Library users give big Thumbs Down to OPEN+

Historic Ashton Central Library - Closed February 2019

NORTHERN VOICES has learned that the findings of a survey, 'Open Libraries Plus, Evolution And Review', which  closed on 5th February 2018, was not made public by Tameside Council despite the council having a policy of 'Engagement' - "the continuous conversation with and involvement of stakeholders and residents" and its 'Big Conversation'.

The survey which was undertaken over a four week period from 9 January 2018  to 5 February 2018, by Tameside Libraries into 'Open +' - their unstaffed, do-it-yourself library system - was intended to assess how the system was working and public attitudes towards it. The new library system was rolled out across eight libraries in 2018.  Although Tameside Libraries have stated:

"The purpose of collecting the information was to assist officers in understanding people's views of using Open+, it was not necessary to put this in the public realm", it is clear from reading the survey, and the comments made by those  who participated in it,  that the vast majority of people have expressed dissatisfaction with unstaffed libraries in Tameside, and are highly critical of it.  Despite what the library service say, they seem to have just buried bad news.

Some 145 people responded to the survey, but when asked how many questionnaires had been distributed, Tameside Libraries were unable to answer the question. When asked which library people used most often, Stalybridge was the most used library in Tameside, followed by Hyde, Dukinfield, Droylsden, Denton and central library in Ashton-under-Lyne. 

When asked during which hours do you normally use the library, only 19 people (13.38%), out of 142 responses, said they used the library during Open+ hours.  57 said they used it during staffed hours and 66 during both staffed and Open+ hours. 

Tameside Libraries were keen to stress that the responses to the survey did not represent the total users of Open+ only the ones that completed the survey, adding:  "66 survey responders also indicated that they used the library in both staffed and Open+ mode."

A question about how helpful the induction by library staff to Open+ was, elicited 79 responses with 66 skipping the question. 42 (53.16%) thought it very helpful and 10 (12.66%), unhelpful.  When asked why they found the induction helpful and how it could be made better, only 9 answered and 136 skipped the question.  Some of the comments left by respondents, were as follows:

"As always staff at Stalybridge brilliant."  "I feel that older generation was not informed.  They were told it was 'online and Facebook', but not many people that age access Facebook.  The older people have followed us into the library, they have been very confused.  I have spent more time explaining Open+ than doing my job teaching."  "Don't want unstaffed libraries."  "Libraries without people are merely shells."

When asked which library service people mainly used during Open+ hours, 71 answered and 74 skipped the question. 60 (84.51%), said they borrowed, returned or renewed items, paid charges and used self-service machines during Open + hours. 31 (43.66%), said they picked up or borrowed or reserved items and 14 (19.72%), said they used Open+ hours to use public computers and the scanner. Only 8 (11.27%), said they used Open+ hours to access Wifi. One respondent left the following comment:

"I cannot access Wifi. The computers have gone down on numerous occasions which has had a huge impact on my student who has (SE MS) needs."

The question "How easy have you found it to access the library during Open+ hours?" was answered by 73 and skipped by 72. 33 (45.21%) said very easy and 11 (15.07%) said it was difficult with ten (13.70%), saying very difficult. 29 (40.28%) said they had found the extended Open+ hours very useful and 13 (18.06%), not useful at all. 

When asked to say why they had found using Open+ useful, 47 answered the question and 98 skipped answering it. 21 (44.68%) said the library was quieter in Open+ hours. 34 (72.34%), thought there was more opportunity to use the library due to longer opening hours, and 20 (42.55%) thought the new times worked better around their lives. One respondent said:

"We have had numerous problems being locked out, being tailgated, being followed, being verbally abused. No internet. The only good thing about it are the staff, They are lovely and helpful." 

Another respondent said: "I do not like Open+, I much prefer to deal with human beings. When library users were asked (Question 9), "Are there any other comments you would like to make about Open+ or any suggestions for improvement, 53 answered and 92 skipped answering. Of the 53 responses the vast majority of responses (50), were negative. There are comments about personal safety: 

"We do not feel safe!",  "There has been no thought for personal safety, it's a crazy idea."  "I don't use the library much at all now.  Don't feel safe.  Thanks for excluding us from libraries now.  Not happy!" "Stalybridge library is only open till 7.00 because of gates, not good for me.  The library is ghostly when it is empty of customers. You should have at least one person here.  I feel vulnerable..." "I don't want to go into an empty building with no life.  Not to mention the safety aspect too."  "I was tailgated despite challenging person." "Takes some getting used to, to be alone in a public space in the evening.  I do not linger like I would during staffed hours..."  "I am very concerned about personal safety when using the library when it is unstaffed."   "As a female I feel uncomfortable attending the library during unmanned hours."

