Hardest Hit March yesterday

Here is the Channel 4 News report on yesterday's 'Hardest Hit' march. I will admit that I was unable to go as the disability organisation I work for, Disability Advice Service Lambeth, has been so hit by cuts and recent staff sickness that we would have been unable to deliver a service at all to our many disabled clients if we had shut down yesterday, but I was totally with the marchers in spirit. I also raised the march at last week's Coalition of Resistance committee meeting and we also sent our support.

Many MPs were lobbied, Caroline Lucas among them, and Caroline's office has sent the following response to disability activists in the party:

Caroline was lobbied as part of this day of action and had a useful conversation about DLA, housing benefit, support in the work place and several other topics. She will be following up with some parliamentary questions and has also offered advice about eg lobbying the Lords.

Alan Wheatley, the party's former Disability and Social Care Spokesperson, was also on the demo and a number of my friends from various disability groups were prominent on the march.

The pressure on this most mendacious government must be kept up as disabled people are on the front line of severe cuts to benefits which will hugely impact on their health and quality of life. I will also be bringing the issue up at the COR National Council on Saturday.

Julian Assange awarded Peace Prize

Good to see Julian Assange, someone who speaks truth unto power, awarded the Sydney Peace Medal. While in Dublin recently, my sister in law, who is a journalist for the awful right wing Daily Mail (Irish edition) criticised him for being "a narcissist" and someone who was carried away with his own reputation. I stridently disagreed with her, but I can see how he would get up the noses of right wing journos and commentators. He is also, of course, public enemy No 1 for the USA at present, now that Bin Laden has been "taken out" by 'Operation Geronimo'.

Perhaps Hilary Clinton is already working on 'Operation Sitting Bull' where Assange will be spirited away from the Norfolk countryside by helicopter, and then carried by submarine across to face US justice. I demonstrated in his support outside the magistrate's court several months ago during his extradition hearing. My sister in law acidly remarked that most men like him got their overweening pride and arrogance out of their system while still young and then went on conform and settle down. The fact that he has not conformed is to be saluted and he is now paying the price by facing a real sustained attempt to by the US to demonstrate that they will not have their power and prestige mocked. Yet as the judges of the Sydney Peace Medal commented, Assange's Wikileaks contributed considerably towards the Arab Spring, and may contribute to other upheavals and struggles for liberty of which we are not yet aware. As someone who in middle age has not conformed and is still prepared to speak out against injustice, I admire Julian Assange and wish him well.

I also see that he will be appearing at the Brighton Festival on May 21st but tickets are sold out already.

Coalition of Resistance National Council on Saturday

Cuts are not the cure: Video from March for the Alternative from Trades Union Congress on Vimeo.


The film above was shown at the TUC anti-cuts demo on March 26th. The Coalition of Resistance as the broadest based and most national anti-cuts movement has continued to meet forthnightly - I am on their Steering Committee. The National Council, which is the body which elected the Steering Committee and has national representation, meets on Saturday in the University of London to discuss where next for the anti-cuts campaign in this country and also to plan for the second national conference of COR on July 9th. Romayne Phoenix, National Campaigns Coordinator of the Green Party and Chair of COR has sent out the following invite to all the National Council members of COR.

With a divided coalition and the assault on benefits, disabled people, and the unwaged about to begin (a large march by disabled people due tomorrow called 'The Hardest Hit') now is the time to strike against this government of spivs and speculators. We must gear up - March 26th was only the launch pad of the campaign.

CoR National Council meeting - Saturday, 14th May, 12-4pm, room 3A, University of London Union, Malet Street, London, WC1E 7H

Dear CoR Councillors

We meet this Saturday to build on the success of the TUC demonstration on 26th March and to celebrate the part that the Coalition of Resistance played in building for this important day. 5000 placards and 25000 broadsheets gave us a strong presence and helped send out a powerful message to the government and to those people who have yet to become active in fighting cuts and privatisation plans locally and nationally. Lansley’s NHS ‘reform’ plans are now under threat. The size of the demonstration and other campaigning was a game changer.

