John Gray? Common as muck

Today is National Voter Registration Day.

The Labour Party has sent out this on line tool that will work out how many people registered to vote have the same name as you.

Check out  http://action.labour.org.uk/how-many-of-me-in-britain

1,346 are called "John Gray" and the 2nd most common name is "John".

There is a serious point to this since nearly a million voters have dropped off the electoral list following changes by this Government. 

Make sure you register to vote here https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote

"Stand Up For Labour" Theatre Royal Stratford East Monday 9 March

West Ham and Ilford North CLPs are hosting that biggest ever Stand Up for Labour event at Stratford’s famous Theatre Royal on 9 March. You can book your seats here to attend a fantastic night of comedy to raise money for Labour.

Top comedians Sarah Pascoe and Arthur Smith, famous for both stand-up and TV and radio panel shows including QI, are already confirmed, along with Live from the Apollo compere Stephen K Amos. And we’ll soon be able to reveal our very famous headline act…

The night is hosted by Lyn Brown, MP for West Ham, and Labour’s candidate for Ilford North Wes Streeting. We also have a special guest speaker, NHS campaigner Harry Leslie Smith, who received a standing ovation at last year’s Labour conference talking about his life and childhood before the welfare state.

This fantastic night of comedy is all about raising money for Labour’s election campaigns in West Ham and Ilford North (our key battleground in East London).

It’s going to be a brilliant sell-out event. Book your seats NOW online or by calling the box office on 020 8534 0310. Tickets are £20/£12.50 (with concessions).

Friends and family and non Labour members are very welcome – although the content might not be suitable for the right leaning…

Hope to see you raising a laugh to raise money for Labour on Monday 9 March.

hat tip West Ham Labour

UNISON Greater London Regional AGM election results 2015

The Evil Ones were crushed. The election result in today's London regional council AGM was the 10th victory in a row for the forces of light and reason against the Ultra left and their supporters.

Clear proof that the mass of ordinary unison members and branches are not interested in student union toy town politics. Instead, in these serious times, they want a grown up union leadership, one that will do what they think is best for members and not barmy extremist postulating.

It was amusing to read the on-line strop from the well known "Goblin and evil one-in-chief" middle class stranger to the truth. What else do you expect from those who despise working class people, since they think we are too thick to understand what is good for us and don't do what they tell us.

Left politics in this country has suffered so much from these 5th columnist Tory excuser's, who discredit the entire progressive agenda which their ranting, wreaking and splitting. It is the Far Right such as UKIP who are the chief beneficiaries from this nonsense but the wreckers don't care and actively want the right to win in order to bring about "the revolution". yeah. Dream on comrades.

Anyway, the motto for the sensible left in London from now on is "10 more years"!

80 Richest Own Same Wealth As Half The World

How on earth did we allow this to happen?

Keir Hardie Centenary Year - Monday 9 Feb 2015 at Westminster Hall

I cannot believe it but I have a clash on the 9th and will not be able to make this celebration of Keir Hardie, the first ever independent Labour MP at Westminster Hall. 

Keir become the MP for West Ham South on 4 July in 1892

Hopefully, someone else from West Ham Labour Party will be able to attend and report back on it.

Hat tip Dave Watson

Boots the tax dodgers

The latest attempt by the Tories to attack Ed Miliband has backfired.

The Billionaire Italian boss of Boots the Chemist, Stefano Pessina. told the Sunday Torygraph if Labour politicians acted in the way that they spoke “it would be a catastrophe”.

It turns out that the billionaire does not pay any tax in the UK and lives in Monaco. Also that Boots has avoided £1.21 billion in corporate tax dodges since 2007. Enough to have employed nearly 85,000 new NHS nurses.Check out Richard Murphy at tax research UK

When you consider that 40% of its turnover is from NHS prescriptions you start to realise how corrupt the senior management of this once proud UK company are.

As a pension trustee and representative of asset owners I consider all companies who avoid paying their fair share of taxes as being run by thieves. If they deliberately don't pay their taxes then what other immoral and corrupt practices are taking place in that Company? Executive pay fiddles? Bribery? Child labour? or destroying the environment?  If you have a company culture that sees nothing wrong with depriving pensioners and hospitals of money then there is obviously a huge governance risk.

