Watch Judy’s report to our November meeting and read her full written report below:
My experience at Labour Party Conference 2018 – Judy L. Richards
There was so much going on I tried to stay in the main Conference sessions and go to fringe events at lunchtimes and in the evening. Below I’ve included my notes on:
- some comments on Women’s Conference
- the key points for me from the main Conference
- fringe events
- the Leader’s Speech
Briefed by Claire I raised a question on the Conference Arrangements Committee (CAC) report on the first day about when our Emergency Motion would be heard if it was successful. I managed to get in that it was about the proposed Boundary Changes. Got a standard reply that told us nothing.
I asked about the Annual Report on the final CAC report. There were 2 pages on disciplinary case decisions which were not on the agenda for discussion. There was no information about ongoing cases. I raised the point that we had a member suspended for over a year unable to defend himself and that this was also unfair to those making the complaint. ‘Justice delayed is justice denied’ and stopped activists getting on with Party work. We were told that the timetable was full.
I spoke on the Justice for the Windrush Generation motion, talking about a family friend turned away by UK immigration when he returned from his sister’s funeral in 1998 so he missed his son’s funeral in east London about 4 years ago. I also used the motion we had passed at our May GC with information from the campaign to call for compensation and fairer immigration policies as the next government.
I’ve been to enough student, union and other conferences to figure out how some things worked quite quickly. The only real surprises were how readily sections of the National Policy Forum were referred back and not having Conference Standing Orders so everyone knows how things are supposed to work.
I’d read the papers in advance and tried to take leaflets to get some of the different viewpoints. Having the NEC propose alternative Rule Changes at the last minute did not help but the union block vote meant we didn’t seem to have much choice anyway! Hopefully introducing Conference Standing Orders will also stop business effectively being tabled.
I expected us to agree any votes as a delegation but that was only possible because Claire was moved to somewhere where we were all able to sit. I assume some other delegations don’t work together but it really helped being able to check things with Claire, Jill and Chris, having the ‘Policy Bibles’ and working as a team made it a much better Conference or me.
Of course it wasn’t all perfect. A 30 minute walk in for a 10 to 12 hour day meant that I didn’t make any of the 8:15 Policy Seminars. I don’t think we’ve quite got the hang of gender equality right when delegates keep talking about “fellow delegates”, even at the Women’s Conference. We have a BAME structure but somehow the term ‘people of colour’ is creeping in from who knows where, not from BAME members. I would have liked to see more opportunities for the different equality groups to meet together and separately. It is ridiculous that there were Rule Changes affecting how we operate but no chance for us to agree our positions to take to our delegations.
I doubt that I would have got to speak on the motion without the help of one of the 40 Accessibility Stewards indicating that I wanted to speak. They were also helpful in tracking down my adjustable chair that either disappeared or got readjusted some days for no apparent reason!
The scrum of photographers was a nightmare both at the front by the rostrum and by the area we were seated in. We were constantly trying to get them and delegates to move from blocking our view. I notice that the deadline for feeding back access issues was 28th October but the general feedback deadline is 1st December so I will have to find a way to get my accessibility comments in!
Women’s Conference
Access to Justice Breakout Session was rightly challenged for having a panel of 3 speakers and a chair with no BAME women though those communities are clearly disadvantaged in the criminal justice system (CJS).
Question 1 Main barriers to accessing justice? Question 2 How strengthen access to justice?
. Ros Bragg, Director Maternity Action Q1 Women don’t believe they have rights so don’t raise problems. In the Gig economy some don’t have basic rights. They fear they will lose their job if they go to their manager and a fraction of those that do take it to formal grievance or Employment Tribunal (ET). Complex, slow processes with a shortage of providers. Migrants with no access to justice.
Q2 Give women confidence to exercise their rights. Stop talking about maternity rights as a burden on business. Propose a maternity retention audit like gender pay gap audit. Make rights at work simpler to understand. Migrant and asylum seeing women should not be charged for bills for £000s.
