Campaign news archive - March 2015

Stop Sweets Way Evictions

Stop Sweets Way Evictions On Monday October 30th a county court gave the green light to bailiffs to go in to Sweets Way estate in the London Borough of Barnet. The bailiffs intend to evict protesters so that the homes can be bulldozed and luxury apartments built in their place. [continue...]

What We Stand For in the LRC

What We Stand For in the LRC By John McDonnell MP WITH THE ELECTION ONLY WEEKS OFF, it’s time to be clear about what the left stands for in this election campaign and in any post-election negotiations with other parties, should this become necessary. On the left we have a vision of a society that is thoroughly democratic in all aspects of our life:which is more equal so that the extremes of wealth and poverty are eliminated, [continue...]

That Mug

We condemn the Labour Party for releasing the “Controls on Immigration” mug. By doing it, they have undermined campaigns that are currently taken place around the UK in the run up to the General Election. They run the risk of deflating activists who are working so hard to return the Labour Party to government. And, most importantly, they stigmatise thousands of people who have come to the UK over the generations and now call it their home.It is true that our public services are over-stretched and jobs are at a premium, but that’s the result of successive governments failing in their duty to provide for the country’s population; not the fault of migrants. So, instead of taking the easy route and playing the blame game, we need commitments from the Labour Party to fund public services, and create employment opportunities, that will meet the needs of our country’s wonderfully diverse and growing population, now and for future generations.If the leadership can’t say anything positive about the benefits of migration and can’t dispel the lies that other political parties and the media perpetuate, then they should say nothing at all. You can’t out-UKIP UKIP, and hyping up the anti-immigration rhetoric plays straight into Nigel Farage’s hands. We urge all those within the labour movement to disassociate themselves from the message this mug sends out. As Diane Abbott MP said “This shameful mug is an embarrassment. But real problem is that immigration controls are one of our 5 pledges at all “ [continue...]

Labour - lessons from the 1970s

Labour - lessons from the 1970s By Barbara Humphries In February 1974 the Labour Party won an election against the predictions of the opinion polls, having a slender majority of four over the Tories. However there was no overall majority. The Liberals held 14 seats, and other political parties including the Scottish and Welsh nationalists 23 seats between them. Labour was to govern as minority government, going to the polls later in the year, when it gained an overall majority of three. [continue...]