GMB cut Labour funding

[borders]

ive read the book - Speak for Britain , A New History of the Labour Party by Martin Pugh and this probably sums the Labour Party up :- Controversially, Pugh argues that Labour never entirely succeeded in becoming 'the party of the working class'; many of its influential recruits - from Oswald Mosley to Hugh Gaitskell to Tony Blair - were from middle and upper-class Conservative backgrounds and rather than converting the working class to socialism, Labour adapted itself to local and regional political cultures.
Socialism has always been a dirty word in this country, has the Labour Party ever really stood up for Socialism ?
Today it gets slaughtered in the media for being the party of the Trade Unions and the Leader dare not defend this !! in so many cases the Political Parties are just a vehicle for the elite to cut out a nice , well numerated career .
Our Country is so unique , with its imperialistic history and a Monarchy so privileged and loved [ by many working class people ] sat at its pinnacle , it is ingrained in our make up and drummed into us from an early age to be hard working and dutiful.
Today ,Class Consciousness is pretty non-existent and if you dare kick up a fuss you are labelled Militant !!

[borders]

nobody has any idea what Socialism would look like, I have no idea whether this is feasible but here is part of an article that paints a small picture :-

A society of superabundance

Marxists are fully in support of developing technology: replacing labour with machinery; producing more wealth for society with less work; and reducing the hours of the working day. In the science fiction of the past – influenced by the rise of automation in production at the beginning of the 20th Century – writers imagined a future utopia in which the biggest problem facing humanity would be what to do with all our leisure time whilst machines did all the work!

Such a society has been made entirely possible by capitalism, which played a most revolutionary and progressive role in the past in terms of its development of the productive forces. But now capitalism is unable to use these productive forces and has become an absolute fetter on further progress. Rather than realising the dream of a life of leisure for all, millions are consigned to forced idleness by a system that cannot create jobs, whilst millions of others work round the clock in order to feed themselves and their families.

What’s more, those increases in living standards that have been seen under capitalism – of better incomes and increased leisure time – have not been benevolently granted by the ruling class, but have been struggled for by the masses. The welfare state and the minimum wage; the weekend and the eight-hour working day; healthcare and education: all of these were fought for by the working class, and are now under attack from the ruling class due to the crisis of their system.

The potential for a society of superabundance is more real now than ever. One only has to look at the official economic statistics of the bourgeoisie to see what would be possible with a socialist plan of production. The figure below shows “capacity utilisation” in Britain – that is, the percentage of the productive forces that are utilised at any time. It can be seen that even in the best of times over the past five years only 76% of our productive capability was used. In the worst periods, this falls to 50%. In other words, capitalism is only able to produce half as much as it could!

To put this into perspective, the UK’s GDP is currently around £1.5 trillion. Assuming this represents, on average, only around 60% capacity utilisation, this means that under a socialist plan of production, where society’s ability to use the productive forces is not held back by the need to only produce for profit, and where now 100% capacity utilisation would be possible, we could overnight increase the national economic output to £2.5 trillion.

What could we do with an extra £1 trillion (i.e. £1000 billion)? To put this in context, £1000 billion is double the combined amount that the UK government spends on pensions (£130bn), healthcare (£121bn), education (£87bn), welfare (£114bn), transport (£20bn), and other public services (£47bn). In other words, we could double pensions for the elderly, double spending on hospitals and schools, and double the budget for infrastructure, etc., overnight by adopting a rational plan of production and utilising society’s full productive capabilities.

Suddenly the so-called “problem” of old-age would disappear. No longer would the elderly be painted as a burden on society. Proper care and a decent pension could be provided for all. A massive programme of construction could be implemented immediately to build council homes and improve the country’s creaking infrastructure. Schools and hospitals, rather than being closed and privatised, could be built and renovated. And green energy could be rolled out across the country to provide a clean environment for future generations.

The figures above in fact underestimate the actual potential, as in reality the unemployed would now be able to find work; the welfare bill would thus plummet, and all these extra working hands would create yet more wealth for society. And with a plan of production in place, the surplus in society could be ploughed back into further production; for example, the £800bn worth of accumulated cash that currently sits in the bank accounts of big business in Britain – wealth that is idle due to the “excess capacity” that exists under capitalism – could now be put to use and invested in new industry and infrastructure.

To put these figures in a different context, by increasing the capacity utilisation from 60% to 100%, society could produce the same amount of wealth using less than two-thirds the amount of labour. This means that the working day could be slashed from (a nominal length of) eight hours to less than five hours, creating an enormous amount of leisure time for all. In addition, under a rational plan of production, work would be shared out equally, eliminating unemployment and reducing the working day yet further. Meanwhile, with further investment in research, technology, and productivity, further labour-saving methods could be applied, reducing the hours of the working day even further still.

For the first time, the vast majority of the population would have the time, not only to develop themselves educationally and creatively, but also to actively participate politically and economically in the democratic running of society. Thus is laid the material basis for genuine democracy – the creation of free time; time that no longer must be spent on meeting the immediate demands of life.

Socialism, having done away with class society – i.e. the exploitation of a majority by a minority – would in time do away with the working class altogether by doing away with work itself. Such a future is no longer the mere dream of science fiction, but is a genuine possibility. The task facing us is to consciously fight for this future and make it a reality.

the rest of the article can be found here , its rather long but it asks a question of Capitalism :-
http://www.marxist.com/technology-innov ... talism.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[borders]

P.S top marks to anybody who can be arsed to read it !!!!

[cloherty1976]

My sentiments exactly

[borders]

I would not expect anything less , Cloherty !!

