News and comment

Jamie Driscoll, North of Tyne Mayor’s regular update
3 January, 2021January, it’s said, is named after the Roman god Janus. He’s depicted having two faces, one looking into the past and the other the future. He’s the overseer of transition and change. Then the first lockdown in March happened, and none of us knew what that would mean for the region’s economy. Or the country’s. … Read More

The ‘What Budget?’ campaign
31 December, 2020Northumberland County Council Tory leadership recently launched a consultation on a new budget. They say they are looking to make ‘around £8m in savings’, and that they’re having to make the cuts ‘because of COVID’. Is that the extent of the cuts they want to make? No. Read on. And anyway: didn’t government ministers say … Read More

Jamie Driscoll, North of Tyne Mayor’s regular update
28 December, 2020Real wellbeing requires abundant green and blue spaces The places where we live and the stresses we face constantly change, but the importance of our friendships remain. Living in safe, attractive communities is essential for our wellbeing. Connection to others defines our sense of belonging, our place in the world. It’s not surprising that research … Read More

Candidate for Bywell
24 December, 2020Bywell Ward has selected Holly Waddell to be their candidate in the Northumberland County Council elections in May 2021 Holly has grown up in the Bywell Ward, worked in local businesses and attended the local schools. She has campaigned on issues affecting the local community and is actively involved in it.

Candidates for Prudhoe
21 December, 2020Angie Scott is the local council candidate for Prudhoe North. Says Angie: “I am delighted to have been selected to be the Labour candidate for Prudhoe North in the Northumberland County Council elections in May 2021. I am totally passionate about Prudhoe North, and so proud of Prudhoe, as I was brought up in Halfway, … Read More

Jamie Driscoll, North of Tyne Mayor’s regular update
21 December, 202021 December 2020 2020 has definitely been a challenge and made us all see life in a new way. There’s nothing like a global pandemic to make us realise that simply spending time with our family is the most important thing. I know many people will find it tough not seeing their families this Christmas. … Read More

Jordan Valley
20 December, 2020This video is under construction! Click here to view video The Jordan Valley is under constant and expanding annexation. This talk features Palestinian journalist Ahmad Al-Bazz and Rashid Khudairat, of Jordan Valley Solidarity

Palestine talk on Gaza
20 December, 2020This video is under construction! This is an event on life in Gaza, featuring Ahmed, and Hala, two Palestinian students in UK universities, speaking on life in Gaza Click here to view video

Palestinian Child Detention Part 2
17 December, 2020This video is under construction! This is part 2 of a 2-part event on the Israeli military’s detention of Palestinian children prisoners, featuring SAWSAN BASTAWY, of Defense for Children International and SAHAR FRANCIS, of Adameer Click here to view our YouTube channel video

Palestinian Child Detention Part 1
17 December, 2020Click here to view our YouTube channel video This is the first part of a two-part event by GERARD HORTON and SALWA DUAIBIS of Military Court Watch speaking on children in the israeli military court system and IYAD BURNAT leader of Bil’in Resistance Movement speaking from personal experience of children under arrest

The government’s attack on the Union Learning Fund is purely political
15 December, 2020As a former trade union education officer, I saw the real difference this fund makes by Lilian Greenwood, Labour MP, Nottingham South “We must invest in skills, we must invest in further education”. This was the prime minister’s message to the country when he launched the Lifetime Skills Guarantee on September 29. Yet less than … Read More

Palestine demolitions
14 December, 2020Click here to view our YouTube channel video This is an event featuring BETH REILLY, of the International Solidarity Movement and CODY O’ROURKE, of Good Shepard Collective

Palestinian rights to water
14 December, 2020VIDEO UNDER CONSTRUCTION! Palestine’s right to water This is an event featuring ZAYNEB AL-SHALALFEH, on the impact water-deprivation upon the Palestinian people and CLEMENS MESSERSCHMID, on the de-facto annexation of water under the occupation. Click here to view our YouTube channel video

