West Ham fight back against Tories

"While this year's disastrous General Election result wasn't what we had campaigned or hoped for, West Ham Labour have risen to the challenge to fight back.

We ended the year on a high with our membership doubling in recent months and it was great to meet so many new members at our exciting social event on Green Street. This year we campaigned successfully in two council by-elections, and a range of constituency seats across the country. The wonderful women’s forum has gone from strength to strength, the new youth forum has hit the ground running, we held some interesting policy events including making a comprehensive contribution to the London manifesto and discussing the refugee crisis. And the Christmas Quiz was as fun as usual! Thank you to all those who made last year so successful. There are a few photos at the end...

We have a huge challenge next year to get Sadiq Khan elected as Mayor of London.

We can’t be complacent; we have only won the Mayoralty once. But wouldn't it be wonderful to wake up on the 7th with a Labour Mayor, the son of a bus driver who grew up on an estate, committed to fixing the housing crisis, stopping in work poverty, making travel cheaper and tackling air pollution and climate change. We have to win this election, for the millions of Londoners suffering under this Tory government.  

We plan to hit the ground running, join us:

4th Jan - tube and train stations
Sadiq Khan has committed to freezing train, tube and bus fares until 2020 and to introduce a £1.50 unlimited trip bus ticket valid for an hour. Help us talk to commuters at stations across West Ham - even half an hour on your way to work would be great.
We'll be at Stratford, West Ham, Star Lane, Canning Town, Royal Victoria, Custom House, Forest Gate, Maryland, Upton Park, Plaistow. Please email westhamlabour@gmail.com to let us know which station you can do.

16 Jan - Super Saturday. Lyn Brown MP will be joining us to talk to voters about Sadiq Kahn. Meeting 11am in Canning Town South at St Luke's Church, Tarling Road, E15 1HN and again at 2pm at Forest Gate station (as always don't worry if you've not done it before someone will be with you).

21 Jan - Women's Forum hosts Tax Credit and the Economy discussion with Seema Malholtra MP, Shadow Secretary to the Treasury, 7pm (venue tbc and men welcome!)

30 Jan - West Ham Trades Union and Labour TULO anti austerity launch event with John McDonnell MP, Kevin Courtney NUT, Cllr Rokhsana Fiaz and hosted by Lyn Brown MP, 2pm, University of East London, Stratford Campus

31 Jan - Sunday Night Live, 5pm at Stratford Picture House

Anytime... inputting data, Wanted volunteers to input voting intention records onto Labour's computer system, Contact Creator. Patience to learn and do the job required, together with a computer using Internet Explorer! Ideal for those who can or don't want to knock doors and help from home.

We hope to see you at something soon. And please email westhamlabour@gmail.com for any more info about us and any of the events. 

Warmest wishes to you and yours over Christmas, see you in 2016 to turn London Labour!

Best wishes
Ellie

Ellie Robinson
Chair, West Ham CLP

twitter @westhamlabour
email westhamlabour@gmail.com
web westhamlabour.wordpress.com

Forest Gate North Councillors

www.forestgatenorth.com

"This is the blog of the three Labour councillors for Forest Gate North ward, in the London Borough of Newham. We are Seyi Akiwowo, Ellie Robinson and Rachel Tripp. We have created this blog as a way of keeping residents informed about our work for the ward and for Newham. Here we hope to blog about meetings, all kinds of issues from very local to national, queries and concerns, and anything else we are involved in that we think you might want to know more about. We hope that you find it useful; please get in touch and let us know".

 

What a great local blog. Will suggest tomorrow at ward meeting that we have a West Ham one!

Newham's Wonderful Women

This is a speech by Newham (born and bred) Councillor, Ellie Robinson, at the Full Council meeting last Monday.

It was a marvelous speech and it was a shame that at that meeting we voted to change our Constitution so that Council meetings in the future can be filmed. Shame Ellie missed out on this.

"I am going to talk about Newham’s wonderful women.

