Jamie Driscoll is turning out to be a bit of a breakthrough spokesperson for alternatives to the ‘Establishment’ policies of the Tory/fascists and Keir Starmer’s party, that used to be Labour.
Last week he was invited to speak on BBC Radio 4’s Any Questions – and made a lot of sense.
Here’s part of what he had to say:
I was on @BBCRadio4#AnyQuestions on Friday. I was asked about poverty and levelling up. We reduce poverty through full employment. That's my ambition for the North East. A job for everyone that wants one. It says something about our dimished ambitions that we no longer talk… pic.twitter.com/t2G7xN1K2E
Does it inspire you to look up other independents in your own constituency, to whom you might be encouraged to give your vote – rather than to the so-called Big Two or the Liberal Democrats, whose only policy seems to be to go into coalition with one of the others if they get a few seats in Parliament?
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Is there a media blackout on Independent candidates in the Parliamentary by-elections on Thursday (July 20, 2023)?
High-profile support: Independent Socialist Rosie Mitchell’s campaign in Somerton and Frome is endorsed by film director Ken Loach.
Many of them would say yes, it seems. Whether deliberately or by accident, the mass media are focusing on the usual Establishment parties – the Tories, Labour, Liberal Democrats and so on.
This is to ignore the rising force in UK politics: the left-wing Independents.
We saw in May that former Labour Party members – who either quit or were excluded by Keir Starmer and his cronies – are winning the hearts, minds and votes of an electorate that is desperate for change.
Thursday’s by-elections mean former-Labour Independents have a chance to take seats in Parliament – if they can bypass the media blackout.
Vox Political is not the force it once was – because there’s censorship of certain political sites on the social media – but let’s do our best to make sure voters know they have a choice.
We start here:
Rosie Mitchell – Independent Socialist candidate for Somerton and Frome
Like many of the new Independents, Rosie is a former member of the Labour Party. She joined in 2016 when Jeremy Corbyn was leader, but she and the party parted company in 2020, after Keir Starmer took over.
Rose has published three videos laying out some of her priorities. Here they are:
Isn’t it pleasant to hear a political candidate actually saying what they want to do?
She has published further details in a micro-manifesto on Facebook which you can read here.
Rosie, a conductor on GWR trains and member of the RMT Union, was raised locally and has lived in Frome since 2015.
She says: “Today’s party politics have left so many of us feeling disenfranchised, politically homeless and without that hope and excitement we had in the past.
“As an independent candidate I’m not hiding where my personal values lie, but I want to be very clear that I won’t be constrained to toe any party line – leaving me free to listen to your concerns, opinions and needs as my prospective constituents.
“Policy-wise we are focussing on the biggest issues of the day; the cost of living crisis and the undermining of public services.
“I will be working towards reform and reinvestment in our struggling NHS, fairer housing so people can live here comfortably, better transport links for our communities so people can access employment and essential services and the environment, cleaning up our rivers as a priority.
“I am committed to promoting equality at every level and a fairer, less profit driven system that works for society and for the planet. We do not need to understand every nuance of each other’s identities to have respect, compassion, and kindness towards one another.
“Likewise, our respect for the environment, our countryside and the liveable future of this planet need to be paramount in all decisions we make going forward.”
If you’re in Somerton and Frome and still need convincing, how about this: Rosie’s campaign is endorsed by legendary film director Ken Loach, who met her earlier this month.
He said: “The current crisis needs radical changes. I support Rosie Mitchell. She stands for returning the collapsing NHS to it’s first principles and removing the profiteers from health care; taking back our public utilities like water, to public ownership; an integrated transport system, owned by the people – as a railway worker, Rosie knows what she is talking about; an end to fossil fuels, action not words on climate change; peace and human rights, not slavishly following the USA’s lead.
“Rosie stands with the people she would represent and would fight on their behalf.”
Can any of the candidates from the big political party machines say the same?
Sadly, those big parties do have a lot of machinery to help them cajole voters into supporting them – and Independent candidates like Rosie do not.
Instead, she has been doing something else – actually going out to visit voters and talking with them.
But this won’t be enough. She needs help.
So if you are in Somerton and Frome – or you know somebody who is – how about doing your bit to help democracy by passing on this article and/or details of Rosie and her campaign?
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I’ve decided to resign from @UKLabour and serve as an Independent Mayor.
People are tired of being controlled by Westminster and Party HQs. They want someone to stand up for them. Let the people decide. £25k by end of Aug & I’ll stand as North East Mayor👉https://t.co/WuDEGd3xxJpic.twitter.com/kscPeMmlX5
The letter in the tweet, to Labour leader Keir Starmer, states: “Given you have barred me from running as North East Mayor, despite being incumbent Mayor, I have no other choice. In 2020 you told me to my face that you would ‘inspire people to come together… disciplining people to be united is going nowhere.’ You’ve broken that promise.”