Although Tameside libraries have said that they don't consider female library users to be at risk during Open+ hours they have also said that they consider children under 16 to be at risk, even with live CCTV monitoring.  Therefore, they have to be accompanied by an adult during Open+ hours. Tameside libraries also say: "Men are more likely to use an unsupervised library building than females" (Report to Executive Cabinet 14/12/2016) but they don't say why they feel this is the case. However, there is recognition that some people may feel unsafe during Open+ hours. Tameside's active library users are predominately female (59.8%), and it is likely that many of the above comments about fears for safety, reflect the views of female library users.

Though several respondents expressed positive views about Open+ "The new hours work brilliant for me. I visited last week during Open+ hours and found the library empty and quiet..." others wanted to see more staff in libraries and felt that libraries should be an opportunity for human contact and interaction, "It is far better to deal with humans (librarians) rather than machines", said one respondent. Some respondents expressed dissatisfaction with the technology that was sometimes faulty. 

The survey findings which are consistent with other previous surveys, show that library users are predominately from a white background with (90.9%) identifying as such. They are also largely female - 16,193 active library users. Overall, there are 27,079 active library users. Tameside's  population is predominately white. The largest BME group  in Tameside are Asian/Asian British (8.94%). As of 30/11/2018, 3,074 female library users had registered for Open+ and 1,784 male library users. Tameside Libraries also pointed out that 79 library users had declined to indicate whether they were male or female. 

The former leader of Tameside Council, Kieran Quinn, when launching the 'Big Conversation', said: "It's not about withdrawing services, its about redesigning services." The council closed fived libraries in 2012, following a comprehensive review. Staff were cut and hours were reduced at the remaining eight libraries. There were originally 22 libraries in Tameside ( a reduction of 64%) and most of these were closed well before the CONDEM government in 2010, introduced austerity measures. Not only have hours and staff been cut, but also publications. In 1983, Ashton reference library had 130 magazine publications and this was down to about 30 in 2016. I recently visited Ashton reference library and asked to see a copy of the reference book 'Who's Who'. I was told it was in the cellar and that the library hadn't updated it since 2015. This is what Tameside Council call libraries fit for the 21st century. What we're witnessing with Open+ is the dissolution of the Libraries in Tameside by a Labour council that doesn't read books and is as thick as a book end.

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Tory bad boy makes good on Tameside Council!

Enfant terrible - Liam Billington

NORTHERN Voices congratulates Liam Billington, the Conservative Party candidate who yesterday won the Stalybridge-South ward with 1233 votes, in the Tameside  2018 May local elections.  Katy Flanagan, the Labour candidate, came second with 834 votes.

As the former editor of the scurrilous blog 'Tameside Eye', young Billington, once disclosed  that Tameside Council had spent over £30,000 on a variety of futile events - 'the diversity breakfast', 'lifestyle clinics', 'urban walks', all organised by sixteen 'well-being champions'.

In November 2014, he criticised a charity (Tameside 4 Good), for making a donation of £1000 to Tameside and Oldham Gay Society which they hailed as a success story.  He described 'Tameside Pride' as "a bunch of puffs mincing across Ashton", and suggested that the money would have been better spent on food-banks or care for the elderly, the people who need it most.  Asked whether he regretted his choice of language, he declared, "I'm gay myself and I use the word all the time."

As the Tameside Eye blogger, Billington was arrested in 2008 on an allegation of harassment relating to three doctored images that appeared on his blog.  The complaints were made by Labour councillor's  John Taylor - who Billington dubbed 'councillor fuckwit' - and Sean Parker-Perry.  Aged 19, Billington was held in custody for seven hours at Ashton police station, where he was photographed, finger-printed, and a sample of his DNA was taken.  His two computers were removed from his home and seized as evidence. After being charged with one count of harassment and two counts of racially aggravated harassment, he was eventually released on police bail.  After considering the evidence against him, Manchester Crown Prosecution Service, decided not to prosecute.

