Brown Intervenes in EU Summit to Protect Neo Liberalism

For all those who still had any illusions about Gordon Brown's accession to the Labour Party throne being a move back to Labour's mainstream, tonight's intervention by Brown into the EU summit should certainly clear matters up.

The Brown spin doctors are briefing that Brown demeaningly ordered Blair back to the summit negotiating table to hold the line on a key issue.

What was this critical issue which so alarmed Brown?

Was it concern over the EU attempting to prevent a Labour government intervening in the economy to protect jobs or protect public services or extend trade union rights?

No, true to his neo liberal philosophy, the reason Brown demanded Blair go back into the negotiating room and dig his heals in was because he was fearful that the French were undemining the free market. He was angry that Sarkozy of all people was seeking to "dilute" the operation of free competition in the EU market.

Many in the Labour Party and trade unions, especially those who nominated him, just don't get it about Brown and where he is coming from.

Brown is deeply ideological and his ideology is solidly neo liberal, with an absolute dedication to the operation of the free market. Hence his obsessions with privatisation, flexible labour, pay restraint for workers, tax cuts for businesses and restrictions on trade union rights.

If Brown's starting point is to the right of Sarkozy, I warn you, we haven't seen anything yet.

Coalition Government

All through the last 6 weeks of hustings and Gordon Brown speeches I can't remember any mention of inviting Lib Dems into the Cabinet and in effect forming a coalition government. I must have missed it somewhere along the line.

Let's be clear Gordon Brown has no mandate whatever for a coalition with the Liberals. Politiccal parties are elected on the basis of their manifestoes being placed before the electorate. If a leader of a party wishes to enter into a coalition with another political party then that proposition should be democratically determined in an election.

Gordon Brown may have mentioned wanting a Government of all the talents but at no stage in his speeches to meetings of party members during the leadership process has he ever suggested a coalition with the Liberals. He should have had the decency to consult his colleagues in the Parliamentary Labour Party and the party on such significant matters of principle. I believe that many would have been more circumspect in giving him their support if they knew these were his plans.

I have tabled today a Early Day Motion in Parliament as follows;

"That this House holds to the view that under the British system of open democracy, Governments are formed after the people have been given the oportunity to express their wishes through the ballot box at a general election; and therefore considers that no form of coalition government should be established without the people being given the right to have a say in a general election."

Attempts at behind the scenes secret deals and ignoring the party and the PLP does not bode well for the style of government we are to expect after Wednesday. This type of old politics will just alienate more of our supporters and put even more people off politics generally.

The Real World Intruding on Coronation

Over the last week I have been out there speaking at various meetings including Saturday's Morning Star successful conference on "Politics After Blair,", the standing room only "Public Services Not Private Profit" Campaign meeting and the Broad Left fringe meeting at Unison conference, last night's RMT Cuba Solidarity night and today's packed RMT seminar in Parliament on the future of the railways.

What they all had in common was that they reflected the issues and concerns of people living in the real world. At Unison conference the real world means the next wave of privatisation of its members' jobs and this year's pay cut. For the RMT the real world means demonstrating solidarity with the people of Cuba in preventing the US blockade undermining their economy and also for RMT's rail workers the real world means dealing with the chaotic consequences of a privatised railway.

Representatives from PCS spoke at the Unison meetings and explained that the real world for their members meant 100,000 job cuts, a wage round of pay cuts, a continuous process of new privatisations and now the introduction of local pay rates linked to local labour market conditions.

Has the real world permeated into Gordon Brown's speeches at the Labour party hustings or into the Deputy Leadership statements for that matter? In Brown's case of course not. With the Deputy Leader candidates, some real world issues have been raised but it is difficult to take seriously any of them as they have all for last ten years been supporting the very New Labour policies which have privatised services, cuts jobs and undermined wages and conditions in the public sector. I have to say that I smile at the greatest irony which is to listen to the deputy leadership candidates pronounce on the vital need for restoring democracy to the party when they all refused to nominate to allow a democratic leadership election and some actively intervened to prevent nominations securing a leadership election.

Over the coming weeks and months Labour MPs, the media and many others will be falling over themselves to celebrate the glorious first 100 days of the new Prime Minister. However in time the real world will innevitably intrude. For Unison members, no matter how hard the Unison leadership seeks to prevent it, Unison members will want to take action to protect their jobs and living standards. PCS members with the full backing of their union's leadership have already recognised that there is no other way but to stand up and fight. CWU members have clearly taken the same view.

Each of these campaigns deserve our fullest support and I will do all I can to back these trade unionists whether in Parliament or on the picket line. Each campaign could be strengthened greatly if action was co-ordinated across the disputes to maximise their impact and to secure an early settlement.

The secret discovered by the first trade unionists was that their strength came through solidarity. At a time when Gordon Brown has put the whole of the welfare state under threat of privatisation and pay cuts there is no more important time to remember the lesson of solidarity.