Labour MPs, Cllrs refuse to cross picket lines


by Newswire    
8:15 am - November 29th 2011

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On 30 November thousands of ordinary Labour members will be backing public sector workers in their dispute with the government.

In Scotland all Labour MSPs have pledged their support and will not cross picket lines at Holyrood. Likewise Labour AMs in Wales will not cross picket lines at Cardiff Bay.

Today, dozens of Labour MPs and councillors from across the UK have pledged their support for the strikes in a letter to the Guardian (full text below).

They say: “We stand in full solidarity with workers on 30 November – and encourage our fellow Labour politicians to do so too” – in sharp contrast to the equivocation from the Labour leadership.

John McDonnell MP, LRC Chair, said:

We expect Labour MPs and councillors to stand in solidarity with trade union members striking on Wednesday.

The public and Labour Party members especially are behind these strikes and expect Labour politicians to back our fellow trade unionists. There can be no ifs or buts on this one.

Greg Marshall, Broxtowe Labour councillor and co-ordinator of LRC Councillors’ Network, said:

The Labour Party still remains the party best placed to represent the interests of the working class – we were of course founded to give ordinary people a political voice. We should be firmly standing in solidarity with those taking action against the Tory led attacks on pensions.

The Labour Representation Committee (LRC) is a socialist grouping within the Labour movement, with over 1100 members and around 100 affiliated organisations, including six national trade unions.

Full text of the letter
Labour MSPs in Scotland and Labour AMs in Wales will refuse to cross picket lines on 30 November in solidarity with millions of public sector workers.

As Labour MPs and councillors we will not cross picket lines at Westminster or town halls. Instead we will be joining picket lines to do what Labour politicians should do: be on the side of labour.

The Government’s attack on public sector pensions is totally unjustified and unsupported by any economic or actuarial case. It is a crude attack on public sector workers who are already suffering a pay freeze while many face the threat of losing their jobs. This is part of a wider attack by this government on public services and the welfare state, which Labour must resist.

We stand in full solidarity with workers on 30 November – and encourage our fellow Labour politicians to do so too.

John McDonnell MP, LRC Chair
Ronnie Campbell MP, Blyth Valley
Martin Caton MP, Gower
Jeremy Corbyn MP, Islington North
Paul Flynn MP, Newport West
Michael Meacher MP, Oldham West & Royton
Linda Riordan MP, Halifax
Cllr Kingsley Abrams, Lambeth
Cllr Lynne Allen, Hillingdon
Cllr Tony Belton, Wandsworth
Cllr Matthew Brown, Preston
Cllr Barry Buitekant, Hackney
Cllr Van Coulter, Oxford
Cllr Jim Grundy, Ashfield
Cllr Clive Grunshaw, Wyre / Lancashire
Cllr Kevin Hind, Bury St Edmunds
Cllr Mike Jones, Maghull
Cllr Jay Kramer, Hastings
Cllr Geoff Lumley, Isle of Wight
Cllr Greg Marshall, Broxtowe
Cllr John McGhee, East Ayrshire
Cllr Ian Morrison, Ashfield
Cllr Kier Morrison, Ashfield
Cllr Lachlan Morrison, Ashfield
Cllr Tom Neilson, North West Leicestershire
Cllr Mick O’Sullivan, Islington
Cllr Andrea Oates, Broxtowe
Cllr Charlynne Pullen, Islington
Cllr Mike Rowley, Oxford
Cllr Jenny Smith, Bristol
Cllr John Tanner, Oxford
Cllr Sam Tarry, Barking & Dagenham
Cllr Kieran Thorpe, Welwyn Hatfield
Cllr Claire Traynor, Maghull
Cllr Patrick Vernon, Hackney
Cllr Andy Walker, Redbridge
Cllr Dave Young, Calderdale

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Reader comments


1. Stuart

Lemmings!

2. Cherub

Troll!

3. Richard P

This is great, but why such a short list of signatories? If the number of MPs (and councillors) refusing to cross pickets isn’t much greater than this, the party will have cause to be ashamed.

4. Chaise Guevara

@ 2

Heh.

5. Tax Obesity

Never mind, of course, that if Labour was in power now, they would almost certainly be having a (second) go at reforming public sector pensions.

Generous public sector pensions were more than justified when public sector wages and salaries were lower than private sector wages and salaries. But they no longer are, providing you don’t compare part-time public sector workers with full-time private sector workers (which is the usual TUC distortion of the facts). That said, the reduced public sector pensions on offer are still much better than anything available in the private sector.

6. Churm Rincewind

[3] Maybe it’s a short list because the text of the letter is both silly and inflammatory – e.g. “The Government’s attack on public sector pensions is totally unjustified and unsupported by any economic or actuarial case”.

Only a dimwit could claim that there’s no case to be made. This is quite separate from the question of whether one agrees or not with the Government’s current proposals, but in the meantime the empty-headed posturing of this letter does none of the signatories any credit.

7. The Judge

@3

Quite. That only seven out of 250-odd Labour MPs could bring themselves to make such an obvious declaration speaks volumes for the strangling of any sort of sense of solidarity with the PLP.

@5:

“Generous public sector pensions were more than justified when public sector wages and salaries were lower than private sector wages and salaries. But they no longer are, providing you don’t compare like with like.”

There! Fixed that for you…

8. test

@7 Part time public sector workers and full time private sector workers isn’t like for like, is it?

9. Leon Wolfson

@5 – They ARE lower. Massively lower. The equivalent jobs, on a for-like and for-qualifications basis in the private sector pay something like 80% more.

And no, they’re not “better”. Because they’re henceforth redefined as piggy banks to raid at-will for a Tory government. Anyone paying into them is endorsing a scam being played on themselves, no more, no less by said government.

Keeping your money under the bed makes more sense.


Reactions: Twitter, blogs
  1. Liberal Conspiracy

    Labour MPs, Cllrs refuse to cross picket lines http://t.co/pXTR5yql

  2. Adam Dawson

    @nick_forbes what are you up to tomorrow? "@libcon: Labour MPs, Cllrs refuse to cross picket lines http://t.co/RoZ06dRK"

  3. Deokhee

    Labour MPs, Cllrs refuse to cross picket lines http://t.co/pXTR5yql

  4. Pucci D

    Labour MPs, Cllrs refuse to cross picket lines http://t.co/pXTR5yql

  5. Alex Braithwaite

    Labour MPs, Cllrs refuse to cross picket lines | Liberal Conspiracy http://t.co/Mp6EdOUb via @libcon

  6. Jamie

    Labour MPs, Cllrs refuse to cross picket lines http://t.co/KNRLXy16 #n30

  7. James Doleman

    Labour MPs and MSPs will refuse to cross picket lines on #nov30 http://t.co/LhswX21e have #snp followed suit? #sp4

  8. Elliot Folan

    There are 157 Green Councillors in England + Scotland who won't cross picket lines 2day. But only 30 Lab Cllrs won't. http://t.co/1gwMBopN

  9. Dave Ludlam

    There are 157 Green Councillors in England + Scotland who won't cross picket lines 2day. But only 30 Lab Cllrs won't. http://t.co/1gwMBopN

  10. Michael Cutler

    There are 157 Green Councillors in England + Scotland who won't cross picket lines 2day. But only 30 Lab Cllrs won't. http://t.co/1gwMBopN





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