The Daily Mail and “Bongo bongoland”
This is from a letter published in the Daily Mail today
via @uponnothing and @JonathanHayes
Last night’s Labour hustings: will it get interesting or turn to torture?
It was great having Diane there. I’m not sure she wants to win. But it would be seriously good to have her up against Nick Clegg at Deputy Prime Minister’s Questions, not least because she has an outstanding record on liberty.
She must be part of Labour’s front bench even if she doesn’t lead it.
David Miliband is the candidate to beat, the most committed to power and appealing, therefore, to the Labour councilors and its machines. He represents continuity with Blair in his air and appeal.
continue reading… »
It’s now down to Ken to win London for Labour
While the hoo ha continues about whether someone left of the center gets to lose the leadership to the Miliband franchise there is a far more important selection taking place inside of Labour.
It’s going to be a Oona King vs Ken Livingstone stand-off with the winner to be decided at the Labour caber tossing contest late September.
continue reading… »
The Labour people need
Never one to pass up on local democracy’s offerings, yours truly recently attended the new Lewisham council’s inaugural AGM.
I went partly because I pay council tax in Lewisham and like to clap eyes on the hapless schmucks in charge of it at the dawn of each municipal term’s disasters. There was another draw, though. It struck me that as one of Labour’s outright London wins at the recent elections, Lewisham had real potential as a pain in Cameron and Clegg’s mingled butt, particularly in the fight for local public services.
Lewisham is a place where Labour could round on the coalition’s cuts programme, and begin to restore the ‘tacit covenant’ that Jon Cruddas and Jonathan Rutherford believe Labour must have with constituents – ‘a covenant about housing, work and security, a sense of neighbourliness and community.’
Women’s charity raises triple Danny Dyer film
A campaign to match the weekend takings for actor Danny Dyer’s new film has been overwhelmed with donations – reaching 366% of its target.
Dyer’s film ‘Pimp’ made £205 in its opening weekend after just 24 people reportedly watched it.
He was at the centre of a controversy recently when blogger Sarah Ditum exposed a Zoo magazine column in which Dyer suggests cutting an ex’s face.
After news broke of Dyer’s film bombing in the cinema, activist Liam Barrington-Bush wanted to see “how much more generous people are than Dyer is successful.”
So he set up DannyDyerDonate – which has so far raised £750 in one week.
Liam said about the campaign:
There have been countless examples of how technology has enabled social ‘flocking’ to occur. What was simply a few combined hours of @andyvglnt and my time, became something far bigger than either our efforts or our means
All the money goes to Solace Women’s Aid, which aims to help women dealing with domestic violence.
Blog Nation: what would you like to see discussed?
On 26th June LC will be hosting Blog Nation (my unimaginative name for our annual conference). Thanks to all of those who have already emailed in with requests: we are now two-thirds full.
The first Blog Nation event in July 2008 was nice, but ultimately just a panel discussion event. I want to try something different and would like your involvement.
Aims of the event
1. Meet other bloggers, journalists, think-tankers, activist, organisers
2. To have time and space to discuss issues
3. Have a sense of strategic direction on particular issues; find out what projects are taking place.
4. Share books
5. Discuss and learn about activism already taking place.
Unlike other conferences, and they have their own place, I want this to be strategy focused. In other words rather than debate issues, we have competing or interesting perspectives on how to move forward, what is currently taking place and how people can get involved.
The theme of the event is: ‘How Does the Left Organise in Opposition?‘
A few questions to think about:
- Do we focus on broader narratives or stick to specific topics? Or if a mixture of the two, what would you like to see discussed?
- Given the layout of the venue, what do you think the format should be?
- What mini-sessions would you like to see?
Layout of venue
The circles are tables. I thought it would be better than having lines of podium facing chairs. This way you can talk, meet and discuss with others more easily during discussion sessions. The two breakout rooms are also available if we need them.
Broad themes
Party political vs non-aligned organising – which should we focus on? Or how do we do both?
Is Labour part of the problem or part of the solution?
How can the left work toegther, better?
What approach to take towards Libdems?
Communitarianism vs internationalism: which way do we want to go?
Should we be drawing up a list of ‘progressive politicians’ to support on an ongoing basis?
Issues
Responding to budget cuts
Abortion and sex education
Climate change
Immigration
Electoral reform
The West Lothian Question
Where now for foreign policy?
Taxation and tax havens
London Mayoral election – what can be done?
There will also be mini-sessions:
Political Scrapbook is planning a short presentation on how some of us left-bloggers are planning to set up a cooperative of sorts to collaborate on various things. You’ll hear more about that then.
