Save the NHS!

Tameside 'SAVE THE NHS' launch, with David Heyes MP and Andrew Gwynne MP

On Saturday, my CLP of Ashton Under Lyne, the CLP’s of Denton & Reddish, and Stalybridge & Hyde united to launch Tameside’s ‘Save The NHS’ petition. Our mission, aligned with Labour’s wider mission is to send a message to David Cameron to change course on NHS reform, as we will not accept the loss of at least 10,000 jobs as estimated by the Royal College of Nursing, and his breaking his pledge for no more top down re-organisation of the NHS and the NHS budget. 
 
In our modern society, it is accepted that a ’civilized nation looks after its citizens’ health, ensures a good education for all, and takes care of the vulnerable,’yet for the first time in its existance, the NHS faces reforms which involve more privitisation that will threaten the very core of the NHS.  One of the goals of the reform bill is to reduce bureaucracy by shifting power from the centre to GPs and patients, moving somewhere between £60 to £80 billion into the hands of groups of GPs to commission services. This would seem to fly directly in the face of being able to hear in Whitehall, as Aneurin Bevan put it, the dropping of a bedpan in a distant hospital. 
 
As a Labour member, I believe that the NHS, created when our nation was rebuilding itself after a bitter war, is our finest achievement. Countless millions over the years of its existance have relied on it, the service being the difference between life and death. I believe that a vigorous battle over the reform bill, which make no mistake will destroy what we hold most dear, will be the very redemption of our party. A disabled man came up to me today saying thank you that someone is standing for him and for people like him. If in doubt about what we stand for, look at the principles of an NHS, think of this man and the service that sustains him and us all!
 
Today, amongst the furore of the Hackgate scandal, the government have announced they will open up more than £1bn of NHS services to competition from private companies and charities, increasing fears that it will inevitably lead to the “privatisation of the health service”- http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/jul/19/nhs-services-open-to-competition?CMP=twt_iph

I urge you if you value the NHS to sign this petition on 38 degrees and fight for the service that makes Britain great- http://www.38degrees.org.uk/page/s/Protect_our_NHS_Petition

Austerity undermined?

Sorry for my lengthy absense, the reason for it was the creation and publishing of my debut collection of poems “Finding My Voice” which is now available as an e-book on Amazon.co.uk- http://www.amazon.co.uk/Finding-My-Voice-ebook/dp/B0056GXBDQ/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_1 

Today, the unthinkable has happened- A TORY HAS SLAMMED OSBORNE’S AUSTERITY MEASURES!  The New Statesman today reported how the London Mayor Boris Johnson stated in his Telegraph column that

“The trouble is that the Greek austerity measures are making the economy worse.”

Johnson’s point echoes what critics of “Plan A” have said ever since the austerity measures were introduced by the Coalition government, and in particular echoes what Ed Balls argued in his LSE speech, that austerity measures adopted by Ireland, Portugal and Greece have exacerbated, rather than diminished, their economic problems,

“[W]hat they [Portugal], Ireland and Greece have all discovered – just like Argentina, Brazil and Turkey before them – is that it doesn’t matter how much they cut spending or how much they raise taxes; if they can’t create jobs and growth, their debt and deficit problems get even worse and market confidence falls further still.”

To me, it would seem logical that in order to stimulate growth, you have to create jobs. Austerity cuts just,excuse the pun, aren’t cutting the mustard. In Britain, the economy, which grew by 1.8 per cent over Q2 and Q3 2010, has not grown for the last six months. Thus it’s obvious that the cuts aren’t working.

Creating jobs doing what, you may ask? Well I have 3 words for you as a suggestion- BUILDING SOCIAL HOUSING. The housing charity Shelter stated that England is facing a housing crisis where “over 1.7 million households are currently waiting for social housing.” Thus wouldnt the construction of more social hosuing solve both a housing crisis and thus also create more jobs?

The fact that Johnson has publically attacked austerity measures in the light of events in Greece should give Osborne even more reason to look again at this. Let the home of democracy teach you another lesson apart from listening to the voice of the demos, austerity doesnt work!

DEMOS 

In Athens, the demos speaks,

Against austerity, against the axe,

 In the Acropolis’ shadow the people speak.

Take heed,

Take heed to the voice from the place of democracy’s birth,

You who take up the axe to cut with mirth.

You cut down the shoots whilst they delicately grow.

Take head of the iceburg lying ahead,

The demos speaks, not sheep to be led!

Dear Mr Cameron – my poetic plea

This is my poetic plea to David Cameron asking him to consider what effect his cuts are having and hoping he may slow down. With your help, lets hope he gets to see it!

