Progress: SHUT UP!

During the past six months Corbyn and McDonnell have faced a barrage of attacks from the Tories, the right-wing media, especially the scum press, and, sadly, from back-stabbing Blairite rats and snakes within the Parliamentary Labour Party.

These attacks, particularly from their own side, have been both galling and of course treacherous. There is still talk of a coup against Corbyn following the May elections, where Labour is expected to lose seats. Although, Sadiq Khan appears to be well ahead in the London mayoral race.

However, this week has seen Corbyn’s Left leadership rise in the polls. A week in which Corbyn and McDonnell performed a spectacular strike against the government by announcing their own fiscal rule; condemning the attacks on benefits; and now splitting the government front benches.

“It is no longer “put up or shut up” time for the Progress wing of Labour. Just the latter.”- Paul Mason.

Third Class Rail System

Everything was going to plan. Left home on a freezing cold Saturday morning at 8.05 needing to be at the assisted travel office in Euston Station at around 8.45 to catch the 9.17 train to New Street Birmingham. 

Another exciting Saturday to be spent in the bosom of Unite United Left Comrades in the august surroundings of Birmingham's Council House. The thought of getting there was creating quite a frisson of anticipation in me. 

We arrived at the drop off point for Euston Station in Eversholt Street at a couple of minutes past 8o’clock, well ahead of schedule. Next stop the pre-paid ticket machine, that I have to trust my trusted PA to operate for me as I cannot access it from my wheelchair.

Tickets collected with no problems.

Assisted onto the train in good time. However, as the wheelchair space was located right in front of the buttons operating the toilet I noticed a red warning light. On enquiry a station operative apologized and explained the toilet was out of service. This meant I had to vacate the train and catch a later one.

This created a problem, as I soon found out, from a ticket clerk in a small booth on the platform. Explaining my situation, the clerk told me I would need to take the issue up with whoever I bought the tickets from. To travel on the next train, I would need new tickets costing £28 each.

Of course I was furious. Why should I be penalized because the train I wanted to use was inaccessible? Surely it was the responsibility of the operators to carry out a reasonable adjustment and allow me to catch the next accessible train using existing or renewed tickets at no extra cost?

The ticket clerk said “NO.”

Despondently we turned to leave the platform when the staff member who had helped me on and off the train asked if I had sorted things. On explaining the situation, he asked us to wait a minute. A few minutes later he returned with another man. This it turned out was a station revenue officer. He took my outward journey ticket and wrote on the back signing it.

“There you are, that will get you to Birmingham. Sorry for all the inconvenience.” Now why didn’t the ticket clerk do that?      

Dreams of re-forging trade links with former colonies

Just read an overoptimistic reason for the UK leaving the EU. The optimist believes that the UK can repair strong links with the commonwealth lost when we entered the common market in 1973; while at the same time leaving us free to forge international agreements with whomsoever we wish.

Why would commonwealth countries mend the links broken by the UK when it joined the Common Market in 1973? Many of these countries have since found new trading partners. They have entered binding trading agreements with neighbouring countries or those within their geographical and commercial sphere of interest.

On top of the loses made since the break in 1973 Britain is still losing commercial and business ground with its former colonies. For instance, the Chinese are making massive inroads into Africa. Chinese trade growth with Africa has increased over 20-fold in under 20 years. Given our reduced standing in the world over the past 40-years I can’t see us making great inroads into these developing markets. 

Further to this, I can't see commonwealth countries making any concessions for their former overlord just for auld lang syne. In fact, if anything there will a sense of schadenfreude on the part of the ex-colonies.  

This country has not had total control over its own international agreements, whether commercial or defence, for decades. As part of NATO we can be controlled defence-wise, usually by the USA. 

And as we’ve had capitalism foisted upon us, and more especially in the past 40 years that most virulent strain of capitalism, neoliberalism, how free are we to act independently? We’ve as much freedom as the unelected corporations who control everything from the education curriculum to our pension schemes will allow – very little. If TTIP gets its vampiric fangs into our services and utilities we can say ta ta to them, a bit like Tata saying ta ta to the last vestiges of our steel industry. 

Cameron Cuts Too Far

"But council leader Ian Hudspeth hit back, saying the curbs were the result of reductions in funding from central Government." (This is the council leader in Cameron's own constituency.)

"Mr Cameron's spokeswoman said: "The Prime Minister has talked many times about the need, as we look at how we manage our public finances better, to make sure we are making efficiencies through back office savings and therefore continue to protect the frontline and the services that local people need."

They speak as though backroom and frontline staff somehow work in isolation of one and other. This is of course not the case. Mostly the two areas carry out entirely different roles that complement one and other. 

Depleting operations of backroom staff is a false economy as it forces more and more admin work onto the shoulders of the frontline staff, the ones who are meant to be delivering the service.

Ergo, services can only be properly operated with backroom staff backing up the work of frontline staff.

Let's take away Cameron's researchers and admin staff and see how well he performs in Parliament. On the other hand...