Campaigner

Meacher enters Labour leader race

Meachers splitting tactics

What I wouldn't want to see is the kind of internecine dispute for which the Left are famous, or infamous. John McDonnell is the candidate with credibility. Meachers credentials, as a candidate of the Left, are much more ambiguous

BBC reports Labour MP Stephen Pound, who described Mr Meacher as a "faintly ridiculous" figure, said he would be surprised if the veteran left-winger managed to get the required support. "It's a pity because, frankly, he's going to get humiliated," said the Ealing North MP. "I suspect he knows that, if he put his ego to one side a bit he would realise that."

THE WESTMINSTER WHISTLEBLOWERS

I thought you might be interested to know about ‘The Westminster Whistleblowers’, the book I have written about the Shirley Porter years at Westminster and the ‘Homes for Votes’ scandal.

You and your Fabian colleagues might be interested in reading about this unique local government scandal. It is available at all good bookshops and on amazon.co.uk. You can also borrow it from your local library!  Regards

Paul Dimoldenberg

THE WESTMINSTER WHISTLEBLOWERS

Shirley Porter, Homes for Votes and 20 years of Scandal in Britain's Rottenest Borough

PAUL DIMOLDENBERG Published on 18 September 2006 in paperback at £12.99

ISBN 1 84275 179 4

In 2003, Paul Dimoldenberg, leader of the Labour Group on the Westminster City Council, gave BBC Today journalist Andrew Hosken secret papers about the council’s disgraced ex-leader Dame Shirley Porter, who owed the council £42 million surcharge for her ‘Homes for Votes’ activities during the 1980’s.  As a direct result of the Today programme broadcasts, the Council was forced to dramatically increase its lack-lustre efforts to recover the millions owed by Porter.

Shirley Porter’s Westminster Council was a place of fear, as she rode roughshod over fellow councillors and council officials alike. Under this climate of absolute rule, practices that would have been rejected by any other council became policy and the norm.

Under her leadership, three cemeteries were sold for 15 pence, causing distress to thousands, and had to be bought back for millions. However, the biggest scandal centred round the sale of council homes in eight key marginal wards, in order to remove potential Labour voters and replace them with homeowners, who were considered more likely to vote Conservative.

It took the District Auditor many years to uncover what happened. And with the active digging of Dimoldenberg and his Labour group, Shirley Porter was finally surcharged £42 million. Meanwhile, Porter, who was regularly reported to have amassed a £70 million fortune, claimed to have assets of only £300,000. Working closely with the BBC Today programme, the author was in the forefront of tracking down Porter’s web of off-shore finances and, finally, forcing her to pay back £12.3 million.

Despite the vital help Dimoldenberg gave the Council to recover the Porter millions, Westminster Council was determined to get its own back on one of its main tormentors. Following the Today programme broadcasts the Council reported him to the Standards Board for passing confidential information to the press. The penalty, if found guilty, was  disqualification from the Council. Dimoldenberg mounted a two-year campaign to vindicate his actions.

Paul Dimoldenberg is the leader of the Labour group on Westminster City Council, and played an active role in the action against Shirley Porter and her colleagues.

St Athans Secret PFI

Express & Star Midlands Life: West Midlands features, people and ...
St Athan is the preferred choice for the MeTRIX consortium including Qinetiq and Nord-anglia. But the clear message from the locals near St Athan is to take ...See also http://welshwomensvoice.blogspot.com/ for campaign agaisnt St Athans Military Academy

New Bill of Rights proposed

A new Bill of rights  is proposed Future Britain is a new initiative, from a broad coalition, to push for a bill of rights and to protect personal liberty. But not until Feb but will come back to this. From the Observor

Inconsiderate parking and speeding

Inconsiderate parking and speeding blight the lives of people in Cardiff.

We want to see

1. pavement parking banned

2. parking regulations to be strictly enforced

3. a reduction in street clutter

4. pavements and crossings fit for purpose and

5. a stop to this anti-social behaviour.

Origin of Asbos

What do you think of Asbos? Download asbos_briefing.doc

Morgan raises respect 'tensions'

First Minister Rhodri Morgan has suggested there could be differences between Wales and England over measures to tackle anti-social behaviour.

