Bury Council Leader & Zero Waste

Reply to Brian Bamford, Bury Branch Secretary for Unite, from Councillor Mike Connolly, Leader of Bury MBC, who writes:

'Mr Bamford is not correct in all of his assumptions.

'This is not a recent instruction. It has always been the case that waste operatives should not take side waste left by the grey bins. This message is also consistent on literature that is sent out to residents and information that is on the web-site.

'We are asking operatives to take cardboard side waste or occasional blue bin waste that is left by the side of green bins and only when it is safe to do so.

'The crews are requested to use their judgement when collecting bins that have the lids slightly raised, and only when safe to do so. The information that is provided to the public is that bin lids should be closed. (which also reduces the risk of odours, vermin and flies).

'It has always been the case that the operatives use their judgement not to take bins which are too heavy. In such cases the bin will be stickered to explain why the bin has been left. The crews also receive support from the recycling awareness and enforcement team

'Waste management has a team of recycling and enforcement officers who support the waste operatives on a daily basis. Side waste, heavy bins and fly tipping can be reported through the on-board computer which is then followed up by visits to households to provide help and advice to residents.

'The back up service provided by the recycling and enforcement team is also to be enhanced by providing each crew with a direct contact to a support offices for improved communication and follow up.

'There is no evidence to suggest that there should be an increase in side waste or fly tipping (which is the case in Falkirk). What we are asking residents to do is place all recyclable materials in the blue, green or brown bins.

'Therefore the grey bin should only contain the lighter materials such as food containers, yogurt pots and plastic bags. The heavier materials such as food waste should be in the brown bin (which will stay at 2 weekly collection) and blue bin materials such as glass (which will increase to 3 weekly collection)

The Council is already aware of areas where there may be a higher risk of fly tipping such as some of the back streets. These are currently being tackled jointly between waste management, cleansing and Environmental Health

'In terms of over full grey bins, where households are recycling everything they can and there is a genuine need for extra space e.g. larger families, an application can be made for an extra grey bin. Extra green and blue bins can also be provided free of charge.

'The Council is fully committed to supporting its in-house workforce. The new waste management system is about increasing recycling and making sure that the right stuff goes in the right bin. A 10% increase in recycling could save going on for £1 million per year and help protect other services.

'I am sure Mr Bamford as representative for Unite the Union is aware that the aim of the new system is to achieve efficiency savings through increased recycling and not a cut to the existing workforce. No jobs will be lost in the waste service as a result of these changes.'

Questions for Bury Council Leader

Questions for the full Council Meeting of Bury MBC relevant to the proposed change to three weekly collections of Grey Bins:

Given that in anticipation of what Bury MBC may regard as 'teething problems' in relation to the proposed change to the collection of 'grey waste', Waste Management has recently issued an instruction for bin operatives:

1     i)     Not to collect side-waste left beside bins.

2     ii)    To only to remove bins with raised lids if if it is deemed safe to do so at the discretion of the operative.

3     iii)   To only remove over-weight bins at the discretion of the operative.

The question then arises as to who will remove the 'side-waste' and bins that are left stranded in the streets?

If the answer in the case of 'side-waste' is that the 'side-waste'left behind will be removed later by other operatives from the Streets Cleansing Department, doesn't this mean that the whole procedure is simply a conjuring trick that is transferring the collection of the waste from one department (Waste Removal) to another (Street Cleansing)? Thus, the cost of removal of the waste is merely shifted from one department to another by a bureaucratic slight-of-hand.

Please will you also enlighten me as to what happens regarding the over-weight bins and those with raised bin lids, and as how this represents a saving?

Please can you acknowledge these questions.

From:

Brian Bamford (Secretary of Bury Unite Commercial Branch),

 

e-mail: northernvoices@hotmail.com

Media Policy - Press & Broadcast Freedom

LAST night, at a Labour Party Conference fringe meeting on 'Making the media an election issue' in Manchester the Chairman of the NUJ, Chis Rea, jokingly introduced the editor of Northern Voices Brian Bamford, who was asking a question, as the proprietor of a local publication: 

'I'm from Rochdale and I edit a small publication called Northern Voices,  which in November 2012 was involved together with the Westminster blogger, Paul Waugh and the Rochdale MP, Simon Danczuk, in the outing of Cyril Smith.   A lot has been published recently about historic child sexual exploitation, but in the case of Cyril Smith last April, the Daily Mail serialised some stories by the Rochdale MP, Mr. Danczuk about the sexual abuse of some young boys by Cyril Smith:  The story then became one in which Simon and the Daily Mail had outed Sir Cyril Smith.

'This was twaddle!  As long ago as May 1979, another small journal – the Rochdale Alternative Paper (RAP) – ran a report in which they presented the case of six lads at Cambridge House Rochdale in the 1960s, who had been spanked and had suffered false medicals.  These lads all made sworn statements, under oath before a solicitor, that they had been abused by Cyril Smith.

'Now the troubling thing about this is that none of the main-stream national media at the time followed up this story in 1979.  Other that is than Private Eye!  The reason being that Cyril Smith took out an injunction – what the solicitors call a gagging measure.  How would more new laws or the greater media diversity proposed by the Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom help here, when, it seems, the mainstream media is so spineless?'

Granville Williams CPBF:  'This is an important question.  I knew the people at RAP and had a lot of respect for them, but though the case of RAP and Cyril Smith was important it was not the only case at that time in 1979 (the Campaign for Press & Broadcasting Freedom was ironically founded in 1979).  There were many other cases around that time.  The problem relates to the libel laws in this country, and the need for and the difficulties of corroboration.' 

Had I then had the courage to ask a further question, I would have raised the worry of Private Eye that 'Hack-off' and Leveson were potentially leading the way to less press freedom, and may yet,  through a passion for more legistlation and regulation, pose a danger to small publications like Northern Voices and even larger ones like Private Eye. 

