Brent Central Labour reject Trident in boost for Corbynistas

After an address by Kate Hudson of CND and a debate, Brent Central Constituency Labour Party overwhelmingly voted against the renewal of the Trident nuclear weapons system.

This brings them into alliance with Jeremy Corbyn (and the Green Party).  The recent Labour Party Conference decided not to discuss the issue.

Corbyn and Council Cuts: Time for a united resistance?

Local councils are currently drawing up their budgets for 2016-17 with the accompanying cuts to accommodate the cuts in local government funding. Council leaders across the political spectrum have warned that these are cuts too far and will have a devastating impact on core services.

The budgets are often part of a 3 or 4 year plan started a year or two ago. Labour councils (and the defeated Green minority council in Brighton) have used the 'dented shield' argument that only they can make the chocies that will preserve vital services.  This looks increasingly weak as the cuts accumulate and the poor are hit.

Since those cuts were projected in budgets the political situation has changed. On the one hand the Tories are back in power but on the other hand Jeremy Corbyn has won the leadership on an anti-austerity ticket with a surge of support, often from local activists involved in housing, NHS and cuts campaigns.

The run up to local and the London Mayoral and GLA elections will be accompanied by local press stories on the council cuts and their impact on vulnerable adult care, children's social services, provision for children with special education needs, local libraries and youth provision.

Labour will be in the contradictory position of having an anti-austerity national Labour leadership and a local leadership that is implementing the government's anti-austerity measures.

There has been a silence from the new Labour shadow cabinet on this so far but the call for resistance and a strong campaign based on local activists and public sector unions that was made under the last Labour leadership by the left must surely be repeated with added urgency now?

I have raised this issue in Green Party circles with a varied response. Some have shrugged and said, 'What else can local councils do?' and suggested we concentrate on the source of the cuts - the Tories and their ideology - emphasising that there is no need for the cuts but it is a choice that the Conservatives have made: Councils have no choice. This leaves us with divisive debates about exactly where the cuts will fall.

Others see the Corbyn phenomenon and the various broad alliances proposed (Momentum, Red Pepper circles etc) as well as the People's Assembly and trade unions as an opportunity to build a massive resistance.

What advice will Corbyn give local coucils?

I publish below a response I received about this from a Green Party activist:

I agree that we have to draw attention to the inconsistency between having an "anti-austerity" policy position, whilst being forced to implement austerity cuts locally, which are once again directed at the most vulnerable, in a deliberately discriminatory and disproportionate manner.

e.g. Disability groups have been calling for a 'Cumulative Impact Assessment' (CIA) to asess what the cumulative effects are, of 'multiple cuts' to different services and benefits, on those who (being the most vulnerable) rely on a range of different benefits and services. There are assessments of each individual cut, but no asessment of those who are subjected to multiple cuts over time. This has been requested repeatedly for several years now, and the Government/DWP still refuses to do it. Meanwhile, there has been a rise in the death-toll of vulnerable people, and those people deserve not to die unacknowledged, while their 'deaths' were a deliberate 'colateral-damage' decision, which was made by Tory 'policy-makers'.

"The United Nations is carrying out an unprecedented inquiry into “systematic and grave violations” of disabled people’s human rights by the UK government"
http://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/confirmed-un-is-investigating-uks-grave-violations-of-disabled-peoples-rights/

We need to be behind this move by the UN and seen to be showing solidarity with anti-austerity disabled rights groups around the country, who have been on the receiving end of these deliberately 'Targeted' cuts for 5 years already. Cuts which have potentially contributed to thousands of deaths.

Either Labour are going to be an opposition thorn in this sociopathic government's side, or they are going to continue with the Neoliberal narrative that 'economics' makes it all inevitable because... money, family purse, budget... mixing macro-economics with family economics like the Tories always do, and confusing people's perceptions of how 'money/debt' is created (while the Tories have doubled the 'debt' and handed the 'money' to their old-school corporate chums). The Green Party has a new and important policy around money-creation, and this is also a big opportunity for Greens to push that & to explain it to the public, so as to dispell the 40 year old Thatcherite meme of a family purse budget.

A Green New Deal is beneficial socially, economically and environmentally. It ticks all the boxes as the alternative to 'austerity'. A nation-wide renewable energy and energy efficiency programme (managed at the 'Local' level), coupled to electrification of transport (which would require offshore wind wave tidal development), would be a massive (but increasingly urgent) undertaking, which would both improve 'quality-of-life' for people locally, as well as mitigate some of the damage we're doing to the environment. Voters need to know that the Tory government are letting Britain be left behind in the new global renewable energy industry, which has massive social & economic benefits if encouraged to prosper.