CoR steering group have been working to identify ways in which to focus our campaigning effectively. CoR councillors are invited to bring suggestions for action to the CoR council meeting.

The programme for the day is:

12.00 - 1.00 Introduction, and report from CoR steering committee

1.00 - 2.00 Building the campaign:

• getting individual and organisational affiliations

• establishing regional representatives

• supporting or forming local and sectoral groups

2.30 - 3.00 Arrangements for CoR conference on Saturday 9th July

3.00 - 4.00 Proposals for action.

The Coalition of Resistance is becoming a recognisable and unifying focus for the anti-cuts and privatisation movement.

Your contributions to the discussion, and action plan suggestions, will help to shape our COR Conference 9TH July and to organise the building of COR work in the regions. I look forward to meeting you all on the day.

Romayne

The 7/7 Inquest - Recommendations to the London Ambulance Service

Tonight the Patients Forum for the London Ambulance Service, of which I am chair, holds its monthly public meeting in the LAS HQ on Waterloo Road from 5.30pm. One of the main topics on the agenda will be the coroner's report issued last Friday concerning the 7/7 bombings and the role of the London Ambulance Service in those events. The LAS is not yet in a position to mount a full reply to the inquest findings but they are sending spokespersons along to give a preliminary response.

All of the emergency services in London were found wanting on that day and the LAS was among them. The LAS says that since that time it has put in place several major changes. The statement of the LAS re the inquest findings is as follows:

Communications Department
Headquarters

220 Waterloo Road

London

SE1 8SD
Tel: 020 7783 2286
Fax: 020 7783 2120

http://www.londonambulance.nhs.uk/

News Statement

6 May 2011

Response to Coroner’s inquests verdicts into the London Bombings of 7 July 2005

Chief Executive Peter Bradley said:

“Our thoughts today are with the families of those who were killed and the people who were injured on 7 July 2005.

“We appreciate that this has been a very difficult inquest for everyone involved, but we hope that it has helped to answer some of the questions that people have had about what happened to their loved ones.

“We are pleased that the actions and bravery of our staff have been recognised by the Coroner. They did everything they could, and through the care and treatment they provided were able to help save the lives of very seriously injured patients.

“We accept, though, that some aspects of our response on the day could have been better; communications issues affected the speed at which we were able to send crews to some of the scenes. For this reason, we are genuinely sorry if any families or survivors feel unhappy about our response.

“The Coroner has recognised that we have made a number of key changes over the last five years. These include improving systems in our control room where we manage 999 calls, introducing much more effective radio communications, and putting a system in place to send a set number of vehicles and managers when a major incident is declared. We are confident that, as a result, we are in a much better position to respond to any similar incidents in the future

“We will now carefully consider the Coroner’s recommendations, and will work with all other agencies to make changes that will further improve our response to major incidents.”

Ends

Notes to editors:

Improvements to our major incident planning since July 2005

The London Ambulance Service has made a number of significant developments and improvements since the bombings. These include:


• introducing the Airwave digital radio system, which includes coverage underground and the ability to send update messages to staff’s radio handsets when they are away from their vehicle.


• sending a pre-determined response to a major incident, including 20 ambulances, 10 officers and all available emergency support vehicles carrying extra equipment.


• creating two hazardous area response teams, which have their own large equipment vehicles carrying equipment that is capable of delivering help to large numbers of patients simultaneously – for example, mass oxygen systems that can be used to treat 48 patients at the same time, and medical supplies to manage the care of up to 80 adults and 20 children with serious injuries, as well as up to 300 walking injured patients.


• replacing our previous incident control room with a new purpose-built incident control room able to help manage multiple simultaneous major incidents.


• improving major incident training. Rosters have been developed for frontline staff to enable them to attend a series of dedicated training days, with one of these set aside for a session to update and refresh them on major incident procedures, followed by a tabletop exercise looking at major incident management. Additionally, training for operational officers has been enhanced and builds on training received on other courses.