As the Conservative Party candidate for Stalybridge South, Billington recently launched a petition to bring back a market in what is now the Stalybridge Civic Hall.  He believes that reviving the market will be a key component to the regeneration of Stalybridge.  He is, however, no defender of public libraries and will find himself, well at home, among the many semi-literate councillors who make up Tameside Council, who have also closed many libraries throughout Tameside.  The young whizz-kid, once said, "Who needs public libraries when you've got Amazon and a laptop."  Needless to say, not everyone has a laptop or can afford to buy books online. But this doesn't seem to worry Billington.  I suppose that's what makes him a Tory - I'm all right Jack, fuck you!

No doubt, this young controversial 'enfant terrible', will bring some much needed opposition in the one-party state that's called Tameside Council and will enliven the debates in the council chamber.  A future Tory leader in the making on Tameside Council? Watch your back John Bell!

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Rod McCord Statement in 'Tameside Reporter'

 Sunday 11th March 2018 20:03 News Stalybridge Tameside by Nigel Skinner

https://tamesidereporter.com/.../family-statement-after-communist-party-flag-flutters-on 

COMMUNITY campaigner Rod McCord’s family have explained why they chose to fly the Communist Party flag above Stalybridge New Labour Club following his funeral last Thursday.

A picture of the flag fluttering at full mast above the club sparked a social media storm, prompting the family to issue a statement.

But this weekend Rod’s sons Danny and Patrick said they took full responsibility for the decision to fly the flag.

While Danny stressed that the kinds of messages made on social media in response to the move had been totally inappropriate.

“Associating the atrocities across the world with my father’s funeral is very inappropriate and comparing the Nazi Party flag and the swastika to the Communist Party flag is also inappropriate,” he said.

A memorial service was held for Rod at Stalybridge Civic Hall and attended by an estimated 350 people.

Rod had been a keen local health campaigner, working to establish Tameside Hospital Action Group (THAG) along with former Ashton MP David Heyes, back in 2006.

He was also involved with the local health watchdog LINk, (now called Tameside Health Watch).
As a member of THAG, he wrote the document “A Charter for Change” that was submitted to the hospital.

He was also a regular contributor to the Tameside Reporter letters pages over the years on behalf of THAG.

Following the memorial service a funeral was held at Dukinfield Crematorium with a reception held at the New Stalybridge Labour Club.

The McCord family statement reads:
“We would like to take the opportunity to thank everybody who attended on Thursday to pay their respects to our Dad, Rod McCord. Also to say thank you to those who very kindly made donations to Willow Wood Hospice – a total of £1,348.94 was raised.
“Our dad was a Communist and also a passionate local activist whose contribution made a difference to our community.
“We are very proud of him and wanted the memorial to be a fitting reflection of our father. As a family we took the decision to fly the Communist Party flag at full mast over the Stalybridge Labour Club.
“This was purely to mark our dad’s passing and in no way was it our intention to cause offence, upset or to associate the flag with the Labour Party.
“We also feel that given this has triggered a healthy debate, we recognise and acknowledge what this particular flag has come to represent, however, this is no different to the way many people across the world interpret the Union Jack, our national flag which has been hijacked by the far right.
“Had we taken the decision to fly the Union Jack, would this have been more appropriate? Certainly not for our father.
“For our Dad the Union Jack represents empire and as we all know the sun never set and the blood never dried. Atrocities have been committed in the name of all flags.”
Cllr Bill Fairfoull is a director at the New Stalybridge Labour Club which, as a private hire venue, he said would allow the flying of a flag in such circumstances if it was the family’s wish.
“It’s a judgement call for us,” he said, “although the flag should have come down earlier following the event.”

He paid tribute to Rod McCord for doing a great job in pushing for change at Tameside Hospital with former MP David Heyes.

Tameside Tories see RED over Communist Party funeral flag!

Tameside Health Campaigner - Rod McCord

A major row has erupted over a families right to display in public, the Communist Party flag, in memory of their father, who was a lifelong communist. 

Last Thursday, over 300 people attended the memorial service to Rodney (Rod) McCord at the Stalybridge Civic Hall.  A local health campaigner and member of Stalybridge Labour Party, Rod died in Willow Wood Hospice, on  Wednesday 15th February 2018, aged 67. Later in the afternoon, a service took place at the Dukinfield Crematorium.

