Labour Conference .............. people?

This will be my last specific report from the conference .......... well it did end 2 days ago. I have commented on only a fraction of the issues raised in the main conference hall, barely touched on fringe meetings that I attended and said nothing at all about the plethora of exhibitors stands. I started to write this post last night under a different title, "who now is in control of the party", based purely on a fringe question and answer session hosted by the Progress Group on Tuesday evening. The question asked by one chap in the gallery was, "why did the right lose control of the party." My notes may be slightly inaccurate here as a small voice in my head keeps whispering that instead of the "right" the questioner may have said "centre". I know one person who attended that meeting whose memory most probably works better than mine so if I have it wrong then please correct me.

I was shocked that such a question could be asked without causing the panel even a glimmer of discomfort. As a rank and file member I feel patronised by such a question. The answer of course is wrapped up within the question .......... Labour foot soldiers and camp followers had run out of patience with the centre right of the party that felt that they were entitled to "control" the party so voted overwhelmingly for what seems to be the democratic and inclusive alternative. Time will tell if dragging the centre of gravity to the left will result in a fairer and more equal society. I already feel more comfortable in this party but I cannot rid myself of a doubt about our electability. We failed from a centrist position in 2010 .......... we failed again in 2015 when our positioning was that of a mugwump (a mugwump sits on the fence - mug on one side - wump on the other - reference the USA election of 1884). My instinct is that more of the Labour torso will be on the left side of the fence come 2020 but just how much will be determined by how well we sell ourselves to the electorate at parish, borough, county, capital and devolved national elections in the next 2 years.

I may have changed the post headline but I still gave you a precis of the associated article. I apologise but I had to get it out of my system.

Back to people

I had many varied and interesting discussions at the conference, not just with the Labour faithful but also with many in pubs, hotel bars, shops, buses and .......... well you get the point. I did not delude myself that they were attracted by my good looks and youthful demeanour (my prize possession is my OAP bus pass). No, what made me interesting was the delegate pass that hung around my neck. People would lean in towards me to see if I was part of the travelling circus that had hit town.

Two lads in a pub

I think of the two lads who spoke with me in a pub as I waited for the Progress meeting to start (the one mentioned above). One wanted to know about Jeremy whilst the other initially came out with the usual, "they are all the same". Eventually, the innate intelligence of the "they are all the same" guy shone through and the three of us shared an interesting few minutes. Their question to me was very to the point ........ why do you bother? I told them of my life, the ease with which I found work as a youngster, the night school opportunities fanned by the WEA, eventually winning a place at university where tuition was free and I was given a full grant, then starting a family, being allocated a council house, being paid a decent enough wage in a career that made it easy to eventually buy our own house ............. in short I grew up and prospered in a world that gave me ample opportunities to succeed, a world that was so much better and inclusive than the society within which these two lads were having to make their way. I wanted the current generation, those lads, my grandchildren to have the same chances in life as I have enjoyed and that's why I bothered, that's why I was in the Labour Party.

Moderate Labour MP

Conor McGinn

Just a few yards from the pub was the Wagner meeting hall, the venue for the Progress event. As I entered I was surprised to be greeted by name by a cheery chap, outstretched hand and beaming smile. Conor McGinn, newly elected MP for St Helens North; already appointed as a party whip and a member of the Defense Committee. I had spoken briefly with him earlier in the conference and noted him to be to the centre of the party so I was very interested in how he fared at the question and answer session. I was deeply impressed by his determination when he stated, "just because I am a moderate does not mean that I do not have passion, that I do not care." Conor, if by any chance you stumble across BelperStuff and read this reference to yourself, please forgive any inaccuracies as I often struggle to take verbatim notes, often forced to paraphrase because I cannot keep up with the speaker. Conor is part of the new intake here is the link to reference him on Wikipedia and I am impressed to discover that, since being elected in May he has asked 16 questions about a range of issues. 

