The community backs Forhad

 

Former senior UNISON caretaking steward and long-time Newham resident, Montrose (Monty) Matty, is backing Forhad as the next Labour Mayor. 

Monty is known for being selective with his political endorsements, and if he weren’t fully supportive of Forhad—and appreciative of his past work as Monty’s local Councillor—he would certainly make that clear!

Better Woke than Broke "Opinion: Why Reform UK is misguided, mistaken and just plain wrong on the LGPS"

 

JG. Glyn was at our Community National Seminar on Friday and I attended his Pensions training workshop. I will post on the seminar later but his rebuttal of the truly ignorant attacks on the LGPS by very rich people who don't care about older workers makes perfect sense.

"By UNISON head of pensions Glyn Jenkins 

https://www.unison.org.uk/news/article/2026/03/opinion-why-reform-uk-is-misguided-mistaken-and-just-plain-wrong-on-the-local-government-pension-scheme/

Reform UK’s announcement this week that, if elected, it would end defined benefit pension schemes for new local government staff would be a disaster. For council workers, the local government sector and communities in general.

The party’s leadership doesn’t want any new starters admitted to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). But that ignores the fact the scheme provides decent and not excessive benefits for those working in councils and schools. To do away with it would make recruitment to often low-paid roles much more difficult, and the staffing crisis would worsen. And that’s bad for everyone who relies on the many vital local authority services.

For anyone on low wages, the auto-enrolment system favoured by Reform will only lead to poverty in retirement. Such defined contribution schemes only deliver decent pensions for high earners who can get their employers to pay sizeable contributions too. The millionaires in charge of Reform look after the well-off, not those on low pay. We’ve seen it before and we’re seeing it again.

We also know from experience that stopping new entrants from joining pension schemes leads to their closure even to existing members further down the line.

Reform also want all LGPS assets to be centralised in a UK wealth fund.

UNISON has proposed a single investment vehicle for English LGPS. But local people need to control the investment strategy, so it responds to the needs and wishes of scheme members in each fund. Ministers mustn’t be making these decisions. They need local, democratic control. Precisely the opposite of what Reform is proposing.

Reform talks of more investment in Britain. But the LGPS already does that. Almost a sixth (17%) of LGPS assets are in UK equities, compared to 5% for private sector defined benefit pension schemes.

And so much for claims that LGPS funds perform poorly and are invested in “woke nonsense”.

If Reform looked properly, the party would find LGPS funds returned an average of more than 7% in the past decade, compared to an average 1.3% for private sector defined benefit schemes. LGPS funds are invested broadly to ensure that if one type of asset performs badly, it dampens the effect across the whole fund. Investments are based on professional advice and locally elected councillors set the investment strategy.

Climate-oriented investment funds have, on average, delivered better returns than traditional funds over the past seven years. Better woke than broke.

And if we’re talking about “nonsense”, Reform claims LGPS funds pay high investment-management fees.

The reality is that last year investment costs were about 0.56% of the total asset value. That’s the same as the much-admired Ontario Teachers Fund pension scheme, and on a par with many other UK schemes.

A UK sovereign wealth fund investing more in domestic projects would inevitably have higher investment costs because infrastructure is more expensive and decisions need to scoped out more carefully to avoid bad moves.

In short, as with many other Reform UK announcements, there’s a worrying lack of understanding of the things the party intends to change.

Defined benefit schemes aren’t the ‘gold standard’ Reform has made them out to be. But for low to middle paid staff, they are the chance of an adequate income in retirement. Removing these schemes for future employees will do little for the finances of public services.

What many younger workers really need is an improvement in minimum direct contribution for auto-enrolment schemes. Not to dumb down perfectly adequate direct benefit schemes".

"Labour is delivering for Newham" - Council Budget meeting 26.2.26

 

At Thursday’s annual budget meeting I was pleased to second the motion approving the Housing Revenue Account for the coming year. My three‑minute contribution is at 1 hour 9 minutes in the recording. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JY0ulkhVJy8. The motion passed — and then we witnessed something extraordinary for all the wrong reasons.

Not a single opposition group put forward an alternative budget. Not one amendment. Nothing. They criticised the administration’s proposals at length, but when it came to doing the work that scrutiny requires, they simply opted out. That is not opposition. It is political theatre without substance.

The Greens didn’t even bother to explain their silence. The so‑called independents — better known locally as the Bosses Party — claimed they “did not have enough time” to draft amendments. That excuse is laughable. Years ago, I worked with my Labour colleague Cllr John Whitworth to produce a full, lawful alternative budget. It took effort, of course, but it was entirely achievable. It was voted down, but at least residents saw a real debate and real choices.

What happened on Thursday was the opposite: a vacuum where scrutiny should be. Opposition parties are paid to challenge, to test assumptions, and to offer alternatives. If they believe services should be cut or expanded, they should have the courage to say so — and to explain who would pay the price. Instead, they hid behind criticism without responsibility.

At best, this is laziness and incompetence. At worst, it is cowardice. The truth is simple: they avoided amendments because they didn’t want to defend a budget of their own. They preferred to snipe from the sidelines rather than do the hard work of governing. Residents deserve better than that.