Originally from Openshaw, Manchester, Rod was one of three children of Phyllis and Charles McCord. Along with their father, Rod and his two sisters, Christine and Marilyn, were all members of the Communist Party (CPGB). Rod left instructions that the Communist Party flag was to be draped over his coffin and a communist  banner with the hammer and sickle and "RIP COMRADE", was displayed in the civic hall. The Red Flag and The Internationale were also played at the service and relayed out into the street.

Afterwards, family and friends retired to the Stalybridge Labour Club, where £1,348.94 was collected for Willow Wood Hospice. To show honour and respect to their father, the McCord family, decided to display the CP flag on the flagppole at Stalybridge Labour Club to "mark our Dad's passing."

A local busybody Stalybridge councillor, called Doreen Dickenson, a kind of priggish, parochial, Mrs Grundy type of character, got wind that something rather communist and lefty was going on in her own backyard of Stalybridge.  Even before, Mr McCord had been laid to rest, she was scurrilously tweeting about how un-English and alien it was to display communist flags and play communist songs, in this little northern cotton town. Although Dickenson, later removed the offending tweet, after being contacted by the McCord family, she said she'd received complaints from constituents about the 'Communist Party Flag' and communist music being relayed outside by loudspeakers that she found disgusting. She also seemed to think that because the event took place in a public building (which the family had hired for the occasion), they had no right to fly the flag or play music.

Many Tameside Labour members appear to have been either unaware of the incident, indifferent,  or in support of the kind gesture to honour Mr. McCord, who was held in high regard.  Jonathan Reynolds MP, who represents Stalybridge & Hyde, said:

"Rod was a truly lovely person, generous, intelligent and warm. Many people will know him in particular for his work with Tameside Hospital Action Group... I always thought he was one of the most well read and informed people I ever met. There was a great turnout today, and Rod's sons and grandchildren all gave magnificent tributes to him. Dave Ormsby gave a brilliant eulogy, which was funny as well as poignant. Rest in Peace Rod."

Councillor Jan Jackson, who chairs the Stalybridge Town Council, said the flag was a family matter and was "not aligned or associated in any way with the New Stalybridge Labour Club." she said:

"It has gone viral and caused a furore on social media, something that should not have happened. It was the funeral of a very stalwart person who sat on the Tameside Hospital Action Board (sic) and did a lot of good work in the community. People are dying all over the world and struggling to put a loaf of bread on the table, yet flying the flag has caused all this fuss.  There are more important issues."

The McCord family later issued a statement saying that it was not their intention to cause offence, upset, or to associate the flag with the Labour Party.

I don't suppose that any of us should be surprised at the foul antics that the Tories and the far right are prepared to stoop to in order to make political capital over their opponents. Even the death of a truly decent man, and the respect his family paid to him, is something that cannot take place without controversy or be exploited for political gain.  Some have even tried to connect this flag incident with the recent poisonings of Yulia and Sergei Skripal.  But what should one expect from a party that snatched milk off the school kids and now threatens to take their free school meals off them, if their family earns more than £7,000 per year.

We understand that the manager of Stalybridge Labour Club received death threats following this incident.  We also understand that someone in the office of the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, contacted one of Mr McCord's son's, demanding that the communist flag be taken down and that when he asked to speak to 'Jeremy', he was told he was out at a meeting.  This seems rather cowardly and gutless action from a party that proclaims itself to be socialist.  Needless to say, the party must have found it a political embarrassment.

Despite being embarrassed by a red flag, the Labour Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, John McDonnell, says in his 'Who's Who' entry, that his hobbies include "fermenting (sic) the downfall of capitalism."  In 2011, he called on unhappy workers to spit in their bosses tea.  Clearly, the pragmatic politician lies behind many of these hard men on the left.

And what would my dear friend Rod McCord, be making of this right now?  I bet he'd be laughing his little red socks off. He certainly went out with a bang! RIP mate.

Derek Pattison,

Joint Editor Northern Voices.

Stalybridge Tesco raided by immigration officers looking for illegal workers!