• improving the way we carry out triage during a major incident to ensure that at least two people will now carry out the initial assessments of the patients involved, rather than one. One member of staff will keep a tally of the number of patients who have been triaged and some basic patient details, while the other carries out the assessments. These initial assessments are rapid because the aim is to get an overall picture of the extent of patients’ injuries, but the presence of a second member of staff means some initial treatment can take place, for example, opening up a patient’s airway, possibly putting in an airway adjunct (a device to keep a patient’s airway clear), and in some circumstances applying dressings. Ambulance staff who follow behind the triage team will start to provide more treatment, for example, the provision of drugs and pain relief.


• introducing new medical equipment. Our staff can now use tourniquets to stop the flow of blood from catastrophic bleeding from limbs; and they now have use of a drill type device to gain access to a patient’s bone marrow (intraosseous access) to administer fluids and provide drugs for pain relief. This is more effective for treating patients when they are in shock as it may be difficult to locate any veins.


For more information or to arrange an interview, please call the Communications Department on 020 7783 2286.

The edited version of the coroner's main findings are below and especially where they refer to the LAS. It is important that we the Patients Forum and users of the ambulance service in London really ensure that these changes have been implemented. As one of the relatives said at the inquest, the findings of the Kings Cross Fire Inquiry, several years before, were never implemented. It would be good if members of the public come along to the Forum meeting tonight and also to the subsequent meeting of the Forum where a detailed response to all of this will be given by the LAS.


State for the Home Department


Director General of Security Service


London Resilience Team Transport for London


London Ambulance Service


Secretary of State for Health


Barts & London NHS Trust


6 May 2011

Dear [Secretary of State] etc

Report under Rule 43 of The Coroner’s Rules 1984

Preamble

1.

Fifty two members of the public were killed as a result of four bombs being detonated on London’s transport system on 7th July 2005 (“7/7”). The names of the deceased are set out at Annex A to this report. I heard the evidence in these inquests in the capacity of Assistant Deputy Coroner for Inner West London, from 11th October 2010 to 3rd March 2011. I sat without a jury and have given verdicts of unlawful killing, with the medical cause of deaths recorded as “injuries caused by an explosion”, in respect of each of the deceased.

2.

Where a Coroner is satisfied that the evidence gives rise to a concern that circumstances creating a risk of other deaths will occur or continue to exist in the future, and is of the opinion that action should be taken to prevent the occurrence or continuation of such circumstances, she may report the circumstances to a person whom she believes has power to take action. announced in court on 11th March 2011 that I was proposing to make such a report under Rule 43 of the Coroners Rules 1984 (“the Rules”).

3.

I am satisfied that the criteria in Rule 43 (1) are met as far as some but not all of the recommendations put before me for consideration by the Interested Persons in these proceedings. This is my report.

4.

It falls into two sections. For ease of reference, I shall continue to call them “Preventability” and “Emergency response”, which were the headings under which I examined the issues. Not all of this report will be directly relevant to you, but I wished to make one report that would read as a consistent whole and reflected the wide ambit of my conduct of these inquests. I attach, therefore at Annex B, a schedule of the recommendations contained in this report together with a note of to whom they are addressed, in the hope that this will assist you in responding to the issues I address specifically to you.

5.

Given the public interest in these Inquests, it is appropriate that I provide an overview of the facts and circumstances relating both to what was and was not known about the bombers prior to 7/7, and the emergency response to the bombings. This is essential properly to set the context for the recommendations that I make. In doing so, I can also explain in outline those improvements which have already been made since 7/7 and therefore do not require further intervention.

6.

However, given the parameters of Rule 43, it is not appropriate to comment upon all the inquiries I have pursued concerning the bombings. Therefore I have not set out in detail all of the evidence which I have heard or the narrative which it establishes and informs. That evidence is now, in any event, a matter of public record contained on the Inquests’ website which will be transferred to and maintained by The National Archives.


Recommendations

R1. I recommend that consideration be given to whether the procedures can be improved to ensure that “human sources” who are asked to view photographs are shown copies of the photographs of the best possible quality, consistent with operational sensitivities.


