Thursday, October 25, 2012

News and action No 8


The views expressed in this email and blog are those of the individuals whose name is attached to the posting. They do not represent a collective position of the WLG or the Labour Party
Dear Comrades
This week’s email bulletin and blog includes important information about our AGM, as well as the usual selection of interesting sources for further reading, and can be accessed on the blog site at any time here. The discussion piece this week draws upon one member’s experience of being elected as a community councillor and how, even in a very local way, it is still possible for councillors to take a democratic socialist case forward in argument and action.
Don’t forget to submit any relevant information, comments or blog posts of your own. You can also comment directly on the blog.
WLG AGM and other forthcoming events
The WLG annual conference and AGM will be taking place THIS SATURDAY, 27th October, at the Welsh Institute of Sport, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff between 11.00 am and 4.00 pm. Mark Drakeford AM will kick things off with a keynote speech on the theme of ‘Austerity and Public Services’. There will then be a roundtable discussion about the challenges facing Labour councillors, which will include Cllrs. Uta Clay (Swansea), Siobhan Corria (Cardiff), Gareth Phillips (Bridgend), Jessica Powell (Torfaen) and Mark Whitcutt (Newport). After a buffet lunch, we will be having a joint session with the Socialist Educational Association (starting at 2.00 pm), which will be addressed by Cllr. Julia Magill, Cardiff Council cabinet member for education. Finally, AGM business will be done between 3.00 and 4.00 pm.
After the meeting, some of us will be going for a drink at the ‘Mochyn Du’ pub opposite the Institute and then to the Pho Bac Vietnamese restaurant,72 Cowbridge Road East, Cardiff CF11 9DU – all comrades are welcome.
If you haven’t already paid your WLG membership subs for 2012/13, you can pay at the AGM, if you plan to attend or, alternatively, send a cheque for £5 (waged) or £3 (unwaged/low-waged) to me at the above address, payable to ‘Welsh Labour Grassroots’.
The final WLG meeting of the year will take place on Saturday, 1st December in County Hall, Swansea and our guest speaker will be Mark Seddon, former Labour NEC member and editor of Tribune.
Other events
Compass Cymru meeting: 'Plan B for Wales?' on Thursday, 25 October, 7.30pm at the Big Sleep Hotel, Cardiff. Speakers include Mark Drakeford AM, Leanne Wood AM and John Harris of The Guardian.
Public meeting organised by Cardiff Trades Council with PCS general secretary, Mark Serwotka – Monday 19th November at the Holiday Inn, Castle Street, Cardiff CF10 1XD, starting at 6.30pm. The meeting will consider the next steps for the trade union movement following the successful demonstrations held last weekend.
Left Week – Len Arthur
The TUC demonstration on Saturday 20 October has to be the start, and end, comment of last week. I find it very difficult to judge the size of marches. I was with five comrades from Pontyclun and Pencoed with the LRC banner toward the back of the march and we didn’t arrive in Hyde Park until about 15.45, which was about the same as at last year’s TUC march. So, for me, it was about the same size – 200,000+. What is magnificent is the vibrancy, inventiveness and almost carnival type unity that the TUC can pull together from across all the groups and organisations, opposing the Tories and what they represent. It is also important to include the excellent turnouts in Belfast and Glasgow as well. See some of the coverage from the TUC; Coalition of Resistance; The Guardian; Daily Mirror; Socialist Worker; and the Morning Star.
Coming back, we had the inevitable discussion about how we can sustain the opposition and, if possible, end this government. For the first time in my experience two trade union general secretaries have called for a general strike – Bob Crow and Mark Serwotka – the TUC is considering the possibility, and a number of other rank and file based groups are organising follow-up meetings to push the case from below. It remains frustrating that it is not possible to achieve greater unity in these calls but, from the various mobilisations, we can argue for unity, or at least coordination in action as WLG, and perhaps we should try to support as many as we can such as: LRC; Coalition of Resistance; and Unite the Resistance and the Cardiff Trades Council meeting listed above. I’m sure there are other follow-up initiatives, such as those covering individual unions, and we should try to identify them so members can get involved.
