Stop,Look,Listen…my weekly selection of favourite films, books and events to get you out of the house

Watch…..Tsar to Lenin (Cornerhouse 27 May) Released in 1937, this ranks among the twentieth century’s greatest film documentaries. It presents an extraordinary cinematic account of the Russian Revolution; from the mass uprising which overthrew the centuries-old Tsarist regime in February 191, to the Bolshevik-led insurrection eight months later which established the first socialist workers’ state and final victory in 1921 of the new Soviet regime over counter-revolutionary forces after a three-year-long civil war. It’s great that Cornerhouse are screening such an inconic film but only for one night…further details see

Celebrate…..the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of E.P. Thompson’s The Making of the English Working Class. Edward and his wife Dorothy, a respected historian in her own right, were good friends of Ruth and Eddie Frow. This exhibition at the Working Class Movement Library celebrates the book, and that friendship, and is a fascinating introduction to one of the most influential history books of the twentieth century. See

Support the Working Class Movement Library …..on Sunday 3 June at 3pm at Islington Mill a benefit in aid of the WCML will take place. Will Kaufman will be presenting . “All you Jim Crow fascists!” – Woody Guthrie’s freedom songs, the story of Guthrie’s transformation from a youthful Oklahoma racist to the ardent anti-racist champion who, along with many others, risked his life holding the line against American fascism during the Peekskill riots of 1949. Last time Will performed we had to turn away the punters so get there early if you want to see what will be more than just a singer and his songs. Tickets on the door at £10 venue; Islington Mill, James Street, Salford M3 5HW.

Enjoy….the art and music of the Netherlands on Thursday 23 May from 7-9pm at Manchester City Art Gallery as they launch a new exhibition; Home, Land and Sea Art in the Netherlands 1600-1800.
From 7pm see evocative paintings of everyday life, stormy seas, calm, peaceful landscapes and still lifes of luxury goods that have been redisplayed to reveal the Netherlands’ great artistic heritage. At 7.30pm enjoy an historic music performance by Accordes, who will play music by the 17th century Dutch composer and poet Constanijn Huygens (1596-1687) and his circle. The performance includes a lute, theorbo and Baroque guitar. Accordes is a sub group of the larger ensemble Partita. Further details see

Find out about….Ken Loach’s new party Left Unity as it holds its inaugural meeting for the folk of Tameside at 730-9pm in the Stalybridge Buffet Bar Thursday night, 23rd May. The meeting is a joint north and east Left Unity Manchester meeting. One of the speakers is from the Bedroom Tax campaign group in Gorton. Further details see

Check out mookychick.…..a feminist website that features fashion and feminist opinion, its funny…see

See…. a new play by award winning Shred Productions, SOUTH, set in Antarctica, 1962: “when ‘going south’ meant 12 months cut off from the world. Discovering upon arrival that the fiancée he left back home is pregnant, biologist Daniel puts ambition above his religious belief and stays. Seeking solace in his work, he uncovers disturbing evidence of the environmental disaster mankind may yet bring about. Teetering on the edge of depression, Daniel’s life is forever changed by his friendship with young dog-sledger, Jim. Then, when news of the Cuban Missile Crisis reaches the base, total destruction looms.”.
SOUTH plays at The Lowry, Salford Quays. Date/Time: May 29th, 30th & 31st – 8pm start • Tickets: £10 see

Go to a talk….about Votes for Women, 1868 – 1928 on Tuesday 21 May, 7:30pm at Chorlton Library. Socialist historian, Michael Herbert will tell the story of women’s long and difficult campaign for the right to vote in which Manchester played a key role with activists such as Lydia Becker, Esther Roper, Hannah Mitchell, Eva Gore-Booth, Teresa Billington, Mary Gawthorpe and the Pankhurst family. Free. Chorlton Library, Manchester Road Library 21 9PN. Further details see

Worth listening to….PJ Harvey singing the Ballad of the soldier’s wife – music by Kurt Weill and lyrics by Bertolt Brecht. Originally called the “Ballad of the Nazi Soldier’s Wife” and Intended for broadcast to Germany as part of the US war effort, the song chronicles the progress of the Nazi war machine through the gifts sent to the proud wife at home by her man at the front: furs from Oslo, a silk dress from Paris etc., until finally, from Russia, she receives her widow’s veil…………see

Stop,Look,Listen…my weekly selection of favourite films, books and events to get you out of the house

Watch…Manchester Film Co-operative – in association with the IF Campaign –have put together two films about the real economic crisis. It’s a double billing of We’re Not Broke and the award-winning Secret City.
6.30pm – 8.pm: We’re Not Broke, the story of how American corporations have been able to hide over a trillion dollars from Uncle Sam, and how seven fed-up Americans from across the country, take their frustration to the streets and vow to make the corporations pay their fair share. And at 8.30pm Secret City, not London but the finance sector in the City of London. This award-winning film exposes the Corporation‘s anti-democratic constitution, the ancient laws which allow it function as a state within a state, and what happens to those who oppose it. It’s followed at 10pm: Q&A session with Secret City director Lee Salter.
Date: Tuesday, 14th of May.

