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LICC Chair's Newsletter Jan 09
HAVE WE YOUR EMAIL? IF NOT SURE SEND IT TO ME TODAY timclapham@poczta.onet.pl
ul Grzybowska 39 m 701
00-855 Warszawa
email: timclapham@poczta.onet.pl
mobile: 00 48 22 6 240 470
Skype: timclapham1
Dear Comrades
I attach Newsletter 2 which gives you some idea of what being an LI Officer and an LI delegate
involves. Please do consider putting your name forward.
We also pleased to announce the establishment of a Central European Branch
For technical reasons this Newsletter has been distributed using a slightly out of date list.
My apologies to anyone effected . Nevertheless I hope you find it useful.
Fraternally
Tim Clapham
Chair
Newsletter No 2 December /January 2009
Dear Comrades
Annual Report and Nominations
The Annual Report has now been sent out to all members. We hope you found it useful.
It included a request for nominations for the new committee and the closing date for nominations to
be sent to Head Office is Noon 17th February (melanie_onn@newlabour.org.uk).
Please consider putting your name forward so that we can make this a successful election. Enthusiasm
for developing Labour International is what is required not just experience. If you need to
know what is involved contact me or one of the other officers and we will be pleased to assist. It
will of course be up to the new committee to determine its own working arrangements in conjunction
with Head Office.
A New Branch for Central Europe
Very pleased to announce the formation of a new branch that will cover Austria, the
Czech and Slovak Republics, Hungary, Poland and Germany. It has applied to LICC for recognition
and the provisional committee responsible for establishing the branch is Carl Rowlands from Budapest,
Tanweer Ali from Prague and Julian Allitt from Berlin. We look forward to development of the
branch which we understand is going to cooperate very closely with Party of European Socialist
Activist groups in the Region and with sister Parties on European Election issues. We wish them
and all our comrades in Central Europe success in this initiative.
Conference and Conference Dates
The various dates for conference are now on the LI web site and members net with the most important
date being the 12th June when the nominations for delegates must have been received. This year the
delegate must be female and we are also entitled to appoint one further female delegate and one floor
visitor. The appointment of the delegates and the visitor will be a matter for the new committee but
let me know your interest and I will make sure the new committee is informed. Its an ideal opportunity
for those new to the Party or who wish to get to know more about how the Party works. To show you
what is involved in being a delegate see attached report of our 2008 delegate to Conference.
Members of LI also attend Conference to develop contacts and to run events for which we are
responsible. To give you some idea of what LI officers get up to at conference we have included the
report of Sylvia Moore our Deputy Chair on her activities at the 2008 Conference which will
give comrades an idea of what is involved in being an LI officer ( at least the more interesting
bits!)
The International Consortium of British Pensioners
One of the main events for LI at last years Conference was the meeting with the International
Consortium of British Pensioners who are fighting for equality for all overseas British
Pensioners. Enclosed is their report. If you are an Overseas Pensioner who is concerned about
this issue contact Sheila Telford on : sheilatelford@shaw.ca who will put you in contact with
your local organisation.
Party of European Socialists European Meeting and Manifesto
Hopefully you are all getting mailings from PES. There is a suggestion (not yet confirmed)that the
next European Activists meeting will be in Budapest. If it is, I am sure the new Central European
Branch will be there in numbers. If you had forgotten what real politics actually mean and
need your spirits reviving I strongly suggest you make the effort to get along and you will
find yourself in very congenial company.
The meeting in Madrid on 1st December agreed a Manifesto for the European Elections. Unfortunately it
is unlikely that many of the electorate will actually have the opportunity to read the manifesto or
even know it exists. Nevertheless it was the result of wide ranging consultation over many months
and represents a very clear answer to those who say the Left has no policies for our current
condition. Please find a copy in PDF on the Home Page. Perhaps you could circulate it to a
wider audience. A copy is also on our website.
The European Elections
The main political event this year for those of our members in Europe. Those outside of Europe with
European electorates that can actually vote in European Elections such as New York etc may also be
involved.Number of ways we can help.
First of course we can connect to a particular UK Euro Constituency and support though canvasing,
press releases etc. LI members from abroad helping in these elections should be worth a few local
press lines. Alternatively, as in Warsaw we will be working with our sister Parties and are
considering putting up a European candidate from the expatriate community.
Anyway please think what you can do as it is an opportunity to make some political impact.
