I am at heart a Liberal, but there is nothing my party can do that can help restore confidence in pensions.
I am a member of the Conservative party, because they have power. But I rarely meet a conservative that shares my values. The Conservatives can help restore confidence in pensions and perhaps I can help them not to be such bastards.
I have tried to be a member of the Labour party, whatever the Labour party stands for, because we need an effective opposition to the Conservatives. I have sent them money in the past to help them fight elections and sent them a little more to join them. I was supposed to do unpaid work through Unison for Angela Rayner and will do what I can to help any Union that is helping (in the right way).
When I applied to the Labour party , I declared my other allegiances and stated that I was joining to help on pensions. They’ve sent me a letter (by e-mail)
It would have been better had I known about this when applying (I made my situation as clear to them as I do on this blog). I note they’re not going to return my membership payment. Infact, I don’t really see anything good to be said about Iain’s letter. Why a panel of the NEC should have to deliberate I don’t know!
The trouble with political parties
The trouble with these party politicians is that they forget what the party is there for. The Labour party, of all parties, is there for ordinary people who don’t otherwise get representation. Jeremy Corbyn could do with some support right now, especially as he doesn’t have anyone who’s helping out on pensions.
The trouble with the Labour Party
The particular problem with the Labour party is that it has more time for its rules than for its people. Infact people don’t come into it much. While it fights court battles to work out who can be in it and who can vote for leavers, people like me are told we aren’t wanted.
A political consensus?
I’ve no idea what Her Majesty’s opposition is doing to help ordinary people understand how to organize their retirement. I don’t see them doing anything much to help create better policy.
They appear to be the party of ‘no’.
No to the constructive policies put forward by the past three governments (one of which was run by them).
No to having a pension minister as a shadow to Nick Harrington
No to having people like me within the party, trying to help them out.
So what can people like me do?
They say that if you aren’t a socialist under 30 you have no heart and if you are a socialist over 30 you have no brain.
This kind of binary thinking is behind Iain McNichol’s letter. I’ve always thought that democracy worked best when people put down their differences and worked together. That was how the coalition worked and that coalition could so easily have involved the Liberals and the Labour party working together.
But just as the Labour Party refused to work with the Liberals , so they refuse to work with me (though they take my time and my money).
I can only speak for myself, but I can speak up for myself. I am better than the small-mindedness of the Labour Party and the Labour Party would be better for having me in it. I am not saying that I am better than any member of the Labour party, I am the sam
A small person can make a big difference if they put their mind to it. But they are better working with established networks of people.
Achieve by Unity.
I’m very proud of my football club, we know the value of working together.
Perhaps the parties could learn a lesson or two from our community spirit.
Hi Henry. You and I alike being definitely a ‘non-party person’ putting pensions and issues above political organizations and why should we have to be part of a recognized organization to get elected? I know what you will say – its all about ‘money and power’ neither of which seem to do the average citizen any good! I think you will be hard pressed to find any politician effective enough to defend the ‘rights of pensioners’ rather than being seen as recipients ‘of benefits’. Governments continue to be quite happy to slap down us pensioners, defraud us as a soft tax target, allow companies to change their pension fund rules to benefit them rather than those that have paid for their future pensions and close them down without the agreement of members of pension funds!. This is still being allowed to happen by ‘political parties’ with government continuing carrying out a flawed policy of malfeasance as highlighted this millennium by the flawed introduction of the ‘Financial Assistance Scheme’ that should have provided ‘compensation for failed DB’ but in effect only offered ‘assistance’ that never met the standard of ‘pension promise’. Also, government ‘gaged rulings of judicial court’ by their dictatorial ‘right of sovereignty’.
I don’t believe it is wrong for parties to decline membership if you belong to another party. Political parties are not lobbying groups they are there to promote the manifesto and principles of the membership. And I fail to see how a Conservative party member has anything to offer the Labour Party. Your views and expertise are very worth listening to and the current Labour Party does suffer from only hearing what they want to hear. But not accepting members of the Conservative party is not an example of that failure to listen or include.