Tribune – Comment, news and reviews from Britain's democratic left

Blogging for Labour: How social media can drive a wedge into the coalition. Chaired by Mary Honeyball MEP.

Speakers include:n Jessica Asato (social media lead for the David Miliband leadership campaign), Alex Smith (Editor, Labour List), Tom Harris MP (blogger) and Cllr John Gray (Lambeth concillor, blogger).

Monday September 27, 6pm, in Manchester Central – Charter 1.

That old bruiser John Prescott was in suitably feisty mood when the names of Labour’s Vichy collaborators – Frank Field, John Hutton and Alan Milburn – came up.

“They collaborated to get Gordon Brown out. Now they’re collaborating to keep David Cameron in.”

Tomorrow the Labour party conference will debate a motion from the Communication Workers Union attacking Business Secretary Vince Cable’s plans to fully privatise Royal Mail, and committing Labour to keeping Royal Mail entirely in the public sector.

Meanwhile, the CWU has drawn up a plan of action for campaigning on the ground against the coalition and its MPs. As general secretary Billy Hayes explained at the TUC Congress recently:

“We’ll be going into 71 marginals where the coalition has a majority of less than five per cent. In these marginals we only need to win over five of every hundred to make progress on defeating privatisation.

“We know it’s a big task but we’re helped that all candidates have come out against privatisation.”

Two Lib Dem MPs and one conservative, the maverick Daniel Kawczynski, signed an early day motion against privatisation before the election. But the union is hoping to put more MPs with slim majorities under pressure by linking up with community groups and making the issue about public services under threat.

(On the subject of Royal Mail, Ed Miliband told Labour’s affiliated unions: “I believe that we need to show as a party, including in the case of Royal Mail, that we can modernise and improve public services without resorting to privatisation”.)

Perhaps the biggest policy issue for Ed Miliband’s Labour is how they respond to the coalition’s cuts programme and present their alternative economic strategy.

Right here – in Manchester – and right now, that means deciding what stance to take at party conference. There isn’t much time for deliberation.

Labour’s affiliated unions have mostly decided to go for cuts and the economy in choosing their motions for debate this year.

The GMB and train drivers’ union ASLEF are pushing for a motion on tax avoidance, keen to argue that billions can be raised by collecting more tax. Unison is demanding an alternative to attacks on public services and a review of the effects of privatisation, with a view to reversing the New Labour privatisation trend, while Unite and Community want to get conference to agree to an alternative economic and industrial strategy. Community, in particular, will seek to get in a mention of Sheffield Forgemasters, the plant denied an £80 million loan by the coalition government. This should go in, given that the Labour frontbench have been trying to make merry hell for Sheffield MP Nick Clegg.

Everyone at this conference agrees that the coalition’s cuts are wrong. The question is: how wrong? And what would you do instead? Will Ed Miliband agree with wannabe Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls that this is the time or investment, not cuts (contrary to Labour’s pre-election plan to start cutting the deficit this year)? And will he welcome motions calling on him to agree to that?

On the one hand, he risks being seen as a hard-left deficit denier by the media and public. On the other, he risks failing to put blue water between Labour and the coalition, and sounding too much like his brother.

Union and constituency reps are sitting down today to agree composite motions on the economy, taxation and other issues. Ed M and his team will be watching, at very least.

Palestine: for Peace and Justice discusses why the siege in Gaza must be ended. For Labour party members, implementing international law, ending injustice and supporting human rights are core values. Join us to discuss the impact of Israel’s occupation on Palestinians and the growing movement for peace and justice.

Speakers include: Haneen Zoabi (Israeli Arab MK, who was on board the Gaza flotilla). Hugh Lanning (Chair, Palestinian Solidarity Committee), Tony Woodley (Joint General Secretary, Unite), Richard Burden MP, Andy Slaughter MP.

Sunday September 26, 5.30pm at the Radisson Hotel.