International Members Requests
Adam Kybird is working in Liberia, West Africa for the Clinton Foundation HIV Aids Initiative. He is
interested in being the contact person for that Region and he can be contacted on :
alan.kybird@googlemail.com
Peter Tayor is interested in meeting up with other Party members in South East Asia. He works in
the financial sector in Singapore and he can be contacted on: Peter.Taylor@aberdeen-asset.com
Vikram Singh is interested in setting up a new branch in India. He can be contacted
on: duhanvikram@hotmail.com
Finally
If you haven't yet had the opportunity take a look at Labour International's website. It has
been attractively reorganised by our Webmaster John Mackay and brings us in line with the Labour
party house style. We hope you find it attractive and user friendly. Incidently this newsletter
will be one of the last outings for our old logo which will gradually be replaced by the new
Labour International logo a copy of which you can see on the website.
Fraternally
Tim Clapham
Chair
Labour International
PARTY CONFERENCE REPORT 2008 from Frazer Clarke our delegate
The view from Seat AF1
Labour was on its knees, the right-wing press said. Splits and plotting would dominate, and Conference
could spell the end for Gordon Brown's premiership. So you could have been forgiven for seeing clouds
of dejection lowering over the conference centre as delegates met.In reality, Labour's 2008 Conference (in sunny Manchester) was businesslike, but upbeat, and we came
out of it stronger and more united than we went in.
It was good to see a noted pro-European, Dianne Hayter, opening proceedings as Chair, referring to
the impact of Peterloo massacre, Bob Dylan, and the Sex Pistols on Manchester. Neither
Johnny Rotten nor his Bobness made it to the platform, but the tone was set that this is a party
that is ready for a fight.
As Labour International delegate, my highlights were:
• Voting: after our efforts to have LI taken seriously by the Party, it was great to be able to
take part in the democratic process. Some issues seemed arcane, especially the rulebook changes
with their card votes, but others, like the emergency resolution on working time, had an impact as
far as back home in Brussels.
• The emphasis on policy, and the insistence on how policy is shaped by personal experience.
I attended the delegates' policy seminar on Britain in the World, where Jim Murphy MP covered
everything from the prospects for Georgia joining the EU, to relations with China and human rights.
• Having a dedicated seat in the hall. Those of you who have attended as a visitor will know how
frustrating it can be not to be able to get in to the main hall, and to be seatless if you do.
Labour International's seat AF1 was just fine.
• Gordon Brown's speech, that stirred delegates and brought them together, and the frisson that
ran round the hall as people realised that yes, that was Sarah Brown standing at the podium to
introduce him.
• Philip Gould, who spent most of the last year fighting cancer, accepting an award and
arguing that Labour can win if it fights for what it believes in.
• Harriet Harman's "How many Tories does it take to manage a global economic crisis? - None!
Why would they! Leave it to the market of course."
• The emotion and warmth at the leaving reception for Gary Titley and Glenys Kinnock,
MEPs who are standing down at the 2009 elections.
• Paul Kenny, General Secretary, and Ruth Turner, President of the GMB Union, agreeing to meet
Brussels members to discuss their concerns.
• Meeting with members of the Labour International Coordinating Committee, as it looks forward
to a new constitution and the election of a new committee.
• The fringe, toujours le fringe. All of human life really is there. This year we had everything
from the EU role in climate change and energy policy, to Feargal Sharkey and Jazzy B on protecting
performers' rights in the digital age.
A few handy hints for our next delegate (or anyone else attending):
• Book your hotel room as soon as possible – it's in Brighton in 2009, and you don't want to end
up commuting from Gatwick, or worse.
• Get the Conference Arrangements Committee report every day. You have hundreds of pieces of
paper thrust at you at Conference, but the CAC report is the one thing you need if you want to know
what's going on.
• Wear comfortable shoes. If you don't, you will start to suffer after a few hours traipsing
from room to room.
• Don't try to do too much, and leave yourself some time to eat properly. Delegate shall not
live by sandwich alone.
• Don't leave the secure area unless you have to: the queues are the last thing you want
to be stuck in.
Conference 2008 was never going to be easy, but the party and its leadership came through it heartened
and strengthened. Conference may not have the role it once had, but it remains key to making and
developing policy.
