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…..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

Celebrating the Manchester International Brigaders!

Squeezed between the cosy couches and afternoon teas in the Sculpture Hall of Manchester Town Hall is a plaque to those people who dedicated their lives to one of the most important struggles of the 20th Century, the fight against fascism in the Spanish Civil War. Why was Spain so important? And why did some many working-class young men and women from the Manchester area,make their way to the battlefields of Spain?.

Benny Goodman, an International Brigader, explained in 1996 why he fought in Spain;

There were no financial inducements to go to fight in Spain. We weren’t mercenaries.We were idealists.

People like Benny grew up in an era when there was a rise in fascism across Europe. Hitler and Mussolini came to power on the backs of destroying democratic organisations and killing their members. In Britain, the Tory government (and Tory establishment) covertly supported the German and Italian regimes. The rise of Mosley and the British Union of Fascists showed that there was nothing foreign about fascism and its physical force mentality.

Across Britain people organised against Mosley and his armed gangs. On 29 September1934 he brought his Blackshirts to Belle Vue in Manchester. Local trade unionists and communists ignored a police ban on marches and held a protest meetin whilst , some people went into the meeting and shouted Mosley down.

Like today, in the 30s, there was a worldwide economic crisis, leading to mass unemployment and a level of social deprivation that is unheard of today. Walter Greenwood, in his novel Love on the Dole, showed how this poverty ground down every aspect of peoples’ lives. Greenwood knew what he was writing about, he came from Salford and was close to the communities he wrote about. For me the power of this book is the way he showed how people did fight back against the system and incorporated into the book is a real event when the local branch of the National Unemployed Workers Union took to the streets of Salford in October 1931 to protest against cuts in benefits.

The election of Popular Front governments in Spain and France in 1936 gave hope to socialists that there could be opposition to the rise of fascism. But as we now know, although it was Franco who led the revolt against republican Spain, he was supported by Hitler and Mussolini who were playing a bigger game in their plan to take over Europ
A number of countries signed a Non-Intervention agreement, which meant that they would not sell or send arms to Spain. These countries included Germany, Italy, the USSR, Britain and France. Germany and Italy, however, continued to support Franco with aeroplanes, tanks, and troops. Most importantly the American oil company, Standard Oil, with the backing of the US government, gave Franco the fuel to win the war.

In 21st Century Britain it is hard to explain why so many people were outraged at these events. But we are talking about a highly politicised working class who understood history and had been active themselves in many trade union and political struggles.

Organisations such as the Manchester and Salford Trades Council had throughout the 30s informed people about the rise of fascism globally. It now organised a series of events to educate and organise people to help Spain. Meetings were arranged to raise money for the National Council of Labour and the Spanish Appeal Fund. The film Defence of Madrid was shown and meetings and demonstrations were held across the city.

But some young people decided that they wanted to do more and that meant going to Spain and joining the armed forces. They left England, mostly in organised groups (although some people made their own way) and when the frontier between France and Spain was closed, they had to cross the Pyrenees, often at night. We still do not know how many people fought in the International Brigade as many used false names the British Government had passed legislation to stop people joining the Spanish republican forces.

Many people from Manchester went to Spain to work in the medical services. This included 22 year old nurse, Lillian Urmston of Stalybridge in Tameside. Her work meant nursing the wounded in caves, dodging bombing to reach injured soldiers, and fleeing across the Pyrenees whilst still caring for the sick and wounded.

Lillian Urmston

She later recounted;

On the way the Fascists were right behind us and the French didn’t want us so we were interned with the refugees in France.

Syd Booth left school at 14 and became a railway worker. He joined the Communist Party and became a leading trade union activist. As an activist in the anti-fascist struggles he saw the importance of the war in Spain and, like his mates and younger brother, he followed them and joined the International Brigade. He spent many months fighting in Spain until he was wounded and returned to England. Back home he was active in the International Brigade Association and he designed this sculpture which was dedicated to the Manchester Brigaders.