Jamie Driscoll, North of Tyne Mayor’s regular update
13 December, 2020It’s said that the distance between the Government and Opposition benches in the House of Commons is two swords lengths, to stop them stabbing each other. If you watch some of the debates, it’s probably just as well. Prime Minister’s Question time is meant to be the opportunity for MPs to question the Prime Minister, … Read More
Women in the Labour movement, Derek Gunby
12 December, 2020History of the Labour Party Part 4
11 December, 2020History of the Labour Party Part 3
11 December, 2020History of the Labour Party Part 2
11 December, 2020History of the Labour Party Part 1
11 December, 2020
TUC’s important new report on THE RISE OF THE FAR RIGHT – what we do about it
4 December, 2020Released: 03 Dec 2020 Building solidarity and workers’ power 1. Throughout history trade unions have been at the forefront of the struggle against the far right and its attempts to divide working people using narratives of hate and blame. Drawing on our core values of unity, equality and solidarity, we will strengthen existing links and build … Read More

For every £1 spent on union-led training the economy gets nearly £13 back, new report reveals
2 December, 2020Issue date: 24 Nov 2020 TUC calls on government to urgently rethink proposal to axe Union Learning Fund Scrapping the scheme will undermine the government’s “levelling up” agenda, warns new report The funding should be reinstated at the Spending Review, says TUC The TUC has today (Tuesday) called on the government to urgently rethink its decision to axe the Union Learning Fund (ULF). … Read More

Intrusive technology at work on the rise during coronavirus
2 December, 2020Issue date: 30 Nov 2020 1 in 7 say that monitoring and surveillance at work has increased since Covid-19 crisis began Tech must be used to improve working lives not to “rob workers of their dignity”, says union body TUC launches taskforce of unions and legal experts to look at protections for workers The TUC … Read More

Prudhoe News – Community Voice
26 November, 2020Local news from around Prudhoe – Christmas has come early this year, thanks to Angie Scott.
Also:
Carry on Conservatives – caper in County Council Hall

Jamie Driscoll’s weekly update
22 November, 2020The new series of The Crown has started on Netflix, covering the 1980s – the Thatcher Years. Gillian Anderson’s performance is superb, portraying Mrs Thatcher’s views on Life, the Universe and Everything. People should help themselves, women are too emotional to be trusted, and people should stop waiting for the Nanny State (or anyone else) … Read More

TUC report: more young workers lost their jobs summer 2020 than in all of 2019
21 November, 2020Issue date 20 Nov 2020 Young people have been the hardest hit by Covid-19 economic crisis, TUC analysis shows Number of 16 to 24-year-olds in work lower than at any point during 2008 financial crisis Union body calls for government to invest in creating good new jobs to prevent a generation from being scarred by mass unemployment More young workers were made redundant during summer 2020 than in all of 2019, according to new TUC … Read More

Mayor of North of the Tyne, Jamie Driscoll’s weekly news update
19 November, 2020The North East’s rail network has an unusual geography. We’re almost an island – the only routes in or out are the East Coast Mainline, or the track to Carlisle. With all the talk of high speed rail, the biggest problem we face is capacity. There’s no advantage to a train capable of 255mph if … Read More

Hexham CLP supports justice for Palestine
3 November, 2020Hexham CLP’s General Committee meeting on 22 October 2020, unanimously passed a historic motion in support of the rights of Palestinians. The motion seeks to require the fund-managers at Northumberland Council Local Government Pension Scheme to divest from companies which profit from the continued illegal settlements in Palestinian territories. Companies such as HSBC aid the … Read More

The North of Tyne Mayor: THE NORTH WILL REMEMBER
3 November, 2020Sunday November 1, 2020 On September 18th, the North East’s council leaders and I asked government for the powers to impose additional restrictions. We knew that cases were rising. We knew that government’s insistence on keeping universities open, with face-to-face teaching was a mistake. Government did nothing, so we did what we could. And it … Read More

North of Tyne Mayor news: north/south divide and rule (again)?
3 November, 2020Jamie Driscoll’s ‘week-in-a-minute’ for week commencing 1 November 2020 is here:

HEXHAM LABOUR FRIENDS OF PALESTINE – the right to water
24 October, 2020HEXHAM LABOUR FRIENDS OF PALESTINE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH NEWCASTLE LABOUR FRIENDS OF PALESTINE, AND NEWCASTLE PALESTINE SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN INVITE YOU TO A MULTI-MEDIA EVENT on PALESTINE – THE RIGHT TO WATER Download a flyer here (open with Google Docs for best view) and email/FB your contacts! with ZAYNEB AL-SHALALFEH, PALESTINIAN WATER EXPERT ON THE IMPACT OF THE … Read More

