in the hands of the many

Some thoughts on Labour’s co-operative future

2011-09-29T16:30:00.000-07:00

Preview of The Red Book, in the Blue Bar, Liverpool on September 25, 2011. This wasn't the speech I gave, but the text I was working from. Thanks to everyone who has made the book possible – especially Eoin for being encouraging and inspiring. My intention in writing my piece was to ensure that if other coloured books

Book review: Dan Hind

2011-07-26T18:00:00.000-07:00

The Return of the Public is in part a history of the concept of public opinion and democratic participation. It is also a critique of the advance of neo-liberal ideas, their implementation through state and corporate bureaucracies, and of the diminished concept of the “public service ethos” of elite institutions. Dan Hind's proposal for media reform deserves serious consideration, especially in

Book review: Owen Jones

2011-07-25T18:00:00.000-07:00

I like Owen Jones. As a media commentator he comes across well on television, radio, and in print. He “speaks human” and is able to express with clarity and humour a radical (and from this) grass-roots Labour perspective on British society. Sadly, these are exactly the qualities which have held people back in professional politics over the period that Jones describes in his new book. Chavs: the

Darlington Labour gives hope in hard times

2011-05-19T16:30:00.000-07:00

Darlington was seen by the Tories as the council in the North East that they could win in England's local elections. Such was their effort, even the Tory Prime Minister David Cameron paid a visit to the borough. And as during the general election last year, the Tories bought billboard space to attack the Labour Party with the same inaccurate and misleading statements on public finances. The

After marching, it's time to campaign and vote for Labour's alternative

2011-03-27T15:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I took part in the largest protest to take place in the UK for many years. Organised by the Trades Union Congress, the March for the Alternative called for the government to put jobs, growth, and justice at the forefront of its economic plans. I saw tens of thousands of people - of all ages and from all parts of the country, from private sector construction workers to public sector

We Love Darlington!

2011-02-13T14:44:00.000-08:00

"We Love Darlington", an early St Valentine's event, took place yesterday in Pease Place in the centre of Darlington. It was a great success - informing shoppers of a variety of campaigns to defend and improve quality of life in our town. There were stalls by four "Big Society" organisations - trades council, Unison, Darlington for Culture, and the local Friends of the Earth group -

There are alternatives: green growth

2011-01-20T23:00:00.000-08:00

One Million Climate Jobs: Solutions to the economic and environmental crises is a report by the Campaign against Climate Change trade union group in conjunction with a number of trades unions (CWU, PCS, TSSA, and UCU) representing workers in communications, the civil service, transport and higher education. Recognising that climate change results from a massive market failure, the report's

A ConDem anti-cuts group?

2010-11-21T15:22:00.000-08:00

An unusual letter, by a "group" unrelated to the established Darlington against Cuts campaign, appeared in The Northern Echo on Saturday: WHEN Jenny Chapman stood for election she told us, quite rightly, that she was a local woman who would stand up for local services. She told us that she was proud to live in Darlington and that helped her get elected. How ironic, then, that three of the six

Darlington for Culture

2010-11-18T15:35:00.000-08:00

Tonight, the first Cultural Parliament took place in the Club Room of Darlington's Arts Centre. Over a hundred people were packed into the room to discuss the future of arts and culture in the borough. A meeting at the Arts Centre on October 7 was called to discuss the situation, and a steering group was set up to develop an alternative to potential closure. The Cultural Parliament tonight was

Darlington Together

2010-11-14T21:39:00.000-08:00

Last Monday, I attended the first of the Talking Together events on the future of the public services that Darlington Borough Council provides. I went to get a better understanding of what the Tory/Liberal government was imposing on our council, and how people were responding. Chris McEwan, the Cabinet member for Resources and Efficiency, delivered a presentation to open the proceedings.

cutting across sectors

2010-11-05T16:02:00.000-07:00

Darlington Borough Council is holding two events this month to gather feedback on the budget proposals for 2011 to 2015: Monday 8 November starting 5.30 in Central Hall at the Dolphin Centre, or Tuesday 16 November at the same time and place. Feeback will influence the detailed budget proposals that the Cabinet will announce in January. Since a majority of the council's funding comes from

Rally for Darlington's jobs & services

2010-10-13T14:24:00.000-07:00

The Tory/Lib-Dem coalition's rush to cut spending doesn't just threaten half a million public sector jobs, it also threatens half a million private sector jobs. The speed and size of the reduction in public spending puts 50,000 firms at risk. One of the winners of this year's Nobel Prize for economics, Professor Antoniou Pissarides from the London School of Economics, whose work deals with

cutting our way to another bank bailout?

