The preliminary agenda for the GMB Congress, due to start in Brighton on 10 June, is now available on its internal website. The agenda reveals significant disaffection with the stance taken earlier this year by Ed Balls on public service cuts and pay, with motions from seven out of nine regions, some of which also […]
Posts Tagged ‘Progress’
GMB Congress to consider investigating party-within-a-party “Progress”
Apr 24th, 2012 by Jon Lansman.
Why a Blairite party-within-a-party is a structural obstacle to Labour’s revival
Apr 17th, 2012 by Jon Lansman.In the face of defeat in Bradford, Ed Miliband has recognised that Labour needs “real, deep, genuine change” to reconnect with the 5 million voters lost under New Labour. At the same time, Labour right-wingers like Luke Akehurst express “disgust“ that other Labour members can put aside loyalty to their party to express solidarity not […]
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Let us welcome Progress conversions to plurality
Mar 21st, 2012 by Jon Lansman.Blairite Shadow Cabinet member, Ivan Lewis, in his speech to the Progress political weekend, responded to “the anonymous briefers who have sought to undermine Progress in recent times“. What he said included the words: “Let us encourage plurality. No individual or section of the party has a monopoly of wisdom.” Let’s unreservedly welcome that conversion. […]
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Openness, democracy and transparency. Is that too much to ask of Progress?
Mar 13th, 2012 by Jon Lansman.This weekend, Progress – Labour’s Blairite faction – is again holding its annual political weekend in rural Lincolnshire, sponsored this year by the British Venture Capital Association. As usual it is addressed by several shadow cabinet members (Douglas Alexander, Liam Byrne, Ivan Lewis, Liz Kendall), but this year it meets widely accused of being a […]
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The absence of the trade union Right
Feb 22nd, 2012 by Andy Newman.The recent report circulated about the activities of Progress, a semi-clandestine “party within a party” has been highlighted by Jon Lansman. Conrad Landin further highlights the undemocratic nature of Luke Akehurst’s Labour First group The level of organisation of the Labour right gives them disproportionate leverage within the party, particularly as the consensus between the Blairites, […]
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The Labour Right and democracy
Feb 21st, 2012 by Conrad Landin.Many in the Labour party, including myself, have criticised far-left outfits for their lack of accountability and democratic control. Members of such parties, which often describe themselves as ‘leaderless’, get purged at the whim of those who call the shots. Appointments are made to top positions, and the organisation’s members won’t hear until it’s final. […]
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Call for Labour inquiry into the organisation & activities of party-within-a-party Progress
Feb 20th, 2012 by Jon Lansman.A 20-page dossier which seems to have been widely circulated, including to all Labour constituency party secretaries, is calling on Labour’s national executive to “determine the organisational nature of Progress, and whether or not this form of organisation is acceptable inside the Labour Party.” The extremely high level of funding of Progress, combined with periodic […]
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The future of the left
Nov 28th, 2011 by Len McCluskey.Unite meets in Brighton this week in most troubling times for our country. Faith in the institutions forming the pillars of national life – from the political class to the press – has collapsed. Fear stalks the global markets, and yet our political leaders seem incapable of steering a course out of the despair.
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Dan Hodges doesn’t want Ken to win, and won’t vote for him
Nov 3rd, 2011 by Jon Lansman.Yesterday, asking the question “does Progress want Ken to win?“, I confess I missed something. I did take a holiday in August. 10 days. Missed both the riots, and, it turns out, an interesting piece Dan Hodges wrote for the New Statesman. In it he reveals that, in his view, “neither Boris Johnson nor Ken […]
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Does Progress want Ken to win? (updated)
Nov 2nd, 2011 by Jon Lansman.The November issue of Progress magazine carries three articles on the theme “Can Ken Win?” The cover story, by Dan Hodges, that good friend of Labour who now writes for the Torygraph, concludes: “That he will lose is inevitable“. Fortunately, Dan’s election predictions are, famously, almost never right. The justification for this prediction, it seems, is […]