That’s one more broken promise to add to a very long list, then! And Mr Driscoll comments on this: “You’ve U-turned on so many promises: £28 billion to tackle the climate emergency, free school meals, ending university tuition fees, reversing NHS privatisation; in fact, a list of broken promises too long to repeat in this letter. And please stop saying ‘I make no apologies for…’ before you find yourself saying ‘I make no apologies for making no apologies.
“Britain is a mess. Wages have fallen behind inflation. People are struggling to pay mortgages. Knife crime is out of control. Business investment has flat lined. The climate response is barely existent. People with chest pains wait an hour for ambulances. Our transport system is in chaos.
“It is not grown-up politics to say Britain is broken, and then claim things are now so difficult
we will abandon any plan to fix it. That is mental gymnastics worthy of Olympic gold.”
Mr Driscoll continues: “Worst of all, you’ve said you’re not interested in hope and change. Well, I am – Britain needs hope and change. Instead of London Labour HQ barring me from running, you could have used my work as a showcase of economic competence.
“My Combined Authority has built affordable homes in rural and urban areas. I’ve worked with businesses large and small to deliver a pipeline of over 5,000 new jobs, all backed by our Good Work Pledge. Implemented a Green New Deal and invested heavily in offshore renewable energy. Our Child Poverty Prevention Programme is hailed as an exemplar of best practice. And we’ve increased adult education enrolments from 22,000 a year to 33,000 a year for the same budget. All this wealth generation was done without charging people a penny in council tax.
“I’ve led negotiations and delivered an expanded £4.27 billion devolution deal across the North East to transform our region’s transport system.
“I’ve done this by being pragmatic and putting results ahead of party politics – to the effect that I’ve received praise for my ‘constructive, non-partisan approach’ from Labour, Conservative, Lib Dem, Green and Independent Ministers, Mayors, MPs and councillors.
“I think I’ve shown that hope and change is not only possible – but that it’s a pragmatic, common sense response to the challenges of our time. This is not a time for faint hearts. It’s a time for bravery. Shy bairns get nowt.
“I didn’t become a politician until I was 48. I’m an engineer. Fixing broken systems is what I do.
“We need a new settlement. I value patriotism – and believe it’s expressed by public service, not xenophobia. My Dad drove a tank in the army, my brother served in the navy at the time of the Falklands. My politics are simple – I believe Britain should be run in the interests of the people who do the work. That includes those unable to work, and those retired from a lifetime of work. It’s not left-wing. It’s not right-wing. It’s common sense.
“The groundswell of support I’ve received has been humbling. Business leaders, trade union leaders, charity workers, huge numbers of Labour members, and elected politicians from every party have encouraged me to run as an independent, saying they will vote for me because the North East needs an autonomous voice that’s not in hock to Westminster Party HQs. They may be right.”
It all seems sensible to This Writer.
As an Independent, Mr Driscoll has no access to a political party’s electoral machine. He needs funds and he needs people who are willing to go out and campaign for him.
He has a GoFundMe site here. Its introductory information states: “A full campaign will cost around £150,000. I believe in listening to the public – so if you donate £25,000 by the end of August, I promise I’ll run. And I don’t hit that target, I won’t run. This decision is in your hands.
“As North East Mayor I’ll deliver a Total Transport Network, create a job for everyone who wants one, and deliver a Green New Deal. Find out more on my website https://jamiedriscoll.co.uk/”
Funders hit that £25k target in less than two hours. At the time of writing, he is well on his way to the full £150,000 needed to run a full campaign. I would urge you to support him.
And I would remind you that Jamie Driscoll is not the only former Labour representative now standing for election as an independent.
Expect information about the others in the very near future.
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Let’s start by setting out the situation: after dozens of people were arrested before the coronation under the Tories new, fascist Public Order Act, Labour’s David Lammy has said his party will not repeal that legislation if it gets to form a government.
His dismissal of demands for it, and his attitude in general, has been greeted with shock by an electorate that had been relying on Labour to actually fight Tory dictatorship, not join it:
It has left some of us asking where we could possibly turn instead.
Fortunately, a few options have presented themselves after the results of last Thursday’s local elections became clear. Several of the surprise winners appeared on the net-based Not The Andrew Marr Show on Sunday.
For example – the Green Party, exemplified by former Labour councillor Jo Bird:
So, people on the doorstep are not meekly accepting the claims of the main parties on the doorstep; they’re checking out those claims and voting on the basis of whether those claims are accurate or not. That could be a serious challenge for the Tories, whose relationship with the facts has always been unstable, but now also for Labour.