I’d like to suggest that, within the Labour Party, we should also try to focus on how we could help to develop a groundswell of anger and action that might be able to stop this ‘scorched earth’ Tory government and force a general election. As socialists, we should do everything we can to stop the government now: the damage will be too great by 2015. The one thing the Labour Party could do is table a vote of no confidence in the government in Parliament. At the moment, it would require all other non-government parties and 40 of the 57 Liberal Democrats to support a Labour tabled motion for a majority to be achieved.
This seems like an impossible task but, if it were connected to a wide range of forms of mobilisation throughout the UK,  it might persuade the Liberals that it is better to jump now and be with the opposition than be decimated in 2015 as part of the government. We could argue that trade unions and LP branches pass motions calling for no confidence, as well as organisations such as local authorities and the devolved governments, using the opportunity to point out that they are being expected to make the cuts and act as a safety net, and it is an impossible expectation. Finally, it would provide the political leadership that is now needed to galvanise the opposition and put pressure on the Labour Party to enter into the election with a radical manifesto.
I expect to be called utopian at the WLG AGM on Saturday!
Left Roundup
Most of us will have our own sources and preferences for left information and debate, so what is attempted here is to provide some examples of publications from during the week that you may not normally come across.
The Red Pepper website and magazine is an excellent source of socialist debate that is not out of a predictable mould. They have a similar weekly roundup, and articles in the latest edition cover social movements as well as mobilisation based forms of resistance. Not all are on the web yet, but Hilary Wainwright and a book review by Emma Hughes positively explore alternative ways of resisting through ‘building the future in the present’ – what some on the left describe as ‘ horizontalism’ - usually in a deprecating manner.
ZCommunications based in the US, is another excellent source where people like Noam Chomsky, John Pilger and George Monbiot often publish first. Recently there has been an extensive review of the politics of South Africa after Marikana by Patrick Bond, a radical socialist from the country. It is one of those articles that force you to think about how the political lessons may translate to us in the UK as well. Interestingly ZCommunications are launching a non profit international social networking site ZSocial, which aims to provide a left alternative to the corporate versions, one that is sustained by subscription not advertising. Take a look and you may wish to join in to provide support.
Michael Roberts has again been excellent this week on economic analysis, interestingly raising a debate about what the economic multiplier may mean to Marx as opposed to Keynes; and the seductive dangers of the economic mainstream discussion, particularly to socialists who think it may offer an quick route to political acceptability. And, in terms of a ticking bomb of the economic crisis and the UK, the Left Futures blog points to the adverse potential of our massive and worsening balance of payments.
Finally, this Counterfire review of the writer and art critic John Berger is a challenging read as is the recent Socialist Review article on Syria by Simon Assaf, which puts the case that those fighting against Assad have a progressive agenda as opposed to a sectarian religious one, usually assumed by the media.
Labour Party
The UK Labour Party website is here. Ed Miliband’s speech at the demonstration on the 20th can viewed here and a perhaps ‘terse’ TUC response can be seen here. A more detailed analysis from Left Futures can be seen here.
The Welsh Labour website is here. For us in Wales at the moment there is the question of campaigning and voting in the police commissioner elections. It is very difficult to drum up enthusiasm for a policy that first surfaced as a UKIP one in 2005! However, the power that these people will hold will be extensive and largely beyond the weak democratic control that currently exists. A low turnout could deliver this power to some very right-wing candidates: a frightening prospect. Should we on the left take these elections more seriously?
All the best
Darren Williams WLG Secretary
Len Arthur WLG Assistant Secretary

Generalising from a community council - socialists on local councils


DiscussionLen Arthur
Generalising from a community council
A little bit of Labour history was made in Pontyclun in the May local elections: we managed to win the two county council seats and four seats on the community council. There are some disputes about the dates, but it may be that this is the first time Pontyclun has directly elected Labour borough councillors since 1968. In contrast to some of the other discussion pieces, this one will start from the bottom and work up, and not from the blue skies down.
