{"id":2931,"date":"2015-02-03T15:05:55","date_gmt":"2015-02-03T15:05:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=2931"},"modified":"2015-02-03T15:05:55","modified_gmt":"2015-02-03T15:05:55","slug":"election-2015-whats-stake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=2931","title":{"rendered":"Election 2015: What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s at stake?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The upcoming election is set to be the one of the most unpredictable in decades. And as Unite general secretary Len McCluskey highlighted yesterday<\/a> in his speech (February 2), the stakes are incredibly high.<\/p>\n

 
\nAn informed electorate is a formidable force against a moneyed elite who would rather you stay at home on election day.<\/p>\n

 
\nThat\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why the Centre for Labour and Social Studies (Class), a think tank supported by Unite and other trade unions, is set to host a series of events throughout the country in the weeks leading up to the election to debate policies that matter to working people everywhere.<\/p>\n

 
\nEach of the five events will be a forum for discussion on one policy area \u00e2\u20ac\u201c work, pay and the role of trade unions; tax; the NHS; the economy; and housing. Each event will also see the launch of a special Class pamphlet that outlines just what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s at stake in each of these policy areas as the general election nears.<\/p>\n

 
\nClass media and communications officer Ellie O\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Hagan says the events, which will be held in Glasgow, Bristol, Manchester, Birmingham and Newcastle, are the culmination of the years of research the think tank has conducted since its inception in 2012.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWith these events, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re hoping to get a debate going between the electorate and people running for office about what Britain needs to make our society more equal and more fair, and what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s needed to ensure a better quality of life for all,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she explained.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re also hoping to demonstrate to whichever party is elected what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s needed to make sure the public is equitably served in each of these key policy areas.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nClass will kick off their series of events in Glasgow on Thursday, February 12, where guest speakers will discuss the trade union movement in the context of the General Election. The corresponding pamphlet will deliberate on the role that trade unions have to play in tackling inequality and developing a sustainable economy that works for the many, and not just the few.<\/p>\n

 
\nEllie argues pay inequality has grown exponentially in the last few years, with low-pay jobs dominating the economy, and Class research has revealed there are specific reasons for this trend.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bOur evidence from papers we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve commissioned has shown that there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a strong correlation between a decline in collective bargaining agreements and a drop in wages, which is partly due to the weakening of trade unions in the workplace but also due to the weakening of the trade union movement as a political force in the country,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she explained.<\/p>\n

 
\nThe event in Glasgow will be headlined by speakers including Neil Findlay MSP, shadow cabinet member for Fair Work, Skills and Training; Angela O\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Hagan of the Women in Scotland\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Economy Research Centre; and STUC deputy general secretary Dave Moxham. The event will be chaired by Libby Brooks of the Guardian.<\/p>\n

 
\nEach event is free to attend. Find out more, including how to register for the event, here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The upcoming election is set to be the one of the most unpredictable in decades. And as Unite general secretary Len McCluskey highlighted yesterday in his speech (February 2), the stakes are incredibly high.   An informed electorate is a formidable force against a moneyed elite who would rather you stay at home on election […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":912,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[171,224],"wps_subtitle":"Policy think tank Class kicks off its election events in Glasgow on February 12","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2931"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2931"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2931\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2932,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2931\/revisions\/2932"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/912"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}