2010-10-04T14:43:00.000-07:00

The New Economics Foundation have produced a timely report into the bank-bailouts of 2008, asking "Where did our money go?" The most worrying conclusion reached is this: "We believe the public sector is likely, once again, to be asked to bail out the banks for the emerging funding gap." (p.2) There's a lack of freely-available information as to the terms and conditions of public support for the

can culture cut it in Darlington?

2010-09-28T11:58:00.001-07:00

This was published in The Northern Echo today: How should Darlington respond to public sector cuts. Should it close its theatre, start a volunteer group to run its swimming pool or privatise its parks? Paul Harman tells why he is calling a public meeting to discuss the future of arts and leisure in the town DARLINGTON faces a cultural crisis. Cuts by the Coalition Government could mean that

who's interested?

2010-09-18T18:03:00.000-07:00

or, Another blogpost on the never-ending Labour leadership contest or even, What's wrong with "Why the Right is Wrong"? The Fabian Society has asked each of the five Labour leadership candidates to write a short essay on ideology, published in alphabetical order. In this post, I criticise the emphasis on ideas rather than material interests, offering my own answer to the main question: How

economic vandalism

2010-08-24T22:33:00.000-07:00

For months now, we have heard the Tory-Lib/Dem coalition government's rhetoric about their cuts agenda either promoting recovery or being progressive. But new evidence from around the world suggests that * those with the broadest shoulders will carry the least, because the poorest suffer most from public service cuts; * the timing (in the midst of a global slump in demand) and the scale of

a taxing question

2010-08-16T17:53:00.000-07:00

The Glasgow Media Group have for many years published analyses of the interaction between media output and public opinion. Research director Greg Philo penned an article on the Group's latest findings: that a one-off wealth tax would be a popular alternative to savage spending cuts. Even amongst those who would be paying it: "the poll results show the richest groups slightly more in favour than

the thinking deficit

2010-07-27T23:50:00.000-07:00

Since the election, the Tory/Lib-Dem coalition have set about cutting public expenditure under the guise of reducing the spending deficit. Now, it might be worth remembering why there is a spending deficit - there was a recession. The coalition have repeated the mantra "All Labour's Fault". But the recession resulted from a fall in private investment in the economy stemming from the financial

Ed Miliband on co-operatives

2010-07-21T17:09:00.000-07:00

I contributed a question to Labour Uncut's crowdsourced interview with Ed Miliband, a strong contender in the Labour leadership contest: Q. (from Jamie and James): The co-operative sector is a growing part of the UK economy. What would you do as leader to promote the creation of more co-owned firms in the private sector? Would you consider mutualising banks like Northern Rock? A. I do think

David Miliband on co-operatives

2010-07-13T23:47:00.000-07:00

I contributed a question to Labour Uncut's crowdsourced interview with David Miliband, a strong contender in the Labour leadership contest: Q. (from James) The co-operative sector is a growing part of the UK economy. What would you do as leader to promote the creation of more co-owned firms in the private sector? A. I think that there’s a couple of reasons that people are attracted by the co-op

well fair?

2010-07-09T22:11:00.000-07:00

I've just watched Andrew Neil interveiw Work & Pensions minister Iain Duncan Smith on Straight Talk. And I am not satisfied. The talk was, well, not straight enough to satisfy my curiousity. The programme is on the BBC, a public service broadcaster, so I expected Neil to challenge the minister thoroughly. Sadly, this did not take place. Neil failed in his job of public service by neglecting to

a price worth paying?

