Stand- with power should come responsibility!

Ed- 'powerful must take responsibility'

Today, whilst the hacking scandal resulted in more resignations, Ed Miliband stated in a speech that the ‘powerful must take responsibility’ in order for such an outrage such as this abuse of trust to never happen again. I have been really impressed by Ed’s tenaciousness on this issue and the fact that throughout, it has been HE who has led the discourse on this, such as calling for the inquiry and today calling for the recalling of Parliament on wednesday to debate. In contrast, Cameron has been on the backfoot, tainted by his associations with Coulson and News International and many have speculated as to whether his judgement and his very position should be reviewed. Where this will end and what happens next is anyone’s guess, however I hope that in the future, MP’s will stand up and challenge anyone or any business who has done wrong in the national interests. Power should come with responsibility and I dedicate this poem from my future collection in the hope that no person should ever be regarded as untouchable by our Members of Parliament ever again.

Stand (MP)

You who speak for us,

You whose purpose is to stand up for us,

I emplore you to stand!

Against the toxins of corruption that plague the land,

I urge you to stand!

Bring honour to your name,

Bring the guilty to book,

The mighty humbled in shame,

I beg you to stand!

Stay faithful to the sound of our voice,

Escape the shackles of fear.

The line is drawn right now, here,

Now is the time to make your choice,

For me, for us,

STAND!

To the happy couple, Ed and Justine!

I’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate Ed and Justine for tying the knot today and I wish them all the happiness on the journey they are about to embark on!

A toast to the happy couple,
To the two hearts bound, beating as one,
To the journey ahead, sailing into the sun.
There may be stormy seas, tidal ways and unseen dangers on the way,
Yet your love will shine a light , a star to guide the way.
A toast to the ring the symbol of your matrimonial bliss,
To the passion, to the hope alive within your kiss.
Now raise A toast to the happy couple,
To the two hearts bound, beating as one,
To the journey ahead sailing into the sun!

The rise of Ed Miliband- let his speech in the darkness shine

Today saw the budget, in which the myth of a budget for growth was blown out of the water with a revision of the growth forecast to 1.7%, hardly a ringing endorsement of Con-dem policy. To me, the cuts to corporation tax and inheritance tax seem to show the true priorities of this government as purely ideological statements especially on a day that also saw my university in Manchester announce the rise of their fees to £9000, surely a well educated workforce would fuel growth one would think.

However despite this doom and gloom one ray of sunshine emerged, a new improved Ed Miliband mach 2! In his article http://www.progressonline.org.uk/articles/article.asp?a=7843 , Stephen Twigg MP states that in the Libya debate, “he combined the authority of a statesman with the passion of a true internationalist… his speech on Libya was one of the best House of Commons performances I have ever witnessed.” I must agree as I couldnt help but be moved by his passionate support for the UN resolution and him stating our responsibility to help civilians. Today, he also showed great leadership in a powerful rebuke of the Chancellor’s budget stating that “after this Budget, it’s not the Chancellor who is rescuing the country, it is the country that needs rescuing from the Chancellor. Mr Deputy Speaker, when families look at this Budget, look at the squeeze on their living standards, look at the job losses in their communities, they will conclude: it’s hurting but it isn’t working.” My god, powerful stuff!

Whilst I must admit I have long had the feeling that Ed hasn’t exactly inspired since his elevation as leader but over the last few days I have definately witnessed a welcome change, an inspiring change in a dark time.

Ed, you have shown incredible leadership in these last few days! Continue to be the sunlight, break through the clouds and through the silence, continue to be our voice!

The dark clouds engulf us again,

To their true purpose the fog of lies descends again,

Yet a golden glimmer catches my sight,

Breaking through the clouds a beam of sunlight,

Standing tall, into the heavy crown he grows,

His speech, such passion, a light in the darkness glows,

A spark, a small flame to blazing inferno it grows.

Lets toast to the warrior charging just in time,

May your words, your passion in the darkness continue to shine!

Libya- MP’s back the UN resolution

Last night, after a long debate in the Commons, Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favour of the UN resolution in Libya. The PM stated that the military action by coalition forces in Libya may have helped to prevent a “bloody massacre” in Benghazi, adding that the intervention was “necessary, legal and right”, telling MPs that inaction would have resulted in the “slaughter of civilians”.

Ed Miliband gave an empassioned speech supporting the measures, stating that “It is a just cause, with a feasible mission and it has international support.” He compared leaving Libyans to their fate with failure to intervene in the Spanish Civil War, saying: “As we saw the defenceless people of Libya attacked by their own government, it would equally revolt the conscience of the world to know we could have done something to help them, yet chose not to.”

But he added that ”We should be clear in this House about the degree of difficulty of what we are attempting: to secure a coalition from beyond western powers to support intervention in another North African state. And we cannot afford mission creep, therefore – including in our public pronouncements.” This is an important indicator that many in Britain and the Arab League are somewhat skeptical about action as it is and that a possible occupation of land forces would risk endangering support for the action.

Yesterday on his facebook page, David Miliband has stated his support for the resolution stating that “It seems to me clear rather than complicated that supporting the UN SCR is the right thing to do.   The Prime Minister spoke in general terms, Ed very clearly about the ‘responsibility to protect’, in advancing the case that it would be a dereliction of duty to turn our backs.”