R2. I recommend that procedures be examined by the Security Service to establish if there is room for further improvement in the recording of decisions relating to the assessment of targets


R3. I recommend that the London Resilience Team reviews the provision of inter-agency major incident training for frontline staff, particularly with reference to the London Underground system.

R4. I recommend that TfL and the London Resilience Team review the protocols by which TfL (i) is alerted to major incidents declared by the emergency services that affect the underground network, and (ii) informs the emergency services of an emergency on its own network (including the issuing of a ‘Code Amber’ or a ‘Code Red’, or the ordering of an evacuation).

R5. I recommend that TfL and the London Resilience Team review the procedures by which (i) a common initial rendezvous point is established, and its location communicated to all the arriving emergency services (ii) the initial rendezvous point is permanently manned by an appropriate member of London Underground.

R6. I recommend that TfL and the London Resilience Team review the procedures by which confirmation is sought on behalf of any or all of the emergency services that the traction current is off, and by which that confirmation is disseminated.

R7. I recommend that TfL (i) reconsider whether it is practicable to provide first aid equipment on underground trains, either in the driver’s cab or at some other suitable location, and (ii) carry out a further review of station stretchers to confirm whether they are suitable for use on both stations and trains

R8. I recommend that the LAS, together with the Barts and London NHS Trust (on behalf of the LAA) review existing training in relation to multi casualty triage (ie the process of triage sieve) in particular with respect to the role of basic medical intervention.


R9. I recommend that the Department of Health, the Mayor of London, the London Resilience Team and any other relevant bodies review the emergency medical care of the type provided by LAA and MERIT and, in particular (i) its capability and (ii) its funding.


By virtue of Rule 43A(1), as a recipient of this report you must provide me with a written response to it, containing details of any action that has been taken or which you propose to take in response to those parts of this report that are addressed to you (as set out in Annex B), or an explanation as to why no such action is proposed. This has to be provided to me within 56 days beginning with the day on which this report is sent. If you wish to request longer than this period to respond, you should write to me requesting an extension of time and giving reasons, as soon as possible.


Yours sincerely

The Rt. Hon Lady Justice Hallett DBE

Great news from Brighton - now for the difficult part

Had a meeting of the Steering Committee of Coalition of Resistance on Friday, where there was an item on the agenda about the local elections. News of Green victories were just coming in and I was able to report that we seemed to be doing well. The view around the table was that the Tories had done well and must now be challenged much more on the cuts. I disagreed and said that the pressure needed to be maintained on the Lib Dems. I also pointed out that Labour had not done well in the South of England and there was a real danger of the resurfacing of the Blairite doctrine and the search for the Middle England 'safe' vote.

All of this will be debated at the COR National Council meeting next Saturday in London.

I then popped down to Brighton for the post election count celebration where I met Phelim Mac Cafferty, whom I had campaigned for several times in Brunswick ward, and his parents who had come over from Northern Ireland for the preceding week to also campaign. I also congratulated Christopher Hawtree who took the seemingly unwinnable Central Hove ward off the tories. Phelim and his running mate, Ollie, killed off the last Lib Dem representation in the city. The atmosphere was great and it was in inspiring victory.

However, I did speak to one or two of the councillors about the absolute need to continue to fight the cuts, which are impacting heavily on front line services. They have various ideas about how this should be done but whatever the outcome of the negotiations on which party leads the council, there must be no retreat on the opposition to these ideologically driven cuts. The spotlight will now be on the Greens in Brighton as never before and having witnessed closely the car crash which was the Irish Greens in government, they must be aware that every decision taken will have an impact on the party's reputation nationally and our relationship with the anti-cuts movement. As a Green and a committee member of Coalition of Resistance,I will be watching the unfolding situation closely. I hope that they will  choose wisely.

The death of Bin Laden - what next for US foreign policy?

Chris Nineham of Stop the War Coalition takes a long term view of what the world looks like following Bin Laden's death and the resulting jingoism and xenophobia from the US camp and its impact on Muslims.

