Conference & Labour Party Supper 

Labour Party Conference 2009 Report

A sunny Brighton bathed the calm efficiency of the Labour Party Conference.

One of my first experiences was considering media issues at a BBC reception, listening to Mark Horrocks applauding the Labour government for setting up their Persian Service, without which the reporting on the Iranian election would not have taken place. Jeremy Bowen was saying that BBC opens doors in places like the Middle East, many of whose leaders WANT to be interviewed on BBC’s “Hard Talk”, balancing my view of frustrations with media. I was also reminded about the BBC’s charitable arm & about the global value of BBC World News(commercially -founded but the same values as the BBC).  I am anxious about whether the BBC would be in danger from the Tories.

As usual I was inspired by Compass. At one of their fringe meetings, surveying our recent economic problems…the need to avoid a party getting in to government on  a low turn-out…the ethics(!!!) of the bankers, Why didn’t we sack them?.. Lehman Brothers was about”shooting our wounded, eating our young”  and how Labour must inject morality into the markets. Banking is a public utility since we all need it, evoking the thought in me ”Why doesn’t everyone stampede to the Coop Bank”? I was also in discussions about the effects of Tory threats to reduce the number of MPs. To me, that would reduce democracy. We considered a Living Wage rather than a Minimum Wage; Labour absorbing the Greens; unemployment should dominate our policies not government debt: the need to debate PR which is  a complex issue for Labour supporters in our constituency and the danger of having a generation of voters who are not clear on the differences between Left and Right. So plenty of challenges there!

Hearing Billy Hayes speaking reinforced my solidarity with the unions. Billy was emphasising how the idea of  a,High Pay Commission chimes with the public. Billy’s pay is known but , usually, high salaries are not known. People perceive that Trade Unions do good on issues like Health and Safety etc but don’t value the unions sufficiently. When I recently saw working conditions in Third world countries or in some British private companies without unions, I frequently lamented the unjust conditions for many workers.

I had several discussions with Phil Hope, Secretary of State for Social Care, one of which was to present him with our constituency’s responses to The Big Care Debate. He “ thanked us for engaging local people in the debate and for shaping the future of the care service for years to come.” We are continuing the debate particularly for the many neglected or forgotten carers.

My Monday morning was a blast from Alistair Darling asserting how  “getting people into work is an article of faith for us”  in the face of the what was a possible economic tidal wave at the beginning of the recession. I am sure that History will recognise how Gordon & the Labour Government led us out of the recession. I hope that voters do. Alistair reminded us how governments around the world recognised that the recovery would not have happened without Gordon’s policy . At every stage the Tories opposed our suggestions for economic solutions. In Alistair’s speech , I was also heartened to hear that Labour is cracking down on off-shore tax havens.

At the Guardian Debate, David Miliband was stirring and incisive about how we are going to have to defend a diverse Britain and we need to stand loud and proud in favour of our country being international. We care about distribution of wealth so we care about productivity. Helena Kennedy insisted that we must go back over Tory comments during the last 12 years, where they castigated Labour for bringing in too much financial regulation. She proclaimed that there had been too many occasions for which they should be held to account. The Debate affirmed my belief that Britain is a far better place in 2009 than it was in 1997.

Peter Mandelson’s speech startled and entranced all listeners. He gave a dazzling annihilation of “Boy George’s” non-policies. With superb pacing, he switched from humour to passion to humility(yes,   about three times!) yet, simultaneously, the steel of his vision was structured by his complex analysis of the nation’s problems and Labour’s remedies. He was like a powerful jaguar or was it a British Bulldog? It was some of each. He gave a sense of a man who made things happen. He celebrated that we are still the world’s sixth biggest manufacturer and promised that we’re going to do more to put finance at the service of industry by building up new public channels to deliver private funds to innovative and fast growing companies. We want closer links between universities and industry that don’t stop at the research lab or library door. He was a man at his political peak, a missionary, zealous and realistic .

With Richmond constituency in mind I was encouraged by Hilary Benn’s dedication to British agriculture. He was focused on the need to produce food today and protect soil and land in preparation for the greater number of people in the next generation. Quoting Darwin’s, “It’s not the strongest, nor the most intelligent but it’s the ones who are the most adaptable who will survive”, his policies are underpinned with the need to adapt, use and value everything around us eg recycling.

