FW: LINK BULLETIN 2 : Manchester Conference - SATURDAY
DECEMBER 17th
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Michael Chewter
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Nov 24, 2005 15:43 PST
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I have invited Stefan again to join us on LandSF.
| | From: stefan cholewka <ste-@macunlimited.net>
Reply-To: whatnextf-@topica.com
Date: Thu, 24 Nov 2005 22:07:13 +0000
To: What Next <whatnextf-@topica.com>
Subject: (wnfl) LINK BULLETIN 2 : Manchester Conference - SATURDAY DECEMBER
17th
- The LINK-
OPEN FORUM OF LABOUR PARTY MEMBERS
AND TRADE UNIONISTS TO RECLAIM THE PARTY
Please reply to: stef-@fsmail.net
MANCHESTER CONFERENCE BULLETIN: 2
Dear Friends,
I am experiencing problems with my email
Please send replies to: stef-@fsmail.net
The proposal for a MANCHESTER CONFERENCE to take place on December 17th,
takes on a renewed urgency, following on from Tony Blair's first ever
Commons defeat when almost 1 in 5 Labour MP's defied the whip to throw out
a government proposal for terror suspects to be held for up to 90 days
without charge.
MP's voted by 322 to 291 against a government amendment to the Terrorism
Bill which came after futher revelations of torture and mistretment in Iraq.
A majority of the House of Commons with 62 Labour MP's - nearly 1 in 5 -
including 11 former ministers opposed what was a body blow against one of
the fundamentals of civil liberty in Britain: the Habeas Corpus.
A few weeks ago we signed an Open Letter addressed to all the delagates to
the Labour party Conference , to all Labour party members across the
country.
Were we not right to say : "We brought Labour back to power 12 years
ago and since then we have not seen the expected reversal of anti-working
class policies ... Yes, we do say openly - what anyone can read in any
report on international labour standards, that our country remains the only
one in the whole of Western Europe not to comply with ILO conventions
because Tony Blair refuses to repeal Thatcher's anti- union laws ... We see
that the refusal to re-nationalise the railways has caused terrible death
and injury. It has made our railway the most dangerous network across the
whole of Europe for millions of daily commuters, and has gone a long way
to destroy all the social and economic gains of rail workers in Britain ...
We see that the privatisation of the NHS and primary health care services
that began under Thatcher has now been extended under Blair. This is
pulling us back into the 19th century ... We see that all this equally
applies to pension provision, state education and social housing ... We see
that all these policies derive from the total submission of the Blair
Government to the European Union whose constitution has just been
massively rejected in France and the Netherlands"
After Blair's defeat at the House of Commons, the City of London is now
seriously worried: "Blair has lost his majority" (Financial Times)
The Times adds :"The whips were accepting last night that it would be
difficult to get any of the key reforms through without the support of the
Tories ".
In other words a German like "grand-coalition" is now needed.
Is this not a coalition with the Tories that we opposed in Rochdale?
At Labour party conference Blair boasted that whenever he proposes a reform,
he thinks he is not going far enough.
By these comments he was showing his determination to push through all the
counter- reforms imposed by the European Union and the big international
institutions in the time he intends to remain in power.
Clare Short , who quit the Cabinet after the Iraq war, said she hoped that
Blair's defeat would, "speed Mr. Blair on his way. It would be good for
the country and the Labour party if he moved off ".
Clare Short is right, to save the party, to save the country from total
collapse, more than ever: " Blair out now ! ", is the slogan that can group
all those who intend to defend the party that the British working class has
built, all those who intend to defend what remains of what was won by the
party and the unions linked to it, to reclaim and re-conquer what Blair
and the EU - in the wake of Thatcher - have destroyed.
Susan Smith whose son, Phillip Hewett, was killed in Iraq in July says,
"Blair should go... He lied over the war. He knew the truth and still sent
the troops in over oil. That's the only reason for this war"
She is right to add, " Even without the war it is time for Blair to go. Just
look at what he is pushing through in terms of attacks on the health service
and education."
From spring 2006, nurses and chemists are to be allowed to prescribe any
medicine except controlled drugs such as diamorphine.
Patricia Hewitt said: "Extending prescribing responsibilities is an
important part of our commitment to modernise the NHS".
Is it not the destruction of the medical profession and a threat to
thousands of people ?
The British Medical Association called the changes "irresponsible and
dangerous".
Health secretary Patrica Hewitt plans to allow two-star as well as tree
star rated NHS trusts to apply for foundation trust status, despite
criticism that they do not improve patient care.
UNISON head of health Karen Jennings criticised the move as "completely
unjustified". "This is based on a healthcare commission survey published in
July showing that there is no evidence that foundation trusts improve
patient, in fact quite the opposite"
"Instead of moving the goalposts and allowing more trusts to apply for
foundation status, the government should call a halt to this failed
experiment".
