The 107th Anniversary of the Armistice: East Ham Cenotaph 2025

A belated post from last Tuesday. Another special Armistice Service in Newham. Well done to the Newham Catholic Deanery Schools, The Royal British Legion and Newham schools for organising such a well attended event and involving local children in remembering the sacrifice of so many. 
 

Newham Full Council Meeting 10.11.25 - Motion on Housing

A photo collage of myself speaking against a Green motion on housing and in favour of an amendment by my ward colleague, John Whitworth. 

I was to the point that while I recognise that political debate can be rough, the sheer hypocrisy of the Newham Greens is simply breath taking. They very "angrily" criticise Newham for not building more homes but when I check their party record while they were in power in Brighton, in 7 years they only built 497 homes while in the last 7 (actually 4) years Newham has built 1662 homes (more of course are needed). 

More than 3x than they built when they were in power in a much richer council! Thankfully now the Greens have been kicked out of power in Brighton by voters due to their incompetence. 

Hat tip pics to yet another John.

Remembrance Sunday in Portsmouth 2025

 

Early on the Sunday morning I went to a Royal Navy service at the Memorial in Southsea remembering the 25,000 sailors killed during World War One and World War Two, who were buried at sea and had no known grave. My Taid (maternal Welsh Grandfather) Frederick Matthews, MC RNVR, served in the Royal Naval Division 1915-1918. It was a very moving service. 

Afterwards I finished off my visit to the historic dockyard in Portsmouth (see earlier post) during which I visited HMS Warrior (built in 1860 by East London Iron workers, who later formed what became West Ham FC). See the photo in bottom right of collage of the pay differentials between the Captain of the Warrior and ordinary seaman.  It was about 20x as much per day. 

Pretty shocking but certainly a lot less than the current West Ham FC football player gets today compared to average Newham residents wages nowadays. 

I then toured the bombardment ship HMS M33 (centre) which is one of only 3 British ships to survive from World War One. It first served in the Gallipoli campaign, which my Grandfather, also took part in and as I clambered over the ship, I wondered if at the time he had seen it or heard its guns in action. 

Next I visited the National Naval museum followed by another boat tour to the Submarine museum at Gosport and did a quick tour of the second world war sub HMS Alliance, the first ever British sub HMS Holland and the museum.  

I missed out on the Explosion and Firepower Museum and boat trip. Next time... 

Portsmouth and the Wayfarers' Walk

 

To try and prove that I have a hinterland outside politics, unions, housing and pensions, below is another countryside walking post. While away for the weekend, Gill and I did this 6.5 mile circular route, in the rolling Hampshire countryside. 

It was a blue walk ("modest length, likely to include some modest uphill walking") from Jarrold, Ordnance Survey, Pathfinder series: book 12 "Hampshire and the New Forest". The weather was very kind and it was a lovely quiet walk through fields, lanes, woods, streams and a Roman Road. Overlooking Portsdown Hill and the historic "Palmerston's folly" Fort Widley.  

There was also the largest "Solar panel" farm I have ever seen and we even walked past a "Wanstead Farm" (many, many miles away from Wanstead flats which starts across the road from us). 

Very good free parking, benches to change footwear and WC facilities at the start in the car park at Purbrook Heath. Nearest public transport Purbrook. 

Check out further photos on https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=732243433&sk=grid

Portsmouth Historic Dockside 2025

Picture collage from my visit to the dockyard last Friday as part of a birthday weekend away. I started with a boat trip around the docks accompanied with a live, very entertaining  running commentary on modern Royal Navy and Civilian ships present and local history. 

Followed by a visit to HMS Victory which was covered in scaffolding due to a major refurbishment but was still fascinating. Due to the works there was an in person guided group tour which was also very good. Some of the party were visibly shocked at the cramped, smelly, dark, dangerous, living and working conditions that the sailors had to endure. 

Next was a visit to the remains of the Tudor warship, the Mary Rose. Which also seizes the imagination, especially the exhibits of personal belongings of the lost lost sailors. 

I finished that day with a visit to the Victory Gallery (museum) and returned on Sunday to see the other attractions. 

Vote Christina McAnea as UNISON General Secretary

 

My ballot paper came yesterday to my home address (you cannot vote online or by email). I have voted for Christina as did my branch, service group and our UNISON Parliament, the NEC. 

ALL unison members including the retired can vote. 

Just put a cross against the name (Christina please!), put the ballot paper in the free Stamped Address Envelope and pop into any Royal Mail letter box.

Take part in the most important UNISON election which is probably one of the biggest individual elections in UK. Some 1.3 million ballot papers have been issued. 

Labour Housing Group Newsletter - Renters' Rights are here!