We have a proud history of fabulous women here.  Yesterday was the birthday of Emmeline Pankhurst, born on the 14th July 1858, who founded the women’s franchise league which fought to allow married women a vote in local elections.

She later helped found the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) whose members were the first to be called the 'suffragettes'.  Emmeline's daughters Christabel and Sylvia followed in their mum’s footsteps and when the Union’s headquarters moved to London, Sylvia Pankhurst moved into the Canning Town Public Hall, now the home of Community Links on the Barking Road.  The first London branch of the Women’s Social and Political Union was formed right there. 

Today, we all continue to come across fabulous women everyday - helping to run our schools, our businesses, our voluntary organisations, and our health services, and, of course our council services. 

At the Mayor’s Town Show over the weekend, there were some fantastic women and girls performing, educating, organising, inspiring throughout the day.  On Saturday I went to the Forest Gate Women’s Institute food festival which is a fabulous family-friendly event organised by a great group who are currently campaigning against female genital mutilation. 

Last Friday, I was very honoured to spend some time with our social workers.  The woman who let me shadow her in the morning works all hours of the day, with a smile and with incredible patience, changing families’ lives in Newham.  At the end of the day I was privileged to meet with some of our care leavers and their key workers.  One care leaver spoke confidently about our children in care council and how it had given her confidence and ambition and new skills while bouncing her new born, much loved, daughter on her lap.  When I asked the key worker about the best part of her job she told me, without hesitation how proud she had been to be her birthing partner.

There are fabulous women doing worthwhile things all around us, yet this government clearly does not respect the contribution of women.  Women’s unemployment has risen to a 25 year high whilst men’s has decreased.  The Government’s attack on welfare and plans for growth are frankly leaving women behind. 

In addition, women are still underrepresented at the highest levels. 

·  UK women have slipped from 33rd to 57th place since 2001 in the international power rankings

·  22% of MPs are women

·  within the legal system, only 14% of the senior judiciary are women.

·  11% of UK bank CEOs are women

·  5% of Editors of national daily newspapers are women

This is made worse by there being a real lack of black women, Asian women, working class women, disabled women and lesbian, bisexual and transgender women in positions of power and influence. 

Ensuring that women are equally represented ensures that issues which affect half the population are understood and debated.  Last month, the very awesome Texas State Senator, Wendy Davis electrified the pro-choice movement with her 11-hour filibuster.  Facing down condescension and sexism, she stood and spoke for 11 hours to ensure the rigid anti-abortion bill would not go through.

We all know that important decisions affecting us all, men and women, are better made when different experiences and perspectives are heard.  Not having women at the table is huge waste of talent and potential which perpetuates itself, reproducing a model image of what leadership looks like, constraining and  stifling the aspirations of future generations. 

100 years ago this year Emily Davison was killed when she threw herself under the King's horse as a protest at the government's continued failure to grant women the right to vote.  100 years on, we can all vote but there is a long way to go.

Emmeline Pankhurst said of the Suffragettes, ‘We are here, not because we are law-breakers; we are here in our efforts to become law-makers.’  Emmeline broke the law so that I and others could help make it. 

Let us commit to ensure that, in Newham, in all that we plan and all that we deliver, ALL the women and girls in our care, in our schools, in our workforce, in our community have the support and the opportunity to be the best that we can be.”

Hat tip picture to Col Roi and Museum of London. 

Legal aid cuts - will you please help?

Great post by Ellie on Shelter Website about the slashing by this government of the legal aid budget.

"YouGov polling released today shows that over 50% of people feel that it should be possible to claim legal aid to pay for legal advice and representation if faced with eviction. At a time when so many people are struggling financially and are at risk of losing their home, Shelter is deeply concerned by the most recent legal aid consultation which will make this harder.