Expect similar "dog whistle" attacks by the rich and powerful against Ed Miliband and Labour in the run up to the General Elections. The millionaires who back the Tories do not want to pay their fair share of taxes and will do anything to defeat Labour.

London UNISON Regional Council AGM 2015

On Wednesday 4th February 2015 at 10am it is the Annual General Meeting of the Greater London UNISON Regional Council.

It will take place at the Holiday Inn Conference room, Coram Street (across the road from Russell Square tube station). Doors open at 8:45am.

There will be guest speakers, reports and motions but the chief purpose of the AGM is to elect Regional Council Officers and committee members.

This will be last AGM as Regional Convenor for Gloria Hanson who is stepping down. Gloria has done a fantastic job as Convenor for many years but now thinks it is time to let someone new take over. Existing Equalities Convenor, Yvonne Green, is standing and she will make a terrific Regional Convenor.

The forces of light and reason are standing a full slate against the ultra left evil ones.  So if you are a UNISON branch delegate to the AGM please consider voting as below:-

Yvonne Green - Regional Convenor 

Conroy Lawrence - Deputy Regional Convenor 

John Gray - Regional Finance Convenor 

Liz Baptiste - Regional Equalities Convenor 

Lynn Bentley - Regional Publicity Officer

Update: Clean sweep - Victory for forces of light and reason!

Saturday Sectarian: Green Lies & the Green Housing vacuum

I have just enjoyed reading two very different posts on the Green Party and their policies.

The first was from the never shy nor retiring Kitty Jones on
"You’d have to be Green to believe the Green Party: two more lies exposed".

While the other post by Steve Hilditch "The grass isn't any greener on the other side" is more reflective and is a pretty powerful exposure of the vacuum that is the Green's Housing policy. Which, for a so called "progressive" party is unacceptable and amateurish.

I suppose some supporters of the Green's will say such posts are a sign that they are a rising political force and feared by Labour. I don't think so, it's about time that fringe parties such as the Greens and UKIP are challenged about their practices and policies and not be allowed to get away with stuff.

My own favourite "Green" story was watching an interview with a Brighton Council worker whose wages were being cut by Green run Brighton Council - He described them as "F**king Tories on Bikes".

National Campaign Day with Lyn Brown and Harriet Harman - Sat 31 Jan

"Tomorrow is national campaign day. Lyn Brown MP and Harriet Harman, Deputy Leader of the Labour party, invite you to the opening of the new campaign centre for Bermondsey and Old Southwark - followed, of course, by a canvassing session for Labour's candidate for Bermondsey, Neil Coyle.

We're meeting at West Ham station at 10am or you could meet us at 10.45 at the new campaign centre 46 Tower Bridge Road, SE1 4TR. It's a 10 to 15 min walk from London Bridge, Elephant and Castle or a short bus ride from Tower Hill or Bermondsey station.

I hope you can join us. And we'll be back in Ilford North on Valentine's Day..."
Best wishes
Julianne
(West Ham CLP Vice Chair - Campaigns)

"Rights at Work" UNISON Labour Link event at House of Commons

This is a fantastic picture from last weeks' London UNISON Labour Link "Rights at Work" event for our members who live in Ilford North CLP. The event was organised by Lilian Greenwood MP (who use to be a UNISON national officer and is a great friend of our union). We had speeches on "Rights at Work" by guest speakers Chuka Umunna MP, Ilford North Candidate Wes Streeting and Shadow London Minister, Sadiq Khan. West Ham MP, Lyn Brown, also came to speak to members and their guests.

Workers in this country need to understand that the Tories in the last 5 years have decimated our employment rights. They have doubled the amount of time that an employer has to get rid of you without you having any rights for unfair dismissal; they have watered down TUPE protection if you are transferred to another employer who wants to slash your terms and conditions - and if you want justice at work, it could cost you at least £1200 up front, to even appear before an employment tribunal. 

Yesterday evening I chaired an "Equality at Work" event sponsored by London Labour Link for our LGBT members at the House of Commons which I will post upon soon.