‘Revolution’ in local Labour Party

 The Christmas period saw something other than festive cheer in the county Labour Party, with member of 40 years and long-standing group leader, Councillor Chris Chappell, being ousted from his position. Local Labour top-brass met to demote Chris and vote in Councillor Ursula Attfield, the only other Labour representative on Herefordshire Council. Reasons for this decision are still unclear, but it is thought Chris Chappell’s support for the ESG development is partly behind it. Local Liberal Democrat leader, Terry James, said that ‘extremism’ had taken over the Labour Party in Herefordshire, suggesting some form of radical-left element was at work. We can’t say that we’ve shed any tears over the recent developments, but we would like to take the opportunity to take a closer look at the politics of the Labour Party, its history, and its claims of representing the working class.

 With the election battle already heating up between the main parties, there has been much talk of a ‘class war’ being waged between Labour and the Tories. Gordon Brown started off by attacking the Tory ‘toffs’ during Prime Minister’s Questions in December. We can’t say we disagree with this, but what was missed was the huge number of Labour ministers that are also multi-millionaires or who received a privileged private school education. More importantly, we need to look at the attacks carried out by Labour on the working class. Since 1997 and the start of new Labour rule we have seen the country become involved in two major wars, huge waves of privatisation, with cuts in public services, post offices and other centres of community life. Pensioners and other vulnerable people continue to live in fuel poverty, having to make the very real choice between eating and heating their homes. We have seen an economic crash which has hit the poorest the hardest (with unemployment nearing 3 million), whilst bankers get bail-outs and MPs fiddle their expenses. A report earlier in the week revealed that the gap between the rich and the poor in the UK is larger than it has been for over 40 years. Hardly a good record for the ‘party of the working class’ is it? But should we be surprised? In short – no!

 The Labour Party has long claimed to be the friend of the working class, but this has been little more than a token and a way of gaining electoral success. Since its incarnation in the early 1900s, the Labour Party has had a history of dropping the concerns of its ‘core constituency’ to chase Parliamentary success. Even during one of their most ‘socialist’ periods, Labour governments opposed and broke strikes, one example of this being the Dockers’ Strikes of 1945-1951. Labour politicians have continually entered the Westminster hall of power and lived lives of luxury whilst people in their constituencies have lived in poverty. In 1992 the Labour Party abandoned any previous notions of it being a ‘socialist’ party, dropping Clause 4 from its constitution. This was simply a continuation of its shift from the left and into the political centre ground, adopting free market policies and creating the ‘Third Way’. The abandonment of white working class communities and the adoption of race politics and reverse discrimination have resulted in people becoming increasingly disillusioned with the political mainstream and a party that they once identified with. This has led to success by groups such as the British National Party. Recently, Communities Secretary John Denham said that the problems of this ‘core constituency’ need to be tackled, and politicians should focus on class instead of race. Sorry, but this sounds like another token comment; far too little, and far too late!

 Have no illusions, whether the party dress themselves up as Trotskyite or Blairite they have a shameful record, and have been just as damaging to the working class as any other government. They are an enemy of our class, and we must defend ourselves against their ongoing attacks. We cannot rely on politicians of any shades to ‘represent’ us or to ’act in our interest’, true freedom and equality can only be achieved when we organise and act for ourselves.

Hereford Times and Hereford Journal Promote Violent Crime

Animal lovers across Herefordshire were appalled this week to see, both, the Hereford Times and Hereford Journal promoting violence against animals.

Both newspapers callously showed members of the notoriously violent Ledbury fox hunt parading through the town. The Times even wrote glowingly on the possible lifting of the hunting ban.

Strange that these two papers which are always quick to condemn anti-social behaviour can so blatantly promote a violent sadistic and illegal practice such as fox hunting.

Thank goodness for the Hunt Saboteurs Association (HSA). These brave people regularly come up against police intimidation and violent hunt supporters in order to stop this blood sport.

Pensioners burn books to keep warm!

The winter weather has continued to cause disruption across the country, and earlier in the week the National Grid warned power suppliers to cut down on gas consumption due to a national shortage. But for some this time of year is especially hard to deal with.

Recent reports by volunteer workers suggest that ‘large numbers’ of elderly people are literally burning books to keep warm due to high energy prices. Charity shops have said hardback books are being sought as cheap sources of fuel for stoves and fires, being available for pennies in comparison to prices such as £5 for a 20kg bag of coal. Energy prices have been spiralling upwards, gas bills having risen by an average of 40 % and electricity prices 20 % since January 2008.

A study in March 2009 showed that up to 5 million households across the UK are in fuel poverty*. With lower wholesale prices and increasing profit margins for energy companies, it is disgusting that the most vulnerable in society have to resort to such desperate measures to simply keep warm. The government has done little to deal with the problem. We call for FREE heating to the disabled, pensioners, unemployed and most vulnerable people in society. It is time to put a basic human need for shelter and warmth above the capitalist need for profit.