Dear Mr Cameron,
I speak with the upmost honesty,
Though not a millionaire or famous man,
I hope you still listen to me.
Take a walk into the real world, let the muck stick on your feet,
Take a look at all the homeless struggling to make a living on the street.
How can you claim to fight for fairness in foreign lands,
Yet you place a heavy burden on the poorest with your other hand?
How can just walk on by,
When the jobless, the hopeless of your creation just break down and cry?
To the youth who want a better life, the ladder you kick away,
With no support, no job, no prospects, no hope of a better day.
 ”We’re all in it together” a line you always say,
Yet you know nothing of worry, no job and bills to pay.
I plead with you slow down with the axe swung highly in the air,
Think of those with rash action you condemn to the pit of despair,
Slow down your onslaught Mr Cameron, show us that you care.
Dear my honourable friend,
I speak with the upmost honesty,
Though not a millionaire or famous man,
I hope you still listen to me.

Revolution of the mind! THERE IS ANOTHER WAY!

Sorry for the delay in this post, but due to working yesterday, I didnt really have chance! Yesterday, in addition to his appearance on Andrew Marr, Ed Balls wrote an article in the Independent- http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/ed-balls-same-old-tories-still-doing-it-maggies-way-2198368.html , in which he states the tories are up to their old tricks as “The relentless tax hikes and budget cuts are a high-stakes political strategy taken from Mrs Thatcher’s guide to winning elections.”

He is bang on when he says “we need to re-think. There is an economically more credible alternative to what this Conservative-led Government is doing. We need a plan that puts jobs and growth first. That’s why Ed Miliband and I are demanding a repeat of last year’s £3.5bn bank bonus tax to invest in growth and job creation this year, alongside a slower, steadier pace of deficit reduction. As Ed Miliband rightly said at Prime Minister’s Questions this week, without growth you can’t get the deficit down.”

What we need is a challenge to the hegemony in the media that these cuts are necessary, as the figures show this gamble is not paying off. Like a Jenga tower, if you take out too much, the tower collapses. We need growth, growth in jobs and cuts at a slower pace than at present. We need an alternative of hope and growth not decay and despair. I call for a challenge this yarn of the government. I call for a REVOLUTION of the MIND!

We’re looking for a revolution,

A revolt of a differing kind,

No trading of fists and batons,

Not one of blood on the body, a revolution of the mind.

A revolt against the broken promises of the blue and yellow tories,

Against the hegenomy, the orthadoxy, the same old stories.

Against the fear, let us bring some hope to banish despair,

We need to grow again, not cut the roots,

To this barren field we need the lifegiving shoots.

To challenge this dogma we need a revolt of a differing kind,

Instead of anger and violence, a revolution of the mind!

Mp’s do the right thing- Save EMA!

The d-day on EMA is today, the day the fate of EMA is decided.  The EMA that helps many stay on in education by giving up to £30 a week is being debated and voted on today. This comes on the day that it was revealed  that 1 in 5 16 to 24-year-olds are now out of work, after a rise of 32,000 to 951,000 without jobs, the highest figure since records began in 1992, thus underscoring why it should be retained as a means of keeping young people from the misery of the dole queue and giving them a way out of poverty.

My friend Aaron Kumar wrote a blog about this, featuring a letter he wrote to his MP,  Angela Watkinson asking why the government are going back on the promise to save EMA- http://aaron4labour.wordpress.com/2011/01/18/save-ema-letter-to-my-mp-angela-watkinson-conservative/ , in which he cites the story of a Havering Sixth form college girl who spoke at a Save EMA rally in Parliament, saying that if the EMA were to be abolished, she would
have no other option but to leave college.

I am from an underpriveliged background and EMA helped my sister and me stay on at college and make something of our lives. I saw how vital it also was to my friends, one of which wasn’t lucky enough to get a part time job, who had to spend much money just to get two buses to college everyday. The argument to scarp EMA is flawed as many depend on the payment to allow them to stay on at college, many like myself and my friends who would have found it hard wthout it. This government seems intent on unleashing an onslaught on the most vulnerable in society and with the raising of tuition fees, the potential axing of EMA seems yet again to kick the ladder of aspiration from young people from underprivileged backgrounds.

To all you Mp’s out there, today I urge you to vote with your conscience. I urge you not to remove this one flame of hope for the youth of our nation who face a lack of jobs and a lack of hope. Invest in your future as a logical route to growth. DO NOT THROW A GENERATION ONTO THE SCRAP HEAP. On your hands today the future happiness, the hope of the young people of this nation rests. Let that be on your consicence! SAVE EMA, do it today!