Time: Doors open at 6pm, the event will finish by around 11pm.

Admission: £5 waged, £4 unwaged for the double bill (or £3 waged, £2 unwaged for single film).

Look at….The exhibition Burning Bright: William Blake and Art of the Book which runs at The John Rylands Library from 8 February 8 – 23 June. Admission is free. Blake ( 1757 – 1827) was a poet, painter, and engraver. Ignored during his lifetime, and seen as mad by some people, he produced what are now seen as iconic images in his drawings and poetry. In this exhibition there are thirty of Blakes’ etchings and engravings as well as works by artists and designers who were influenced by him. What makes this exhibition unique is seeing so many of his engravings in one place and in the wonderful setting of the John Rylands Library. Further details see

Celebrate…The Smiths On Screen. Screen Stockport Film Festival is declaring Monday 13th May 2013 officially #SmithsDay in Stockport. It’s exactly thirty years to the day since The Smiths released their debut single Hand in Glove, which was recorded at Strawberry Studios in Stockport. There will be speakers discussing the cultural influence of the Smiths, as well as a showing of the film A Taste of Honey written by Morrisey’s favourite playwright Sheila Delaney. See

Get involved…..Derby Peoples History Group are organising a Peace and Justice Festival on 14 September. They have a planning meeting on Thursday 16 May and are looking for people to get involved. See

Join….. Greater Manchester Keep the NHS Public and be inspired by the dedication of people to challenge the privatisation of the NHS. …next organising meeting on Wed 15th May 7pm, Lounge Room, Methodist Central Hall, 1 Central Buildings Oldham Street Manchester M1 1 JQ. The room room is booked as Keep Our NHS Public. See

Listen to…. The making of a protest album (in 5 easy steps) by Quiet Loner who made a protest album called Greedy Magicians in 2012. He made it on one evening in a Salford Church and the artwork was created using 19 Century machines. On 18 May from 3-5pm he will be playing songs from the CD and explaining why he wanted to make a protest album. Free. Further info see

Save the Salford Cranes!

I heard a siren from the dock
Saw a train set the night on fire
Smelled the spring on the sulfured wind
Dirty old town, whoa-oh, dirty old town
Ewan McColl Dirty Old Town

In the 1970s I was taken by my school to visit the docks at Manchester. We went on a boat which weaved between the ships that were scattered throughout the docks, which in those days were seen as an important part of the economy of the city, one which children should know about and value.

Many Manchester families had links with the docks, in my case my uncle worked there, taking his docker’s hook home at night. Like many dockers he was Irish , for the dock community included people from many ethnic backgrounds, including African. Billy Johnson, for instance, father of boxer and Communist Len Johnson, had worked there in the early 1900s as a pilot escorting the boats into the docks, having come from Sierra Leone.

Manchester and Salford docks were opened in 1894 by Queen Victoria. They were part of the newly completed Manchester Ship Canal, which meant that large ships could now navigate through the waterways to Ordsall.

Looking around Salford Quays to-day it is hard imagine how the docks once gave employment to thousands of people across Salford, Manchester and Trafford, from the era when dock work was casual and men lined up to be picked for a day’s work, to the heyday of the 1970s when the Transport and General Workers Union had negotiated good employment terms and conditions for its workers.

The docks were the third busiest port in Britain with merchant ships of 12,500 tons in weight bringing in a variety of goods to feed the local and national community. Thousands of people worked in the ports, not just dockers and labourers but the crews from the various liners and merchant ships that were constantly visiting the port as well as customs officials, office staff, canteen workers and cleaners.

In 1982, due to the increasing use of containers and an increased trade with the European Common Market, the docks were closed down. In the 1990s the docks became the Salford Quays. This represented the massive change in our economy: from a manufacturing one to a service based one.

Cleansed of a thriving dock community, the area to-day has almost a Stepford Wives aura. There are many flats, from which hardly anyone seems moves in or out of, sitting amongst the prestigious Lowry Theatre and Imperial War Museum. The only signs left of the past are the art deco dock office and two large cranes. The cranes were erected on south dock 6 (now known as Merchants Quay and Clippers Quay) in 1966, but were decommissioned in 1988 when they were moved to their present home.

They have taken on a new life as Alice Darlington, has run a one woman campaign to save them from demolition. She says:
It was a great industry, and these cranes are a landmark of that era. Once these cranes have been demolished it will be hard for young people to remember what the docks were all about and how important Salford was as a trading post. The cranes are enormous and represent how important the docks were to the economic health of the nation.

Alice Darlington

Cranes were an essential part of the docks, used to load and unloaded goods. There were over 200 at the height of the working life of the docks. The remaining two cranes are iconic and are a landmark in the area, made by Stothert and Pittand specifically designed with one single column leg for Dock 6.