Manchester Royal Exchange Open Day

ROYAL EXCHANGE OPENS UP ITS DOORS TO THE PUBLIC

 

FUN PALACES: OPEN DAY

Royal Exchange Theatre

St Ann’s Square, Manchester

Sunday 5 October - 11am to 5pm

FREE ADMISSION

 

Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre is to throw open its doors to the public at a free Open Day as part of the national FUN PALACES weekend at the beginning of October.

 

The Royal Exchange event – which takes place on Sunday 5 October from 11am to 5pm – offers visitors the chance to get behind the scenes of a working theatre. It will also include Family Friendly activities, workshops for all ages, the chance to dress up in the Theatre's costumes and free entertainment in the Great Hall.

 

Backstage tours will also allow people to reach the parts of the Royal Exchange normally hidden away behind doors marked ‘staff only’ and discover the secrets of the theatre’s sound, lighting and wardrobe departments.

 

On the same weekend, venues across the UK will be hosting FUN PALACES * events - bringing together arts and sciences, children and adults. 

More information on the Exchange’s Open Day is available from www.royalexchange.co.ul/funpalaces

ends/

 

For further information, images, or for interview / press review ticket requests, please contact JOHN GOODFELLOW (Press & Communications Manager) on 0161 615 6783 / john.goodfellow@royalexchange.co.uk.

 

* In 1961, Joan Littlewood and architect Cedric Price conceived the Fun Palace as a ‘laboratory of fun’, ‘a university of the streets’. It was to be a temporary and moveable home to the arts and sciences that would welcome children and adults alike, based on Joan Littlewood’s motto of “Everyone an artist, everyone a scientist.”

Media, Murdoch & the Election!

No more Murdochs -
Making the media an election issue

Monday 22 September
6.30pm Friends Meeting House, 6 Mount Street, Manchester M2 5NS.

Speakers:

John McDonnell MPRachel Broady vice chair of the NUJ Manchester and Salford branch

Ann Field CPBF chair and former Unite/GPMU official

Granville Williams CPBF and editor of 'Big Media and Internet Titans'

Also invited Chris Bryant MP and Tom Watson MP.  

 

The meeting will be chaired by Chris Rea chair of Manchester & Salford NUJ branch.Refreshments will be provided.

Organised by the Manchester & Salford branch of the NUJ with the Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom. 

Scotland's Referendum: 'Put to Bed'

How we got to here?  

OVER wild Scottish venison and fine French red Burgundy on one day in February 2012, David Cameron set out his strategy for defeating a Scottish independence referendum.  In May 2011, the Scottish Nationalists had won a massive victory on a promise of a secessionist vote, and its party leader, Alex Salmond, was keen to carry this through.   

Mr Cameron was in a dilemma: if he chose to dismiss the demand he would be accused of ignoring the popular will of the Scottish people, alternatively he could take a chance and let the referendum happen.   

In the end he backed the latter choice, and huddled in the Peat Inn near the University town of St. Andrews in Scotland Cameron told his advisers that Mr. Salmond would have his referendum.  Crucially though, he would refuse to allow the other Salmond demand for the softer option of more autonomy (later labelled devo-max) to appear on the ballot paper.  He was going to call Mr. Salmond's bluff, and there was going to be the single question:  Should Scotland stay inside the United Kingdom, or leave it forever?  

According to what one person at that Michelin-starred diner said afterwards, the Prime Minister claimed 'it would put the issue to bed.'   

It was a gamble, but it was a gamble that has now had unforeseen consequences.   

Because on the eve of the referendum last week  it looked like Scotland could vote for independence the three Westminster main-stream part leaders made promises they will now be expected to keep.  Thus the goalposts were moved at the last moment!   

Meaning:  If the Scots voted for independence, it would end a 300-year-old union and possible, David Cameron would lose his job, but if they voted against, he would none-the-less have to give them more autonomy, with the peril of what the International New York Times calls 'potentially cascading implications, for the rest of Britain.'   

This unforeseen consequence, which could have serious implications for the Labour Party as well as the Tories, makes Alex  Salmond now look like a Scottish giant among Westminster's political pygmies. 

Culture of the Uncomfortable by Jeff Perks!

LAST night, the poet Mike Rosen opened an exhibition entitled 'Political furniture, NOT a comfy sofa' on behalf of the artist Jeff Perks at the Stockport Art Gallery on Wellington Road.  Jeff has said:  'The work will be called anti-political' and 'It is, and it's against all those men who too quickly rush to solve the problems of our nuclear world by military action.'

Mike Rosen told us that he and Jeff first met at the National Film & Television School, and that they both worked for the BBC.  They had later collaborated on a film about the Shrewsbury pickets; afterwards I asked Mr. Rosen if he knew Mick Abbott, one of the pickets who died this year, as he had told us that he himself had been on the MI5 files.  Jeff Perks had been in the Communist Party at one time.  We naturally discussed the recent cases of the blacklisted electricians, the Consulting Association, and the Blacklist Support Group.

Mr Perks, who lives in Derbyshire has agreed to do an interview with the printed version of Northern Voices, used the quote that 'It is the duty of the patriot to protect his country from its Government.'  This could well be an anarchist quote, but Jeff describes himself as a 'socialist artist'. 

The Exhibition takes place from Saturday the 20th, September to Thursday the 30th, October at the Stockport Art Gallery,  Wellington Road, Stockport, Cheshire SK3 8AB.



Jeff (in above picture) has participated in numerous exhibitions of art work. These include:

• Art for Society - Whitechapel Art Gallery
• Whitechapel Open Exhibition
• Race Against Time - Trades Union Congress House
• 55 Wapping Artists
• Bluecoat Gallery, Liverpool
• Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol
• Wapping Artists Open Studies
• The Whitechapel Summer Show
• Wapping Artists
• Prophecy and Vision - Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol
• The Religious Spirit in Contemporary Art - Westminster Cathedral
• The Last Wapping Show
• The Great Sheffield Art Show
• Derbyshire Open Art Exhibition (2-times winner of the Derbyshire Print Trophy)
• Left in Vision. London Unversity.
• 'Originals' Prints. Mall Gallery
• Winner of the Friends of Buxton Museum Sculpture Award.

Len McCluskey on Scottish Independence

'A seismic shift in the political culture of these isles'

RESPONDING to the vote in the Scottish independence referendum, which saw the people of Scotland vote by approximately 55 per cent to 45 per cent to stay in the United Kingdom, Len McCluskey, general secretary of Unite the union said:

"The people of Scotland have decided. In voting No, the Scottish people have declared that they regard the bonds of union as having a continued purpose in their lives.
 
“However, this is absolutely not a vote for the status quo. Solemn promises of further devolution have been made by the three main Westminster parties; there must be no reneging on those commitments made to the Scottish people.

 “The vibrancy of this referendum campaign has been breath-taking and can be much admired by the rest of these islands. This will live on in history as a time when political life of our people was reborn. Energetic, inspirational grassroots movements reminded us that politics can be meaningful once more, that it lives on the streets and communities of the people, not in the Westminster chamber or the trading floors of capital. And when the true change is on offer the people are engaged and will grasp the opportunity to shape their destiny. 

 “Politics, as the Scottish campaign has shown, must always be about possibilities, about the faith that the common good can triumph. The debates and discussions that have resounded through the halls, homes and workplaces of Scotland speak to a people enthused, alive with optimism for a brighter tomorrow. This gives us all hope, and for that we must thank the Scottish people.

 “Unite has stood shoulder to shoulder with our members throughout this journey. Our role was always to offer support them in their deliberations, never to tell them how to vote. Be they yes or no supporters, our members have told us that we have done the right thing.  

“We stand again with them as they take the next steps towards greater self-governance. In building this new future, Unite will work tirelessly to ensure our movement's values of respect, equity and fairness, our determination to ensure a better life for working people and their communities, prevail.  

“There can be no returning to business as usual after today. The Westminster parties of all hues have witnessed a seismic shift in the political culture of these isles, one that must surely hasten the day we can say goodbye to the ruinous political consensus of the past forty years which has not served our people.  

“My message to the Labour Party is this: time and again you have been warned that the people want change, genuine change. Please listen, understand these calls and heed them.  

“This is not the time for recriminations but one for open, profound and deep reflection. Today's vote must be the catalyst our party needs to renew itself and to do so with wisdom and courage. I urge the party of which I am a lifelong member, do not respond to this vote with relief but with the honest understanding that our party has to re-tether itself to the people, to again become the crusade for social justice it once was.”

Delays at Knowl View down to MP!

IN a letter in last Saturday's Rochdale Observer Rochdale MP, Simon Danczuk, was accused of holding up the inquiry into what happened at Knowl View Residential School in the 1980s and 90s.  Les May, a Rochdale resident, wrote to remind readers 'that had it not been for two interventions of Rochdale MP Simon Danczuk we would already have known a lot more about what happened at Knowl View School' with regard to the allegations of sexual abuse.

Mr May claimed that an early 'inquiry was abandoned after the publication in April of "Smile for the Camera" which Mr Danczuk co-authored.'  He wrote:
'in this book Mr Danczuk conflated two quite separate issues, the report into the health issues surrounding homosexual activities between the boys at the school, and the question of whether Cyril Smith continued the sort of activities he had been involved in at Cambridge House and which had already been revealed by Rochdale Alternative Paper (RAP) in 1979.'

After this book's publication a second inquiry was started with more scopeand to report at the end of July.

Yet again, this second inquiry was halted when Danczuk introduced the so-called Dicken's 'dossier' after a Parliamentary Select Committee Inquiry into historic child sexual exploitation in early July this year. 

The problem is that these delays benefit the political pundits who want to seek continuous publicity for themselves; it benefits the Home Secretary and the government to have the results of the investigations placed beyond the next General Election; and the delays produced by 'overarching inquiries' help to provide journalists and newspapers with constant copy:  the people who suffer from all this are the victims who never seem to get closure.

Another Grooming Probe in Rochdale & Beyond

Not 'a homogenious group acting in concert' 

 

GREATER Manchester Police claim they are focusing on 30 suspects and have interviewed over a hundred people in the course of an inquiry into yet another potential grooming scandal in Rochdale and beyond.  This follows on from the jailing of nine men in 2012 for the sexual abuse and exploitation of at least five young girls in the Rochdale and Heywood areas. 

 

The police have said that this time the suspects have not been 'acting in concert' as 'a homogenious group'.

 

Besides the Rochdale area this alleged abuse is said to have been carried out in other parts of Greater Manchester.  These new revelations of grooming in the North West come on the heels of the recent exposure in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, of the abuse of 1,400 girls over a 16 years period.

 

Roughly a quarter of Greater Manchester's most senior detectives in the major incident teams are examining sex cases dating back to the 1960s.  This includes allegations about the Rochdale MP, Cyril Smith, first published in the Rochdale Alternative Paper (RAP) in May 1979, to more recent cases of alleged grooming gangs and abuse in local care homes in the Greater Manchester area.

 

Following the outing of Jimmy Savile in 2012, Northern Voices helped to finally unmask Cyril Smith by supplying evidence to the local Rochdale MP, Simon Danczuk.  He then included this material in his speech in the House of Commons on the 13th, November 2012.

 

In the past in has been claimed that there are rings or gangs of sexual abusers operating in the North West, this time the police have said that there is no 'homogenious group acting in concert'.

 

 



British Political Posters 1914-2014

Politics, Posters, Protest: British Political Posters 1914-2014

THE People’s History Museum is delighted to be hosting an exciting conference, ‘Politics, Posters, Protest: British Political Posters 1914-2014’ on Friday 10 October 2014, organised in collaboration with the Victoria and Albert Museum (V & A) and Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU).

Posters have been used in every general election of the 20th century. In the run up to the general election 2015, curators, campaigners and designers will explore the significance of the poster to the past, current and future British political debate.

Topics will include the history of posters, design as activism, the management and manipulation of billboards, subversions and internet spoofs and the influence of new media on how political posters are conceived and deployed.

Confirmed speakers include Jeremy Sinclair, founder of Saatchi & Saatchi and creator of many of the Conservative Party’s most famous adverts, and Peter Kennard, Senior Research Reader in Photography, Art and the Public Domain at the Royal College of Art, best known for the images he created for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) in the 1970s-80s.

Come and debate posters at this exciting event at the People’s History Museum.

For full programme and booking details, please visit our website: http://www.phm.org.uk/whatson/politics-posters-protest-british-political-posters-1914-2014/

ENDS

Notes to editors:

About People’s History Museum

People’s History Museum is a national museum telling the story of the development of democracy in Britain - ‘there have always been ideas worth fighting for’. The museum is based in Spinningfields in Manchester city centre. The Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) is one of the museum’s main funders.

For further information, images and interviews, please contactKaren Moore or Daisy Nicholson at People’s History Museum on 0161 838 9190 or karen.moore@phm.org.uk / daisy.nicholson@phm.org.uk

People's History Museum, Left Bank, Spinningfields, Manchester M3 3ER

Tel/fax 0161 838 9190 Web www.phm.org.uk Twitter @PHMMcr Facebook PHMMcr Blog PHMMcr

Registered as National Museum of Labour History, Charity no. 295260

World War I - Day School

No Glory in War- Manchester
World War I Day School
Saturday 15th November 2014, 10.30am-4.30pm
Manchester Metropolitan University

This day school will develop a creative and inclusive space for activists, researchers and anyone else interested to explore different narratives of WW1, share our knowledge, views and ideas, take part in debate, and plan events for the next four years.

We will create a timeline of events, individual stories and family reminiscences during the day which we will use to stimulate planning activity to create a timeline for activism 2014- 2018.
Professor Karen Hunt, Keele University, will speak about Food and Austerity, workshops include research on conscientious objectors and other WW1 themes, building an anti-war movement today, making handbills – lessons from the past, and ways of getting our messages across. There will be space to discuss these and other topics you are interested in and to express your artistic side by contributing to the No Glory in War Manchester banner we will be making through the day.

Booking details online at http://noglorydayschool.eventbrite.co.uk
This event is kindly supported by the Manchester Centre for Regional History at Manchester Metropolitan University and the Working Class Movement Library.

Peace History Lecture

THIS year’s Peace History Lecture will take place on Saturday 20th September 2014 with the guest speaker Dr John Westmoreland, Head of History at York College.

As a counter to the ‘glorious war’ jingoism the theme of the Peace History Lecture will be ‘No Glory in War: Noble Cause or Capitalist Adventure?’
Venue: Friends Meeting House. 6 Mount Street, Manchester, M2 5NS.

 

Scotland: Federalism and the English

The problem of idée fixe in the politics of the Left   

LATE last year, Paul Salveson, a Labour councillor for Golcar, a constituency near Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, submitted an article for a forthcoming printed issue of Northern Voices in which he argued that whatever the result of the Scottish referendum this September, that there would be far reaching constitutional consequences and that things would never be the same after that.  Yesterday, a leader writer in an editorial in the Yorkshire Post echoed these sentiments: 

'Whether or not Scotland opts for independence on Thursday, the one certainty is that the governance of Britain will be changed forever by the result.'   

The issue, as Mr. Salveson foresaw it, is that while a Yes vote may cause confusion, constitutional disarray and the break up the United Kingdom; a success for the No lobby will still bring in a range of devolved powers (labelled Devo-Max) and possible demands for further referendums.   

 In last Saturday's FT the economist, Martin Wolf, described the prospects in the following terms:

'If the vote is a Yes, it will be forever.  But what about a narrow No (vote)?  That too would be a nightmare.  We could then look forward to more referendums.'   

Even as I write this I understand that the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, and the Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), are proposing to develop proposals to put to the Chancellor George Osborne before his Autumn Statement in December, in which he has already promised to have thew northern economy at its heart, and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg  launched his 'Northern Futures' project in Leeds in July, calling for ideas on creating an 'economic hub' in the North. 

The editor of the Yorkshire Post goes much further in the leader yesterday: 

'The new mood for a move to a more federal Britain certainly shames the pitiful power-sharing efforts made so far by Westminster...  This must now change.  With a population and an economy of similar size to those of Scotland, there is no logical reason why Yorkshire should be denied far greater powers of its own.'   

The problem in Britain is that it is a nation state whose power has been for so long centred upon London, and that its people don't have a great understanding of federalism.   Its English culture, even on the Left among the radicals and so-called revolutionaries, is one of 'Utilitarian liberalism' in which seemingly everyone wants to protect his or her pension, career, dole, or other perks and benefits provided by the centralised state.  Thus, the British Left is instinctively centralist, including paradoxically many who describe themselves as anarchists. 

In Europe, especially in France and Spain the reaction to the reality of the centralism imposed by both the French Revolution with its destruction of local interests and privileges, and the Spanish Liberal Revolution, was inspired by the anarchist Proudhon.   In France, Proudhon believed that the French Revolution had come into existence to fulfil the notion of greater local and municipal liberty, but had been diverted in this task by the ruthless political actions of the Jacobins.  In Spain, federalism was  rescued by a Catalan, Pi y Margall, who had read Proudhon, and saw how the Frenchman's ideas would suit the regional aspirations of the Spanish people.   