[mickeymacca]

Isn't it time that the CWU did the same and withdraw the ££££ it spends on Labour, instead spending that money on paying all members who strike a daily wage to help them out.

.

A proper workers party for starters not one overtaken by self obsessed graduate's who have never done a days work in their lives he want's workers to fund labour through their own pockets so be it!. I personally will stand against him and this political elite if needs be why pay for no results or being shot in the foot as NEW LABOUR did to us all when they opened the doors for competition in our workplace. Fine he wants it this way we should all UNITE and FOUND another party who will not cave in to big money and corporate lies about the working man. Labour is not what it was and never will be FOR THE WORKING MEN AND WOMEN OF THIS COUNTRY!

Why is there such a stigma against people that have gone to university and then decide to involve themselves in politics? Surely you want the sharpest minds involved?
Karl Marx, Frederick Engels, Che Guevara, Lenin, Trotsky, Fidel Castro, Tony Benn would you exclude all these types from your proper workers party ( some might need a bit a close looking at!) I appreciate the point about the career politicians and nepotism. I have encountered some pretty unpleasant characters that have worked there way up from the shop floor, thick as sh#t and completely self serving, with contempt for their former colleagues. I don't think you can categorise the ethical approach of a politician based on their education, or am I just a bit naive?

[fishtank]

I couldn't side with whoever just to gain advantage for myself

Nobody is talking about abandoning principles for individual gain.
How many thousands have suffered under this coalition because Labour voters abandoned the party in 2010 because of those precious principles?
The greater good is sometimes best served by the lesser of evils.

[Danelectro]

What you want to do is start a new Labour Party again from scratch but with only a narrow band of support The SDP broke away from Labour with a narrow band of support but guess whose in government now .
if you don't mind playing minority politics the Tories got way less than a third of available votes at the last general election and nearly 40% never voted at all
while the main parties continue to make the decisions as if you don't exist like under 13 years of Labour so why pay to not be heard ?
how do you know your proper workers party won't end up the same as the established parties? as kenny dalgleish would say maybes no maybes aye

In the short term and for the next general election there seems little other political outlet for the unions than Labour.After that who knows where things will be in the Westminster village- a Tory /Ukip coalition? a minority Labour government/hung parliament? If the unions withdraw their money from Labour,would it bestow any more disaster upon us than a couple of the above governments because they could well lead to zero hour style employment economics that render those organisations obsolete.

The economic outlook long term is not rosy according to either left or right wing economists and the consensus is our living standards must fall and that includes 'gold plated pensions'- its here where it will be decided whether the Labour party survives, changes or dies. UK politics is still coming to terms with where it is since the financial crisis.One notable online campaign group has more active members than all the main parties put together.Things will change,things will have to change and as David Cameron found out in the Syria vote and related opinion polls...dear old Blightys not quite the same any more and neither is the rest of the world

[clashcityrocker]

Is it the right time to mention the Green Titoists?

[fishtank]

Is it the right time to mention the Green Titoists?

It's always the right time to mention the Green Titoists.
Of all the Titoists,Green are my favourite.

[Danelectro]

Is it the right time to mention the Green Titoists?

It's always the right time to mention the Green Titoists.
Of all the Titoists,Green are my favourite.

Do you hold many meetings in Govan? or only in the Tattiedome area of town?

[k979aaa]

Isn't it time that the CWU did the same and withdraw the ££££ it spends on Labour, instead spending that money on paying all members who strike a daily wage to help them out.

.

A proper workers party for starters not one overtaken by self obsessed graduate's who have never done a days work in their lives he want's workers to fund labour through their own pockets so be it!. I personally will stand against him and this political elite if needs be why pay for no results or being shot in the foot as NEW LABOUR did to us all when they opened the doors for competition in our workplace. Fine he wants it this way we should all UNITE and FOUND another party who will not cave in to big money and corporate lies about the working man. Labour is not what it was and never will be FOR THE WORKING MEN AND WOMEN OF THIS COUNTRY!

Why is there such a stigma against people that have gone to university and then decide to involve themselves in politics? Surely you want the sharpest minds involved?
Karl Marx, Frederick Engels, Che Guevara, Lenin, Trotsky, Fidel Castro, Tony Benn would you exclude all these types from your proper workers party ( some might need a bit a close looking at!) I appreciate the point about the career politicians and nepotism. I have encountered some pretty unpleasant characters that have worked there way up from the shop floor, thick as sh#t and completely self serving, with contempt for their former colleagues. I don't think you can categorise the ethical approach of a politician based on their education, or am I just a bit naive?

The very fact that that they are not trade unionists they can wave their students union cards all they want and some will earn and see the reality of the working man. Some will not be in the students union as that is far to militant for them or their bearers so will continue their class warfare against us all. The privileged are the most ignorant of us all!

[DavidUK]

Let's be honest, Labour have virtually no chance whatsoever of winning the next election. Indeed, the last Labour leader not called Blair to win a General Election was Harold Wilson in 1974, which will be 41 years after the next GE.

[stokes11eg]

Let's be honest, Labour have virtually no chance whatsoever of winning the next election. Indeed, the last Labour leader not called Blair to win a General Election was Harold Wilson in 1974, which will be 41 years after the next GE.

Sadly, unless people bother to vote, one or other of the two main parties will get in again! Time for these two dinasaurs of the political world to be booted in to oblivion!
This is the 21st Century, and m,aybe it is time to give a new party a chance!

[RedBagMan]

This is where the GMB money is now going ...



... sponsoring Matlock Town FC