A real alternative

Unite and the Daily Mirror’s joint Real Britain fringe this year asked the question, when did the war on poverty become a war on the poor?

The panel, chaired by the Mirror’s Kevin Maguire, featured contributions from Unite general secretary Len McCluskey, Real Britain columnist Ros Wynne Jones, deputy leader Tom Watson MP, Poppy Noor a young social justice campaigner, Coronation Street star and disability rights campaigner Cherylee Houston and comedian Mark Steel.

In a punchy and inspiring contribution, Len said he was proud to be associated with the Daily Mirror’s Real Britain column and endorsed its work in supporting working people.

He said the poor had been “vilified by chinless wonders” – the Tories who had only been elected by 25 per cent of the population.

Confidence

It was our job to inspire people to have confidence that things could change, to believe “there is something we can do. There is a resistance [to the government] out there.”

The Tories were “a government of the rich, for the rich”, he said. And he advised the grandees to “Stick to counting your money,” – a point the audience agreed with strongly.

The anti-austerity movement was gaining ground and for the first time in many years there was a real alternative to the Tories and to austerity.

He said that with a Labour Party of 400,000 members and soon to be 500,000 strong as opposed to the Tories’ numbers, “we are the party of optimism.”

He urged, “Don’t be defeatist. Remember courage can be contagious and hope can take on a life of its own.

“Be strong. In the summer we shocked them and now we’ll shake them to the very core and create a Britain we can be proud of.

“We are currently living and making history. Let’s work together to make sure that it does work for the good of everybody.”

Len received a standing ovation. Watch the full speech in the video below: