This week, the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW) joined the growing list of trade unions that back proportional representation. USDAW voted in favour of a motion committing it to support a change in the electoral system at its 76th Annual Delegate Meeting (ADM) on the 25th April. The motion was moved by Phil Crooks from the Home …
Continue readingLast month saw the publication of the latest IPCC report. The message coming from scientists is clear: We need to dramatically reduce carbon emissions to prevent climate breakdown, and action needs to be taken now. We know that the Tories can’t be trusted to do what’s needed. During their thirteen years in government, they have failed to meaningfully advance climate objectives. …
Continue readingI want you to take a trip in the Tardis with me. Hop in whilst I press the button for 2006 and let’s get going. We open the doors to find it’s September, we’re in Manchester and it’s raining. We join hundreds of people with hoods up or huddled under umbrellas, heading over to the G-Mex Convention Centre for the …
Continue readingTrade unions are essential for advancing social and economic justice and defending the rights of workers. However, the voices and experiences of trade union members are not adequately represented by the current Westminster system. The prevalence of “safe seats” in Parliament means that MPs may retain their seats for decades, which discourages public participation and reduces the diversity of candidates …
Continue readingThe late Tony Benn always said we should ask five questions of politicians ending with ‘How can we get rid of you?’ That should be an easy question to answer – go to the post box or visit the ballot box on election day and vote for the person you want to represent you. Unfortunately, the First Past the Post …
Continue readingGoing on strike is always an action of last resort; but you’d be forgiven for thinking that so many working people taking to the streets to say ‘Enough is Enough’ might get the Government working out how to fix the underlying causes of the problems. A logical response to such a visible cry from the people who keep our financially …
Continue readingThe government’s Strike (Minimum Service Levels) Bill is “a full-frontal attack on working people and the trade unions they organise within.” say Unison in an article ‘Three things you need to know about the anti-strike bill.’ Since 1980, there have been no less than fourteen employment and trade union acts, restricting and then to a degree, clawing back trade union …
Continue readingWhile we may have moved on from the limited voting rights of the 19th Century, in 1832 the Reform Act granted voting rights to men only if they were freeholders of property and over the age of 21 (women didn’t get full voting rights until 1928) we are very shortly about to see a significant change in how we vote …
Continue readingWe did it! This week Labour conference voted to back a motion calling on the Party to scrap Westminster’s failing First Past the Post system and to introduce a fair, proportional voting system instead. Support was overwhelming not just amongst Labour members but, thanks to the work of hundreds of activists across the country, with the support of the Trade …
Continue readingWhether it’s lies over Partygate or handing out covid contracts to supporters and allies or Boris Johnson’s plans to stuff the Lords with new peers in his final weeks in office, this government are never embarrassed by their own failure to understand the foundations of a good democracy. Trust, transparency, fairness and accountability – this is what people look for …
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