Immigration officers raid Stalybridge Tesco

LAST Friday, officers from 'Immigration Enforcement' raided the Tesco car park in Stalybridge looking for illegal workers. An eyewitness, who took this photograph, told NV that on early on Friday morning, immigration officers were seen questioning two people who were working at the Tesco Hand Car Wash.

As with a lot of countries, the subject of immigration is a sensitive subject for many who live in Britain. Although 52% of people last year, voted for Britain to leave the EU on the grounds that they believed that it would curb immigration into the UK, the minority Conservative government of Theresa May, now say they want a flexible approach to migration and a transition period when Britain leaves the EU in 2019.  

Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, has stated that there will be no "cliff-edge" in the migration system when the UK officially leaves the EU in March 2019. Senior political figures such as Michael Gove, a staunch Brexiteer, have stated that the cabinet is in favour of allowing free movement of labour to continue during an implementation phase of two to four years after 2019, when EU workers will have to register their details. No doubt this is aimed at reassuring British businesses, who rely on migrant labour, and others who see Brexit, as a ruinous economic policy for Britain. 

Never the less, many people may be wondering what it is they voted for last June when they voted for Brexit. According to one distinguished academic, all the talk about hard or soft Brexit, is utter nonsense. Professor Ian Begg, of the London School of Economics (LSE), said recently that the choice between a hard or soft Brexit was a "false dichotomy" and that there was in reality, only two choices facing the UK - either we leave the EU or we decide to stay. My guess is that at the end of the day, we will finish up not with a Brexit, but a fudge called a BINO - Brexit in name only. 

On 23rd June 2017, some 61.1% of people who live in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, Greater Manchester, voted to leave the EU, even though many see leaving, as a tragic act of folly. The MP for Ashton-under-Lyne, Angela Rayner, told the Guardian newspaper in a recent interview that there was:

"absolutely no way you can disrespect the way people voted. If it was a popular thing on the streets of Britain, there could be another referendum, but until the general public has a change of heart, we're going to exit Europe. The public can make their feelings clear, and there can be a groundswell for it. Politicians are political animals; they're savvy. That's why most of them are saying they respect the vote. But MPs haven't changed their mind on Brexit. Most of them are weeping. They want to stay in Europe because they think this is going to be really damaging. If I got a feeling in my constituency that the public wanted to remain, I'd say 'Brake'." 

We understand that following the Tesco raid last week, the car wash at Tesco Stalybridge has now been closed.

Are Tameside 'Town Councils' a ploy to get the public to do unpaid council work!

By Steve (Starlord) Fisher

IT isn't absolutely clear to me why Tameside Council decommissioned all 8 District Assemblies on 24th May 2016, but I can guess that it's got something to do with a lack of money, rather than the official line that they've had their day.  They've now come up with the idea of nine new 'Town Councils' which started last month when Stalybridge Town Council held its first meeting on Wednesday 15th February at Stalybridge Civic Hall.

The meeting that I attended was advertised in the Tameside Reporter about a week earlier and was well attended. Around 80 people turned up including ten councillors.  The meeting commenced at 6.30 pm and went on for over two hours.  A lot of people questioned the validity of  Town Councils as the councillors tried to sell the idea to a sceptical public who wanted to know - 'What can it do, what is it for and basically, what is the point?'

One person asked  about the sale of the Aldi car park and why councillor Dave Sweeton had voted for it, even though it wasn't clear, who it had been sold to.  A number of people were angry about what they perceived as the neglect of Stalybridge, by an Ashton-centric Labour controlled council and some wanted to know, what the council was going to do for small businesses in the town. An elderly lady expressed her concern about the proposals to introduce do-it-yourself self-service libraries (Open+) which constitutes part of the 'Tameside Vision'.  Other people asked about the legitimacy of the meetings - it seems that some Stalybridge residents  had been petitioning to set up an independent Town Council for Stalybridge -  while others were angry that the Mayor, rarely ever came to Stalybridge.

Someone else asked if minutes were being taken of the meeting. I asked if there would be any powers devolved to the Town Councils and do these bodies have the full support of the Executive Cabinet of Tameside Council. Councillor Jim Fitzpatrick said there would be no devolved powers and that a majority of councillors had voted to support Town Councils.