. Ann, Action Aid Women’s Advocacy Advisor Q1 Stigma and fear so women don’t report sexual abuse. ‘Her fault’ because of what she wore, drunk, etc myths. Legal aid restrictions affect representation. Few successful prosecutions so not trust authorities. Same patriarchal system.
Q2 Women’s aid and refuges slashed. Stop treating like silos. Reverse dreadful policies and put better ones in place. Address intersectionality – class, disability, etc.
. Sara Hyde, Vice Chair Fabian Women’s Network Q1 CJS debts from implementing Osborne’s cuts. Contracted out interpreting services. Machinery of justice means often the same women keep coming back into the system, eg domestic violence (DV) victims; carers; mental health problems; psychotic, drug and alcohol service users struggling to feed their families so they steal. Ill, addicted women where 84% commit non violent crime so they are imprisoned for struggling to survive.
Q2 Support the voluntary sector. Fund women’s refuges and holistic women’s centres. More community sentences so they do not lose housing and have children taken away.
Q&A
? 90 minute round car trip to get to an ET because of cuts. There were 200 Racial Equality Councils (REC) that took cases, now cut to 39. Northampton REC will close at the end of this year.
? rural area administration is often right wing and happy to cut services. Universal Credit intensifies the power of abusive men over women if he gets the money. Stop women having to represent themselves against their abusers in Family courts.
? there are women put in prison whose children are forcibly adopted as they are deemed not to be an appropriate adult. £40,000 a year to keep a woman in prison but look at what we could do with that money if she was on a community service sentence.
? not addressed working conditions of Legal Aid lawyers. Earn 25% of usual rates and takes months to get paid. Cornwall has lost its only Contract. Counties with just 1 Family lawyer. The Legal Aid agency civil aid contracts tender had to be repeated as so few came forward.
? no one funds welfare rights so worker had to become an income maximisation advisor to get funding. They don’t have any immigration lawyers in Salford.
. Fund RECs and BAME organisations. Ensure we are represented on ET panels.
Followed by South East Reception, National Women’s Reception and Labour Rally.
Main Conference
Jenny Formby, General Secretary
Not silence Palestinian voices. Freedom of expression does not equal the right to be anti-Semitic. Anti-racism includes Islamophobia and Windrush. Organise, grow, win are our priorities. Introduce Bernie Grant Leadership Programme.
Diana Holland, Treasurer
Debt paid off from new membership subs. Sticking to financial strategy. Trade Union Act 2016 has impacted. 80,000 new members, £4 million for General Election, £1/2 million in one day. £4 million from unions. Money set-aside for next General Election whenever it is called. Diversity and Democracy Fund.
John McDonnell, Shadow Chancellor
Time to shift balance of control and give people back power over their lives. Clause 4.
Sectorial Collective Bargaining. Workers on their company Boards. Mobilise shareholder power as unions and churches have shares. £10 per hour Real Living Wage. No more PFIs. Inclusive Ownership Fund with a % going to public services. Stagnant economy feeds racism. The worse the mess, the more radical we will have to be. The greater the need for change, the better the opportunity to create change. They try to take away the dreams and hopes of young people. They forget we can change the world. We’re ready.
Margaret Greenwood, Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
Mendacious, evil, unnecessarily cruel Universal Credit system. ‘We can’t afford the bread, let alone the roses’ as young people.
Angela Raynor Shadow Secretary of State for Education
If the Tory government had an OFSTED inspection they would fail and be forced to handover to a Labour government. They talk devolution but don’t hand down the budget. State funded teacher supply service to cut out waste and stop agency worker exploitation. 1 in 10 community care providers at risk of going bust. Introduce state nurseries. Free further education as some need later because of life issues. Curriculum teach life issues, rights, joining trade unions. People vote Labour not because they don’t know their history but because they know their future. You don’t have to take what you’re given. Make clear we offer better.
Aslef speaker hated Margaret Thatcher. He would set his alarm an hour early so he could hate her for longer.
