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Labour Representation Committee report

Three Labour CND reps participated in the 2018 LRC conference and annual meeting. Walter Wolfgang, former Labour National Executive Committee member, moved our motion in support of a Defence Diversification Agency, which was adopted nem con by the LRC:

The Labour Representation Committee notes that the actions of US President Trump have increased the possibility of a nuclear war.

The Labour Representation Committee commits itself to campaign in the Labour Party to achieve:

  1. A clear commitment that the Labour government will sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which implies scrapping the Trident replacement.
  2. The setting up by the Labour Party of a Shadow Defence Diversification Agency as advocated by the 2017 Trades Union Congress. This agency to report annually to the Labour Party conference until Labour in government has established a Defence Diversification Agency.
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About Labour’s Democracy Review

The Labour Party Democracy Review was initiated by Jeremy Corbyn and is being conducted by his political secretary, former MP Katy Clark who reports that thousands of submissions, mainly by individuals, have already been received.

The Review has been discussed by the NEC at its October and November 2017 meetings, which received reports on the timetable and terms of reference. The January 2018 NEC took a preliminary report on the first stage of the Review.

When the Review is completed, Clark will report to Corbyn and Ian Lavery MP, Labour Party chair, who will advise the NEC on rule changes to be brought forward to annual conference.

Continue reading “About Labour’s Democracy Review”

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National Executive Committee Report

Jeremy Corbyn welcomed newly elected members Rachel Garnham, a former member of Labour CND executive committee, Yasmine Dar, and Jon Lansman to their first National Executive Committee meeting on 23 January, highlighting that the NEC had a female majority. A list of all NEC members is available here.

All members of the NEC are members of the National Policy Forum which oversees the development of party policy and forms the basis of Labour’s general election manifesto. The NEC is also responsible for party rules and candidate selection processes.

Continue reading “National Executive Committee Report”

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Labour’s Policy Forum: Speak up on Trident

Checked out the Labour Party website lately? If so, you’ll have noticed that one of the changes takes you to a Policy Forum page where you can have your say about any of Labour’s policy commissions. You can make a submission on a topic of your choice, click on the ‘get involved’ tab at the top of the page  or comment and vote on other people’s submissions.

Continue reading “Labour’s Policy Forum: Speak up on Trident”

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Labour NEC election results

Congrats Rachel, Jasmine, Jon!

Elections results are in for the three additional Constituency Labour Party places on the National Executive that 2017 annual conference agreed on. The three Centre Left Grassroots Alliance (CLGA) candidates swept the board. Chosen to represent the CLGA coalition from among 48 would-be contenders, when the results were announced on 15 January, they’d swept the board – beating the right wing Labour First / Progress slate by an overwhelming majority.

Rachel Garnham, a former member of Labour CND Executive Committee, is a constituency secretary and former rep on Labour’s National Policy Forum. Standing for an NEC place for the first time a first time, her running mates were Jasmine Dar and Jon Lansman. Jon, a founder of Momentum stresses his commitment to a transformative government; and Jasmine, a Manchester City councillor emphasises she’s committed to ‘actions not just words’.

Click here to read their statements in full. 

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A Minister for Peace and Disarmament

Wednesday 11th October, 6.30pm to 8.00pm
Wilson Room, Portcullis House, Victoria Embankment, SW1A 2JR

with

Fabian Hamilton MP, Labour Shadow Peace and Disarmament Minister
Christine Shawcroft, Labour Party National Executive Committee
Daniel Blaney, Labour CND

Fifty three countries signed the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons on 20 September, the first day it opened for signature. But the UK government has refused ever to sign it. Labour’s manifesto promises to create a Minister for Peace and Disarmament, part of its commitment to reducing human suffering caused by war by focussing on protecting civilians, conflict prevention and resolution, and peace-building, London CND asks if and how these policies can reshape the war culture of past decades.

All welcome

 

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CND at Labour Party conference

If you’re visiting Brighton be sure to say hello to CND. We have a stall there and are holding a fringe meeting on Sunday evening, details below. 

