BEGINNING OF THE END FOR AUSTERITY

SYRIZA’S resounding victory in the Greek general election creates a huge opportunity to reverse the damaging consequences of the austerity confidence trick being imposed across Europe.

Austerity in Greece - demanded by the terms of the 'bailout' by the Troika (European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund) - has crippled the economy, with GDP falling by 26% since 2009, and unemployment running at 26%.

Nobel prize winning economist, Paul Krugman was withering in his criticism of the Troika's treatment of Greece.  He said: “If the troika had been truly realistic, it would have acknowledged that it was demanding the impossible.”

Syriza’s had made a series of demands including:

• Writing-off the greater part of public debt’s nominal value so that it becomes sustainable in the context of a European Debt Conference.
• Introducing a growth clause in the repayment of the remaining part of the debt so that it is growth-financed and not budget-financed.
• Allowing a significant grace period moratorium in debt servicing to save funds for growth.

Syriza is seeking an immediate renegotiation of the terms of the so-called 'bailout' when the current arrangement expires on 28th February.

It is vital that they receive international support to renegotiate Greek public debt and end the humanitarian crisis that has been imposed on the Greek people.

It is imperative that Syriza succeed in these negotiations because it will have ramifications across Europe, including the UK, where austerity has been entirely counterproductive, hitting living standards and economic growth.

Syriza’s leader, Alexis Tsipras, summed up the futility and savagery of austerity when he said: “Austerity has proven to be an economic & social catastrophe.  He added: “Austerity is the crisis itself – it’s not a solution to the crisis.”  

Here in the UK since 2010, the Tories and their Lib Dem poodles have used their austerity programme to deliver an ideological agenda, that’s impoverished millions and further enriched the already super-rich. 

The state’s assets and taxpayers’ money have been put at the disposal of the corporate sector through privatisations and tax cuts.  Meanwhile ordinary citizens have seen their living standards under attack, unemployed and disabled people have been traduced and there has been a rapid rise of in-work poverty.

But it doesn’t have to be this way.  Just as the election of Hugo Chavez was a catalyst for the Democratic Bolivarian Revolution, which swept across Latin America rejecting neoliberalism in favour of a progressive alternative, so Syriza’s victory could be Europe’s catalyst.

There is a general election in Spain at the end of the year, and there too, people are weary of austerity that protects the wealthy and inflicts hardship on ordinary people.  There is a good chance that the Spanish people will elect the anti-austerity left-wing progressive party, Podemos, led by the charismatic Pablo Iglesias, a 35-year-old political science professor.

Sandwiched between these two elections is, of course, the British general election.  There is therefore an historic opportunity for Labour to be part of a progressive pan-European anti-austerity alliance.   

The spirit of 1945 beckons!  We need to seize the moment to reject neoliberalism and build a progressive alternative that makes capitalism the slave of democracy not the other way round.  That is why I signed the statement, along with 15 other Labour MPs, calling for the party to build on our progressive offer by being more ambitious ahead of the next election.  You can read the statement here: http://labourlist.org/2015/01/16-labour-mps-release-statement-calling-for-change-in-party-policy-direction/

Such an approach is not only the right thing to do, it is popular too, a view reinforced by a YouGov poll showing that Labour would gain more support with an anti-austerity message: http://labourlist.org/2015/01/labour-could-gain-more-support-with-anti-austerity-message-poll-finds/

So although Britain and Greece are very different, there are lessons that Labour can learn from Syriza's political prospectus.  I would love to see Labour at the heart of a progressive anti-austerity Europe.  If we win the election in 98 days, we can take the first step on that journey.  I will certainly be doing all I can to make sure that we do.

In the meantime two parliamentary motions welcoming the election of Syriza are gaining support from Labour MPs in the House of Commons - EDMs 729 and 733: http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2014-15/729
http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2014-15/733 

CLOSURE OF NHS WALK-IN CENTRES HITTING A&E

FAILING to see the wood for the trees has been a common theme of David Cameron’s Government, but the latest farce NHS Walk-In Centres is an issue which is playing with people’s lives.

It is well over two millennia since Aristotle first mused the concept of what made things happen, but the principle of cause and effect is evidently lost on the Tories.

So obsessed are they with enforcing their ideological blueprint on the UK that it seems they just cannot see beyond the end of their nose at the damage they cause.

First we saw it with the economy. They sucked the money out, increased joblessness and then scratched their heads as the welfare bill went up.

We’ve also seen it with councils. Budgets have been slashed, services have diminished and then the Tories declare it an outrage when local authorities are left with little choice but to increase council tax as they try to make ends meet.

It’s happened with policing, where there are now fewer bobbies on the beat, and it’s happened with fire services, where intervention work has been hammered and firefighter numbers have been slashed. The consequential increases in crime and delayed response times are an inevitability.

