Long-Expected Announcement of Meacher Changes Nothing

I have just released the following press statement regarding Michael Meacher's announcement today that he is attempting to stand for Labour leader:

"We have been expecting Michael's announcement for over 9 months. It doesn't change things.

"It is clear that there should be an election for the leader of the Labour Party based upon a choice of policies not personalities. Michael's announcement doesn't change that choice.

"Labour Party members will still have the same choice between my record of voting against the war in Iraq, voting against tuition fees, voting against privatisation of our public services and cuts in benefits and the record of those ministers and former ministers like Gordon Brown and Michael Meacher, who have consistently voted for these policies.

"Virtually every rank and file organisation representing the active membership of the left of the Labour Party and the Trade Unions are publicly supporting my campaign and indeed ASLEF as the 1st union to nominate has unanimously nominated me. Our campaign on the stomp throughout the country is resulting in large numbers of people joining and rejoining the party and at long last young people are enthused by the prospect of a socialist challenge for the leadership.

"We now have about half the MP nominations required, with another 15 - 20 MPs who will support on the basis of a contest not a coronation. That leaves about 5 - 10 votes to fight for.

"I have asked Michael to come on board with our campaign but he's chosen to go his own way. Now let's have the debate on policies and the election and let the members decide."

The organisations that have so far committed to backing the campaign include: Aslef, T&G Broad Left, Amicus Unity Gazette, CWU Broad Left, Unison Broad Left, Scottish Labour Party Campaign for Socialism, Welsh Labour Grassroots, Labour Representation Committee, FBU and the RMT - as well as CLPs and trade union branches across the country.

We are also expecting nominations from other Labour party organisations in the coming weeks.

I want to thank everyone for their continued support for this campaign.

Troop Withdrawal From Iraq: Welcome but too little, too late and we need an exit strategy.

Yesterday the British Pensioner Trade Union Action Committee organised a tremendous John4Leader rally in Birmingham with about 150 pensioners supporting our campaign. When I got back the Press Association contacted me about the leak from Number 10 to the Sun that the Prime Minister was to announce today that some British troops are to be withdrawn from Iraq.

My reaction was that whilst I welcome any withdrawal of troops this was too little, too late and that what was needed was for the Prime Minister to bring forward an exit strategy, appealing to the rest of the world to assist Britain achieve total withdrawal of it forces. Any role for Britain in Iraq in the future can only be humanitarian, supplying doctors, nurses, teachers, engineers and human rights advisers rather than soldiers.

It was good to get the chance to comment. Although our campaign has worked hard professionally and very creatively to get our message across in the national media it is obvious to anyone with any experience that we are strugglibg to breakthrough what some have described as a virtual news blackout. The lack of coverage is not for want of trying or from any lack of professional expertise in our approach. Also we shouldn't allow ourselves to sound paranoid. But the reality is that we are swimming against the tide and we just have to try even harder.

That is why it was good getting coverage in today's Guardian survey of leadership candidates on their attitiudes to the war in Iraq.

Try and get a copy to read. You couldn't find a clearer example of the difference between not just what we are saying in policy terms but also the complete straightforwardness and lack of evasion in explaining our policy positions in contrast with the performance of the other candidates.

Let's keep plugging away to get the coverage we deserve. If you can, start banging in those letters to the papers on our campaign and to the various radio and tv programmes calling for coverage of our campaign and fair access for representatives from our campaign to invitations onto programmes.

At times I am beginning to feel like a cult movie which is recognised and appreciated by anyone that has access to it but whom many have only distantly heard of rather than actually seen. Let's turn that round.

Tory 13 Point Poll Lead

Wake up tomorrow to a Guardian poll which gives the Tories a 13 point lead over Labour when people were specifically asked about their voting intention if Gordon Brown were leader and a 9 point lead if asked the usual question of which party they were voting for. This would provide the Tories with a Parliamentary majority of up to 50 seats.

The poll explodes any myth that a smooth transition from Blair to Brown will result in an uplift for Labour. The loss of support associated with Brown as leader is statistically close to the range of sampling error but still provides no comfort for the Brown camp.

