John-Boy's Labor blog

I've been having some further fun with the "blogger" Stat counter.    In October I posted on "Giovanni's Lavoro blog" and puzzled over the large number of hits on this blog apparently from Italy. 

During the last week or so as you can see (right screenprint) most of the hits have been coming from America.  1,966 compared with 868 from the UK.  I can't think of any obvious reason for this.  In fact most of my recent hits seem to be about the UNISON Labour Link Link Forum 2009 (see below screen print).  Which was very good event but I thought it's appeal to most American's would be somewhat limited. 


We had a very good delegation meal in a Turkish restaurant; I spoke in a Forum debate on defending Public Sector pensions; Ed Miliband spoke well, so did our General Secretary Dave Prentis and Harriot Harman MP gave a good speech...but?

Any of my cousins from across the pond care to enlighten me on the reasons for the apparent interest?  Or is there any other reason?

I'm curious about the 141 Slovenia hits as well.

Labour Conference 2010: Harriet Harman, the Red Flag and the New Jerusalem

Labour Party deputy leader, Harriet Harman, gave a witty and unifying closing speech to this year’s conference. 

I liked the self deprecating joke that she was only elected the "most fanciable MP" in a Sky News poll because her husband, Jack Dromey - had used "the Unite block vote". We then all sang the “Red Flag” followed by “Jerusalem”.  Then after several minutes of clapping and cheering Ed, there was the traditional mad rush to pick up luggage and get to the train station. 

Beforehand John Denham MP had given a cracking speech warning the 4,500 Labour Councillors that they will have the fight of their lives to make sure they protect essential public services.  He also exposed the crucial flaw in Cameron’s “Big Society” that volunteers want to supplement public services not replace them. He gave the example of people who volunteer to “befriend” pensioners but they would not want to replace the services of the district nurse. 

Harriet was then introduced by UNISON activist, Norma Stephenson, who had been elected the Chair of the Labour Party NEC last night. 

Building a New Jerusalem is now on hold until 2015 at the latest.  The opportunity may come sooner but it is best to plan for a long and at times very painful slog back to power.

I'll be trying to catch up on my posts about conference over the next few days.

“Building London’s Future” (& defending London’s poor & vulnerable)

The proposed Tory/Lib Dems reforms of housing benefit (HB) “will lead to two things - firstly a dramatic increase in homelessness which will result in a shift in London’s population -equal in size to a typical post war new town and secondly - deepening and abject poverty”.  So said the host, MP for Westminster North, Karen Buck MP, in her introduction to a “crisis” housing meeting on Thursday to launch this report by London Labour Party.

The report details David Cameron’s and his London Mayor, Boris Johnson, attempts to “cleanse” the Tory controlled boroughs in the Capital of their poor and the vulnerable by changing housing benefit to private tenants.

To show the seriousness of the situation there was a pretty high profile panel of speakers.  Labour Party Leader Harriot Harman MP, Shadow Secretary of State Yvette Cooper MP, Leader of LB Hammersmith & Fulham Labour Group Cllr Steve Cowan, Shadow Minister of Housing John Healey MP, GLA member and London Labour Party leader Len Duvall and Shadow Minister of London, Tessa Jowell MP.  This was before an audience of Councillors and housing activists from across London.

Despite working in housing in London I must admit to being rather shocked at the report and its conclusions.  I will try and post in more detail on each speaker and on the rest of the report another time (there was a lot of interesting stuff) but I’ll outline now the key thing about HB changes that should have every single person who gives a damn about London (and elsewhere) jumping up and down.

Housing benefit provides a roof over the heads of millions of people.  If these cuts to HB go ahead it will mean:-

Yvette Cooper MP: “One million families will lose £12 per week...50,000 of the poorest pensioners will lose £11 per week...Working families will also lose £12 per week...Disabled residents will lose £13 per week.  These are averages...A pensioner in a one-bed flat in Hackney will lose £21 per week...150,000 households in London will not have enough benefit to cover the rent...A population the size of Hackney could be forced to move to cheaper accommodation.  This is what you get from the £550 million of cuts to HB already announced.  Remember that the CONDEMS want £2.3 billion cuts in HB”. 

From the “Building London’s Future” report: “People in London will face on average £1,000 a year cut in support”....159,370 private sector tenants on Local Housing Allowance (LHA) will lose an average of £22 a week in the first wave of cuts....80% of LHA recipients in London will lose more than £10 a week...990 families in a 2-bed property in Tower Hamlets will lose on average £27 a week...73 families living a 2-bed property in Camden will lose on average £53 a week.

(as soon as I find a link to the report I will update but you can check this government site here to find out what will happen to your local authority)