2010-07-07T18:22:00.000-07:00

During the last few days it became apparent that Sir Alan Budd, the head of the newly-created Office for Budget Responsibility, was to depart his position before the new department (quango?) had been established in law. Given that one of his last acts was to issue a rushed report on how, contrary to expectations, the private sector would create enough jobs to reduce unemployment in the face of

spatial metaphors and popular politics

2010-07-06T17:36:00.000-07:00

For those people at the heart of the New Labour project, there is understandable confusion at the rhetoric employed by candidates in the Labour leadership contest. Some have called this "tacking left" - and a phrase often use in ruling class media is "lurching to the left". Since I dislike spatial metaphors, I'll leave that issue to one side for the moment. The concern is, in more direct language

co-operativism

2010-06-29T19:06:00.000-07:00

Interview with Professor Stefano Zamagni, Economic Professor from the University of Bologna- the oldest university in Europe. He is also an adjunct professor at John Hopkins University. He discusses his concept of reciprocity and the role of Co-operatives as sustainable and stable alternatives to the vagaries of unsustainable market capitalism. “Professor Zamagni of the University of Bologna

emergency botch-it

2010-06-23T16:20:00.000-07:00

A tip of the hat to Alex Baker for this post's title. The dust is settling - and it is now apparent that the Tory/Lib-Dem coalition have confused the word progressive with regressive. A VAT rise which will harm retailers and ordinary consumers, and a corporation tax cut which will benefit banks and supermarkets at the expense of export industries. In opposition, the Tories accepted the bank

Will progressive Lib-Dems accept painful Tory cuts?

2010-06-08T17:42:00.000-07:00

Picture from the coalition website. Note Cameron is speaking and Clegg is listening. Unless I am colourblind, Clegg's tie is orange. = The Liberal Democrat candidate for the General Election 2010 in Darlington was Mike Barker, who is the managing director of The Health Warehouse and represents the North Road ward as a councillor. Before the election, I was curious to know what Mike would do

Next Labour - will change be moderate or radical?

2010-05-23T19:39:00.000-07:00

The past... David Miliband is using the term "Next Labour" in his campaign for leadership of the Parliamentary Labour Party. What this signals is that even the man widely viewed as the "New Labour" candidate acknowledges that the project is over. In his South Shields speech, it was recognised as factor in the general election defeat - "we were perceived to be defending the old order" when much

on the future of labour

2010-05-15T19:52:00.000-07:00

I was born in the eighties, the decade in which the labour movement suffered a series of defeats and the party struggled to come to terms with the neo-liberal reforms of the Tories. The collective power of working people was eroded and poverty and inequality soared as mass unemployment became an accepted part of the new settlement. The rebranding of the party as New Labour was seen as the

the struggle continues

2010-05-04T15:25:00.000-07:00

The reasons for Labour being behind in the polls are natural considering the recession and the expenses scandal - to say nothing of the vicious hostility of the Murdoch papers. Should Labour fail to secure an overall majority, I would support a coalition with the Liberal Democrats. However, if a coalition is necessary it must be on the basis of shared objectives on fairness, not the

the Darlington debate

2010-05-02T01:29:00.000-07:00

To Polam Hall on Thursday for the hustings organised by Churches Together in Darlington. This lasted two hours. I'm not saying it was a bad experience - I managed to miss the national debate on the economy, at least. But that's two hours I'm never going to get back. "Integrity of Purpose: The Common Good in Darlington" is the challenge to prospective parliamentary candidates - yes, all of them.

hands off the north-east!

2010-04-26T17:19:00.000-07:00

Cameron appears to have scored an own goal - and this will have an impact in other regions which, as a result of Conservative policy to manage the decline in manufacturing employment during the 80s and 90s, are heavily dependent upon public spending. Perhaps the most significant policy disagreement between Labour and the Conservatives when it comes to deficit reduction is on the role of

Labour's mutual manifesto

2010-04-14T14:45:00.000-07:00

It might be instructive to compare Labour's defence of collective action with the Tories' invitation to do-it-yourself austerity. Labour's use of office to give support to those facing hardship contrasts sharply with the Tories determination to deprive people of properly-funded frontline services and their failure to grasp the seriousness of the financial crisis. Had the Tories been in power

co-op councils or council cop-out?

2010-04-03T18:00:00.000-07:00

The news that 115 Labour council leaders have signed a mission statement on using co-operative and mutual enterprise to protect frontline services coincided with a government report on expanding mutualism from the Cabinet Office. Tessa Jowell is correct when she says that following "the global financial crisis and the parliamentary expenses scandal, it is clear that people are no longer

a worrying attack on democratic rights

2010-04-02T22:56:00.000-07:00

Yet again an employer has gone to the High Court to stop members of a trade union from taking industrial action. After a democratic vote, using a secret ballot, conducted by an independent organisation (the Electoral Reform Society) a majority of RMT members voted in favour of a national rail strike in a dispute over workplace safety. Instead of allowing the democratic decision of RMT members to

who cares?