Today is the day,

On your shoulders lie the weight of the world today,

The hopes of the youth rest with you today.

Vote with your heart today,

Don’t kick away the ladder today,

To an escape from poverty from deprivation, do not close the way.

From an purgatory, to a void of hope, save us today,

Don’t abandon us to the dole queue, to the scrap heap,

Devoid of self esteem, despair fills the void of hope.

In your hands lies the  hope of the youth, slender,

Let that be on your conscience today, vote with your heart today

Do not abandon us to the dark days of despair today!

#SAVEEMA

We shall remember and we shall resist!

 Yesterday came the shocking news that The People’s History Museum in Manchester, “the national centre for the collection, conservation, interpretation and study of material relating to the history of working people in Britain and their campaign for democracy over the past 200 years” is to have its funding withdrawn from the government.  The director of the museum, Katy Archer  said in a statement that “The People’s History Museum is currently funded directly by DCMS and is in conversation with the department about the impact of the government’s decision to relinquish control and sponsorship of what they refer to as ‘non-national museums’.

As this is the only museum in the country which documents the struggle for British democracy, I am quite surprised it has not attained national status and I am appauled that a museum that tells such an important and vital story in our history is seemingly being cut adrift! This is an outrage and one wonders whether this is politically motivated!

Here is my poem in tribute to the Museum and we shall fight as much as possible to stop this “censoring” of our history!

We stand once again,

Our Peterloo,

They try to silence us once again,

No horses this time, no sabres to hack us down,

They hold the purse strings like a noose,

They try to rob our heritage, our glory

Our story, yet we will remember,

In the spirit of 1819, the spirit of Peterloo we will remember,

We shall resist!

 

Peterloo Massacre- a vital part of history that should never be forgotten!

The cleansing row!

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has denied that large cities will be “cleansed” of poor people following cuts to housing benefits stating that the suggestion, made by Labour’s Chris Bryant, was “deeply offensive to people who have witnessed ethnic cleansing”.

Mr Bryant told MPs that capping housing benefit at £400 a week would force 200,000 people from urban areas, arguing that the coalition risked “turning London into Paris.” 

The heated exchanges between Mr Clegg and Mr Bryant took place during deputy prime minister’s questions in the House of Commons.

Mr Bryant said: “It’s estimated that 200,000 people will be forced out of major metropolitan areas as a result of the government’s niggardly proposals on welfare reform, which will turn London into Paris, with the poor consigned to the outer ring.” These people would be “socially engineered and sociologically cleansed out of London”.

Cracks in the harmonious facade of the coaltion appeared over the issue with Simon Hughes, who described the measures as “draconian” and vowed to try and block in Parliament. Good on you Hughes, standing up for what you believe! As someone who has seen how the poorer citizens are ringed on the outskirts of Paris, I would be appauled at such a situation happening in Britain due to these measures! Shame on you Clegg!

Pharaoh, shame on you,

Confining them to the slums of Goshen,

Because they are different,

Because they havent had the same good fortune as you,

Shame on you!

You who would break the bonds of society,

Cleanse the streets like they are vermin,

They are people too,

They are Britons too, they are your brothers,

SHAME ON YOU Pharoah,

You tyrant who masquerades behind the mask of an angel!

We need A Plan and we need it now!

In the wake of the spending review from the coalition, I have been wondering where is our plan, what is our alternative. Here is what I propose to our leader, a clear Covenant of the Rose, where our plan, our strategy of opposition, is laid bare clearly once and for all!

Dear Ed,

I write to you asking for your leadership. I ask you to clearly set forth where we stand as a party now! In the light of the spending review, the Browne Review about tuition fees, I have wondered how we as a party will oppose this? You said once that you will be unable to oppose every cut and even though I know your view is in favour of a graduate tax instead of these regressive fee increases that would deny disadvantaged kids like me the chance to study and better themselves, some in our party told you “not to mention the graduate tax!”

In light of these questions, and many of my fellow labour supporters feel the same, we ask you to lay bare what our plan will be- in a PDF, in a clear fashion making it abundantly clear, we need to know what our plan will be. WHERE WE STAND, When we make our stand and how we will make our stand! We want to fight against these injustices as people’s very lives are at stake, yet we are but soldiers who need a general to plan the attack. We need our leader now, WE NEED A PLAN now!