Diane Abbott, Shadow Home Secretary
Safety and security are a collective endeavour. You are not safe if your neighbours are not safe. Can’t keep people safe on the cheap. Windrush generation proud to be British so even more shameful. We will not rest until there is justice for the Windrush generation, detention centres are closed, and this Prime Minister and government are gone. Immigration policies based on Labour values not demeaning migrants. Uphold responsibilities to Caribbean. Migrants are not EU bargaining chips. Uphold rights. Clear criteria.
Jonathan Ashworth, Shadow Secretary of State for Health
End car park and TV charges in hospitals. Pay hospital travel costs for children with cancer. Repeal Health and Social Care Act. Block staff transfers to subsidiary companies. Create targets to narrow health inequalities. Universal free school meals. More health visitors. Invest in perinatal services. Fully fund CAMHS. Invest in eating disorder services.
Dawn Butler, Shadow Women and Equalities
Institutionally racist government. ‘Windrush generation’ discarded like trash. Hostile environment by design. Universal Credit so not just for BAME people. UN Special Rapporteur cited systematic violation of rights. Equality proof legislation before, during and after implementation. Ensure Windrush can’t happen again.
How many people can wash, dress and eat in the 15 minutes they have a carer? Recognise multiple discrimination cases. Strengthen EHRC. Give sign language status. The government produced the Race Disparity Audit but still refuses to rectify the situation. Women’s National Commission, Emancipation Education Trust. These are First Term commitments.
What’s wrong with those at the very top getting a little bit less so those at the bottom can get a little bit more? For a fairer society tackle all inequalities. Time to overcome is now. Together, united we shall overcome.
In Work Poverty Motion
Give a person the right to work the minimum hours they want. Pull time on bogus self employment.
Schools System Motion
Local authority but no authority over education. Some Academies have excluded up to 50% of pupils. Academy goes up the table but what happens to pupils and their families? Land sold off. None educationalists employed on inflated salaries deciding how qualified teachers manage their classes. Semi marketised system. Friend at 50 with family, on home and successful at work still see themselves as a failure because they didn’t pass the 11+.
Fringe Events
Member’s Welcome Drinks Reception
Annual Trade Union Reception
Liverpool City Rally
UNISON Reception
Palestine Rally
How Is A Hostile Environment on Immigration Impacting Race Relations in Britain?
BAME meeting started with an update on BAME issues by June Nelson, BAME Labour Vice Chair and Gloria Mills, BAME Labour National Executive. There was concern at the possibility of some people abusing the ability to self identifying as a BAME member. BAME Labour was supportive of having a standalone BAME Labour Conference and Regional Equality Committees with 3 motions to Conference, 1 Constitutional, and delegates 50/50 members and affiliates. They were not sure why some were not happy with the Rule change. If BAME is not in the Rules then BAME members can’t do anything so this is good development.
2015 was a shameful period with immigration ‘Go Home’ vans. UNISON was instrumental in exposing what was happening with members like Michael Braithwaite affected. The default position was ‘you must have a passport’ to prove your identity to get services. We needed an independent public review to hold the government to account. The scandal has been going on some time. We must not stay silent on things we should be opposing. People were not coming forward because of stigma and shame. BAME people must never internalise discrimination and racism. We must shine a light into the dark corners on the type of injustices we face.
. David Lammy MP People gave so much to this country but took so little. That’s what he had in his mind’s eye when he stood up in Parliament. The story starts with empire, colonialism and enslavement. You can’t take people from Africa to the Caribbean as enslaved people, make them British subjects, invite them in to rebuild the UK and then years later kick them out like they had no relationship with the UK. They came as there were few jobs in the Caribbean because we have a hisory f running things down to nbenefit british industryistory of running things down to build British industry. We need to teach history in schools so it is understood, good and bad, warts and all. Learn and grow from that. We have to stand firm to common decency. We have polluted part of our own Party’s rhetoric on race. Migrants come to work, not to use the NHS or live on welfare. They are the young people with get up and go but we allow them to be painted otherwise. People were denied dental treatment, access to GPs, lost their jobs and homes and pensions they had been paying into for decades. Some relied on herbs if they were ill. Some will have been driven to crime to survive. If they are automatically deported because they commit a crime then they only have second tier status. Anyone else you do the crime, you do the time and are rehabilitated back into UK society. Some who were deported were living in shacks because they had no connection to the country. They need empathy and compassion, not Sajid Javid burying in a Friday statement that some in the ‘Windrush generation’ are already being denied citizenship or taking the opportunity to talk tough before his Party conference to help his bid to be PM. It is systemic institutional racism and we must stand up and fight it.