Cat Smith

The Progress invited panel consisted of a Times journalist who specialises in making a living from rehashing sparse dregs of  ideas from a cup from which he had first drunk some years ago. His weariness was astonishing so I will not be tempted to give any money to Murdoch to breach the Times paywall. Beside the journalist sat Cat Smith MP for Lancaster and Fleetwood link to her Wikipedia page. Cat had a far more leftist perspective but, despite being a Corbynista did not seem that enthused by his speech. Cat is a contributor to Labourlist so I get the impression that she is more comfortable in print. Completing the panel was Jacqui Smith, former Home secretary and long time Labour stalwart (her Wikipedia entry mentions her support for Blair). To be honest, though she sat at the opposite end of the table to the Times journalist I could not detect any gap between them.

I am looking inside myself with trepidation ........... can it be true that of the few elected members with which I spoke it was Conor who made me feel more confident about Labour's future. He stated that there should be a mechanism for MP accountability (careful choice of words), JC still needs to secure a public mandate (how true) ......... but the one sentence that I keep returning to, "is labour on the side of history". That for me encapsulates the position of Labour in the next four and a half years. Conor, wise words ........... now please, use that intellect of yours to make sure that we are on the side of history. We desperately need an effective front bench who speak with passion about their Labour values. Forget left and right, make our party once again a point of hope for all.

There were many others

Yes many others ........... the lady with two teenage daughters forced to live in two rooms in a conference hotel because of a fire in her housing association home. So far it's been three months and there is no immediate hope of rehousing and they have lost everything.

The policeman patrolling the seafront opposite the conference hall, part of a depleted force stretched thin by Tory cuts. He dutifully could not comment but nodded his head in agreement with the Labour analysis.

The three delegates from Easington in the North East, two charming ladies in charge of a smiling man, led by Heather Wood, who described to me in some detail the problem they face on the Durham & Northumberland coast from "underground coal gassification", which seems to be a horrible cousin of fracking. This is one to watch as it carries with it real risks of massive explosions and the ruination of vast areas of coastal land and the sea bed. Next stop could be the moribund coal seams in Derbyshire.

Then there is the elderly lady who spoke to me as I bunked off early from the conference on Wednesday morning. She asked me if she could use my pass to get into the hall so that she could once again sing the Red Flag surrounded by comrades. Unfortunately, it was impossible to help her as she in no way bore any resemblance to the photo on my delegate's pass.

............ and Marcelo who manages a well known shop on Brighton station. He told me of moving from southern Italy to the UK in 1995 ........ now he has a family, a home, a career and his 14 year old daughter attends a good school. Brighton has been good to him and his family and he in turn is an asset to our society.

Finally, on the train, I spoke to a carriage cleaner who earns £6.63 an hour, working a 44 hour week with no enhanced rates for night shifts or overtime. Can you imagine working through the night for £6.63 an hour. This is how the Tories make privatisation pay for their profit taking cronies ...... on the backs of low paid workers. Under British Railways, cleaners  were not exactly rich but they had enhanced rates for unsocial hours, sick pay proper paid holidays, a pension scheme and many other entitlements including free travel concessions for them and their families. All that was lost to privatisation. Renationalising our railways must include all contracted out services if it is to be socially relevant.

I could go on ........... the Vegans on their exhibition stand who are aware of the potential environmental and societal impact of Veganism, (I am sorry that I cause you distress when I mentioned what I had eaten for breakfast .............. the HS2 campaigners (please contact me) ............ the Trident campaigners ............. the retired quantity surveyor on the train who spoke of his disquiet about Osborne ............. not to forget, the tramp (I still use that most descriptive of words) who slept in the shop doorway, wrapped up in a dirty and disheveled coat, his face red from the cycle of night time cold and exposure to the sun. Hundreds were walking past him but he slept on. There is no dignity in poverty but  ............. but ............ words at last fail me.