 

A historic step forward for renters - late but well done for getting this across the line in face of significant opposition.

https://labourhousing.org/join/

Thundridge Walk

 

It’s been a while since I last shared a post about a walk, but today Gill and I drove to Thundridge, Hertfordshire (just 40 minutes by car from East London and 2 miles from the railway station in Ware) and enjoyed a beautiful 5.5-mile circular walk under big open skies, following a route from the OS website and Country Walking magazine.

The walk was gentle with a few ups and downs, mostly on good paths. Along the way, we spotted herds of deer, plenty of red kites, and lots of unseasonal ladybirds! There was a cafe at the start and a pub waiting for us at the end.

I’ll share more pictures on Facebook. Check link for route

Canning Town Street Surgery

 

This lunch time I joined my colleague Shaban and local activist Robbie to take part in a Street Surgery in Canning Town North ward. 

By coincidence the area chosen was one I had been to previously in 2022 and it was an estate owned by 2 housing associations, L&Q and Sovereign Network. Shaban's ward colleague, Rita had a work commitment and could not make it. 

The canvass was largely very positive and Shaban was well known in the estate as an active Councillor, and being born and bred in Canning Town and as a local shopkeeper. 

There was a refurbishment scheme going on which was causing problems and concerns to residents which generated a lot of case work. 

I am always interested in Housing communal notice boards and L&Q seemed better than Sovereign but I noticed that their estate inspections seemed over due, but at least they were publicised unlike Sovereign.  Sovereign was also criticised by residents for not responding to emails. Newham Housing has I admit very similar issues. 

As Labour Group Chair I am planning to visit all Newham wards in the next few months. 

Celebrating the Live of Osmond "Peter" Daley

 

Today was the funeral of long standing London UNISON activist Peter (as I knew him) Daley. Peter was also a member of the UNISON Housing Associations Branch committee for many years and a firm supporter of the forces of light and reason in the Region. 

When he was younger, Peter had also served his county as a infantry soldier in the British Army in a dangerous conflict zone.  In more recent times he had worked as a residents liaison officer in a housing estate I know well, which was going through a "very  difficult" emergency block decant. He was very much a supportive but no nonsense, housing professional.  

He will be sadly missed. I had hoped to go to his funeral but was not able to due to a clash. Yvonne Green, the London UNISON convenor and other union activists were there in Birmingham today and I was able to watch the Committal on line. 

His family have requested donations to Cancer Research and London UNISON have agreed to donate £150 in his memory. 

Rest in Peace Peter

National Rough Sleeping Count: Newham October 2025

 

On Tuesday evening at 11pm I went to the Newham Dockside headquarters with fellow volunteers and outreach workers for a briefing by Council officers on this years National Rough Sleeping Count in Newham. 

Every year there is a national count of people sleeping on our streets. I believe that at least 5 London Boroughs were holding their annual count on Tuesday/Wednesday morning. Newham Council however also does local counts every 2 months

After the briefing we were divided into several different groups and given maps and information sheets for a particular area in Newham to visit between 12 midnight and 3am. The aim was to simply count the number of people in that area who were bedded down and sleeping on the streets. If people were awake and wanted to engage, we would take their details and give an information sheet about a local drop in day centre where they can have hot food, shower and clean their clothes. Also we would arrange for outreach advice workers to visit them at their location from 5am onwards the following morning. 

I was a driver for one of these groups, there was a outreach team leader and two other volunteers from a local housing charity with me and we visited 7 locations in our designated area, which were known "hot spots" for people sleeping on the streets. The weather was dry and quite mild for the time of year. 

We found one young man sitting on the floor outside a community centre behind a wheelie bin who denied he was sleeping there but later he was seen sleeping on the floor. As we returned to my car another young man approached us and said he was homeless and asked if we could help. We took details and gave advice and arranged for him to see the early morning outreach team.

Next outside a public building, were two young men preparing to go to sleep near a very busy and noisy road but content to speak to us and we also made arrangements for them as well to speak to the outreach team and visit the day centre. 

All the other sites had no one visible. We returned to Newham Dockside and reported back. I was then able to get back home by 2am. 

I do not know what the final "count" was in Newham or elsewhere but I believe the figures are fed back to the Government to inform their policy on rough sleeping. I will post further on the results and any resulting action that will be taken to address this crisis. 

Re-elect Christina McAnea UNISON General Secretary - ballot starts 28 Oct 2025

 This message was sent out today to all of our 3,000 UNISON branch members.

Dear Member,
 

Our branch has nominated Christina McAnea for re-election as General Secretary.

 

 

We’ve seen how she has delivered for you, for this branch, and for our union – growing UNISON in strength and influence.

 

Christina has the experience, skills and commitment to keep improving how our union works for you, not for any narrow political faction.

 

Her pledges are clear: fight for fair pay, pensions, jobs, rights and services; put resources where you need them most; spend subs wisely; hold governments to account; and keep equality at UNISON’s heart.