. Jacqueline Mackenzie, solicitor People who came from 1948 into late 1980s were from (in descending order) Jamaican, Nigeria, Barbados and Ghana. Although many Commonwealth countries had got independence the Immigration Act 1971 meant those in the UK before 1973 could benefit from citizenship so people were arriving as British citizens. Children joining were their families after 1973 so subsequent generations were affected. Some may not have come to the UK but had the right to be here. The Home Office agreed to a legal round table in October on this. She had cases for a decade where clients had no status and no documents so solicitors used the no time limit routes to naturalisation. In 2014 the government took away protections surreptitiously. Liberty addressed it but it was not at the forefront of our consciousness. Only 6 Labour MPs voted against the Act. She thinks whoever said the ‘Windrush generation’ were ‘low hanging fruit’ was correct as there was no organised activists, leadership or voice. Service providers became untrained immigration officers. Javid’s 3 month halt is worse than May’s hostile environment because it is like saying we are at war and there is a temporary ceasefire. Still don’t know numbers or impact on community. Sarah O’Connor died recently from hypertension but what was the impact of stress from this situation? Dexter Bristol died of a heart attack. Even the coroner in his case said he was under stress. We don’t know if the community was deliberately targeted but how were no alarm bells raised when grandmothers here 40 or 50 years were detained? How can it take 20 years to regularise your stay? How do we organise ourselves to make sure it does not happen again because it will if we’re not organised? Windrush will be sorted out because of the shame. Biometric resident permits are wrong but people are getting something followed by citizenship papers. The criminal convictions bar is wrong. The Lammy Review shows how easy it is to criminalise BAME people for things white people do not get a conviction for. There was a case of a Brazilian driver doing 30 in a 30 zone who hits a car. Woman claims whiplash but she is at work the next day. There is a slightly bald tyre on the Brazilian’s car which would usually mean a fine. They get 12 months in prison and the Borders Act means automatic deportation on release. How do you compensate someone for missing a family funeral? Having a cap on compensation was raised as soon as the consultation started. Don’t know what compensation would be so how can you cap it? We need a Lessons Learned Review and legal challenges. Also, citizenship fees for a family of 4 is £2,389 each. The £18,000 income requirement to bring in spouses separates families. In one case they were £7 short a week and told there were no compelling circumstances even though they were a carer for 2 family members! The language requirement keeps people apart and targets mostly Asian communities. There is no testing centre in their country so they are told to go to another country to learn even though we know it is easier to learn a language if you live in the county it is spoken in. We are transporting people to the colonies again. We need policy to protect people threatened with deportation who were born, raised or settled here if caught up in CJS like her ‘rogue broker’ client. You can come in for 6 months without a visa from most countries but people come to visit family they only know by nicknames and immigration officers lock them up for days until the next flight back. We need to take issues out to the wider society. The state gets away with it and it emboldens racists.
. Liz Baptiste, Waltham Forest Councillor child of the ‘Windrush generation’. When started she thought only Caribbean people were affected but she is seeing wider at her surgeries. St Lucian passport holder with indefinite leave to remain was not allowed back into the UK and their pension was stopped.
. June Nelson, Hillingdon Councillor Hillingdon Council is refusing to recognise Black History Month in October and insisting on having People’s History Month which about Victorians. Windrush generation built NHS, schools and transport system. Need to organise and link with any campaign around Windrush as it has gone underground.