The Pontyclun Community Council (PCC) is composed of 11 councillors, so the four of us are in a minority. There is one Plaid councillor and the other 6 are independents, of whom 4 at the time of the election were associated with a group that is called the Pontyclun Action Group (PAG). Instead of trying to scrape together an alliance with couple of councillors who might talk to us, it soon emerged that most councillors were initially willing to talk strategically and long term about how the Council should operate until the next election, so we decided to test this out at some informal meetings open to all councillors.
A general strategic aim was agreed and we then established 6 working groups with specific aims within which most of our election commitments and other ideas could be covered. The working groups are administration; economic development; community engagement and accountability; social and cultural action – including issues of poverty; physical environment; and young people. We used the term ‘working groups’ so that all decision would still be referred to the full council, and non-councillors could join the groups and help develop policy and new agendas. In fact non-councillors could be in the majority. Greater detail is available on our Pontyclun Labour Party blog.
The system has been in operation for about 4 months and is working reasonably well but has been rather demanding for those of us taking the working groups seriously – remember all councillors are volunteers and receive no pay or set allowances including the chair. We have managed to employ a new clerk following the retirement of the existing one, using rigorous ‘blind’ procedures, and have started to put considerable flesh on many of the election commitments. Our key innovation of directly involving non-councillors in policy discussion and development is slowly taking off, and is resulting in many creative suggestions in what could be described as a greater ‘sophistication of proposals’.
Some of us – of course – have notions of soviets in mind, but putting the humour to one side, there are three key democratic socialist achievements. First, accountability moves beyond the ballot box and becomes an everyday part of the process of council work, enabling local people to directly influence areas in which they have an interest. Second, we start to break away from the ‘customer’ notion of social democratic politics, that as councillors we can only ‘prove’ ourselves only by being good deliverers or unpaid social workers. Direct involvement means the electorate have an opportunity to experience self activity and to be an integral part of making change happen. Third, power is experienced as a direct reality, not only in how decisions can be put into practice, but also the downside of just how challenging can be the real balance of forces against us.
Now, of course, we are a small community council with an annual turnover of £110k and £150k savings in the bank. There is little to cut and much to play for to bring in additional sources of money. Two of our Labour community councillors are also county councillors and this improves our access to a wider range of support, both in terms of specialists and some grants. It is, however, possible to see in this relationship with county councillors how the local experience can be generalised up. Where community councils exist, open working groups can be established and where they don’t, local councillors or groups of councillors could establish working groups to act in the same way. Similarly, with structures like this in place, AMs and MPs can have a direct and accountable input. Trade unions and other parts of the labour movement, such as cooperatives, also have another route into direct decision-making.
No organisational form or structure is nirvana; it becomes a terrain of struggle. Letting go in a way that is suggested here will mean that councillors and other representatives will be faced with proposals that they might not like, or face difficulties in implementation. It will mean that the political case will have to be argued through, as opposed to being ignored or avoided. It will also mean that, faced with cutbacks, people may be armed with an understanding that will lead them to take challenging direct action or expect us as Labour Party members to take the lead: we should relish the opportunity!

Sunday, October 7, 2012

News & action No7


The views expressed in this email and blog are those of the individuals whose name is attached to the posting. They do not represent a collective position of the WLG or the Labour Party
Dear Comrades
This week’s email bulletin and blog includes important information about our AGM and membership renewal, as well as the usual selection of interesting sources for further reading, and can be accessed on the blog site at any time here. The discussion piece this week tackles the issues of defending and taking forward the NHS in Wales as a socialist example of health, as opposed to the Tory neo-liberal English version.
Don’t forget to submit any relevant information, comments or blog posts of your own. You can also comment directly on the blog.
