Michael Gove going for a trip in Downing Street

hat-tip Col. Roi:)

Ken for Mayor 2012

I got this email this evening - it's a rather good "positive and unifying" message (IMO)  -

"I'm writing to let you know about my decision to run for Labour's nomination to be Mayor of London.

These are going to be tough times for Britain and London. I want to be
mayor for one overriding reason. If I am elected my focus will be to
do everything I can to protect Londoners from the recession and the
effects of the government's policies.

The global economic crisis, a fragile recovery that may go double-dip,
and a government removing billions from the economy and planning cuts
on a scale that Britain has not seen for decades, mean the mayor's priority must be to protect Londoners. These are serious times that require serious politics. I will aim to use every lever to make sure our quality of life is protected and improved. Not a mayor who spends his time defending bankers and instead one who will use Mayoral budgets and powers to protect ordinary Londoners.

My priority will be to protect public services in London, create new jobs, make the streets safer, defend our safer neighbourhood police teams, hold down fares, and build more affordable housing

I launched my campaign last week in Croydon, a borough that has had its share of the sharp end of Boris Johnson's policies, with big bus and tram fare increases and cuts to transport infrastructure plans. My
aim, if selected as Labour's candidate, is to work with Labour in all of London's boroughs to ensure we have the most effective possible campaign to win London back in 2012.

In the last few days since campaigning started we have been able to draw in support from across London and at all levels of the party, including Labour group leaders

Liam Smith (Barking and Dagenham), Catherine West (Islington), Paul Dimoldenberg (Westminster),

Tony Newman (Croydon), Julian Bell (Ealing), Claire Kober (Haringey), and Stephen Cowan

(Hammersmith and Fulham).

The campaign has received strong trade union backing over the weekend, with the support of the GMB General Secretary Paul Kenny.

Tottenham MP David Lammy will chair my campaign, and I have appointed a Young Labour member, Veronica King, as the first of my vice chairs because I am committed to involving Labour's younger members as we work to take back London.

To see more supporters and to find out more about the campaign you can visit: http://www.kenlivingstone.com

Over the coming weeks, if I am shortlisted, I will be debating and discussing the ideas that London needs to take us forward in harder economic times. Some of these are already being set out on my campaign website where you can also contact the campaign team. If you'd like to support my campaign you can become an endorser by using the form at http://www.kenlivingstone.com/contact/

I look forward to listening to what you have to say and to contributing to what I hope will be a really positive and unifying campaign to help Labour build on the borough election victories this year so that we can take back City Hall for progressive politics.

Yours sincerely

Ken Livingstone

(picture from East Ham in 2008 - so far only Ken and Oona are definitely putting themselves forward)

"It's Going To Ruin Us"

Excellent Aussie trade union video from the same mob that brought us this. Great stuff! I must admit to not knowing all that much about the local issue but every single advance for workers which we now take for granted was attacked as being "ruinous" at the time.

Reminds me a bit of this argument as well.

Hat-tip thingy to Eric Lee and Labourstart. Pass it on.

UNISON in London Summer 2010 Magazine

This morning in the post I received the latest version of “UNISON in London”.

This is our newsletter for stewards and activists in Greater London region. You should be soon able to download it here.

Some of the top stories are Dave Prentis on The New Tory-Lib Dem government; Notting Hill Trust Dispute and UNISON Parliamentary reception; impressive recruitment figures for London; Labour Landslide in London and a report on “Workers Memorial Day” .

When Wales saved Britain from Revolution

Last Bank Holiday weekend in the Tardis like “Royal Oak Inn” Fishgard, South Wales I spied a poster claiming that Wales (and Welsh women in particular!) had saved Britain from “revolution”.

This very same “pub” was indeed the site of surrender negotiations between French officers and those from the much smaller local Welsh militia and yeomanry following the last invasion of Britain in February 1797. When 1400 well armed Revolutionary troops under direct orders from the Paris Directory were sent to spark a Welsh uprising and to try and size Liverpool then London.

“The working classes were to be encouraged to rebel; Britain’s trade was to be dislocated and French prisoners of war liberated, causing such chaos as to make the invasion of Britain possible”

The French were initially planning to invade Ireland with 15,000 troops (which didn’t take place) and while they intended this attack at Wales (or Bristol) to be part of a diversionary attack they also hoped that there would start a revolution amongst the local population.

On 22 February 1797 4 French warships landed “17 boatloads of troops, 47 barrels of powder, 50 tons of cartridges and grenades and 2,000 stands of arms”. You can walk the 3 miles from Fishguard to the invasion point at Carreg Wastad which is all simply stunningly beautiful. There is a memorial to the invasion on the headland (see picture of moi). Last week it was entirely peaceful with the only excitement being a family of grey seals basking on the rocks in the sunshine.

