A beautiful short film made by activists and filmmakers in Liverpool, featuring a wide range of local Labour members explaining why they support #JeremyForLabour. Thank you Phil Maxwell, Hazuan Hashim and Lola Perrin!
If you would like to volunteer your talents for Jeremy’s campaign, let him know through his campaign website.
Sanjiv Sachdev reviews an exhibition of the art of political prints
In Waiting for the Great Leap Forward Billy Bragg famously sings that “The revolution is just a T-shirt away”. The phrase now, of course, adorns a Bragg-approved Philosophy Football T-shirt, and captures the subject matter of Hugh Tisdale and Dan Murrell’s exhibition of prints; an interest in music, progressive politics and pop culture in its broadest sense. A small slice of a huge, wide-ranging catalogue is present here, starting in 2000 and ending in 2016, of 20 prints produced in silkscreen, digital and hand-stenciled media. Continue reading
This is a joint statement by a number of members of Labour’s national policy forum in 2014
The assertion keeps being made by journalists, MPs and Labour Party members that Labour’s policy making process has in recent years cemented a pro-Trident position. It has not. We should be absolutely clear: during the 2010-2015 parliament, the national policy forum discussed the issue of Trident and it was a major topic at the final policy forum gathering at Milton Keynes in July 2014.
An unambiguous and non-negotiable pro-Trident policy would never have got through that forum. Over 50 amendments from local parties were submitted to a hawkish pro-nuclear draft document and as a result the policy was changed significantly. Crucially, nuclear weapons would be included in a Labour government’s strategic defence and security review. The previous draft wording indicating Labour would proceed with Trident replacement (i.e. that Labour would ‘ensure the deterrent is delivered in the most cost-effective and strategic way‘) was removed. A commitment ‘to show leadership in achieving progress on global disarmament‘ was added. The final wording included: Continue reading
by Robin’s ‘Hood
Many of us have had concerns about the executive mayoral model, especially in unitary councils run as one party states with no effective opposition. Recent events in Newham, East London, illustrate what can go wrong. Three councillors (5% of the total) have currently been placed in administrative suspension by the national Labour Party, including one who is known as being a strong supporter of Jeremy Corbyn and who recently helped launch Momentum in Newham. Perhaps not a great career move if your local party leader was a well-known supporter of Liz Kendall!
It might turn out that the allegations against these Councillors are justified. However, it makes you wonder exactly what these three backbench Asian councillors have done when you consider that recent findings against leading Newham Labour political figures, who were not at any stage suspended by the party during investigations, resulted in no action being taken against them whatsoever by the group or the Labour Party – despite serious misconduct being established. Continue reading
A reply from Stop the War to Phil Burton-Cartledge by Steve Bell, Murad Qureshi and Carol Turner
On 12 December the London demonstration against the bombing of Syria heard the following message from Jeremy Corbyn.
I want to thank the Stop the War Coalition, and all of you here today, for standing up against the government’s decision to join yet another war in the Middle East – this time in Syria. The anti-war movement has been a vital force at the heart of our democracy. The attacks on it as somehow illegitimate are an attempt to close down democratic debate and campaigning.”
As Labour Party members, and officers of Stop the War (STW), we share Jeremy’s analysis. The attacks on Jeremy’s stand, and STW, have included red-baiting and witch-hunting. Cameron’s infamous comment was that Jeremy and supportive MPs were “terrorist sympathisers”. The Telegraph, Mail, etc., have poured abuse on Jeremy, the Coalition, and individual Officers. With no pretence of balance, the media makes a simple fund-raising dinner a major news event, hoping for some provocative outcome. Continue reading