While the Stalybridge meeting was well attended the same cannot be said of other Town Councils. Only two members of the public  attended the Dukinfield Town Council meeting and just seven members of the public at Droylsden. Councillor Brian Wild - a local property speculator and labour councillor from Dukinfield - told the local press that Dukinfield Town Council, couldn't afford to hire the town hall for an evening meeting and therefore, had to meet in the afternoon.  We understand that Cllr. Wild, a retired window cleaner, is reluctant to drink in Dukinfield, because people ask him questions about his extensive property portfolio.

Dukinfield Property Speculator - Cllr. Brian Wild

Although the official mantra of Tameside Council is that they are bringing democracy closer to the people with their Town Councils, that would help to create a bottom up form of government, instead of a top down one, where the public could influence decisions, my overall abiding impression of this meeting -if you cut out the official bull-shit - is that the council are seeking to co-opt members of the public as volunteers to do many of the jobs that were previously done by paid council workers, under the pretext of civic obligation, known euphemistically as 'ACTION TOGETHER!' 

Last November, Sir Richard Leese, the Labour leader of Manchester City Council told a meeting of the Greater Manchester Centre for Voluntary Organisations (G.M.C.V.O.) that it was the role of voluntary organisations, to 'fill in the holes' left by public service cuts. Personally, I cared very little for District Assemblies and was unperturbed by their demise.  However, they did have financial resources to fund community groups and to pay for such things, as street cleaning.  With no real powers, the Town Councils, have been allocated budgets of around £2,000 per annum.  If the future is one of volunteers, cutting grass and picking litter, why don't we go back to the era, of volunteer unpaid councillors who did an excellent unpaid job in their Urban District Councils?

George Julian Harney: Radical Chartist

Hegel vs Wittgenstein's approach 

DAVID Goodway gave a talk on Saturday the 7th, February 2014, at the Peoples' History Museum on George Julian Harney, one of the leading Chartists.  He was introducing the book that he edited and published in 2014, and was entitled 'The Chartists Were Right' on Mr. Harney's contributions to the Newcastle Weekly Chronicle, which is the first selection of Harney's journalism to be published.  Mr. Goodway taught sociology, history and Victorian studies to mainly adult students at the University of Leeds.  His first book had been London Chartism, 1838-1848 (1982).  Elsewhere Mr. Goodway has written mostly on anarchism and libertarian socialism.

David Goodway gave a brief history of Chartism and the general background of the times mentioning the Newport uprising, as well as other attempted uprisings in Dewsbury and Sheffield, and later in Manchester and Birmingham; the 1832 strike in Stalybridge; the murder of a policeman in Ashton-under-Lyne in 1848.  He insisted that there had been no link or continuity with the labour movement and that ultimately Chartism had been replaced by trade unionism.  He posed the question as to why Chartism failed after some 50 years of agitation.  He didn't seem to answer this precisely, but pointed out that the demand for the Charter was for more specific reasons to do with the New Poor Law, and also concerns about the factory system and it had been confronted by an alliance of the propertied classes. 

The main intellectual influence on Harney was the Irishman Bronterre O'Brien, the editor the Poor Man's Guardian, who was an enthusiast for the French Revolution identifying with Robespierre.  Harney was more drawn to Marat and often signed himself 'L'Ami du Peuple' (Friend of the People).  In April 1839, he wrote for the London Democrat, but during his travels in the north of England he was seen as one of the foremost spokesmen of physical-force Chartism, and in May 1839, soon after the Convention moved to Birmingham, a warrant was issued for his arrest for a seditious speech he was reputed to have made there.  He was arrested at Bedlington in July, and held for a time at Warwick Gaol, but in April 1840 the case was dropped, because his speech had not been properly witnessed.    

He was appointed Northern Star correspondent for Sheffield and later became its sub-editor in July 1843 when O'Connor,  its proprietor, dismissed the Rev. William Hill and replaced him with Joshua Hobson.  Hobson started to give Harney a free hand.  By the time he was formally appointed editor in October 1845 Harney had already taken-over as editor in practice.  From then on through the 1850s his influence was at its height as although O'Conner was the proprietor of the Northern Star, to begin with he gave Harney editorial independence.   

In the 1840s, the Northern Star was based in Leeds, and Friedrich Engels had visited there in 1843 when he met Harney and they became lifelong friends,  Engels was to write:

'We kept in touch with the revolutionary section of the English Chartists through Julian Harney, the editor of the movement's central organ, the Northern Star, to which I was a contributor.'