2010-04-02T18:43:00.000-07:00

Out of the chaos of WW2, the National Health Service was established in 1948 to ensure that everyone in the UK had access to healthcare. It was recognised that by improving the health of the people, prosperity would also be increased. Out of the deep global recession of recent years, a National Care Service could be established to ensure that everyone in the UK has access to social and home care

A future fair for all - the pledge card

2010-03-26T15:29:00.000-07:00

a green & mutual budget

2010-03-24T19:09:00.000-07:00

In yesterday's budget it was announced that a £2bn Green Investment Bank would be established by the government to close the "equity gap" facing projects to build low-carbon infrastructure. Friends of the Earth, which has been campaigning for the measure since the start of 2009, has welcomed the news. Andy Atkins, FoE's Executive Director said: "This bank will provide crucial funds for major

good news day

2010-03-22T20:12:00.000-07:00

I give you: US unions lauded the passage of health-care legislation on Monday that will provide coverage to 32 million of the poorest residents in the country as a "momentous step forward" after the law finally passed through the US Congress on Sunday. A century-long quest for universal health-care coverage moved one step closer, the 219-212 vote handing President Barack

low budget politics

2010-03-20T03:25:00.000-07:00

The Tory leadership has recently allowed Shadow Schools secretary Michael Gove to launch a bizzare attack on Britain's largest trade union, a sign that the failure of the Tories to secure a commanding lead in opinion polls is making CCHQ turn to desperate measures. Gove can hardly proclaim his party's policy on schools - as they involve cuts to many school budgets for the sake of subsidising new

industrial strategy will reduce deficit

2010-03-15T18:44:00.000-07:00

There should be a law to ensure that whenever anyone talks about deficit reduction, they first of all mention why the deficit ballooned in the first place - namely the bail-out of the banking sector. This would be my one infringement on the freedom of the press (unless you would call breaking up the Murdoch monopoly an infringement of press freedom...) Oddly for the Tories, now a party almost

jobs not cuts?

2010-03-11T15:21:00.000-08:00

Yesterdays new data from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research and the Office of National Statistics shows that the recovery is still fragile and that there's been a slight fall in industrial production due to the bad weather in January. Today's letter in The Guardian - signed by a number of Labour MPs, trade unionists and economists - calls for a second stimulus. The word "

things to make and do

2010-03-09T17:07:00.000-08:00

The news that there has been a sharp fall in exports, as recorded by the Office of National Statistics, appears quite worrying. Hopi Sen has pointed out that there's difficulty in accurately measuring economic activity, but though as Tony Dolphin notes, the growth in the trade gap has much to do with the weak demand in Europe, the UK's main export market. Chris Dillow has rightly taken issue

the road-runner effect

2010-03-04T15:25:00.000-08:00

The biggest electoral grouping is anti-Tory. People who would otherwise stay home, or vote for parties as varied as the Lib-Dems, UKIP, the Greens, or the BNP, will be wondering what will happen if the Tories are in office again - just as we are getting out of what was almost a slide into deep and long recession of the kind not seen since the 1930s. Like many Labour voters, this wider grouping

Bring them home

2010-02-21T15:20:00.000-08:00

The war in Afghanistan is Britain's fourth. It is unwinnable - there is no military solution.. The Dutch will probably be withdrawing their troops from August after their Labour Party opposed keeping the country's troops in Afghanistan beyond 2010. Ian Traynor writes: The Dutch Labour party's vehement opposition to remaining in Afghanistan is popular, bringing it instant opinion poll

Q&A with Harriet Harman in Middlesbrough

2010-02-18T13:07:00.000-08:00

This morning I attended a Labour Party event at which the deputy leader, Harriet Harman, spoke and answered questions from an audience of seventy party members. Contrary to media reports, this event was entirely paid for by the Party, including the minister's transportation to the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, where the Q&A took place. The minister was introduced by Bridget Philipson,

mutually-assured destruction?

2010-02-15T15:28:00.000-08:00

No wonder that over half of voters think Cameron is a "slick salesman". It's bad enough he's trying to win the backing of public sector workers at the same time as the party is promising huge spending cuts, which will obviously include sacking public sector workers. However, his side-kick's talk of "worker co-ops" in the public sector is the most ridiculous bit of spin to come out of Tory HQ,

as long as you've got your health?