But the abominable way in which the Government has treated the much-loved NHS is among the worst of their attacks on public services. Quite aside from making a hash of a costly reorganisation which wasn’t even needed, their funding decisions are now leading to increasing numbers of NHS walk-in centres being closed up and down the country.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that fewer NHS walk-in centres will result in more people attending A&E departments. And nor do you have to be of Aristotle’s intellect to grasp that more pressure means slower service delivery.

The next logical step is the most devastating, though. And that is that a slower, bogged down A&E service inevitably leads to less prompt treatment and, awfully, the increased likelihood of deaths.

As is so often the case with this Government’s cuts, the ministers making the reckless decisions will largely be unwittingly shielded by the organisations being forced to react to them.

I don’t blame the clinical commissioning groups that are proposing closures of walk-in centres any more than I blame councils cutting services or emergency services being forced to remove frontline officers.

They have to make the best of a desperately bad situation, and they have a duty to protect and prioritise whichever services they are able to.

But I do blame the Government for, again and again, either failing to see or perhaps failing to care about how they are damaging lives.

That is why I have signed a Parliamentary motion highlighting that it is unacceptable to shut A&E departments when patients have nowhere else to turn, and pointing out the vital role NHS walk-in centres play in reducing A&E footfall.

We’re less than 100 days from a General Election, and the public need to make a decision on whether these relentless attacks to our services is what they want to sign up for.

I certainly don’t remember reading anything about crushing Britain’s public services in the Tory manifesto back in 2010, but that certainly looks likely to be Mr Cameron’s legacy.

Perhaps if the Tories suffer a huge collapse in support at the ballot boxes on May 7, it may finally help them to finally grasp what cause and effect is all about.

IN 100 DAYS WHITHER THE UK

IN 100 days the polls will be open for the General Election. I see that as a key milestone as we move towards what will be an incredibly close election that Labour is still on course to win.

Labour certainly has plenty to be proud about from the last five years. As an effective opposition, we have held the Government to account over a wide range of outrageous policy decisions. These have included the cruel welfare reforms, imposition of the bedroom tax, relentless attacks on public services, wasteful reforms of the NHS and hopeless inaction to address the housing crisis and escalating energy costs. While Shadow Fire Minister, I was also particularly proud to lead a campaign which resulted in this Government's half-baked ideologically driven plans to privatise our fire services being shelved.

But, unlike the Tories and Lib Dems, as a party we have never focused solely on the inadequacies of our political opponents; we have plenty to be proud about ourselves. Perhaps the most memorable achievement locally was the campaign to save Bombardier. I was delighted to lead the biggest petition Derby has ever known and I am in no doubt that our fierce opposition to the outrageous decision to send the Thameslink deal overseas affected later contract awards. Another issue I have been heavily involved in has been lobbying for funding to protect and enhance Derby’s flood defences, and again we have enjoyed success on that front too.

We have also fought hard to highlight the issue of low paid workers being penalised through zero hours contracts, an issue which is firmly on the agenda for all parties to address. And in this city we have led a campaign to persuade employers to offer the Living Wage, with the council having been the first major organisation to rise to that challenge.

Labour is less than 50 seats behind the Tories, who currently hold 303 seats against Labour's 257, so we know already the election is going to be tight.

It is therefore all the more important that people who believe in social justice and want a progressive government should unite behind Labour. Only a Labour government can help the country to recover from five ruinous years of Tory control. Labour is the only party capable of forming a government with progressive solutions to the challenges facing the country on issues like the cost of living crisis, housing, NHS, education, environmental sustainability, energy, jobs, social care and transport.

This could be Labour's year to return to power, but it is going to be close. I therefore urge anyone who thinks that Britain deserves better; who wants austerity to be jettisoned; who believes in putting public service before private profit; to join me making it happen.

LET’S MAKE DERBY BRITAIN’S FIRST LIVING WAGE CITY

IT is unthinkable now that, less than 20 years ago, some employers in this city and beyond were getting away with paying workers below a pound an hour.

Yet awful though that sounds, it is in fact a grim reality of a Britain that had been left to rot during two decades of Tory rule under Margaret Thatcher and John Major.

I can even remember the opposition that the Labour government faced following its election in 1997, when it set about introducing a minimum wage that was long overdue.

Opponents warned of economic collapse, of businesses ceasing to exist, of ruin and resultant joblessness.

This was, of course, utter nonsense as it quickly became clear that the additional disposable income created by having a minimum wage bolstered local economies, rather than destroying them. This is not to mention the fact that having a minimum wage was the morally right thing to do.

It is with that episode in mind that I am absolutely confident that Derby’s major employers should now be ready and able to do something even more progressive by adopting the Living Wage.