Pi y Margall wrote:  'Every man who has power over another is a tyrant.'  And the Englishman, Gerald Brenan, writing about Py y Margall says: 

'Discussing the meaning of “order” – that word which for more than a hundred years had been the excuse for every act of violence and injustice – he (Margall) says that true order cannot be obtained by applying force.'   

Given that Pi y Margall's federalism in Spain evolved and developed into a form of Spanish anarchism, it is surprising in England that the current tiny tribe of anarchists have not had much to say about the issue of Scottish independence and regional devolution.  It is something that I would have thought their more distinguished predecessors at Freedom Press such as Colin Ward and Nicholas Walter, would have had much to say.  Instead today, it is left to the main stream parties and the likes of Paul Salveson (who someone from the anarchist federation, recently described as a 'Labour Party hack') to wrestle with the issues of federalism and Scottish independence.  The problem with much of the English left, including the anarchist faction, is that it suffers from a form of  idée fixe* that serves to cut it off from real life situations.

 
*  idée fixe, ( French: “fixed idea”) in music and literature, a recurring theme or character trait that serves as the structural foundation of a work. The term was later used in psychology to refer to an irrational obsession that so dominates an individual’s thoughts as to determine his or her actions.

Scottish Referendum Campaign

by Craig Murray (September 14, 2014 11:56 am) in Uncategorized

 

I am heading for the train back to Scotland for the final, frenetic stretch of campaigning to achieve national independence. Rather strange feeling on leaving the house, because I know that if we succeed I shan’t be coming back here to live, but rather staying to help build the new Scotland, in however minor a way.

 

I receive far more email than I can possibly reply to, about which I feel somewhat guilty.  But I both replied and obtained permission to reproduce this one from Fiona Mathieson:

 

'I am sure you will be receiving hundreds of messages from so many in Scotland at the moment. I would just like to say how grateful I have been for the information you have provided.  I have been able to direct people to your blogs and videos which have helped them to start questioning and delve further into unveiling the truth.

 

'Last week at work a colleague who was undecided came to me and said that not only was she voting yes, but her entire family of 47 were voting yes.  I gave her the wee blue book and some of your video links and they all went off and looked into it and discussed it. They decided that yes was the only way forward for a future of hope and positive change.

'I was late in joining the yes campaign only becoming politicised in the last 2 months as the light bulb slowly went on.  I have never in my life felt so engaged and enthusiastic and am amazed to be part of something that is making history.  The sad part being that I went through the entire grief cycle in a week moving between stages quite erratically as I came to grips with the level of corruption and deception from the government and the media.  I know there will be many others who have been dealing with the same issues as myself.

'However, onwards and upwards as we continue to engage with our sense of humour, passion and creativity in these last few days of the campaign.  Thank you for sharing your experiences and knowledge as it has helped many of us to stay on course as the continued scare tactics are dropped down on us from on high.'

I think the greatest achievement of the campaign has been that half the population of Scotland has awoken to the fact that the mainstream media, and the BBC in particular, pump out a stream of propaganda in collusion with the state and corporate interests, and that much of it is untrue.  If I have contributed to that realisation, I am very happy indeed, but I am only one of a number of alternative sources of information now available on new media. The great triumph of the Yes campaign has been the united force of social media and community mobilisation.

 

Thank you, Fiona, for your kind message. I hope and believe that your account will encourage others to make the same journey.

http://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2014/09/campaign-trail-again/

LIBRARY BOSS ABANDONS SHIP!

The library services in Tameside seems  to be in a terrible state of disarray despite the councils offer two-years ago, to provide "a modern and comprehensive service which meets people's needs..."

Following a public consultation exercise known as the 'Big Conversation', the council decided to close five libraries and talked of a new chapter for libraries where there would be free wifi and e-books for the technological smart set who can afford such gadgetry. Cllr. Gerald Cooney, head of Learning, Skills and Economic Growth, at Tameside Council, told the local press:

"The library service is a top priority for the council and we know how much it is valued within our community... I strongly believe this exciting new offer will provide a modern and comprehensive service which meets people's needs while also remaining affordable in these challenging times of unprecedented government budget cuts."

Despite the passing of two-years, the public as yet to see this 'modern and comprehensive' library service come to fruition. Most libraries are still without wifi even though it was installed in some libraries months ago. The computer software is badly in need of an upgrade and is so old that it is impossible to run some applications. Several weeks ago, at Ashton central library, computers had to be removed from the computer room because rain was leaking in through the roof and there was serious concern that library users could be electrocuted.

The leaking roof has been a recurring problem at Ashton library for some time now. It's not unusual to see buckets placed throughout the library catching rain water which comes in through the roof. Problems with the boiler, also means that during winter, it can also be freezing throughout the library.  Despite  all the  bullshit about a modern and comprehensive library service, these  problems go unrectified. Since the construction company Carillion, took over the maintenance of council buildings several years ago, Ashton library has certainly deteriorated.

At Stalybridge, the library has now been commandeered by 'computer buddies' who are running courses for beginners. During the week the public are being allowed access to two computers for half-hour sessions. The reading room is also being utilized as a job club for the unemployed.

As the councillor with responsibility for libraries, Cllr. Cooney says libraries "are about services not buildings." Under his leadership, library staff have been leaving in droves to work in other council jobs or have taken redundancy. The latest, to announce his departure, is Adam Allen, (pictured) head of Community and Neighbourhood Service, who is leaving the council to take up the job of Chief Executive, for the Police Commissioners. A geordie with a penchant for hair gel who as a background in sport, Allen, has been responsible for spearheading  cut backs since he took over responsibility for libraries.

ICO in "Contempt of Court" over blacklisting!

We are publishing below the latest briefing from the Blacklist Support Group (BSG). It is of interest to note that according to BSG, around 100 public bodies have now decided that contracts should not be awarded to blacklisting companies. Tameside Labour controlled council, in Greater Manchester, is not on this list and continues to outsource jobs and services to Carillion, a company that is currently facing legal action by workers in the High Court for alleged activites involving the blacklisting of trade unionists in the building trade.