Labour Conference ........... back to the future

I know that back to the future may seem to be a headline that is asking for trouble when newspapers such as the Mail and the Sun cast the Corbyn Labour team as throwbacks to the seventies but for those of us who have first hand memories of the Wilson and Callaghan governments what we witnessed at this conference would have been judged as middle of the road in the sixties. Sitting in the conference hall I tried to imagine the media response if John McDonnell had borrowed Dennis Healey's famous comment that he was going to, "tax the rich until the pips squeak" .......... and he was considered to be right wing. Or what of Harold Wilson saying, "I believe the greatest asset a head of state can have is the ability to get a good night's sleep" ............. I shudder to think what the Telegraph would have made of that if Jeremy had included it in his speech to conference. The point is that we live in different times where perfectly sensible economic policies are deemed to be left-wing fantasy. There is nothing shocking about what Labour is now proposing; it follows the mainstream Keynesian economic philosophy that has underpinned our economy since being adopted in the thirties to rescue us from a deep depression, subsequently the cornerstone of our resilience in WW2, the post war recovery and through much of the gains in our standard of living in the past 70 years. It is only when we have deviated from Keynesian principles, during the Thatcher, Major and Cameron years, that inequality and increased social division have crippled our economy ............ but always making the lower economic groupings pay the cost. I discount Heath because his government broadly accepted the Keynesian model but chose (stupidly) to enter into a class war with the miners at a time of uncertain and restricted oil supply. Probably as dumb as Osborne delivering tight fiscal control between 2010 and 2012, thus stalling the successful Brown/Darling strategy of growth that was lifting the UK out of recession. I believe that we would have avoided the double dip if Labour had won in 2010, a view shared by many in the city of London ............ not just us Labour supporters.

I searched for a Healey pip squeaking video but only came up with this Flanders and Swann clip ......... somewhat off message but why not.

Unfortunately there are many in the media, and even some of the right leaning element in the Labour Party who were seduced into abandoning the tried and trusted view that it is the duty of the state to invest in the economy in a downturn thus preparing the country to benefit at the earliest possible moment from the inevitable and state encouraged upturn. They were seduced by the spurious argument that our main concern should be a fight to reduce annual deficits and the overall burden of state debt. How foolish. 

Those to the right of the party have just lost out in the leadership election because they forgot this basic economic formula that created the welfare state and the ascendancy of social democracy and justice ......... oh and of course is the root cause of the increased prosperity in this land. It was not Thatcherism, nor is it Osbornomics .......... it was Keynesian economic theory that has been the engine for good in our society. I call it "good" because the philosophy of the shrinking state that is the Tory model has done nothing to improve economic performance, instead,doing great harm to so many. They claim success for their doctrines but are never able to link any upturn in the economy as being a result of their policies. I expect Corbyn and McDonnell to bellow across the dispatch box ............. PROVE IT .........  when Osborne makes such boasts (where would he be if the price of crude had not slumped). They shout out loud that the Labour Party now opposes austerity, skewering it as a Tory imposter, a foolish doctrine invented by those who put Tory dreams of privatising the state before the health and wealth of our country.

Calm down ....... calm down. I think that attending the conference has done me much good. Despite exhaustion with a punishing schedule and getting rather upset at the obviously weak support for Corbyn from those to the right; even getting annoyed at the inaccuracies and deliberate distortions of the megaphone left (sorry Tosh .... get your facts straight); despite all that I come away from the conference invigorated. It's not that I think Jeremy is going to become the next Prime Minister ............ I'm sorry, sadly I just cannot see him reaching out to enough voters who occupy the centre ground ............ and it's not that I think our increased membership guarantees success, by itself it does not .............. what energises me is the fact that the Labour Party is once again debating, discussing, talking, listening ............. our front bench are making much of our party being democratic ....... not top down but bottom up. Well I am taking that at face value, expecting Tom Watson to make good on this promise ......... now. How this is to be achieved I do not know but I feel sure that one of the first questions asked when I deliver my conference report to the Belper branch will be ......... how can my voice be heard?

