December Discussion Meeting

             DRONFIELD LABOUR PARTY DISCUSSION MEETING

TOPIC :          GATHERING MOMENTUM FOR LABOUR 

SPEAKER :    TOSH McDONALD

TIME :            8pm to 9.15pm

DATE ;           SUNDAY,  13TH DECEMBER

VENUE :       CONTACT CLUB, SNAPE HILL LANE, DRONFIELD

     

Tosh McDonald is the President of the train drivers union ASLEF (Associated Society of
Locomotive Engineers and Firemen) having joined British Rail 35 years ago as a freight guard at Doncaster Carr locomotive shed.

He played a prominent role in the campaign to elect Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the Labour Party. Numbers of us heard him make powerful speeches on Jeremy's behalf at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield ; either as part of the massive overflow crowd outside the building or with 900 others inside the theatre itself.

He also spoke powerfully at the recent Labour Party Conference in support of the overwhelmingly endorsed policy of bringing private rail franchises into public ownership as soon as they expire.

"Momentum" is a body arising out of Jeremy's successful leadership campaign. It is working to make Labour a more democratic party, which will produce its own policies and has the collective will to implement them when in government. Click here for their web-site.

See here for Tosh and Jeremy making forceful speeches at this year's Durham Big Meeting. If you have not been to our discussions meetings before, this will be a great introduction.

   

 

November Discussion Meeting

                   DRONFIELD LABOUR PARTY DISCUSSION MEETING


TOPIC  :          WHAT WILL BE THE IMPACT OF THE "SHEFFIELD CITY 
                         REGION COMBINED AUTHORITY" ?                    

SPEAKER :     STEVE HOUGHTON
                      
TIME :             8pm to 9.15pm

DATE :            SUNDAY,  8th NOVEMBER

VENUE :         CONTACT CLUB, SNAPE HILL LANE, DRONFIELD
 


Sir Steve Houghton is the leader of the Barnsley Council and Chair of the recently established Sheffield City Region Combined Authority. This combined authority will have powers over transport, economic development and regeneration in the Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield areas. Yet because of travel to work and other interlinks, its operations will also be of relevance to the interests of Councils in the areas of North East Derbyshire, Chesterfield, Bolsover, the Derbyshire Dales and Bassettlaw. As a consequence these five outside authorities are provided with non-constituent places on the Combined Authority.

One of the characteristics of this new structure is that it is proposed that that it will have an elected Mayor, voted upon by the electorate from its four main constituent authorities. A similar structure is being proposed for the combined authorities in Derbyshire, Derby, Nottinghamshire and Nottingham.

We will be able to consider how this will work out within the areas of both the constituent and non-constituent authorities.

  

October Discussion Meeting

                          DRONFIELD LABOUR PARTY DISCUSSION MEETING


TOPIC  :          REPORT BACK FROM THE LABOUR PARTY CONFERENCE

SPEAKER :     VAL GRAHAM
                      
TIME :             8pm to 9.15pm

DATE :            SUNDAY,  11 OCTOBER

VENUE :         CONTACT CLUB, SNAPE HILL LANE, DRONFIELD


Val attends our Discussion Meetings and runs a similar Discussion Group to our own which meets in the Labour Club at Chesterfield. She is Chair of Chesterfield Unite Community and Chesterfield TUC EC. She writes for "Labour Briefing" and attended the recent Labour Party Conference at Brighton as a delegate.

ILP statement on the Labour leadership election

 

A fine statement on the Labour Party leadership elections and on the way party activists and supporters should respond to its result when it is announced on Saturday, has been published by Independent Labour Publications (ILP).

Its flavour can be found in the following extract - "It is vital that the political divisions laid bare in recent months do not cause irreparable damage to the party's future. All of us in the party - candidates, MPs, members and supporters - should commit to some guiding principles based on democracy, respect, pluralism and participation that will allow us to work together whatever the outcome of the election."

The full statement is worth studying and can be found by clicking here.

