David Miliband gave a stirring talk to more than 200 Labour supporters in the Punjabi Community Centre, Kembry Street last night (18th August). Â He highlighted the damage caused by only 100 days of Tory govermnent – and it is a Tory government since the fig leaf of the LibDems have allowed them to be more reactionary even than Margaret Thatcher.
He celebrated all that the last Labour Government had achieved (2 million jobs, national minimum wage, peace in Northern Ireland, record investment in schools, hospitals and police), and contrasted the sound management with the risks now being taken: Â disorganising the NHS at huge cost, no clear economic policy, disinvestment in industry and universities, selling nature reserves, revising electoral boundaries irrespective of communities.. the list goes on …
In answering questions he covered a list of issues and policies on which Labour should focus to win back the 5 million electors lost since 1997. Â These included:
- Fair wages – fighting against inequality not just poverty – through a living wage, a High Pay Commission and employee representation on the pay committees of top firms to check corporate excess.
- Labour choices on the deficit – opposing and exposing the Tory Liberal government’s choice to take a huge gamble with our economic future. We should be starting cuts at the top not the bottom. Doubling the bank levy would allow us to keep the capital allowances that support manufacturing.Scrapping tax breaks for private schools would allow us to reinstate Labour’s planned extension of free schools meals. Introducing a Mansion Tax on £2m homes would raise as much as the Tories are cutting from the poorest on Housing Benefit.
- Building the new economy – building a more balanced economy of good jobs and shared prosperity, through an active industrial policy and private sector reform.
- A greener Britain – fighting against global warming, using government to maximise the opportunities of a low carbon economy to create new industries and good new jobs.
- Strong communities – tackling anti-social behaviour while reducing reoffending. Dealing with concerns about migration, but never letting Labour become an anti-immigrant party. Strengthening local government and building more affordable homes.
- Closing the class gap in education – attracting the best teachers, reforming the curriculum to make it exciting and relevant, and providing more opportunities for young people from the poorest backgrounds to get to university.
There is still time to join the Labour Party and vote in the leadership election – click on the link opposite.
Caption: David Miliband with Labour Group Leader Derique Montaut and Councillors Mark Dempsey and Junab Ali.
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