Labour conference ............... thus spake Cor Byn

Goodness I'm tired. The conference seems all consuming. Waking early to write the blog, the bustle of the conference hall, fingers aching from note taking and endless ...... endless chatting with fellow delegates about ........... well obviously Labour politics. Starting the morning off with an invigorating walk along the sea front has paid dividends, not least because of the bacon roll.

View of the conference hall and associated hotels from the beach on Tuesday morning

Before I proceed with my Tuesday summary I must put right one glaring omission from yesterday's post ................ the motion opposing the current trade union legislation and the ongoing assault on workers rights. The speech by Len McClusky was excellent, eloquent and full of controlled passion. His reference to the requirement for union members to wear arm bands on picket lines and likening that to similar Nazi laws was chilling (note to self - must research this). I have really started to like Len as he was a constant presence at this conference and could be seen at numerous locations talking with what seemed to be ordinary delegates (if you know what I mean) and yesterday he even toured along the queues waiting to enter the hall for Jeremy's speech. Len was handing out free comic books telling the story of Unite members in the hotel industry. I have a copy signed by Len --- in solidarity --- which is to become a branch raffle prize or perhaps even put up for auction to help fund next year's election campaign.

In contrast, Tuesday brought the first sighting of Andy Burnham who looked rather uncomfortable during the leaders speech. I couldn't even see the back of his head did spot him when the big screens panned over the front bench team. Thinking about it, there were so many familiar faces that were absent you really do get the sense that this party has changed. Look I wish Andy well and hope that he manages to regain that fighting spirit that hle has shown in the past.

The first sighting of Jeremy wearing a tie

But what about the leader's speech. I don't think you need me to tell you what he said as you no doubt watched at least some of it on TV. Being in the hall proved to be tiresome as the faithful would keep jumping up to give the man a standing ovation. I lost count but Newsnight claimed it to be 7 times. Forgive me but I only stood up at the end. I was not disappointed with the speech but by now I have heard all this before in the past few weeks. The key speech for me was John McDonnell as he spelled out the way the vision was to be achieved. It was inevitable that Jeremy's speech would be more about the philosophy and in this regard was clearly aimed at the party and not the general electorate. I think next years speech will in contrast be targeted outside the hall.

This post is a short one this morning as I am already late for a breakfast event. I will be posting more later on my journey home. The pleasure dome has not disappointed.

Labour conference ............ low and high tides

Once again an early morning blog about the day before. I notice quite a few typos in yesterday's post so I must do better this morning. I am showered, booted and suited by 7 o'clock this morning, sitting in front of my laptop but staring out of the window at a very calm sea. The pink haze on the horizon and the sun gradually climbing higher in the sky add an increasing brightness to the white painted hotels and grand houses that line the sea front. It is going to be yet another warm day and I am looking forward to my stroll into the conference centre and a bacon roll and coffee from a beach kiosk.

But what of the conference. to put it bluntly it hotted up. Obviously the media works to a five day week because their numbers increased, many half familiar faces sitting in hotel bars and outside tables. Take away the sea and the lamp posts entwined with dolphins and it could nearly be Ascot. The contrast is of course the conference hall proper. This is the domain of the Labour supporters and delegates. The striking feature is the openness of the debates with speakers chosen at random from the floor, most with ready made speeches that actually relate to the topic under consideration. Perhaps that's not so surprising given the nature of composite motions that roll several topics into one. Somehow it all works.

The biggest disappointment was the absence of a Trident debate. The free copy of the Morning Star handed to me by an earnest young man outside the hall headlined, "Dismay as Trident Vote is Blocked" ................ and yes it was. I thought back to an early speech on Sunday where a speaker from the platform (sorry my notes let me down on who it was) said, "Strong leaders do not fear debate". Well there was certainly fear about this one. A decent report about the conference failure can be found here: Labour Conference Trident report from Politics.co.uk.