Q&A
? loss of education for children, loss of inheritance. Exploited, we are here because the UK was there. Here as we were invited.
? the support system for looked after children must include regularising their status as unaccompanied minors are not allowed to stay when they become adults. An A* student’s only option was to join a group living in cars and deal drugs.
?. Instil confidence in our young people, make clear this is their country, they belong here. Not good refugee, bad refugee narrative. Find way to amplify people’s voices.
? hostile environment in policing, schools, media too. We were invited to take up roles people here didn’t want. Fight not just from London.
JMcK Compensation Consultation is Online. Compensation money is not the answer but it will improve quality of life. Some are near destitute. Loss of potential so think broadly. Some things are not tangible. Not pulled apart in systemic say to show racism in the veins of UK immigration system. Have to look at policies, not the offence or people.
GM Visual mobilisation, eg Tory Conference protest. Petitions but they can ignore these if they don’t see you. Go to their surgeries. Keep their feet to the fire. We are all leaders. Need to think how we can apply pressure. People need to know there are consequences in what they say, use votes to leverage power and get the policies you want. They can’t bank our vote. Put ourselves forward for positions rather than let others sit and do nothing. Want to influence or be the decision makers? Playing divide and rule. We’re excluded and consigned to back. No collective responsibility. US Parliamentary Black Caucus but where is ours?
? fund Black Cultural Archives. Fund Black History Month. White people need to stand in open and active solidarity. Not just a Black people’s issue.
? positive that white people are scandalised by ‘Windrush scandal’. Government is now allowing people like Ivan Anglin who were turned away back in but they have to pay for their own flight. Coercion to leave if commit a crime. Told can parent children that remain here by Skype. Criminalised though Joint Enterprise law. Compensation Scheme should have no cap and no minimum. Why did HMRC records of tax paid or benefits received not count as the 4 documents they needed to produce for each year they were here? Fraud if being denied pension and benefits paid into? Reimburse with the interest it would have earned in the bank to make governments think twice next time. Shows need for organisation like Anti Racist Alliance.
JMcK Need to correctly record our history. Not all know answers so need experts. Lots discuss Windrush for years. Asked what happened to boat and eventually find scrapped and a bit in a museum. System really, really horrendous penalties, eg barring return when overstay a few days, TB tests UK people not subjected to like old virginity tests. May be positive that start discussions. More important is how do we fight.
JN activists speaking from same book so got out there.
What Next for Social Care?
What happens to people with no children or none in the UK, let alone in the area? Learn from Tories failure on ‘dementia tax’. Tell people early and discuss, long before Manifesto stage. Cross Party working so long term aims agreed so not 5 year chop and changes. Tories reluctant though. Integrated services needed, eg community sector delivery can mean local carers and same people on calls. Can mean see carer when out and about so feel part of a community.
A Fairer and More Equal Workplace: Opening Up the Professions
. Naz Shah MP. Left school at 13, forced marriage at 15. No real change. Slightly more working class MPs. How many MPs have waited for the next benefit cheque or got into rent arrears or taken part time jobs in hope they can increase their hours? Real people don’t have a little book with contacts they can use for help for self or children. NES will see social mobility. Shouldn’t just be moved by economic value of people.
. Emily Hodgson, Social Mobility Foundation. 20x more likely to be a doctor or lawyer if a parent is. Some universities include balanced scorecard so social and academic experience count. 20% now get in that wouldn’t previously and seeing them perform better. Clients care more about it. Make young people aware of opportunities and ensure universities open up opportunities.
. Jane Malcolm, Solicitors Regulation Authority. In legal profession 50% women, 3% disabled, more from state schools. 1/3 partners are women or Black. Majority in small firms though. Expensive to do law degree and hard to get a training contract so should look at different routes, eg apprenticeship. Need more flexible working and being able to call out unfairness and measure. Publishing gender pay gap makes a difference so hope other pay gaps published.