As described previously in this post, the government is proposing a worrying set of changes which will leave those facing immediate homelessness with limited access to support. Here is a typical scenario of someone who turns to Shelter for help:

• A family is faced with the horrifying prospect of homelessness. This can happen surprisingly quickly, as a small thing – like job loss – can rapidly create a spiral that leads to arrears and possession proceedings. They approach their local council to ask for help.
• Despite their legal obligation to find the family a place to stay, the local authority refuses. In desperate circumstances the family turns to Shelter for help, because they don’t know where they’ll be sleeping that night or the next.
• Shelter advisors ask council officers to reconsider but the local authority sticks to their guns, so Shelter issues a Judicial Review. At which point either the local authority concede and accommodate the family, or the Court issues an emergency injunction forcing them to do so. The family now have a roof over their heads and are safe for the night so the Judicial Review is withdrawn.

The government’s new proposals would remove the funding for a case like this; where permission to proceed with the Judicial Review (JR) is not granted by a judge. We describe the consequences of this in a letter to the Guardian. While it’s true that a significant number of JRs are either refused permission or withdrawn, this is because many cases, like the one outlined above, are settled in favour of the claimant before the case needs to go that far. The effect of these proposals is to remove funding from cases that are too strong, rather than too weak.

Under other aspects of the changes, many other people will not be eligible for legal aid at all, regardless of how desperate their situation. The proposals demand people prove they have lived in the UK for 12 months – even if they are British citizens, refugees, victims of trafficking or destitute children.

According to the Lord Chancellor, these reforms are driven by two key factors: reducing cost, and improving public confidence. In his Ministerial Foreword, the Lord Chancellor says expenditure on legal aid has “spiralled out of control”. In fact, expenditure has fallen by 25% since its historic peak a decade ago.

In addition, successive opinion polls, like the one today, have found widespread public support for legal aid.  Perhaps in recognition that it is a vital safety net, and that most of us are only a short step – loss of a job, a sudden serious illness, eviction from rented accommodation – from needing it ourselves. In May 2013, a Comres poll for the Bar Council found that 68% agreed that “at less than 0.5% of annual government spending, legal aid is a worthwhile investment in our basic freedoms” and only 11% disagreed.

Every night families across the UK turn to organisations for help, including around 15,000 who approach us a year under legal aid contracts. We are calling on the Minister to abandon these proposals so those families who find themselves homeless can find the defence they need to secure a safe place to stay that night.

The consultation closes today, see our consultation response for more info on the issue"

(sign the e-petition to Save UK Justice here)
.

London Olympics 2012: Thanks for the Warm-Up

I'm about to start watching the closing ceremony on TV. Will stick head out of window later to look for fireworks. Hat tip Ellie.

"Catching the bounce"

Hat tip Ellie Robinson at Labour List

The Olympics have captured national attention and sent our spirits soaring in recent days. Precedent suggests that this kind of event raises also our opinion of government. Certainly Boris seems to be enjoying the bounce. If we’re not quick off the mark and sure in our response the Coalition government will also benefit.

As nurses, Jarrow marchers, matchgirls, and suffragettes marched across the huge screen in my local park last week, and we proudly celebrated modern multicultural society, I couldn’t help think, this could be our party political broadcast of the last century. It didn’t seem an appropriate moment to whip out the Labour Party membership forms, but just to be quietly, deeply thankful that Boyle had not only reflected these images across the world, but made our society proud of them.

And that was just the beginning. The Olympics has become a world showcase for Socialist values in the UK. The Labour Party should not allow the moment to pass without remark.

Our roots are in the public sector

From the nurses in the opening ceremony to the army stepping up where the private sector failed, our public sector workers have done us proud. They have made our trains run on time, directed us around London, kept us safe in the park, and even filled seats in the stadiums. Along with all the amazing volunteers, the public sector has pulled the games off, effectively, efficiently.
Let’s use this opportunity to loudly celebrate our public sector workers and defend their jobs and the services they provide.

Our dream is of an equal society

The Olympics brings society together without recognizing colour, class or gender. The opening ceremony powerfully recreated a history of Great Britain’s working classes, while some of the medal tables have opened up the debate about class inequalities and meritocracy. In addition, there have never been more images of powerful, successful women in the media, and there is no space in an Olympics Britain for terms such as ‘plastic brits’, as Mo Farah responded Saturday night when asked by one journalist if he would have preferred to run for Somalia:

“Look mate, this is my country. This is where I grew up, this is where I started life. This is my country and when I put on my Great Britain vest I’m proud. I’m very proud.”

