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Dear Comrade
The next
meeting of Welsh Labour Grassroots (WLG) will take place on Saturday, 18th May
at the Ogmore Constituency Labour Party Social Club, Bryn Glas, Bryntirion,
Bridgend CF31 4ES, 11.00 am – 1.00 pm. This has been changed from the original
advertised date of 4th May, to avoid a clash with the Cardiff and Swansea May
Day events (see below). The main discussion item will be the future of the health
service in Wales. Julian Tudor Hart will talk about the importance of NHS Wales
as the last bastion of a truly Bevanite healthcare model, and the threat of
privatisation/marketisation, while Tony Beddow will cover the challenge of
service reconfiguration. Julian’s concerns are set out in a
recent essay on the IWA blog, which comrades are encouraged to read before
the meeting.
Some other events coming up, in which you might be
interested:
·
Cardiff, Wednesday 1st May: Cymru-Cuba
open meeting to discuss the changing situation in Cuba and how we can help.
7.00 pm at the Cayo Arms, Cathedral Road.
·
Cardiff, Thursday, 2nd May: ‘Fighting
the Cuts’: a multimedia cabaret
presented by Banner Theatre. 7.15 pm at the Best Western Plus - Maldron
Hotel, St Mary Street. Free entry.
·
Cardiff, Saturday 4th May: Cardiff
Trades Council May Day March & Rally – assemble 12.00 noon at the southern
end of St Mary St, under railway bridge. Rally at 1.00pm at Temple of Peace.
Speakers include: Matt Wrack (FBU), Chris Baugh (PCS), Andy Richards (Unite),
Amarjite Singh (Wales TUC president).
·
Swansea, Saturday 4th May: Swansea
Trades Council May Day rally – 12.00 noon in Castle Square. Speakers include:
Geraint Davies MP and Bethan Jenkins AM.
·
Cardiff, Saturday 11th May: Socialist
Educational Association open NEC meeting, 1.00pm at Cardiff Central Library.
The NEC of the SEA meets around
the country, with all SEA members invited to listen to the debate, join in the discussion, meet NEC members and attend a social event afterwards (drinks, meal etc).
the country, with all SEA members invited to listen to the debate, join in the discussion, meet NEC members and attend a social event afterwards (drinks, meal etc).
·
Swansea, Saturday 11th May: Socialist
Health Association Cymru AGM, 10.00 am –
12.30 pm in Committee Room 3, Swansea Civic Centre, Oystermouth
Road, Swansea. Guest speaker: Andrew Davies, former Welsh Government minister
and now Chair of the Local Health Board serving Swansea, Neath, Port Talbot,
and Bridgend.
·
Cardiff, Saturday 25 May: ‘Ground the
Drones - From Wales to Gaza’, a dayschool on drone warfare and building the
anti-drones movement in Wales, sponsored by Cardiff Stop the War, Palestine Solidarity
Campaign, CND Cymru etc. 1.00 – 5.00 pm in the Main Building, Cardiff
University, Park Place. Speakers include: Rafeef Ziadah (Palestinian activist/War
on Want) & Chris Cole (Drones Campaigns Network/Drone Wars UK blog).
·
London, Saturday 22nd June: People’s
Assembly Against Austerity: http://thepeoplesassembly.org.uk/
Left Commentary
Over the
last few months, a number of events have reached ‘turning points’ which call
for further reflection and discussion by WLG. In Wales budget decisions by the
Welsh Government and local authorities have revealed where the reduced funding
from the UK government will start to hit services, despite some excellent
decisions – such as providing funding to prevent the Council Tax Benefit cuts
being passed on to the poorest member of our communities – ‘wriggle-room’ for
elected representatives is being increasingly curtailed. The UK Tory government’s
benefit cuts, including the ‘Bedroom Tax’, have a direct impact on people in
Wales and have started to hit people with a vengeance in April.
Within the
Labour Party, the debate over the manifesto for the next general election is
reaching a critical stage, close to where specific decisions will have to be
made. No sooner had David Miliband departed for the US than Tony Blair returned
to the fray, bringing key issues to the surface. Developments such as the death
of Thatcher and the deepening of the economic crisis have, at the same time,
resulted in renewed debate about neo-liberalism, austerity politics and the
importance of developing a socialist alternative. One of the new reflections of
this debate has been the emergence of the People’s Assembly Against Austerity and
Left Unity.
We have
previously referred to the Marxist analysis that Michael Roberts brings to the current economic crisis but he has
been particularly acute and relevant over the last few weeks. Also, a comrade
in Portugal has drawn attention to a YouTube video of a recent
lecture Michael gave on the economic crisis and the Euro. This is lengthy
but worth it and puts a voice and face to the diagrams!
Some of
Michael Roberts’ recent blog entries cover:
·
how
the economists Rogoff and Reinhart got their analysis wrong on the effect
of public sector debt and growth (and how the debate has rumbled on);
·
further
thoughts on the
weaknesses of Keynes and his more radical supporters in getting to grips
with the current crisis;
·
And,
finally: a serious exposition of the
damage caused by Thatcher’s economic policies.
Still on the
Thatcher theme: two recent articles – one from John
Pilger and the other from John
McDonnell – put paid to any pretence that either her government or its
successor today had any redeeming features.
The
continuing economic and social crisis has stimulated a range of debates and
commentaries. The Kilburn
Manifesto, initiated by veteran left-wing thinkers, Stuart Hall, Doreen
Massey and Michael Rustin, is one version of the attempts to start ‘dig below
the surface’ and think long-term about the implications. Another is Newsnight economics editor, Paul Mason’s
recent
reflections on ‘why it is kicking off everywhere’ which reports on the ways
in which some people are fighting back, while also exploring the context. The
contrast between the two approaches is interesting.
Our next
bulletin and blog will include a discussion of some of these developments.
Darren
Williams – WLG Secretary
Len Arthur – WLG Assistant Secretary
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