On Climate change, Ed Miliband reminded us that in Bangledesh,  2 million people lived on sandbanks or chars. Their homes were swept away by floods in 2007. They are at the frontline of the disaster of climate change and that is why it is essential we get a global deal in Copenhagen.

I made sure that I was at the Rethink/ Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health meeting where I was reminded of the danger that a recession and greater unemployment may create more mental health problems and the government’s determination to provide for this.

I did ask the Minister to include in the New Horizons consultation   provision for Carers of mentally ill people. I raised discussion in the meeting about employers’ attitudes to people as they become mentally ill, recover or while they are ill. Many people supported my point to the minister. The Rethink Political officer is now keeping in touch with me as well as Gordon McConochie from the Princess Royal Trust for Carers. We had a 2 hour breakfast meeting the next morning from which  issues emerged to be focused on. Greater brokerage and advocacy services need to be provided; GPs need more awareness of Carers and mental illness ; carers not receiving the extra respite care recently funded and the problem for carers who receive the state Pension but lose their Carers allowance. Coincidentally, Yvette Cooper was behind us as we discussed this and she explained that the Carers allowance is categorised as a work replacement pension which cannot be paid when the state Pension is received. I am now campaigning for it to be recategorised. Carers save the NHS annually between £67  and £87 billion(2 sets of research).

On International Development, Douglas Alexander pointed that the Tories halved the Aid budget and we have trebled it. I am unswerving in my belief that we have global responsibilities not insular national ones. David Miliband condemned the Tories  with their wrong values, wrong judgement and wrong decision to ally with isolated right-wing countries in Europe. He had a fierce determination for us to achieve civilian governments for Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Burma.

Gordon Brown’s Speech was determined, business-like and inspired confidence not only at the conference but afterwards among voters to whom I have been speaking.

Andy Burnham was impressive for the ease with which he grasped huge NHS issues but also his receptiveness to discuss mental health.

I did attend the Labour life meeting, where, on embryonic research, I was clamouring for more use of adult stem cells in research and was helped by the scientific report of David Taylor MP and by the work of Jim Dobbin,  who works hard with the All-Party Committee. David informed us of recent breakthroughs with iPS cells which have seen more attention being focused on adult stem cells, holding out in many cases the promise of real hope for patients. I was also reassured with updates on the complex issue of assisted dying.

I spent a great deal of time discussing issues with unions, supporting campaigns such as Unison’s Million Voices, with their dramatic metaphor of a lollipop ice lady as an ice sculpture melting away.  I attended the Christian Socialist Movement’s launch of the Faiths’ Taskforce, where MPs from Xtian , Muslim Jewish and Sikh Faiths have come together to create more social justice. The meeting gave me a real sense of breaking through prejudice and into common good.

I enjoyed fraternising with Janet and Gerry , networking with our Northern comrades and discussing politics late into the night. As Shakespeare said,”Oh Brave New World that had such people in it.”

Eileen Driver 

Labour Party Supper with Hilary Benn

Eileen Driver with Hilary Benn

At a crowded Labour Party Supper in Stokesley Town Hall, Eileen Driver, ( Labour Spokesperson for Richmond Constituency) introduced the Secretary of State for DEFRA, Hilary Benn.  The successful Open Evening was organised by Stokesley & Great Ayton Labour Party, attracting a large audience who was gave a standing ovation to the Minister at the end of his speech, in which he vigorously endorsed Gordon Brown’s political skills as Prime Minister and reminded the audience   of Labour’s many achievements such as the NHS, which has never been more successful, yet is taken for granted. He reminded the gathering of how often, when campaigners are in conversation about Labour’s policies, the public recognise the ways in which people’s lives have been improved by the present government.

Hilary Benn answered probing questions about education, pensions and child poverty, emphasising the need for communities to be more involved in production of their own energy.

Among his many serious and incisive explanations of Labour policies, he entertained the audience with several stories about his father, Tony Benn.

The supper was preceded by Hilary meeting with a group of local farmers to discuss   a wide range of issues, from problems for tenant farmers; processes for approving pesticides; supermarket pricing of milk and drifting of crop-spraying. Hilary stressed the need for partnership between DEFRA and farmers while reassuring the meeting of the Government’s keenness to reduce the bureaucratic burden for farmers as much as possible.

His energy and enthusiasm created a lively evening of strong political discussion, particularly relevant on a day which began with a Cabinet reshuffle in which, luckily for the British public, such a generous and capable politician was retained as Secretary of State for DEFRA.

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