A New Economy

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We all know we’re in real trouble in this country, don’t we ? People are starving, helpless to help themselves and getting no support from tax payer funded, central government’s DWP due to Tory austerity siphoning it all off to keep their lavish lifestyles going.

This government’s ideology is killing people.

But do we need the government anyway ?

Unite the Union and Gloucester Labour started a conversation called,
‘A New Economy’
We went along to see what they were saying.

After the initial meet and greet where John McDonnell (Shadow Chancellor) and Fran Boait (Labour parliamentary candidate for Gloucester) spoke to local people and heard many stories of suffering under Tory austerity as well as great actions being developed by community groups to combat it, we went outside the Guild Hall in Gloucester and John and Fran talked to the BBC and ITV, backed by the brilliant local Waspi campaigners.

We then interviewed John in front of local http://gloscan.org/ climate activists Dr Richard House and Richard Maisey.

John McDonnell interview https://youtu.be/EIH_MsxRJWk

We all went back inside for the main event where John said he feels for the first time that a general election is coming soon, as the house is doing no business at all, this has never happened before in the British government. It’s becoming just like the Northern Irish government .. the dup have vetoed all Tory proposals and the government is barely functioning .. that’s how he is able to come to events like this during the working week.

He said his purpose in coming to local constituencies is to tell us all what we need to do locally, we need to put forward and investigate local economic proposals for groups/companies asking for funding when the labour government comes.
That means we will have all the plans ready on the shelf for the people’s bank and know what local proposals will be funded by them.

Becca Kirkpatrick from Universal Basic income then spoke about making the UK economy work for society, not a society that works for the economy. It was suggested that Gloucester could pilot a basic income scheme.

A representative from North wilts suggested if the 570,000 members gave a tenner each we could build our own social housing, we wouldn’t need the government, and we could train young plumbers, electricians and carpenters on site too .. cooperative local labour.

Ros Scott-Hodgetts spoke about the Preston model and how it could be applied locally. For example, Preston pensions are being saved by pension pots only being invested in local projects.

https://thenextsystem.org/the-preston-model

Steve Gower spoke about his concerns over SIBs, Social Investment Bonds, a means for private money to support community services? or worryingly, a way for private business to profit from community services?

Steve Gower interview https://youtu.be/dWNbvlaws2c

If applied locally, correctly and transparently, this could be a valuable tool to support local services, at least until we can use the Labour Governments, people’s bank.

Tom Coole spoke about how a local council can work to support these initiatives to build a community system of finance and governance.

Nick Bailey spoke about how Unions can help with local support to protect people’s jobs and incomes.  

Professor Danny Dorling spoke about Wealth and inequality, saying that a new economy is a great way forward and while we have Tory austerity, probably the only way forward for most of us but what we really need is a Labour government, ready and able to support all the fantastic work being done and the ideas proposed that day.

Prof Danny Dorling interview https://youtu.be/LQowJbfLfr0

David Drew spoke about the need for collaboration and communication between local CLPs and how, together, we can absolutely, do this, as the Preston project has shown.

David Drew interview https://youtu.be/hCMA7ixyFsY

Fran Boait spoke about the problems Gloucester is facing and appealed for everyone in the community to work together to put these ideas into practice.

Fran Boait interview  https://youtu.be/l_-ef46p9vg

We came away from this extraordinary event energised! With a renewed passion for our mission to make lives better for everyone, we recommend attending meetings like this in your constituency!

And if you don’t have meetings like this ? Start one yourself!  Invite John McDonnell , Prof Dorling and your local community and join the conversation

‘A New Economy’

Speakers :
John McDonnell Shadow Chancellor
Nick Bailey, Unite Regional Officer
Tom Coole Gloucester councillor
Fran Boait Labour parliamentary candidate for Gloucester
Ros Scott Hodgetts Stroud Labour Party secretary
Becca Kirkpatrick Universal Basic Income
Professor Danny Dorling author of Peak Inequality http://www.dannydorling.org/
David Drew Mp Shadow minister for rural affairs
Steve Gower Activist and CAB counsellor

 

 

 

2 COMMENTS

  1. Hi there folks,
    Do you all know about this Consultation on the NHS “Integrated Care “. If you dont you should !.
    This concerns all of us, please read and respond. This is urgent. Please share with everyone.
    Thanks in advance Gordon.
    —————————————————————————
    Dear Friends,
    Thanks for signing STOP the plans to dismantle our NHS. This coming Friday is a landmark moment!