It is especially appropriate that the ILP should make a case which could help to save and progress the future of the Labour Party. For the ILP was initially founded by Keir Hardie and others in 1893 as the Independent Labour Party and was a key forerunner and participant in the establishment of the Labour Party itself. For a first rate and recent article on the role which Keir Hardie played, click here  

September Discussion Meeting

                          DRONFIELD LABOUR PARTY DISCUSSION MEETING




TOPIC  :          WHAT NOW ?

                       

DETAILS :      WE MEET THE DAY AFTER LABOUR ELECTS ITS NEW LEADER.

                         WHAT DO WE NOW SEE AS BEING OUR WAY AHEAD ?  

TIME :             8pm to 9.15pm

DATE :            SUNDAY,  13 SEPTEMBER.

VENUE :         CONTACT CLUB, SNAPE HILL LANE, DRONFIELD

Labour Leadership Candidates Issue Manifestos or Substitute Material

The Campaign to obtain "Manifestos Of Intent" from the Labour Leadership Candidates (as shown here) received a limited success.

Andy Burnham has issued what is clearly a Manifesto, as he did for his campaign for the leadership in 2010. His current document is eight pages long and as he delivered this, it deserves to be examined carefully. See here. Then there is also his Leadership Campaign Web-site to examine here. Added Saturday 15 August. Also circulated via the post as an eight page booklet.

 Yvette Copper circulated a letter by post dated 3rd August, which is some 800 words long and probably qualifies as a "Minifesto". Her Leadership Campaign Web-site with more in it, is here. Added Friday 14 August. Today Yvette has circulated an 8 page booklet to members, on the penultimate page it provides an eight point programme.

Jeremy Corbyn has issued a number of policy documents in specific areas, which in total are much longer than Andy's Manifesto. But whilst detailed and important, they may be felt to cover less total ground than Andy's. They include "Protecting The Planet", "The Economy in 2020" and "Housing Policy". There are a further three documents which unfortunately are defective when printed off. But they can be read on the screen. These are "Housing Policy", "Northern Future" and "A Better Future For Young People". To seek out all these documents and other material, see his Leadership Campaign Web-site here. Added Friday 14 August. Today Jeremy has launched a ten point programme which has been circulated to members, under the title "Standing To Deliver". It is also here .


Liz Kendell had an article in the Independent on 2nd August, entitled "The five causes that Labour must put at the centre of our vision for Britain's future". See here. Her Leadership Campaign Web-site is here.

Looking ahead to the next Leadership Contest, there is a need for a requirement for "Manifestos Of Intent" being issued by the candidates, to appear in the Rules of the Labour Party. Amendments for this purpose can be submitted for the Agenda of the 2016 Labour Party Conference. 

"Capitalism Attacks Democracy" by Ken Curran

 













When the Labour Party was formed at the beginning of the 20th Century it had a clear ideological message. It was united because the founders believed the economic and social structures of society needed to be altered in order for the benefits of our industry to be redistributed, so that the wellbeing of all can be improved.

There is great difficulty today when trying to find the ideological divide between today’s political parties. Although I still hold a Labour Party Card after spending 70 years in its ranks, its relevance is nil as far as many of our Parliamentary Labour Party are concerned. The role of the party member as far as most of the PLP is concerned is to work their socks off to get them elected. Cynical with good reason. It is sad to say, but many of members of the PLP do not want to listen to the opinions of Party Members. They expect Party Members to be apolitical to the point of subservience. These attitudes are killing off the very liberties and freedoms the founders of the Labour Party espoused in the late 1800s. The Labour Party is supposed to present a distinct alternative to those people who believe the capitalist system will always deliver.

As we have seen with the Banking scandals, of the recent years Capital has to have controls. The crisis of the Greek Economy has been brought about as a result of a lack of control by both borrowers and lenders. Therefore planning along with measured control of capital is desirable. But Neoliberalism constantly works to remove all constraints which inhibits its aim of total economic freedom. Capitalism attacks Democracy because it is seen as an obstacle.