Sid Booth

The sculpture came about because Councillor Mike Hynes felt there should be a permanent memorial to the Manchester men who fought in Spain in the XV Brigade. A Greater Manchester Spanish Civil War Memorial Committee was formed, including WorkingClass Movement Library founders Ruth and Eddie Frow. Financial support for a plaque was provided by Manchester Trades Council, Labour Party organisations, MPs and individuals.

On 12 February 1983, the 46th anniversary of the Battle of Jarama, it was unveiled by the Deputy Lord Mayor of Manchester City Council. The plaque includes the names of the battles where International Brigaders fought and the farewell speech to them by the famous Pasionaria.

For many years an annual commemoration took place in February each year to remember the XV Brigade. Next month on 10 February from 11.30-12. 30 there will be a re-dedication of the plaque. Hilary Jones, one of the organisers of the ceremony said:

We are commemorating the 76th anniversary of the Battle of Jarama -when the British Battalion of the International Brigades first went into action and succeeded in holding back the fascist attack on Madrid . Approximately 150 men went from Greater Manchester ..with 46 killed. We are also honouring the contribution of the men and women of Greater Manchester who helped the Republican cause in the Medical aid for Spain movement.

The event is organised by the IBMT, an organisation that was set up in 2002 which originally included veterans of the IB Association, the friends of the IBA and representatives of the Marx Memorial Library and historians who specialise in the history of the Spanish Civil War.

In March they have organised a conference in Manchester on the anniversary of the publication of George Orwell’s Homage to Catalonia.
For further information about the International Brigaders see Bernard Barry’s excellent From Manchester to Spain published by the WorkingClassMovement Library.

Book review; Utopia

Utopia Five Leaves Publications ISBN 978-1 907869-50-1

We are living in the age of austerity. As a socialist and a writer my aim in life has always been to act collectively in my union, my neighbourhood and with my friends to make the world a better place. But in 2012 it is hard looking around to find organisations that give a lead and, most importantly, offer hope to achieving a better future.

Tom Paine, philosopher and revolutionary, wrote We have it in our power to begin the world over again. Five Leaves Publications in their latest book Utopia have reminded us of how important it is for all progressive people to have a vision for the future.

The book includes a mixture of essays from past and present writers.

Mike Marqusee in his essay Let’s Talk Utopia sets out the case for utopian thinking:

We need the attraction of a possible future as well as a revulsion at the actual present. If people are to make the sacrifices required by any struggle for social justice, then they need a bold and compelling idea of the world they are fighting for.

Utopia is not a new concept and has a fine tradition in this country. Earlier this year, for instance, I attended the 2nd Diggers Festival in Wigan which lauded Gerald Winstanley of the True Levellers (aka The Diggers). They did not just dream about a utopian lifestyle, but in 1649 occupied St.George’s Hill to set up a colony on common lands, cultivating the soil and distributing the crops without charge to their followers. Utopia includes Leon Rosselson’s song The World Turned Upside Down which encapsulates Winstanleys’ dreams:

They make the laws to chain us well
The clergy dazzle us with heaven or they damn us into hell
We will not worship the god they serve
The god of greed who feeds the rich while poor folk starve

A song for 2012 as the bankers are bailed out by the government, our public services are being dismantled and poor people are having their benefits cut. The Wigan festival will hopefully become an annual starting point for activists, not just a get together but to look at campaigning on these issues.

Gillian Darley in her essay Equal in Death: the Moravian Burial Ground explains how the Moravian community has survived whilst others, such as the Shakers, have disappeared. The English Moravian settlements were founded in the 1700s near Manchester, Leeds and Belfast. Originally from Germany the Moravian missionaries took their message across the world, establishing communites based on economic self sufficiency and close communal ties:

They observed the egalitarian customs and norms of their own society …and while their contemporaries lived bound by a mesh of intricate social gradations and subtle measurements of class and conditions, the Moravians – largely artisans- had effectively absolved themselves from all this in favour of equality in life and death.

Moravian Settlement Fairfield Manchester

The Moravians understood the importance of linking work with home life and, in his essay on William Morris, Colin Ward explains why the latter is still an important socialist thinker for us today. He quotes Paul Thompson, biographer of Morris:

Morris stands alone among major socialist thinkers in being as concerned with housework and the home as work in the factory. The transformation of both factory and home was equally necessary for the future fulfilment of men and women.

