Student Nurse Margaret Matthews circa 1960

Off message but marvellous picture of my Mum, Margaret Gray (nee Matthews) when she was a student mental health nurse aged 18 in Denbigh, North Wales around 1960 (she is on the left).

It was originally in a local newspaper (?) and our family had thought we had lost the picture but my first cousin, Melanie, was told by her fathers cousin, Beryl, that it was on a Denbigh social media page and she sent it to my Mum on Facebook.

Nothing to do with family escapes the Taff Mafia!

My Mum was one of 8 children and all of them I believe worked in this very large mental health hospital in Denbigh. The girls were mostly nurses or office workers and the boys porters. My Grandparents even met when working in a nearby hospital.

Mum remembers this photo and the very strict Sister (who is sitting down).

The traditional large mental health hospitals have now closed down in favour of small community based provision. While I understand why this has happened I am not sure that such provision is best for everyone. 

Top 10 Country GDP Ranking History (1960-2017)

Fascinating video chart. The hegemony of USA, the rise and relative fall of Japan and now the rise of China. UK is so, so.

Vote Pete Hannell for London National Labour Link elections - ballot papers out now!

Vote for a London NHS worker to represent you in UNISON’s National Labour committee

I am a front line NHS health worker, a paramedic in the London Ambulance Service, working shifts while still being an active UNISON steward, representing and defending members for 25 years. As a long standing branch activist and LAS Labour Link officer I have experience of being on committees and know how things work.  I have also been a loyal Labour Party member for many years.

My aim is to get a Labour Government elected and into power and for Jeremy Corbyn to be our next Prime minister. Never forget that we, the unions, created the Labour Party because workers needed political power and protection. 

That is why we must get win power at all costs. In order to win, the Labour Party should be taking more notice of UNISON’s policies on defending the NHS, increase public sector pay, stopping all privatisations and defending our pensions. These policies are all very popular with the public and if Labour adopted UNISON’s policies we will win the next general election.

We need more ordinary rank and file union members representing UNISON at the highest level within the Labour Party. If I am elected as your London delegate I pledge that I will  :-

·         Oppose privatisation of the NHS and all other public services

·         Support our claims for decent pay rises for all public workers

·         Demand we keep our pensions and that everyone is given the chance to belong to a decent pension scheme

·         To report back on every Labour committee meeting I attend to all London UNISON branches and tell you what is going on.

Thank you for reading this statement and I hope you will consider voting for me.

Pete Hannell. 

(Ballot papers have been sent out to home addresses of all UNISON members in London who belong to Labour Link by post with SAE)

Why join a union?

"Everyone deserves fairness, equality and justice at work. That's what trade unions stand for. When you join a union, you join a movement that's 6 million strong.

Working people are stronger when they act together. And together, we can make the working world a better place for everyone".

Newham Council working with TELCO Citizens on the Housing Crisis

Picture from Tuesday with Newham TELCO Citizens. I first worked with TELCO in the 1990s when my trade union branch, UNISON Tower Hamlets was affiliated and I can remember going on demos and lobbies with them over the London Living wage.

Their twitter tweet was : -

Productive meeting @NewhamLondon  Deputy Mayor & Cabinet Member for Housing Services

@grayee

. We learned about the Council’s proactive action on housing & homeless in the face of huge challenges. Civil society can play an important role

My response to this on twitter:-

A really positive and constructive meeting. I look forward to working with #TELCOCitizens in the the future to improve the life of our residents #housing

@CllrShaban

@rokhsanafiaz

Housing Associations branch supports UNISON End Violence at Work Charter

Tonight I chaired UNISON London Housing Associations Branch Executive meeting during which we discussed our support of the End Violence at Work Charter. 

I am pleased to report that a number of our branch employers are close to signing the Charter so hopefully, we will have some announcements soon.

We will also be chasing employers who haven't been very proactive on this important issue so far.

Watch this space!

(also check out the horrifying findings publicised by Inside Housing in June this year https://www.johnslabourblog.org/2019/06/assaults-survey-full-findings-reveal.html)

Newham Under the Stars - Sunday 11 August with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

"The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) and a fireworks grand finale will again delight audiences on Sunday night. The RPO has been performing at Under the Stars for more than six years bringing an ensemble of up to 75 musicians. They cover a huge range of music from core symphonic music by composers such as Beethoven and Tchaikovsky, through the world of musical theatre and up to modern day film soundtracks.

This year’s concert will feature traditional proms in the park favourites under the baton of ever popular conductor John Rigby who has worked on film, screen and stage music.

Making her first appearance is vocalist Alison Jiear who trained classically in voice and piano at Queensland Conservatorium of Music in Australia before moving to the UK in 1988. She has performed in the West End while working on numerous other projects.

Also debuting is British baritone Ross Ramgobin who attended London’s Royal Academy of Music where he gained an MA in Vocal Studies and then his Advanced Diploma from the Royal Academy Opera. He has performed at opera houses all over the world.

The evening will also feature performances by Newham's Young N Gifted Choir as well as the Bridging Sounds Orchestra, Newham Music's flagship ensemble".

Hat tip Newham London

Labour Unions - Campaigning for a Labour Government

I was pleased to see that the 12 trade unions affiliated to the Labour Party have renamed their co-ordinating organisation, formerly called TULO/Unions together, to become "Labour Unions" - which just makes things clearer.

Check out this link for information on campaigns to bring about a Labour Government such as Banning Zero Hour contracts.

To the last 100 years of Council Housing in Newham and the next 100

Last Thursday evening I came back from holiday and went to the 3rd Newham Council Tenants and Leaseholders forum in East Ham Town Hall for Plaistow and Green Street residents.

There was around 50 residents present. Councillor Shaban Mohammed was the lead and worked with junior and senior housing officers to find out what is good and bad about the housing service in Newham and how can we work together in the future to improve it.

It was a really good meeting with lots of robust conversations at times and there was also many positive and constructive comments.

For many years there has been no effective consultation with Newham Council tenants and residents. You cannot run an effective housing management service without involving residents. Full stop.

Cllr Mohammed was also able to introduce the local Council liaison officers. Again, for many years there has been no single Council housing officer responsible for a particular patch or estate. We have now set up teams who will cover all parts of Newham (and our out of borough estates).

Many thanks to residents and officers for giving up an evening to make our housing service better. The last forum takes place on Tuesday. There will be follow up meetings in September.

• Forest Gate North, Forest Gate South, Stratford and New Town and West Ham - Tuesday 6 August between 6.30 and 8.30pm at Old Town Hall Stratford.

You need to book in advance since places are limited

At Thursday's meeting at the end I mentioned that this week was the 100th anniversary of Council Housing in this country and at this meeting we are planning ahead for the next 100 years of Council Housing.  

Test Card F

Posts have been pretty irregular recently. Hope to get back to normal soon.