Professor Blanchflower

From that low on Sunday to a much more upbeat Monday. The stand out speech was from John McDonnell. It really was very good with the pledge that a Labour government would end austerity and balance the books with active intervention to ensure a growing economy ............. growth would pay off debts and not a squeeze on the disadvantaged. This is pure Keynesian thinking, tried and tested in the past yet I still fear that a rabid right wing media will use this as a club to attack our new socialist party. McDonnell's idea to form a panel of independent economic experts to advise Labour in opposition is really good news, especially as it will contain Professor Blanchflower who has been a dissenting voice on the Bank of England panel. Expect to hear a lot more from him in the coming years.

My view in the conference hall

Forgive for skimming through the events of the day but blogging and attendance at conference are turning out to be a difficult juggling act. I only made it back to my digs at nigh on midnight following a fun packed evening ........... well not so much fun as the fringe meeting concerning the amalgamation of East & West Midlands into an autonomous region (complete with a mayor) proved to be little more than an HS2 love in. Strong criticism from the floor came from both Mid Derbyshire CLP delegates (that's me and our youth delegate) plus a Professor from Warwick University (we are exchanging emails for further discussion). Lillian Greenwood and Richard Burdon, our shadow transport ministers were parroting the world view of the Tories, in fact, nothing they said was any different than has been said by Patrick McClaughlin (alias McScab according to Tosh McAslef). So, our brave new Labour Party transport team are the same Tory Lite pack that we've had before. Lillian Greenwood seemed to be very badly briefed and I pleaded with her and Burdon to get some independent advice before buying in to the Andrew Adonis dream. More on this in subsequent posts (when I get home and have more time).

Later I walked along the sea front to a beach cafe which was hosting the East Midlands booze up. I think it was called something else but that's effectively what it was. I mingled but apart from spilling my displeasure about Lillian Greenwood to someone who turned out to be a fellow traveler of hers in the Progress group ( no wonder his smile was forced)I did not speak to many others. I did however bend the ear of Vernon Coaker who had given an "inspirational speech" and did seem to get quite animated. I spoke to him about the region. He was polite, heard me out and took my card but I expect him to be understandably focused on other things right now.

Corbyn and Watson at the East Midlands bash

Then, with drink fueled screams of delight and the odd woman swooning our leader and deputy arrived. Apparently this was his 35th appearance at a fringe bash but he aquitted himself well. I am amazed how well he is standing up to all this. For a man in a crumpled jacket, with an air of a polytechnic lecturer he is doing rather well. The leaders caravan departed and so did I ...... to a nearby chip shop for a late night feast. I suddenly realised that apart from the early morning bacn roll I had not eaten all day. In the chip shop I sat with Olwyn Emery of South Derbyshire CLP and our discussion was .......... well .............. interesting. To say that we both have doubts about some of the lesser mortals on the front bench team would be an understatement. I best not comment on the specifics ........ unless of course Olwyn contacts me and gives me permission to quote her. What is not in doubt is her passion to see the democratic enthusiasm that is sweeping through Labour succeeding. I found much to agree with her analysis.

Now please forgive me, I have to leave ............. my bacon roll by the sea awaits. Oh, apologies to the very nice team I met on the Vegan stand yesterday. I took one of their brochures as I was very interested in the political aspect of their movement. I know that there are some in our branch who are sympathetic.

Labour Party Conference ................ Cradle to Grave

This post is being written early on Monday morning because I was just too weary to write up Sunday's events at the end of the day. One of the abiding mysteries is being sore of foot is always accompanied by being sore of brain. Conference is not for the feint hearted.