    NHS England’s consultation about the new Integrated Care Provider contract finishes and all the groups campaigning to save the NHS from devastating cuts, from takeover by health multinationals and from profit before people, are rallying in London, behind the #Justice4NHS Judicial Review Appeal, to stop the final dismantling blow, which is the Integrated Care Provider contract. This contract could see multibillion pound contracts handed over to the private sector to provide services for areas covering up to half a million people for 10 to 15 years

    .

    The NHS England new contract consultation contains trick questions. Contracts are not a suitable basis for treating sick people. Medics tell us that already people slip down between the cracks in the contracts and their needs can not be met and also that Medics spend too much time on contract compliance activities, at the expense of time spent on patient care.

    Unaccountable, non-NHS organisations could be given contracts to run NHS services for half a million people, across a whole geographical area for 10 to 15 years.

    If you don’t have time to respond to NHS England’s tricky Consultation, instead you can respond to the far shorter and more to the point Consultation that 999Call for the NHS is carrying out – info and link to their consultation are here . And/or you can write a letter in your own words to….

    ICT Consultation Team

    Area 2D NHS England,

    Skipton House, 80 London Road,

    London SE1 6LH.

    or [email protected]

    We’ve found that many so-called Consultations dismiss as emotional, opinions other than those the NHS want, so recommend you are brief, calm, controlled and include some evidence

    Clinical Commissioning Groups are ill equipped to procure and manage such complex contracts. They will spend money on management consultancy companies to do the work for them. And there is solid evidence that the employment of management consultancy companies does not benefit the NHS. (Kirkpatrick I, Sturdy A, Reguera Alvarado N, et al. The impact of management consultants on public service efficiency. Policy & Politics. 2018. doi:10.1332/030557318X15167881150799.)

    There is considerable confusion about how the contract will alter the Commissioners’ role and the extent to which an Integrated Care Provider would assume commissioning roles. This was evident from NHS England’s replies to questions at the Integrated Care Provider contract consultation event in Leeds on12th September.

    For example, NHS England was unable to explain what responsibilities for needs assessment the Clinical Commissioning Group would retain and what needs assessment the Integrated Care Provider would carry out, given their responsibility for meeting the needs of the whole population.

    The Court of Appeal will rule later this autumn whether this new contract is lawful or not.

    As the campaign groups come together on Friday against this contract threat, we invite you to join in. We know that together we can win this. Thank you for everything you do to help. Don’t forget to share this petition to stop the plans to dismantle the NHS.

    Best wishes

    Christine

    Christine Hyde started this campaign on the 38 Degrees Campaigns by You website. If there’s an issue close to your heart that you’d like to campaign on, you can start your campaign here.

    You are receiving this message because you signed the petition “STOP the new plans to dismantle our NHS.”. If you don’t want to receive emails from the “STOP

  2. I have just read through this article and it seems to hold a plethora of good ideas. I have not had the time to actually follow the links to the interviews but will. The only basic problem seems to me within the financial aspect of all good ideas. Financial institutions appear to own the nation and to control them. To endeavour to try ideas that are new, it would seem that the very idea of “usury” should be given consideration. If our nation has got itself, and us, into what seems equivalent to a life governed by credit cards and minimum monthly payments of interest, how on earth can we break free from such servitude and act in accordance with the ideas shown in the article. Politicians, in order to support short term claims have led us down the path of long term debt. We need a comparatively clean sheet in order for a complement of ideas such as these to form and grow and whilst we are in hock to the financial industries and whoever collects the interest on our debts there will be limits to the manner in which these ideas can grow

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