Let’s use this opportunity to shout about gender equality, celebrate our multicultural society, and build up the courage to talk about the very real reality of class inequalities.

Building hope and opportunity is what we do

Not only has the Olympics created conversations happening on our terms, the games are happening in our ends. The Labour Party was born in Stratford, and the Party continues to represent those living in ‘Stratfords’ across the country. Regeneration in East London has had a massive effect on local people. As Christine Ohuruogu said to the Standard:

“I used to dream of living in Essex. Now because of the Games, I’m proud to say I come from Stratford.”

To read accounts from those far more eloquent than me about the effect this has on a local community so almost forgotten check out this awesome blog – Community links’ Newham views – really inspirational, emotional accounts of what this means to the local community, overwhelmed with pride.

Let’s use this opportunity to talk more respectfully about our poorer communities. Instead of getting drawn into the damaging scroungers debate let’s talk about the effect of regeneration, jobs, investment and belief.

Of course the Olympics isn’t a socialist paradise, the massive significance of the private sector sponsors, the medal tables dominated by public schools in some disciplines and the concerns about missed opportunities for the local community – there is undoubtedly a way to go – but the Games have showcased some of the values of a better society and opened up opportunities for debate.

The whole country is talking about what makes us British. Public sector workers, internationalism, equality and fairness. We own this language. We should own this debate. The Labour Party won the Olympics and we believe in many of the values it is reflecting. It would be both perverse and unjust if the Tory government got a bounce from the Games. We must be sure to catch the ball and use the opportunity to celebrate our belief in equalities, to protect our public services, to shift the debate from scroungers to opportunity and to win the argument".

ill Manors Review by born and bred Forest Gater

Check out this post on Labour List by Ellie Robinson on the film "ill Manors" which is set in Forest Gate, East London. Ellie is born and bred in Forest Gate and is now a local Councillor for the area.

I have lived there also for the past 20 odd years. It is actually a fantastic place to live but like most parts of London there is a tiny dark side which I think Ellie addresses very well in her post.

This is the second link to blogs by Ellie this week. Check out her thoughts here on a recent visit to Israel and Palestine.

The rather graphic picture above is the "official movie" poster for the film. I think it partly depicts the two tower blocks overlooking Wanstead Flats in Leytonstone rather than Forest Gate. One of which is the Fred Wigg tower which may hoist anti-aircraft air to air missiles during the Olympics.

Ironically I use to live and work in Edinburgh in the middle/late 1980's. Is this film a 2012 "Trainspotting"?

Update: Sunday Times yesterday refers to the film being set in Forest Hill not Forest Gate!

Israel Palestine 2012

I've been following the blog here of 9 friends who for the past 10 days have been touring Israel and Palestine. Three of them are from Newham. David & Louise Christie and Ellie Robinson.

David and Ellie are fellow first time Newham Labour Councillors. This was a self funded trip and in a strictly personal capacity only.

The blog records their journey and experiences. They have tried I think to be as fair and open minded as humanly possible.

It must have been fascinating. Pictures are from their blog of the Security Wall and Yad Vashem, the Jewish Memorial centre. I recommend you check out the blog.

"Closer to Home"

Check out this excellent article on housing posted here on "Labour List" by Newham born and bred Labour Party activists, Ellie Robinson and David Christie.

Today being the 200th anniversary of Dickens birth it is very apt to debate the appalling housing conditions that is still found even today in parts of the East End of London.

Newham Council AGM: Growing up in Newham

This speech was given by Cllr Ellie Robinson to the Newham Council AGM on May 19th.

“We grow up fast in Newham. Some children are carers by the time they are teenagers; others face the added responsibility of having to provide for their families, both here and sometimes abroad too.

Too many of our young people have felt the extraordinary pain of losing a friend, or a classmate, to violent crime. Others struggle everyday with growing up in a culture where the violence involves relatively few but where the fear it creates touches many more.

