Now -read the book!

Here is a link to my memoirs which, if you are a glutton for punishment, you can purchase online at https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/an-obscure-footnote-in-trade-union-history.
Men fight and lose the battle, and the thing that they fought for comes about in spite of their defeat, and when it comes turns out not to be what they meant, and other men have to fight for what they meant under another name. (William Morris - A Dream of John Ball)

Friday, January 19, 2007

Brown to launch HMS Gandhi?

So Gordon Brown is inspired by Mahatma Gandhi.

Lovely.

But how to honour him?

Why not name one of the new Trident nuclear submarines after him Gordon? After all – you are committed to replacing Trident.

Those in the trade union movement who support Gordon and look forward to a smooth transition from Blair to Brown ought to have the courage to say so openly and the confidence to explain why Brown’s policies are in our interests.

It is not clear that the approach of lunching Ministers is delivering for our members in the health service or for our pensions.

Of course there is a candidate for Labour Leader who can support the policies we will be advancing at the lobby of Parliament on Tuesday (and who has policies rather closer to the ideas of Gandhi than those advanced by Gordon Brown).

3 comments:

Owen said...

You've got to admire his audacity - describing Gandhi as a chief inspiration and committing himself to further British imperialist wars in the same breath.

I believe the appropriate Yiddish word is "chutzpah".

a very public sociologist said...

I've never understood why a layer of trade unionists and those at the top of the unions are so keen on Brown. Can you enlighten us Jon? Is it just a case of their hoping beyond hope he'll be not as bad as Blair?

Jon Rogers said...

I think it is as simple as the union leaders wanting to back a winner. They were traumatised by the Tory years and the refusal of a Government to engage with them - they put great store by having "access" to Government Ministers (whether or not they get any results out of it) and they think that if they back a left wing challenge to Brown they will marginalise themselves.