How will you vote in the May poll?

The stage is set for one of the fiercest battles of Wales' young democracy. In a little over four months, Labour could lose power for the first time since the National Assembly was set up in 1999.

Blair plan or Rhodris plan or New Labour spinners plan?

Blair plan for 'people's panels'

The prime minister has called for "people's panels" to help push through key public service reforms. Tony Blair says the panels will be made up of members of the public who will be asked to advise ministers on the most difficult areas of policy. They will discuss issues such as government plans to influence lifestyles and healthy living

Is this the same as the one real policy idea suggested by Rhodri in a speech to the Compass group at the beginning of December is that the Assembly will set up a Petitions Committee, to guarantee that issues which matter to people up and down Wales get onto their Assembly’s agenda! Wow! Sounds just like Tony Blairs e-petition! http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/ but it sounds just like Tony Blairs idea!

Was this an original idea by Rhodri? Or did Tony pinch it off Rhodri or was it another New Labour wheeze?

News from Sunder Katwala General Secretary

We wish all Fabian members a happy Christmas and an enjoyable holiday break.

In 2007,

Britain

gets a new Prime Minister - but what else should change?

We will be seeking to put a progressive agenda on inequality, democracy, the environment, community and foreign policy at the centre of debate. We hope to see many of you as we kick off the political year with the Fabian New Year Conference on Saturday January 13^th.

Fabian Review Next Decade issue

Fabian members will receive the ‘Next Decade’ special issue of the Fabian Review, published on Tuesday January 2^nd, during the holiday break, including:

* Richard Reeves on the new next decade issues facing politics;
*

Tim Horton

on why more confidence about ideology is needed for Labour to reconnect with voters as well as party members.
* Conference speakers set out what needs to change in key policy areas:
- Glenys Kinnock on foreign policy
- Karen Buck on inequality
- Fran Abrams on education,
- Stephen Hale on the environment
- Kirsty McNeill on democracy.

Fabian Next Decade Lecture Series

You can read the first three speeches in the Fabian Next Decade lecture series – which has been previewing several of the key conference issues, including foreign policy and the environment – at the links below.

Ed Balls launched the lecture series on ‘

Britain

’s Next Decade’, and argued that global change will shape domestic politics – and mean a stronger role for

Europe

.
http://www.fabian-society.org.uk/press_office/display.asp?id=575&type=news&cat=43

Charles Clarke spoke on ‘the World After Bush’, on how an effective left internationalism needs to learn the lessons of

Iraq

and

Afghanistan

http://www.fabian-society.org.uk/press_office/display.asp?id=578&type=news&cat=43

David Miliband argued that red-green renewal was essential, and warned that Labour will be unelectable if it does not raise its game on the environment.
http://www.fabian-society.org.uk/press_office/display.asp?id=579&type=news&cat=43

Best wishes and thanks to all members for your support and engagement with the Fabian Society during the year. We hope you will join us for a politically stimulating new year.

Sunder Katwala

General Secretary
sunder.katwala@fabian-society.org.uk

Fabian new Year conference: how to book
A conference booking form is enclosed with the Fabian Review; the conference telephone line 020 7 227 4914 is open during office hours until Friday 22nd, and again from January 2^nd. The form can be downloaded from the Fabian website at the link below.
http://www.fabian-society.org.uk/press_office/display.asp?id=577&type=news&cat=43

Welsh Grand meets despite growing calls for its demise

Dec 14 2006 Tomos Livingstone, Western Mail 

THE Welsh Grand Committee of MPs met yesterday amid growing calls for it to be wound up.

The committee consists of the 40 Welsh MPs and up to five others, and was formed in 1960 in a bid to head off what were then growing calls for some form of devolution.

It was intended to allow Welsh MPs to debate Bills that related only to Wales, but with the Assembly now established it meets rarely, usually to discuss the Queen's Speech or the budget.

Yesterday's meeting - four and-a-half hours long - was convened to discuss this year's Queen's Speech, Tony Blair's last before stepping down as Prime Minister.

But several MPs are now privately questioning the future of the committee - although one idea being floated is that it could be used to carry out scrutiny of the new Assembly laws and orders in council.