Loading... Please wait...

Delicious Delicious  Digg Digg  Reddit Reddit  Facebook Facebook  StumbleUpon StumbleUpon 

Summer recess is actually our busiest time

By Lisa Nandy / @lisanandy Although most people think MPs take the summer recess off, it's actually our busiest time. We have just four weeks in August when parliament doesn't meet which means I can be in Wigan without distraction. For new MPs like me this is the first real chunk of time we have had since the election to get out and meet people without having to dash from event to event on Fridays and Saturdays when parliament doesn't sit....
View 'Summer recess is actually our busiest time' >

Our new leader must walk the walk on our continued priority of ‘education, education, education’

By Darren Jones / @darrenpjones If I were to be asked what one experience drives my politics it would have to be inequality in education. After thirteen years of a Labour government, recognising the many achievements that were secured, we are still in a position where many are being left behind because of this gross inequality which, quite frankly, is a scar on the face of our nation and on the history of our party. We should without question be...
View 'Our new leader must walk the walk on our continued priority of ‘education, education, education’' >

Let’s celebrate London’s A Levels but be realistic about the challenges facing London’s young people

By Oona King / @Oona_King Media coverage of today’s A level, and no doubt next week’s GCSE, results will focus on the success of the students involved. And rightly so. I enthusiastically join the chorus singing the praises of London’s teenagers who’ve done so well. But after the celebrations subside we’re overdue a real in depth examination of the challenges facing London’s youngsters. And not just those who’ve been lucky and able enough to leave school with strong A Level...
View 'Let’s celebrate London’s A Levels but be realistic about the challenges facing London’s young people' >

Local government and the Olympic legacy

By Florence Nosegbe / @QueenFlo The central theme to the London 2012 games bid was the pledge to inspire millions of people to take part in culture, sport and other physical activities. As London became the host city, it was argued that the legacy focused on the economic, regeneration and cultural benefits for the five Olympic boroughs. The games will bring a number of lasting benefits to the local communities in these boroughs including new multi-million pound transport facilities, new...
View 'Local government and the Olympic legacy' >

A bizarre proposal for devolving power

By Mike Katz / @mikekatz Eric Pickles, self-styled champion of localism (the Tories’ word of the month) has come up with a bizarre proposal for devolving power downwards in his new consultation on council tax, published today. Under the plans if councils want to increase the tax above a set ceiling – which could be the rate of inflation, according to the Daily Telegraph - they would have to submit the plans to local referenda, costing tens of thousands of...
View 'A bizarre proposal for devolving power' >

How should Labour councils manage the cuts?

By Richard Watts / @richardwatts01 Local Government has borne the brunt of the Tory-Liberals early cuts to public services. Advised by a troop of investment bankers (who, after all, never get it wrong) the Tory-Liberal government thought it could cut £6 billion of public spending immediately after the election with no damage to ‘front line’ services. The merchant bankers told them, for example, that they could easily save a billion pounds from cancelling IT projects. Trouble is, the midas touch...
View 'How should Labour councils manage the cuts?' >

Finally - a Focus leaflet I can get behind

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk Update: I was lucky enough to speak to Councillor Brook this afternoon. She is a friendly, engaging and honest person - exactly the kind of person we need in local politics, saying that all she can offer local people is "hard work and truthfulness". She said that she put out the leaflet beacuse she "can't work with Tories", and that they're "miles away" from where she is politically. She also had harsh words for the...
View 'Finally - a Focus leaflet I can get behind' >

This is what Labour in local government should be doing

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk Last night I was fortunate enough to attend the first meeting of the Islington Fairness Commission. Designed to identify how the new Labour administration can tackle the problems caused by inequality in the borough (the 8th most deprived in the UK), it's being chaired by Professor Richard Wilkinson (of "Spirit Level" fame) and includes members from all three major parties. It's something that we have already taken notice of at LabourList - and it's the...
View 'This is what Labour in local government should be doing' >

The Big Society is here: Where is the Labour response?

By Tony Burton Amid the jostling for position among Labour’s potential leaders about the Big Society there is a fundamental truth about the growing importance of people taking control of their own lives. Love it or loathe it the Big Society is tapping a rich vein of political opportunity. Our national story is one forged by people who care. This is a land rich in history and the signs of it are all around us. Yet some of the most...
View 'The Big Society is here: Where is the Labour response?' >

Labour needs to obsess less about winning elections - we need a renewed Labour movement, not just a Labour government

By Jon Wilson Labour needs to return to core values and reconnect with its core supporters. To do that, it needs to develop a stronger attack on the unfettered powers of the free market. Against the acquisitive individualism of the market economy, Labour needs to stand up for those things in life that we do collectively, as a community. But it is a mistake to think that the state is the only way the community can limit capitalism rampant. Labour's...
View 'Labour needs to obsess less about winning elections - we need a renewed Labour movement, not just a Labour government' >

How can the Labour Party become a movement-based party rooted in local communities?