One of Thatcher's biggest crimes, was not investing North Sea oil tax revenues in the renewable energy technologies which were available at the time, like on/offshore wind power, and solar water heaters & insulation for homes etc etc. The 'jobs' thus created could have replaced the coal jobs lost, instead of throwing tens of thousands into unemployment, with no new jobs to go to. Those new sustainable jobs are still screaming out to be created. Austerity is a lie. It is the diversion of Public money into Private offshore accounts without the 'societal' benefits that should come from creating that money.

But let's not forget there are powerful neoliberal forces in Labour still. The first Bail-Out was under Brown and that alone was enough to pay off every single mortgage in the UK at the time. Those people haven't just gone away because Corbyn became 'Leader' and there hasn't been a huge shift in policy position by the Parliamentary Labour Party as far as I can tell - so far.

Earl Bramley-Howard
West Mendip Green Party

The beginning of the end of partisan politics?' message for Labour from Brighton Greens

The article below was jointly written by Caroline Lucas MP, Cllr Phelim  MacCafferty (convenor of the Brighton Green Groupof councillors) and Tom Druit (Chair of Brighton and Hove Green Party) on the eve of the Labour Party Conference. Their focus is ways in which  Greens and Labour could work together on a local basis in terms of common commitments.

The article was first published  in the Brighton and Hove Independent LINK
 

Jeremy Corbyn’s election as the leader of the Labour Party is good news for progressive politics. For the first time in living memory, the Labour Party is led by someone willing to challenge the political and economic consensus. It’s particularly encouraging to see a Labour leader in place who rejects the so-called “logic” that says everything around us should be bought and sold on the free market.

For us, as local representatives, Corbyn’s election presents us with a possibility to work across party lines for the very best for people in Brighton and Hove. In parliament, there is the chance for Labour MPs to be part of a serious opposition to the government’s pernicious attacks on the welfare state, their short-sighted slashing of renewable energy subsidies, and their economically-illiterate austerity programme.

Locally, there is an opportunity for Labour and the Greens to work together. The flourishing of the People’s Republic of Brighton and Hove shows that the majority of people in this city reject the Tories and yearn for a new start where all progressives work together. By doing so, we can reject austerity, rising inequality, and the relentless attack on the poor – and we can work together towards a fairer, more sustainable society.

As Greens, we won’t hesitate to express our support for Corbyn’s policies when we agree with them. In the face of attack from the mainstream media – and with few friends in the political establishment – he will need all the support he can get when articulating the bold policies upon which we agree.

Our challenge to Labour in Brighton and Hove is to dare to live up to what Corbyn’s win means. When Labour are bold and when they stand up for the voiceless, we will support them. We could start by standing together to safeguard council tax relief for the poorest.

We will stand side by side with Labour in voting to rid our country of nuclear weapons, calling for a fair deal for public-sector workers, and trying to protect people from the spiralling cost of rent. In Brighton, politicians from across the political spectrum should support long-suffering train passengers by calling for the railways to be brought back into public hands.

Politics is starting to change from the ground up. To ensure that change is meaningful and long-lasting, we need to transform radically our democratic structures – redistributing wealth must go hand in hand with redistributing power. In the Green Party, we are committed to leadership as the honest sharing of power, to organising locally, and to working co-operatively. To this end, it is encouraging to see that Corbyn has appointed Jon Trickett to lead for Labour on constitutional reform – and that the trade unions voted last week to support the growing campaign for reform of our anti-democratic electoral system.

Greens won’t always agree with Corbyn’s Labour – and when we don’t we will say so. More important, however, is our role in moving beyond Labour’s policies and calling for the radical overhaul of the political and economic system that lies at the heart of the social and environmental injustices we face. That means working with local communities that are already demonstrating it’s possible and positive to do things very differently, from neighbourhood planning and housing cooperatives to community-owned renewable energy and social enterprises. It means reaffirming our vision of an economy that provides enough for everyone – but doesn’t require people to work all of the hours of the day to stand even a chance of feeding their families.

Greens will continue to act on the belief at the heart of our politics: it’s only by tackling climate change and environmental degradation that we will secure our future prosperity, and security for our children and grandchildren. Recent events, of increasingly-extreme weather events across the globe, flooding in the UK – and the global refugee crisis – show the urgent need for Green policies.

The tide of progressive politics and ideas is surging, and it’s refreshing to see policies that many of the ideas Greens have promoted for decades now being articulated by a leader of the Labour Party. The Green Party will continue to show people that we offer a radical alternative to business-as-usual – but that we’re open to working with others to further our shared goals, and we believe politics is better when we do.

This could be the beginning of the end of partisan politics and the flourishing of a people’s movement that goes beyond political parties. We must not let this opportunity pass us by.