Engels thought Harney should push himself into the Chartist leadership over O'Connor but Harney disagreed responding:

'A popular leader should be possessed of magnificent bodily appearance, an iron frame, eloquence, or at least a ready fluency of tongue.  I have none of these.  O'C. has them all – at least in degree. ...'

Then very perceptively Harney argued that the qualities that Engels claimed for Harney were, in fact, in English terms defects:

'...the very qualities you (Engels) give me the credit of possessing, and which you emphatically sum up in the sentence “You are the only Englishman who is really free of all prejudices that distinguish the Englishman from the Continental man” are sufficient of themselves to prevent my being a leader.' 

Goodway writes that 'Harney, a Londoner and indeed a proletarian, was then insufficiently English in outlook, whereas O'Connor, who belonged to the Irish gentry, exerted a mesmeric appeal on the English working class, many whom were, of course, either Irish-born or of Irish origin.' 

Harney fell out with Marx and Engels over the issue of social inclusiveness which Harney proclaimed:  'I stay not to enquire whether they were of the aristocratic [sic], bourgeoisie, or the proletariat.  Enough for me that they were men of earnest convictions, which they maintained through every kind of adversity, including bonds, exile, and to death.' 

Essentially Marx and Engels were Hegelians or some may say 'monomaniacs', while Harney's writings in his publications were as Mr. Goodway says: 'vigorously polymathic, ranging across literature, contemporary politics and world history of all periods.'   

Wittgenstein wrote:

'Hegel seems to me to be always wanting to say that things which look different are really the same...  Whereas my interest is in showing that things which look the same are really different.' 

George Julian Harney in his editorship of the Northern Star was not engaged in producing a mono-maniac tract for Marxists, hence David Goodway was able to say that  the Northern Star sold well and was 'not boring' and was definitely 'not a sectarian paper'.  Basically Harney, according to Mr. Goodway, was all for inclusiveness while 'Marx and Engels couldn't stomach that'.  Mr. Goodway also insisted that the Chartists were in no way 'Socialists' and that no direct line could be drawn between the Chartist movement and the formation of the Labour Party at the end of the 19^th Century.  O'Connor believed in peasant proprietors, according to Goodway; and when I asked if this meant he was more in the tradition of the Frenchman Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, Mr Goodway agreed with me on this. 

MR & MRS THE NEW GAME SHOW IN TAMESIDE LABOUR POLITICS!

How many of our readers I wonder, remember that bloody awful game show 'Mr and Mrs' that used to be presented by that amiable northerner and former ventriloquist, Derek Batey?

As some of you might recall, each week contestants (all married couples), would be asked questions by Batey to see if they could second guess the answers their nearest and dearest had given previously. It was a kind of exercise in mental telepathy and lovey doveyness, as well as mind numbing idiocy.

Now after all these years, a similar show is doing the rounds in Tameside. This show isn't called Mr and Mrs but goes under the title of 'How to get your missus on the council.' Though the show as yet to play to packed audiences, it hasn't gone unnoticed in certain quarters.

As the local elections approach, Cllr. Clive Patrick a Conservative councillor in Tameside, has put out a leaflet attacking the local Labour Party for the number of couples who now sit on the council benches for Labour. Currently there are four couples who are all Labour councillors who have hit the jackpot. Kieran Quinn the leader of the council and his wife Susan, the Mayor; Denise Ward and David McNally; Jacqueline and Dawson Lane and Barrie and Ann Holland. But after the next local elections, this could increase to six couples.

In the Stalybridge North ward which is currently held by Cllr. Patrick, Labour is standing Janet Jackson the partner of Cllr. Jim Fitzpatrick, an executive cabinet member of Tameside Council. Jackson works as an administrative assistant for Jonothan Reynolds, the MP for Stalybridge & Hyde. His wife Claire, is also standing for Labour in Dukinfield/Stalybridge and if elected, will join Allison Gwynne, the wife of Andrew Gwynne the MP for Denton and Reddish, who is already on the council. Philip Fitzpatrick, the brother of Jim, is also a Labour councillor as was his father Joe. In Audenshaw, Labour are standing Teresa Smith, the wife of Labour councillor Mike Smith.

