Don't you know there is a war on?

The current debates in Washington and throughout European capitals about whether to send more troops to Afghanistan may seem remote and as having nothing to do with the price of bread in Vauxhall but the fact is that the UK's involvement in these wars has had a huge impact on public expenditure and, of course, loss of lives.

The Sun newspaper, not noted for its opposition to the war, but currently critical of government policy, recently ran a truck along Brighton seafront during the Labour Party conference, with a large billboard on the back with the words "don't they know there is a war on?" This was an apperal to Labour ministers and others to properly equip and support the troops and this was emphasised by a debate with Bob Ainsworth, the Defence Secretary, and others organised by the Sun where military families confronted Mr Ainsworth about what was happening in Afghanistan.

But it is clear that these criticisms go nowhere near enough and are merely about strategy, although they are having an impact on support for the war, which is dropping like a stone. Now comes the news that General Dannatt has become a Tory and is about to be made a peer. He has developed a reputation as a government bashed but there are deeper questions to be asked. It appears that he is also something of a Crusader, and I mean that in its original mediaeval sense. Witness what he wrote about Christianity and Islam while still serving as Head of the Army. Dannatt wrote in the Daily Mail, that moutpiece of xenophobia and intolerance:

"When I see the Islamist threat, I hope it doesn't make undue progress because there is a moral and spiritual vacuum in this country. Our society has always been embedded in Christian values; once you have pulled the anchor up there is a danger that our society moves with the prevailing wind … There is an element of the moral compass spinning. I am responsible for the army, to make sure that its moral compass is well aligned and that we live by what we believe in … It is said we live in a post-Christian society. I think that is a great shame. The Judaic-Christian tradition has underpinned British society. It underpins the British army."

This is pure Islamophobia and prejudice. The army and the state should not be aligned with any religion but to attack other and no religions in this way is very reactionary. So it comes as no surprise that Dannatt is a Tory is disguise. It also raises another issue which is the involvement of the military in politics, a development which we should be very wary of. The Tory Party are playing with fire elevating such persons to prominent positions within their hieararchy. But then the army and the Church have been central pillars of the Tory Party since the 18th century. After Osborne's speech on reducing benefits and doing all he can to increase unemployment, there will be no shortage of 'dole queue recruits' to feed into the mincer in Afghanistan and elsewhere. As Jeremy Corbyn MP said last Saturday at the Stop the War Coalition meeting, these will not come from his constituency in Islington but predominantly from areas of high unemployment and deprivation such as South Wales and the northern cities.

Meanwhile the sheer scale of the expenditure for the war continues to boggle the mind. All of this feeds down to local level, to less Council services, less funding for the NHS and education etc. The UK, trying to keep its imperial presence abroad, continues to spend far far more on defence and wars than any other EU country. This is one of the main reasons for the much lower level of public services and infrastructure in this country compared to most of continental Europe. We are basically spending a fortune on wars and foreign adventures. Will this be factored into the Tory cuts? I very much doubt it. But the public services will be starved so that more Dannatts can strut about in gold braid and business will boom for the arms merchants.

For all of these reasons I will be leafleting Underground stations in Lambeth over the next two weeks leading up to the national march on Saturday 24th October in London calling for the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. First stop will be Stockwell station tonight.

Electoral Reform would empower the Left

This article by Peter Tatchell of the Green Party appeared in a recent issue of Labour's Tribune magazine. He rightly argues for electoral reform but unfortunately it seems that the Labour government has fluffed it. Gordon Brown announced his intention at the Labour conference to move to a new system but only after the next general election. Labour has had 12 years to introduce a fairer and more representative electoral system and has consistently failed to do so. Only now with the prospect of a Labour defeat does it even appear on the horizon.

The Tories, if they win the next election, will never reform the voting system and we will be stuck with the present totally unrepresentative system for a long time indeed. The bigger question is, with the Labour Party considerably weakened and the possibility of an independent Scotland within the next few years, could this system condemn England to a permanent Tory government? Peter argues persuasively that electoral reform will strengthen the Left in the UK.