 

 

Regards

 

John Gray

Branch Chair

Greater London Housing Assocations

A Labour Movement Day

 

This Labour Movement Day started at 9.30am with a virtual UNISON pre delegation meeting to the TUC London, East & South East TUC  (LESE) Regional Council. I had to leave it early to cycle to my Labour Councillor surgery in Stratford Library. After which I came back home to join the actual LESE meeting and listened to a very good panel debate on the rise of the far right. 

At 2pm I met local Labour Party activists and the Newham Labour Mayoral Candidate for May 2026, Forhad Hussain, to carry out a "street surgery" in my ward, West Ham. This involved knocking on resident doors, introducing ourselves and asking if they had any issues with the Council that they wanted to discuss with us. Forhad went down very well with residents. We made around 36 contacts and left cards for those who were out. 

The overall response was very good. People were generally pleased to see us and while some gave us the benefit of their very firm views about local problems with parking, street cleansing and also national policies, they were also willing to engage and listen to possible solutions and ways forward. 

Afterwards, we had coffee (and gossip) at a local cafe. 

A good day.

"𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀"

 

"Everything I’ve achieved as general secretary has been alongside dedicated UNISON members. We’ve delivered real change and together, we can keep our union strong".

Ballots arrive from 28 Oct. All UNISON members can vote include Retired.

LHG Policy Day 2025: Building 1.5m homes - who should they be for?

 

I cannot make this policy day due to a clash, which is a shame, since it is such an important and topical subject. Hopefully there will some form of report back to members.

Labour Housing Group Policy Day 2025 Saturday November 15th 1.30 – 5pm (1pm Registration) Venue: Friends’ Meeting House, 6 Mount St, Manchester M2 5NS (an in-person event) LHG is pleased to invite you to join us at our annual Policy Day, which will this year be hosted in Manchester on the theme:“Building 1.5m homes: who should they be for?” Topics  Devolution and building homes: developing strategic spatial plans and good collaboration    Breakout groups 1: Strategies for different areas A - Building social housing: progress and challenges in the North West B - Building homes to free up family homes / meet older people’s needs Breakout groups 2: Strategies for different groups   C - Building homes to meet needs of younger people & families D - A key issue for the NW: homebuilding in small towns?   Building New Towns and extensions              Delivery of social housing at pace Invited speakers:  Andrew Western MP (chair)  Mayor Steve Rotherham, Liverpool CR plus NW group Paul Dennett, Deputy Mayor, GMCA  Matt Turmaine MP  Issy Waite, Labour Students and LHG EC  Josh Dean MP Maya Ellis MP Cllr Scott Brereton, Hyndburn Markus Campbell-Savours MP  Lucy Powell MP Mayor Tracy Brabin Manchester Social Housing Commission   Deadline for registering:  Monday 10th November

Click here to register

Useful Resources and Links Read all of the latest housing commentary and analysis on our Red Brick blog Catch up with our recent podcast on tackling the crisis in temporary accommodation Read our report: ‘Housing is a Human Right’, a joint publication with the Labour Campaign for Human Rights

Time running out for UNISON Labour Link National Elections: Vote by Monday 27 October

"Dear Branch Labour Link Member

You should should have received a ballot paper to your home address (with SAE) inviting you to vote in the UNISON London Labour Link elections. You can vote either online or by post (obviously only once).

Voting closes on the 27th of October at 5pm.

If members have not received their ballot by the 30th of September, they can contact the ballot helpline on 08000857857.

UNISON Housing Association branch Labour Link has nominated our Committee member and active Shop Steward, Lady Lola Oyewusi to represent the Greater London region on the National Labour Link committee.

Lady Lola is a strong advocate for the Greater London region and has a proven track record.

Lady Lola will work tirelessly for our members, holding the government to account on vital issues such as the Employment Rights Bill, ensuring it’s implemented in full, on welfare rights, Palestine and in responding to the threat from Reform UK and the far right.

Lady Lola will work for fairer workplaces and communities where our members thrive and our rights are protected, no matter who’s in power.

If you wish to contact Lola with any questions please email her omololly2002@yahoo.co.uk

Yours faithfully
John Gray
Branch Chair and Labour Link Officer"

Outside London please consider voting for Tracey (Northwest region), Wendy (Yorkshire and Humberside region) and Fatima (South East Region)

How to write a motion webinar

 

Well done to our UNISON Community National officers (Community members work in Housing Associations or Charities) for organising a webinar on how to write a motion at our annual conference. 

Despite my many years of experience in the Labour movement I still get motions that I have written, ruled out of order, often due to basic mistakes. Motions that I have been involved in have been accepted by standing orders committees but not been prioritised and debated.  Which with hindsight I now realise were because they were unconvincing or even a bit boring. 

