Spring Conference - Is it worth it?

 A very long time ago, the BBC decided to cover Green Party conference on Live TV.  The chairs started a minute attunement, a tradition of holding a minute's silence at the start of a meeting.  It did not go down well!  The BBC cut the feed and had a bit of a panic about it, and basically stopped bothering.

 A lot has changed since then.  We had Members of European Parliament, we won them in many regions.  Then we left the European Union and continued to increase the number of Green Councillors, approaching 900.  The only remaining proportional seats are 3 London Assembly members and soon some in Wales, and there are 4 Members of Parliament.  Even in those areas, they are very focused on target seats.  That means not making a big splash, not relying on newspaper coverage and air time, but getting on with the job of delivering local Green News letters, speaking to voters on their doorsteps, and really focusing on the local community.

 Most parties have a "conference season" where parliament has a quick break and they head to seaside locations or big convention centres in Birmingham and Manchester.  The big 2 parties are professionalised and the conference can last around a week.

 By comparison, Greens and Liberal Democrats spend time debating motions and voting as members.  They tend to have 2 national conferences a year.  The trouble is, "Spring Conference" always used to clash with the election campaign!  The timing varied, but it was generally before a local election, which is really important to the Greens.  But there is very little benefit of a conference towards winning elections: debating policies that seem disconnected from pot holes and dog poo, applauding leaders speeches delivered by people who most people in your patch have never heard of and can not name, because we get so little TV coverage as a smaller party.  Green Party conferences sometimes make money but the cost is borne from the individual and it tends to end up in a different pot of money.  If people don't buy enough tickets, it makes a loss, making the staff team incentivised to sell tickets rather than do their job of getting greens elected.  Conferences I have attended have meant sleeping on floors, drinking and socialising late into the night, but early starts to set up and get to workshops.  So I usually spend about a day or a week afterwards recovering from infections (though since covid I only attended online, I've seen the talk of who has the lurgy) and catching up on sleep.  Since leaving Policy Development Committee I've decided it's not a good use of my time and energy and just given someone else my proxy vote and watched from the comfort of my desk at home.  It meant less networking and socialising, but I already know people, and I already know a lot of conference regulars.

For instance, the Young Greens used to make money from Workers Beer Company.  But a major stream of income for them has often been the Young Greens quiz, which includes a raffle.  Because many people leave half way through, the Young Greens got to keep a lot of the raffle prizes.  I had a great book by Sian Berry for a while. 

 For years, there was talk of what a bad idea it is for a party to up sticks and send its main people to a "spring" conference just when they should be focused on local campaigning, or going to places where there is local campaigning.  In Brighton that wasn't a problem: they had a stand and you could pick up a round of newspapers and deliver them in your own time, in fresh air!  In Yorkshire, we went on a little peace march, just conference participants.  Some conferences had a photo call.  But these are generally resource-intensive.

 Some people attend conference and focus on governance and organisational matters.  Others find this boring stuff irrelevant and really want to get stuck into policy motions.  Some are controversial, others go through without much opposition.  At some point they introduced "fast tracked" motions.

 I have tried attending conference Thursday through Sunday.  Usually on Sunday the time gets extended 1 hour from the chair.  Sometimes conference has run into Mondays.

 I think there's always been a sense we should abolish spring conference and one day we actually did it.  A motion came to abolish spring conference.  Members pushed it through.

All the while, there is policy fest, sometimes 2 a year, that is really useful and focused on policy.

 As well as that there is the AGM which for some reason the powers that be set the quorum level too high, so when we turned up on the zoom, nothing could be decided. 

The idea was to use the time saved at Spring conference to have regional conferences instead.  We did one in London; that was only the 2nd one we ever did.  It takes time, effort and resources of the busy volunteers and activists that run things.  It was a pleasant change from the many online remote meetings we have had.

 

 In conclusion, Spring conference was abolished for good reasons.  Conference, which is a tiny minority of even the active membership, voted to bring back Spring conference.  But this is only if it is approved by the executive or something like that.  That way, if we can't afford it or don't feel it's appropriate, we aren't forced to have one.  This has created uncertainty and the regional council has been on hand to advise whether or not to bother planning a regional conference.

 I have attended many conferences.  I have been told by the real professionals in the party they are often the same.  I just wonder if the time and money would be more effective spent elsewhere.  For me it is all the work missed, which is particularly busy on a Friday.  I also don't like the way I am expected to work on a Saturday, as a Jewish member, and Jewish Greens meetup is little comfort being away from home.  If I were a candidate I would probably be encouraged to attend.  If I were Policy Development Committee I would have to attend.  There is a conference access fund but it has limits on how many times it can be used and there is not enough to go round.  It can not cover things like food, recovering afterwards, and missed work. 

 If it is brought back, decision-makers should consult everyone effected and think of the welfare of the party as a whole, its members, local and regional parties.  They could ponder what is the point of a conference that gets barely any media coverage, that spend a day arguing about one governance report, and that is easy to access for an unrepresentative minority of members. 

Letter to St Helier Hospital bosses

Take action

Write to the Board Members of the NHS Trust running St Helier and Epsom Hospitals.

