'No return to New Labour' call by group of newly elected Labour MPs

In case you missed it this letter published in Saturday's Guardian suggest some at least of the newly elected Labour MPs will resist a return to New Labour policies and challenge austerity. It is interesting that they are mainly from the north of England with just one London Labour MP signing the letter:

Having arrived in Westminster as newly elected Labour MPs, and after speaking to tens of thousands of voters during our election campaigns, we know how important it is for the future of our party to move forward with an agenda that best serves the everyday needs of people, families and communities, and that is prepared to challenge the notion of austerity and invest in public services.

Labour must now reach out to the 5 million voters lost since 1997, and those who moved away from Labour in Scotland, renewing their hope that politics does matter and Labour is on their side.

We need a new leader who looks forward and will challenge an agenda of cuts, take on big business and will set out an alternative to austerity – not one which will draw back to the New Labour creed of the past. Labour needs a leader who is in tune with the collective aspiration of ordinary people and communities across Britain, meeting the need for secure employment paying decent wages, homes that people can call their own, strong public services back in public hands, and the guarantee of a real apprenticeship or university course with a job at the end of it. From restoring Sure Start to providing dignity and a good standard of living in retirement, these are the aspirations key to real Labour values today and will re-engage people across our country in the years to come.

We look forward to engaging in the debate in the weeks ahead to secure our party as being best able to meet the challenges faced by ordinary people at this time.

Richard Burgon MP (Leeds East), Louise Haigh MP (Sheffield Heeley), Harry Harpham MP (Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough), Imran Hussain MP (Bradford East), Clive Lewis MP (Norwich South), Rebecca Long Bailey MP (Salford and Eccles), Rachael Maskell MP (York Central), Kate Osamor MP (Edmonton), Cat Smith MP (Lancaster and Fleetwood), Jo Stevens MP (Cardiff Central)

Handful of 6th form students galvanise 3,000 into anti-austerity protest

I was heartened by this news from Bristol where a handful of 6th form students organised an anti-austerity protest in reaction to the Conservative election victory. They apparently did so independently of any political party.  This is an interview they gave after the event to the Student Assembly Against Austerity LINK:

On Wednesday (13 May), a group of A Level students organized a 3,000 strong protest in Bristol against the Tories and their austerity agenda - a protest which is hopefully a sign of things to come! 

Below Fiona Edwards from the Student Assembly Against Austerity interviews Bristol Against Austerity activist and A Level student Rosie Simmons who was one of the organisers of the protest.  


When we woke up last Friday morning to the news that the Tories won the election we were very shocked and disappointed.

Why did you decide to organise a protest following the Tories winning the election and why do you think its important for young people and students to get involved in the movement against austerity?

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We organised a protest for several reasons. Firstly because austerity doesn’t work, it is not the solution that our country needs. We don’t think that taking money from the people that are the most vulnerable and already suffering is right. 

We also disagree with the Tories themselves, as we think that they are fundamentally selfish party who over the next 5 years are going to make living in this country even harder for those that are less well-off. 

We finally disagree with the first past the post system, as 76% of those eligible to vote did not vote for the Tories, but they still won with a ‘majority’. We think it’s important for young people to get involved in the movement against austerity because whether or not it’s affecting you or someone you know, we need to take care of the people in our country that are struggling, not take away from them. 

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Students across the country were so inspired to see over 3,000 people march against austerity in Bristol this week. How did it all come together? 

After the general election, we were all really disappointed and unhappy with the results. We were tweeting about how we wished that we could get involved with some sort of protest, and annoyed that there wasn’t one in Bristol, so we decided to make one ourselves! We knew that there are enough people in Bristol angry about the election results to make it viable. So we made a group chat on facebook, made an events page, invited all our friends, and it really caught on! A lot of people felt that they needed an outlet to express their views and come together, and we provided that platform. 

What are the next steps in your campaign? 
We’re currently studying for our A-levels so we’re talking at a couple of events and then taking a break until exams are over! After that though we are planning on dealing with the direct effects of austerity; by helping at food banks and women’s shelters in Bristol. We’re really excited that as a result of the protest we now have sufficient contacts and support to be able to make a big difference in our community! 

On Saturday 20 June hundreds of thousands of people will be marching on the ‘End Austerity Now’ national demo. We are organising a student bloc – do you have a message on why people should join us? 
People should join this march because we, as people living in the UK need to make our voice heard. This isn’t about being bad losers, or expecting the Tories to magically disappear, but about seeing a massive problem in government policy that is going to affect so many people’s lives negatively and showing that we don’t like it and we’re not going to be complacent while austerity continues to affect the people in our communities that are already suffering. So please join us, the more people that come, the more of an impact we can make!


Inspired? Join the fight back today! Come along to the massive national demo on Saturday 20 June and find out about other actions you can take in the run up here (including local protests which are happening nationwide)

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Eleanor Southwood is Brent Council's new lead member for Environment

Cllr Eleanor Southwood (Queens Park) was elected to be the new Lead Member for the Environment at the Labour Group AGM today and joins the Cabinet.

She replaces Cllr George Crane who had decided to stand down.

The appointment is welcome as for a time it looked as if there might be no Environment lead member post at all following the outsourcing of most of the department's work to Veolia via the Public Realm contract.

Cllr Southwood was previously on the Scrutiny Committee.

Following her joining the Cabinet this picture of the new Cabinet was circulated on Twitter today:

 They may have been stuck in a lift.
 

New line up on Brent Council Scrutiny Committee

Reliable sources tell me that the Brent Labour Group AGM today elected a new Scrutiny Committee with Cllr Dan Filson as chair. He is joined by Cllr Tom Miller, Cllr Sam Stopp, Cllr Matt Kelcher, Cllr Shama Tatler and Cllr Harbi Farah.

The election involved Labour backbenchers and excluded Cabinet members. [added for clarity at request of those concerned- MF].

The single Scrutiny Committee had come under fire for its lack of bite and failure to interrogate lead members and officers sufficiently rigorously.

Dan Filson has a a reputation for independence and is known to actually read council documentation, a rare attribute amongst Brent councillors. He comes over as a cross between Monsieur Hulot and Victor Meldrew but has a sharp edge.

Whether the younger members will exhibit a similar streak of independence and be prepared to challenge the Cabinet remains to be seen.

On Twitter Matt Kelcher said, 'Looking forward to my chance to serve my Borough in a new capacity, I hope to be an effective and constructive voice.'

However, on Facebook, LINK Michael Calderbank wrote 'New Brent Council Scrutiny Committee elected - and full of inexperienced young councillors who will have an eye on leadership patronage'.