{"id":3989,"date":"2015-05-01T12:16:02","date_gmt":"2015-05-01T11:16:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=3989"},"modified":"2015-05-01T14:39:54","modified_gmt":"2015-05-01T13:39:54","slug":"another-world-is-possible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=3989","title":{"rendered":"Another world is possible"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe biggest assault on workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 rights for a generation\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 is how Katy Clark characterises the past five years of Tory-led government.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bMeasures such as tribunal fees and cuts to health and safety protections represent a huge shift in power away from workers and towards unscrupulous employers\u00e2\u20ac\u0165, she says.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe not only need to reverse these cuts to workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 rights but introduce new powers to enable everyone in the UK to have secure and well-paid employment.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unemployment is a major issues for Clark, who was born and raised in Ayrshire and comes from a family which has strong ties to the area \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and the Labour movement \u00e2\u20ac\u201c going back several generations.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis part of the world has a very proud industrial tradition, but over many decades we have seen large employer after large employer, and indeed small employer, go.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIn its place very little has come in the way of well-paid skilled employment. The jobs that come tend to be part-time, they tend to be low paid and very insecure\u00e2\u20ac\u0165, she says.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This leads to what she calls \u00e2\u20ac\u015bthe lack of hope\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 which affects successive generations in the constituency she has represented since 2005.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a diverse seat with a few seaside towns such as Largs to the north, and working class heartlands of Ardrossan and Clark\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s birthplace \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Kilwinning \u00e2\u20ac\u201c further south. Across the Firth of Clyde the Isle of Arran and Great Cumbrae are also part of the constituency.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Despite geographical and economic differences Clark believes people there face \u00e2\u20ac\u015ba wide range of challenges brought about by an economic system does not work for communities in North Ayrshire and Arran.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What does she mean by that? \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe have an economic system that is driven by the City \u00e2\u20ac\u201c that is driven by markets, that is driven by neo-liberal principles which do not deliver for the vast majority of the people here.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Expanding that view to take in the wider UK picture Clark thinks the prediction of a close general election means \u00e2\u20ac\u015bit\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s more important than ever that we return a Labour government that is willing to change the direction of this country and improve the lives of workers.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Clear choice<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n

For her this is a clear choice between two futures, life under the Tories or a Labour government which will, as Clark points out, \u00e2\u20ac\u015braise the minimum wage, expand the living wage and end the use of exploitative zero-hour contracts.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Recently elected secretary of the trade union group of MPs she has repeatedly campaigned for stronger trade union rights. Clark is also a noted human rights campaigner, is opposed to the replacement of Britain’s Trident nuclear weapons system, and wants to bring the railways back into public hands.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Locally she has fought against the contracting out of lifeline ferry services in her constituency by the Scottish government and retraining for workers at the Simclar electronics factory after it closed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Looking back at the past 10 years in Parliament Clark feels that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s learned much about how best to fight \u00e2\u20ac\u015bvested interests and the establishment.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI see the role of Labour as being a voice for ordinary working people in Parliament\u00e2\u20ac\u0165, she says, adding \u00e2\u20ac\u015bI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m a socialist, I believe that another world is possible.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As to the future, Clark wants to continue to return to Westminster to \u00e2\u20ac\u015bfight for the values and the kind of politics that are needed in this country. That is what I have always tried to do as a Labour MP, and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what I would do again.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe biggest assault on workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 rights for a generation\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 is how Katy Clark characterises the past five years of Tory-led government.   \u00e2\u20ac\u015bMeasures such as tribunal fees and cuts to health and safety protections represent a huge shift in power away from workers and towards unscrupulous employers\u00e2\u20ac\u0165, she says.   \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe not only need to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3991,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[273,224],"wps_subtitle":"Katy Clark \u00e2\u20ac\u201c North Ayrshire and Arran","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3989"}],"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=3989"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3989\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3992,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3989\/revisions\/3992"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3989"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3989"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3989"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}