How should Greens ride the Corbyn 'elephant in the room'?

From the Elephant and the Bad Baby

Bright Greens LINK reviewing the Green Party Conference refers to the election of Corbyn as being the (rather over-worked) elephant in the room. I certainly had lots of informal conversations about the leftward move of Labour during the four days and its repercussions for the Green Party. It is clear that some of those who moved to us from Labour as part of the Green surge are now moving back as Corbyn pushes for some policies (railway nationalisation, bringing academies and free schools under local authority oversight etc) long advocated by our party.

Caroline Lucas in her Conference speech talked about the need for alliances:

The future we want for our children is not going to be created through the politics of the past. When everything has changed so much, and the threats we face as a society and a planet are so deep and complex, we need a new kind of political life.

From Obama’s first election, to the Arab Spring, from Spain to Greece, from Scotland to the Green surge, and now Corbynism – politics is increasingly defined by waves of energy that swell up – seemingly from nowhere – and coalesce around people, parties and decisions.

These waves are not, sadly, the monopoly of those who believe in a better world. The future can also be more brutish and authoritarian, if we let it. 

But by being open to doing politics differently, we can ensure the future is about change made by and for people, in places and ways that make sense for them.

Of course, we need an effective state to intervene on many issues such as the regulation of global financial markets. But more than anything, the politics of the future must be about the creation of platforms, spaces and spheres in which people can collectively change the world – from workplace democracy and self-management, to civic engagement and generating our own community renewable energy. 

But these efforts will be fatally undermined if the neoliberal deregulating zeal of the Tories remains the dominant force in British politics.

Slashing public services; stamping out trade union rights; and environmental vandalism on an epic scale – ripping up energy efficiency measures, privatising the Green Investment Bank, and taking a wrecking ball to what was once our thriving solar industry.

Conference, we say enough. We are working for something better.

And Conference, being in a position to actually deliver that vision of something better is what, I believe, makes it so imperative that we see a realignment of progressive votes to maximise electoral impact.

Finding and cooperating with others with whom we share a belief in a much more equal, democratic and sustainable world.

Of course we will have differences. But we also know that no one individual, no one party, has a monopoly on wisdom. Cancelling out each other's votes is bad enough, but fighting in essentially the same terrain for the same issues and fundamentally the same belief set is madness, when it simply lets the Tories in. 

We share a commitment to a much more equal, democratic and sustainable world.  It is beholden on us to find a way to make the desirable feasible. In a world as complex and rich as ours, we need an equally complex and rich political response. To create a different mood, culture and sentiment to our national politics – one where we see that our differences can become a source, not of division, but of strength.

Conference, the truth is, we need a progressive Labour Party – if that's what Jeremy Corbyn transforms it to be – to do well. Because, like you and me, it’s part of the movement for change.

Progressives are spread about the political battlefield – often more intent on fighting each other – and not the real enemy. But things are changing fast. Old tribal loyalties, that are blind to the good in others, are dying away. We can – we must – respond to that change.

Members of Green Left put forward an Emergency Motion that provided a practical framework for progressing some of the ideas. Unfortunately Conference ran out of time before it could be debated:

Preamble

The election of Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the Labour Party has struck a blow at the prevailing neo-liberal orthodoxy. Whilst welcoming this we call for a fundamental change in the political system through a Constitutional Convention and instruct GPEX to take a lead in encouraging other progressive parties to achieve this.

Motion:

Conference:

1.     Congratulates Jeremy Corbyn on his election as leader of the Labour Party.

2.     Welcomes the support this represents for many of the progressive policies of the Green Party.

3.     Looks for a more constructive relationship with the Labour Party in future.

4.     Calls on GPEX to approach other progressive parties to agree on a Constitutional Convention, which will examine and agree proposals for change at local, regional and national levels of government involving all sectors of society.

During the Conference weekend Red Pepper took an initiative to try and set up a network wider than the Labour Party to support the changers underway. Unfortunately it used Corbyn's name rather than something describing the wider movement but it was something I felt able to support while remaining, as an eco-socialist, a member of the Green Party. 

This is their statement now signed by many actvists:

As campaigners, grassroots activists, trade unionists and members of social movements, we believe the overwhelming election of Jeremy Corbyn as Labour Party leader presents a great opportunity. Jeremy has campaigned tirelessly over decades for social justice, and we share his vision for rebuilding democracy, respect and community. This election means we can start building a better country and a better world.

Some of us are members of the Labour Party and others not. Jeremy’s victory was made possible by people inside and outside the Labour Party who share a common hope in the future. There is an alternative. Things can get better.