Although it's not illegal to sit with your nearest and dearest on the council, Cllr. Patrick evidently feels that there is something rather squalid about this. Others may share this view seeing it as some sort of racket or a way of augmenting the family income at the taxpayers expense. But Cllr. Jim Fitzpatrick who is also employed by Manchester City Council, believes that it is unfair to bring family into politics even when your partner, is standing for public office. Clearly annoyed by Cllr. Patricks criticism, he recently wrote on Twitter:

"Clive Patrick's latest leaflet in S/B north has a go at Jan Jackson and the man she lives with. (Himself). Jan has not mentioned the man he lives with."

Cllr. Fitzpatrick's remarks, have led to one blogger accusing him of homophobia. As the blog points out, Cllr. Partrick might well live with his civil partner who is a nurse, but there is no evidence that he's desirous of having his nearest and dearest sitting on the council with him or that his partner, is even involved in politics.

As councillors expenses have rocketed in recent years, it has become more financially advantageous to become a town councillor as jobs become more scarce and difficult to get. With average councillors expenses in Tameside of over £20,000 a year, it is little wonder that more people are now trying to jump on the bandwagon of town hall politics. In an area that is noted for low pay and poverty, many Tameside councillors now receive more in allowances than the wages paid to the average Tameside worker. Some council members such as Cllr. Fitzpatrick, claim even more in allowances. In 2010/11, he claimed £32,000 in allowances for being on Tameside Council. Perhaps this explains, as one of our readers recently pointed out, why so few Tameside councillors have full-time or part-time jobs outside of the council. With such generous allowances paid to councillors, why would one bother to seek employment?

"Tis time to dance a reckoning" A homage to the spirit of revolutionary song!

Red Rag To A Bull

A Poem by Gary Peter Ferguson - From Stalybridge.

To all their misdemeanours
To all their folly and lies
Thy theft, thy fraud, thy treachery
So spoken so despised
Like cattle with nought in fodder
So forced I stand to shudder
Tis locked out factory gates
To all thy bricks and mortar
Thy bankrupt welfare states
To bankers pound and sold
Like in oozing festering sores
So neat a Cowell sum
To sweet and candy divas
Thy swindling musical scores
For neat Beijing sandwiches
In seas of China tea
Thy despot Gordon Brown
Laid his fiddle down on me
AY- In all their misdemeanours
To all their folly and lies
Where Elgar’s sweet fine music
Sold in beauty to thine skies
Where Liberals bought their powers
To votes so sold by knaves
Thy Tories sold this story
Tis Land of Hope and Glory
In all thy light was shattered
Like low Pound high yield Dollars
Thine only God is profit
Ye well heeled toffee scholars
AY- For all thy rent and mortgages
Thy thieving wretched lies
Thy tax avoidance fillies
And their cheating corporate flies
Tis time to show our red rag
Show the red rag to the bull
Tis time to hang our red rag
Hang our red rag round a bull
Tis time to dance a reckoning
To level out thine score
Set all the church bells ringing
Let thy anger voice be heard
I’ve only just a started Lord
Let not their gun smoke quell
I’m sure if you are listening Lord
My slumber with eternity
Would not be spent in Hell
Tis time to show our red rag
Show the red rag to the bull
Tis time to hang the red rag
Hang the red rag round a bull
So be driven hard like nails boys
With hearts of English oak
Tis time to dig our furrows
Let thy toffees wear the yolk
To sweat them like an oxen
In the fields of their theft
Even up thy averages
Hang red rags round their necks
AY-For all my misdemeanours
For all my folly and lies
I cannot hold my tongue no more
For those I so despise
To Shelley, Keats, and Byron
I write these words for thee
Rise up my sleeping giants
For its time to come to tea
Tis time to wear the red rag
Show the red rag to the gun
So come my friends, my comrades
My Sisters, Brothers too
Be not ye all afraid or a mind confused to dull
Tis time to hang our red rag
Hang thine red rag round the bull
Tis time.

In homage to the spirit of revolutionary song, both past and present.
Wherever, whenever, by whatever means foul or fair.
Without fear of their religion, laws, corruption, deceit, bullets, torture and death. Onward, onward.
It is the very least we owe to humanity.
It is the debt we must all render to our salvation, prosperity, and future.
In the words of the Prime Minister of our Nation State
We are all in this together.