West Ham Labour canvass & remembering V2 Nazi Rocket attack (Solidarity with Ukraine)

 

Yesterday I helped organise a Labour campaign session in the ward that I represent as a Councillor in Newham, West Ham with my colleague Cllr John Whitworth. It was great that we had a number of Party  members joining us including Plastow Councillor, John Morris, (so there was 3 John's on the team) local party members and also Jordan, a UNISON Labour Link activist from Camden.

During the canvass we stopped off to honour (see picture) the roundabout in what is now called Marriott Road, which I believe is the impact site of a German Nazi V2 Rocket attack on 1 Feb 1945. 

See an account of the carnage at this site below:-

"In the early hours of 1st February 1945 at 3:03 am, Hitler’s last weapon of terror, a V-2 Rocket, left a trail of death and destruction on the sleeping street. An unmanned, guided, ballistic missile that had a maximum speed of 3440 mph, flying at an altitude of 52-60 miles, and carrying a warhead of 2150lbs of high explosives dropped without warning onto the sleeping Barnby Street, at up to four times the speed of sound. The ultra-high-speed descent meant that no sound was heard by those about to be hit. The effects of the resulting explosion were catastrophic, the explosion and subsequent sonic boom were heard all over London.

On that cold winters night, in just a few short seconds 29 people lost their lives and 15 others were seriously injured. Houses were totally destroyed and the surrounding streets were severely bomb blasted". 

A local resident told us that when she moved into her home right next to the roundabout she was told by the housing officer that this was the site of a mass grave of the dead. I told her that I didn't think that this was strictly accurate. 

Marriott Road is also named after a local firefighter who was killed during the blitz. We must do something to remember him and the dead 29 civilians by the next anniversary on 1 Feb 2023. 

After the canvass we went for coffee (and brunch for some) in the Sawmill cafe in West Ham Lane, which is run by a local Ukrainian family. While enjoying my brunch, I will admit that I felt what happened to Eastenders in 1945 must be similar to the experience of so many Ukrainians in 2022. 

Both victims of vile Nazi aggression. That picture of devastation and death in the collage is the same as so many modern day pictures in Ukraine. 

Solidarity to Ukraine in their fight against Putin fascism!

Elected as Greater London General Rep for UNISON Community (Charities, Housing Associations & Third Sector) & I will support the Kirklees 15

 

I was really pleased to be notified on Friday that I had been elected unopposed for the Greater London General seat on the UNISON Community National Service Group Executive. 

This means I will represent all UNISON members in London who work in Charites, Housing Associations or the Third Sector. There are a number of national employers whose headquarters are in London and are therefore part of London region as well. 

I am looking forward to representing the interests of London Community members at this national body and will do whatever I can to hold the present Community NEC members to account for their actions in particular the complicity and failure to stop the victimisation of the Kirklees 15.

This is about 14 female UNISON members and 1 male, whose complaints of bullying and harassment against our so called current "President" Paul Holmes, have been dismissed by our NEC without any due process for them. This is despite the fact that he has been sacked by his employer for bullying and harassing them. 

I will also challenge them for supporting the bullying of UNISON staff, including threating to sack them, breaking the union rules, fiddling procedures and using "union busting" tactics against our recognised trade unions. Incredibly they have also failed to completely condemn Putin's fascist war of aggression against Ukraine.

Watch this space.

(Picture of some of the many Community delegates who walked out of our recent conference in Glasgow last month when Paul Holmes was chairing it). 

InUNISON - Solidarity with Ukraine, opposing Russian aggression and supporting public service workers

 

"We’ve all watched the news with horror over the last few days, as Russian tanks, soldiers and airforce surged over the Ukrainian border. Many of us had hoped and expected that the horrors of war that plagued Europe for centuries were in thing of the past, and these events evoke our collective European memories and shatter the peace we have been building together.

But amongst the widespread outrage, our general secretary Christina McAnea rightly directed our thoughts to public service workers in Ukraine to give them our support and solidarity. In the same way in this country, we saw that during the pandemic peaks it was public service workers holding society together, often at their own personal risk, so to will it be on the ground in Ukraine. Health workers tending the sick and injured, local government workers keeping the most basic services going, energy workers keeping the lights on for as long as possible.

Our thoughts must now turn to how we can offer practical solidarity to Ukrainians, and particularly to Ukrainian public service workers. UNISON has well established relationships with Ukrainian unions through our work with EPSU and PSI. We must work with them to provide whatever assistance we can to our sisters in Ukraine.

Our thoughts must also turn to those Ukrainians who have left Ukraine, many of them fleeing over the borders to neighbouring countries. We should look at what else can do as a union to support these refugees, and ensuring the UK also offers a warm welcome to them. We must also offer what practical help and solidarity we can to our own Ukrainian members who must be going through unimaginable heartache.

Solidarity with Ukrainians and their right to self determination must be sacrosanct, but also supporting peace movements in Russia. The last thing we should be doing is trying to apportion blame anywhere other than Putin and his cabal.

Russia out of Ukraine. Solidarity!"

By UNISON NEC member (& NHS Nurse) James Anthony

UNISON "We stand in solidarity with our sister trade unions and all workers across Ukraine"

 "As we witness shocking reports today of more suffering in Ukraine, we think of the public service workers - the first responders to devastating scenes, doing all they can to save lives.
We stand in solidarity with our sister trade unions and all workers across Ukraine - Christina McAnea, general secretary of UNISON, UK’s largest trade union for public service workers" UNISON Facebook

Well said Christina. Who would have thought in 2022 we would have again in Europe, fascists invading independent democracies. 

Is Putin going to launch his own false flag “Operation Himmler”?

In 1939 we had a murderous dictatorship massing troops near the boarder of a independent sovereign country, Poland, which it wanted to take over and rule. In order to try and justify an invasion, Nazi Germany, carried out a secret raid on one of its own radio mast facilities in order to justify war. This operation was led by Hitler's’ right hand man, Himmler. 

It is pretty clear that Putin is thinking of using the same tactics against Ukraine. We cannot let this happen. We know what happens if we appease murderous dictators. 

UPDATE - Check out this BBC report on "false flags"