Docks 1905

Alice Darlington tried to get the cranes listed by English Heritage, due to their uniqueness, but they refused to do so, and this has been rubberstamped by the Secretary of State.
Darlington says she cannot understand a Labour Mayor Ian Stewart’s refusal to support the campaign to keep the cranes:
I don’t understand why a Labour representative is so against the working class heritage of Salford. If he keeps the cranes it could offer jobs to local people to maintain them.

As Salford Council make massive cuts to their frontline services they have responded to the campaign over the cranes by citing financial reasons. Labour Mayor Ian Stewart:
It would be wrong to spend £1million on preserving two rusting and dangerous cranes, when the people of Salford are struggling to make ends meet

Darlington and other local cranes campaigners, including the Salford Star, challenge the figures and believe that the money for refurbishment has been ringfenced and that they would only need to raise £22,500 from private sources to make up the shortfall from the Council.

The spotlight is now on Salford Council to see if they will demolish the cranes. Darlington is continuing with her e-petition and is gathering support from the local community as she takes her paper petitions around the local area.

We are getting lots of support from all parts of the community and the press. The cranes are part of a rich heritage for Salford people and it is important to remember that it was one of the greatest inland ports of the world.

Sign the petition at http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/45202

Stop,Look,Listen…my weekly selection of favourite films, books and events to get you out of the house

Watch….a mini film festival at the Working Class Movement Library…including on Wednesday 15 May at 2pm they are showing a locally made film The Condition of the Working Classes, an up-to-date take on Engels’ classic of the same name. And on 17 May at 7pm a film by Luke Fowler The Poor Stockinger, the Luddite Cropper and the Deluded Followers of Joanna Southcott, a curious mixture of archive footage and newly shot material reflecting on the life of critic, historian and activist EP Thompson:.. It captures a moment of optimism, in which Thompson’s ideas for progressive education came together with political resistance and activism. For further info see

Go and see…two plays about the condition of women…the Royal Exchange are doing Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, his insightful and emotional story of a woman’s struggle to be liberated. Written in 1879, it still has an inner truth about the lives of women, maybe not so much in the west.
And at 3Minute Theatre you can see Female Transport, written 40 years ago, which again looks at the lives of women, those who were deported to Australia for petty crimes in 19th century Britain. Their lives on the ship mirrors societys’ treatment of women and the journey becomes one of political education and liberation. Further info see

Sign a petition….The Shrewsbury 24 Campaign aims to overturn the unjust prosecution of 24 building workers who were charged following the first ever national building workers strike in 1972. They picketed building sites in Shrewsbury during the dispute and were prosecuted in Shrewsbury Crown Court in 1973. They became known as the Shrewsbury 24. Six of the pickets were imprisoned. Their crime was to be part of a trade union campaign to get a decent rate of pay and safer working conditions for all building workers. For more information, see the campaign website
The campaign needs more signatures for their petition calling for full disclosure of all Government documents relating to the 1972 building workers strike and the conspiracy trials at Shrewsbury. Government files relating to the strike have been withheld from the National Archives even though more than 30 years have passed. please sign.

Look at..the photography of Eric Latham…he is from Beswick in East Manchester and in his book On Class Street he looks at the lives of people, mainly men, in an area that went from being a vibrant community to a wasteland when unemployment hit in the 80s. It is Eric’s story as well and it made me want to cry when he tells the story of how his father’s health was ruined by his working conditions in a local factory which led to his early death. The photographs compliment the stories and it was part of a wider project which toured local schools. Further details

Laugh with…. the latest chapter of the Artist Taxi Driver’s attack on the privatisation of the NHS….he pushes a plastic pig to parliament see

Go to…CAMP FRACK 2 SAYS NO TO FRACKING – YES TO ONE MILLION CLIMATE JOBS Mere Brow – 10th, 11th, 12th May. Organised by a broad coalition of local residents groups, environmental activists and trades unionists from across Britain. Camp Frack 2 aims: to be the largest unified symbol of resistance to the threat of extreme energy developments, such as hydraulic fracturing or ‘fracking’, that the UK has seen so far! See

Stop,Look,Listen…my weekly selection of favourite films, books and events to get you out of the house

Watch…and support Moston Small Cinema….Post Tenebras Lux Juan and his family live in the Mexican countryside and the film explores their lives, their marriage, poverty, gender and our relationship to the natural world. Maybe not the kind of film you would expect in Moston but that is the beauty of projects such as Moston Small Cinema, which is all about bringing cinema to the heart of a community, Find out more…..

