Election special...

Some interesting results the morning after the night before..

Margaret Hodge holds Dagenham with an increased majority and defeats the BNP, well done to all those who campaigned there! So the winner of the night is Margaret Hodge.

Malcolm Wicks increases his majority in Croydon North, where I am so does Tessa Jowell and Chuka wins Streatham. On the other hand the massive movement for the forces of revolution in Vauxhall with their candidate Jeremy Drinkall come last with just 103 votes. No chance of a revolution there then? Well done to Kate Hoey who got a good majority! Another loser is George Big Brother Galloway who lost to Labour. So where's the revolution gone then?

So inner London does well enough with Labour whereas Brighton Pavillion turns green and Jon of the Rogers loses his Labour MP. Its a mixture of interesting but expected results. I am waiting by the phone just in case any of the parties want to form a coalition with me!

Vote Labour!

Don't take the risk! Vote Labour!

Havoc and chaos in Greece...

The 3000 year old Acropolis occupied by demonstrators asking the workers of Europe to 'rise and fight'

Just spoke to friends in Athens. Havoc and total chaos on the main cities all over the mainland and the large islands with thousands on strike and countless demonstrations. Three people dead trapped in a bank that was set on fire. The government appears to be losing control. There are no petitions or leafleting going on just sheer violence the expression of anger and frustration at the severe measures imposed on the country by the IMF and Eurozone partner states. Is this the shape of things to come all over Europe? I hope not! The equivalent of the TUC there has asked for peaceful demonstrations only and has condemned deliberate acts of violence. Have not seen any statements issued by the UK TUC yet...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4_I-r5BHP8

Vote Labour

Minimum wage, improvement in living standards, better transport, reduction in crime, winter fuel grants for the old, more and improved schools, reduction in times to see consultants at hospital. The list is endless but the message to those devoted to public service is clear, vote Labour or risk massive cuts and major uncertainty. Recovery needs a steady hand not people who are good at manipulating images! Gordon Brown isn't the kind of person I would want to go to dinner with but he is firm and competent to manage the economy. The country needs a person who knows how to handle the deficit and not someone who looks good on camera!

Good luck to John Gray and Louise Cooling who are standing for election tomorrow they have been brave enough to take the bull by the horns and have done a lot to challenge extremists in the East End. I am sure that left wing politburos will join me in sending them good wishes! Good luck also to Labour Councillors in Lambeth!

Remember Malcolm...

Its almost a year since I wrote this about Malcolm who died suddenly last year, a great man and a dedicated Trade Unionist. May he rest in peace.

http://remembermalcolmcampbell.blogspot.com/2009/05/nick-venedi.html

Eurozone in trouble...

The 16 Eurozone member exclusive club has faced its first crisis with Greece going down the toilet because of the accumulating debt. There are huge demonstrations organised by the Greek unions and all the television stations there are preoccupied with the reaction which of course coincides with the May day events.

Austerity measures to be introduced include moving the retirement age from 53 to 67 with immediate effect (no transitional stage) and vat increases going up to 23%, a reduction of pensions and the abolition of the 13th pay as its called there for civil service employees (civil servants have been paid 13 times a year instead of 12)

The population there of course is not at all happy although some of the mainstream newspapers are trying to explain that these measures are needed to avoid bankruptcy.

The tragic situation in Greece has also been explained by the fact that the country has never been allowed by super powers to rest and allowed to develop. The German occupation between 1941 to 1945 meant a total destruction of the infrastructure. This was then followed by an even nastier civil war which lasted from 1947 to 1951 between the communists and the democrats in fact this was the first ever Vietnam where Stalin's communist partisans fought a nasty civil war instigated by outsiders. These constant wars did not allow the country to have a clear path of development and of course there was no Marshal plan deal to help the country. Then there was the military dictatorship which lasted from 1967 to 1974 so I am afraid the history of modern Greece is one of constant conflict sponsored by outsiders. Greece was the rushed in to the EEC in 1981 by the impatient French who wanted their ally in and then the country was pushed into the Eurozone by the Germans and the French in 2002. The Germans own the postal service and the telecommunications industry in the country so they have a major interest in what happens there. The questions Merkel is raising right now is for domestic consumption because of the election she is facing. The entire situation is a mess!

Final good bye

A big thanks to those who attended my leaving do last night at Lambeth Town Hall. It was great to see friends that I worked with for so many years. Would also like to thank Juliet who went to so much trouble to organise the event and for doing such good detective work to locate and bring back Alison who I was very close with for so many years! That was a big surprise! Thanks Juliet. Thanks also to the customary speech makers like Jon, Tim O Dell, Chester Danvers, Khi Rafe, Peter, Peter Milsom and Marsha, everything they said was true and I can confirm that I had nothing to do with the collapse of the Greek economy!

Ed took a lot of photos and I will be publishing some of them as a reminder. This was indeed the final chapter in my Lambeth book. I had 22 years and I am grateful that I had the opportunity to work with some great people who will always remain friends.