WLG AGM and other forthcoming events
The WLG annual conference and AGM will be taking place at the Welsh Institute of Sport, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff on Saturday, 27th October, between 11.00 am and 4.00 pm. The theme will be ‘Austerity and Public Services’ and the speakers will include Mark Drakeford AM. There will be a roundtable discussion about the challenges facing Labour councillors, which will include Cllrs. Uta Clay (Swansea), Siobhan Corria (Cardiff), Gareth Phillips (Bridgend), Jessica Powell (Torfaen) and Mark Whitcutt (Newport). At 2.00 p.m., we will be having a joint session with the Socialist Educational Association, addressed by Cllr. Julia Magill, Cardiff Council cabinet member for education.
As usual, a buffet lunch will be provided, so please let us know as soon as possible whether you plan to attend, for catering purposes.
Please send any motions for debate to darren.s.williams@hotmail.co.uk by 12.00 noon on Friday, 19th October and also any nominations (including self-nominations) for election to the steering committee (chair, vice-chair, secretary, assistant secretary, treasurer, & nine ordinary members) or as one of our two auditors. Some of us will be going for a drink and a meal after the meeting – all comrades are welcome to come along.
Your WLG membership is also now due for renewal for 2012/13. If you do not already pay by standing order, then you can either renew at the AGM or send a cheque for £5 (waged) or £3 (unwaged/low-waged), payable to ‘Welsh Labour Grassroots’, to Darren Williams, 33 Lansdowne Roiad, Cardiff CF5 1PQ. If you would like to set up a standing order, please email us to request details.
The final WLG meeting of the year will take place on Saturday, 1st December in County Hall, Swansea and our guest speaker will be Mark Seddon, former Labour NEC member and editor of Tribune.
Other events
On Monday 8th October, the WLG Cardiff & Vale group will be meeting at Transport House, Cardiff, beginning at 7.00 pm.
The same evening, there will also be a UNA/Amnesty International public meeting: Yolanda Foster (Amnesty South Asia Desk) on Human Rights in Sri Lanka’. 7.00pm, Temple of Peace, Edward VII Avenue, Cathays Park, Cardiff. Free entry – all welcome.
On Thursday, 11th October, the World Development Movement Cardiff group will be presenting a free showing of the film, The Yes Men Fix the World, about two political activists/pranksters who lie their way into big business conferences by posing as corporate executives. 7.30pm at The Gate, Keppoch Street, Roath, Cardiff CF24 3JW (meet in the Café Bar from 7.00pm).
On Tuesday,16th October, CND Cymru will be holding an anti-Trident demo on the steps of the Senedd, Cardiff Bay from 12.00 noon with speakers including Labour AMs, Mark Drakeford, Mick Antoniw, Julie Morgan and Christine Chapman.
London Saturday 20th October must be in every member’s diary to get themselves, family, friends, brothers, sisters, comrades up to London for the TUC ‘A Future That Works’ demonstration. Everyone who wishes to see an end to this Tory government should attend and False Economy has details of transport from Wales here. Here is a link to the Coalition of Resistance leaflets with posters supporting the demonstration and the TUC has also produced a number of statements from people about why they are marching.
Last week we had an example of a motion that should go to all Labour Party branches supporting the 20th. Here is the Labour Representation Committee’s version.
Left Week – Len Arthur
The Labour Party conference has to be the start of any review of the week. Nick Davies, our WLG chair, spoke on the radio – 1hr 20 min 50 sec in - about Ed Miliband’s speech, emphasising the move from New Labour and elements the left can take forward. Seamas Milne writing in the Guardian pointed out the contrast with what Ed Miliband was saying and what Ed Balls had said in an earlier speech. Liam Byrne’s commitment to continue with welfare cuts could also be mentioned in the same context. Socialist Worker had a good left critique pointing out that the unions, migrants and the unemployed came in for short shrift. This analysis from the Blairite leaning Labour List is an indication that they do not quite see that New Labour has been left behind – so to speak.
