On Saturday 16 July, the 75th anniversary of the first involvement of anti-fascist volunteers from north west England in the Spanish Civil War was commemorated at Manchester Town Hall. CHRIS HALL was there. Over 100 people, including many young Spaniards, were present to hear about the contribution of the north west in the fight...
Articles
Building the Good Society
Ideas, campaigns and coalitions are needed to build the good society. BARRY WINTER reports on this year’s Compass conference. The recent Compass conference exceeded my expectations. Not least because, following the general election, last year’s event felt rather flat and earlier versions of this year’s programme seemed a little uninspiring. Was the formerly successful...
How Red Was Our Valley
PAUL SALVESON reports on the Colne Valley Labour Party’s 120th anniversary. Our former MP Kali Mountford described it as a ‘triumph’ and we’ll not disagree, self-effacing Northerners though we are. Last Thursday’s evening of walks, talks and drama to celebrate Colne Valley Labour Party’s 120th anniversary went pretty well. We had a capacity audience...
Challenge, change and hope
PAUL SALVESON brings his celebration of the 120-year-old Colne Valley Labour Party up to date with a look at its present predicaments and future prospects In the aftermath of the May 2010 election defeat there has been a re-evaluation of where the Labour Party was going, at local and national level. Despite being defeated,...
Fighting Cuts To Legal Aid
As the controversial Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill moved into committee stage this week, HARRY BARNES called for campaigners to defend current legal provisions. “Because the proposed legislation covers a wide area, the issue of the massive cuts in legal aid is in danger of failing to get a full and fair...
A New School for Democratic Socialism
KEN CURRAN introduces a new political education initiative set to launch in Sheffield this autumn Socialism as an idea and as a movement has a long history. But as a consequence of Thatcher’s election in 1979, the triumph of neo-liberalism and the collapse of Communism after 1989, socialism became unpopular. Key figures in Labour...
Socialism in the Valley
To mark its 120th anniversary this July, local member PAUL SALVESON celebrates the roots, birth and history of the Colne Valley Labour Party and examines its impact on the distinctive culture of the area The Colne Valley CLP was formed on 21 July 1891 and put down deep roots in the Pennine communities of...
The Road from Ruin?
PAUL SALTONSTALL reports from a recent seminar on how to reform capitalism from the inside The talk was given by Michael Green, one of the authors of The Road from Ruin: A new capitalism for the Big Society, and the host was the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR). This was one of their...
NHS Reforms: An insider’s view
Health care professional NELLI FINN provides an inside account of years of NHS reform, a tale of competing trusts, contracting out, cost-cutting and chronically low morale. I have been working for the NHS as an occupational therapist since 1995 and, apart from a couple of brief sojourns abroad and in the private sector, have...
Summer 2011
Remaking our Music Barry Winter introduces the ILP’s new perspective The Politics of the Coalition Matthew Brown reviews the Tory-led government Refounding Labour? Will Brown asseses Labour’s party reform consultation Is Compass losing direction? Matthew Brown looks at Compass’s decision to open up Roma’s last stand Chris Hall recalls the life of a POUM...
Colne Valley Labour Party 120th Anniversary Celebrations
—- Colne Valley Labour Party 120th Anniversary Celebrations Thursday 21 July, 7.30pm The Watershed (behind Monsoon) Bridge Street Slaithwaite HD7 5JN Guest speaker: Lord David Clark, author of Colne Valley: radicalism to socialism and MP for Colne Valley 1970-1974 Plus: launch of souvenir booklet Looking Back, Looking Forward: Colne Valley Socialism 1891-2011 socialist songs from...
Pension lies
The government’s repeated lies about pensions have been exposed by the Today programme’s Evan Davis, writes WILL BROWN. For the second day in a row Government Ministers have been unable to defend Cameron’s lie that the public sector pension scheme is ‘going broke’. The claim was made by Cameron in a speech on Monday...