Robert Fisk, a really serious and experienced journalist with a deep knowledge of the Middle East and the Arab world, poses the question, what is the future of US foreign policy now vis a vis Central Asia, North Africa and the Middle East.

In the meantime, Stop the War Coalition has issued the following statements and news of forthcoming events.

STOP THE WAR COALITION

Newsletter No. 1199

4 May 2011

Email office@stopwar.org.uk

Tel: 020 7801 2768

Web: http://stopwar.org.uk

Twitter: http://twitter.com/STWuk

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/stopthewarcoalition

IN THIS NEWSLETTER:

1) BIN LADEN DEAD: WHERE NOW FOR "WAR ON TERROR"?

2) CAMPAIGNING IN THE COMING WEEKS

3) END THE SIEGE OF GAZA: NATIONAL DEMONSTRATION 14 MAY

4) CONFRONTING ANTI MUSLIM HATRED IN BRITAIN AND EUROPE

5) AFGHANISTAN AND THE WAR ON TERROR TEN YEARS ON

6) STOP THE WAR'S YOUTUBE CHANNEL



********************************

1) BIN LADEN DEAD: WHERE NOW FOR "WAR ON TERROR"?



Bin Laden is dead but the "war on terror" continues as before.

2011 is the most violent year in Afghanistan since the invasion

ten years ago. April was Iraq's most deadly month since 2009. The

war on Libya, still being sold as "humanitarian intervention" to

protect civilians, has sunk to the level of killing three of

Gaddafi's grandchildren, all under the age of twelve.



As Andrew Murray, national chair of Stop the War, wrote in his

recent Guardian article, bin Laden's death is a fork in the road

in world politics. The choices are stark: end the "war on terror"

now, or else continue with a policy "which only offers the

promise of thousands more Bin Ladens arising, vowing to take the

fight to the western powers in the only way they see available".

(READ FULL ARTICLE HERE: http://bit.ly/jcCgGA )



The day after Bin Laden's death Stop the War issued the following

statement:



HOW TO DRAW A LINE UNDER 10 YEARS OF WAR SINCE 9/11



The killing of Osama bin Laden by US Special Forces in Pakistan

has been hailed a turning point in the 'war on terror'. The

assassination, it is claimed, will draw a line nearly 10 years

after 9/11. But if the US really wants to draws a line under

these wars it needs to adopt very different policies from those

which it is now pursuing.



The US and other NATO forces must now withdraw all troops from

Afghanistan. The capture or killing of bin Laden was a stated aim

when the attack began in October 2001 -- 'wanted dead or alive'

in the words of George Bush. Since that time, tens if not

hundreds of thousands have died in Afghanistan, the Taliban have

gained in strength, and the pro US government is one of the most

corrupt in the world. There is no justification for the war.



The US and Britain should remind themselves of the grievances

which bin Laden claimed in 2001: the presence of US troops in the

Middle East; the treatment of the Palestinians; and the continued

sanctions against Iraq. All of these grievances have worsened in

the last ten years. There are now western troops in Iraq,

Afghanistan, US bases all over the region, and an intervention

including troops and airstrikes in Libya. The Palestinians suffer

even more, and have been subject to aerial attack by Israel. Iraq

suffers full scale occupation as a result of the war in 2003.



The war has been extended into Pakistan, not just with Special

Forces operations such as the killing of bin Laden, but with

drone attacks which have killed thousands of Pakistanis and

created great instability in the country.



The US and its allies have followed a policy of backing dictators

and despots across the Middle East. Only the uprisings of the

peoples in these countries has in any way altered that policy,

and even now, while waging war in Libya, the west turns a blind

eye to the atrocities in Bahrain and the repression in Saudi

Arabia.



The war against Libya is not about humanitarian intervention but

about the western powers _ especially the former colonial powers

in North Africa_ trying to regain control of the region. The

airstrikes should stop immediately and all troops including

Special Forces and advisers should be withdrawn.