Reform the vote to empower the left

Changing Britain’s electoral system would benefit Labour and radicalise politics, says Peter Tatchell

Tribune – Labour’s left-wing weekly – 2 October 2009

http://www.tribunemagazine.co.uk/2009/10/04/reform-the-vote-to-empower-the-left/

Labour defenders of Britain’s corrupt voting system claim that electoral reform is irrelevant to ordinary people’s lives. It’s a middle class preoccupation, they say. What matters are policies on jobs, housing, education and health. Even those who concede that the first-past-the-post (FPTP) voting system is unfair often say that electoral reform is not a priority, given the recession and rising unemployment.

How wrong they are. Bad policies flow directly from the way the FPTP voting system allows parties with minority support to form majority governments and to then impose unpopular right-wing policies, like Thatcher’s poll tax and Labour’s planned cuts in housing benefit.

Most of the British public are left-of-centre on most issues. But majority progressive opinions are often not represented in parliament by a majority of MPs. Every government since 1950 has taken power based on less than 50% of the popular vote. None has won majority public support. Voters for progressive small parties, like the Greens, have no MPs at all.

In the 2005 election, Labour won 35% of the vote but bagged 55% of the seats. Of eligible voters, only 22% voted Labour. Yet Labour won a 66 seat majority. This is not democracy. It echoes the gerrymandering and ballot-rigging of two centuries ago, which galvanised the Chartists to campaign for a democratic, representative parliament.

The electoral process is ‘rigged.’ In 2005, it took an average 26,906 votes to elect a Labour MP, 44,373 to elect a Tory MP and 96,539 votes to elect a Lib Dem MP. Not since the rotten boroughs of the eighteenth century have elections been so corrupt.

This democratic deficit is a direct result of FPTP, which allows the election of MPs and governments with minority support. FPTP enabled Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair to win landslide majorities based on popular votes of only 35% to 44%.

If there was a fairer, proportional voting system, we would have never had the Thatcher and John Major governments and, as a result, never had “New” Labour and the ditching of socialism under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. Recent political history would have been different - and better.

With proportional representation (PR), neither Thatcher and Major nor Blair and Brown would have been able to form stand-alone governments.
Supported by only a minority of voters, they would have had to form coalitions, which would have curbed policy excesses, such as the Iraq war.

If there had been PR in the 1980s, either Thatcher would have had to go into coalition with the Lib Dems and other minor parties (which would have scuppered many of her reactionary policies) or Labour might have been able to form a coalition with the Lib Dems and others, which would have meant no Conservative government in the 1980s – sparing Britain the social destruction of Thatcherism.
Some defenders of FPTP complain that if we switch to PR Labour might never again win a majority of seats and form a government in its own right. But if Labour can’t persuade a majority of voters, it doesn’t deserve to form a government (ditto the Tories). Democracy is supposed to be about the will of the majority. It cannot be reconciled with a voting system that persistently allows parties with minority support to form governments with huge majorities.

If the last three elections had been conducted under PR, Labour would not have won an overall majority of seats. But there would be Green MPs and more Lib Dem MPs. On many issues, these two parties are to the left of the Labour government. They would have had a radicalising influence. Blair and Brown would have been forced to depend on Lib Dem and Green support; probably resulting in no post office closures, Trident renewal, ID cards, expanded nuclear power, privatisation of public services and no British troops in Iraq.

With PR, the Tories might never rule alone again; thereby preventing a repeat of Thatcherite exremism. We’d see the election of MPs representing the Greens and radical left parties, as happened under Scotland’s PR system. This would shift the political centre leftwards.
Labour would be radicalised because it would have to rule in coalition with radical left, Green and Lib Dem MPs (who, despite their flaws, are more left-leaning than Gordon Brown on many issues). Labour could end up more or less permanently in power as part of a radicalising coalition. This is infinitely preferrable to having the Tories in government.

A democracy requires a parliament that reflects the people’s will; where the proportion of seats won corresponds to the proportion of votes cast. This means finishing the parliamentary reform process begun by the Chartists. We need a new Chartist movement to secure PR and a representative parliament.

The Scottish Parliament election system is a practical example of a fairer electoral process. Electors vote for both a constituency MP and for a party list. This combines the accountability of single member constituencies with additional ‘top-up’ MPs based on the total list vote received by each party; thereby ensuring proportionality between the number of votes cast for a party and the number of seats it wins.
This system works in Scotland, why can’t we have it at Westminster?

The ‘Vote for a Change’ campaign is calling for a referendum on voting reform the same day as the next general election. Polls show that a majority of people want a fairer electoral system. It would benefit Labour and the left. Gordon Brown should let the people decide.