If you would like to attend, you have to drop me an email at blognation[-at-]liberalconspiracy[-dot-]org. It is free to attend but invite only.
Now I’m opening this out to all of you for your thoughts and ideas.
The Labour leadership’s token contender.. and it’s not Diane Abbott
There is a token candidate for the Labour Party leadership who struggled to get enough nominations to stand and who has no chance of winning.
His name is “Andy Burnham”. Ed Balls has more support amongst MPs, but he can’t win either, with his 61% disapproval ratings.
Diane Abbott, in contrast, is a serious contender. She occupies the centre ground in policy terms – anti-Iraq war, anti-NHS privatisation, pro-equality and in favour of reducing the deficit by taxing the rich rather than cutting public services.
continue reading… »
Boris rise for Living Wage left of Labour
The Guardian reports that Boris Johnson today announced a 25p increase in the London “living wage”, bringing to £7.85 the hourly rate that Londoners are judged to require to lift them out of poverty.
The Conservative mayor urged all employers in the capital to follow the GLA’s lead and “pay a fairer wage” to those working and living in the capital as he outlined a 3.3% rise in the unofficial minimum wage for Londoners.
The move puts him to the left of most of Labour leader contenders, with only Ed Miliband and Diane Abbott showing much support for the Living Wage campaign.
Miliband put the proposal at the centre of his campaign.
London Mayor Johnson revealed today that five new employers had agreed to pay the rate as a minimum: Clifford Chance, Deloitte, Nomura, Prudential and Standard Chartered.
Over a 100 organisations in London are now committed to the standard, in addition to boroughs such as Ealing and Tower Hamlets.
In an answer to London AM Len Duvall this morning, Boris Johnson said:
[W]e have to be honest about the impact of the LLW in that, at the margin, there will be places where for some employers, particularly people with businesses on very tight margins, I think you have to be intellectually honest about its impact.
I became convinced by it talking to people [in charge of] very large organisations who’d had people on quite low wages – very low wages – and who’d found that it generated loyalty, and that it thereby enabled them to cut down on their employment costs in hiring and firing. And I think that that is a powerful case that we can make to London and to London business.
London blogger Dave Hill adds:
So there we have it. Red Boris strikes again? Not quite. His is the line of the practical capitalist rather than the workers’ friend (though Boris, being a free enterprise believer, would argue that the goals of the capitalist bring the greatest benefit to the workers too). He also claims success in getting London’s businesses to join him.
Compass annual event this Saturday
The UK’s most influential centre-left pressure group will host its annual conference this Saturday 12 June stage with over 1000 activists in attendance. The event will also host a Labour Leadership Husting Debate.
One of the highlights of the event will be the first major speech given by the newly elected MP for Brighton Pavillion Caroline Lucas the Green Party Leader.
Other major keynote speakers include Nick Dearden Director of Jubilee Debt Campaign; Christine Blower General Secretary of the NUT; Pam Giddy of POWER 2010; Jon Cruddas MP Labour’s most influential backbencher and Chuka Umunna MP Labour’s newest rising star.
Compass says over 500 new people have joined the organisation in the last month alone bringing its total membership to over 4500, whilst its members and supporters list has surged to over 40,000.
Compass will shortly ballot its membership on who the organisation should back for Labour leader.
The event will be the first major gathering of progressives after the election and provide the opportunity for the centre-left to come to terms with the new coalition as well as face up to the scale of Labour’s defeat.
Gavin Hayes, General Secretary of Compass said:
Things have to change. The planet burns, the poor get poorer, a rich elite get ever wealthier, and our democracy is in a sad, broken state. The rules of the game must be rewritten. We need a new progressive consensus, and a new hope.A new hope that while there may be limits to what politicians can do in Westminster, there should be no limits to what a new progressive movement can achieve. That’s what the conference this Saturday is all about and why it is so important.
More here: http://compassonline.org.uk/conference
From a press release
In defence of these fraternal nominations
So we will have a five candidate contest for the Labour leadership.
Well done to Diane Abbott and Andy Burnham for securing the chance to continue their campaigns campaign.
Credit for assists goes to acting leader Harriet Harman, who responded to calls from party members and supporters for MPs to ensure a broader contest and avoid charges of a stitch-up, and to rival candidates John McDonnell, who dropped out to nominate Abbott; David Miliband, who followed through on his offer of a nomination to a rival; and Ed Balls, who asked MPs to nominate Abbott once he had reached the threshold.
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