It was undoubtedly an impressive feat to speak without notes, effectively attack the Tories, and pull it off. But it still leaves Ed Miliband trying to ride a politically disparate Labour Party, when the weaknesses of capitalism are there for all to see and the door is open for radical change. International socialists are part of the international working class, we have more in common with the workers in Greece and Spain than the rich of the UK, the fight of all workers is our fight, their victory our victory. The danger of seeing such a view as a ‘sectional interest’, is that you become a prisoner of the section that dominates our society: capitalism and its supporters and in the worst-case scenario starts to look like this. Ralph Miliband, Ed’s dad, argued that one of the key weaknesses of Labour was its lack of socialist internationalism: Ed should get a version on his book shelf.
Left Roundup
Other events this week that you may have missed include this fantastic UK Uncut protest at the dinner where corporate tax advisers – possibly with tears in their eyes – said happy retirement to David Hartnett who has just left heading up UK tax: yes he who set aside legal advice to allow Vodafone to gain up to £6bn from tax avoidance. Disabled campaigners have launched a petition we can all sign against the Atos assessment process. Chicago teachers have won a victory to defend their contract and public sector education. The TUC reports that based upon published information including that of the Office of Budget Responsibility, workers are only a quarter of the way through a 12 year loss of real wages. By 2021 the indicators show that those on the median wage will have lost £8,500 in wages.
On the information front, Michael Roberts continues with his excellent Marxist analysis of the current crisis, in this one taking apart the arguments that austerity can work. Open Democracy have produced an analysis showing how the BBC stifled criticism of the Tories’ NHS privatisation bill as it coursed through Parliament. The ever more right-wing New Statesman surprisingly this week produced an analysis of the amount of money we pay in state aid to the aristocracy through farm subsidies: useful stuff to make the point about who are the real scroungers and sectional interests. Finally you may like to find time to look at a film; ‘Inside Job’ is a documentary about the 2008 financial crisis which is getting extremely good reviews.

Labour Party
The UK Labour Party website is here. Conference has been covered above but you may like to look at the Left Futures blog where there is a comprehensive left view with additional discussion and analysis.
The Welsh Labour website is here. For us in Wales at the moment there is the question of campaigning and voting in the police commission elections. It is very difficult to drum up enthusiasm for a policy that first surfaced as a UKIP one in 2005! However, the power that these people will hold will be extensive and largely beyond the weak democratic control that currently exists. A low turnout could deliver this power to some very right-wing candidates: a frightening prospect. Should we on the left take these elections more seriously? Finally, Owen Smith, shadow secretary of state provides his take on what One Nation Labour might mean in Wales.
All the best
Darren Williams WLG Secretary
Len Arthur WLG Assistant Secretary

NHS Wales – a fight for the model for the future?


Discussion – Len Arthur
NHS Wales – a fight for the model for the future?
In our newsletter a few weeks ago we made reference to a new Welsh Government consultation on the NHS. The main point of this particular consultation is about reaching a ‘compact’ covering the responsibilities of the WG, NHS and ordinary people and, secondly, how people can play a greater part in managing their own health and improving health services in Wales. As a user – very much - of the NHS in Wales, but a lay person when it comes to health policy and strategy, I found it difficult to pin down in my mind what outcomes of the consultation would mean in practice. This then led me to start to try to get up to speed on debates about the NHS in Wales from a socialist perspective, perhaps leading up to a policy paper or motion to the next Welsh Labour conference. This is the result and I must stress, it is very much a lay and possibly naive view; yet for those reasons might encourage others into the discussion fray!
The Tory privatisation of the English NHS will, we hope, have a minimal impact in Wales due to our devolved control over the provision in Wales. NHS Wales is, however, starting to feel the impact of many of the other Tory policies. Reduction in the total budget allocated to Wales is having an adverse impact, as the Welsh Government attempts to shift money and services around to sustain the existing provision. On 2 October Jane Hutt, Welsh Government minister responsible for finance, announced the draft budget running up to 2015. My estimate is that the NHS Wales budget will be capped in cash terms, resulting in a real terms cut of RPI inflation +1%, to take account of the higher price rise rate for health provision. Already a number of NHS Boards in Wales have faced deficits in the last financial year resulting in a greater spend than the original NHS Wales budget; expect these crises to recur more frequently over the couple of years. One silver lining is that we have escaped the billions wasted on the English privatisation.
