Report of Labour Grassroots meeting addressed by John McDonnell in Cardiff

Report of Labour Grassroots meeting addressed by John McDonnell in Cardiff

About 60 people from across South Wales listened to John McDonnell, together with other Welsh politicians (Paul Flynn MP Newport, Carwyn Jones, AM for Bridgend, and Jane Davidson, AM for Pontypridd) addressed the AGM of Welsh Labour Grassroots last weekend. Briefing, Socialist Appeal and Campaign group were there together with the Fabian Society.

Paul Flynn spent time talking about Afghanistan. At the STW meeting a couple of weeks before he had said that he thought John McDonnell was a non-starter in the leadership contest. I don’t think he repeated it here although I didn’t hear all of his speech and he left before McDonnell spoke.


McDonnell started by giving his credentials as a loyal LP member over many years. He blamed LP losses in council elections on the policies of New Labour which he saw as arising from a coup by Mandelson, Blair and Brown in 1994; this coup had been about personal ambition rather than policies.

The trade unions were key to his campaign and in particular he was looking for rank and file support. He claimed 58% of the T&G supported his campaign and called for this meeting to become a campaigning committee for contacting the trade unions. He pointed out that the unions should ballot their individual members and that there was campaigning to be done there. He called for a comradely TV debate.

Looking back on it Mc Donnell didn’t really have very much to say that was particularly new.

Additional information
Carwyn Jones complained that the press did not report the LP good news stories and he believed that in Wales Labour had completed its agenda. He was concerned, as were many in the audience, that Blair would not resign in time for them to shake off the unpopularity he had brought onto the LP in time for them to campaign effectively in time for the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) elections in May 2007.

There is a suggestion put out by LP members here that Wales is ‘different’. Somehow more left and less contaminated by spin than the Westminster politicians. Actually this is pretty much rubbish – the LP in Wales does not have a particularly left record.

Carwyn Jones criticised Plaid for wanting things that were unaffordable and complained that there was a press blackout on LP good news.

I understand that McDonnell is to be asked by Cardiff Trades Council to another meeting. It is hoped that he and a local Unison activist will debate with Roger Bannister and another CNWP member over the way forward for the working class – inside or outside the Labour Party? This is obviously an SP initiative.

Pauline

Tue 24, October 2006 @ 22:26