But there is a steep road ahead, during which the government and its allies will attempt to spread fear and division. Parts of the media will attack him because they do not like his agenda of hope and participation. Many MPs will try to limit and constrain the process of giving power back to the people. This will be resisted.

As Jeremy himself has said, rebuilding this country cannot depend on one person. It demands that all of us take our share of responsibility. We commit ourselves to supporting this attempt to rebuild democracy in Britain.

We call on like-minded people to join us, creating a democratic and diverse network through action across the country - we will support each other’s campaigns at a local level as well as support the development of progressive changes at a parliamentary and legislative level.

Jeremy Corbyn provides space to once more allow people to make their voices heard. We must take it.

The full statement and signatories can be seen here:LINK

Signatories include Amrit Wilson, Selma James, Zita Holbourne, Sujata Aurora, Shakira Martin,  George Moonbiot, Nick Dearden, Lee Jasper, Jeremy Hardy and Michael Rosen 

Clearly we are only at the beginning of what could be a major shake-up of the left but Greens need a strategy to guide them as the future unfolds.

An exhilerating ride ahead?

Previewing the Green Party Autumn Conference

The Green Party will be assembling for their Autumn Conference in Bournemouth tomorrow at a time when we need  to  come to terms with the Corbyn victory and what it means for the left in general and the Green Party in particular.

In the above interview Caroline Lucas sets out Green Party's positive welcome for a socialist led Labour Party, although that is a long way from the Labour Party itself democratically adopting socialist policies.

One key quote is her response to a question on whether the Green Party itself is a socialist party:

"...Sometimes words like socialist can be more problematic than they are worth in a sense because  people will bring different baggage to what the term means for them. If you're asking is the Green Party fundamentally committee to the redistribution of wealth, to equality and social justice, absolutely 'Yes' it is and I don't think there's any difference between any of us on that."

She indicates that the main difference with Corbyn is that for the Greens these policies are seen through the lens of challenging climate change, the biggest challenge facing human-kind, so that issues such as the nature of an ever expanding consumer led capitalist economy contributing to the depletion of world resources and the acceleration of global warming are paramount.

She is positive about the potential for progressive alliances which is ironic because Green Left, the Eco-socialist grouping within the Labour Party were not successful in their bid for an official  Fringe Meeting on  'A principled or pragmatic progressive alliance?'

However GL are going ahead anyway and holding the meeting outside the conference venue at  The Goat & Tricycle 27-29 W Hill Rd, Bournemouth, Dorset BH2 5PF 8-11pm on Saturday night.

An issue discussed in Lucas' interview which will loom large at the Conference is the Green Party's position on the EU Referendum.  There will be a panel on EU Referendum: the Green 'Yes' at 1pm on Saturday which Lucas will chair.

Basically the party position is Yes to a referendum but Yes to reform. This position is now under strain, not just because Cameron's negotiations may result in dilution of the progressive aspects of the Social Chapter, but the searing experience of Greece in trying to challenge neoliberalism and austerity, TTIP and the failure of the EU to deal humanely and effectively with the refugee crisis.  This means that somew on the left and some trade unions are now leaning towards a socialist 'No' on the basis that the potential for reform is so much pie in the sky.

Later on Saturday at 6.15pm Caroline Lucas will chair a Panel on "Climate Countdown to Paris" which will discuss strategies and alliances to bring pressure on the December talks so that they are more ambitions both in terms of eventual impact on global warming and in terms of speeding up the response.

On Sunday afternoon at 2.30pm following the General Election result there will be a panel on 'How to get PR: What needs to happen to ensure there is never again a repeat of the unfairnessof the 2015 General Election?' The panel includes Neal Lawson of Compass and Robin McAlpine of the Scottish referendum campaign and chair of Common Weal.

Alongside this in the plenary sessions members will be actively engaged in making policy. Members have prioritised a motion on housing into the No.1 slot.

ShahrarAli: Corbyn victory a good result for everyone on the left in British politics

The Green Party offers congratulations to Jeremy Corbyn following his leadership win

The Green Party has offered its congratulations to Jeremy Corbyn on becoming the leader of the Labour Party.

Natalie Bennett, Green Party Leader, said:

"The selection of Corbyn, combined with the remarkable Green surge of the past year , and the SNP's successes in the Westminster election, shows just how many people support an alternative to austerity economics, a head-in-the-sand approach to our environmental crisis and our tired, business-as-usual politics.

"The Green Party shares Corbyn’s opposition to austerity, Trident nuclear weapons, and the sell-off of public assets and  will be delighted to work with his Labour Party and others who share our views on these and other issues.

"The Green Party is committed to standing up for migrants and refugees and calls on the new Labour leader to challenge the government’s feeble and inadequate response to the global refugee crisis.