Listen to ….author and political activists, Lyndsey German and Betty Tebbs at Waterstones Book Shop on Monday 29 April at 6pm. Lyndsey German’s new book How a Century of War Changed the Lives of Women, explores the history of women’s involvement in the Stop the War Movement over the last ten years and also reflects on why it has brought in so many women to the movement. Betty Tebbs, of Whitefield CND, will join her in the discussion about women’s role in the peace movement over the last 100 years. See

Look at…..the paintings of Brian Clarke at Gallery Oldham from April 20-Sept 14. He was born and trained as an artist in Oldham and is famous for his work in stained glass – see it in the Oldham Spindles shopping centre. His reputation is worldwide as he has been involved in projects from the Victorian Quarter in Leeds to Norte Shopping Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Brian is 60 this year and this is a homecoming for him, a reflection on his work and also in the film that accompanies the exhibition we find out more about his family and his love of art. Although famous for stained glass he draws everyday and in the works shown here we see some of his greatest influences, including his early life. I loved his drawings of Oldham mills As he says: My love of architecture began with my love of cotton mills’, he says. ‘I am built of red bricks and covered in black smog

Enjoy……the work of John Crumpton… BAFTA award winning sound editor, film and video maker, writer, trainer, BECTU learning organiser and photographer. In 2005 he, together with Feisal Querishi and Michael Herbert. produced a film about the work of the WCML which is now accessible on his website, alongside several of his other hits including my favourite… I married a Cult Figure from Salford…see

Remember….Alice Wheeldon…on May 1 Derby Peoples History Group will be remembering her life as a suffragist who opposed the First World War. They will be unveiling a plaque to commemorate her life and politics see

Celebrate International Workers Day…on Saturday May 4. Assemble: Bexley Square, Salford 10am and march from Bexley Square at 11am. Bringing together campaigns against the privatisation of the NHS, against the Bedroom Tax and defending jobs in public services…further details see

Listen to,,,, Beautiful Africa by Rokia Traore. I saw Rokia in a small club in Oldham several years ago. Her music is essentially African and in her latest album Beautiful Africa she comments on the war going on in her home country of Mali. Now based in Bristol her music has developed and with John Parish, who produces the work of PJ Harvey, it has a more rocky feel to it whilst mixing in her brilliant voice and interesting African sounds…see

Enjoy…..the angry taxi driver. Who says the working classes are not philosophers? ! See his latest rant when the BBC ask him to take part in a documentary….but there is no payment………classic.. see

Stop,Look,Listen…my weekly selection of favourite films, books and events to get you out of the house

Watch…..two films and hear some live music…Manchester Film Cooperative’s next event is at the Antwerp Mansion in downtown Rusholme. Antwerp Mansion is: a renovation project, aiming to turn a beautiful but run down Victorian Mansion into a Music, Art and Photography Haven. See
On 24 April from 6.30pm MFC are showing Invisible Circus, a film about Bristol’s anarchist circus over three years. This is followed at 8.30pm by the excellent film Exit Through the Gift Shop in which artist Banksy tells the story of Thiweey Guetta, a French immigrant in Los Angeles and his obsession with street art. Throughout the evening there is live music from local folk group Richard Barry and the Chaps.
Entrance fee, an incredible £5/34.

Celebrate…on May 1 it’s the 39th birthday of co-operative bookshop News From Nowhere in Liverpool. Not just a bookshop, but an essential part of the Liverpool left scene. There is a whole day of events including a talk by NFN stalwart Mandy Vere on the history of the shop and how they have managed to keep an independent radical bookshop and co-operative afloat in these Amazon times.

Read……..Bedsit Disco Queen;How I Grew Up and Tried to be a Popstar…Tracey Thorn was the other half of 80s pop duo Everthing But the Girl. Her biography is a sweet and insightful glimpse into growing up in the 80s. Like me she went to Hull University and was influenced by the politics of the era which appeared in some of their songs. Before EBYG she was in a woman’s band the Marine Girls. She captures the excitement of punk…. It triggered in me a passion for pop music She is also challenged by the feminism of that time..I had discovered feminism and through my reading of Germaine Greer,Betty Friedan and Kate Millet I was finding a theoretical famework for many of the grievances I’d had since I was a teenager. Looking back at this era -she is now in her 50s -she is aware of how things have changed for young women in an industry where artifice and concealment seem most in evidence. EBTG were a great pop band because Tracey and Ben were interested in writing and performing well written songs with good melodies and it is that sincerity that comes out this book. Buy it from NFN, of course.

Find out more about the NHS……….Socialist Health Association are organising a seminar at Manchester University about the NHS. Find out about how the NHS works and how you can get involved. Its more important to do so now then ever before. The SHA has existed since the 60s and has campaigned for a universal healthcare system based on socialist principles . For more information see….