However he adds that there is a dnager of stalemate, “but it is far less dangerous than slaughter.  Those of us supporting the resolution should not run away from the prospect that Gaddafi may endure in significant parts of his country.  We may not like it…  But it is better that he is hemmed in than given a free rein.”

I agree with this sentiment that we should not just stand by and allow Gaddaffi to massacre the rebels. What Ed, what both Davids have emphasised is the need to act to avoid bloodshed. The case in point was the ceasefires that Gaddaffi has proposed yet to break them shortly after. If we do nothing, we send a message that such behaviour is a) acceptable and b) normal, both of which are not the case. However we must stick to the mandate as the last thing we want is more boots on the ground for the 3rd time in 10 years. This would evaporate the support so carefully gained for this resolution.

I salute you,

You who will not stand by while the blood flows into the sand,

You who will protect the helpless from the tyrants hand.

I salute you,

Whilst cautious to pick up the sword, you will not stand by,

You, with heavy heart , will protect them with sword in the sky.

I salute you, my honourable friends

Whose consciousnce will not leave them on the side of the road,

In the desert left to die.

Movement for Change! The resurrection!

Last night came the news in the guardian, futher confimed by David Miliband tweeting the link, that “David and Ed Miliband are combining to create a 10,000-strong “army” of community organisers in the first formal rapprochement for the pair since Ed beat David to the Labour party leadership. Movement for Change, set up by David during his leadership campaign, is to be relaunched in March and expanded, initially under the wing of the Labour party.” – http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/jan/25/ed-david-miliband-activists

As someone who was a part of the Movement for Change, I know first hand how empowering it was for activists as it showed us that we could make a difference in our communities and that in an age of distrust of politics, we can have our voices heard. The Rainbow Representation project I have been working on with Aaron Kumar borrows heavily from this idea as a way of promoting equality by widening participation at the grassroots level.  I for one obviously welcome this wholeheartedly and will be keenly be following what happens next!

Long live the movement (my poem celebrating the rebirth of M4C under BOTH Milibands)

Long live the Movement,

Resurrected, after languishing in the tomb,

After languishing in purgatory’s doom,

It is back.

Reunited, the power to heal the wounds,

The brothers combine to lead,

To form a family of the willing,

The caring, those who will not walk on by the other side of the road,

Those who want to make a difference.

For now we are all brothers,

Brothers in the Movement!

Brothers in arms- both resurrect Movement for Change

“Deceit about the past”- Ed’s article!

The previous post I did- 100 days of the reign of steady eddy! was a poetic appraisal of the 100 day reign of Ed Miliband. Some have asked me to define what my view leadership would be, and i have thought about this. The answer came to me like an apple falling on the head of Newton right from the man himself today.

On his website, Ed has featured a piece originally published in the Times – http://edmiliband.org/2011/01/06/deceit-about-the-past-endangers-our-future-times-article/ , stating that “in their politically motivated desire to propagate a myth about the last Labour Government, they (Cam and co)  are ignoring the real lessons of the global financial crisis… my concern is that a great deceit designed to damage Labour has led to profoundly misguided and dangerous economic decisions that I fear will cause deep damage to Britain’s future.”

I’m not going to feature the whole article, however I completely agree with Ed here, especially when he uses FACTs’ such as the fact that the Gov’s ”deceit ignores the evidence from around the world that a global credit crunch caused deficits to rise on every continent. The US and Japan face deficits of the same scale and for the same reason, airbrushing out the fact that Britain’s debt at the outset of this crisis was the second-lowest in the G7; lower than it was under the Tories in 1997.”

He is completely bang on here as the myths pedalled by the government ARE MYTHS, seemingly propgated by ALL corners of a media that is determined to box us in this narrative. For a person who is fed up to the back teeth of all the ills of the world being blamed on the “previous labour government” , its about time someone came out and challenged this narrative for what it is, “a massive deficit of truth”. You ask me what me vision of leadership and this is the answer, a major challenge to the government’s lies like Ed has being doing today in this article and in previous days about VAT. I like this change in tactics, this visible presence that has recently emerged- Keep it up Ed!

This poem I previously posted in ref to Kate Green MP’s inspiration seems to fit here in this context too! Hope you like!

The voice

How do we get our voice heard,

Across the cacophony,

The town crier cries against thee,

Untruth, we are the scapegoats,

Blamed for the ills of the world are we,

We can’t rely on the herald,

We must speak to the masses ourselves,

Tell a new story ourselves,

An alternative, hope in the face of despair.

We steadily build the foundations,

We don’t build this house on shifting sands!

100 days of the reign of steady eddy!

 As many remarked yesterday, Ed miliband has reigned on the labour throne for 100 days. My god, i can’t believe its been that long since the conference. He’s had high points, he’s had low points, however I’ve been more impressed with him in the last 2 days, providing what I consider effective opposition leadership, such as his speech in Oldham denouncing the VAT rise. 