There was no opposition to the landing and the French quickly seized strong defensive points from which it would have been very difficult to dislodge them. However, the expected “Revolution” never happened? Instead of supporting or even joining the revolutionary troops there was a series of bitter and bloody skirmishes between them and local Welsh inhabitants.

This was a dangerous time for the British government of the time. Later that year the Royal Navy mutinied twice and the news of the invasion caused a run on the Bank of England which forced them to suspend the payment of gold and instead they issued £1 bank notes for the first time!

Despite income disparity being far worse in this part of Wales than anywhere else in Britain and Ireland and the relatively recent Pembrokeshire bread riots there appeared to be no support locally for  “revolution”. The French hardly helped matters with many of their troops getting drunk, ransacking and burning local farms and churches (see the picture of Llandwna Church which had its papers and bibles burnt) while trying to “live off the land”.

In other parts of Europe the invading French revolutionary armies had been welcomed as liberators. Not so in Wales? There is probably a mass of reasons for this apart from a xenophobic fear of French Johnny foreigner. The rise of religious non conformity in Wales may have given the revolutionaries hope but most dissenters were probably at the time more keen than most to prove their loyalty to the Crown for fairly obvious reasons. Of course the patriotic conservatism (with a small c) of the British working class is one of its most enduring and defining features. At the end there are accounts of hundreds of locals turning up to fight the invader (as with their descendants in 1940) armed with primitive farm weapons.

There are two further stories that I love about this moment in our history. Firstly it seems that one of the reasons for the French surrender was “There is strong evidence that the French were deceived by the appearance in the neighbourhood of large numbers of local womenfolk wearing the traditional dress of red shawls and black hats, which at a distance resembled infantry uniforms”. It is clear that the French for whatever reason actually surrendered to vastly inferior number of troops. Secondly “The heroine of the hour” Jemima Nicholas, (see picture) who with her pitchfork, went out single-handedly into the fields around Fishguard and rounded up 12 French soldiers and 'persuaded' them to return with her to town where she locked them inside St Mary's Church.

Apart from the history lesson Pembrokeshire is just breath taking countryside, with superb coastal and hill walks - well worth a visit.

Education Cuts “Day of Dissent” 21 June 2010

As was posted here – Monday 21 June 2010 has been designated by all the unions with members in Further and Higher Education as a “Day of Dissent” against proposed cuts.

Today millions of pounds in cuts are being demanded (and this is existing Labour government approved cuts not likely future Con Dem cuts). Thousands of jobs are now at risk

Further information and campaign information here and here.

Double click on image to bring up details

What we should do when we come across TV reports of murdering cowards?

check out this

John Lennon on militant revolutionaires; non violence and humour:)

Hat-tip Newham Number one Toy Town smelly feet revolutionary Random Blowe :)

Hunting, Shooting and Killing

I don’t know why a lone gunman murdered 12 people yesterday and shot another 11 before killing himself. In fact we may never really know for sure? Only two things are pretty certain. One - he will turn out to be some sort of bitter and twisted obsessive loner (as in Hungerford and Dunblane) and two – he had access to guns.

While I am sure that there are a lot of things that we can do better in the “community” to identify and prevent such people harming others or themselves the only sure way to reduce the number of similar incidents is to reduce the number of lethal weapons out there.

Why do we allow individuals to legally hold sniper rifles with telescopic sights capable of multiple homicides? According to the BBC here in England and Wales there are 138,728 people certificated to hold firearms and they own 435,383 weapons. (There are also 574,946 shotgun certificates which cover 1.4 million shotguns). 138 000 people – 435 000 weapons??? I used to target shoot when I was younger and I am sure that the vast overwhelming majority of folk who do shoot are decent and rational people. But with the best will and best laws in the world this is a ticking bomb and unless we have change further mass murders will just take place again, again and again. Just look what happens across the pond in the USA.

Or are we saying that this is a price worth paying for a minority of people to exercise their democratic right to enjoy their hobbies and traditions?

Today, I indulged in my own personal hobby of hill walking. Now it is conceivable that I may be able to do someone grievous bodily harm with my Brasher boots or Swiss army penknife but when hill walking I am incapable no matter how insane (discuss) of mass indiscriminate murder.

I hope the new Tory Minister for “Hunting and Shooting” (yes of course they have appointed one) Jim Paice will do what’s right and proper and just dramatically slash the number of such weapons in our society.

I won’t wait up.

Picture is from Shooting Times - its digital sample - I assume they will have the decency to take it down some time soon.

Lambeth UNISON members rally around Dave Prentis for General Secretary

The former branch secretary of Lambeth UNISON, Nick Venedi, has placed this message of support on the “Re-elect Dave Prentis” website here.

Nick had been a senior member of the branch for many years and has only recently stepped down. He has promised to advise branch members to support Dave in the election.

I’m sure that this advice will delight his former comrades in Unison disunited left :)