Off message but spent Christmas in North Wales visiting family. In between visits (and eating and drinking lots) Gill and I had some fantastic walks. We hired a cottage near Llanwyfan which is about 4 miles from Denbigh. There use to be a large TB hosp…Read more…
TUC head calls on labour movement to pull together and avoid “self-pity” and “recriminations” in New Year message
“Working families won’t be sorry to see the back of the 2010s. It’s been a decade of austerity and pay stagnation – putting real pressure on family finances, the NHS and the public services we all rely on.
Looking to the next decade, we face big chal…Read more…
Newham in east London has steepest house price rises of the century
Hat tip The Guardian. This is NOT a good thingRead more…
The Death of Stalin
I watched “The Death of Stalin” on Netflix last night. It is billed as a comedy. While there are some comic moments it is not for the faint hearted.
An account of a gangster state changing its leadership. I wonder how accurate it is? Strange to s…Read more…
#NewhamDemocracyCommission Have you had your say?
Democracy and Civic Participation Commission – tell us what you think. To join the conversation online, and for full details of all events visit: https://www.newhamdemocracycommission.org/
#NewhamDemocracyCommission
Read more…
Review: The War in the West, A New History: Volume 1: Germany Ascendant 1939-1941, by James Holland
This is history on a grand scale. James Holland has limited himself to the war in the west, covering the period up to the German invasion of the USSR in June 1941. So in terms…Read more…
A Christmas gift from “Battling Bessie” Braddock
An early Christmas present were these historic Labour Party cuff links. My cousin is friends with an elderly Labour supporter in Dolgellau, North Wales who wanted me to have have them. Which is very kind of him.
What is particularly fascinating is tha…Read more…
Turnout tales
If recent events tell us anything, it’s that voting matters… With that in mind this is a quick post on something that caught my eye this year: sharp changes in voting turnout at a number of companies. Some of the more striking examples have been at c…Read more…
Merry Communist Christmas
Hap tip StroppyRead more…
Newham’s Rough Sleeper Xmas Shelter
“Volunteers are hard at work putting the final festive touches to the rough sleepers Christmas Shelter which opens today in Stratford at 2pm. It’s the second year #Newham Council has supported the project run by Stratford Seventh Day Adventist Church a…Read more…
A view from the right
Hap tip free markets think tank CPS for this article by Glen O’Hara.
The real reasons Labour lost
Labour should not have lost this election. Only once before has any modern British government going for a fourth term won the approval of the vote…Read more…
Pick of the bunch
As the year comes to a close we relive some of the many highlights UNITElive has covered.
The post Pick of the bunch appeared first on UNITElive.org.Read more…
A view from the hard left
Hat tip my libel pal David Osland’s (seen here with me and his partner Cllr Stroppy) article in last weeks Telegraph.
“For the hard left – and yes, I’m proudly part of it – it’s time to wake up and smell the Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign organic fairt…Read more…
Check the small print before believing this government’s promises on workers’ rights
A government desperate to brand itself as on the side of working people has delivered a Queen’s Speech that offers a fig-leaf of reform coupled with an attack on the best organisations to protect…Read more…
Beyond the North-South Divide: one size won’t fit all
No more excuses – the new government must boost living standards for working families, rebuild our public services and invest in communities.Read more…
The reality about illegal evictions & criminal landlords
You wouldn’t believe a landlord would tell a family that they need to be evicted so s/he could hold a Christmas party?
Hat tip Nearly Legal
“The new government’s Queens Speech confirmed that there will be a Bill that will involve the ending…Read more…
Preserving The Future Of Aluminium In Quebec.
Major concerns about new Canada, US, Mexico trade deal for Canadian aluminium industry. From the @steelworkers in Quebec Canada, December 19th, 2019. Aluminum workers from the United Steelworkers…Read more…
Totally fed up of losing General Elections: UNISON NEC
On Wednesday there was a post general election meeting of the UNISON National Executive Committee at our headquarters in Euston. I hold one of the two elected NEC seats for UNISON members who work in the UK Voluntary Sector and Housing Associations.
A year in UNISON: 2019 reviewed – part one
A lot happened in the UK in 2019. But as usual, UNISON members stuck to their principles, kept their feet on the ground and scored some notable victories
The article A year in UNISON: 2019 reviewed…Read more…
Contacting UNISON over the festive period
UNISONDirect hours over Christmas and the new year
The article Contacting UNISON over the festive period first appeared on the UNISON National site.Read more…