TOWARDS A NUCLEAR FREE WORLD

Cancel Trident replacement, support the nuclear ban treaty

Sunday 24 September 6pm to 7.30pm
St Paul’s Church, West Street, Brighton
(5 minutes from the Conference Centre)

with…

Diane Abbott MP
Shadow Home Secretary

 

 

 

Fabian Hamilton MP
Shadow Minister for Peace and Disarmament

 

 

Christine Blower
International Sec, National Education Union

Christine Shawcroft
Labour NEC

 

 

and

George Downs
National Policy Forum

http://www.cnduk.org/get-involved/events/item/3544-cnd-fringe-meeting-at-labour-party-conference

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Corbyn: bringing end to conflict and war almost always involves talking to people you profoundly disagree with

In a speech on Friday 26 May 2017, Jeremy Corbyn reiterated his condolences to the families and friends of the victims, paid tribute to the emergency services and Manchester’s mood of unwavering defiance.  ‘The man who unleashed carnage on Manchester,’ he emphasised, ‘was not representative of Muslims.’

The war on terror was not working, Corbyn said. Whoever led the next government must do better.  Labour’s approach means change at home and abroad:

  • Labour would reverse cuts to emergency services and police. The UK cannot be protected on the cheap.
  • Labour would be tough on terror and on the causes of terror. The causes of attacks like Manchester can’t be reduced to foreign policy decisions alone.
  • An informed understanding of the causes of terrorism is indispensable for effective response. Many professionals acknowledge connections between wars the UK has fought and terrorism in Britain. This connection in no way reduces guilt of those who carry out attacks like Manchester.
  • Bringing end to conflict will almost always involve talking to people we profoundly disagree with. But the responsibility of government is never surrender the freedoms we have won. Carrying on as normal is an act of defiance of those who do reject our commitment to democratic freedoms.

Continue reading “Corbyn: bringing end to conflict and war almost always involves talking to people you profoundly disagree with”

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For a Labour victory

Labour CND activists are working flat out for the election of a Labour government on 8 June.  We are certain that securing a government led by Jeremy Corbyn is the most urgent task for all those of us campaigning for peace and nuclear disarmament and against unjust wars. Under Corbyn, Labour will no longer be the party of the Iraq War.

Labour’s manifesto commitments include:

  • putting conflict resolution and human rights at the heart of foreign policy
  • backing effective action to alleviate the refugee crisis
  • working through the UN
  • supporting reform to make UN institutions more effective and responsive
  • ending support for unilateral aggressive wars of intervention
  • a comprehensive peace in the Middle East, and
  • the creation of a Minister for Peace and Disarmament.

The manifesto recognises the UK’s ‘responsibility to fulfil our obligations under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty’. And it pledges Labour to ‘lead multilateral efforts with international partners and the UN to create a nuclear-free world’.

Labour’s vision stands in sharp contrast to the outgoing Tory government’s boycott of UN negotiations for a treaty to ban nuclear weapons in March. Talks reconvene on 15 June, a week after the election.

The manifesto affirms that a Labour government will undertake ‘a complete strategic defence and security review when it comes into office, to assess the emerging threats facing Britain, including hybrid and cyber warfare’. The recent cyber attack on the NHS has demonstrated that Labour is right to focus on the real security threats facing Britain.

It comes as no surprise that the manifesto supports the renewal of the Trident nuclear weapons system, wrongly referring to it as a ‘deterrent’.

Corbyn has acknowledged an in-coming Labour government’s commitment to Trident. He has also emphasised his commitment to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and support for a global nuclear ban, consistent with his personal opposition to all nuclear weapons and reflected in his vote against replacing Trident on a free vote in the last parliament.

Labour CND remains opposed to all nuclear weapons, including Britain’s. We strongly support Labour’s commitment to a nuclear free world. Equally, we will continue to take every opportunity and use every avenue to campaign against Trident replacement which we believe is an important component part in achieving such a world.