Thirty per cent of our population are under 20. We are the youngest area in the whole country. Their challenges are our challenges, but if we are in this together where are the government?

The Tories have slashed funding to our community. They cut the Building Schools for the Future Programme with which this authority has achieved so much over recent years and they’ve cut the Educational Maintenance Allowance which gave many of my sixth form friends a chance they would not otherwise have had to go to college – a precious, priceless opportunity which has now been snatched away from their younger brothers and sisters.....(read rest of speech and that of the Mayor, Cllr Hussain and Cllr Christie here)

Newham Council AGM: "...the kind of borough and place we want to live in..."

This speech was given by Cllr David Christie to the Newham Council AGM on May 19th.

"I have come to the conclusion that while this speech should extol the benefits of cycling, the starting point of any discussion on the issue should not be the pedal cycle itself but instead about the kind of borough and place we want to live in and create together. Today, I want to present a vision that through cycling, Newham can become London’s most liveable and vibrant borough.

In Newham we are awake to the importance of stimulating high quality urban design. It is about using the development opportunities we have to create well connected and attractive places for people. If you think about your favourite parts of London, I’m sure they will be places that are pleasant to walk around and are of a human scale. Those are places that work for cyclists too and so we can be pro cyclist just by creating places people want to live in.....

(read rest of speech and that of the Mayor, Cllr Hussain and Cllr Robinson here)

Knocking up in Thurrock

This evening I was “knocking up” Labour supporters in Thurrock, Essex and reminding/encouraging/cajoling them to go out and vote for Labour candidate, Phil Smith.

I was in a canvass team with fellow West Hammers (CLP) vanguardists (and Newham Cllrs) Forhad Hussain and Ellie Robinson.  We were joined by Ron from Hackney South CLP (see main photo left to right). There were a number of Newham Party members out and about in Thurrock today, including the Mayor Sir Robin Wales (and in recent weeks).

Since there are no elections in London this year the Regional Labour Party have allocated each CLP a key Council election outside London to help out.

We were working in Stanford East & Corringham Ward. During the Election last year the Tories won the council seat by only 1649 votes to 1620. So this should be winnable but I do worry about the turn out in such local elections when compared to the General election.

It was all quite quiet. I didn’t see a single political poster in any window or garden. I didn’t see any other canvassers. All the people I met were very polite but those who had already voted were unusually hesitant in admitting to me who they had actually voted for. I had a good conversation with a Ford worker about the NHS, pensions and “Sending a message to Downing Street” about his concerns.

The most excitement of the night came from the traditional arguments amongst canvassers of all political persuasions helping out in new places about “we are lost” and “what way should we go?” (see photo left above) I think from now on, West Ham Labour Party should describe the direct route to anywhere as the “Ellie Way” and the going totally in the wrong direction route as the “Forhad way” :).  I was too lazy to do any map reading tonight.

It was still a good day. We met up with London Assembly John Biggs, Cllr Bill Turner from Tower Hamlets and Cllr Josephine Channer from Barking and Dagenham.

Update: check out some more photos on FB here

Update: Phil wins by 136 votes! Well done.

Forest Gate North Labour Party Ward AGM

Last night was my local Labour Party ward AGM in Durning Hall, E7.  It was the best attended ward meeting I have been to and a sign that the Party is growing and that members feel the need to become more active.  The outgoing secretary Cllr Ellie Robinson reported that we now had 85 members.  23 joined in 2010 and we have 16 young members (this figure thanks in part to the excellent work done by Ellie and the rest of Newham Young Labour). 

During Councillor reports we discussed the massive and "savage" cuts being forced upon Newham by this Tory led government.  There was a mature and measured discussion about the harm being done and how to protect Newham residents and staff as best we can against the coming onslaught.

