UNISON London Mayor and Assembly telecanvass bank

This is a great photo I think of some of the UNISON Labour Party activists at the telecanvass bank in our headquarters in Euston this evening. I helped out tonight for the first time and was very impressed with the modern technology that UNISON has and the ease of contacting members.

We rang UNISON members for voter identification purposes in the London Mayoral and Assembly elections. By coincidence this evening we called up UNISON members in my own Borough, Newham.

There was a software training session beforehand but once we were up and running we contacted 200 members in just over an hour. Which is pretty good going.  Double click picture to bring up detail.

UNISON Housing Association branch Chair (and Chair of National Young Members) Joel Bodmer was one of the team (see picture on right). After all that talking some of us had to retire to a local hostelry to refresh ourselves (and once again put the world to rights)

A New Direction for the Labour Party

This motion was passed (overwhelmingly) at last week's London UNISON Labour Link Forum. It will now go to National Forum.

"This UNISON Labour Link Forum notes:-

That there is no political alternative to the Labour Party, warts and all.

The last Labour Government despite its faults delivered massive benefits to our members and other working people. Pension credit and the minimum wage put real money into the pockets and purses of pensioners and the low paid. While it invested in the NHS, schools and protecting the vulnerable.

We note this Tory Coalition Government and its policies tn favour of the wealthy, its plans to dismantle our NHS and the slashing and burning public services.

The Labour Party is the only hope for the future of progressive politics and obtaining social justice for our members and all other working people. We must all do whatever we can to ensure that a Labour Party government is returned at the next General election.

Yet we must also ensure that the next Labour Government is brave and decisive in tackling the evils it will inherit. Our economy needs to be rebalanced away from the free market liberalism of the recent past. We need a genuine mixed economy.

The income inequality gap between the rich and the poor in our society will be the key measure in judging the success or otherwise of a future Labour Government.

While we do not want to indulge in the pointless sloganising and postulating of those who do not have any credible alternative, we do want the next Labour Government to take the necessary action to reduce income inequality in our society. 

This forum calls for UNISON Labour Link to carry on its work within affiliates, TULO and the Party to ensure that the next Labour government:-

Commits to reducing income inequality by the end of its term and delivers on this promise".