"In addition, we hope to engage Corbyn and the Labour Party in discussions about the urgent need for electoral reform. As the May 2015 General Election proved, our outdated and unrepresentative system fails both democracy and the electorate.

"We hope Corbyn will encourage his supporters to join with us and other campaigners working on these issues, and, in particular, on pushing the issue of climate change to the top of the political agenda ahead of the upcoming Paris talks."

"The Green Party’s doors continue to remain open to those who want to create a new kind of progressive politics, working, as we have been consistently for decades, for a society in which no one fears not being able to put food on the table or keep a roof over their head, while we all collectively live within the environmental limits of our fragile planet."

Caroline Lucas added:

“Jeremy’s success in this contest is a real boost for progressive politics. For the first time in my memory Labour will be led by someone who stands up for the radical changes demanded by the challenges we face.

"I am looking forward to working with Jeremy to provide a concerted and strong opposition to this Government and to push for the constitutional changes, like reform of our voting system, that Britain’s multi-party, devolved political system demands.

"I will also be urging him to join me in championing urgent action on climate change and building an economy that works for our children and grandchildren - two of the greatest challenges we face."

Fighting for our Future: The Alternative to Austerity, Humanitarian Disaster & Market Meltdown

Book tickets HERE

Labour leadership contenders' stance on environmental policies

Environmentally conscious Labour readers of this blog may be interested in the candidates' answers to questions put by Friends of the Earth. Below I republish the original FOE blog that can be found HERE
 

We asked the Labour leadership candidates to tell us where they stand on green issues. Here is what they said (or didn’t say).

Two weeks ago we wrote about the scale of the Government’s destruction of green policies and the urgent need for strong opposition to these changes from the Labour party.

We also set out 10 key environmental policies we think Ed Miliband’s successor must adopt, in order to hold the Government to account on crucial issues like climate change and the depletion of the natural world.

We sent these policies to the four contenders for the Labour Leadership and asked them to get back to us with their responses.

What the Labour leadership contenders think

Despite extending the deadline (twice) and repeated private and public reminders (here and here for instance), we didn’t hear a peep from two of the candidates, Yvette Cooper and Liz Kendall. (But see note at the end of the article)

Andy Burnham and Jeremy Corbyn did get back to us, but with varying degrees of detail.

Andy Burnham's team provided us with this statement and an accompanying email explaining that many of the “quite detailed” policy positions we put to him “will be subject to the policy review that will take place leading up to the 2020 [general] election”.

The statement makes clear that under Mr Burnham’s leadership “environmental issues will be treated with new energy and will be given a prominent place in what will define the Labour Party” but provides little in the way of detail.

The clearest policy position in Mr Burnham’s statement is that “no fracking should go ahead until we have much clearer evidence on the environmental impact”. This is a welcome commitment, although short of the necessary pledge to oppose fracking full stop because of the unacceptable risks it presents to tackling climate change.

Jeremy Corbyn was the only one of the four candidates who replied in full to our specific asks.

The responses include a commitment to “take action now to keep fossil fuels in the ground” and “end dirty energy handouts, ban fracking and set a target date to end new fossil fuel extraction, and begin to phase out high polluting coal power stations with support for workers to re-train”.

Mr Corbyn said he would “call for unabated coal, the most polluting fossil fuel, to be phased out by 2023” and in a welcome move confirmed that “I am opposed to opencast coal mining which scars our landscape, and disrupts local communities with noise and air pollution.”

+++ UPDATE 24 August: Yvette Cooper gave a speech over the weekend outlining her "six point roadmap" on climate change ahead of the Paris summit at the end of the year. Read our take on it here. +++

Despite Corbyn the impossibility of tackling climate change within capitalism remains the key issue for eco-socialists

The old politics is crumbling, not just in Britain but across our continent. We now have the chance to embrace a movement based not on greed or fear, but on resilient local communities, people working together and a stable economy that works for generations to come. I truly hope you win the contest on 12 September – and I look forward to continuing to work with you to bring about the progressive politics that has inspired us both for so many years...

Caroline Lucas' open letter to Jeremy Corbyn published in the Independent LINK  has created a lot of discussion and comment, not all of it complimentary.

When members of the Labour Party have asked me to join the party I have often replied, only half-jokingly, 'I can't. I'm a socialist!'

Now it looks as if that is what the Labour Party itself is saying to some of those who have joined recently as a result of Jeremy Corbyn's leadership campaign.

I haven't because I am committed to eco-socialism and a member of  Green Left. This is what we said in 2006:

 “Activists in the Green Party have founded Green Left because many Greens believe the only path to an ecological, economically and socially just and peaceful society has to be based on an anti-capitalist political agenda.”

