BBC1 Sunday Politics London report on Newham Mayoral Trigger rerun after "decades and decades" of one person in power...

A somewhat neutral and balanced report by BBC London on the Newham Mayoral Trigger ballot rerun to decide our next Labour Candidate in the local elections in May.

The clip features Cllr Conor McAuley, a former Newham Cabinet member, who strongly criticises the current mayor, Robin Wales, over his housing policy citing 389 homes in the Stratford Carpenter Estate being left empty since 2005, while only the day before, homeless people were being evicted a short walk way by the Council and issued with CPNs (Community Protection Notices).

I will admit that I have not always seen eye to eye with Conor over the years but I am mystified that some people have been given all the credit for the 2012 Olympic bid and for the regeneration in Newham, when in fact it was Conor, as the Chair of the Council's main planning Committee for many years, who was as much as anyone responsible for facilitating the construction of the Westfields Shopping centre, which then made possible the successful Olympic Stadium bid.

There were some errors in the clip. I am not sure what "Centralist Labour" actually means? and why Conor is definitely not a supporter of Momentum, there is a very widespread coalition of Labour Party members across the entire Labour political spectrum who have supported the call for an open selection, which includes Momentum, Fabians, CLPD, Progress, Co-Op Party, Labour First, Compass and a number of trade union affiliates.

So far 8 branches have voted overwhelmingly for an open selection. There are 12 more to cast their votes as well as trade union and socialist society affiliates.

On Friday Cllr John Whitworth withdrew his challenge to the Mayoral position in favour of Cllr Rokhsana Fiaz.

Newham born and bred, Chair of Scrutiny and Custom House Councillor, Rokhsana Fiaz has made it clear that she would stand as a Mayoral candidate if there was a contest. 

West Ham Corbynistas Fashion Gurus

This brilliant photo was today featured in The Guardian's fashion page  "Get the Jeremy Corbyn look". My fellow West Ham ward Councillor, John Whitworth, (left) is shown standing next to former Newham Councillor (and Labour Party activist) John Saunders. The photo was taken outside the Labour Party conference in Brighton on Monday, where the both of them had been handing out literature to delegates from the left supporting "Campaign for Labour Party Democracy" (CLPD).

This is the caption  "The two Johns – Saunders and Whitworth – are everything you would expect from proud Corbynistas: grey-bearded, casual-jacketed and profoundly political. With the cravat and finer shades of blue, Saunders is Chic Corbyn, while Whitworth’s shades and anarcho-syndicalist beard suggests Punk Corbyn". 

Photograph: David Levene for the Guardian

Update: The two John's enjoy their moment of fashion fame at our  West Ham Ward meeting yesterday :)



 

The quiet & retiring Pete Willsman speaks to West Ham GC

Each month West Ham Labour Party invites a guest political speaker to our General Committee meeting. All party members are also invited to attend (non voting).

Our speaker last month was the secretary of the Campaign for Labour Party Democracy (CLPD) Pete Willsman.

It is the 40th anniversary of the CLPD. He promoted the 3 websites that they run including Left Futures. Which he claimed was not only for "lefties" but admitted that not many contributors were from Progress!  Mind you he praised Peter Mandelson for his loyalty to the Party.

He promoted CLPD rule changes for the 2013 Labour Party conference including making political levy payers full members of the Party (they use to be), an electoral collage to elect local Labour Group leaders, the Party should have an independent ombudsman to investigate complaints and the right of members to select who are their Parliamentary candidates.

Pete predicted that after the next general election there may be a split in political parties and that Cameron Tories, Orange Book Liberals and Progress will break away and join up together. He finished his barnstorming speech by asking the Blarities currently criticising the Party to all "shut their mouths"!

Pete gave a hugely entertaining, tub thumping and colourful speech which demonstrated his lifelong passion and commitment to the Party even though I am not that sure how many in the room he persuaded to actually join up.

(Picture Pete, Chair Charlene and Ali G)

TUC 12 "Why every trade unionist should be active in the Labour Party" CLPD fringe

Sorry this is a little late but on Tuesday evening I went to the fringe organised by the Campaign for Labour Party Democracy (CLPD).  This is the first time that I've been to a CLPD event and had never seen its shy and retiring Secretary, Pete Willsman, in action before (see centre). I won't repeat his comments about the recent North Norwich PPC selection process.

Jim Kennedy from UCATT (and Labour Party NEC) spoke first about the need to get ordinary working class union members as elected representatives. On 4% of MPs come from a manual background and UCATT are running a campaign group "to get that plasterer into Parliament".

Kate Osamor from Haringey (speaking) explained how her borough was still recovering from last years riots and how she was brought to believe that the trade unions are the cornerstone of any civilisation. Andy Kerr from the CWU (another Labour Party NEC member) doesn't see how anyone in the Party cannot be a trade union member and that trade union members should be Labour Party members. Lucy Anderson London NPF representative described how there was a window of opportunity with "Refounding Labour" for activists to increase their influence in the Party.

Michael Meacher MP posed the question about how will we get the money to pay for work for the unemployed? Then he reminded everyone that according to the Sunday Times "Rich list" during the last 3 years the top 1,000 in this country have increased their wealth by £105 billion.

Kelvin Hopkins MP told how he first joined the TUC 43 years ago. It was unimaginable at that time how right wing things would become. He believes that the mass of people are still "to the left", they just don't realise what they want is actually "socialism". Even hard core Tory voters want the railways to be renationalised.

Simon Wellor from ASLEF complained that there was now a "political class" in this country and that people go to Oxbridge, then become Parliamentary Assistants then become MPs. Is there some sort of Labour Party by-law that every PPC selection has to include someone from Islington?

Final speaker was Diana Holland from Unite who is also the Labour Party treasurer. She wants to be optimistic & positive for the future. She senses that people want a change and is pleased that the new people who have joined the Party have stayed in membership and renewed it the following year. 

I couldn't stay for the Q&A and had to dash off.  I'd didn't like to mention that I was back to work in Islington the morrow.