Yours

Anthony

Covenant

We need you to lead us now,

We need a plan, a signpost now,

Descend from Sinai Moses,

We need to know when to make a stand,

How to make a stand,

Against this injustice WE MUST make a stand,

Guide us to this promised land,

Guide us through the wilderness,

Our lives lie in your hands,

We need a covenant now,

Carved on our hearts, durable as stone,

We can’t fight this fight alone!

Nice day for a bloodbath! Gideons massacre commences!

Yes today Gideon got out his axe and cut cut cut- the spending review, the dark cloud on the horizon has finally unleashed a thunderstorm, and what a thunderstorm it was!

Here is a link to the BBC website that has the key points in some depth- http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11569160 but here are the main figures

• About 490,000 public sector jobs likely to be lost
• Average 19% four-year cut in departmental budgets
• Structural deficit to be eliminated by 2015
• £7bn in additional welfare budget cuts
• Police funding cut by 4% a year
• Retirement age to rise from 65 to 66 by 2020
• NHS budget protected; £2bn extra for social care
• Schools budget to rise every year until 2015
• Regulated rail fares to rise 3% above inflation
• Permanent bank levy

490000 public sector jobs gone, 490000 lives affected, these arent just numbers they are people, with no plans on how to create more jobs.

However one measure that has met with widespread condemnation is the seeming abolition of the EMA which according to to the report:

 ”The Spending Review removes Child Benefit from families with a higher rate taxpayer and replaces EMAs with locally managed discretionary funds to target support.”

As to what this means, the report doesnt elaborate, but to me this seems to be a case of postcode lottery for support with some authorities giving it, wheras some may not. This is a travesty along with the HE eductaion cuts of 40%. EMa was a lifeline to my friends who couldnt get part time jobs in such a competitive market. Without this, they wouldnt have had money for books, or even bus fare to get to college.

As I said when the Browne review was announced, withdrawing  support for young people who want to better themselves, in many cases escape the cycle of poverty is wrong and immoral, and even worse shortsighted! Yet shortsighted is what this whole review seems, a gamble with the economy as Alan Johnson states and no plans, no alternative= no growth. COME ON GIDEON, think for a second!

  

 Funny how the sun shines on this dark day,

Deceptive, the calm before the coming storm.

The axe falls with ferocity,

Few escape it, Gideon slashes with glee,

Blood flows covering the land,

Thousands of jobs lost, thousands of lives blighted,

Thousands bereft of hope.

Where there was harmony, they bring discord,

The light of hope snuffed out by the cold wind of despair.

You decipitate the future,

A fragile shoot withered in the harsh winter,

You sign the warrant with your gamble,

No hope for growth,

Grim Reaper, you condemn us to death!

First cut is the deepest- Defence cuts!

The axeman cometh and today, the defence review showed the first cuts from the axe. Harrier jump jets, the Navy’s flagship HMS Ark Royal and planned Nimrod spy planes are to be axed and 42,000 MoD and forces jobs cut by 2015, as part of Cameron’s plans to cut defence spending by 8% in the  the strategic defence review . 

The RAF and Navy will lose 5,000 jobs each, the Army 7,000 and the Ministry of Defence 25,000 civilian staff and axing the Harrier and Ark Royal means no planes will be able to fly from British aircraft carriers until 2019 (doesnt this constitute false advertising?).

Here are the details at a glance:

• Harrier jump jet retired
• Nimrod spy plane cancelled
• 5,000 RAF personnel axed over five years
• 5,000 Navy personnel cut
• 7,000 army personnel cut
• 25,000 civilian MoD staff axed
• Trident replaced but £750m savings from fewer warheads
• Two aircraft carriers saved, but one will not enter service

Ed Miliband stated that ”it is a spending review dressed up as a defence review, it has been chaotically conducted, it has been hastily prepared and it is simply not credible as a strategic blueprint for our future defence needs,” and Jim Murphy added that “what’s the purpose of an aircraft carrier if not to carry aircraft? And I think to leave our country without a single fixed-wing aircraft able to fly off our aircraft carriers for a decade is a very worrying decision.”

I agree 100% as it seems like this was a hastily put together review that is ideologically driven as aprts of the cuts regime. Do they not remember what happened last time a tory minister cut defence? The Falklands were invaded by an Argentina who felt that due to these cuts we were not committed to our overseas territories. Would such a cut broadcast to the world the same invitation?

Chaotic,

Your plans seep out over days,

Carelessness costs lives,

Costs jobs, you cut too deep.

You cut without thought of consequence,

Bloodlust blinds you.

You clip our wings,

Absent is the roar of engines on the top deck,

You leave us undefended, unguarded,

A tempting target, fruit ripe for the picking,

We are left to pay the price for your dogma,

For your blindness, we will pay the price!