* For more information about the fair votes campaign:
http://www.voteforachange.co.uk/content/index and http://www.petertatchell.net/

ENDS

National 'Bring the troops home' march

I attended the Stop the War Coalition Steering Committee on Saturday representing the Green Party. Everyone is mobilising toward the national withdrawal from Afghanistan march on Saturday week, Oct 24th and are looking for Green support in this. Towards this end they are asking local Stop the War groups to adopt Underground stations and give out leaflets about the demo over the next two weeks. It would be great if local Greens can help with this in their areas and approach local STWC groups or get leaflets from them. The National STWC is very short of funds at present and leaflets were being sold on Saturday. Also can we encourage local parties to adopt Underground stations etc. If local parties outside London could concentrate on transport hubs to distribute leaflets for the demo that would be great. They also want support from TU branches etc.



Manchester STWC reported that they were beating people off their stall there is so much support. Many buses are being chartered to come to the national demo. No details on who the speakers are yet but I am liaising with officers. They are also going to run a general election campaign, giving support to candidates who they feel are anti-war, although they admitted that this could be difficult in some constituencies.



Gordon Brown and Cameron will be reading out lists of casualties at the opening of parliament on Oct 14th, the war is growing more and more unpopular and devouring more resources. However, there are mounting concerns that the cuts in benefits and growing dole queues are leading to 'dole queue conscripts' particularly from working class areas and areas with high youth unemployment.



As regards London there are two areas of action at present.



. On Tuesday, Joe Glenton, the soldier being court martialled for
refusing to fight in Afhghanistan is appearing at a public meeting in Haringey together with George Galloway MP.

. In Hackney, there is a War Showroom, where teenagers are invited
in to play video games in order to encourage them to join up. STWC are trying to campaign against this and Hackney Greens are involved in supporting this.



The national 'Bring the Troops Home' march will be setting off from Hyde Park Corner on Saturday 24th October. It is imperative that we have a good Green Party turnout for this.

It is also possible that Blair the war criminal could be nominated as President of Europe within weeks and STWC are trying to get MEPs and others to speak out about this, plus a possible protest action in Brussels.

It is absolutely vital that as many people as possible turn out to express their revulsion for this war, which continues to maim and kill thousands of Afghans and soldiers from many countries. There are increasing concerns that 'dole queue conscripts' will be used to fight this war because of mounting youth unemployment especially in working class areas of the north and Scotland. The talk today from the Tory conference is how to reduce benefits further, including cutting Incapacity Benefit from many of the most vulnerable in our society and bringing in private companies to make profits on the back of those being forced into low waged and unskilled jobs. Many people affected by this will be those with mental health and other long term conditions and the army waits for them with open arms. The twin attacks by Labour and the Tories on the benefits system and the unemployed will mean a recruiting jamboree for Brown's war, where the US is about to ask the UK to send many more troops to Afghanistan. The costs of the war also continue to mount and in an atmosphere of cuts mania, it must be asked how many public services, including hospitals and schools are going to cut to maintain this pathetic imperial charade in Afghanistan.

It may appear to some that by marching against the Iraq war nothing was altered, but consider how much worse the situation could have been if there had been no anti-war movement and it contributed substantially to the removal of Bush and a partial withdrawal from Iraq. Opposition to the war is at an all time high and people must demonstrate that on the streets of London on October 24th. This government and the Tories already have enough blood on their hands.

We never promised you that

Ireland has voted Yes to the Lisbon Treaty under tremendous duress from the combined ranks of the EU bureaucracy, most of the media and the most right wing business elements in the country, including Ryanair and Intel. Even the US Chamber of Commerce joined in, chorusing that Ireland would be cast out into the cold and darkness if it dared vote no. The government and the main opposition parties, including the Greens, also joined in this deception. Yes posters from both the governing Fianna Fail party and the opposition Fine Gael party carried the slogan "Yes to Lisbon and yes to jobs". The people fell for it.

Now the news emerges that yesterday at the referendum count the Finance Minister, Brian Lenihan, was interviewed by Irish state television, RTE, and asked "was it the promise of jobs that swung the Yes vote?". To which he replied "We never promised jobs as a result of the Yes vote."

http://www.politics.ie/lisbon-treaty/109077-lehinan-rte-we-never-promised-jobs.html

So now we have it. The comment has shocked Ireland and left a bitter aftertaste. Already many US multinationals like Dell have up sticks and moved to Poland. There is a photo of Lenihan with the jobs posters here. All I can say to the Irish people is, don't say that you were not warned.