. Diane Abbott MP. Legal aid reforms hit Black high street solicitors harder so some are closing. People want advice from someone who understands their community and looks like them, eg Stephen Lawrence family and Imran Khan. After WWII UK had distinguished Black solicitors. Look at what happens in education, Black people’s access. Ensure get the right advice to get through process. Look at their practices in recruitment and retention. Wishing it better isn’t going to hack it. Professional bodies must examine their practice. Better service to public if more diverse so move beyond wishful thinking, papers and hoping to systematic action.
Q&A
? lower middle class so first in family at university. Social mobility rips people out of their community into an environment they don’t understand. Ensure fulfilling careers in own community.
? 20,000 academics, 45 Black professors.
? role models. A 40 year old ex working class man will look like the rest of them. A woman or Chinese person will still look like a woman or Chinese at 40.
? not about grammar schools on free school meals, £millions on taxis to go to grammar while cutting SEN. Need good local schools. How we’re reflected in media. Further education £ in NES. More working class children do go to university but drop out because of cost.
EH need people at top as role models. Good to meet people from working class at university so ready for working life.
JM people say want to work in their communities so redefine what success looks like. Not just measure as ‘big law firm partner’.
NS have to pursue perfection. Austerity damage will take years to recover from. White working class boys failed and left behind in education but not talk about it enough. Talk about BME, perceptions of Gypsy and Traveller communities. Need brave conversations. As white man and Asian woman there are some things 1 can say the other can’t.
? Not mention pathway to judiciary. 100 years for gender equality at rate going. Quotas, affirmative action, what do about Judicial Appointment Commission as pass exams but visual discrimination blocks. How deal with dumbing down accusations? Stop solicitors being seen as runt of profession.
JM matter of public confidence to see people on bench who look like you. Becoming degree only profession. Apprenticeships with single exam. Medical profession looming at common exam or common elements.
NS her mother killed an abusive partner 25 years ago. White police and law. Served 14 years. Female officers might have recognised she was a battered mistress. Medical records should have been a warning. Black solicitor understanding culture would understand mother couldn’t explain situation for fear and impact in children. Girl lured to Pakistan where she was raped, murdered, buried. Parents say natural causes. NS could see classic ‘honour killing’. Went to their PM and saw arrests and true story come out. Want judges who get it. Child sells drugs as need trainers. Mother has no money so doesn’t feel she can stop them.
EH Barristers training fee is £18,000 but no guarantee of job so why do it? Challenge panels. Talk about skiing holiday gets you through but how many won’t be able to engage in that so blocked?
The Future of Foreign Aid in Africa
. Eric Chinje, African Media Initiative. Against aid. From 2 of largest aid agencies. Wanted deeper understanding of what was going on. Revolted by what was going on as an Afrikan but stayed on. Trapped by salary, money for children’s education. World Bank Institute says it is working for a world without poverty. After 20+ years couldn’t point to 1 country where come close. Massive investment but see no progress then should rethink or abandon. Can’t keep doing the same thing over and over and expect a different answer but that is what we do. Aid simply replaces resources that should go into development by those governments. These resources then fuel corruption. Ministers would come for loans. What you see is people in a hurry to get to the money. What you hear is people repeating the words that it takes to get to the money. Projects get delayed or not delivered because government don’t put their resources in. Health, schools, roads and good agricultural systems don’t exist although aid money given to build.
. Bob Clark MP? Can’t create a better country by trampling on other people’s rights around the world. Significant in Liverpool as many of the problems were created by colonial and post colonial policies. Aid is patronising and like charity. Built NHS from taxes but not call it aid. Drive for democratic public services needs to be at centre. Window of opportunity to define what mean by internationalism. Kenya and Gambia aid has a private company setting up private schools ordinary people can’t afford. Teacher uses a script so can’t answer questions, undermines other teachers. Governments trying to shut them down. Hedge funds investing in luxury hotels, apartments, malls, etc in discredited trickledown economics. Food alliance to get production of things for the west, not sustainable local produce that people need. Don’t criticise aid because you don’t like foreigners. Call it out when governments squander aid. Look at the wealth being drained, exploiting resources and wages. Wealth flows out to City of London banks. Just like empire. Still forcing relationships on Africa that are about goods coming here. Should encourage African countries to trade between each other. Labour government will stop pillage and colonial legacy.
