{"id":6885,"date":"2015-11-20T16:17:07","date_gmt":"2015-11-20T16:17:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=6885"},"modified":"2015-11-23T12:18:23","modified_gmt":"2015-11-23T12:18:23","slug":"a-blueprint-for-growth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=6885","title":{"rendered":"A blueprint for growth"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Addressing a packed hall of students at York University (November 19) Unite general secretary Len McCluskey spoke about the positive economic policies needed to kick-start British industry and create thousands of jobs.<\/p>\n

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In a wide-ranging speech on the state of Britain in 2015, Len McCluskey outlined his vision for an alternative economic, political and social vision to the austerity agenda being peddled by George Osborne.<\/p>\n

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He called on students to \u00e2\u20ac\u015bask questions about today\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s world\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 and what he described as the \u00e2\u20ac\u015bcrisis of inequality\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 which sees \u00e2\u20ac\u015bmillions in our nation, regularly working more than two or three jobs and still not earning a living wage.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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McCluskey also criticised the government over the removal of in-work benefits and attacked the Tories on education saying \u00e2\u20ac\u015bthe trade union movement has always believed that education is a right, not a privilege. So I join you in calling for a return to free and well-funded education for all, that is democratic and not for profit.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Intervention and Investment<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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One of the central thrusts of his speech was a call for intervention and substantial investment in industry to create thousands of skilled jobs \u00e2\u20ac\u201c as well as developing a coherent manufacturing strategy in light of the growing crisis in the UK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s steel industry.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWhat about our once great industries?\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he asked. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bLook at the current crisis in steel and our collapsing manufacturing sector. Steel is a foundation industry on which manufacturing and UK infrastructure is reliant.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bDo you, like this government, believe the market alone should determine which key industries should sink or swim? Or do you support industrial strategies to protect our nation\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s great assets?<\/p>\n

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Better world<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThat\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what Germany and France and Italy do. I hope all of you look at the world as it is today and believe that it can be better,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said.<\/p>\n

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The Unite leader made \u00e2\u20ac\u015bno apology\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 for raising the topic of the Trade Union Bill, something which, he said, struck \u00e2\u20ac\u015bat the very heart of what it means to be an open and democratic country.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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He continued, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt is one of several measures the government is pushing through, designed to break all opposition to their rule. What this legislation does show is the modern Tory party\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s unease with vocal opposition and other basic attributes of democracy.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Widening that theme McCluskey also hit out at ministers over controversial changes to voter registration rules which are set to wipe millions of the roll in the coming days.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe electoral register is being manipulated, probably for the first time in our democratic history. I hope all of you have made sure you are registered to vote, and are doing all you can to get your fellow students signed up too.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Nasty and vindictive<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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May\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s general election \u00e2\u20ac\u201c which saw David Cameron take power with just 37 per cent of the votes cast, and only 24 per cent of the total electorate \u00e2\u20ac\u201c had hardly been a mandate for the social and economic upheaval faced by millions, he pointed out, saying, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s my assertion that today\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Conservative government is one of the nastiest, most vindictive governments that Britain has ever seen.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThey have set about creating an economy and society that perpetuates inequality, through penalising low earners whilst giving a free ride to the corporate elite.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bSimple human decency tells us that cutting support to the sick and disabled whilst doing nothing about a growing super-rich cannot be right. How can it be right that more than half of people in poverty in this country are in work?\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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There was also a strong call for the entire Labour Party to get behind Jeremy Corbyn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s leadership if the party is to win power again.<\/p>\n

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United opposition<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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McCluskey said, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt has never been more important for our country to have a strong and united opposition. There are those who say Labour will only win again by fighting for possession of a narrow strip of the political centre ground.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bYet that would not win back a single Scottish seat, or do anything to end the despair and alienation which drives working-class people to vote UKIP.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bFor Labour to gain broad appeal in today\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s political climate, the party\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s leadership MUST be allowed to chart a new direction for our country. Challenging the establishment is Labour\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s calling. And that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why Jeremy Corbyn succeeded against all expectations and against all the odds.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIf Labour is to change itself \u00e2\u20ac\u201c away from the top-down managerial party of the Blair-Brown years \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and then change the country, that movement needs to be more than a flash in the pan.<\/p>\n

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All of us<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe energy and enthusiasm of the summer needs to be sustained all year round. But in the end it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not all up to Jeremy to deliver. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s up to all of us, trade unionists, students, pensioners and the young, worker and professional together.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bYou are the future\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he told his young audience in conclusion, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bbe determined to fight for a better, more equal Britain, and a more peaceful world.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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

Addressing a packed hall of students at York University (November 19) Unite general secretary Len McCluskey spoke about the positive economic policies needed to kick-start British industry and create thousands of jobs.   In a wide-ranging speech on the state of Britain in 2015, Len McCluskey outlined his vision for an alternative economic, political and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1156,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[76,160],"wps_subtitle":"Unite GS sets out austerity alternative","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6885"}],"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\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6885"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6885\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6890,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6885\/revisions\/6890"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6885"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}