Utopia includes Morris’ own essay A Factory as it Might Be in which he sums up his vision of creating factories that would combine work and pleasure, extol training and education, as well as art and culture. He believed that machinery should be used to save the time of the worker so that s/he would have time to develop their own individual artistic and cultural needs.

Morris’ ideas of a modern factory were taken up by some employers, including William Lever at Port Sunlight and George Cadbury at Bournville, but they were never the norm for most people. And as Colin Ward points out, capital has eliminated labour and, in its drive for lower labour costs, it has relocated to China and Latin America.

Public anger about tax dodging organisations, including Amazon, will hopefully remind people about why co-operatives such as the News from Nowhere bookshop were started in the first place and why they are even more important today. NfN started in 1974 and became a co-operative in 1984. One of the founders, Bob Dent, explains why they took the name of William Morris’ book News From Nowhere:

To create that better world which William Morris envisaged in NfN, we need ideas which counter the prevailing ideologies. Access to alternatives, creative radical ideas,which help us challenge the different power structures of society, is not a sufficient condition for changing the world, but it is a necessary one.

News from Nowhere bookshop

In Mandy Vere’s contribution about News from Nowhere, we are shown how collective action can produce radical workplaces and centres for political activity.

Her essay is insightful on how they created the co-operative and decided to make it women only and the response this got, not just the customers, but from sections of the more traditional left. One of the strengths of the cooperative has been its openness to all political movements, individual activists from the left and all strands of progressive thought.

Utopia is a good book to read to inspire and motivate ourselves and make us think about trying to encourage other people to join us and become more politically active.

Through Lipstick Socialist over the past year I have interviewed many individuals and groups about their political activity and how they see the future. There are many positive things going on, particularly in terms of new groupings, and people trying to work together on many issues from opposing the public sector cuts to encouraging more people to learn their own history.

If we as socialists want to see more people become involved in creating a better society, a utopian society, then we need to engage with the majority of people who are not active and show them that it is possible to live in a more collective and compassionate way. To quote Oscar Wilde:

A map of the world that does not include Utopia is not worth even glancing at, for it leaves out the one country at which Humanity is always landing. And when Humanity lands there, it looks out, and, seeing a better country, sets sail. Progress is the realisation of Utopias.

Season’s greetings and see you in 2013 in a utopian society!

Political Women: (1) Christine Clark

This is the beginning of a series. My aim is to profile women who are active in left campaigns including the women’s movement, peace, trade unions and single issue campaigns. I want to explore their reasons for being politically active and the dilemmas for them as women, parents, carers and so on. I hope it will encourage other women, particularly  younger women,  to get involved in campaigns and I would welcome feedback on some of the issues that come up in the interviews.

Christine Clark has been active in politics for over thirty years:

I wasn’t politically active until I was 37 and went to University as a mature student. I met so many people from different walks of life including feminists. There was a brilliant library, I read Mary Wollstencroft and Simone de Beauvoir. I had a friend called Claudette who was black, my first black friend, and she gave me an insight into a different world

Christine did not come from a political family. Her dad was a bus driver and had had little education due to the First World War, whilst her mum came from a farming background, left school at 14 and was apprenticed as a seamstress at 15. Luckily she was encouraged by a local doctor to return to education and eventually, her mother after completing a chemistry degree, became a pharmacist.

Christine was good at Art but had learning difficulties and found the exam system unbearable:

My mum helped me with my English and Maths and I did get on a degree course at Leeds College of Art. But I fell in love with my teacher and became pregnant at 18 and had to get married. I knew nothing about contraception and went onto to have another child by the time I was 20.

When Christine became pregnant again shortly after giving birth, she decided she could not cope with another child. This was 1964 and there were no legal abortions:

My mother had a friend who was a doctor and believed in women’s right to abortion so she arranged it for me. It cost £100 (equivalent of £1000 today!) and my husband, my mum and a friend helped me get the money together. One day I just got the train to the doctor’s, had the abortion and then got the train home. Next day I went on holiday with my husband and two children to Lewes, where I was taken very ill with contractions and bleeding. I just took the pain for granted, I suppose I should have taken it easier. I didn’t contact a doctor or a hospital.