. Paul Clark, former Minister. Road safety in Uganda and Nigeria to develop sub regional economic hubs built around transport, especially for HGV drivers pressured to deliver. Skills agenda, knowledge transfer so money stays in Africa. Africa Rising Conference. Nigeria big tomato producers but rot as not refrigeration at airport so not get as much money as could. Tomato paste is staple part of diet but imported. Invest in this.
. Cllr Joseph Ejiofor, Leader Haringey Council. Relationship not progressed substantially since enslavement. Need equality, fairness and respect. Africa does not need a hand out but a hand up. Aid could get us to that stge. Poverty and inequality are not inevitable. More to fighting these than just giving aid. $58billion debt repayment so profits are sucked out annually. Africa is aiding us. If not pointed in the right place it is not aid. Continue to rob the poorest countries of wealth. Raw coffee can be imported. 9% tariffs if roasted so a disincentive. 90% imported as beans as cheaper for Africa but loses potential profits. Need to trade on substantially better terms than do now. Need trade attachés not trade attached. Trade not aid is what’s best.
Q&A
? too many failed, corrupt governments.
? aid is just redistribution of the wealth they stole. Done properly in other countries.
? change narrative. Most see aid as free money. Helps UK as tied to UK consultants and manufacturers, not to that countries objectives.
? find our own language. Afrikan governments in power as they have permission of US and UK.
? not just Afrikan people’s fight.
? Congo. Taking minerals, not giving aid.
? technology so young people have equal access.
? stop ‘Third World’ terminology. African leaders miseducated in the UK. Transport across continent so poor have to come via London. Give money direct to the community who decide what’s best, especially women. Pay Reparations.
? copyright rules that affect seeds, etc.
? Libya needed nothing but look at what happened.
? in the US you can legally buy a candidate so don’t just talk about Africa. Leaders stood up and were assassinated, programmes overthrown by west. Change global system. 1980s Band Aid song is still vision too many people have. For Afrikans to decide.
JE aid is not charity. Redistribute wealth from rich to poor. China is likely to be the next colonial power. Need to stop west destabilising governments.
. Build roads and schools but want huge amount of natural resources. At least China will leave these. Look at Diaspora and how can influence policy where are. Aid to NGOs and civil society as working on ground with people.
. Dawn Butler MP. Africa for Labour since 2004. Women disproportionately affected through wars, poverty, rape, etc. Women are the bedrock and cornerstone of every community. Give women money to start businesses and the whole economy grows. If we just gave back what we stole there would be no need for aid. Emancipation Educational Trust to teach richness of African contribution, inhumane treatment. Slavery museums central to that. Black history taught in all its beauty, that enslavement just interrupted the history. Eradicate period poverty. Shouldn’t be shunned. Normal, natural and sometimes literally a pain. Will be the most thoughtful, radical, compassionate, progressive aspirational government this country has ever seen.
Jeremy Corbyn, Leader’s Speech
The conference of a Labour Party that’s ready to take charge. Ready to build and transform Britain.
More women members than total Tory and Lib Dem membership. Offering a message of hope and real change. Not a penny of Party funds from dodgy donors or business people. Not have to play tennis with oligarch as not play favours. Community Organisers so anchor everything we do to people’s ordinary experiences.
Media not like. Second part of media inquiry to be set up. Tories promise but fail to deliver. Support freedom of press to challenge here and abroad. Too often hear smear and not take on powerful. Challenge by 20th century method of social media.
200th anniversary Peterloo Massacre 2019. Shelley poem ‘for the many..’ Honour by fighting for their values.
Need unity to do it. Our movement achieves nothing when divided. Only winners are the rich. End abuse Online and in person. Listen a big more and shout a bit less. Focus on what unites us.
Speak for overwhelming majority of our country. We’re winning the public debate.
