Gillian Duffy now famous in America
So after all that hullabaloo, Gillian Duffy is now even famous in the USA, thanks to the Daily Show!
Jon Stewart is the best political satirist going at the moment, though Gillian may appear a sweet little old lady, but she does have bigoted though mainstream ideas regarding Eastern Europeans.
Yarl’s Wood: Hunger striker released from Holloway
Following a third bail hearing on 26 April, Ms K won her long overdue release from Holloway prison.
Activists showing solidarity with Yarl's Wood Hunger Strikers
Ms K participated in the recent six week hunger strike in Yarl’s Wood Removal Centre. She was wrongly labelled a ring-leader by guards and on the fourth day, tricked into leaving the crowd of other women, snatched and ghosted to Holloway. She suffered racist abuse from guards and was told “You are from the jungle, you should go back.”
Ms K then faced an onslaught of unfounded and shameful allegations from UKBA aimed at discrediting her and preventing her release. Her solicitor Toufique Hossain, Lawrence Lupin Solicitors and barrister Raza Halim, Garden Court Chambers had to work overtime to prove that these allegations were false.
TMP Spotlight on Ben Stevenson Communist Candidate for Croydon North
Ben Stevenson of the Communist Party of Britain spoke with TMP about why he is standing to become the next member of Parliament for the Croydon North constituency. We invite and welcome his competitors also to respond.
TMP: What are your top 2 priorities for your constituency of Croydon North?
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And the struggle continues: women’s liberation 40 years on
Organised by Feminist Fightback. Sunday 2nd May, 2pm-6pm, Marchmont Community Centre, 62 Marchmont St, London WC1N 1AB
In 1970 hundreds of women gathered for a free conference at Ruskin College that would launch the Second Wave of feminism. As men provided the childcare, women discussed and debated ideas and experiences, and identified what the aims of the Women’s Liberation Movement as they saw it, should be.
Feminist Fightback invite you to an afternoon of film showings and discussions as we think about how far we have come, what feminism looks like today, how the struggle continues, and put the battles women fight today in the context of the history of the Women’s Liberation Movement.
Review of Billy Bragg in “Pressure Drop”
By Mark Inger / @BaronBattersea
I’m embarrassed to say that until last week I had never been to The Wellcome Collection, a glorious building on Euston Road housing a museum displaying an unusual mixture of medical artefacts and original artworks. My visit was not to see anything unusual as such, but to see ‘Pressure Drop’, a mix of gig, play and art installation, all held together by the Bard of Barking himself, Billy Bragg.
Written by Mick Gordon, ‘Pressure Drop’ tells the story of a London based white working class family in the run up to the funeral of recently deceased grandfather Ron. The funeral causes the family to take a long hard look at their own lives, in particularly Ron’s son John, laid off from the local ‘plant’ and disenfranchised with England and resentful of immigration to the local area. John’s childhood friend Tony is playing on John’s vulnerability and desperately trying to get him to stand in the local Council elections for a party that we never actually hear the name of, but we can safely assume is a far right outfit based on the BNP.
GE2010: Rant of the Month
Three Dog Race. Photograph: Matt Dunham/AP
I thought that this election would be fought on the principles, philosophies, and policies that would make Britain a better place and speed up the recovery after the bankers led us into the deepest recession ever in 70 years. I have been proved wrong already. Instead dealing with how to mend the economy, get businesses thriving and get jobs going again, we are being treated to the old tired political arguments; on the same old battle grounds of Defence, Europe and Immigration.
So how does the whole £100 billion Trident nuclear system affect me if it will not and cannot be used? How and whom does it make me safe from? Iran? China? Why do the Chinese need to fight us when they are already whipping us in what matters, the economy. Will Trident or its replacement prevent anyone of us in Britain from being killed in fight previously known as the “Global War on Terror“? Is the nuclear deterrent, the best use of our taxes?
Spotlight on Debating Climate Ministers
On Wednesday 21st April at the Guardian Climate Minister Debate in London, the room was crammed with the luminaries of the climate world. 10:10, Oxfam, WWF, Greenpeace, Climate Rush, Green Alliance and the UK Youth Climate Coalition were there, as well as environmental journalist George Monbiot waiting like an attack dog in the front row, ready to pounce.
First impressions? Well with three very-nicely-spoken men standing behind the podiums making gentle jibes at each other, I thought I had perhaps stumbled into a boys’ school debate. Ed Miliband, current Energy and Climate Change Minister, was the enthusiastic and slightly domineering head boy; Greg Clark, shadow minister, the one who didn’t know all the answers and was regularly found cheating on his homework; and Liberal Democrat Simon Hughes, the rebel who was just crying out for a leather jacket and a fag to puff on.
Clegg Academy Visit Cancelled By Strike
Crest Academy Teachers on Strike
The overwhelming majority of teaching staff at Crest Boys Academy were on strike to on Wednesday, 21st April. A planned visit to the school by Nick Clegg was cancelled. The strike was taking place because E-Act (previously Edutrust) are making staff redundant despite recent reports of their Chief Executive, Sir Bruce Liddington, having a salary and bonuses approaching £300 000 per year and also lavish expenditure by top executives on luxury £300+ suites in hotels, mini-bar tabs and £250 pound taxi rides – all at taxpayer’s expense. Lord Bhatia, Chair of Trustees of E-Act, in its previous incarnation as Edutrust, resigned after allegations of financial irregularities.
Hank Roberts, Brent ATL and NUT Secretary said “They changed their name, replaced their top person and carry on as before. It reminds me of a dodgy firm on Watchdog. Surely an enquiry should be held into their finances.”
Fairer Britain? That’s racialist!
Simply brilliant, the scary thing is that I know someone like this:
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GE2010 Spotlight: Asylum & Immigration Policies
As part of The Multicultural Politic‘s coverage on the General Election, we will be reviewing the parties’ manifesto pledges and policy of particular interest, we start by looking at the important and emotive topic of immigration and making our own case for a different policy direction.
What is striking about the mainstream parties (the so-called Big Three) Asylum and Immigration Policies is that there is a lot of consensus. The choice on immigration is limited to the question of having an reformed, stricter and “final” undocumented workers’ amnesty law or not, having an immigration cap administered by an absolute number or by a points system (including a regional one). The issue of the real need for ageing Britain to have more immigrants is completely ignored, this sends the message that more immigration (particularly African and Asian economic migrants) is bad for Britain. Immigration needs to be talked about a lot more, especially evidence based arguments as opposed to the usual appealing to emotion and xenophobia.
Read more