Indirectly, the reduction in welfare payments, loss of benefits, real wages and jobs in Wales, will all have an adverse impact on health inequality, resulting in higher demands for acute and chronic NHS services. Local government, despite having marginally a better time in Wales, will be hard-pressed financially and in terms of increased service demands, and will, consequently, have little spare cash to take over provision that the NHS can longer afford. In health, standing still is not an option as, generally, improved clinical diagnostics and therapies result in the need for greater finance. Finally, age; as a baby boomer myself I know that an ageing population will increase demands on the health service.
Whilst the pressures mount, expectations are high on the devolved governments to keep the NHS as a public service, so a model exists to re-establish the UK NHS when the Tories are defeated. As socialists, we expect the Welsh Government not only to sustain NHS provision that is of a high quality and without recourse to privatisation, but to also to improve that service. One of our comrades, Julian Tudor Hart, has written extensively on the importance of the provision of a health service not being a marketable commodity sold for profit. He has demonstrated, through his research, how a market-based approach diverts attention from improving the health of all the population through a comprehensive strategy, moving policy toward one where medical provision that can be sold is separated out and, increasingly, only the rich can afford the best that is on offer. Recently he gave a paper (see under lectures & speeches 24.11.2007) where he argued that what is happening, and can happen in Wales, could provide an even better model of a comprehensive health service. This is an expectation beyond just sustaining what is - trying to keep things ticking over until we defeat the Tories - but taking NHS Wales forward to ensure that all the population enjoys the highest possible health and life expectancy. Can we still do this?
It is clear that this aspiration is expressed in many Welsh Government documents. It is there in the health section of the Programme for Government and the latest outcome report; it is there in the health sections of the draft budget produced on 2 October sections 9 – 9.20. In addition, it seems clear to me that all the key indicators in the latest Programme for Government outcome report and in the latest Medical Officer for Wales report show that Wales is has managed to keep the main threats to health in check and, in some cases, make some important improvements. At the moment, the indicators show no sign of a worsening situation and suggest that the comprehensive approach so far implemented in terms of prevention improved healthy living and improved acute and chronic care, is working. The one indicator that shows a stubbornness to change is the different class life expectation: there is still a class way of death. At least this issue is recognised and prioritised in Welsh Government policy; a very big ‘however’, of course, is that this picture reflects a period of increased public spending.
So there is a circle to square: as socialists, we would insist that the health of the population should be protected comprehensively and in large part this is recognised by the commitments and policies of the Labour Welsh Government, however, Tory cuts and other increased demands threaten to derail these policies. The Welsh Government is hemmed in financially even more than local authorities, so raising alternative revenue and capital finance is difficult, but not impossible if the whole of the public sector in Wales worked together. Even spending all the reserves on health – and this may very well happen – may not solve the problem. An additional answer has to be to look collectively at how our health objectives can be taken forward. The consultation document referred to above avoids these issues and diverts attention to adjustments to structures, which may be needed, but what is required now is a full and open debate where ‘smoke and mirrors’ are set aside.
It is for the Welsh Government to initiate this debate. The important details and alternatives however, will be considered locally and even implemented there. Currently structures exist where this debate and action can be taken forward: community councils, community health councils, unitary authorities, AMs, MPs and centrally the trade unions. They may appear disparate and distant from health but it is possible for Labour members and activists to push for a coordinated response. The ‘Together for Health’ proposals from the five health boards in South Wales provide an opportunity to act on this over the next 12 weeks. Consultation details are available through the local health boards. To what extent do you think we as socialists should be involved? And what should be our main arguments?