Ask them to give the cleaners, porters, housekeepers, ward hosts and caterers the same NHS Agenda for Change contracts as the rest of the NHS staff. Demand an end to this inequality and injustice now!

To: For the Attention of all the members of the Board of St George’s, Epsom and St Helier Hospital Group (“GESH”) and in particular: Mark Lowcock, Group Chairman; Jacqueline Totterdell, Group CEO; James Marsh; Group Deputy CEO; James Blythe, Managing Director of ESHH; Andrew Grimshaw, Group Chief Finance Officer; Victoria Smith, Group Chief People Officer; Ralph Mitchell, Group Chief Transformation Officer

 Dear Board Members, Trustees and Executives of Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust,

In light of your continued refusal to provide full NHS contracts to hundreds of essential workers employed directly by the Trust, including cleaners, porters, ward hosts, caterers and housekeepers, I feel compelled to write to you.

These are the workers who keep your hospitals running. They are as much a part of the NHS as any doctor, nurse or administrator. Yet, they remain excluded from the NHS Agenda for Change (AfC) contracts and denied the pay and conditions that the rest of their colleagues enjoy.

It is disappointing, and frankly disgraceful, that in 2025 a publicly funded NHS Trust continues to enforce a two-tier workforce. These workers, who are disproportionately from Black, brown and migrant backgrounds, are being treated as second-class NHS employees in a system perpetuating structural inequality that you have the power to end.

While AfC staff are paid £14.92 per hour, these workers are stuck on £13.85. That’s thousands of pounds lost each year.

While others receive either 41% or 81% extra for nights and weekends, these staff receive no shift enhancements at all.

While NHS colleagues get full sick pay from day one, these workers lose wages for the first three days of illness.

While others enjoy up to 33 days of annual leave plus bank holidays, they are stuck with just 24.

And while NHS staff benefit from one of the UK’s best pension schemes with a 23.7% employer contribution, these workers are on a paltry scheme with only 3%.

This is not an accident but a choice to save money on the backs of the lowest-paid and most marginalised staff in your hospitals.This two-tier system is degrading, demoralising and discriminatory. It sends a message that these workers are worth less. That their labour matters less. That they are expected to do the same work for worse pay and inferior terms. It is an unacceptable legacy of inequality and it must stop.

I understand that these workers have now decided to get organised and demand the dignity and equality they deserve. That should not come as a surprise. They have been left with no other option. They are not demanding more than others. They are demanding the same; no more, no less.

Your Trust has the power to end this injustice. You can take the moral and practical step of putting these workers on full NHS Agenda for Change contracts like many other NHS trusts across the country have already done.

You cannot claim to uphold NHS values while perpetuating this kind of inequality. If you are serious about your values of fairness, equality and dignity then now is the time to prove it.

I understand you are holding your next board meeting on the 3rd of July and I urge you to discuss and agree to their demands then.

These workers have already waited too long and they deserve your attention now.

Yours sincerely,

 

C51 consultation

 Today the first drop-ins started for the consultation of the C51 scheme, Hamilton Terrace section.  Traffic engineers were present along with City of Westminster highways engineers.

 A trickle of vocal residents came in.  Some have legitimate concerns, some not so much.  Like the idea that the majority of people who responded to a previous consultation were against.  That is not how it works.  All that proves is that you have social capital and are able to mobilise numbers of people motivated enough to object.  Some of the reasons: like pedestrian safety, indicate that people have been reading too much right wing newspapers with talking points claiming that cyclists are dangerous.

 

This is not just a bike lane.  It also comes with improvements to lighting.  The avenue of trees makes many parts of the Hamilton Terrace area in the shadows at night time, even when there are no leaves, the branches are thick.

 

I believe that Hamilton Terrace is the obvious candidate for a low- traffic neighbourhood.  It has a high volume of traffic particularly at peak times.  Much of it is probably through-traffic that could be on the A5 (Maida Vale).  This would make the street (Street) quiet, so that people can talk to each other, or hear other hazards going on around them and safely react.  Quiet ways used to be designated and this would have been one.

 


One legitimate concern we all have is the traffic lights, which are TfL controlled.  I believe a cycle phase would solve the problems of cyclists not obeying the lights.  If the cycle goes green seconds before the car green light, that solves the problem of vans not obeying the advance stop line (known as bike box).  This is because vans have a blind spot and might miss vulnerable road users at a junction.

 


Going back to the modal filters, I would like to see how this would work.  Hamilton Terrace is obviously going to be an expensive scheme.  Modal filters would provide a revenue stream to make it financially sustainable.  After all, why should we pay for this through our taxes and fares?

Westminster has a huge amount of inequality and deprivation.  I would like to see schemes like this linking food banks, canal tow paths, schools of all types, F.E. colleges, fast food outlets, and council estates.  Not only the super- rich should benefit from this. 


The  modal filter would pay for the best scheme which I believe is option 3: a 2-way cycle lane in the centre.

 

I believe there also needs to be a lot more bike parking of all types dispersed along the route, particularly outside mansion blocks of flats.