Another film….Palestinian Womens’ Scholarship fund event on Sunday 28 April 2013 at 2-5pm at Denshaw Village Hall, Saddleworth OL3 5SJ . All money raised will go to support women in Gaza and the West Bank through university education.The film - And Still they Dance charts the visit of young men and women from the Jabalia Refugee camp,Gaza to Sheffield and what has become of them since. The Palestinian film maker will be present. Tickets are £8 or £4 concessions and includes light refreshments.For tickets or more information ring 07975 908409 or email saddleworth.pwsf@gmail.com

Support our libraries…..Oldham Council Libraries are hosting a BOOKMARK FESTIVAL – Murder, Comedy And Television, from 20 -26 April, a weeklong celebration of all things literary in the borough. Meet authors, find out about writing for TV and listen to poets. Further details see

And in the week that Thatcher died….listen to Selma James, one of the most outstanding feminist thinkers of her time, debate her legacy with Edwina Curry, ex-MP and Thatcher clone, on the BBC’s Broadcasting House see

A Real Working Class Hero; Steve Acheson

Margaret Thatchers’ legacy was not just about defeating the trade unions, it was about creating a myth that working class people did not need trade unions. People came to believe that they could be like the bosses not just in terms of buying council houses and shares in British Gas but by the power of cheap credit they could be middle class. This turned out to be an illusion. Many people are now experiencing the reality as everything cheap has disappeared, whilst real wages have not increased for many years.
In this interview with Steve Acheson we see how a weakened trade union movement has failed to defend not just basic trade union rights but has allowed multinational companies to flaunt national and European laws on Health and Safety which has led to increased injuries and deaths on building sites. Steve, like many trade union representatives over the years, has carried on fighting, not just the bosses, but also the managerial union officers: he has stood up for the principles of trade unionism and the rights of his members to be safe at work.

Steve Acheson had a successful career as an electrician, supervising other workers and working on projects across the world. Then in 2000 his phone stopped ringing and he realised that there was a concerted effort being made to ensure that he would never work in the construction industry again.

Steve was born in Manchester and both his parents were trade unionists, his mother was a shop steward for thirty years. He joined a trade union, the EETPU, when he was 17 as an apprentice electrician.

The employers kept sacking anyone who was the shop steward but because I was indentured they couldn’t, so I became the shop steward at 19. I realised how crucial unions were to workers and I was educated by being in a union.

It was when he worked on the construction of the new Marks and Spencer building in Manchester in the late 1990s he noticed how health and safety conditions were deteriorating on construction sites;

It was more like Billy Smart’s Circus, the conditions were that bad. It was then that I started educating myself on health and safety legislation.

When Steve moved to the Pfizer site in Kent in 2000 he said that the conditions on the site were “like the Somme”. With the other 240 workers he made numerous complaints about a waterlogged site, no drying conditions for clothes and boots and a lack of interest by the company’s health and safety officers. It was only when the men refused to work under these conditions and Acheson informed the Health and Safety Executive of the situation that the management began to improve the site. Too late for Acheson and his comrades as they were sacked prior to HSE coming on site. They took their case to tribunal and won it on the grounds that they had been dismissed on the grounds of raising issues about healthy and safety.

From that time onwards Acheson noticed that no construction agency rang him offering him work. His next job was three years later in Manchester on two big sites in Piccadilly Gardens and the new Law Courts. Once again muliti-million pound public contracts where you would expect not only that the firms would following H&aS legislation but also abide by employment law. This turned out not to be so.

Acheson set up a TGWU branch on the site to challenge some of the draconian conditions.
The labourers were from Birmingham and had been told to bring a sleeping bag up with them. The director of the company had bought a house and had them all sleeping there. Breaking national agreements about providing a hotel accommodation.
He also noticed that the management had the labourers doing skilled electrical work and that they were not getting the rate for the job. Eventually the management got rid of Steve, although later he won his case at an Employment Tribunal for unfair dismissal for trade union membership.

Acheson is scathing about the way the trade unions have failed to support each other over these issues:
Amicus was the other trade union on the site and they collaborated with the management to get rid of me.

Eventually he discovered that there was a blacklist for trade union activists on construction sites: I knew there was one but didn’t realise the extent of it. Over 40 companies, the police, the security services and union officers; what chance do you have against that!

In 2009 the Information Commissioner raided the offices of the Consulting Association, which held details on 3,213 construction workers and traded their personal details for profit. According to ICO, the database was used by over 40 construction companies and included information about construction workers’ personal relationships, trade union activity and employment history.

Acheson, through his determination to expose this conspiracy, has ensured that everyone knows what has gone on, particularly during the boom era of construction from 1995-2009, when large construction companies benefitted from mulit-million pound government contracts, and yet still tried to exploit workers and break employment and health and safety legislation to rake off even bigger profits.

Since 2000 he hasn’t had any work. In seven years he has received only 16 pay packets. He is still continuing his protest at Fiddlers Ferry power station where he was sacked in December 2008 as a result of being on a blacklist as a troublemaker.