Being a young mother in the 1960s was not easy:

It was the 60s and many of our friends were artists and they were so free, ready to talk about all sorts of issues. Women were doing everything and I was so resentful because I was young but had all this responsibility.

In 1973 Christine went to Wolverhampton College of Art to do an Art degree:

My husband looked after the children during the week and I came home at weekends. I started reading and thinking more. My friends challenged my assumptions about life and everything.

In the 80s she got involved in women’s  issues in Tameside:

I started listening to what was going on. Locally there was a group of women who started a WellWomens group. I went to the first meeting and so many women turned up that we didn’t have enough chairs.

On the 5th September 1981, the Welsh group “Women for Life on Earth” arrived on Greenham Common, Berkshire, England. They had marched from Cardiff with the intention of challenging, by debate, the decision to site 96 Cruise nuclear missiles there. On arrival they delivered a letter to the Base Commander which, among other things,  stated ‘We fear for the future of all our children and for the future of the living world which is the basis of all life’. This was ignored and so they set up a Peace Camp just outside the fence surrounding RAF Greenham Common Airbase. Their protest lasted  19 years.

women surrounding the Greenham common airbase

There was a call in 1982 for people to go to Greenham Common. I went and just felt the power of women. It was revolutionary and I hadn’t seen anything like it.

From there Christine got involved with the peace movement and the Wages for Housework Campaign. WFH    had been set up in 1972 by Selma James who said.” By demanding payment for housework we attack what is terrible about caring in our capitalist society, while protecting what is great about it, and what it could be. We refuse housework, because we think everyone should be doing it.”

Christine  did her own one woman action outside a Post Office in Tameside:

My placards said that women’s right to benefits is sharing in the wealth of the country.

At the same time she  moved out of the family home (which now included her 3 chidren, her parents and her brother):

I went to live by myself. I was becoming more politically aware and active. I became involved with the Labour Party and more formal politics. My involvement included raising issues such as Greenham Common and the new Child Support Act. I campaigned at every election, I didn’t vote for Tony Blair as leader and I opposed the abolition of Clause 4.

Her women’s politics have always been at the forefront of her activity:

In 1995 I went to the Beijing Womens Conference for three weeks. I also raised funds for women from the Developing World to join us.

By 1999 she had joined the Green Party:

I have always believed in respecting the land and animals, that we should not pollute the environment and I was always interested in growing things. I got this from my Mum and I think this was from her farming background.

Christine has been active in environmental campaigns, locally and nationally. She has stood as a Green Party candidate in local elections in Tameside:

The Green Party raises the issue of the cost that the Third World is paying for our wealth. We are dependant on each other and the environment.

In 2012 Christine is still active in the Green Party, in the Wages for Housework Campaign and the peace movement.She is also a grandmother

Looking back at her political life has made her think about the dilemmas that women face who are parents and political activists:

I have put so much emotional energy into changing things for everybody. Maybe I didn’t put enough into my children.

She is amazed how things have changed in the past 40 years:

So much was hidden from women in the 50s and 60s and nowadays my daughters and granddaughters are so educated. They are educating me! Its not one way though, it’s a different world, I want to join with them but it must be on human rights terms and it must be in encouraging all groups to work together and to make this a better world. In my opinion the Wages for Housework is a key campaign as it is addresses the fundamental issue of the economy. The economy relies on the unpaid work of people such as carers and the fact that this is unpaid and unrecognised affects everyone as it brings everyones’ wages down.

And her message to young women?

We should start from where they are. I have some interesting conversations with my granddaughter who is in her teens and is black. I try to be on her side and listen to what is important to her. As activists we must listen to them and what they are struggling with and give them support.