For anyone who doesn’t know, the Living Wage raises the bar above the minimum wage to a level which reflects the true costs of existing in Britain today.

Derby is in a better position than many other cities in regard to the Living Wage – the city council has already committed to its adoption and, in doing so, has helped to dispel many of the myths which opponents to it are keen to put about.

Such as the alleged escalating costs as the knock-on effect of rising salaries is felt higher up the pay ladder. In fact, this suggestion is nonsense. It is very easy for employers to dampen the impact so that the benefits are felt at the bottom end of the pay scales without impacting on those already earning a decent salary.

No organisation in our city has been placed under more intense pressure than the council in the last five years – with budgets drastically cut and increased expectations – and if it can find a way to make the Living Wage work then so can other employers.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Derby could truly become Britain’s first Living Wage City? What a statement it would make if people knew that earning the Living Wage was the very least that Derby’s workforce could expect.

We are all unified in a hope of improving Derby’s local economy and making it a better place to work in order to attract the best possible talent. Local workers tend to reinvest a large proportion of their earnings within their own economy, creating an upward spiral of growth. The more organisations that support this, then the greater the impact will be.

That is why I have just written to every employer with more than 100 staff in Derby’s ‘travel to work’ area, in the hope of persuading them to make the Living Wage commitment. This is about companies saying: “We value our workforce and we’re prepared to put our money where our mouth is”.

I am not naïve enough to recognise that Derby becoming a Living Wage City is not going to happen tomorrow, next week or next month. But because something is aspirational does not make it unachievable. It is certainly very possible; all that is needed is the will to make it happen.

CORPORATE FAT-CATS ENJOYED £500,000 PAY RISE IN 2014:

TIME TO FORCE CAPITALISM TO WORK FOR EVERYONE

AT the time of writing (3.00pm on Sunday 11 January 2015) Britain’s top company executives had already ‘earned’ (sic) over £90,500 in 2015. In fact they’d made more money by last Tuesday, (6 January 2015), than most UK workers will earn all year!

That’s why last Tuesday was dubbed ‘Fatcat Tuesday’. On that day top bosses’ earnings surpassed the average full-time UK worker's annual salary – just two days after returning to work following the Christmas and New Year holidays!

Calculations by the High Pay Centre think-tank showed that earnings for company executives returning to work last Monday had reached the equivalent of the UK average salary of £27,200 by late afternoon on ‘Fatcat Tuesday.’

FTSE 100 Chief Executives are paid an average £4.72 million. The High Pay Centre found that even if CEOs are assumed to work long hours with very few holidays, this is equivalent to hourly pay of nearly £1,200

When the High Pay Centre made the same calculation last year, the think-tank estimated that top bosses would have to wait until the first working Wednesday of 2014 to surpass the earnings of the average worker. But while pay realised by FTSE 100 Chief Executives has risen by nearly £500,000 since last year, the annual pay of the average UK worker has increased by just £200, from £27,000 to £27,200.

These figures demonstrate that the Government’s half-hearted effort to curb top pay by giving shareholders the power to veto excessive pay packages has been a complete failure.

Labour’s plans to make firms publish the ratio of their top earners pay compared to average employees and put worker representatives on remuneration committees would help to tackle this grotesque inequality.

Let’s remember that the UK is one of the richest nations on the planet. But if we are ever going to make our economy more productive and ensure that everyone shares in Britain’s wealth, we need a different approach.

That means standing up to big business and the super-rich to start making capitalism work for everyone, not just Britain’s wealthiest individuals, as is the case now. One important step we should take is to give workers the power to force employers to share pay more fairly throughout their organisation. We could also follow the Ecuadorian example that requires companies to pay the Living Wage before they can declare any dividends for shareholders.

If anyone doubts the need to take action I suggest you watch the BBC2 documentary ‘The super-rich and us’ screened last week. It’s available now on iPayer.

£1000 REWARD FOR GUILDFORD GIN TRAP CULPRIT INFORMATION

The League Against Cruel Sports and the Wildlife Aid Foundation (WAF) have today launched a public appeal and a £1000 reward for information leading to the successful conviction of the individual or individuals responsible for setting the illegal gin traps resulting in the death of two foxes in Guildford, Surrey.

The animal welfare and wildlife charities have partnered up to offer the cash incentive fearing that there may be more of the cruel devices in the area.

Anyone with information relating to the perpetrators and the traps are being urged to contact the League via their Wildlife CrimeWatch Line in complete confidence on 01483 361 108 or via the charity’s website using their online form as soon as possible to prevent any further wild animals, pets or even child casualties. Alternatively members of the public can report information to the Police by calling 101 and quoting crime watch reference number: P15006136.