You can read more about Green Left's political position HERE but for me a key issue is that climate change as a result of human activity is such a threat that we have to change that activity. We cannot continue expanding industrial production without limit as the processes involved will accelerate climate change and eventually threaten humankind and other species.

To change to a sustainable economy requires separating wants from needs, ending the artificial creation of demand through advertising,  stopping the plundering of the earth's finite resources, and creating an economic system based on cooperation rather than competition and exploitation.

This is the opposite of neoliberalism which monetises everything from education to water and has no regard for the damage it causes to people and planet.

Corbyn's campaign although sharing many of the Green Party's policies does not address this fundamental issue at the heart of the planetary crisis.  The Labour Party he will inherit as leader, if elected, is still committed to the neoliberal agenda, albeit a slightly softer version than the Tory one, and it will be a huge battle to change that commitment as the reaction of the Blairites, the bulk of the media, and the Establishment have shown.

The Labour leadership campaign has highlighted one issue for me regarding democratic policy making. All the candidates seem to be putting forward policies as individuals, reflecting the party's move away from the sovereignty of conference when members can put forward motions about vital issues and principles, debate and vote on them - it is now a top-down process.  The leadership campaign, rather like a General Election, gives rank and file members just one chance to vote on policy through choosing one of the candidates rather than a say in formulating policy.

The Green Party  still makes policy democratically at its two Conferences a year with a process that includes pre-agenda discussions, pre-conference prioritisation, conference workshops culminating a debate on the floor of the Conference. The leader has no more say in these debates than rank and file members.  The Autumn Conference will be after the winner of the Labour contest is announced and any alliances or pacts will be subject to Conference debate and decision making.

The process means that our leaders cannot make up major policy on the hoof without it first having been decided by the membership. This probably led to some of the difficulties experienced by Natalie Bennett during the General Election campaign when the media expected her to have the same freedom to make policy as other party leaders.

These differences in the process of policy making will present some difficulties if a Corbyn led Labour Party and the Greens set up some kind of 'progressive' alliance ('progressive' is a vague label claimed by many often conflicting groups - anti-austerity or socialist alliance may be better as a guide to action in this parliament).

The undemocratic structures of the Labour Party, the dominance of the far from radical Parliamentary Labour Party, the behind the scenes machinations of the Establishment and intelligence services (cf my previous article on Harold Wilson and my prediction of dirty tricks over Corbyn's support for Palestine LINK) and media hostility all lead me to fear that Andy Burnham will end up as Labour Party leader but, along with Caroline Lucas, I wish Corbyn well.

Some lessons for Corbyn from attacks on Harold Wilson?

The revving up of the campaign against Jeremy Corbyn, within and outside the Labour Party and in the press, including the Guardian, reminds me of a period in recent British history when Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson was under similar attack.

The documentary above is rather slow moving but well worth viewing for those who weren't around at the time.

This was the cold war era and also that of the IRA campaign in Northern Ireland. What was clear then and demonstrated by the documentary is how the Establishment saw Harold Wilson as a threat to their privilege and used a range of dirty tricks and what the documentary calls 'black propaganda' against him using the media, MI5 and the CIA to undermine him. In addition of course Wilson earned US ire by refusing to send British troops to Vietnam.

I think Wilson puts his finger on it when he says:

They would naturally be brought up to believe that a socialist leader is a communist.

This assumption, whether really believed or not, is behind much of what is being said about Corbyn today.

Major General Alexander Greenwood, a stock broker from 1963-1976, talking in the documentary about the situation in the UK under Wilson, says:

You know, the people in the City of London, they weren't liking it. The people who work as stock brokers, they usually come from the best schools. A lot of them have titles you know. They weren't liking it at all. 

Our current City workers come from a wider range of backgrounds but they aren't 'liking' Corbyn' at all' either.

All this of course led to discussions of a coup involving Lord Mountbatten, Cecil King and the Queen Mother and the need to put a 'strong man' in charge of the country. LINK

I am not a conspiracy theorist but is is clear that Corbyn will be resisted by the Establishment and they will resort to dirty tricks to thwart democracy if they feel it necessary. The cold war has gone and Corbyn's democratic credentials are such that trying to label him a 'Communist' will probably fail. The MI5/6/CIA/KGB operations have been replaced by more sophisticated operations.

Tony Blair's dire warning about Corbyn may well reflect his concerns over Iraq and the Chilcot Inquiry. Corbyn was straightfoward when asked on News Night about war crimes and whether Blair should stand trial:

If he has committed a war crime, yes. Everybody who has committed a war crime should be.

Not something that will please the military or secret services.