Lambeth UNISON supports Environment Reps

LAMBETH UNISON GIVES GREEN LIGHT TO ENVIRONMENT REPS

The Lambeth Branch of UNISON - the second largest trade union in the UK - has voted to establish environmental reps in workplaces across the Borough. At a meeting of the Lambeth Branch Committee on 15th September, Branch activists agreed to encourage Lambeth UNISON members to elect environmental representatives within their places of work.The TUC has a led campaign for establishing environmental representatives in the workplace with the same rights as other union reps. Currently union branches can elect environment reps, but they do not have the same rights as shop stewards or health and safety reps. For example, they aren't able to take paid time off work to undertake their duties.According to the Carbon Trust, workplaces directly produce around 40 per cent of the UK's carbon emissions.

UNISON lead the way in the union movement by becoming the first trade union to sign-up to the environmental campaign Stop Climate Chaos. UNISON nationally have published a suggested “job description” for workplace environmental representatives and a model agreement for branches to try to negotiate with employers for time off for environmental representatives.Several Lambeth UNISON members who are not currently representatives have show an interest in becoming environmental reps and Lambeth Branch previously took a leading role in the recruitment of Union Learning Representatives.

The Branch also agreed to establish a working group to consolidate detailed recommendations to submit at the Branch AGM and negotiate basic agreements with our employers in an attempt to secure recognition of the role of environmental representatives and appropriate time-off arrangements.The proposer of the motion, UNISON shop steward James Caspell, stated: “Given that the disastrous social and economic consequences of climate change are driven by the current economic system, the labour movement is a vital agent in the fight against it. The creation of environmental reps is a positive step to combat climate change from within the workplace“

Branch Secretary Nick Venedi added, “Trade Unions and their branches should have the right to establish workplace environmental representatives who have the same rights at work as other trade union representatives. This will include appropriate facilities and time off to undertake their duties”

Ireland votes today

I am an Irish citizen and an internationalist and pro-European but I am opposed to the Lisbon Treaty as I was opposed to the European constitution, which this in effect is. Because the Irish voted No last time, they are being called upon to vote No again. Many people in Ireland resent this. The French had the right to a referendum on this Treaty removed and the Irish are the only people in Europe who will be given the right to vote. Essentially the Treaty being presented to the Irish people today is the same treaty which was before them the last time, with some guarantees, which many legal experts believe are not worth the paper they are written on.

Last night I went on an Irish programme on a local radio station in St Albans to argue the case for a No vote. The news that Tony Blair could be the President of Europe within weeks if the Treaty is ratified in Ireland is really the icing on the cake. And as I said on that programme, would really alienate the EU from large sections of the globe, not to mention the entire Muslim world.

Last night I received an SMS from my brother in Dublin with the words "for independence and sovereignty, vote No." Below is an appeal from Green activists and academics from across Europe, which I totally agree with. And if Father Jack is against it then it is good enough for me.

An appeal to the Irish people: for European democracy

A message to the Irish people:

The European Union has great potential to be a force for good in thiscontinent and this world. We can see some of this potential realised inthe role it has played in preventing major wars on its territory since1945, and more recently in the lead role it has played on mattersenvironmental.
But today, the E.U. is suffering from a legitimation crisis, a'democratic deficit' of huge proportions. Since the Enlightenment theidea of self-rule by free and equal citizens has been the cornerstone ofEuropean democracy. Constitutions can give expression to this idea ofshared freedom and thus serve as the basis for democratic institutions.They can, however, only do so, if we have reason to believe that theconstutions are understandable and acceptable to the citizens.

The Lisbon Treaty is effectively the constitutional treaty for theEuropean Union. The major part of its content has been rejected inreferenda in France and the Netherlands in 2005 and in Ireland in 2008.It needs to be thoroughly revised in a transparent and democratic mannerbefore it is brought back to the citizens of Europe for approval.
In that context, the referendum that your country is holding next week stands as a unique beacon of hope.