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

Watch...A World Apart (1988) Written by Shawn Slovo, the daughter of S.African Communist activists Ruth First and Jo Slovo. Molly, a 13 year old living in Safrica in 1963 is the daughter of political activists who oppose the apatheid government. As the government closes down opposition parties she witnesses the effect it has on her home life. Her life closes down around her as her father flees the country and her mother is imprisoned. This is an important film because it explores the dilemmas for political activists who are also parents. It asks questions including should your children come second to your politics and through the main character in the film it shows the price that children play in the larger political story of causes such as the Anti-Apartheid Movement in Safrica. Of course the Slovos were privileged children and could escape to Britain but Ruth First who fled to Mozambique was assassinated by the S.African regime in 1982. In post-independance Safrica Joe Slovo, in 1994, became the Minister for Housing but died in 1995.See

Read..The Master and Margarita by Michael Bulgakov. He was born in Kiev in 1891.Trained as a doctor, he took part in the First World War and the civil war in Kiev and the Caucasus. These experiences had a profound effect on him and he became a writer and produced books and plays, many which were censored. Most of his work is satire and that is why, particularly during Stalins’ era he had little work published. This book was recently dramatised by Complicite theatre in London and singer Patti Smith was inspired to name her new album Banga after Pontius Pilate’s dog in the Master and Margarita
The novel is completely surreal. It is set in Moscow in the 1930s (so lots of references to the politics of the period) as the devil, disguised as a magician, enters the city with his talking cat and expert assassin. The action switches between Moscow and first century Jerusalem and the reader is introduced to many characters that confuse, surprise and make one smile. Bulgakov took eleven years and many drafts to complete the manuscript and it was not published in his lifetime. It is now considered one of the most important books of twentieth century Russian literature and has been translated into twenty languages further info

Look.. Harry Rutherford (1903-85) was an important artist in the Northern School which sought to depict the post industrial landscape of north-west England. He trained with Walter Sickert and later went on to become the first artist to have his own television programme. A new exhibition, at the Central Art Gallery in Ashton-u-Lyne, called Pocket Pictures shows drawings that have never been displayed publicly. Interesting to me is his insight into political events in the Tameside area including a sketch of a soup kitchen in Mossley in 1929 and a painting of a recreated scene of a Chartist Meeting in Hyde in the 1830s. The exhibition is fascinating and also revealing about events that have largely been forgotten. Further info

Listen…The War Symphonies..Symphony no 7 in c major Leningrad (Shostakovich) conducted by Valery Gergiev and the Kirov Orchestra.Shostakovich dedicated this symphony to the struggle against fascism and his home city of Leningrad. It became a worldwide symbol against the Nazi regime and today is a beacon of light to all political activists who seek to oppose fascism. Shostakovich understood the importance of politics to artists ”The Soviet artist will never stand aside from that historical confrontation taking place between reason and obscurantism, between culture and barbarity, between light and darkness.” A message for all activists in the 21 Century.

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

Watch...Nostalgia for the Light a new film by Chilean director Patricio Guzman. He contrasts the beauty of his home countrys’ Atacama desert and its hidden history of concentration camps and Pinochets’ regime. The desert has some of the most wonderful landscapes and the world’s largest telescopes but also women who are now in the 70s trying to locate the bodies of their families who were tortured, killed and buried somewhere under the ground. Guzman, who left Chile in the 70s, in the film shows us not just the terrible history of his country but how astronomy can, like the political prisoners in the desert, confirm our humanity against a political landscape of terror. See Guardian Chile through the Landscape

Read..Hannah Maria Mitchell;Radical Suffragist by Bill Johnson. Hannah was an extraordinary woman who was born in Derbyshire in 1871. Her education only lasted a week, she left a violent home in her mid-teens and worked in sweatshops most of her life. Her biography, now out of print, sums up her life “The Hard Way Up”. But she was a suffragist and rebel who took part in the campaign for the vote, was a socialist and member of the radical,grassroots organisation, the Independant Labour Party. Bill Johnson wrote this pamphlet because he could not get Hannah’s biography republished. Hannah’s secret ambition was to be a writer and here we can read some of her own stories and articles as well as look at photographs of where she was born and of her husband and son. The pamphlet is a bargain at only £4, available from Tameside Local Studies and Archive.

