CWU Labour Party Members Network Meeting - Tuesday 26th Feb

[POSTMAN]

Dear Colleagues,

CWU Labour Party Members Network Meeting - Tuesday 26th February 2008

Further to LTB 033/08 this is to remind branches of the forthcoming CWU Labour Party Member Network Meeting. As in previous years, the meeting is open to all CWU members and CWU Labour Party members.

The event is being held at the International Coffee Organisation, 22 Berners Street, London W1T 3DD (Tel: 020 7706 7700) see map over page, nearest tube station is Goodge Street, Northern Line. Branch Political Funds should be used to finance travel and subsistence where necessary. The meeting will commence at 10.30 and will aim to finish around 3.30 pm. A light lunch will be provided.

We have confirmed that Harriet Harman, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, Ken Livingston Mayor of London, and John Cruddas MP for Dagenham and CWU supported MP, will be amongst the guest speakers. An agenda booklet will be sent out to branches shortly.

This LTB will also be sent by mail shot to all CWU Labour Party Members.

We would be grateful if those people wishing to attend the event could email Diane Clarke in the General Secretary's Department by Friday 22nd February 2008 dclarke@cwu.org. Anyone experiencing any difficulties in attending the event should also contact the department.

Yours sincerely,

W. Hayes

General Secretary

[Big Daz]

Hopefully i will be there.

[BELIAL]

Hopefully lots of Cwu members will turn up,should make for a lively meeting,h. harman

[Big Daz]

If 2007 and 2006 are anything to go by it will be a excellent event and a roaring success.

[baldrick]

Hopefully i will be there.

Perhaps you could ask them why they (or their appointees AL&AC) are running RM down and destroying our wages, conditions, and pensions.

[Big Daz]

Unfortunatley KL and JC are not part of the goverment so can not answer that question.


How ever HH is and has been part of goverment for some time. What needs to be found out is how much say the cabinet/goverment as a whole get in the appointment of very senior manament. I suspect the decsions are virtually taken by the secretary of state for DTI/DBRR in consultation with the PM.

As the event is open to all CWU members why not go along?

[L Tommo]

Yeh lets all go along and ask WHERE OUR MONIES WENT TO AND WHAT DID WE GET IN TURN FOR OUR BACKING AND HAND OUTS TO THE LIEBOUR PARTY??????


CHEERS BILLY.. MONEY WELL SPENT.... Should of kept it as a fighting kitty for our strike last... Then we might of got a better deal and not rolled over when we had RM buy the balls... Or even we could of printed off some feed back to the Members when RM asked and CWU hq agreed to a news black out....

I can NEVER FORGIVE THE FOOLS FOR AGREEING THAT!!!!!

Lets see the new new old old liebour in there full glory!!!

[Big Daz]

And tell me exactly what effort has gone into making the link with the labour party work?

I know lets throw money at the labour party and then just sit back and hope for the best and when that dosent materalise get stroppy.

If the affilated unions were able to convince members to get involved they could then send there full quota of delegates to CLP meetings and collectivley the unions would have virtual control of the labour party at grass roots level.

Of course its much easier not to bother getting involved and be a arm chair critic!

[BELIAL]

And tell me exactly what effort has gone into making the link with the labour party work?

I know lets throw money at the labour party and then just sit back and hope for the best and when that dosent materalise get stroppy.

If the affilated unions were able to convince members to get involved they could then send there full quota of delegates to CLP meetings and collectivley the unions would have virtual control of the labour party at grass roots level.

Of course its much easier not to bother getting involved and be a arm chair critic!

I agree with the sentiment of your post,unfortunately it is an approach that will never succeed in todays new labour party. The procedural and constitutional changes of the last 26 years seem to have escaped your attention. Supposing a CLP manages to elect truly representative delegates ,packs them off to conference with a radical agenda the effect will still be zero because conference has been stripped of the power to shape policy. The reality is far worse however, because any CLP deemed to have taken an uncomfortably socialist turn, will have it's delegates disbarred and will itself be suspended/dissolved for anything up to five years.
Failure to recognise the fact that what was the labour party has been hijacked by a ruthless clique of career politicians has cost working people dearly. Even a cursory glance at the cv's of todays movers and shakers makes this politcal elite easily identifiable. Typical cv reads uni: student politics: labour party activist/researcher;power.Beats working for a living,and if you look after big money in your time in office, the rewards will flow later in the form of directorships,consultancies, board membership, advisory roles. It's an unwritten contract, but never the less a contract that is well understood by both Capital and the Political profession.
As for calling people armchair critics ,we all know they exist ,but Personally I don't feel I have enough knowledge to level that accusation at any of the posters here, you may be more well informed than I.
Denegrating peoples views by dissmissing them as' stroppy',implying that their reaction is akin to an illogical childish tantrum suggests to me that you are not really interested in their points of view, a worrying stance taken by any person acting as a representative.