The LI delegate is not part of a region so we do not receive the policy briefings that regional
delegates do. It did strike me that in a hall of thousands, I was representing a huge geographical
area with only a few hundred members. If LI is to be given greater representation at Conference and
elsewhere in the Party, it would help if we could increase our 1membership. That's where you
come in. Can you help Labour International, by signing up at least one new member during
the next year? Go on, you know it makes sense.
___________________________________________________________
LICC at LPC Manchester 20 – 24 Sept 2008
Report by Sylvia Moore, LICC Deputy Chair
CONTACTS
- Met John Prescott who launched his book at conference. He told me he would like to continue as
LI's Hon President and involve us in an international committee he chairs.
- Followed the international visitor's meeting presided by Dianne Hayter NEC Chair. Who with her
colleagues presented LP's key policies and addressed visitor's concerns. They underscored the Labour
Party's international traditions, the key dividing lines with the Tories
being international and European commitment, common challenges and common solutions.
- Briefed NEC and LP officials on our British pensioners event and other inputs.
- Met Claude Moreas, MEP, to discuss cooperation with his cross party platform.
- Followed relevant international meetings on themes such as UN Millenium Goals.
LI FRINGE EVENT - Fairness for Pensioners in the Global Community
In March I contacted the ELPL to discuss cooperation on joint financing and topics for a fringe
meeting at LPC. Tim made follow up arrangements and LICC cooperated with EPLP to support the
British Pensioners' Consortium for an event featuring 'Fairness for Pensioners in the Global
Community.' The cost for the event for the Consortium was 8000 pounds, 4000 being for advertising
in the Conference Programme. EPLP contributed 750 pounds and LICC 500 pounds plus subsistence costs
for logistic support in running the meeting.
From arrival on Friday to Monday I worked closely with John Markham and his Pensioners Consortium team, providing them media and international contacts and helping with the change of venue problem. This meant putting stickers on 3000 brochures which Frazer, Jeremy, Tania and I helped distribute.
I quote from the letter I sent to Brian Duggan, our campaign counterpart at EPLP who would like to
continue our cooperation:
'The issues were well presented and made quite a stir. I gained some follow up visibility on
the You Tube interactive video narrowcasting during the LPC made by people in the street. We also
brought the subject and related discrepancies to the attention of Ed Milliband who will draw together
Labour's next Manifesto. This was for a photo shoot on writing ideas on a whiteboard and
discussing them with him on the topic: How would you make Britain fairer? and published in
the conference newspaper.'
Report on Labour Party Conference by John Markham
International Consortium of British Pensioners (ICBN)
ICBP was represented John and Elizabeth Markham and Peter Morris. The conference started badly due
to the extremely high level of security coupled with a high level of incorrectly produced electronic
passes. Replacement passes took up to 4 hours due to the large number of incorrect passes. We
were also distracted by the fact that the organization (??) messed up our booking for our Event and
changed the Venue. This meant that the first 24 hours was spent in an intense level of activity publicizing the change of venue. The event was held on the second evening. ICBP were very well supported by Labour International (Dr Sylvia Moore Deputy Chair and colleagues) and by the European Parliamentary Labour Party ( Brian Duggan ).
The event was chaired by Paddy Tipping MP (Sherwood), who is a strong supporter. The panel was
formed by Mike O'Brien QC Minister for Pension Reform, Gordon Lishman CBE Director General of Age
Concern and Claude Moraes MEP (London). Gordon Lishman and Claude Moraes both made statements
supporting our position.
There were a number of supporting statements / questions from the floor ( which was smaller than
we had hoped for probably due to the late change of venue). The Minister responded in his usual
manner by saying that whilst he was sympathetic to our case (he repeated this several times),
there was no money available. He pointed out that pension equity for exportable pensions was on the
Government's priority list, it was not near the top! Speaking personally, his fist priority,
if he got any extra money, was to raise domestic pensions in his own constituency. He agreed our
statement regarding the history and status of the ECHR case and indicated that the ECHR finding
was the next step as far as the Government was concerned. John wound up the proceedings by stating
strongly that as the issue was morality, money should not enter into the debate. He then thanked the panel for an interesting debate.
Obviously most of the conference has been focussed on healing the party and uniting behind
Gordon Brown. Ed Milliband held an open house on suggestions for formulating the future
Labour manifesto. Both Peter and John separately met with him and suggested that it should
include pension equality for all. This was news to Milliband, who had no idea of the problem!
____________________________________________
