila Triggs: Labouring for Peace, central to the Labour Party’s programme. review of book with same title Of course the Labour Party will never do n Dominic Curran: Spotlight on everything that trade unionists would like it ANNUAL Labour Students to do, but it remains the only political party n Colin Burgess: A review of Dexter where trade unionists can play an actual role CONFERENCE Whitfield’s In Place of Austerity in determining policy and making sure that the concerns of working people are heard. ALERT 2012 n Tel’s Tales: Neo-liberal blinkers et al Without this historic link, there would no n Laura Davison: Seddon’s World, a way of ensuring working people are elected BY PETER WILLSMAN, review of Mark Seddon’s Standing for Something to parliament, local and devolved govern- SECRETARY CLPD AND ment, and to the European parliament, from n David Beere: French lessons for where much of the legislation protecting MEMBER OF CONFERENCE Labour working people originates. From the Labour ARRANGEMENTS COMMITTEE n Kate Osamor and Martha Party’s point of view, the trade unions’ finan- 1981–1994 Osamor: Rebuilding Tottenham cial support ensures that the Party remains n David Gardner: Hang onto the a viable force to fight on the principles on Briefing on the rule change Branches which it was founded. Without this support proposals from CLPs coming up n CLPD TUC fringe and conference the Labour Party would cease to operate in at Manchester any meaningful way. highlights The trade union movement has long n More Bitebacks: the ever snappier At Manchester delegates will be debating and been the biggest driver of equality, helping shots from a political sniper voting on (by card vote) several proposals to to create a fairer and more just society which benefits all of us, not just those at the top. (cont. on p8) PLEASE PASS THIS NEWSLETTER ON TO ENSURE A WIDE CIRCULATION. CAMPAIGN BRIEFING AUTUMN EDITION 2012 LIFE WITH ED – NEWS AND VIEWS FROM THE PLP KELVIN HOPKINS MP billionaires’ budget and savage spending The voters have done with Thatcherism cuts driving the economy into double dip in all its forms. Neo-liberal capitalism has CLPD got it ab- recession (with the possibility of a decade brought us close to disaster and worse is still solutely right in of “depression” according to the IMF) has to come. It is indeed time to bring forward urging members destroyed the Tories’ credibility. My Tory a bold, democratic socialist programme to to vote for Ed constituency neighbour attacking the “posh clinch Labour’s victory at the next election. (M) as our num- boys” has also helped and the voters are ber two to Diane looking to kick them out a.s.a.p. KEEPING THE LINK There have been a number of similar Abbott in the (cont. from p1) Leadership bal- step changes in public opinion in the past lot. Diane spoke and, once they happen, the victor in that be driven home by both the Party and the for the left in contest normally goes on to win the subse- unions who can address their own members the hustings and quent election. Michael Foot’s big electoral with a directness that politicians cannot. This shifted the debate lead was overturned by Thatcher’s victory in is particularly true when it comes to reach- away from the the Falklands War before 1983, and Major’s ing groups under-represented in the Labour ground where the heir to Blair felt comforta- Tories were destroyed by the collapse of Party, such as women and ethnic minorities. ble. Since then the Party has felt more at ease their disastrous ERM strategy in 1992. That Only working people can get the coun- with itself. Despite occasional hiccups, Ed step change has now happened to Cameron’s try back on its feet. The work undertaken has shown himself to be more of a unify- Tories. But our own Party leaders now have by trade unions in raising the skills and ed- ing leader, at ease with the Party’s centre and to be asked “where’s the beef ” (with apolo- ucational achievements of the workforce, who can even listen to the left. Ed’s speech at gies to vegetarians for the carnivorous meta- creating equality and diversity – which the the Durham Miners Gala proved immensely phor)? What indeed are our policies for the CBI and the TUC agree increases productiv- popular, from the grassroots to the PLP. It future? What is to be done to rebuild from ity and profit – and looking beyond short- reaffirmed the Party’s trade union link and the ruins of Tory Britain? termism to create a genuinely sustainable put him in touch with Labour’s heart and Mocking Cameron at the despatch box economic vision is central to our economic heartlands. is great to watch and Ed has done well, recovery; as is a sense of cohesiveness that Labour now has a substantial lead but voters are asking on the doorstep what has nothing to do with the ‘Big Society’ and amongst the electors. Ed has overtaken our policies are? Tory bashing alone is not everything to do with fairness, both in the Cameron in popularity, and the Thatcher- enough and implying that smaller cuddly La- workplace and outside it. The Labour Party ite fifth column in the form of “Progress” bour cuts would be OK but nasty big Tory was founded on a desire for fairness, but has been exposed for what it is by our trade cuts are not is absolutely wrong. All cuts are only with the help and support of the trade union brothers and sisters. Its millionaire deflationary when what is needed is reflation unions will fairness ever become more than backers are continuing to fund constituency and in particular additional spending in ar- an aspiration. selections for their favoured candidates, but eas of high labour intensity to bring down When Margaret Thatcher attempted to at least Party members now have no illusions unemployment. Construction and the public sever the link between unions and the Labour about its nature. services are just such areas, precisely those Party with the 1984 Trade Union Act, which The best news is that the Tories have which the Tories are cutting. required unions to regularly ballot members blown it and are unlikely to recover. The The whole Party must now engage in on whether they wished to continue pay- the process of developing policies for vic- ing into their union’s political fund, it was tory next time, and those policies should a direct attempt to cripple the Labour Party be advanced and promoted at Conference, while reducing the influence of the unions BITEBACKS not simply decided by faceless apparatchiks on policy. Having tried and failed to break behind closed doors. The leadership must the link once before, the recent Kelly Report ‘Economists on the left are warning listen to Labour’s grassroots, to trade union- on party funding recommends changing the that spending cuts lower growth and ists and working people across the board, emphasis on unions to ask their members to tax revenues, increasing deficits and to families with children, to pensioners and ‘opt-in’ to the political fund, rather than the creating a downward debt spiral.
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