Top civil servants: stay out of politics!

Letter sent to the Times, the Liverpool Echo and the Southport Visiter:

Dear Editor,

It is a disturbing development that senior civil servants are briefing the press with their opinions of the Labour Party leader. All civil servants are required to be politically neutral, as it is their job to implement parliamentary decisions and government policy, not to try to influence the political process. However, like all other citizens they have the right to express their views through the ballot box.

As a former union rep for much more junior staff in the civil service than the mandarins concerned, I know that if any of my members had taken similar actions against elected politicians from any party, they would have at the very least been put on final warnings for gross misconduct, if not actually sacked outright.

Top civil servants should not be be given more favourable treatment than that which the vast majority of their colleagues in the lower grades would have received.

For the record, I am not a Labour Party member and so have no partisan axe to grind here.

Yours sincerely,

Neville Grundy
Chair

Merseyside Associate & Retired Members

Colloids Dispute, Kirkby Industrial Estate

From the Knowsley Trades Council website:

At last week’s mass demonstration/picket at the Colloids site, strikers spoke of their gratitude for the support and large turnout on the Wednesday morning. They also said it would be a great moral boost if once a week we could arrange a day whereby all who could would gather together for a few hours.

So, this Friday 28 June, several Knowsley-based community groups are asking all those available to show your solidarity with the strikers, by demonstrating outside the Colloids site from 7.00am to 9.00am. We know it will not be possible for everyone to attend, but if you can or are able to inform others who can, it would be most appreciated.

Thanking you all in advance for your continued support with this matter.

In Solidarity

Steve Murphy

Details:

• Friday 28 June 2019 
• 7.00am - 9.00am
• 10 Kirkby Bank Road, Liverpool L33 7SY
• Unite press release - here

Liverpool TV licence demo - report and pictures

PCS Merseyside ARMs members supported a well-attended march through Liverpool to a rally outside BBC Radio Merseyside on Friday 21 June. The protest was against the BBC's decision to charge for TV licences for the over 75s who currently pay nothing. The march went down Bold Street, Church Street, Whitechapel and Manestys Lane to the Radio Merseyside office - with numerous bits of musical accompaniment thrown in! The BBC closed down their reception while the protest was on.

Many speakers addressed the rally from Unite, Unison and PCS ARMs Merseyside in the person of Steve Ion, plus Labour MP Bill Esterson. All spoke of the need to oppose these attacks now as they will clearly try and go for bus passes and winter fuel allowance next. They also spoke of the divide and rule tactics of playing off the young against the old and of the need for maximum unity across generations. This message was reinforced by a youth speaker who gave full support to the campaign.

The Merseyside Pensioners Association who organised the event closed the rally by stating that this was only the start of the campaign. The National Pensioners Convention had called for these protests and similar events were held across the country.

The ARMS NW banner on the move

The MPA banner

A musical protest - Mike Hinstridge of ARMS Mersey is on the right

Leading the chants, plus a Unite flag

Bill Esterson MP with the banner of the Liverpool Labour Councillors

                Keith Hebron                                Steve Ion (L) and Ray Beeton (R)

(L-R) Jim Stanway, Ray Beeton and Keith Hebron

(L-R) Jim Stanway, Steve Ion and Ray Beeton

Outside BBC Radio Merseyside

Bill Esterson MP addresses the rally

An unambiguous message

Marchers listening to the speeches

MPA condemns charging over-75s for TV licence + details of demo

Attendees at the ARMS National Forum in Liverpool on 19 June protest against the
scrapping of the over-75 free TV licence. The posters read: "Don't switch us off".

The Merseyside Pensioners Association condemns the decision by the BBC to charge over 75s the TV licence fee. During the last ten years in excess of £50 billion has been transferred from the working class into the pockets of the Tories' already very rich friends. The neediest in society have suffered while the top 10% have seen their wealth grow year on year as shown by the Times Rich List. They should pay, not the pensioners.

This government has cynically turned over responsibility to the BBC for their own funding knowing that that organisation would claw back any expenditure they could, even it meant attacking the most vulnerable to satisfy their political masters. Of course, the BBC’s ‘star’ performers would still receive their mega-salaries.

The same generation that has survived the invasion of Normandy will be amongst those attacked. We will call for all pensioners to refuse to pay this further imposition and join us in a campaign similar to the great Militant-inspired campaign against the Poll Tax when 18 million refused to pay. That campaign ultimately led to the removal of Margaret Thatcher as prime minister.

We aim to seek the same fate for the present government, to be replaced by a Corbyn-led socialist government committed to ending all austerity.

Tony Mulhearn

MPA Media Officer

(letter to the Liverpool Echo)

Additional comment by Marie of the MPA:

Here are the final arrangements for our demo/protest tomorrow (Friday 21 June):

• Meet 11.00 am at the bombed out church (St Luke's) at the top of Bold Street.
• March down to Radio Merseyside in Hanover Street to assemble there at 12.00 pm.

Bring rattles, whistles anything you can make a racket with. Leaflets will be available for distribution, petitions, clipboards, pens, etc will be available. We will have placards as well and chants. We need a full turnout of members for this event so I am appealing to all MPA members to support this .

Cheers, Marie.

Save over-75 TV licence demo - Liverpool

Grenfell Vigil in Liverpool: 14 June

14 June 2019 marks 2 years since the Grenfell tragedy in which 72 people lost their lives and hundreds of others were injured and lost their homes. A vigil is held on 14th of the month every month at the bombed out church in Liverpool at 6.00 pm in solidarity with a vigil held at the site in London.

PCS members and activists are encouraged to support the vigils, particularly on this poignant anniversary. We remember the victims and stand in solidarity with the survivors and families in their fight for justice.

• Date: Friday 14 June.
• Time: 6.00 pm.
• Place: St Luke's Bombed Out Church, Leece Sreet, Liverpool L1 2TR.

Petition - save our NHS from Trump

Sign the petition - here.

Time to confront the vultures

Tom Watson (left) and Alastair Campbell

As we anticipated, in the wake of the Euro disaster, the vultures are moving with renewed vigour to crush Corbyn and the socialism he espouses. Jeremy must know he will never mollify the Blairite wing nor the capitalist media. He’s got to go on the offensive. The rest of the anti-socialist brigade should join arch-Blairite Campbell. Watson, and now Campbell, are blatantly working to implement 'Operation Anaconda', their instrument designed to Crush Corbyn.

There should be no more retreats or apologies. Implement trigger ballots now to rid the movement of the fifth column, or they will destroy the Corbyn project. It's time for Jeremy to organise up and down the country to mobilise the massive support that exists for his anti-austerity alternative. Those who organise JC's activities should be bombarded with demands for a mass campaign which can change the whole landscape of British politics. Secret demos should be replaced by a confident call for JC's millions of supporters to get on the streets to demand a general election now.

Tony Mulhearn
ARMS Mersey