Green Party & the Blacklist

ON Monday night, I was at a public meeting of the Oldham/ Rochdale Green Party entitled 'Is Britain Too Unequal' at The Lancashire Fold pub on Kirkway estate in Middleton, and it was very well attended given that it was a Monday & the weather was bad. I'm not a member of any Party, but because I don't think you can get much more 'unequal' than by being on the blacklist, I raised our campaign against the blacklist in the British building trade.



I think it was fairly well received although I do detect a 'generational gap' between the older-end who may remember trade unions as they used to be in the 1970s & 80s, and the younger ones who are fresh which ideas about the environment. This may not be a problem if they can find some way blending the two tendencies.


Yet, with Labour Councils like Manchester City Council and Tameside MBC under Kieron Quinn, freely handing out contracts to blacklisting companies like Carillion it would be good if we could get the Greens to take up a policy of 'Ethical Procurement' using the 'Islington Model' as suggested at Liverpool TUC last Thursday night, to try to turn it into an election issue.

That would, I think, help put some of these Labour Councils who are collaborating with blacklisting companies on the back-foot.