My conference started very slowly as I sort of eased myself in. I let the debate about what should be debated go over my head because I had the feeling that whatever motions would emerge victorious we would not be having a full on debate about Trident. This would have been the brave choice because I suspect that the interest in this subject shown by my own Belper & Duffield branch holds true for most branches throughout the land. I have to admit that I am bang in the middle on this one, not approving of spending who knows how many billions on Trident replacement but wary of any unilateral disarmament without a cast iron guarantee that all other nuclear weapons extant on this planet would also be destroyed. I believe that MAD (mutually assured destruction) is the only way we have of keeping mad men from pressing the launch buttons. I dream of an invention that can sweep the missiles harmlessly from the sky or somehow cause them to melt harmlessly in their silos but until that day I think it prudent to maintain what we already have. Was it Khrushchev who countered the USA threat of USSR destruction, "ten times over" by saying that the soviets only had to destroy the USA once. Our existing Trident may not be much but it only has to work once.

On to happier stuff ........... oh I will list the winning motions later.

Better Politics

The afternoon debate was "Better Politics at Every Level". Well amen to that but it amused me to hear Kate Green (Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities)  speaking of Labour caring for you before you are conceived right through to when you are laid in the ground. I was reminded of the 1970 election and a rally held not so very far from the conference centre ......... in the Dome; a well attended rally in support of Dennis Hobden the incumbent Labour MP for Brighton Kemptown. He spoke of Labour caring ............. from cradle to grave and spelled out each Labour policy that impacted at each age upon your life. If I closed my eyes and Kate Green could have deepened her voice and acquired a resonance that accompanies a beer belly then it was uncannily like 1970.

To be honest I could not detect what was better but as this is my first attendance at conference I only can only imagine how this is better than what we had before. The debate failed to capture that special feeling that emerged when Jeremy gained the leadership. It is evident that the party has some catching up to do. There was a lot of comments about women, LGBT and youth to the point where I felt that I should apologise for being an old heterosexual .............. in fact I made that point to a tough looking individual in the toilets but he turned out to be gay so I ended up being lectured by the chap who had to raise his voice above the noise of the hand dryers. Welcome to the conference sitcom.

Celtic reports 

The Scots and Welsh duly made their reports and I was very impressed with all the speakers with, perhaps, Kezia Dugdale and Carwyn Jones having a sort of leadership quality about them that could prove successful in the devolved chambers .......... hopefully spilling over and influencing our tally in Westminster. Kezia showed her video which had this hard bitten old cynic wiping away a dry tear (perhaps I was still feeling the effect of the lecture in the toilets). I have searched for her video but so far without any luck. I get the impression that it is Wales and Scotland that we will see the first evidence of the effectiveness of the Corbyn factor and how it has reached out beyond the faithful by translating into success in the ballot box. If we make no Celtic inroads in 2016 then the knives of the right will sharpened.

Fringe events

Diana Holland

I attended a lunchtime rally in a nearby hotel, "Where now for Labour and rail ownership" with a panel of union and parliamentary worthies. Once again I was impressed with Diana Holland who seems to be made of the right stuff; managing the bridge between old and reinvigorated Labour with consummate ease. Her position on the national executive allows her to talk with some authority. Her backing for a general strike in 2012 has gained her popularity on the left. The discussion was as you would expect with the gradual nationalisation of railway franchises as they fall due being the accepted method. The Tory threat to once again privatise infrastructure by selling off Network Rail was mentioned but, as it is a very real immediate issue should perhaps have been given more prominence.

In the evening I attended the event organised by SERA, the Labour environmental campaign. The format was for a welter of speakers each limited to 5 minutes but the cliquey manner was somewhat off putting to those (well me) who had no idea who most of these individuals were. I try to take accurate and comprehensive notes but I still have no idea who 5 of the speakers were ............... introductions for Hugh, a lady MP or was she an MEP from the southeast, Chris from Plymouth who was said to be brilliant (well he wasn't bad), the list goes on. Two politicians I did recognise were Stella Creasy and Sadiq Khan. Stella managed to demonstrate that she has no real understanding of environmental issues as she gave a talk about anything but the environment whilst Sadiq Khan spoke passionately about his desire to make London a world centre for sustainability and care for the environment. He talked of air quality, carrying on Ken Livingstone's work on public transport (lowering bus fares) and announced that he would plant 2 million trees in his first term. That should make his back ache. London is to become the greenest city in the world.