 

1. Chuka Umunna pledges an inquiry into blacklisting in speech to the TUC Congress in Liverpool:

"I'm proud to say we will do what this Government has refused to: launch a full enquiry, held publically, into the inexcusable blacklisting of workers in the construction sector. Let me be clear. If am given the privilege of serving as Business Secretary in the next Labour Government we will deliver justice to those workers who lost their livelihoods and end blacklisting for once and for all."

http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2014/09/chuka-umunnas-speech-tuc-full-text

BSG applaud Labour's pledge for a full enquiry for blacklisted workers.

Every stone needs to be turned to expose the full sordid details of this human rights conspiracy. bsg will continue to push for a full public inquiry to hear evidence from those who have been affected by the national scandal plus the directors of multinational construction firms and undercover police officers.

 

2. ICO in "Contempt of Court" over blacklisting.

GMB union has started enforcement proceedings accusing the ICO of being in contempt of court over their apparent favouring of the employers compensation scheme while still refusing to provide similar information to the trade unions.

www.gmb.org.uk/newsroom/ico-in-contempt-of-court-on-blacklisting

3. Compensation scheme deadlines.

 

There are some deadlines that have been imposed by the firms blacklisting compensation scheme. BSG are not legally qualified to give advice, so we encourage any potential claimants to contact their trade union; UNITE, UCATT, GMB or RMT or Guney, Clark & Ryan solicitors. But if you have a Consulting Association blacklist file and are still considering whether to join the High Court claim or accept the pitiful offer from the firms, please email on return and we will give you some pointers

4. No public contracts for blacklisters

 

Around 100 public bodies have passed motions stating that no public contracts should be awarded to firms involved in blacklisting. Islington Council recently threw Kier off of the £16.5m a year Housing repairs contract because of the firm's involvement with the Consulting Association blacklist. Its a pity some of the other public bodies who have passed symbolic resolutions are are not prepared to take a similar stand.

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/concerns-over-blacklisting-4168957

http://www.gmb.org.uk/newsroom/kick-bam-out-of-dundee-over-blacklisting

 

5. Blacklist Support Group - established 2009

 

Blacklist Support Group is the justice campaign and support network for anyone caught up in UK construction industry blacklisting scandal. Trade unionists, safety campaigners, journalists, academics and environmental activists were all blacklisted by big business. Multinational building contractors have for decades compiled a secret database of union members in the UK construction industry. It was finally exposed in 2009 after a raid on the offices of the Consulting Association that operated the blacklist on behalf of the major companies. Union members were denied work over many years because they had been stewards or safety reps on previous building projects. Raising concerns about asbestos, poor toilet facilities or unpaid wages could result in a union member being added to this blacklist. Evidence has come out over the past five years that proves beyond any doubt that the police and the security services were involved in the blacklisting.
Blacklist Support Group have demanded since 2009:

• A full public inquiry by the UK government
• A public apology from the firms
• A compensation fund
• Jobs for blacklisted workers on major projects
• NO public contracts for proven blacklisting companies
• Criminal charges against the human rights abusers

We have fought them in the courts, in parliament plus civil disobedience and industrial action on building sites. Blacklisted workers are still waiting for justice.

 

Blacklist Support Group

video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlCa8yQmZ70

blog: www.hazards.org/blacklistblog

facebook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/blacklistSG/

Bury Petition! What Petition?

LAST night's Bury MBC full Council meeting turned out to be a bit of a damp squib when Daniel Barkness from Radcliffe, who was supposed to present an on-line petition of more than 2,500 signatures opposing the local authorities decision to reduce grey bin collections from every fortnight to every three weeks, failed to turn up.  Staff at Bury Town Hall were slightly upset at the non-appearance of anyone to present or argue the case for the petition, as the authorities had brought in extra security support to police the event.

 

Had Mr. Barkness or anyone else supporting the petition put in an appearance, the Leader of the Council would have been forced to respond, and that would have opened up a debate amongst councillors as to the wisdom of the Labour administration's proposed change.  While it was certain, given the Labour Party majority on Bury Council, that the measure would have been voted through by not showing up the campaigners against the change to three weekly collections of non-recyclable waste in grey bins let the Council bosses off the hook.

 

Had the case against the three weekly collections been put the Council members would have had the following options:

 

i)     To recommend to Cabinet that the request made in the petition be agreed to;

ii)    To not to agree to the request made in the petition;

iii)   To refer the matter to the Cabinet for further consideration;

iv)   To commission further investigation into the matter by the Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

What must strike readers here is the impressive way in which an on-line petition can accumulate names in the thousands against a proposal like Bury Council's absurd 'zero waste' policy, but if this virtual world of electronic media can't turn up in person to finish the job the whole project becomes a damp squib.  Nobody expected a repeat of the Arab Spring at last night's full council meeting in Bury, but we did anticipate some reasoned arguments and debate on the issues.

Jim Dobbin MP, dies in the Saddle!

JIM Dobbin, Labour MP for Heywood and Middleton, died suddenly died in Slupsk whilst on a Parliamentary trip in Poland, aged 73.  Jim was first elected as MP for Heywood and Middleton in 1997 which includes Castleton and Bamford, having earlier contested and lost Bury North in the 1992 General Election.

He had been elected as a councillor in the Borough of Rochdale, becoming the Labour group leader in 1994, and then became the leader of the Rochdale Council in 1996.

Jim Dobbin was a member of the Transport Scrutiny Select Committee as well one of Britain’s representatives on the Council of Europe.  A Roman Catholic he chaired the all-party Pro-Life Group, and he was awarded and invested as a Knight of the Pontifical Order of St Gregory the Great from Pope Benedict XVI.  He married Patricia Russell in 1964; the couple had two sons and two daughters.