If I am completely honest, a trait I pride myself on always being, I have had mixed feelings about Ed as leader, partly stemming from my strong support for David, who I’m still proud to call a friend and an inspiration, and partly the fact that thus far we are far from having a clear direction, as many have remarked. However, I have given him a chance, one as I think now should be the time for unity, and also as my emails and conversations with him have been quite warm and perhaps the fact he respects my writing may help too. Though he may not be a golden messiah for us, the last couple of days have seen him really step up to the plate and show leadership. I hope this will set the tone for the next 100 days to come- VIVAT EDWARDI REX!

Edwardi rex

A new dawn rose, a new king crowned,

Yet sceptical I was, loyal to my mentor i was,

 

I lacked the faith.

 

Was he strong enough, a new hercules, a new moses to lead us to the promised land,

 

I was unsure,

 

Vaguery descended,

 

No great revelation from high,

 

No golden sunshine from the sky.

 

Yet growing into the golden throne, the awesome robes is he,

 

Speak out with a loud voice in the silence did he.

 

Won me over with a message of hope did he.

Fighting the VAT and the dawn of oppression!

Tomorrow, yet another shackle will weigh down on us, VAT will rise to 20% on top of the fuel duty rise. Today, campaigning in Oldham, Ed Miliband called the planned rise the “wrong tax, at the wrong time”. He said it would cost the average family £7.50 a week, adding that “today we start to see the Tory-led agenda move from Downing Street to your street, the VAT rise is the most visible example of what we mean when we say the government is going too far and too fast, because it’s clear that it will slow growth and hit jobs.”

He has an almighty point. At a time when jobs are being cut in the public sector, it seems foolhardy and reckless to raise VAT which will affect retail and thus stifle growth of jobs. On saturday we shall be campaigning in Oldham East for the by-election, we shall be fighting against these oppressive measures. If you wish to join us, contact @kevpeel on twitter and follow the link to one of the facebook pages -  

 

http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=163285443714106

 

The battle on the hill!

 

 

Our brothers gather from far and wide,

Many, in the darkness become one.

One voice, one morality, one heart

One flame burning bright,

In the darkess hope shines a light

From all over this sceptered isle, we come to fight,

We come to fight for all we hold dear,

A Britain where we care for each other not ourselves,

A Britain where aspiration, where hope shinew anew,

We brothers fight in the hill, ‘we happy few!’

Make love not war, or at least not on each other!

Today saw a bit of tension between the unions and Ed Miliband today when Ed Miliband has criticised comments made by Len McCluskey, head of the Unite union as “wrong and unhelpful”.

McCluskey had written a piece in the Guardian expressing solidarity with student protestors and calling for further strike action:

“The magnificent students’ movement urgently needs to find a wider echo if the government is to be stopped.”

He also added that:

It is our responsibility not just to our members but to the wider society that we defend our welfare state and our industrial future against this unprecedented assault… What do we want? Fewer cuts later on”, is not a slogan to set the blood coursing.”

Miliband criticised the comments, with a spokesman stating, “Ed warned about using overblown rhetoric about strikes in his conference speech and this is a case in point. The language and tone of Len McCLuskey’s comments are wrong and unhelpful and Ed Miliband will be making that clear when he meets him in the near future.”

Signs of disharmony, well not quite as in an interview for BBC radio 4, McCluskey wouldnt criticise Ed directly and when asked whether he thought Ed had slapped him down he answered,  ’no,  he expressed an opinion which we’ll talk about at some point.’ So how to heal a bit of a rift here? Well, Len has made it clear here that he is not criticisind Ed, just stating his opinion that more action is needed. Now all we need is Ed to issue a similar statement that while he may disagree with his opinion, the discussion is still open and they ‘still love each other’. Come on boys, make love not war, well at least don’t make war on each other.

He said this, she said that,

The bickering begins,

With passion beating in his breast,

He’s stubborn as a wall,

His mind at war, he will never surrender.

She responds tursely,

Laconic her voice tells of cold rejection,

‘Unhelpful’ she cries,

Peeved as he treads on her toes,

Her territory, like a lioness she protects.

Come on now simmer down,

He’s made the first move, love his intent proven,

Back down, what are you fighting for,

Come on lovers, make love to each other, not war!

Sinking ship!

The tuition fee vote is almost upon us and despite the cold weather, things are heating up. On another day of student protests, Nick Clegg was grilled on 5live regrading the fees, defiantly defending the indefensibility of his fee rise proposals using the old refrain “we’re in a coalition” amid angry phonecallers and the coalition felt a barrage from Ed Miliband, who after a duff week last week landed blows on Cameron such as “Only the PM could treble fees and call it a better deal for students.” Tommorow is D-Day, however, win or lose, the damage done to the Lib-dems is irrepairable, their ship will sink soon enough!

Sinking Ship

Defending the indefensible,
Uncomprimising,
Small cracks in the facade showing.
I ask how is it fair,
To shift the burden, to kick away the ladder,
To raise the price, how can it be fair?
Instead of freedom, with heavier chains you shackle us.
The division is growing,
Brave souls jump overboard,
Escaping a ship breaking up,
Sinking in the cold ocean.
Will skipper go down with the ship,
Is his ideology worth more than his life?