Sunday Night Live: Syria and Airstrikes

A week on from the Commons vote, which extended Britain’s bombing campaign against ISIS into Syria, this Sunday Night Live special explores where now for the multinational coalition against Daesh.

With on-going controversy surrounding Cameron’s widely challenged claim of 70,000 moderate Syrian opposition fighters ready to defeat Daesh, military and security experts are cautioning Britain to be realistic about the extent to which UK action can shape the outcome of the conflict. They are also warning the international community to be ready for the long haul as events on the ground continue to outstrip the pace of diplomatic efforts.

This Sunday Night Live session, with leading experts and commentators, will explore:

• The kaleidoscope of interests at stake in the Syrian conflict, and how these are hampering international diplomatic peace efforts; 
• What needs to happen to bring regional and global actors round the table to break the current paralysis over the future of Assad’s regime; 
• The military challenges to the current ‘degrade’ objectives of the counter ISIS-strategy and how to protect Syrian civilians – are ‘no-fly zones’ completely out of the question;
• How coherent is the international strategy to defeat ISIS and end the civil war in Syria; 
• The domestic implications of the terrorist threat posed by ISIS and where now with the UK’s counter-terrorism strategy.  

Money will also be collected on the evening for the UNHCR Syria Crisis Appeal. 

When

Sunday, 13 December 2015 from 17:00 to 18:30 (GMT) - Add to Calendar

Where

Stratford Picturehouse bar - Salway Road. Stratford . London E15 1BX GB - View Map

Register here

Sunday Night Live - 5.00pm, 29th November: The NHS - in a state of perpetual upheaval and crisis? Where now for the Health Service

"Whether they have billions to invest or need to dramatically cut budgets, few British governments have resisted imposing their own blueprint for reform on the NHS, with the consequence that in the past two decades health service staff have had to endure almost endless upheaval

With 98 percent of junior doctors voting for strike action; the Labour leader’s recent warnings of another NHS winter crisis; and hospital waiting lists and financial deficits rising, what guarantees will be unveiled in Osborne’s forthcoming Autumn Statement that the NHS will be protected?

This NHS special Sunday Night Live session will explore the challenges the health service is currently facing, including:

· The problems caused by various reformist agendas;

· Implications of nursing shortages, spiraling agency staff costs, strikes by junior doctors, pressures on A&E clinics and hospitals; and existing PFI commitments;

· The impact of an ageing population and increasing social care demands on hard-hit local authorities.

Join us over at the Stratford Picture House bar (Salway Rd, London E15 1BX: http://tinyurl.com/ntmwysz) to discuss these and other associated issues with our two guest speakers:

Jos Bell is the Chair of the London Branch of the Socialist Health Association. She is an author, NHS campaigner and disability spokesperson. She writes for a number of publications on health policy and the NHS, disability rights and welfare reform. For more see: https://www.opendemocracy.net/author/jos-bell

Nigel Keohane is the Deputy Director and Director of Research at the Social Market Foundation. Nigel oversees the SMF’s research programme and leads the work on public service reform and commissioning, welfare reform and low pay, and pensions and savings. Prior to the SMF, Nigel was Head of Research at the New Local Government Network think tank, worked in local government and taught history at Queen Mary College, University of London. He has a BA and MA in history from Exeter University, and a PhD in Political History from Queen Mary. For more see: http://www.smf.co.uk/publication-author/nigel-keohane/

IT'S FREE ENTRY - SIGN UP VIA EVENTBRITE: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/21st-century-nhs-in-a-state-of-perpetual-upheaval-and-crisis-tickets-19615446328.

("Sunday Night Live" is a series of friendly monthly conversations and debates for Labour Party members and supporters)

Sunday Night Live: Corbyn and the (new) Labour Landscape

This looks interesting. 5-6.30pm next Sunday 25 October 2015 at Stratford Picture House Bar, London, E15 (5 mins from Stratford Station). I wonder if the West Ham Corbynistas Fashion Gurus will be present?