Dear Supporter
By-election – this Thursday
If you’ve got any free time please come and join us and Anam, our Labour Party candidate, in Forest Gate North. We’re also out 11am and 6pm Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week and all…Read more…
All the union news that's fit to blog...
Dear Supporter
By-election – this Thursday
If you’ve got any free time please come and join us and Anam, our Labour Party candidate, in Forest Gate North. We’re also out 11am and 6pm Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week and all…Read more…
“Too many housing associations do not support the victims of workplace violence, says John Gray” Below is an opinion piece I wrote for Inside Housing last week (it is behind a paywall). I think you will find the same thing in many other sectors.
…Read more…
What a terrific street art painting in my West Ham ward at Holbrook Road junction with Plaistow Road, West Ham. E15.
I am not sure if there is a William Blake connection but it does remind me of his famous poem (see below – one of my favourties). I un…Read more…
BBC news. “Labour’s former deputy prime minister Lord Prescott has waded into the row over Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership saying: “He’s only been in the job nine months – do you know anyone who gets sacked within nine months?”
He says he doesn’t agre…Read more…
This is my latest opinion article for Professional Pensions magazine.
“John Gray asks why UK pension schemes do not have access to important information on charges.
Earlier this month I went to the CWC annual conference in Amsterdam. This was f…Read more…
The current crisis within the Parliamentary Labour Party is deeply regrettable and unnecessary. Last week’s vote to leave the European Union presents the entire labour movement with unprecedented challenges. Above all, we need to be fighting to preserve our members’ jobs, already under threat in…Read more…
Picture collage from the recent canvassing sessions in the Forest Gate North ward By election in Newham, East London. The candidate is Anam Islam, a top Labour trade unionist, anti-racist campaigner and committed socialist.
The campaig…Read more…
Unison statement “Last summer, our union nominated Jeremy Corbyn for Labour leader, and a great number of our members voted for him in the Labour leadership contest.Support for Jeremy remains the position of this union, as determined by our member…Read more…
UNISON Press release “Commenting on the news that the UK has voted to leave the EU, UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said:
“The people have spoken, and they have made a clear call for change – and a different relationship with Europe.
“We will be working in the coming weeks and…Read more…
Dear John
The Referendum’s tomorrow. We’ve all heard the arguments from both sides, and although we think the EU is far from perfect, we at unionstogether strongly believe that we are all better off IN Europe.
We’re backing remaining in the EU for the following three reasons:
1….Read more…
Guest Post By NEC member Elizabeth Cameron. “And we’re off! !! #uNdc16 gets underway.
Fairly lengthy but also interesting standing orders report delivered by new chair Mark Rayner for whom this is a well deserved achievement,
Mark has worked tirelessly for years on this committee and…Read more…
Unison is back in Brighton for its National Delegate Conference. The NDC is the annual Parliament of our 1.3 million members. Over 2000 delegates and visitors will be in Brighton for the conference
Picture is from the London meeting this evening for de…Read more…
I lost my Dad 14 years ago so “Fathers Day” is always going to be a bit difficult.
But we have to move on in life and remember the good times and not just the sad times.
I was too young to actually remember this picture of me, my big sister Helen and…Read more…
Picture collage is from the vigil held yesterday morning (I was out of London this weekend) in Forest Gate for Jo Cox MP, who was murdered by an apparently mentally disturbed but committed Nazi and Fascist.
It was organised by West Ham Labour Wom…Read more…
Picture following the selection of Anamul Islam tonight (looking pensive holding the large “Vote Labour” placard) as the Labour Party candidate for the Newham Council by election on 14 July.
There were 11 high quality candidates for the position, all …Read more…
UNISON Labour Link “As you will be aware a By-election is taking place in Tooting on Saturday as a result of Sadiq Khan becoming Mayor of London. The majority in the last General Election in Tooting was just 2842 so it is important to turn out th…Read more…
Have you ever wondered where the expression “United we stand, divided we fall” comes from? It is a traditional trade union saying but I was surprised to find it is far older.
The ancient Greek Aesop’s “The Four Oxen and the Lion”
The fable reads as follows:
Following the resignation of Forest Gate North Councillor, Ellie Robertson, in order to take up a politically restricted post in City Hall, we have a Newham Council by election on July 14 (Bastille Day).
This Thursday 16 June there will be a meeting o…Read more…
This is a very late post. Last October I had been on a week’s holiday in Rome, Italy visiting the marvellous ancient ruins and historical sites.
On the last day I went to the “Museum of the Liberation of Rome”. It was a little difficult to find and wh…Read more…
These are notes from a briefing and discussion we had at last months Forest Gate North Labour Party branch meeting on the Housing and Planning Act 2016 and it’s consequences. The briefing is based on an Unison report to its NEC. Our branch now tr…Read more…