The Mayor’s latest weekly update w/c 4 October 2020
11 October, 2020Our socialist mayor’s latest update on the week. Jamie has been busy – speaking up for the north of the Tyne businesses and workers, making the case for equality in the treatment between north and south during the government’s uneven pandemic response. The latest restrictions will severely disadvantage the lower-paid and smaller businesses. See Jamie’s … Read More

North of Tyne Mayor: Boilers on prescription? makes sense
4 October, 2020Boilers on prescription might not sound like an obvious link to radical devolution. But it’s a strategy that GPs working with housing provider Gentoo implemented in Sunderland in 2016. And it worked. The scheme allowed GPs to “prescribe” new, efficient boilers and home insulation to patients suffering respiratory conditions and living in damp, cold homes. … Read More

The Mayor launches one-minute weekly highlights
29 September, 2020My highlights from last week, in under a minute: pic.twitter.com/NOuH5iOH7g — Mayor Jamie Driscoll (@MayorJD) September 28, 2020

Now is the perfect time for a Green New Deal
29 September, 2020Unemployment is the worst of the economic scourges. Pundits obsess about debt-to-GDP ratio, interest rates, inflation targets, and trade imbalances. But it’s unemployment that fuels anxiety, crushes mental health and lays waste to communities. Having citizens unable to earn a living is a blight on prosperity. So Rishi Sunak was right to take action. But … Read More

Hexham Labour Party in partnership with Newcastle Palestine Solidarity Campaign present
19 September, 2020HEXHAM LABOUR PARTY IN PARTNERSHIP WITH NEWCASTLE PALESTINE SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN INVITE YOU TO A MULTI-MEDIA EVENT on HOUSE DEMOLITIONS WITH BETH RIELLY of INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT AND CODY O’ROURKE of GOOD SHEPARD COLLECTIVE INTRODUCED BY ANN SCHOFIELD, NEWCASTLE CITY COUNCILLOR AND PSC MEMBER THE SESSION RUNS FOR 90 MINS – 30 MINS PER SPEAKER, WITH A 5-MINUTE BREAK … Read More

Labour Coast and Country – and the Tories’ ‘rule of six’
19 September, 2020At an online ‘Labour Coast and Country‘ online conference (5 September 2020), Labour List correspondent, Sienna Rodgers reported that Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Luke Pollard had said that: “There is no path to power that doesn’t see us winning seats in rural, semi-rural and coastal communities” But, following the government’s … Read More

HEXHAM LABOUR PARTY IN PARTNERSHIP WITH NEWCASTLE PALESTINE SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN
27 August, 2020Click here to view the recorded online talk from Palestine, 18 August 2020 organised by Hexham CLP, and featuring AHMAD AL-BAZZ, PALESTINIAN JOURNALIST SPEAKING ON — the geopolitical, geographical and historically changing shape of the Palestinian homeland and RASHED KHUDAIRAT, JORDAN VALLEY SOLIDARITY SPEAKING ON — the Israeli occupation’s ongoing annexation of the Jordan Valley. INTRODUCED BY ANN … Read More

This just in! Pope a Catholic!
16 August, 2020It was announced last week that we’re officially in a recession. In other news, the Pope is a Catholic. More than a million and a half people have signed-on in the past few months. Many more don’t claim. I spoke to one lad, perhaps in his late thirties. “I didn’t bother signing on,” he told … Read More

HEXHAM LABOUR PARTY IN PARTNERSHIP WITH NEWCASTLE PALESTINE SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN
12 August, 2020Click here to view the recorded online talk from Palestine, 18 August 2020 organised by Hexham CLP, and featuring AHMAD AL-BAZZ, PALESTINIAN JOURNALIST and KHUDAIRAT, JORDAN VALLEY SOLIDARITY SPEAKING ON — The geopolitical, geographical and historical changing shape of the Palestinian homelands, and the Israeli occupation’s ongoing annexation of the Jordan Valley. INTRODUCED BY ANN SCHOFIELD, NEWCASTLE CITY COUNCILLOR … Read More