These policies have not helped to end terrorism, but have made it

more likely. Al Qaeda barely existed outside Afghanistan 10 years

ago; now it is a presence in a number of Middle Eastern

countries. The latest events will in all likelihood lead to more

attacks by al Qaeda, including in Europe and the US. The only way

to end terrorism is to change the policies which create space for

it to flourish in the first place.



THE STATEMENT IS REPRODUCED ON OUR WEBSITE, HERE:

http://bit.ly/mJZzTP



********************************

2) ANTI-WAR CAMPAIGNING IN THE COMING WEEKS



President Obama will be making a state visit to Britain at the

end of May and Stop the War will announce shortly the details of

a protest to denounce his continuation of the war policies of his

predecessor George W Bush.



We are asking all local Stop the War groups to organise events in

their communities, with public meetings, street stalls,

petitioning etc, to raise the profile of the anti-war majority in

this country that opposes the escalating aggression of the

western powers, and, specifically, to call for the immediate

withdrawal of all British troops from Afghanistan and an end to

the bombing of Libya.



Campaign leaflets and petition sheets are available to download

from our website.



If you would like to get involved in a local Stop the War group

in your area, contact our national office: Email

office@stopwar.org.uk or call 020 7801 2768.



********************************

3) END THE SIEGE OF GAZA: NATIONAL DEMONSTRATION 14 MAY



The plight of Palestinians continues to deteriorate, as Israel

maintains its siege of Gaza, denying its people basic resources,

and escalates its theft of Palestinian land and property on the

West Bank and in East Jerusalem.



Stop the War has joined with Palestine Solidarity Campaign, CND,

British Muslim Initiative and Palestinian Forum in Britain, in

calling a national demonstration on Saturday 14 May against

Israel's endless violations of international law. The

demonstration is supported by many other organisations. Full

details are available here: http://bit.ly/mLTDTI.



END THE SIEGE ON GAZA - FREE PALESTINE

JOIN THE PROTEST SATURDAY 14 MAY 2011

ASSEMBLE 12NOON DOWNING STREET LONDON SW1A

For updates, go to: http://bit.ly/mLTDTI



********************************

4) CONFRONTING ANTI-MUSLIM HATRED IN BRITAIN & EUROPE



The West's assaults on three Muslim countries in the last ten

years have been accompanied by a chorus of anti-Muslim

propaganda, which will no doubt swell further in the aftermath of

the killing of Osama Bin Laden.



To discuss the effects of Islamophobia and how to campaign

against it, Stop the War, as part of the Enough Coalition, is

organising a day conference which will bring together community

figures, campaigners, academics, experts, and victims of

anti-Muslim attacks, from Britain, Europe and the USA.



Speakers include Seumas Milne (The Guardian), Salma Yaqoob, Daud

Abdullah, Tony Benn, Lindsey German, Peter Oborne (Daily

Telegraph), Marwan Muhammed from France, Dr. Sabine Schiffer from

Germany and Professor John Esposito from the USA (FULL LIST OF

SPEAKERS HERE: http://bit.ly/f43fUZ ).



The event if free but places are limited, so early booking is

advisable. Please register to book your place at

info@enoughcoalition.org.uk.



CONFRONTING ANTI MUSLIM HATRED IN BRITAIN & EUROPE

CONFERENCE: SATURDAY 21 MAY 11AM - 6PM

LONDON MUSLIM CENTRE WHITECHAPEL, LONDON E11JX

Leaflet: http://tinyurl.com/65f7zu9

Register place: info@enoughcoalition.org.uk



********************************

5) AFGHANISTAN AND THE WAR ON TERROR 10 YEARS ON



Anger against the western powers will only be increased by recent

events. The Taliban have just announced the start of the fighting

season in Afghanistan, Pakistan is deeply destabilised by the

"war on terror". The British government has now admitted that the

war on Libya could be "a long haul".



Stop the War's day conference on Saturday 11 June will highlight

the disasters of the Afghanistan war and put it in the context of

wider imperialist intervention. Central to the discussion will be

the next steps in the campaign to get the troops home.