We would ask you this: don't vote against the Lisbon Treaty out of petty nationalism. (The island of Ireland knows all too well of what excessesof fervour about national identity can lead to, in terms of humansuffering.) Be internationalists: as intellectuals from differentEuropean countries outside your borders, we are asking you to speak forus. Hundreds of millions of European citizens have been denied a voiceat the ballot box: exercise that power on our behalf.
Vote against the undemocratic project of Lisbon. Vote so that all of uswill be given that same right that you, rightly, have been given.

Our common future is in your hands. Force them to stop, to think again,to democratise.
Please vote No to the Lisbon Treaty, on October 2nd.

Thomas Wallgren, Finland, Head, Department of Philosophy, University ofHelsinki

Susan George, Paris, France, Author, Board Chair of the Transnational Institute

Rupert Read, UK, Reader in Philosophy, UEA, Norwich

Mladen Dolar, Professor, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia

Mikael Böök, Project Manager, Helsinki, Finland

Dr. Steen Brock, Associate Professor, Dr. Phil.,Department of Philosophy, University of Aarhus, Denmark

Dr. John Collins, School of Philosophy, UEA, UK

George Daremas -Greece, Sn. Lecturer, University of Indianapolis -Athens campus

Haris Golemis, Nicos Poulantzas Institute (Greece)

J.P.Roos Professor,Dept Social Policy,POB 18, 00014 University ofHelsinki, Finland

Dr Derek Wall, Visiting Tutor, Dept of Politics, Goldsmiths College, London.

Demonstration for Calais Migrants at French Embassy

Several members of Green Left joined in a protest organised by No Borders at the French embassy on Tuesday evening and I was among them. We were not allowed anywhere near the building itself and had to stand across the street. Andy Hewett from Green Left (who is also the party's Campaigns Coordinator) also read out a statement of support from the French Greens, which is here below in the original French and a translation. I posted about this last week but the images from Calais were truly horrifying.

All the more shame on Gordon Brown for making a distinctly anti-immigrant pitch during his speech to the Labour conference and for introducing policies on hostels for single parents which originated with the BNP. The Sun may have deserted them but they still have some support from the Daily Mail. I have one word for those who applauded these types of ideas at Brighton and it is stronger than "chumps". I wonder if Lord Mandelson has any concerns about Russian oligarchs becoming immigrants in this country. No? Thought not.

Calais : cachons cette misère que nous ne saurions voir

L’évacuation spectaculaire de la « jungle » est une opération de communication inhumaine et inutile qui ne règle en rien le problème de fond.La fermeture de Sangatte comme nous l’avions prévu n’a fait que déplacer le problème. Il en sera de même pour le ratissage de Calais.La grande majorité des réfugiés sont partis avant l’arrivée de la police. Quant à ceux qui ont été interpellés, que vont-ils devenir? Va-t-on les renvoyer dans un pays en guerre où ils risquent la mort en dépit des conventions internationales. Que va-t-il advenir des mineurs? Le problème n’est que masqué temporairement et réapparaîtra.Les gouvernements français et européens doivent prendre leurs responsabilités face au drame humain des réfugiés kurdes et afghans et leur donner l’asile au lieu de les chasser à coups de bulldozer. Il faut rétablir pleinement la convention de Genève en Europe au lieu de choisir la stratégie de la terreur et du désespoir. Cette opération hautement médiatique n’est qu’une mise en scène politicienne. Comme à chaque veille d’élection, le gouvernement s’empresse de secouer le cocotier des questions de migration.

Djamila Sonzogni, Jean-Louis Roumégas,

Porte-parole

Calais: hide the misery that we could not see

The dramatic evacuation of the "jungle" is an inhumane and unnecessary PR exercise that does not solve the underlying problem.The closure of Sangatte, as we predicted, merely moved the problem. It will be the same for the sweep of Calais.The vast majority of refugees had left before the police arrived.

As for those arrested, what will become of them? Will they be returned to countries at war where they risk death, in spite of international conventions. What will happen to the children? The problem has been masked temporarily and will reappear.The French and European governments must accept their responsibilities towards the human drama of the Kurdish and Afghan refugees and give them asylum, rather than sweeping them away with bulldozers.We must fully restore the Geneva Convention in Europe instead of choosing the strategy of terror and despair.

This media event was highly political. As with every election, the government is quick to stir up migration issues.

Djamila Sonzogni, Jean-Louis Roumégas