[L Tommo]

Well put sir...


I applaud you and your comments...





Now for a nice relax on my armchair stuffed full of political bullshite from the Liebourites...

Shame the CWU sit on this same seat.. But thats life..

[Big Daz]

BELIAL


1,

I wasnt calling any individual stroppy or arm chair critic, apolgies if it came across like that. My comments were aimed at what i peronally percieve to be a paticular strain of thought in the TU movement especially the affilated unions.


2,

I wasnt posting as a CWU rep/officer and that is made clear on every post.

3, As a branch political officer i have very recently complied a letter encouraging the members in my branch to get involved and will be more than happy to post on RMC once it has been sent out to the members. Obvisouly i havent ranted and raved in it. On RMC one has the freedom to do that when it is done as a individual.

[BELIAL]

Fair enough, no need to apologise to me ,clarification will do just fine.
Must admit I might have indulged in one rant on this site

Also can only applaud your efforts to promote involvement.

However I do think there are fundamental problems concerning democracy within the labour party and wider labour movement.

Failure to openly acknowledge that the labour party and most Unions have been hijacked by a clique of career politicians whose prime motivation is the self serving pursuit of power, and to whom public service is at best a secondary consideration,will not help.
The public at large either know or sense the true corrupt nature of our political landscape. Witness the massive decline in LP membership

[Big Daz]

Affilataion to the Labour party gives a say in the policy at local level as well as National level.

The unions are not the only orgnasations affilated to the Labour party, the co op party is affilated and dont underestimate there influence as mony of the goverment are also co op members. I wouldnt be surprised if they have disaportianally more influence than the unions especially as many goverment members are also co op party members.

http://www.labour.org.uk/affiliates


In my area some Labour councillors would be brilliant, we have none on any of the town councils in the area and our district council has no Labour councillors either. As for the county council there is only a handfull of councillors from Labour and they all represent wards within the boundaries of Cambridge.


When it comes to my town the influence on policy of the local labour party is huge, but unfortunatley the further up the chain the weaker that influence is, hence the need for more TU involvment from the rank and file members.

[scottyb]

dont go to the meeting. im sure it will be full of people like bunter the lying pie eater!!!

time for a new party i say..or a revolution...

[BELIAL]

Affilataion to the Labour party gives a say in the policy at local level as well as National level.

The unions are not the only orgnasations affilated to the Labour party, the co op party is affilated and dont underestimate there influence as mony of the goverment are also co op members. I wouldnt be surprised if they have disaportianally more influence than the unions especially as many goverment members are also co op party members.

http://www.labour.org.uk/affiliates


In my area some Labour councillors would be brilliant, we have none on any of the town councils in the area and our district council has no Labour councillors either. As for the county council there is only a handfull of councillors from Labour and they all represent wards within the boundaries of Cambridge.


When it comes to my town the influence on policy of the local labour party is huge, but unfortunatley the further up the chain the weaker that influence is, hence the need for more TU involvment from the rank and file members.

Well you are right bout membership and voting rights for the co-op party, right through to the woodcraft folk, but since conference is now reduced to theatrical window dressing with absolutely zero rights over formation of party policy, how exactly does the rank and file membership have a say in policy making.
As far as local influence is concerned, just you try passing e few challenging resolutions, send a few lefty motions to conference organisers, you won't believe how quick the political attack dogs will descend on you from HQ, there will follow a snowstorm of creatively produced technical breaches alleged, the local co-op party will all be proven to be blood relatives of Fidel Castro, and the Woodcraft Folk exposed as a cover for Maoist insurgents

Basically if you say anything that threatens the power of Labours ruling cabal your constituency party will be dissolved quicker than greased weasel poo
Don't take my word for it ,conduct your own experiment, after all if I am wrong what harm could result?