Palestine online event – 16 July 2020, Ben Jamal and Louise Regan guests of Hexham CLP and Newcastle PSC
22 July, 2020Ben Jamal, Director of PSC speaks to Hexham and the wider public, on the proposed (further) annexation of Palestinian land in the the occupied West Bank. Click above to see a video taken of the online event Hexham CLP held on 16 July 2020, in conjunction with Newcastle Palestine Solidarity Campaign. We were … Read More

PALESTINE EVENT – THURSDAY 16 JULY 2020
14 July, 2020HEXHAM LABOUR PARTY IN PARTNERSHIP WITH NEWCASTLE PALESTINE SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN INVITE YOU TO A TALK featuring BEN JAMAL DIRECTOR, PALESTINE SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN and LOUISE REGAN VICE CHAIR OF PSC, EX-PRESIDENT OF NEU speaking on: ANNEXATION, AND BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT AND SANCTIONS (BDS) INTRODUCED BY ANN SCHOFIELD, Newcastle City Councillor and PSC member. The session runs for … Read More
PALESTINE EVENT – THURSDAY 16 JULY 2020
14 July, 2020HEXHAM LABOUR PARTY IN PARTNERSHIP WITH NEWCASTLE PALESTINE SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN INVITE YOU TO A TALK featuring BEN JAMAL DIRECTOR, PALESTINE SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN and LOUISE REGAN VICE CHAIR OF PSC, EX-PRESIDENT OF NEU speaking on: ANNEXATION, AND BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT AND SANCTIONS (BDS) INTRODUCED BY ANN SCHOFIELD, Newcastle City Councillor and PSC member. … Read More

ex-Tory Deputy PM, Michael Heseltine — bigging-up Metro Mayors?
6 July, 2020I was listening to radio last week, and on came Michael Heseltine, bigging-up Metro Mayors. He name-checked our work in Newcastle. It’s a funny feeling for a Labour politician, getting praised by a Tory grandee. It’s heartening to have your good work recognised. It’s good in electoral terms. An opposition politician saying you’re doing a … Read More

After the return to ‘normal’: What next for the Labour Party?
2 July, 20201 July 2020, Brian Singer, Hexham CLP Vice-Chair, Membership This debate over the future of our movement has been a vitally important one – but now, as an organisation, we’ve got to turn that vision into a reality. We’re facing an oncoming wave of crises: from a pandemic to unemployment, police racism and climate change. … Read More

Support Palestine and Gaza online event, 23 June 2020
30 June, 2020Some of you may know that on the 23rd of June, members of the CLP, in partnership with the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and Newcastle Labour Friends of Palestine hosted an online session on the topic of Gaza and Palestine. We hope this event will be the first of many, and to those who attended, thank … Read More

Zoom Meeting with Vicky Foxcroft MP – Shadow Minister for Disabled People
16 June, 2020Please join Berwick CLP in a Zoom session with Vicky Foxcroft MP for Lewisham Deptford and recently appointed Shadow Minister for Disabled People. This is an informal discusson in which Vicky will speak for 20 mins about her role and how she hopes to challenge the Government on the impact of Covid-19 on people with disabilities … Read More

Culture
15 June, 2020Culture is the sum total of how we express ourselves as humans. Culture is our collective soul. For some it’s theatre, museums, art galleries, opera. For others, a live music gig, a beer festival or a home game. I don’t see culture as a “sector”, an opportunity for economic growth. We can live in concrete … Read More

Clapping for carers is not enough, a letter to the Hexham Courant by Steve Grinter, Hexham CLP
15 June, 2020The dedicated and skilled staff who risk their lives every day to care for the elderly and infirm both in care homes and in their local communities are at last getting the recognition and respect that they deserve. But these heroes of the Covid19 pandemic remain at the bottom of the pile when it comes … Read More
Disabled Officer, Gail Ward’s, comments on Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
11 June, 2020When I saw the new Opposition Shadow Minister for DWP Jonathan Reynolds MP piece in the ‘House ‘ Magazine I was livid like many others, so I immediately hit the PC and typed a letter to get him to acknowledge how disabled people were offended by the article. Basically a future Labour Government will scrap Universal … Read More