In his last Parliamentary Letter, in last Saturday's Rochdale Observer, he wrote:
'MPs have been back almost a week now in Parliament and colleagues are wondering what on earth is happening in Rochdale at the moment. The way in which Rochdale has been focused upon recently has dragged the town into disrepute and created a skewed perception of Rochdale.  I hope that people, including politicians, are mindful of the need for balance as well as transparancy in their communications about the community of Rochdale.'

Earlier this year Jim gave helpful advice to Northern Voices, when people associated with our publication presented written evidence to the Home Affairs Committee regarding material contained in the recently published book Smile for the Camera.  Being a regular reader of NV he recognised the contribution made by the publication in the outing of Cyril Smith in November 2012. 

After we contacted him about the existence of a blacklist in the British building trade he told me that he had supported Early Day Motions against the practise, and on January 13th, 2013 he spoke out on his website:
'Blacklisting is a national scandal which resulted in workers being denied employment and prevented from putting food on the table merely for exercising their human right to belong to a trade union, standing up for their colleagues or for raising legitimate health and safety concerns.'

And he concluded by saying:
'Allegations that the original intelligence for the blacklist came from police officers are especially chilling and need to be fully investigated as a matter of urgency. Sadly, we cannot say with confidence that blacklisting is no longer happening which is why we are urging ministers to act.'

Other MPs, ought to take notice of these sentiments by Jim Dobbin, and not just MPs, but councillors too:  Jim Dobbin warned that 'It is greatly concerning that blacklisting checks took place on high profile projects funded by taxpayers...’ 

Rough Justice on the Left!

ON the 8th, August the former Scottish correspondent of the Morning Star posted the following post on his Blog:

'My name’s Rory MacKinnon, and I’ve been a reporter for the Morning Star for three years now. It’s given me a lot of pride to see how readers and supporters believe so strongly in the paper, from donating what cash they can to hawking it in the streets on miserable Saturday afternoons. I was proud to represent a “broad paper of the left”, as my editor Richard Bagley always put it: a paper that saw feminism, LGBTQ issues, racial politics and the like as integral to its coverage of class struggle.

'It’s for this reason that I thought I would have my editor’s support in following up domestic violence allegations against the Rail, Maritime and Transport union’s assistant general secretary Steve Hedley. Instead the Morning Star’s management threatened me with the sack, hauled me through a disciplinary hearing and placed me on a final written warning.

'If you want to see my reasons for writing this, skip to the bottom. But I’m a reporter, and in my mind the most important thing is that you all know exactly what’s happened behind closed doors. So let’s get on with it.'

On the 30th, August Private Eye No.1373 published the following report on this matter by 'Blackleg' :

'LAST MONTH the Communist Morning Star gave space and prominence to a demand by Women’s Aid that Tory MP David Ruffley must face “strong disciplinary sanction” for assaulting his ex-partner. Short shrift was given to his claim that because the ex-partner had accepted his apology no more needed to be done. As readers were reminded: "Domestic violence is a criminal, not a private matter."

'Well, if it’s committed by a Tory MP, that is. When the alleged perpetrator is a senior trade union official, the Morning Star will discipline any of its hacks who has the temerity to pursue the story. That is what it did to Rory MacKinnon, its Scotland correspondent, who quit last week after three years on the paper.In March this year MacKinnon was sent to cover a women’s conference in Glasgow organised by the RMT transport union.

'For months, women he knew in the union had been talking about Caroline Leneghan, an RMT member who had written a blog-post about the violence allegedly inflicted on her by Steve Hedley, the RMT’s assistant general secretary, with whom she was in a relationship until last year. On one occasion, she wrote, he “threw me around by my hair and pinned me to the floor repeatedly punching me in the face”. She published photos taken at the time, showing her horrendously bruised and swollen face. Finding himself attending an RMT women’s conference – and one at which the RMT was launching its new policy on, er, domestic violence – MacKinnon thought it a good moment to ask if the union’s refusal to hold a proper investigation into the allegations against its assistant general secretary might affect female members’ perception of the union. He put the question at a Q&A session with the union’s national organising co-ordinator Alan Pottage, who declined to answer. Soon afterwards, however, the hack was forcibly ejected from the conference.

'The next day, Morning Star editor Richard Bagley told MacKinnon he was being suspended while his bosses investigated allegations of “gross misconduct” and “bringing the paper into disrepute”. A month later he was summoned to London for a disciplinary hearing, with the company secretary Tony Briscoe acting as prosecution counsel and Bagley sitting as judge. Briscoe told MacKinnon the question he’d put to the RMT official “feels more like something a Daily Mail reporter would ask than someone from the Morning Star. You should have known better. This indicates a lack of journalistic etiquette and has damaged our relationship with the trade union movement.” The public had “no right to know” about whatever occurred between Hedley and Leneghan...'

On the 26th, July, Rory MacKinnon had handed in his resignation to the Morning Star and went public with his story claiming the public had a right to know.  The two men who had castigated him at the Morning Star, Bagley and Bristoe, were not far behind stepping down days later:  Bagley resigned the editorship for 'family reasons', and Briscoe retired.

Since then Steve Hedley wrote the following letter protesting his innocence in last Thursday's issue of Private Eye No. 1374 (5th, September):
'I was very disappointed that you published  TUC News in Eye 1373 without contacting me to check this story out.  It refers to allegations of domestic violence made against me two years ago, about an incident that happened three years ago, by a lady with whom I was previously in a relationship. 

'I have never been guity of violent behaviour.  These allegations were investigated by the RMT union, which found that I had "no case to answer"; they were also considered by the police, who likewise decided to take no action.

'On the matter of Rory MacKinnon, the Morning Star reporter, he asked his question at a conference to someone who had no knowledge of the investigation and couldn't provide an answer.  Had he contacted me, which he didn't, I would have provided him with the correct information.