Speakers include Tony Benn, George Galloway, Tariq Ali, Lindsey

German, David Swanson from the USA, Pankaj Mishra, Mehdi Hasan

(political editor of New Statesman), Joan Humphries from Military

Families Against the War and David Gentleman, the artist who

designs the now legendary bloodspot placards and posters for Stop

the War.



AFGHANISTAN AND THE WAR ON TERROR 10 YEARS ON

DAY CONFERENCE: SATURDAY 11 JUNE

25 RED LION SQUARE LONDON WC1R 4RL

For updates, go to: http://bit.ly/gjt1qE



Admission is £5. Please book in advance by emailing

office@stopwar.org.uk or phoning 020 7801 2768.



********************************

6) STOP THE WAR'S YOUTUBE CHANNEL



Stop the War's YouTube channel, started just a few months ago, is

proving very popular, with close to 100,000 views already. Over

50 videos have now been posted and we are adding new films every

week. The two most recent are:



* Osama Bin Laden's death and the day America declared war on the

world.

* Look who came to the royal wedding: dictators, torturers, human

rights' abusers



WATCH STOP THE WAR'S YOUTUBE CHANNEL HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/stopthewarcoalition



********************************--

Ireland - bankruptcy, politics, literature and the Big House

Just back from Ireland on Sunday. The economic collapse is evident everywhere – lots of empty shops and offices, including in the main street (O'Connell St) in Dublin. The elections for the Senate were just finishing when I was there – I had a vote for the Senate National University panel – where 3 senators are elected by graduates. There were 27 candidates on the list and it was all by STV and PR and none of this half baked AV.

The former Green senator on this list who had been appointed to the previous senate by the Taoiseach (PM) he is allowed to appoint 11, came something like 17th on the list. He was a former Mayor of Galway and riding high in the last government. The other former senator, Dan Boyle, from Cork stood for another panel (Industrial and Commercial) and came in very near the bottom. So the Greens have no representation at all in the current parliament. They are spoken of with detestation by all I met. There is going to be a referendum within the next year on the abolition of the Senate, as several of the parties are supporting this. This could lead to Ireland having a unicameral legislature.


They are having a leadership election next month and there are three candidates. One is the former Energy Minister, Eamon Ryan, who is closely associated with the leadership and is seen as very reactionary. The second is a councillor from Kilkenny who was critical of their role in government but who is not exactly on the Left – indeed you will notice the lack of any ideological content in any of their videos. He is seen as having only a local profile and no national one and the last is a relatively unknown candidate who is, like Ryan, from Dublin.
I met Bronwen Maher, former GP founding member and now Labour Party member, who spoke at the Green Left fringe in Brighton a couple of years ago. Her husband Steve Rawe was (irony of ironies) the former Head of Media Relations of the GP for several years. Steve is writing another piece on what happened to the Greens entitled ‘Forty Shades of Green’ which I will receive soon. Latest info is that the General Secretary of the party has gone and due to their current state of bankruptcy they are down to one employee, an admin assistant. Before the election they had 50. Their quango appointees still sit on some of the state boards but will disappear once their period of office expires. The general view is that membership has also collapsed. All of this is a grim warning for wannabe coalition partners with right wing parties.

The teachers union, INTO, were having their conference when I was there and were stating that no graduate teachers had any employment hopes now in Ireland and that emigration was the only option. The new government seems locked into the IMF/European Central Bank bailout with its punitive terms. More and more scandals are emerging about what happened with the toxic banks. The former Finance Minister told the BBC that his government was ‘conned’ into the bailout while it has now emerged that the IMF were in Dublin at least a week before the government admitted they were there. The Greens are regarded as having sleepwalked or acquiesced in all of this.

Meanwhile an economic report a few days ago stated the country’s economic state was worsening. All of this displays the spiral of cuts, followed by depression, followed by more cuts. As I have said before, Ireland is about 2 years ahead of the UK in this process. The new government is preparing for major welfare and other cuts because of the worsening deficit. I can see default as very likely at some point.