Tough summer. Party of equality for all. Pioneered every positive move to root out racism in our society. Being anti-racist means we must listen to those facing abuse. Jewish community face genocide. Row cause great hurt in community and dismay in Party. “This party will always be immovable campaigners against racism in all its forms.” We are your allies and will ensure security of community and places of community as will for any other community facing attacks and hateful behaviour. With our help will fight for with every breath he possesses. Anti-racism is part of who we are. Won’t accept Tories attack and then endorse right wing governments the next day. They work to create hostile environment against migrant communities. Race hate is a growing threat that has to be confronted, not just in UK. Blaming for broken economic system. Victims include Windrush generation thrown under bus. Nasty cynical politics that demeans our whole country. Hungarian government write thanking for solidarity as rest of Europe appalled at what they’re doing. Johnson dog whistle jibes at Muslim women. Work to bring communities together.
Change long due. Every month the Tories are in government things get worse. Where was a scam is now a crisis. Birmingham Prison brought back from G4S. Probation on brink of meltdown. East Coast rail franchise collapse twice in a decade and we bail out. Get on train in Kings Cross and don’t know who will be running service by time get to Edinburgh. Carillion directors stuffed their pockets while small supply chain companies went bust, workers lose pensions. Hold government to account for social vandalism.
Only Labour Councils taking steps. Privatisation and outsourcing are a national disaster zone. Labour is ready to call time on this racket.
NHS is our proudest creation. Beacon all over the world for those fighting for free health service free at point of delivery. Real socialism. Tories push into crisis.
Elders kick start economy after WWII, start NHS, paid for better retirement for older ones so owe to them to rebuild Britain. Pensions, bus pass, winter fuel, NHS that looks after you and yours with the respect they deserve.
Labour will put a levy on second homes. Think of it as a solidarity fund to help those with no home at all.
Institutionalised bullying and degradation in social security. Hostile environment for disabled people. Ready to put fairness back in heart of public services.
Council tax increases to pay for policing but local station shut. Need more police but that is only part of the solution.
Investing in young people is key. Earliest years is a key time to open up children’s opportunities. Families most in need are not entitled to claim and in complex systems that they can’t negotiate. Pledge free child care hours for 3 and 4 year olds. More for lowest incomes and capped.
Invest in those who care for others through graduate courses and new national pay scale starting at £10/hr. 95% women.
Offer long overdue change that will transform people’s lives.
Take up Frances O’Grady view that technology is an opportunity not a threat to workers. Hardwire.
Ernest Jones ‘And what we get, and what we give, We know, and we know our share; We’re not too low the cloth to weave, but too low the cloth to wear’ (Song of the Lower Classes). Labour believes a worker’s position is on the Board. Rebalance power in the workplace.
Invest in housing, infrastructure, revitalise high street, stop rip off bills, Brexit that protects trade and economy. Fuelled growth in racism and xenophobia and crisis home and abroad. Offer radical solution so others can’t fill gap with lies and blame.
No bigger threat facing humanity than climate change. The air we breathe does not respect national boundaries. Lead by example. Meet obligations, work with unions to protect jobs and economy as we do this, so 400,000 more skilled jobs in UK. Green Jobs revolution in every region.
Foreign policy no longer sustainable. Fast changing more dangerous world. Suffering of millions in Yemen. No more reckless laws of intervention. Negotiation before confrontation, diplomacy before table thumping threats. Working to resolve injustices, not standing by or worse fuelling them. People fled Rohingya, appalling crimes to females. End ethnic cleansing, let people return home.
Palestine 2 State solution. Alternative to peace is a catastrophe for both. Put end to war in Syria.
Accept referendum decision but no one can accept conduct of government since vote took place. Politics of 1950s with economics of Britannia rules the waves then waves the rules. Labour will vote against Chequers plan and against leaving with no deal. If government not sort will press for a general election. If deliver sensible deal will support. If can’t deliver then make way for us that can and will.
Brighton Pavilion Labour Party 