He says; I would prefer to work but I realise that I will never step through the gates of a construction site again. Its gone on too long and in particular with the failure of the trade unions to respond. He doesn’t believe, despite all the revelations about the blacklisting issues, that this illegal practice has gone away. It’s not gone away because the unions in the construction industry have not led a campaign to stop it.
Acheson believes workers are in a worst situation today. Thousands of workers are in a cowed state. Over 3000 workers still face blacklisting and we still face a major fight to end discrimination against union activity.

Acheson pays tribute to his wife, Deborah, and his family;
She deserves compensation. Her support has never wavered, nor has my parents and supporters. But it’s not compensation that he wants; I want re-employment and a return to a normal life.

And what keeps him going? I stand here not just as a trade unionist but fighting for all the families who have been caught up in the blacklisting conspiracy. My enthusiasm for my trade union work hasn’t diminished and I am more involved in union work than ever before.
Acheson is nearly 60 and is facing the loss of his house. A recent benefit raised over a thousand pounds but he needs more contributions please send a donation to: “Fiddlers Ferry Hardship Fund” via Warrington Trades Union Council, 6 Red Gables, Pepper Street, Warrington, WA4 4SB.

For more information on the campaign against the blacklist see
Steve is speaking at a conference How Corrupt is Britain see

Stop,Look,Listen…my weekly selection of favourite films, books and events to get you out of the house

Watch…Good Vibrations…and discover an aspect of 70s Belfast that is not well known…the punk scene and one man’s struggle to bring some life into a bombed out city. His name was Terri Hooley and he ran a record shop and record label called Good Vibrations. Together with the kids he created a punk community determined to breathe life into their society and to try and negate some of the hardships of living in an occupied and war torn city. On his record label he signed one of my favourite bands, the Undertones. The shop still continues, so if you are in Belfast……

Look at…the new video piece by Yoshua Okon called OCTOPUS. Staged at the Los Angeles version of B&Q, the Home Depot, the artist got former Guatemalan soldiers to act out their military past. Guatemala has a bloody and violent past with over 30 years of a civil war,  including genocide against the Mayan community, and widespread human rights violations. Many Guatemalans now work in LA as day labourers and it was in the Home Depot where they search for work that the artist found the participants for his project.  There is something really eerie about this video, partly due to it being projected against four walls, but also that it was shot alongside your everyday shoppers in a parking lot. See what you think…….

Support the train  cleaners…invisible to passengers and paid peanuts by the companies who employ them. The RMT are raising the case of the cleaners on Arriva Wales who have outsourced the work to  a private company called Churchill’s. Like most of these companies,  they are a profitable firm,   but are refusing to give the workers a pay rise in line with inflation, who, like most low wage workers,  are seeing their real wages fall. RMT believe that it is  only if this work is brought in-house by Arriva Wales that this exploitation will cease. It is also calling on the Welsh government to get involved and to support the workers’ demands. You can support the cleaners by signing this petition at

Seek justice for Orgreave miners…The Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign is seeking truth and justice for all miners victimised by the police at the Orgreave Coking Plant, South Yorkshire, on June 18th, 1984.Orgreave is part of the pattern of cover ups and lies by the police from many different forces, which are now being exposed. The campaign  calls for a full public inquiry, to take place as soon as possible, into the policing and subsequent statements recorded by the police at the time .It asks that everyone who seeks the truth and wants justice to support the campaign see

Oppose victimisation…many trade unionists face victimisation for  standing up for the rights of their members,  but UNITE activist Steve Acheson has done more than most to expose the illegal blacklisting of workers by employers, particularly in the construction industry.  He and others have been blacklisting for trying to ensure a safe working environment for workers in one of the most hazardous industries, or for trade union activity. Steve has been protesting outside Fiddlers Ferry power station since he was sacked from his job there in December 2008 as a result of being on the blacklist as a “troublemaker”.  He’s faced every sort of harassment – even having to fight off charges under anti-terrorism legislation to defend his right to protest.

Steve’s stand led to the blacklisting Consulting Association being raided by the Information Commissioner over offences against the Data Protection Act.  Its manager, Ian Kerr, gave evidence before a House of Commons inquiry a few months ago.  Kerr promised to give further evidence in private about matters involving the security services, but his sudden and unexpected death prevented him doing so.

There is an appeal to raise £25,000 to avoid Steve losing his home as a result of the illegal conspiracy to deny him work. Please make a donation to “Fiddlers Ferry Hardship Fund”  which can be sent c/o Warrington Trades Union Council, 6 Red Gables, Pepper Street, Warrington, WA4 4SB.

For more information see the Blacklist Blog.