I spoke about how we must unite to oppose this government and support our local campaign "Newham Together" and the TUC March in March against the Cuts, which will take place in London on Saturday 26th March.  We must make sure this will be a well attended and supported event.  But also follow up with helping Party colleagues outside London in the local elections in May.  This year there are no elections in London so we can go out and help Labour Candidates elsewhere.  If we inflict "savage" defeats on local Tories and Lib Dem Councils this will make their local MPs take stock and think about changing their national policies.  We have been given a Tory council to target and have set provisional campaigning dates. 

I doubt that the ConDems will call an election before 2015 since turkeys would not vote for Christmas but I do believe if we campaign properly we can inflict defeats on the government and we may even help bring about a general election early.

Reacting to the Cuts will be really difficult but the Labour Movement family cannot afford to argue and bicker amongst ourselves since this will only benefit the real enemy.

New blood put themselves forward for a number of ward and Party positions.  I was very pleased that Tahmina is now our new secretary. 

Cllr Paul Brickell spoke and led a Q&A about the Olympics development and legacy plans which was well received.  In comparison to the sometimes ill-informed and blatantly untruthful, malicious twaddle we have come across lately.  

Future ward events planned include a tour of the Olympic Park and a Joint Forest Gate Labour Supporters meeting in March with Sir Robin Wales.  Our local MP Lyn Brown and London Assembly member John Biggs have also been invited to attend and speak.

Onwards and forwards.

(this picture from 1905 will be familiar to anyone who has lived in Forest Gate - hat tip Newham Stories)

Labour Party Conference 2010: West Ham CLP delegates report

The Labour movement usually requires all delegates to write reports on the conferences they have been sent to by their unions or the Labour Party.

Ellie Robinson (right) and David Christie (middle) were the West Ham Labour Party delegates to Conference this year.  (Left is Forhad Hussain, who was there as a ex-officio visitor and is also a UNISON member).  All three of them are newly elected Newham Councillors.

This is Ellie and David's delegation report to the West Ham GC.

"We arrived in Manchester on the Friday night and stayed in apartments just over the border in Salford.

Saturday was the day of the leadership conference where they were to announce the new leader of the Labour Party.  The hall in Manchester Central was buzzing with excitement.  Gordon Brown kicked things off with an emotional speech where he celebrated what the last Government had achieved and thanked many people for supporting him and the Labour Party.  Ann Black, chair of the NEC then took the rostrum and led us through the votes.  It took several minutes to get to the result because of the AV system, and the tension and gasps from the audience mounted until in the final round David Miliband received 49.35% of the vote and we knew that Ed would be the next leader of the Labour Party.  There were cheers and Ed gave a short speech where he paid tribute to the other candidates. In the evening we attended the London Region reception where Ed spoke again.

On Sunday a London region welcome was held introducing delegates to the format of conference and Karen Buck, Labour MP for Westminster North launched a new priority campaign in London on housing reflecting the coalition’s attack on housing benefit claimants.  We attended the young councillor network launch and then went into the hall for conference business. 

Neil Kinnock delivered a moving tribute to Michael Foot who died in the year since the last conference. Merit Awards were presented to members from Hammersmith, Hyndburn and Exeter.  In the priority ballot as West Ham delegates we voted for debates on housing, people trafficking, consumer credit and rights at work as we felt these most reflected the particular needs of people in the West Ham constituency and would not all be prioritised by the Trade Union section. We attended a fringe event on the Gaza siege in the evening and a young Labour event. Labour friends of Bangladesh held a reception which several Newham members came up to Manchester to attend and Rushanara Ali spoke passionately about the Bangladeshi community uniting and having transparent elections and decision making in Tower Hamlets. Mary Honeyball MEP for London held a reception and talked about her ongoing focus in the European parliament.  At the end of the evening there was a Newham drink in a bar net to the Manchester Wheel.

On Monday David Miliband gave a speech as Shadow Foreign Secretary for which he received a standing ovation.  Particular focus was on Burma, Kashmir and Pakistan. Ed Balls, Andy Burnham and Dianne Abbott also gave speeches throughout the week that were very well received.