How about the former Liverpool Labour councillors who formed the Liverpool Community Independents and stood for election there? Here’s their account:
“The Labour Right can befriend you and then stab you in the back.” If that’s how they treat their fellow party members, how do you think they’ll treat ordinary voters who elect them into Parliament?
The victory also adds credibility to Lucy Williams’s claim that the Labour-run council is “incompetent”. We hear Tories attacking Labour councils on that basis, in Parliament, all the time and to have former Labour councillors elected back on that basis is damning for Starmer’s party. What’s going on there? Are these Labour councillors acting on duff orders from Starmer? Or are they complacent in their positions and can’t be bothered?
And they are already actively calling on voters to unseat the Labour MP in the constituency that includes their council area – Maria Eagle – in favour of an Independent.
Finally, former Labour activists linked up with others and formed a group called ‘Salt of the Earth’ to take 14 of 15 available seats on Winsford Town Council, in Cheshire:
“People were being patronised by Labour… It’s been crazy. There’s been a lot of smearing. It’s been really unpleasant.” Who wants to be represented by people like that?
I’m not saying this kind of unpleasantness is all that Labour has to offer; This Writer is a former Labour member and activist and I know plenty of people who are still party members and are, themselves, great human beings.
They’re all on the left wing of the party, of course.
These victories show that complacency of the kind that Lammy is displaying may well have had its day.
I certainly hope so. But what happens next is up to all of us.
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The full results aren’t in yet, but already a lot of nonsense is being said about the local elections in England and Northern Ireland.
The Conservatives have taken a hammering; at the time of writing they’re something like 10 per cent down on their previous position and could end up with just a quarter of the total councillors in England – putting them in a precarious position ahead of any future general election.
Labour has won a couple of hundred seats so far but the percentage swing in that party’s direction is negligible. I saw it described as something like 0.1 per cent in the early-early morning coverage.
As the early results came in overnight, This Writer saw a Conservative commentator saying Labour had only benefited because Tory voters had stayed at home.
This struck me as ironic, considering the point of the Tory legislation on “voter ID” was to stop Labour voters from coming out.
In that circumstance, it seems reasonable to believe that Labour could have won many more seats from the Tories if not for the new law to suppress voters.
Meanwhile, the Green Party’s support has skyrocketed, with the party almost doubling its share of councillors already. That’s a 93 per cent gain.
The Green Party has just made history by winning a majority on Mid Suffolk Council.
This is the first time ever the Greens have had majority control of a council in the UK.
But the biggest kick in the teeth for the main parties – especially Labour – is the strong performance of councillors who have been expelled from that party for being too left-wing (other excuses are available).
Usually when a person leaves a political party – or is, as in these cases, removed – and stand as an independent, they sink without a trace. Look at the performance of the Labour quitters who formed Change UK while Jeremy Corbyn was in charge, and then lost their seats in the 2019 general election.
Instead, independent left-wing candidates are retaining their seats across England.
Here are a few examples:
Alan Gibbons, a left wing councillor in Liverpool who was expelled from Labour for voting against cuts, has smashed it. Well done @mygibbo – wow! https://t.co/oTtsoo38nl
— Stats for Lefties 🏳️⚧️ (@LeftieStats) May 5, 2023
This is in Windsor:
"Wonderful result for Alison Carpenter in Windsor. Expelled from Labour and WON as an Independent. Congratulations." via@OcisaCorbynpic.twitter.com/3NIKw53pau
— Oliver 🌹✊💚 #ClimateAction #Socialist (@tynewrc) May 5, 2023
To me, this indicates that people are starting to give up on political tribalism – they’re not all voting for candidates just because of the name of the party those people represent.
Instead, they are voting for the people they know will represent them.
We should bear in mind that these are council elections in wards with low electorates and low turnouts.
But council election results are regarded as forecasts for general elections.
It would be welcome if more high-profile exiles from Labour – like Jeremy Corbyn, for example – took this as encouragement to seek election to Parliament as independents.
The times are changing. The Parliamentary elites have tried to dictate the policies we can support and the people available to get our vote – and across the country, people are saying they’re not going to put up with it.
It’s the way we are. We’ll put up with a lot – but there come a point when someone will try to tell us what to do and we’ll say: “No.”
It would be nice to think it’s because our culture has an innate sense of decency.
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You deserve fair wages; sick pay; reliable affordable transport; free childcare; affordable energy; debt free education; the right to food; a 4-day working week; paid bank holidays; free broadband and social care when you retire
The message is clear: if you’re a representative of the Labour Party under Keir Starmer, you do what Starmer wants – whether it is good for the electorate or not.
Get out of the Labour Party and you’re free to – well, to do your job!
Even when it comes to local elections, which kind of politician would you rather have?
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