So I will be attending this training next week, every day is a school day and hope that my comrades in UNISON Community will also attend, so we can have some great and meaningful debates at our conference next year.  

(picture of my Community NEC colleague, Denise Thomas moving a motion at this year's Community conference)

UNISON Community Conference: How to write a motion webinar

Dear John, On Friday 27 February 2026, UNISON National Community Conference and Seminar will begin in Solihull.     Democracy is at the heart of our conferences, and they are an opportunity for you and your branch to set the direction of the union. To facilitate this democracy, every UNISON branch with community members has the opportunity to submit a motion to community conference by 12 noon on 6 November.     On Monday 20 October, we will be running two webinars on how to write a motion for conference. We’ll go through:  what a motion is what it is used for good practice for writing a motion and how to draft your own motion. To register for the webinars, please use one of the links below:      Monday 20 October, 12:30 – 13:15     Monday 20 October, 18:00 – 18:45   UNISON Community Conference and Seminar is for the 85,000 UNISON members who work for voluntary, charitable, and not-for-profit organisations, including housing associations, major charities, and those providing social care from the third sector.     Further information on UNISON community can be found using this link.    To find out more about this conference, you can follow this link.    We hope to see as many of you as possible on Monday.    Best wishes,    Michael Doolan  Assistant national officer – community     James Randall  National officer - community

Join an online campaign rally with Christina: UNISON General Secretary elections

 

I have just signed up for the Greater London Rally on Thursday at 6pm and submitted a question.

"Have you signed up to one the campaign rallies yet? Come along to hear how UNISON is safe in my hands and how we'll keep winning for members. Submit your questions and sign up at: http://votechristina.org.uk/rallies"

Surgery, Canvass then Forest Walk

Busy day. Cycled down to my Newham Council advice surgery in Stratford Library then joined Forest Gate North ward colleagues for a local door knock. Which went well, I experienced a mostly very positive approach to Labour, which I think is down to the excellent local Councillors, Rachel and Liz. It was nice to get back campaigning after a couple of weeks off due to Conference and annual leave. The cleaning and communal repair standards of the housing blocks we visited was mostly good. 

Afterwards, since it was such a pleasant, warm and sunny day, Gill and I walked from home to Chingford through Epping Forest. We took the train back home and then had delicious pub grub at the nearby Holly Tree, where we came across other Labour folk including the very quiet and retiring, Cllr Alan Griffiths. 

A good day. 

Welfare at Work Week is back! 29 Sept to 3 Oct

 

Welfare at Work Week is back! 29 Sept to 3 Oct UNISON branches are highlighting the support available from UNISON's charity - There for You - including grants, debt advice, and budgeting tools. Contact your branch or organise your own event https://unsn.uk/4lUBWeR

Labour Conference 2025: Sunday

Conference started at 11am. I was at a UNISON delegation pre meeting at 9am were we confirmed who would speak on debates and which motions to support or oppose. First item was Conference Arrangements Committee Report, where delegates whose motions had not been accepted for debate were given the opportunity to ask for this to be reconsidered. Conference voted to accept the report.

There was also a minutes silence to remember Party members who have died during the past year. A list of names was shown on the main screens to music, which included the name of Newham Councillor, Neil Wilson. 

There was also number of good speakers including a passionate speech on the new Hillsborough Law followed by a choir singing “You’ll Never Walk Alone”.

There was also international speaker, Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, who gave a very thoughtful speech on how the Labour movement’s in both our countries had chosen Parliamentary democracy rather than protest to benefit working people. 

After Conference I went to be part of a panel for a fringe with Michael Shanks MP (Minister for Energy, Security & Net Zero), Bill Esterson MP (Chair of Energy, Security & Net Zero) and Tessa Khan (Uplift).  The panel was chaired by Sue Ferns (Prospect). I was there in my role as Vice Chair of Local Authority Pension Fund Forum. I will post later on this event. For some reason the photographs were all red!

Afterwards I joined friends and colleagues at the best social of conference, the Labour Friends of Bangladesh event and had a fantastic meal with one or two speeches.

 

Labour Party Conference 2025 - Saturday

I travelled up to Liverpool on Saturday to be a UNISON Labour Link delegate to Conference. I had been elected to the delegation by my NEC colleagues. 

Conference starts officially at 11am on the Sunday. We had a delegation pre meeting at 9am, so a fairly sensible night, but I did go the the London Labour Party reception, were there was a number of excellent speakers and took this picture of my Newham and CWU colleague Bashar, with the very pleasant spouse of a certain well known Labour politician!

UNISON Seasonal Food Fund 2025 opens soon!

 

There for You – UNISON’s charity – is here to help Seasonal Food Fund 2025 opens soon! Keep the date https://unsn.uk/4noavvh Opens 12 noon, Tue 30 Sept – 24hrs only £30 voucher per eligible household member For those on low income/in financial difficulty

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