UNISON London APF AGM & Shadow Minister Angela Rayner MP

 

Picture from last weeks UNISON Greater London region "Labour Link" Political committee AGM. I was pleased to be re-elected as Chair for the next 2 years.

Our first speaker was Joanne McCartney AM, who gave a London Assembly report on the latest attempts to hold lazy posh boy Tory Mayor, Boris Johnson, to account and what the Labour candidate to replace him, Sadiq Khan, will do to improve our Housing, Transport and Policing.

Re-elected Committee member, Mike Katz, is also standing for election to the GLA as a list Assembly member. He pointed out that TFL management are finally admitting that Sadiq plans for transport are affordable and will save money.

I was really pleased to introduce our keynote speaker, Shadow Pension Minister, Angela Rayner MP. Angela is a former UNISON branch secretary and Regional convenor who was elected last year to represent Ashton-under-Lyne. She rapidly became a junior whip then in the last reshuffle, the Shadow Pension minister.

I have been privileged to know Angela and her fellow UNISON activist husband Mark for a number of years. At UNISON conferences over the years I have enjoyed seeing them and their lovely children.

Angela spoke about being a home carer and 16 year old single mum without any qualifications. She was written off by many but thanks in part to her union she was able to become one of the very few former manual workers to become an MP in the last election.

She described how difficult it was at first and the lack of support that new MPs get and the attacks against her by the right wing media. She was told by an old hand MP that she should see these attacks as a compliment since they are only attacking her since she being effective.

Angela is bright, super capable and driven but she is also a great example of how UNISON can help grow its activists and I am super proud of her and can't wait for her to be a Pension Minister in government ASAP. 

London UNISON Labour Link AGM, Collins Review & GLA Mayor Selection

Last week there was the UNISON Greater London Labour Link AGM. This is our UNISON Labour Party supporting political fund for London. I was pleased to be re-elected unopposed as Chair of the committee.

We had a very good London Assembly report by UNISON member, Joanne McCartney AM (see left of collage) who briefed us amongst other things on the bizarre and contradictory "evidence" that Tory Mayor, Boris Johnson gave to the Assembly in favour of buying second hand German Police water cannon to deal with public order disturbances.

Apart from the usual AGM business of elections, minutes, finance report and work plan, we had a excellent debate on the Collins Review and its consequences for UNISON Labour Link.

Since UNISON has had for the last 20 years separate and voluntary, Labour Party and General Political funds, it is likely that we will be affected less than other affiliated unions by the Collins Review. In fact UNISON could become the largest trade union affiliate to the Labour Party.

The first big election test of the new arrangements could be the selection of the Labour Candidate to be London Mayor for 2016. While UNISON will have to ask all our existing Labour Link members to sign up as Party supporters in order for them to take part in this selection, this should be easier since they have already made a  conscious choice to support Labour than the other unions.

There are about 60,000 existing London UNISON Labour Link member who could be entitled to vote for the selection of a London Mayor candidate. Since there is one person, one vote - this means there could be more UNISON members voting than Party members in London.

There is a huge job of work for us to do in the next few years. While many affiliated trade unionists think that the Collins report was an unnecessary distraction, it is now clearly Party policy and we just have to get on with it.

Picture collage of AGM and top right is that of me with GMB, West & East Ham CLP Comrades and Ray Collins at the Special Labour Party Conference on March 1.

 Hat tip pics Gerard McGrath

UNISON London Labour Link says Goodbye and thank you Ali G

Picture is of me as Chair of UNISON London Region Labour Link presenting retiring committee member, Alan Griffiths, with a bottle of House of Commons Whiskey!

Alan who is also a Newham Councillor, has been a long serving member of the Committee for many years and will be missed. 

At the committee meeting we also had a presentation by former London MEP, Carole Tongue, on "the Euro elections 2014 and the positive case for Europe". There was a lively Q&A afterwards and almost an consensus, that there is a positive narrative about Europe (amidst lots of real problems) that we should make and not let the the bigoted right set the agenda.

Committee member Sanchia Alaisa (2nd from right), who works in FE and is a Councillor in Barking and Dagenham, is standing to be a Euro MEP candidate in 2014. Check out her web site here.

London Assembly member Joanne McCartney gave her GLA report next. This was dominated by the devastating Police and Fire brigade cuts that London Mayor Boris is about to implement despite his manifesto promises to protect emergency services.

The highlight of the meeting was of course the last business item, as Alan Griffiths, gave a swan song Powerpoint presentation on the retrofitting of Solar Power Panels on south facing roofs of houses in Walthamstow Council estates. Which is still a worthwhile idea to look at despite Tory Coalition tariff cuts. His motto "Every South facing roof could still be a power station".