*Defined as the need to spend over 10% of a household’s income on fuel use to provide adequate heating.

For more information or advice visit www.homeheathelpline.org.uk or call Home Heat Helpline on 0800 33 66 99

Council 1–0 It’s Our City

For the superstitious, Friday 13th is a day known for its unluckiness. And so opponents of the Edgar Street Grid project did their best to make Friday 13th November a very unlucky day for the council.

Hereford Solidarity League members and supporters marched on the Shire Hall displaying banners and joining up with the hundreds of It’s Our City supporters their to lobby the council.

A petition signed by almost 10,000 signatures in just ten weeks in opposition to the ESG was handed over to Cllr John Stone. Inside the meeting a motion had also been put forward to suspend the project.

But luck was never going to be enough. In the face of such strong opposition, the ruling Tory group voted down the motion by a huge majority. It became clear that Herefordshire Council—for now—are intend on carrying on with their development.

Like the council, we too believe that Hereford needs developing, but not in the way that they are proposing. We don’t need more empty shops, we need to support our existing local and independent retailers. The council obviously believe that our lives are less fulfilled without large shopping centres, but we don’t need them. What Hereford needs is more housing, more community-controlled projects. We need a new library, better sports, media and arts facilities—somewhere we are proud to call home!

Hereford is a creative, vibrant and unique place. We have one of the best art colleges in the Midlands, a technical college that turns out hundreds of useful engineers, nurses and social workers every year.

Think of your favourite towns and cities to visit: Hay-on-Wye for its unique secondhand bookshops, Ludlow for its food and history, and even Birmingham for something different. Hereford is one of those last remaining market cities where homegrown products like food and drink, arts and crafts can still trade on an independent level. Creating a shopping complex and splitting the city in two will destroy Hereford’s character and atmosphere. Local pubs, shops, restaurants will close under the enormous competition that will arise from moving the beautifully developed city centre—that now revolves around the Black & White House across—to the cattle market, further north of the river.

So it may be one–nil to the council, but this fight is far from over. We will not stand by and see our city ruined. See you for the second leg.

Locals turn out to oppose BNP

Anti-fascist demonstrators rallied on Ross-on-Wye’s Chase Hotel in October to protest against their hosting of the annual BNP ‘Trafalgar Club’ dinner.

Many of the party’s top brass—including leader Nick Griffin—were in attendance at their elite fundraising event.

Up to 100 local people turned out, with only 48 hours notice, to show their disapproval.

The hotel had earlier denied that the BNP were there, claiming they had no bookings all weekend. This turned out to be an out-right lie.

Upon arrival it was clear that the police were taking the protests very seriously, drafting in officers from Welsh constabularies. It has to be asked, how much did this cost the tax payer to protect these fascists? Private security hired by the hotel also stood guard at the entrance.

The protest was lively. When BNP members started to arrive protesters attempted to block their way, although the combined effort of the police and security present meant that this could not be pulled off. Minor scuffles broke out and deputy leader, Simon Darby, had his car pelted with eggs.

Two women repeatedly entered the hotel grounds in an attempt to complain to the hotel manager, before being ejected by BNP security who threatened to set their dogs on them. 

Although these actions did not stop the event from taking place, they have shown that the racist politics of the BNP will not be tolerated in Herefordshire.

Recently the BNP have attempted to portray themselves as victims and use ‘freedom of speech’ as a shield against any opposition they face. This facade is as hollow as Nick Griffin’s head. The truth is that if the BNP had their way ‘freedom of speech’ would cease to exist for many millions of people in this country.

The BNP like to portray themselves as the party of the white working class, but their true colours are shown in the ‘Trafalgar Club’. It is a clear example of the elitism and of the class division that lies at the heart of the party—the ones that can afford it attend black-tie dinners in plush hotels, fill the party coffers and get a chance to spend an evening with the party leadership, most of whom live in large country houses, miles away from the people that they claim to represent.*

The BNP have a history of anti-working class policy, from calling for the army to be brought out in the Miners’ Strike of 1984/85, to calling for the revoke of the firefighters right to strike in 2003. In some areas of the country where they are in local government they have consistently voted for public service cuts, and they have been less than crystal clear on expenses claims. In short, they are the same as the rest of the parties in Westminster—a money grabbing, anti-working class party.

 *Like Nick Griffin, who lives on a large farm in mid-Wales, whilst ‘representing’ his constituents in north-west England in the European parliament.

  

New on Heckler TV: ‘Fighting Talk’ 

Angelic Upstarts frontman Mensi presents a documentary on Anti-Fascist Action, who were active during the 80s and 90s confronting the National Front and BNP.

First-hand accounts are given of the fight against fascism, and why it must be stopped and not simply ignored. A must see.

Visit youtube.com/HecklerTV