"New financial arrangements will do nothing to end this two-tier health
system."
UNISON is strongly opposed to foundation hospitals and believes they
threaten the very principles of the national health service. The union says
health care providers will be forced to compete against each other and
money will be diverted away from the NHS.
In the discussion Bulletin publishing the contributions sent by the
endorsers of the open Letter we publish an appeal on pensions which said :
"No to flexible pension schemes ! No to the introduction of the two tier
pensions in public services The rule must remain 60 for all public services
workers". We quoted an OECD press release, published on 10/10.05
recommending that, " governments should ensure that pensions and other
welfare arrangements encourage rather than discourage work at older
ages...They wish to suppress any reference to a set age of retirement !. It
is unacceptable. The rule must remain 60 for all as was clearly demanded by
the trade unions at the last TUC and Labour party conference".
We ask the question: " How can we be sure that Blair will not go further
and extend the retirement age at 65 for everybody ? ".
The proof now comes from the pensions commission report leaked to the
Financial Times, calling for a rise in the retirement age to 67.
T&G's Tony Woodley warned that "raising the retirement age is a socially
regressive move which penalises the poorest".
Amicus, general secretary Derek Simpson said that, "the increase in
retirement age must be opposed".
The teaching union NUT, condemned Ruth Kelly's school reform as
"privatisation by stealth". Commons education committee member David
Chaytor MP warned that the proposals would create "the most stratified and
segregated school system in Europe".
What took place at the House of Commons shows that it is possible to
defend the most elementary forms of independent Labour representation and
political democracy.
In a democracy it is Parliament that decides our laws. The fact that the
police have requested new powers should never be reason enough to grant it
to them.
This principle applies to the reforms proposed by Blair on education,
health, social benefits and pensions which are all dictated from outside,
by the EU and the big financial institutions to the detriment of the
country and the population.
Why hold a meeting in Manchester ?
Because the main lesson of the House of Commons debate is that Blair CAN be
defeated and that the Labour party CAN be saved, provided that those who
want to save it, those who want Blair to go now, come together.
We may have different approaches on such and such an issue but there is
something common to all those who signed the letter: we want to save the
party and we think that Blair is leading it to the abyss.
Tony Blair is attempting to continuing the process of destroying the Labour
party as the party of the working class in Britain through proposals to
replace democratic mandates through the CLP general committee delegate
structures. Political democracy is is being replaced by email and phone
trees of virtual electronic communication networks and cheer-leader support
networks.
The trade and industry secretary Alan Johnston has personally called for
trade union representation to be cut from the present 50 per cent to just 15
per cent.
The trade union link and the relationship with the party represents the
'mass base' of the LP. The LP just does not work without the industrial
wing. As Roy Hattersley put it in a recent article in the Guardian: " Only
the trade unions can save the Party ".
In the party, in the unions there are thousands of members who after 8 long
years had lost the belief that Blair and his policies could be defeated.
They remained in the party because this party is their party, but they had
lost any belief that the course of events could be reversed.
What took place in the House of Commons is the proof that the party is not
dead, that the basic principles of democracy are still alive in the
collective consciousness of the party.
There are thousands of people in the branches and CLP 's around this country
who are expecting an initiative.
The Manchester meeting is to start the ball rolling, to say what has been
done in the PLP can be done in the party itself.
In Manchester we will say, let's come together - whatever our differences -
the defeat inflicted on Blair in the Commons can be extended to the whole
party.
We may have different approaches to different questions, different view
points on this and that policy issue, but we can all say that severing
trade union link MUST NOT take place.
Again, we may all have different approaches, but we can all say that the
reforms in preparation MUST NOT be passed.
The first step in order to bar the way to such destructive agenda is to meet
to discuss how we will address each and every party member and CLP, how we
will address each and every trade union branch so that they say: "we reject
these reforms, Blair must go now !, to discuss how we will address each
and every MP to tell them YOU CANNOT SUPPORT THESE REFORMS"
MANCHESTER CONFERENCE INVITATION
REGISTRATION COUPON
Please reply to: stef-@fsmail.net
* I wish to REGISTER for the MANCHESTER CONFERENCE:
AFTER BRIGHTON: KICK OUT BLAIR TO DEFEND THE LABOUR PARTY
VENUE:CENTRAL METHODIST HALL,
OLDHAM STREET, MANCHESTER
(just off Piccadilly Gardens)
Date: SATURDAY DECEMBER 17th
Time:12.00-4.00pm
(ROOM: LOUNGE)
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CLP.........................................................................
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print and distribute the BULLETIN and the INVITATION and hire a central
venue in MANCHESTER and have at least a minimal level refreshments provided.
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