2010-02-12T21:43:00.000-08:00

A report on health inequalities, Fair Society, Healthy Lives was published a few days ago; both its findings and its recommendations pose a challenge to public policy. The Marmot Review's most headline-grabbing finding is that, on average, those living in the poorest parts of England die seven years younger than those in the wealthiest parts. Each year, health inequalities cost the UK economy

fiscal fetishism

2010-02-08T18:20:00.000-08:00

Joseph Stiglitz, the Nobel prize-winning economist, has praised Labour's action during the banking crisis and is warning of the 'fiscal fetishism' that places a strong emphasis on deficit-reduction as a road to recovery. He says of the financial markets: "If there is a speculative attack against you it is not an issue of appeasement but a judgement about whether they can break your back."

growing pains

2010-02-06T23:23:00.000-08:00

Quantitative economy growth. What a subject. The above video has been produced for the release of the New Economics Foundation report, Growth isn't Possible, a follow-up to the 2006 report, Growth isn't Working, which showed that economic growth wasn't as beneficial for the poor as for the rich. Since WW2 the main macro-economic goal has been quantitative economic growth - defined as

fair for all

2010-02-05T14:54:00.000-08:00

Two very interesting commentary pieces, one from the Guardian by Douglas Alexander and Ed Miliband, the other from Tribune by Ed Balls, which show how the next Labour manifesto will be shaped by a strong social-democratic perspective. Balls writes: "Everybody has a stake. That was one of the founding ideas behind our welfare state. "Whether it's support for children or our national health

it's the equality, stupid!

2010-02-04T13:24:00.000-08:00

misc & manifesto

2010-02-01T16:59:00.000-08:00

The positive economic news coming out is accompanied by interesting opinion poll on the Tories, whose position on the economy is hopelessly confused. From regional development agencies to deficit-reduction, the Tory line keeps changing. Yesterday there was another report on the co-operative content of Labour's next manifesto, this time in the Observer. The PM has hosted the launch of a new co-op

mind the gap

2010-01-27T15:13:00.000-08:00

"Achieving ‘equality of opportunity’ is very hard when there are such wide differences between the resources which people and their families have to help them fulfil their diverse potentials." So says the Report of the National Equality Panel, released today. Since the break-up of the post-war consensus of a mixed economy - welfare state, nationalised industries and private enterprise - we've

well, you can prove anything with facts, can't you?

2010-01-22T07:13:00.000-08:00

Crime stats give the latest interesting news. Across England and Wales crime is down 8% on last year. Certainly puts Tory claims of a broken society in a new light. In the midst of the worst recession since WW2, criminal activity is falling. What gives? Car crime fell by a fifth and the number of robberies showed a reduction of 9%. Ministers say the British Crime Survey's separate study reveals

the ones that never knock?

2010-01-20T15:43:00.000-08:00

A bit of commentary... The good news is that levels of unemployment are lower in this recession than the last. Partly, yes, this can be explained by the prolonged period of expansion - but there's also the factor that labour market support, in the form of improved job centre performance and targeted assistance, has helped. Arguably, the position of the labour movement is weaker in the private

Managed dynamism?

2010-01-19T14:59:00.000-08:00

Tonight I attended the inaugaral Darlington Debate, "The economic future of Darlington - Dynamism or Decline?". Held at the Lingfield Point business park in the grand Lingfield House, the event was sponsored by Lingfield Point, the Northern Echo, and the Darlington Partnership. I went in my capacity as Press Officer for Darlington Friends of the Earth - so that means I wasn't drinking wine and

Another shock doctrine for Haiti?

2010-01-18T17:08:00.000-08:00

The earthquake in Haiti on January 12 is estimated to have caused over 200,000 deaths. Public infrastructure, already fragile, has been dealt a huge blow. Extreme poverty is being made worse by the devastation and supplies of humanitarian aid are being slowed by distribution problems.What is remarkable about this tragedy is that in recent years Haiti has been largely ignored by UK media. I recall

not the few

2010-01-16T15:08:00.000-08:00

The name of this blog is from a line in Labour's constitution: "by the strength of our common endeavour we achieve more than we achieve alone, so as to create for each of us the means to realise our true potential and for all of us a community in which power, wealth and opportunity are in the hands of the many, not the few, where the rights we enjoy reflect the duties we owe, and where we live