'Believe it or not I am a big fan of Private Eye and usually your work is much better researched than this.  I now wish you to publish this reply in the interests of fairness and to clear my name.'

It is unlikely that Comrade Hedley will live this down despite his protestations, and it is understood that he has already resigned from the Socialist Party over this issue.  

Events at Working Class Movement Library

1. A reminder that our first free event of the autumn takes place on Wednesday 10 September at 2pm.
In What happened to political theatre? A personal view, script writer and director Mike Harris explores the relationship (if any) between his own work in touring theatre, radio drama, community theatre, and theatre in education from the late 1970s to the present, and ‘The Great Tradition' of committed political theatre in this country which took a recognisably modern form in the 1920s and '30s.

 

2. The Library will be open to mark the Heritage Open Days weekend on Saturday 13 September from 11am to 4pm.
Free 'behind the scenes' tours of the Library will take place at 11.30, 12.30, 1.30, 2.30 - pre-booking advised
For ideas of other places to visit go to www.heritageopendays.org.uk

 

3. The 4th Wigan Diggers' Festival takes place on Saturday 13 September, from 11.00am to 9.30pm at The Wiend, Wigan, to commemorate Wigan-born Gerrard Winstanley (1609-1676) and the 17th Century "Diggers" (True Leveller) movement. It features live music, poetry and comedy, plus 40 or more food, book and other stalls and the "Occu-pie Wigan" beer tent.
More information at http://wigandiggersfestival.org/

4. On Saturday 20 September the 2014 peace history lecture takes place at the Friends' Meeting House, Manchester. In No Glory in War: noble cause or capitalist adventure? John Westmoreland, Head of History, York College, will propose alternative views to challenge the inevitability of was as the means to resolve conflict.
The lecture begins at 2pm, with stalls to browse and refreshments from 1.30pm; there is also the option of a guided tour of Manchester Peace and Social Justice Trail 10.30am-12 noon. Tickets price £5 in advance, £8 on the door - email gmdcnd@gn.apc.org or phone 0161 273 8283.

5. A talk by Nick Mansfield, 'The buildings of rural co-operation 1830-1945', takes place at Rochdale Pioneers Museum on Wednesday 24 September at 6.30pm. Price £2.50 including refreshments - book via 01706 524920/museum@co-op.ac.uk.
Rochdale Pioneers Museum, 31 Toad Lane, Rochdale OL12 0NU.

6. The Mary Quaile Club holds regular events about working class history and its relevance to contemporary politics.
Their next event will be on Saturday 27 September. This will be a rare screening of United Kingdom, written by Jim Allen. The event will begin at 1pm with an introductory talk by Andy Willis, lecturer in Film Studies at the University of Salford, followed by the screening. There will then be a discussion on the issues raised in the play.
The venue is Three Minute Theatre, Afflecks Arcade, 35-39 Oldham Street, Manchester M1 1JG. Tel 0161 834 4517. Entrance is £3, payable on the door. To reserve places, please email maryquaileclub@gmail.com

7. Truce tours at IWM North - Mondays, Tuesdays and Sundays in September at 3.30pm
Join a free 20 minute Closer Look tour around the Museum reflecting on individual stories, including those who were Conscientious Objectors in the First and Second World Wars, and the idea of truce and conflict resolution and the causes and consequences of conflict.
IWM North, The Quays, Trafford Wharf Road, Manchester M17 1TZ. Admission free.

Blacklisting campaign comes to Liverpool for TUC Congress!

We are publishing below the latest briefing from the Blacklist Support Group (BSG):

Friday 5th - Saturday 6th 

Campaigns for Justice Conference - organised by GMB 

John Moores University.

Dave Smith - secretary BSG is speaking along with Ricky Tomlinson (Shrewsbury Pickets) Margaret Aspinall (Hillsborough family Support Group), Andy Burnham MP, Tom Watson MP and many others

Sunday 7th 

2pm - National Shop Stewards Network TUC Rally

Jury's Inn 

Albert Dock

Roy Bentham - BSG national committee is speaking alongside Mark Serwotka, Ronnie Draper, Steve Gillan and many others

7pm - Institute of Employment Rights / Campaign for Trade Union Freedom TUC Fringe

85-89 Duke Street

L1 5AP

Len McCluskey

Professor Keith Ewing

John Hendy QC

Carolyn Jones 

IER are massive supporters of the blacklisting campaign 

Social after the Fringe meeting at Ricky Tomlinson's club (tickets only available to people who attend the fringe meeting)

Any blacklisted workers attending on the Sunday - please wear BLACKLISTED T-shirts which makes it more likely to get photos in the press. 

Bury Bin's Debate over 'Zero Waste'

AT the next full council meeting of Bury Council on September 10th, the issue of 'zero waste' and the planned reduction of collections of grey bins from fortnightly to every three weeks from this coming October will now be debated.  This was forced upon the Bury Labour Council owing to the 3,318-signature petition opposing the switch collected by the Radcliffe lad Daniel Barkess.  This was far more than the 2,500 signatures needed to trigger a debate.

The Bury Branch of Unite that represents most of the Bury bin men has questioned the bin collection changes as wrongheaded, believing that it will lead to increasing amounts of 'side-waste' beside over filled bins, presenting potential safety issues for operatives.  The local Green Party has suggested that the non-recyclable rubbish is largely down to the creation of extra packaging by supermarkets, and that it 'is Green Party policy to set strict targets for supermarkets and food processors to reduce all food packaging and to phase out ... packaging that can't be composted or recycled'.

It would seem that local councils like Bury are seemingly afraid to take on the supermarkets.  The Green Party joint co-ordinator, John Southworth, argued in a letter in the Bury Times (24th, July 2014):
'Making supermarkets pay for the cost of recycling their unwanted plastic tubs is the only way they will change their ways.'

It would seem that the current problems with waste and the difficulties of recycling some rubbish are largely the responsibility of the era of the supermarket culture in which we now live.