Listen...Nimissa(regrets) by Ba Cissoko. Ba is originally from Guinea but now lives in Marseilles. He uses the kora as a basis for his afro beat sound. His fourth album is a mixture of funk and groove, melodic and rhythmic. It tells us stories about his home, in Loumo of the weekly African market and in Politiki he lambasts Guinean politicians who are destroying the country.Ba is a skilled songwriter and in his latest album has produced a fascinating mixture of Mandingo tunes with salsa, rumba etc.etc.

Visit...the idiosyncratic Portico Library on Moseley St. in Manchester. Opened in 1806 it is a private, subscription based library but it is open to the public to view its 19 Century collection. There is a wide selection of travel literature. novels,biographies and history with a number of first editions. To celebrate Dickens year it has an exhibition called “Charles Dickens;Children and Childhood in His Life and Works”. It features a number of first editions of the author’s novels as well as illustrated children’s adaptation, graphic novels and translations. Its worth just going to look at the Library and a wonderful “oasis of calm in the heart of the city”.

The Right Prescription for the NHS:talking to Dr.Chand

Protests against the NHS Bill on Westminster Bridge

Why do people get involved in campaigns? For Dr. Kailash Chand, Tameside GP and chair of the Tameside Glossop NHS Trust, it’s about saving a service to which he has devoted his life. “I came to this country over 30 years ago to work in what I believe is the best healthcare system in the world.” During those thirty years he has worked in all aspects of the health service and has also campaigned to ensure that the key principles of the NHS, including free universal healthcare for all, are maintained. “I work in Tameside which is a deprived borough and this will affect those who need the NHS the most. Elderly people, people with dementia and so on will suffer if this bill becomes law.”

Political parties know that the NHS is highly valued by most people in this country. Even the Tories at the last election promised not to undermine it, yet within weeks of taking office brought forward a Bill clearly years in preparation. Dr. Chand sees this Bill as entirely ideological. “It will take away the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Health to ensure that the health needs of the population are being met. It will create more bureaucracy and turn GPs from clinicians into business managers.” He questions why this Bill is being brought in now, at a time of austerity. The NHS was created in 1948 at a time when the country was recovering from the Second World War by a Labour Government. Health Minister Aneurin Bevan asserted; “The collective principle asserts that… no society can legitimately call itself civilised if a sick person is denied medical aid because of lack of means”.

Dr.Chand likens the NHS to tap water. “We expect it to be there when we need it”. But he admits that the challenges for the NHS are huge, including an ageing population, new technology, the affects of alcohol and obesity “I am not against reforms but the ideology that a privatised health service can deliver the answers to these needs is wrong” He has likened the fight over the NHS as comparable to Thatcher’s Poll Tax which led to rioting and civil disobedience across the country. He believes the NHS Bill could cause the demise of the Con/Dem Government.

Dr.Chand’s response to the Bill hasn’t just been writing letters and articles about why it is seriously flawed. He also started his own e-petiton because, as he says, “I felt that no one outside the NHS was listening. My aim was to broaden the debate amongst all sections of society.” And it has certainly worked. At time of writing the petition has over 160,000 signatures. It has inspired other activists and the opposition to the Bill has caused major ruptures in the Con/Dem government and forced the Labour Party to raise their game. Opposition has come from a wide spectrum including Dr Chand’s own organisation the BMA, most Royal Colleges, as well as trade unions and patient groups. This week the MPs on the Business Backbench Committee refused time to debate Dr.Chand’s petition. He responds, “What’s the point of e-petitions if they turn down for debate the one that got the most signatures of any so far? It’s an insult to the very democracy we’re so proud of.’”

Other groups such as 38 Degrees are taking the campaign to another level. This week they have been asking people to donate towards putting billboards to tell David Cameron that doctors and nurses oppose the bill. In less than a week over £250,000 has been raised through individual donations by more than 15,000 people. Thatcher won three general elections but was brought down by the campaign against the poll tax. Will Cameron too be stabbed in the back by his Cabinet as his poll ratings slump?

You can sign the petition here

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/22670

sign up to 38 degrees