There was a feeling, expressed by Hugh ? (I must investigate who he is) and Barry Gardiner (MP for Brent East who is an impressive speaker) that green issues had slipped down the pecking order of Labour priorities and I think that's true. Overall I was not that impressed with SERA but speaking with the organiser, Jake Sumner I realised that SERA is underfunded, under staffed and under supported. From being critical of SERA I left feeling sympathetic and Jake told me that the only way forward was to create a network of local SERA groups. Now that is an idea for our own branch.

To conclude

Time passes and I note that taking too long writing this post has caused me to miss a fringe breakfast event about health issues. Now it's time to walk along the seafront towards the conference centre, braving the mass of leaflet distributors, so far the maddest seems to be the Clone Party who had no leaflets or indeed any idea of what he stood for. I suspected that he might be a supporter of Andy Burnham but he denied this most vehemently as the Clone Party has definite ideals.

On that note ...............

Labour Conference ............ Welcome to the pleasure dome

Conference started early for me. On the train from St.Pancras to Brighton I found myself sitting with a Labour MP, his wife and another relative who was very hospitable ............... I was offered champagne. I could not determine if they were celebrating Corbinistas but the "another relative" was none too happy with the membership's choice. It was the electability factor. The MP and his wife were charming and all three were definitely socialists.

The trip from Brighton railway station to registration at the Metropole brought home to me that this Xanadu is not a workers paradise; loan shops and estate agents vie for attention on the route into town, the garish frontages offering false hope to the downtrodden or domestic bliss for the well heeled.

Registration went smoothly. I was delighted to be given full CLP delegate accreditation as documents sent some weeks ago in the post had gone missing but a concerted effort by our branch chair and a timely intervention by Councilor Alison Martin, the Mid-Derbyshire Women's Officer had confirmed my status. Thank you to both.

After I had deposited the suitcase in my digs, closed my eyes for a moment to clear my head of the champagne, I set forth for the event of the evening, the Campaign for Labour Party Democracy rally in the Friends Meeting Hall which is situated (for those who know Brighton) in the Lanes area of town. Sitting in the hall I realised that I'd been there before and sifting through this colander in my head that masquerades as a memory I dredged up a dim recollection of an extra-mural lecture about plate tectonics in 1969. This was exciting and cutting edge stuff in the sixties but here I was back in that very building, 46 years later to watch as succeeding speakers mapped out the fault lines that define the Labour party in 2015. The choice of speakers was well made as the CLPD started to provide a body of facts and evidence to flesh out the Corbyn factor. There was even a reference to Rip Van Winkle from one who had been away on holiday at the start of the leadership campaign, incommunicado on some island being swept away (tectonically) from the larger lump of land where Jeremy's rise was being played out. The amazement on returning to find Jeremy as the front runner summed up the tone of the other speakers.

Tosh McDonald

BelperStuff tries to report as an observer and not as a participant and, in the hall last night the dispassionate view was that Jeremy needs a back story and it was the job of the CLPD to provide one. Let's be honest, most people in the UK had never heard of Jeremy Corbyn before the leadership campaign so it is important give the new leader some substance. The range of speakers was well chosen from an academically precise history of Labour struggles from Rida Vaquas to a tub thumping onslaught of ever rising intensity by Tosh McDonald of Aslef (if you need to rouse a rabble then send for Tosh). The meeting gradually became more businesslike with Ann Black, Diana Holland giving insights into internal party wranglings over the leadership campaign and policy forums. Finally Peter Willsman gave a "briefing to delegates" and I for one felt decidedly de-briefed. My responsibilities are to reflect the views of Mid Derbyshire comrades and not to be told when I should raise my hand by Mr.Willsman. He spoke of the fight to come, the fight to protect the Corbyn revolution from forces within the party, even from his own front bench team. I do hope that does not become the theme of this conference .................. the plate tectonics of the Labour Party cruelly exposed as fault lines widen into incontinents.