Friends of mine who are in the public service have taken a major pay cut and the health service is in a state of crisis. There is growing resentment towards the EU and Germany in particular regarding the bailout terms, while the projections are for growing unemployment and a big drop in property prices.

The tourism industry is hoping for holding on to jobs due to the Queen’s visit this month (the first British monarch since 1911) which is causing a huge security bill because of expected Republican protests and Obama later in the month (drinking the ubiquitous pint of Guinness in a village pub) and trying to secure the Irish-American vote. The united Left parties in the parliament (the Dail) are trying to resist the government’s economic policies.

My feeling is that most dissidents have left the Irish Greens and that they will not be a political force for a decade or more.

In between all of this catching up on the political and economic situation, I managed to enjoy some glorious weather and revisit a few haunts of mine from days gone by. I went along the river Liffey above Chapelizod, where I saw, for the first time in 35 years, the Trinity boathouse, where I spent three years as a coxwain in the rowing team and earned myself a few medals. It lies right inside the War Memorial Park, designed by Luytens, which is dedicated to those Irish soldiers who died in both world wars - they were busily spraying the stonework in expectation of the Queen's visit when I walked past.

I also managed, for the first time, to visit the James Joyce Museum, in North Great George's Street and watched several fascinating documentaries on Joyce produced by the National Library of Ireland, one of which was about his legacy and included the hilarious remark from a contemporary Irish writer, that most of those who dressed up in Edwardian costumes on Bloomsday each June in Dublin, to renact the famous day portrayed in Joyce's 'Ulysses' "have probably never read a word of Joyce in their lives." I also managed to get a copy there of the famous and, as far as I know, only film version of the famous novel, filmed in Dublin in 1966. I also spent an evening in the famous pub 'Kavanaghs' known affectionately as 'the grave diggers' because the gravediggers still drink there, strategically located outside the gates of Glasnevin cemetery. The pub has not changed one iota since about 1880 and is mentioned in two Joyce novels 'Portrait of the Artist' and also 'Dubliners'.

The old Royal Hospital in Kilmainham, which is probably Ireland's only Jacobean building of significance and which lay derelict for years has also been restored as the Irish Museum of Modern Art, where I saw a fascinating collection of paintings from the Gelman collection in Mexico of works by Frida Kahlo and Diego de Riviera. Both were fascinating and quite revolutionary in both their content and style.

Finally, on the recommendation of a friend, I attended one of the worst performances ever of Lorca's 'Blood Wedding' which was less like a gypsy wedding in Andalucia and more like a drunken Irish wake in Kerry. I had not seen the play for many years and was not familiar with its plot but my partner Julio, who knew it well, said that it had simply no resemblance to the Lorca original. It truly was an Irish farce and my friend kept apologising profusely for bringing it to us. But as I have always found with theatre, there can be good plays but lousy productions.

A good friend of mine is also involved in restoring old country piles and his latest expedition was down to County Roscommon in the West of Ireland, where he was working on a chippendale table. He regaled us with hilarious stories of the local town, including a pub which after closing time, ushered him into the back lounge which was full of the local Garda (police) having a late night sup - his host of the chippendale table was an ex-police officer.

Rather appropriately, that day I had gone to visit an exhibition at the Irish Photographic Archive on 'The Big House' which is how the Irish refer to the houses of the former Anglo-Irish landed gentry. There were many photos of various Georgian and Victorian piles, one even including a photo of Queen Victoria visiting the house, with the curious servants hanging out the windows. What was interesting was that many of the houses are still in existence, only a handful having been burned down by the IRA in the War of Independence, although some of them were now in the hands of religious institutions such as convents.

And so history comes full circle with the first visit to Ireland by a British monarch since George V in 1911 and a visit which is seen as the 'normalisation' of relations between the two states and the two islands. However, despite my enthusiasm for history and heritage, I find it astonishing that Cork City Council are spending 250,000 Euros on restoring the 'English Market' in Cork city for the royal visit. The country may be bankrupt but still knows how to curtsy to a visiting British royal. The spirit of the Big House may be more alive than we think.