Particular fringe highlights of the rest of the week included the Labour friends of India event hosted by the High Commissioner, again with very good attendance from Newham.   John Gray was on the panel for a fringe on new media and blogging.  Newham Mayor Robin Wales spoke at several fringes, including one on housing where he identified Newham’s plans in that area.

On Tuesday Ed gave his speech, there was tremendous anticipation and he delivered a passionate speech which aimed to draw a line under New Labour. The theme was the ‘New Generation’ and he spoke to the country saying ‘A new generation has taken over Labour- a new generation that understands the call to change’. He called for a mass membership party again with a membership greater than 1997, and talked about winning back votes lost since 1997.  He also promised to work with the coalition when they did the right thing. 

Throughout the rest of the week there was an increasing feeling that David would not run for the shadow cabinet and he announced this on Wednesday.  There was a lot of disappointment at this and generally there were a lot of mixed feelings about Ed’s election. It was inevitable that in so close an election, the losers would feel very disappointed and people did discuss the impact of the union vote on the election and the impression of that in the media.

On the Tuesday night we met our MP Lyn for a drink in the Midland Hotel with other Newham members.

On Wednesday there was a Q and A with our new leader, Ed Miliband, and Eddie Izzard. Two members a minute had joined the Party since Ed was elected leader and a lot of this session focussed on stories from new members.

Harriet Harman, as our Deputy Leader, closed the Conference on Thursday. We came home physically tiered but mentally reenergised to fight for our Party locally and nationally.

An update on rule changes will be provided at the GC".

West Ham CLP nominate Ed Miliband as Labour Leader

 Tonight there was an “all members” meeting held before our Labour Party General Committee to decide who (if any) of the declared candidates we would endorse. All five candidates were nominated and seconded and there was a lively debate between their respective supporters.

Ed Miliband was nominated by Ellie Robertson who is a new Councillor and Chair of Newham Young Labour. I seconded Ed and was also able to speak in his favour.

My view was that Ed is the candidate best placed to beat Cameron and Clegg which is vitally important since without power - we can do nothing.

However, he also the candidate who has committed to tackling inequality and redistribute wealth, not only because it is fairer but because more equal societies are better societies in all measurable ways not only for the poor but also for the better off.

The previous Labour Government did many, many good things but instead of us having a balanced or truly mixed economy it let the pendulum swing too far to the right in certain areas and “the market” into public services and its provision - and it is now time to swing the pendulum back to the left in order to create balance and a centre left economy. An economy where the public sector does what it is good at and provides not for profit services direct to the public and the private sector does what is good at – creating wealth in the free enterprise business economy.

On a personal note I also mentioned that I supported Ed because I was very impressed with the way he conducted himself when he was the keynote guest speaker at the UNISON Labour Link forum in Manchester last year. Two things in particular struck me. One that he admitted to the forum that the Government did not get everything right. He would be listening to the Radio in the morning and hear about a government announcement and think “why on earth did we do that?” I thought at the time this was a brave thing for a Government minister to say. It was also something very much that I could relate to since I had also in the past choked on my branflakes at some of the things that I had heard the government get up to in the morning while listening to the radio!

The second things that struck me about Ed was that after his speech to Forum in the Q&A - the delegates got stuck in (as UNISON delegates do) with the questions and gave him a “bit of a hard time”. Yet Ed gave as good as he got and while passionate in his responses he was not rattled and in the end the forum organisers had to practically drag him off so they could move business on. Ed in the meanwhile told delegates that he wasn’t going to leave the conference venue and he wanted to continue the debate and invited questioners to carry on where they had left it outside the forum hall. Which he did!

It was a close race in West Ham but Ed was in the lead (just) on the 1st preferences but was confirmed as winner after the 2nd preference count.

On Sunday evening July 18 the West Ham (and East London) Labour movement will have a chance to judge the candidates at the Hustings (sponsored by UNISON who will invite affiliates to attend) that is due to take place in Stratford (home of the first ever Labour MP)

(Picture is of Ed Miliband at the East Ham meeting on June 11th - East Ham CLP have since also made a supportive nomination for Ed. I’ll post pictures of tonight’s event soon)