Show your support… for the Morning Star, the only left wing daily in Britain, at the Ordinary Rebels Morning Star Social on March 28th from 7pm at 3 Minute Theatre. Join comedian Dave Puller, poet Alex keelan and singer Claire Mooney for an evening of folk music, stand up poetry and satirical sketches. Only £3! See for further information

Keep Our NHS Public protest …..on the Ist of April the NHS is going through a massive change and one that many of us are not happy with, so to mark our determination to challenge the new regime join us on 2nd April, 7.30am Cornbrook Metrolink, 7.45am Media:City Metrolink, 8am outside BBC building Media:City.. Join us at those times en route if you can’t make it to Cornbrook for 7.30am.
We’ll be leafleting commuters on the way.
A community choir will join us at Media City and everyone is urged to bring
NHS-related fancy dress for a bit of street theatre outside BBC building.
Let’s make this as lively and photogenic as possible!
We appreciate it’s early, but please do try to get along.
Organised by KONP Greater Manchester – supported by GMATUC/Greater Manchester Against Cuts.

Stop,Look,Listen…my weekly selection of favourite films, books and events to get you out of the house

Watch..the Spirit of 45. Ken Loach’s homage to post war Britain:We have been the dreamers, we have been the sufferers, now we are the builders. (Nye Bevan) Nowadays its more a case of trying to hold onto what hasn’t been trashed by the ConDems or thrown away by Labour Councils. The film does feature some of our local heroes, including Karen Reissman of the Save the Bolton A&E campaign. Watch it at Moston Small Cinema 22-28 March from 7. 30-915pm only £3!!

Look…..at the beautiful Salford Cranes before Salford Council seeks to dismantle two of the most iconic landmarks that pay homage to the Manchester and Salford Docks and the community that was part of it. Support Alice Darlington who has campaigned tirelessly to save the cranes, sign her e-petition at http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/45202 see article at Salford Star

Show… your support for the Morning Star, the only left wing daily in Britain, at the Ordinary Rebels Morning Star Social on March 28^th  from 7pm at 3 Minute Theatre.  Join comedian Dave Puller and singer Claire Mooney for an evening of folk music, stand up, poetry and satirical sketches. Only £3!  See for further information http://www.facebook.com/events/137061903130558/

Go to…Palestinian Fundraiser for the Palestinian Women’s Scholarship Fund…at Denshaw Village Hall,Saddlworth on Sunday 28 April 2-5pm. The documentary And Still they Dance made by Sheffield PSC will be shown. Tickets are £8/4 and can be booked by ringing 07975 908409 or emailing saddleworth.pwsf@gmail.com

Remember…Ethel Carnie who was a working class writer and anti-racist activist. This year marks the 100 centenary of the publication of her first book Miss Nobody. On 7 September the WCML will be hosting a one day conference to commemorate this event. Nicola Wilson,  who is organising the event,  is looking for papers or presentations on any aspect of Ethel’s life. Contact her on n.l.wilson@reading.ac.uk by Friday 28 June if you wish to contribute.

You can read my article on Ethel here.

Oppose blacklisting Steve Acheson Benefit Friday 22nd March 7pm
Saffron Restaurant £20/£12Steve Acheson, a trade union activist  has been blacklisted, cannot get work and doesn’t get benefits so a fundraising night has been organised by friends, including Salford Pensioners Association, to get him some financial help. See the blacklist blog

Find out more about… Charles Parker, the radio producer  on Friday 22 March from 10am to 4.30pm at an event hosted by the University of Salford, in the Digital Performance Lab at MediaCityUK in Salford Quays. The event seeks to recognise the work of the late BBC producer and celebrates the radio feature-past, present and future. 2013 sees the 50th anniversary of two of Parker’s famous Radio Ballads made with Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger – ‘On the Edge’ about teenagers and ‘The Fight Game’ about boxing – so two of the main themes of this year’s conference are ‘the radio feature and young people’ and ‘sport on radio’.

The conference fee of £35 (£15 students) includes lunch and morning & afternoon refreshments.

More information here.

still time to see….Shirley Baker; Looking Outwards at the Gallery Oldham. Find out more about one of Britain’s best and most interesting photographers. Through her portraits explore her life from  Manchester in the 1960s to contemporary photos of Japan and France. See

listen to… Nick Cave’s latest album,,Push the Sky Away..that distinctive voice, quirky songs and great music!

The Spirit of 45 and my hopes for 2013

Ken Loach’s new film The Spirit of 45 looks back to a time in the history of this country that now seems almost impossible to imagine.

I spoke to Ken last year when he was filming at the Working Class Movement Library. It’s about the spirit of 1945”, he told me, ”the election and war victories, and what people thought they were building when they took over the public utilities, including the mines, railways and established the NHS.

The Spirit of 45 aims to recapture the spirit of an era when working class people were winning. The Labour Party won a landslide victory in the General Election in 1945, and went on to nationalise public industries such as the mines and railways and also create the National Health Service. As Ken says, It’s to celebrate the possibilities that people had in the 40s and to remember them.

He is clear about who is responsible for the destruction of the dreams of 1945, believing that the key principles of that period have been betrayed by successive politicians, It began in the late 70s with Thatcher at the forefront of attacks on nationalised industries Ken says, but carried on under New Labour. It is not politically correct to remember the times when we owned things collectively. Now people are taught to be competitive and not to work together as a team. He feels that if we are to reclaim the NHS, and other forms of common ownership, a new mass movement is needed. We need people to come together, to stop the sectarian splits, stop the charismatic leaders and get together in a mass, democratic organisation.

