On Wednesday evening last week at the Labour Party Conference there was the UNISON Labour Link reception. This was held at the Merseyside Maritime Museum in the historic Albert Dock. Steve Warwick, Chair of Labour Link, use to be the Council "rat catcher" for the Dock, when it was a working tobacco warehouse (a.k.a Environmental Health Officer). He firstly introduced guest speaker Ed Balls MP. Who said that while he was disappointed that we had not chosen him as leader - we did make the best choice of the two Ed's. Ed B also said that while we will not always going to agree, the unions will be at the heart of the Labour Party. Since we fundamentally want the same things.
Labour Party leader Ed Miliband won great applause with his commitment to "fight with every fibre of his being" the Tory Government plan to make a 3% tax increase on public service employees. This increase is not needed for the pension schemes but is a unfair tax increase that all other groups of workers would be outraged if they had been also singled out.
In the picture Ed M is seen praising long time UNISON activist, new Labour Councillor and retiring Chair of the Labour Party, Norma Stephenson. Who was the Chair of the Labour Party NEC and this year's Conference. Whose strict, no nonsense, good humoured and on occasions, emotional Chairing manner had been described by journalist Simon Hoggart, as reminding him of "a spunky old duck of the kind I recognise from my northern childhood". (double click picture to bring up detail)
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