(I will publish my acutal speech on a separate blogger page https://www.blogger.com/blog/page/edit/7733583/7174233470400372938)

Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus! Happy St David’s Day!

 

...and the first day of Spring.

Custom House Canvass Sunday 22.2.26

 

A very positive canvass last Sunday with Heather and a great team of activists. Simon was out with another group, joined by our Mayoral candidate, Forhad. Thelma was at the other two sessions. As always, it’s luck of the draw who opens the door, but everyone I spoke to during this street surgery was either strongly positive about Labour or undecided. No one expressed opposition, though a small number who didn’t want to engage may well have been less supportive.

One resident managed to lock himself out while trying to show me holes in his garden where he believed vermin were nesting. He’s in a Council-owned property, and when I rang the Council contact centre on his behalf, the call was answered very quickly. Fortunately, he was able to get back inside before a locksmith arrived.

What stood out across the session was a clear sense of strong Labour support and a very welcome rejection of far‑right politics. It was encouraging, but we can’t take anything for granted.

BREAKING: Reform's "shadow shadow" cabinet REVEALED

"The Tories are the Shadow Cabinet but Reform plc (the Tory Defects) have also launched their Shadowy Cabinet with a few surprises…"

Hat tip Neil Coyle MP!

Have your say on pay at Clarion Housing

 

Hello Clarion UNISON member, Final Clarion Pay offer to all staff negotiated by UNISON   Following meetings with local reps and UNISON national officers (including information from the bargaining support unit), UNISON put in a claim for £2500 for staff. Clarion counter offered a flat rate 2% pay offer. There was a series of meeting between Clarion UNISON representatives, national officers and HR to discuss the claim.  UNISON reps also had briefings from HR and Clarion Financial officers.   At the final stage of the negotiation process there was a final offer of 3.8% which was accepted by your Clarion UNISON representatives, who agreed to recommend the offer to members as the best offer that could be achieved by negotiation.   Staff on the new London Living Wage will be increased to £14.80 (6.9%) and the National Living Wage increased to £13.45 (6.7%).    The decision to accept or reject the offer will be yours, however, members must be prepared to take some form of industrial action if they reject this offer.   Please vote ACCEPT or REJECT below (link in email sent to members) John Gray Clarion UNISON Convenor

"Newham for newcomers" by Sharon Chawda

 I sadly missed the book launch because I was away at the LGA Labour conference. Guest speakers at the launch included local MPs Stephen Timms, Diane Abbott, James Asser and our Labour Mayor candidate, Forhad Hussain. 

While researching the book Sharon interviewed me and very kindly gave me a copy which I am reading with real pleasure and will post a review once I am finished. 

Sharon is also standing to be a Newham Labour Councillor in May. She is simply a force of nature on the campaign trail - bright, positive, hard working and deeply committed to our community, She will make an excellent Councillor.

You can find links to buy her book at https://newhams.netlify.app including via Newham Books affiliate page https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/newham-for-newcomers-my-journey-your-guide-our-community-sharon-chawda/30a36c3fd6ad8645

"History, hardship and hope in one East London borough"
Newham for Newcomers is a clear-eyed guide to one of Britain’s youngest and most diverse boroughs. Mixing local history with voices from residents, traders, councillors and campaigners, it looks at housing, work, sport, faith, politics and safety ... while not shying away from poverty, crime or bad planning.
Join committed local resident Sharon Chawda on a tour of the clubs, libraries, community gardens and grassroots projects at the beating heart of Newham.
“An original and well written portrait of this intriguing East London Borough. Newham is fortunate to have been discovered by such a talented young local author.” – Antonia Fraser
“As a neighbouring Northeast London MP I am delighted that Sharon Chawda has portrayed Newham’s effervescent diversity with such style and charm in her first book. I predict that she has a bright political and literary future ahead of her.” – The Rt Hon. Diane Abbott MP

UNISON NEC members meet up before meeting Wednesday 11.2.26

 

A few of us from the UNISON NEC managed to meet up on Tuesday evening at our national headquarters on Euston Road. It was a relaxed chance to catch up before the formal business began.

Our elected lay President, Catherine, is right at the centre of the photo in red. To her right is James, our senior Vice President, and to her left at the front is Debbie, our junior Vice President.

Some NEC members from the far‑left faction left the building when we arrived — their absence was noted — while many other Council members were still travelling down or due to join us the following morning.

On Wednesday we moved to the full hybrid NEC meeting in the Dave Prentis Chamber on the 9th floor. It turned out to be a very interesting session, and I’ll share more reflections on that soon.

Rainy Sunday West Ham Street Surgery - Labour delivers on funding for Newham

Last Sunday, despite the wet weather, we conducted our street surgery in the Abbey Road tower blocks. 

The views from the top were quite impressive. Although many residents were not home, those I did speak with were pretty positive. 

Concerns were raised about local crime and trust in politics, especially given the challenging week for the Labour Government. 

However, there was also a recognition that Labour has made significant contributions to Newham, particularly after 15 years of austerity, by providing Council funding based on actual need rather than just population size. 

This represents a truly progressive and socialist agenda. While there is much more to be done, this is a very welcome start.