Hasty update…..
Posted by harriet in Uncategorized | September 12th, 2007
Very upbeat conference of London Borough of Southwark Labour councillors on Saturday in St Peter’s church. Determination next time to win back the council for Labour. 10,000 more people voted Labour than Lib/Dem last time but they squeezed in with an alliance with the Tories. It’s a travesty that they gave the important role of responsiblity for council housing to one of the Tory councillors. The Tories got hardly any votes and virtually none on the housing estates!
On Sunday knocking on doors on the Glebe estate in Camberwell with party members and local councillors to get more party members. Then on to the TUC to meet up with women delegates and speak at their eve of conference reception. Strong feeling that we need to tackle unequal pay and that we need strong new equality laws.
Tuesday down to TUC again for General Council dinner. Good discussion with Goria Mills of Unison about how we can encourage women Unison members (there are 1 million) to join the Labour party and campaign for change. There were 17 cabinet ministers there and Prescott.
Today, with Phil Hope MP in Corby. Joined party members in campaigning in an important council by-election where the BNP are standing for the first time. Party members and shoppers raised problem of housing. We will need to ensure that as well as ensuring more new homes, that we ensure that people recognise that it’s Labour who is responsible for them. Social housing is mixed in with homes for sale at market rates so we must make sure that we do something to ensure that people can see the progress that is being made as the new housing is built, completed and occupied.
2 Comments Add your own
1. Stephen | September 21st, 2007 at 7:53
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Harriet, a very interesting first paragraph on this post. So how would you change the voting system to ensure such ‘travesties’ don’t recur? And what’s your position on proportional representation?
2. Phil B | September 22nd, 2007 at 13:09
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I agree that housing is a vital part of Labour beating the BNP. At the moment I am looking to buy a house I am 29 still living with my parents. I save a large part of my salary but it’s never enough for a decent deposit to buy a house. At the same time I hear people telling me about asylum seekers living in social housing. Also the influx of migrants from eastern Europe renting properties which has pushed up the price. It is an awkward and on-going issue. The crux of the problem is a shortage of housing. I worry though that the BNP are making inroads out of this.
The talk of an early election, looks just like a cheap stunt to stay in power. I will abstain from voting until this issue is dealt with properly. I agree progress has been made with Yvette Cooper’s plans, but it’s too little and far too late. I and many others feel cheated by Gordon Brown’s record on housing.
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