politics

Chavez gave a speech last week, and I have to say what I've read of it so far is the most refreshing yet. "...workers councils will come into being in the factories, in the workplaces, but they should reach out to the communities and be fused into other councils of popular power: community councils, students councils, etc... What for? To shout slogans? To go around shouting long live Chavez? No!... To change the relationships in the workplace, to plan production, to take over piece by piece the functions of the government and to finish up by destroying the bourgeois state....

This evening the Yeovil Labour Party held its hustings event to select a candidate to stand in the next general election. Three candidates stood for the position, Colin Counter, and Colin Rolfe who stood for us at the last election and lastly myself. I'm pleased to announce I was selected with a majority vote. Below is the rough outline of the speech I gave at the hustings: The Labour Party was founded for a noble cause, to represent the working people of Britain by becoming a mass party of the working class....

The government has pumped £25 billion or so into Northern Rock. I believe the only way to safeguard the public's money is to nationalise Northern Rock, ideally with the major shareholders getting no compensation, this will safeguard people's money and jobs and ensure £25 billion of public money isn't just used to prop up failing private business. I see Richard Branson and friends are circling like vultures, US companies are expected to make bids too....

From an essay written by Albert Einstein in 1949: Production is carried on for profit, not for use. There is no provision that all those able and willing to work will always be in a position to find employment; an “army of unemployed” almost always exists. The worker is constantly in fear of losing his job. Since unemployed and poorly paid workers do not provide a profitable market, the production of consumers' goods is restricted, and great hardship is the consequence....

Hat tip to the People's Commissar.

Update: The date for this appears to of been shifted to the 25th of November. The Yeovil Labour Party will decide their candidate for the next generation election in under four weeks time, on the 15th of November the hustings will be held, and hopefully we'll have the results soon after. Why am I interested in standing? To give Yeovil Labour Party members a socialist option and if successful to give Yeovil residents something other than the right-wing, pro-business nonsense of David Laws or that Tory bloke....

Well, thanks to the positive feedback on my last post, I've fired the letter off today announcing my intentions to face selection. Due to the nature of Yeovil, my name will go onto the short list automatically. Hopefully we won't have to wait too long for the hustings, and then the vote. Even if I don't get selected, hopefully my running will put some socialist issues on the agenda, which I'm confident is the only way we can recover, and increase our share of the vote....

So the deadline for nominations for Yeovil Labour candidate is soon. Obviously I think we need a left-wing candidate. One who if won the election, would support the Trade Union Freedom bill, vote against anymore imperialist wars, resist the increasing infestation of private business in public services, renationalise the railways and support measures to reverse the growing gap between rich and poor. Things that no doubt have wide support among the public, and the Labour Party membership....

It's October and the minimum wage has gone up to £5.52 an hour. Game, are so gracious to pay me 3p above minimum wage, fantastic stuff. I guess they have to save a bit of cash for a few years after buying out their only other competitor on the high street. £5.52 isn't enough; the minimum wage should be at least... £7.50 an hour ...For all workers, not just those over 22....

Spotted this over on Grimmer Up North, Tony Benn intents to stand for parliament once more. If he stands it'll be for the Kensington and Chelsea seat, which is a safe Tory seat. However clearly there are many positives, first he may actually win; this is Tony Benn we're talking about here. But more importantly this puts socialism on the agenda again, the more attention we can get to this the better - at the coming election the left must make a push to get as many socialist in parliament as possible, we must build on the advances that came about thanks to John McDonnell's campaign....