AGM season

 There's a slew of share holder meetings taking place.

 

Here's what's going on in the Walt Disney company

 

https://pex.broadridge.com/getdocument.asp?doc=2C690293F3394460E06317289D0A41D5&type=edgar#3227270_2163728_2163801

 

 Unfortunately I missed the deadline to vote by 1 day!  I just have so much on this time of year to do with work.

Labour runner-up wishes to run as green candidate in Hendon

A former Labour Party member from Hendon who came 2nd in the selection has told me that he wishes to run in Hendon as a Green Party candidate.

 https://labourlist.org/2018/10/david-pinto-duschinsky-selected-as-new-labour-candidate-for-hendon/

He really did come 2nd: honest.

Letter to Hendon MP

 


Yesterday my local MP David wrote on twitter /x , "
Our welfare system is broken. We have a moral duty to reform it, putting work at its very heart. Everyone who can work deserves the security, dignity and agency that employment provides. That’s why we formed the Get Britain Working Group. And that’s why I, and dozens of Labour colleagues, have written to Liz Kendall today to support the Government’s argument for reform
"

 
my reaction.

Dear David Pinto-Duschinsky,

I read your letter to Liz Kendall with interest, the so called get Britain working group.

The response online has really been something:

Who is the chair of the group?

Who are its members?

To whom is it accountable?

Will it consider the needs of people with long-term psychiatric problems, such as schizophrenia, who may not be able to work?
 I also saw a question in reply to your social media (Elon twitter) post: How many (what proportion of) disabled members of staff does your backbench group of MPs employ?

I read from Exeter Green Party that you are refusing to tax the super-rich: is this true? If so I would urge you to listen to the compass group of Labour campaigners urging the Parliamentary Labour Party to stop trying to appeal to the far right Reform UK Ltd. and to appeal to green party voters instead: The Green party came 2nd in many seats, and have as many seats as Reform UK Ltd..

Following yesterday's backing of scapegoating of disabled people for the failings of the DWP, there have been calls for you to be voted out at the next general election. Looking at the letter itself, you've got Labour's mission wrong. The Labour Party was built and put into power in order to give a voice to the working class. If you take for instance your own selection that is a pattern that Labour has seen in every selection: a workers representative beaten by a middle-class party electorate in favour of a professional or non-blue-collar person as prospective parliamentary candidate. That is Labour failing at its mission, failing to back those living in social housing or council housing. Those colleagues that look after these estates and do the work such as pest control technicians are being pushed down and oppressed by a manager class: the boards of directors of these social housing associations. If I believed you were any better that a Conservative MP I would urge you to meet with SHAC - the social housing action committee - to try and resolve the dispute at Livv, which I understand has just failed at ACAS. It's every day workers like these, or like bus drivers, who politicians should stand with, to offer something better than other parties.

I am justifiably angry: I myself was not in employment, education, or training until I went back to school at the age of 25. The opportunities I had then are being cut, while the starting salaries for young people are not keeping up with the cost of living in Hendon. I speak to people who are suffering from long covid who say that covid is still happening and it is chronic in the working age population. You could be doing a lot more to prevent this suffering. When the next pandemic hits, our NHS and care sector should be prepared. It should have more sick pay, sick leave for all, work-from-home as a right, and proper health & safety precautions at work and on buses and tubes such as good masks, ventilation, and staying at home when pupils or staff are infectious. In the last few years inequality has massively increased: The fact that the richest man in the world has lost hundreds of billions and is still a billionaire shows that billionaires should not exist. So why are you punishing disabled people (like Guardian columnist Frances Ryan) for the sake of self-imposed fiscal rules and what Labour calls the non-dom community?

I really expect better from you. the "get Britain working" slogan is reminiscent of the lie from the darkest moment in European history, and you have constituents with disabilities including mental health issues; I've constantly asked you to listen to that and do better.

Yours sincerely,

Ben Samuel

faith and peace walk

 Last year I joined in with the faith and peace walk which took place on clean air day.  We walked with barnet multi faith forum around places of worship: churches, a synagogue, an islamic centre.

The next one will be on Thursday 19 June, clean air day.  As usual it will be part of the London Festival of Architecture and the event has some funding (refreshments were provided at each stop)

 This year 2025 will take place in New Barnet / East Barnet / High Barnet.

 For older less mobile members of the community there will be accessibility designed into the event.

development for development's sake

 A comment on nextdoor opening with "Not sure Barnet council is listening about the development in Edgware, Finchley and various parts of the Borough" has questioned if we have the infrastructure, naming hospital capacity, tubes, schools and mental health.  She asked if maybe it would be more useful in The North.

The comment drew 57 comments in 1 day including the suggestion to send a delegation (or deputation) to speak to the council, something we've seen by Anuta Zack a leading landlord in Edgware.

 The Council said it will not comment on specific plans which are being considered right now, as they look at the Barnet Plan, which was finalised and approved last week.

In conversation with local champions, I have heard a rumour that the Barnet Plan weakens the language around NCIL (Community Infrastructure Levy) saying it is optional which is not good for community.  The popular "brews & views" cafe was built from these contributions.