As we keep saying, the reality is that it is not personalities but the New Labour policies which are losing us support. Simply changing the face at the top without a fundamental change of the policies is irrelevant.

A poll last week confirmed that it is our core supporters who are deserting us most.

We are disillusioning the very people who put us into power.

With this polling news it is even more imperative that Labour MPs allow a leadership contest to take place by supporting our nomination campaign. This will permit a debate over policies to be staged and enable our members in both the party and unions to have a say over the future of our government and country.

Three Questions for a Monday Morning

Three questions for a Monday morning.

First another privatisation too far. Through the "Public Services not Private Profit" campaign we have been pretty well on the ball when it comes to monitoring Government privatisation plans but I have to admit I missed the latest example of the New Labour privatisation obsession. Brown is now selling off HM Coastguard service for £5billion.

This includes the coastal helicopter search and rescue operations sold on a 20 to 30 year contract. The service is directly linked to police, fire and ambulance services as well as the volunteer Royal National Lifeboat Institution. So the question is when will these other elements also be put up for sale?

A service as vital as the Coastguards is in the public sector to ensure democratic control of the standards and security of the service, especially as it is so integrally linked to such other critical emergency services.

So the question is who in their right mind would take risks with such an important, life saving service?

Well, only New Labour with every Cabinet Minister supporting the Brownite privatisation obsession.

Second, Why over the last two weeks have we witnessed the attempt to start a roll of a bandwagon, particularly in the Murdoch press and media empire but also amongst what's left in the Blairite faction of the Guardian?

The bandwagon started with reports of David Miliband mildly distancing hmself from the Chancellor and trying to rehabilitate Ton y Blair. It was followed by his article in Murdoch's Times calling for "Bold not Old Labour" and again containing a covert denigration of Brown along a "yesterday's man" theme. Then we have witnessed a succession of Frank Field but more importantly Guardian Blairistas like Martin Kettle, pleading with Miliband to stand for leader.

It is fairly obvious that Blair's people are flying the kite of Miliband as a potential "anyone but Gordon" candidate but Murdoch's support for Miliband is more interesting. Clearly the old eminence grise is unsure whether Brown or Cameron will win the next election and is keeping his options open with a slight preference for Brown as someone he has done business with for the last decade. There have been no problems or threats to his empire from the Chancellor during this period allowing him to avoid paying a bit of tax every now and again.

However Murdoch is covering his back against all eventualities. So he is promoting Miliband as a safe pair of hands in case Brown stumbles and there are calls for change within the Labour Party. Failing that he looks on Miliband as a long term investment for grooming into office. Having witnessed Miliband and every other current cabinet minister vote for every policy demanded of them by Murdoch it is hardly surprising that he sees this as a sound investment.

Third question, does anyone think the Government's response to the wave of gun deaths in South London of proposing an increase in sentences will have any effect?

I will publish a more detailed policy piece on this issues later but what I can't fathom is why the Government has largely ignored the comprehensive research of experts like Richard Wilkinson, Danny Dorling Rob Reiner and the various specialist bodies such as the Crime and Society Foundation and Smart Justice.

This now overwhelming body of evidence which I find irrefutable demonstrates that the more unequal a society the greater the level of crime, anti social behaviour and social harm.

Wilkinson draws a useful chart in his book "The Impact of Inequality on Health" explaining how greater income inequality lead to greater social distances between income groups, more dominance and subordination with increased status competition and a shift to aggressive anti social values where rivalry centres for some around respect and disrespect.

The response is a programme of redistribution of wealth which in itself also enables the intensive investment in programmes to tackle education failure, provide more constructive activities for young peoples, support families and improve parenting, provide more mental health, drug and alcohol treatment in the community, and extensive rehabiltation support for young offenders both in detention and in the community.

The Thatcher years started this process of community degeneration by allowing the free market to let rip. Ten years of New Labour largely continuing the free market philosophy is ensuring the replication of the US social model. Change is needed but none of the New Labour advocates who have presided over the policies of the last ten years are offering anything different.