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)

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Which side are you on?

It's good to see Labour MPs and Councillors pledging to stand on, rather than cross, picket lines tomorrow (http://l-r-c.org.uk/press/labour-mps-and-councillors-back-30-november-strike-and-say-we-wont-cross-pi/).

Tomorrow's strike is a moment to choose sides. Those who want a decent, fair society which takes responsibility for the old, the sick and the poor, will support striking public servants.

Those who want above all else a market economy which rewards some at the expense of others and let's the devil take the hindmost will support the Thatcherite Government.

Between these two positions there is precious little political space, just perhaps a narrow fence, full of splinters, from the top of which the Shadow Cabinet gaze nervously down at the real world outside the Westminster bubble.
Sent using BlackBerry® from Orange


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I was extremely disappointed to see Labour party banners at our strike on Thursday.
A lot of my colleagues are reluctant to join a union because of their close ties to the Labour party. The is a lot of hostility to the Unions within the workplace because the unions did nothing when we are shafted by Labour party(the Blair 'reforms') then get all militant when the ConDems are making the cuts.
The unions would be much more credible and have more members (and more active members) if they became less selective about when to stick up for their members.
Cut or at least loosen your ties to a single political party, stop all the unrelated campaigning (Palestine etc) and concentrate on actually being a TRADE UNION.