By Caroline Badley Community organising is the buzz word of the leadership campaign. David Miliband is recruiting and training community organisers and his brother Ed Miliband wants the party to be like London Citizens. The reasons for going down this road are self evident. If we are rooted in the communities we represent then we can serve them better. On a local level we will be better placed to sort the smaller things - pot holes, anti-social behaviour and road...
View 'How can the Labour Party become a movement-based party rooted in local communities?' >

Introducing the Islington Fairness commission

By Richard Watts / @richardwatts01 When people who don’t know the borough think of Islington they undoubtedly think of expensive coffee shops, multi-million pound Georgian houses and political deals brokered in expensive restaurants. In fact they probably think the whole borough is about to decamp to a villa in Tuscany. These impressions couldn’t be further from the truth. Islington is the eighth most deprived borough in England. Just as importantly, we’re one of the most unequal boroughs in the country....
View 'Introducing the Islington Fairness commission' >

The vindication of a former Lib Dem

By Graeme Smith / @graemesmith1978 I was the Lib Dem's parliamentary candidate for Loughborough in 2005, but I left the party in 2006 for 3 reasons. 1 - During the election campaign, I found that I could not argue against the record of the Labour Party in terms of the improvements to the country since 1997. 2 - The manner in which the party dealt with Charles Kennedy's alcohol problem left a bitter taste in my mouth (not very liberal...
View 'The vindication of a former Lib Dem' >

Ken's shown he is up for the fight of taking on the Tories

By Ben Folley Thursday night's London Labour Party mayoral hustings presented the first official opportunity for the candidates - Ken Livingstone and Oona King - to present to party members their vision for London in 2012. Questions were asked on transport fares, council housing, the Olympic legacy, and action for those with disabilities and there was significant discussion on what course of action a new mayor might take, but what struck me was the message about taking on the Tory...
View 'Ken's shown he is up for the fight of taking on the Tories' >

Introducing national identity day on LabourList

By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982 For a long time, I’ve been thinking about national identity in Britain, and about what it means to be British, indeed about whether it means anything distinct at all. I’m not just talking about cups of tea, about stoically toughing out a crisis, about Shakespeare or warm beer -- though those are of course tangible expressions of identity. No, I’m talking about our understanding of what we stand for, our collective sense of being, of...
View 'Introducing national identity day on LabourList' >

Time to learn the lessons

By Joanne Milligan / @Jo_Milligan We know who’s on the ballot paper but the process for choosing Labour’s candidate for London mayor has been, and continues to be, the subject of controversy – as it has done since the inception of the post. Surely it’s time we learned from our mistakes. This isn’t about Oona versus Ken. I haven’t yet spoken to any Labour member in London, whoever they’re supporting, who is happy that we’re choosing our candidate in the...
View 'Time to learn the lessons' >

London mayoral hustings: The timetable

By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982 Here is a list of the 9 hustings events for the London mayoral selection between Ken Livingstone and Oona King. Entry is only available for Labour Party members. If you're a member, please keep an eye out for an email with full booking details as to how you can attend. Thursday July 8th, 7pm -- North East division Friday, July 9th, 7pm -- West Central, Lambeth and Southwark Wednesday, July 14th, 7pm -- Enfield and...
View 'London mayoral hustings: The timetable' >

In Islington, we await the budget with interest

By Richard Watts / @richardwatts01 Whenever you mention to people from outside the borough that you are a councillor in Islington, very quickly the conversation turns to cappuccino shops, Arsenal and the question about how Labour wins in an area as affluent as ours. The truth is that Islington is the eighth most deprived borough in the country, with some of the highest rates of poverty, unemployment and ill health. There are massive disparities between the third of the population...
View 'In Islington, we await the budget with interest' >

On two of the defining issues of our time for young people, Ken was on our side

By Veronica King / @Vron_King London needs a mayor who calls the big issues right and will stand up for Londoners. Consistently, and on issues of importance to young party members, that candidate is Ken Livingstone. The budget this week will give a clearer indication of where this government is taking the country. It is already a Thatcherite horror-show. David Cameron and Professor Alan Budd, the head of the new Office of Budget Responsibility, were advisers to Norman Lamont when...
View 'On two of the defining issues of our time for young people, Ken was on our side' >

The Lib Dems will have an Okey-Cokey strategy - Labour must have a plan to counter it

The Paul Richards column People expect their pundits to have the gift of clairvoyance. Prescience is an important attribute in commentators, because it suggests that they can detect trends which other actors on the political stage – mere MPs for example – cannot. Martin Kettle is obviously chuffed that he identified the date of this year’s general election on 12th March 2008, the first pundit, or so he claims, to do so. I am particularly pleased with this, from my...
View 'The Lib Dems will have an Okey-Cokey strategy - Labour must have a plan to counter it' >