In Corbyn's case, rather than Moscow being the focus of dirty tricks and smear campaigns, it might well be Palestine. He has been attacked for his pro-Palestine positions and accused of supporting Hamas and Hezbollah in the press and on Labour blogs. LINK  LINK

Former Tory MP Jerry Hayes suggests on his blog that rather than the Establishment, the threat against Corbyn could come from elsewhere:  LINK:

 Rogue elements within the security services, Mossad, American NSA veterans and a whole host of the weird and the not so wonderful could be very tempted to remove Corbyn and his chums from the scene. rogue elements in Mossad may present a threat to Corbyn.

Tongue in cheek Hayes advises Corbyn to get a food taster.

Of course Corbyn is a long way from being leader of the Labour Party, and much further from winning an election and being Prime Minister, but it is  worth  bearing in mind the lessons from the Harold Wilson era as events unfold.

Note:

I was working in a lowly job in Fleet Street between 1964 and 1971 compiling stock exchange reports for Reuters Economic Services, but it did mean that in the Fleet street pubs I was hearing many of the rumours and conspiracy theories referred to in the documentary.

I was in the weird position of cultivating stock brokers as part of my job in order to get inside information on share movements and also being a militant trade unionist representing  Natsopa clerical workers in RES.

Contradictions, don't you love 'em!

Insults, threats and Intimidation no way to run a leadership contest

I am not involved in the Labour Party leadership election except as an interested  observer. However I think this Facebook posting by Javier Farje, which the Labour Party Forum decided not to publish,  deserves a wider audience. (Javier has explained that he meant no offence in his reference to troskyists and apologises to anyone who took offence.)

What was supposed to be a debate among candidates and different positions within the Labour Party has become a war against Jeremy Corbyn. The insults, the threats, the intimidation.

I joined the LP because, for the first time since I moved to the UK 27 years ago and became a British citizen in 1996, I felt that I could become a member of a party that, despite the different approaches to the issues that most concern our society: unemployment, poverty, the neglect of the manufacturing sector, among other things, at least agrees in the need to discuss the best way to make Britain a fairer place. 

I am neither a socially inadequate trotskyist entryist nor am I a disguised tory determined to wreck the LP. Like thousands of new members, young and old, native and, like me, adopted British citizens, I am a person who feels invigorated by the speech of a politician who, after many years of hearing other LP politicians, speaks his mind, without gimmicks or focus groups. 

As a journalist with almost 40 years of experience, 14 of them working for a major British and international broadcasting organisation, I know when I see a bad economic programme or an illegal war. So when Jeremy Corbyn challenges the current post-Cold War 'consensus' or the levels of poverty that can be easily be avoided if we increased taxes by a mere 0.5% to the richest people in the country, then I have to agree.

What is the response of the other candidates and their informal spokespeople? The Alan Johnsons, the Alistair Campbells, the Tony Blairs, the Peter Mandelsons of this world? A better programme, a valid alternative? No. The threat. The insult. 

To suggest that the election of a new party leader should be postponed because some people do not like one candidate is dishonest and undemocratic. The threat of an internal coup if Jeremy Corbyn wins reminds me Latin America, the continent where I was born, with its dirty tricks and its sometimes sleazy political system. It is shameful. I didn't join the LP for this. 

Burnham, Cooper, Kendal, convince me that what you have to offer is better than what Jeremy Corbyn offers. Don't patronise me with the idea that we would be going back to the 80s. And do not insult my intelligence suggesting that people like me do not know what we are doing. If any of you convinces me, I am happy to change my mind and vote for one of you. You have not done that so far. 

And that is not Jeremy Corbyn's fault.

Jeremy Corbyn talks to Salma Yaqoob on Prevent problems and the alleged failure of multiculturalism

Brent North nominates Jeremy Corbyn for leader

Rather unexpectedly, Brent North CLP backed Jeremy Corbyn for Labour leader this evening. Yvette Cooper was in second place, followed by Andy Burnham with Liz Kendall last.

This completes the Brent constituences. Brent Central also backed Corbyn and Hampstead and Kilburn backed Yvette Cooper.

Fighting the Trade Union Bill inside and outside parliament - what are the options?

Corbyn mania was well in evidence at yesterday's Rally on resisting the Trade Union Bill. Corbyn supporters were leafleting outside the NUT's Hamilton House and pressing JC stickers on anyone and anything in the vicinity, almost as bad as the Jehovah Witnesses outside Wembley Park station!

Brent was well represented with LRC members of Brent Labour as well as former Labour councillor Jim Moher present along with Pete Firmin Chair of Brent Trades  Council, Michael Calderbank, chair of Brent Central CLP; Sarah Cox of the SWP, Brent Fightback, and Brent Save Our NHS;and yours truly from Brent Green Party and the Green Party Trade Union Group.