On the policy front much was made of the need for a debate on Trident and the armed services. Apparently those who run the conference will try to block any resolution in that direction. Of course this issue must be debated so I will do my best to ensure that it happens. The voting on what motions are allowed starts this morning so I must not be late.

Later, walking back through the town after the meeting had finished I caught glimpses of the Wales v England match through pub windows ......... pubs full of noise and heaving with revelers shouting at the top of their voices to be heard above the din. The fish & chip shop was, in comparison, a haven of peace. Does it make me a shallow person to admit that the main pleasure of the day was Huss & chips? I could have attended the LGBT Labour celebration but I knew that such an event was not intended for the likes of me. I wonder if this was played at the disco: Welcome to the pleasuredome by Frankie goes to Hollywood


So now I leave you to prepare for a day of composites, resolutions, fraternal greetings and ....... who knows. As I look up from my computer I am surprised to see the sea through the window. I wonder how many attending the conference even know that the sea is there. In the words of Frankie ............. I am a long way from home.

Labour Party Conference ........... reports from the pleasure dome

BelperStuff is busy packing a suitcase, fleshing out an itinerary, checking out which fish & chip shops sell Huss ................ yes BelperStuff is off to the Labour Party Conference in Brighton. The intention is to somehow produce a daily blog digest so that those unable to escape the reality of the need to keep the wolf from the door can shake a collective bewildered head in wonder at those brave Labour souls who put their livers at risk each evening in a variety of Brighton conference bars. I have to admit that I've never before been to such a gathering but I've been advised by members of the Belper & Duffield  Branch who have attended conference that the real test of stamina involves the evening intake of alcohol. The standard of blog posts in the next few days may therefore be of variable quality.

Brighton Pavilion

Brighton is famous for its architectural embodiment of the romantic movement, pavilions and domes so it's no wonder that I am reminded of Samuel Taylor Coleridge and his greatest work (perhaps the greatest romantic poem) Kubla Khan. This opening line keeps repeating in my head:

"In Xanadu did Cor Byn a stately pleasure dome decree"

It is such a pity that the Brighton Dome (situated behind the pavilion) is not one of the conference venues but the idea persists that BelperStuff blog posts will be as messages from the pleasure dome. The resurgent Labour party does feel like this ............ not so much a realignment to the left as a rejection of the apologist politics of the centre right. Warnings of un-electability may still ring out from the great and good of the party but the dam of discontent has burst, an emphatic rejection of the underlying neo-liberalism that defined three of the leadership candidates. An article in the New York Times by Paul Krugman (a favourite commentator of this blog) puts it neatly link to the article - Labour's dead centre.

I am not expecting any triumphalism of the left at this conference; I am confident that the majority will be metaphorically rolling up their sleeves for the fight to come. In that spirit I sat with our branch chair (Carol) today to look through the plethora of conference events, making a shortlist for me to attend. Many meetings are timed to take place at similar times so that there is a lot that I will have to miss ............ that said, I think we have mapped out a fair representation of the topics that will interest our constituency and branch members.

For those who are appalled at my high-jacking of such a wonderful poem here is a reading from YouTube:

I rather like the ending;

That sunny dome! those caves of ice!

And all who heard should see them there,

And all should cry, Beware! Beware!

His flashing eyes, his floating hair!

Weave a circle round him thrice,

And close your eyes with holy dread

For he on honey-dew hath fed,

And drunk the milk of Paradise.

............... though I cannot quite imagine Cor Byn drinking the milk of paradise!!!!!!! We leave that to the foolish membership of the Bullingdon Club.