Last night it was our very own version of Question Time at this month’s Manchester Peoples’ Assembly meeting. We took the opportunity beforehand to leaflet and give a final push for recruitment to the coaches and trains going from Manchester to London on Saturday for the National Demo. There will be tens of thousands, possibly 100,000 there from all over the UK for the End Austerity Now - Health, Homes, Jobs, Education march.
Last night’s panel had reps from the National Peoples’ Assembly, NUT, BMA and Momentum. Topics discussed included:
The impossible housing situation for young people. Solution = create more affordable housing, crack down on bad landlords, create real affordable housing not just more buy to lets for the wealthy. UCL’s rent strike has proven effective and we should support that and other similar
The upcoming junior doctors, bursary students and teachers’ strikes. Solution = solidarity and support from all as the public are onside with this- but be prepared to take the arguments to the streets as the press will be against us as usual.
The steel industry crisis. Solution =- renationalise it- the banks were renationalised within days when they ran into crisis so the government can do this for steel.
The Panama papers. Solution = shut down the tax havens and close the loopholes.
Other topics included the shameful actions of the government this week spending £9.3 million on leaflets to all UK households saying that the government thinks the UK should stay in the EU - a barefaced lie as well as a waste of money as the government is clearly split on this- See Boris Johnson v Dodgy Dave etc.
Supporting the UMC action to stop job losses - demo on Manchester Uni campus tomorrow lunchtime, Thurs 14 April, 12.30 at University Place.
All in all it was inspiring talk for a couple of hours, with around 75 people from many backgrounds and communities attending, which carried on in convivial rabble rousing mood in Gulliver’s on Oldham Street afterwards. We shall overcome!
oops...politics... something i know nothing about ;-)
ReplyDeleteWhenever an invitation to vote for something fall on our doormat, it immediatly goes in the wastebasket ;-)
Have a nice abc-wednesday-day / – week
♫ M e l ☺ d y ♫ (abc-w-team)
It's our social responsibility to keep informed and active Melody :-)
DeleteWho says??
DeleteGreat overview of last nights Question Time Chrissy.
ReplyDeleteThese last few weeks have exposed many distasteful pies
Cameron has his fingers in!!
#WeAreMany
They are few - and should not be allowed to continue
Much appreciated Nev :-)
DeleteI thought it was about ending austerity not attacking greedy ministers, the two aren't related.
Deletethey are related sadly...
Deletehow?
DeleteAs you probably know the US is in the midst of picking our candidates for Nov. elections. You MUST be informed and so many people just go and push a lever. A roundtable is always great for throwing out new ideas.
ReplyDeleteAnn
I still don't know what your alternative is to austerity and clearing the debt left by previous governments and greedy bankers.
ReplyDeleteDo you want your kids not to enjoy the lifestyle they have and pick up the tab.
Read up on the People's Assembly Against Austerity some more then- I am only giving a summary here- it's a blog post not a manifesto...
Deletea political blog!!!
DeleteI find myself wondering if David Potts here is a variation on the Peter fellow who keeps showing up here on occasion, Chrissy.
ReplyDeleteDavid? Just a thought: your words make you come across sounding really cranky. Not a positive trait, old boy.
Yes, a new fan by the looks of it William ;-)
DeleteIs that because I might have a different view to the one expressed here.
DeleteWilliam an old pharse that we use in the UK is "pot calling the kettle black" which you may want to think about.
DeleteOnce personal insults start the argument is lost.
Calling you cranky is describing you, David, not insulting you. Your own words show you to be that way. I really don't give a damn if you don't like it, but if you show up on a blog of someone whose politics obviously disagree with yours, taking shots at everyone, that leaves you wide open to be treated with the contempt you so richly seem to hold for everyone else in life. Give my regards to hell when you get there. Plenty of room for useless wastes of oxygen like you there.
DeleteAnd again: calling you a useless waste of oxygen is describing you, not insulting you.
William
DeleteIt would appear that you are the one who does not like other people having an alternative view. At no time did I abuse anybody on this blog. All I did was raise and ask questions of the bloggers views. People who write blogs can not expect only like minded individuals to comment. If they do they should state that on the blog or apply censorship. If this blog kept to just showing nice pictures of greater Manchester (an area I know well) then that would be fine. Once you start mixing politics, religion etc. then you are straying into areas of differing views and should not just expect others to ignore.
William I think you need to examine your own frantic ramblings and ask yourself whether you agree with free speech and the views of others.
David, William is just your common or garden modern, intolerant liberal. He has problems with dissent from what he knows to be the truth but is unable to argue his point. That's why he resorts to silly personal comments such as accusations of crankiness.
DeletePerhaps he needs a 'safe space' where he'll won't hear views which displease him.
Dear David, Well, as a start (as stated partially above) forcing the tax avoiding/tax haven wealthy and corporations to pay what they owe us in tax plus cancelling Trident would create hundreds of billions of pounds to deal with this and to create a fairer, better society for us and all kids…
ReplyDeleteHave they done anything illegal. Probably all self employed people, like yourself, have used methods to avoid paying too much tax and NI.
DeleteI can't wait to see more of the Panama papers fallout!
ReplyDeleteROG, ABCW