The Corbyn factor was evident from the beginning when Dave Prentis announced Unison was backing him for Labour leader and ended the rally when John McDonnell pledged that Corbyn would mount real opposition in this Parliament to the Bill and when elected to  power in 2020 would repeal all anti-trade union legislation.

Clearly Corbyn's campaign is still to be won and if he does win the problem of what to do about a Parliamentary Labour Party that failed to make a comprehensive stand against the Welfare Bill will loom large.

If he does not win and an austerity-lite candidate becomes leader what happens to the relationship between Labour and the unions?

Another issue that emerged during the speeches was the extent to which unions would be prepared to break the law. There was a sober warning towards the close about what happened previously when unions found their funds sequestered by a hostile Tory government.

Would the Labour Party back breaking an unjust law?

The details of the Trade Union Bill are still to come and there are likely to be amendments from both sides. The Green Party opposed previous anti-union legislation and are almost certain to oppose these both from within parliament and outside when they meet at Conference in September.

Hampstead & Kilburn back Yvette Cooper for Labour Leader by just one vote

Hampstead & Kilburn Labour Party yesterday narrowly backed Yvette Cooper for the Labour Leadership, by just one vote in the third round.

This is how the process of distributing second choice  votes  of the lowest candidate in each round after Jeremy Corbyn achieved the most votes in the first round. Corbyn only acheived one extra vote in the distribution:

First round

Burnham 7
Cooper 24
Corbyn 34
Kendall 11

Second Round

Cooper 28
Corbyn 34
Kendall 11

Third round

Cooper 36
Corbyn 35

This is interesting if a similar pattern were to occur in the national one person one vote poll.

Corbyn nominated by Brent Central CLP

A meeting of Brent Central Constituency Labour Party added impetus to the leadership campaign of Jeremy Corbyn when they nominated him for the position of Labour Party leader this evening.

Leeds West and Bedford CLPs also nominated Corbyn tonight.

Brent LRC has been out on the streets campaigning for Corbyn. Tonight's decision represented a rebuff for Muhammed Butt, leader of Brent Council, who spoke in favour of Andy Burnham. Former GLC leader, London Mayor, colleague of John Duffy and MP for Brent East, Ken Livingstone, backed Corbyn.

Brent Central nominated Angela Eagle for the deputy leadership.

No Glory - No More War. Demonstrate Monday Aug 4th Parliament Square

A notice from Brent Stop the War

No Glory - No More War
Monday 4 August  6.30pm - 8.30pm
Parliament Square London

Monday 4 August is the 100th anniversary of Britain's entry into World War One. Britain's recent record of foreign wars, its commitment to NATO expansion and its support for Israeli aggression make it essential that there is a strong anti-war message on the day.

There are anti-war events taking place around the country to counter David Cameron's campaign to make the WW1 centenary an occasion for "celebration" and "glorification". 

In London the No Glory in War campaign will stage an event in Parliament Square at 6.30pm, just before the official commemoration, evoking the real horror of World War One, demanding that nothing like it happens again. We will be celebrating resistance to war at the time and today.

Speakers and performers at the No Glory - No More War event include actors Samuel West and Kika Markham. Jeremy Corbyn MP will read Kier Hardie's anti-war speech of 1914. Writer AL Kennedy will read Carol Ann Duffy's Last Post in honour of Harry Patch, the last surviving soldier from the First World War trenches, who said until the day he died in 2009 that war was 'legalised mass murder'. 

Also speaking are World War II Normandy veteran Jim Radford, historian Neil Faulkner and Kate Hudson from CND. Music will be performed by Sean Taylor and Gunes Cerit.

Stop the War is asking all our supporters who are able to attend, to bring white poppies and other anti -war symbols to make sure this anniversary is marked in the only way appropriate - with a loud call for an end to foreign wars.

If you are are a Twitter user, please use the hashtag #NoMoreWar throughout the day.

James Powney: Catherine West 'very inspiring'

Catherine West

As the contest for Labour's nomination for Brent Central heats up Cllr James Powney posted this about one of the possible candidates on his blog yesterday.LINK  He didn't mention the Brent Central contest but Catherine West seems to have gained a fan.

I went to hear the very inspiring Catherine West, Leader of Islington Council, speak last night at a meeting in Kensal Green.  Although Islington is very different to Brent (for instance, in the amount of social housing), I am sure we could learn much from both their policies and campaign techniques.

West was recently awarded 'Council Leader of the Year' by the Local Government Information Unit and praised as a 'doer and thinker'.

Jeremy Corbyn MP (Islington North)  congratulated her:

Congratulations Catherine on your prorities of social justice and making our borough a better place. Well deserved award for your wonderfully inclusive approach to dealing with all the issues that face us!