WAF Chief Executive Simon Cowell MBE said: "We don’t know how many gin traps there are in the area. If some very sadistic person has been going around putting out these traps around Guildford to try to kill foxes, it is anybody's guess how many of the devices are out there.”

Joe Duckworth, Chief Executive of the League said: “Like snares, gin traps are incredibly archaic, indiscriminate and inherently cruel devices - designed purely to cause destruction, pain and suffering.

“We hope that by partnering up with Wildlife Aid to offer this monetary incentive, anyone with information will come forward to prevent any more wild animals, pets or even people falling victim.”

JE SUIS CHARLIE

The response from the Dialogue Society to the brutal murders of the Charlie Hebdo journalists and police officers by death sect fanatics, who pervert the teachings of Islam to justify their repugnant actions, is apposite.

The Dialogue Society says: "Such horrific actions represent an assault on human dignity and democratic values and can never be justified. At the Dialogue Society we promote open and candid dialogue and interaction where ideas are aired, appreciated and only challenged, if challenged at all, again through ideas.

"In these difficult times we offer the families of the victims and the people of France our heartfelt condolences. We wish those injured a speedy recovery and pray for peace, unity and patience between communities in France and around the world. We call upon everyone to stand together and united against such murderous acts."

International solidarity to defend the values brought about by the French revolution of liberty, equality and fraternity are more important now than ever.

We need to ensure that the crazy, brutalised perversion of Islamic teachings, that drove those killers to behave like frenzied monsters, is defeated through liberty, equality and fraternity.

The natural condition of humanity is to show compassion and love. Indeed the very term humanity is a byword for compassion and love. The truth is when humanity defaults to its natural condition of humanity, it surpasses anything offered by any religion.

All of us need to, in the words of Professor Brian Cox: "...learn to value the acquisition of knowledge for its own sake, and not just because it grows our economy or allows us to build better bombs.

"We must also learn to value the human race and take responsibility for our own survival. Why? Because there's nobody out there to value us or to look after us.

"And finally, most important of all, we must educate the next generation in the great discoveries of science, and we must teach them to use the light of reason to banish the darkness of superstition. Because if we do that, at least there's a chance that this universe will remain a human one."

If the horrific scenes in Paris yesterday galvanises the world against the darkness of superstition that ultimately drives some people to intimidate and murder, the deaths of those Charlie Hebdo journalists, and the police officers protecting them, will not have been in vain.

LET'S USE 2015 TO REDISCOVER THE SPIRIT OF 1945

ANOTHER new year is upon us and in just over four months we face a stark choice about the kind of country we want Britain to be.

The impact of austerity over the last four and a half years has been felt by nearly everyone living in Derby.

It’s resulted in local people seeing their wages fall relative to prices, forced others to accept lower paid employment after losing their jobs and left too many young people unemployed.

It’s cut a swathe through our local public services, hitting the city’s most vulnerable and needy citizens the hardest. But everyone else in Derby has been affected too. From waiting longer for NHS appointments to paying to have your brown bin collected to no longer seeing floral displays on the city’s roundabouts.

Our public services define a decent society, yet we are on a trajectory that will take public spending down to a level not seen since the 1930s.

Meanwhile, Britain’s wealthiest individuals have been handed huge tax cuts, privatised utility and train operating companies have been fleecing hard pressed consumers and highly profitable multinational companies pay no tax.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. This is the year the public has a chance to change direction.

We can make sure the economy works for everyone, not just those at the top.

We can start to make capitalism the slave of democracy, not the other way around. After all, the banks, the privatised companies and the multinationals operating in the UK make their profits from the British people and should be accountable to the British people.

We can make sure that funding for public services is distributed more equitably. This would secure a fair deal for Derby by ending the perverse funding system that resulted in government imposing disproportionate cuts on our city, while increasing funding for wealthier areas.

If we do that, we can reduce the deficit responsibly, without threatening our NHS or short changing our children and their future.

As the Labour leader, Ed Miliband, said in his New Year message on Wednesday, this isn’t about idle dreams or empty promises. It's about a real, concrete plan: a plan for a recovery which reaches your kitchen table.

Seventy years ago my Mam and Dad were part of the generation that elected the first post-war Labour Government.

When the country was broke after fighting an all-consuming war, it was my parents’ generation who built the NHS, a modern welfare state and homes for people to live in.

They did all that and the government still managed to deal with the nation’s debts. They did it by growing the economy, securing full employment and ensuring a bigger proportion of the nation’s income went into workers’ wage packets. This generated the tax revenues needed to bring about the societal transformation they achieved.

We owe it to that wartime generation to rediscover the spirit of 1945 to make sure we don’t squander their legacy for which they made huge sacrifices.

The power is in our hands. But as my Dad used to say, it all amounts to nothing if together we don't stand.

Happy New Year everyone.