I am not so sure that it is as simple as Ken sincerely believes. Thatcher did undoubtedly wreak havoc in the 1980s across our public services and created mass unemployment, never mind the effect on the trade unions, the Labour Party and the left in this country. I was involved in supporting the Miners in the 1984-1985 strike, as were tens of thousands of others.

However my own experience is that, with the growth of the economy in the 1990s, many working class people managed to get a standard of living only dreamt of or seen on TV, although it is true that some of this was gained through buying and then selling council properties and that people used credit to buy a lifestyle that they could not afford, including several holidays abroad every year, being able to move into a more middle class neighbourhood and having greater expectations for their children.

Maybe the deference factor changed in that working class people now felt they had a right to a better way of life. And maybe after working with, or being managed by middle class managers, they knew they could do those jobs. They did not feel it was a fair system whereby those jobs went to people who had the money to ensure that they could get better jobs for themselves and their children.

Women were beneficiaries of the boom in the 1990s, as the expansion in banking, finance and the public services gave them jobs and opportunities for advancement. Childrens’ Services, for instance, where I worked was just one area where, as the legal framework and professionalisation of the service increased, women from all different education backgrounds were able to take advantage of the new jobs.

Gaining financial independence meant women could make more choices about their lifestyle including marriage, cohabitation, children and also indulging themselves, symbolised by the number of nail parlours on every high street.

But what about the Left during this time? I have always worked in the public sector and it seems to me the trade unions just retreated into being part of the service sector. When I was a shop steward in Manchester in the 1980s we had regular meetings with members, branch meetings and an annual general meeting. By the 1990s there were few of these meetings, reflecting the attitude of the members and the absence of the union.

The decline of manufacturing and engineering in this country mirrored the retreat of the trade unions and lack of organisation in the new areas of work. Whilst unions such as Usdaw still organised in the growing sector of the supermarkets. other areas became union-free, including retail outlets and catering , areas which saw lots of young people get their first job and experience (often after after 3 years of a degree), working in conditions similar to a sweat shop. The trade unions had forgotten the lessons of the early 20 Century when organisations such as National Federation of Women Workers and Manchester and Salford Women’s Trades and Labour Council organised the women working in sweatshops or home working.

Over the last twenty years life for young people has seen many changes, often for the worse. For young people who live in poor families, or have had to leave the family home, the change in benefits introduced by the Tories in 1988 when their right to claiming benefits was reduced to a discretionary basis meant the creeping dependency of young people on their parents/carers. They were expected and encouraged to stay in full-time education at 16 (hence the Educational Maintenance Award), but for those young people who wanted to go into an apprenticeship or just get a job, the options were limited. There was growing cultural shift so that 16-18 years olds did not work, or if they did, it was while undertaking a full-time education course.

Labour’s return to power in 1997 reinforced and accelerated this change within society. In their world everyone would want to be like them. Everyone was middleclass and everyone was winning. Their harshness to single parents, people on benefits and those who could not live the dream mirrored the Tory administrations of previous years. This was played out at the annual Labour conference which became more and more like the Tory conference. There was no vision for a better society or a more equal society, just one built on money and advancement through the accumulation of money.

So in 2013 what is happening to our dreams for a better future? Many of the jobs created over the last 20 years are now in decline as the Tories lay waste the public sector while Labour councils make no attempt to defend local services and jobs. At the same time the crisis in the banking system has already shrunk the workforce and, as in public services, led to a growing number of women losing their jobs.

Speaking to people who have lost their jobs or are just holding onto them, I can hear a growing sense of anger at the decline of not just jobs and income, but the end of a dream of a better future. Some people are looking for the antidote to this pain through alcohol and this is very obvious if you travel on public transport to cities such as Manchester or if you spend any time in the A&E’s of local hospitals.

Ironically it is the campaign to save the NHS that seems to offer the opportunity for people to get together to start building an opposition to the wholesale destruction of our way of life. At a recent conference in Manchester over 100 people (many not from the traditional left) met up to challenge the privatisation of the NHS.

Like Ken, I do believe that we need a mass movement to produce a better society, but I think we are far from achieving that at the moment. I think we need films such as The Spirit of 45 to remind us of the past, but I think if and when change comes, it will have to come from those people who are at the bottom and who are really experiencing the harshness of life.

Spirit of 45 can be seen at

Join the protest against the privatisation of the NHS April 2

Timing: assemble 7.30am Cornbrook Metrolink stop (free parking nearby), go to Media:City Metrolink stop 7.45am, go outside BBC building on Media:City campus at 8am. Join us at those times en route if you can’t make it to Cornbrook for 7.30.