Tariffs and other trade barriers

image of the alaskan highway

Last night I watched a video about Canada raising a large toll on lorries travelling from the Lower 48 to Alaska, and it documents and forecast the impact on the fragile Alaskan economy. It reminded me of the trade barriers that the UK has put in place due to Brexit. This is potentially disastrous for Alaska, and is clearly so for the UK where today the FT reports that according to the ONS, the UK economy shrank for the second quarter in a row.

The trade to GDP rate in the UK is 63%, which seems enormous to me, but it seems to be merely above average and yet it illustrates the UK’s dependency on the rest of the world to feed itself and keep itself warm and sheltered. The US rate is 25% which is low by international comparison and may be one of the reasons that Trump can afford to be as foolish as he is with his tariff policies, noting that it’s the US consumers who ultimately pay his tariffs. Source: World Bank.

The EU flag, before castor and pollux,

But for the UK, this is another piece of evidence that the UK needs to rejoin the EU’s single market, but even if this common sense actually strikes this Labour government, I doubt that the Eire/Holland/France traffic will return to the UK. …

Creative incompetence

Creative incompetence

I wrote a piece on the Peter Principle and Creative Incompetence on my LinkedIn blog.

The Peter principle, suggests that people are promoted to levels of incompetence. I the article I argue that this is aggravated by the fact that management values management and often values task and financial management more than people management skills.

The overpromoted are often unhappy and the insightful are either lucky and work for organisations that seek to avoid these traps by recognising and rewarding individual contributors or employ a strategy of “creative incompetence”.  …

Human Rights

Image Sign in front of the CJEU's Palais de la Cour de Justice

At a meeting yesterday, I asked about/EU/UK cooperation within the justice pillar.  I asked if in order to develop further cooperation, the UK would need to sign up to the EU’s charter of fundamental rights. The senior MEP present stated that they thought that self-exclusion was a barrier to fuller cooperation; the Labour minister present confused the Charter of Fundamental Rights with the European Convention on Human Rights and stated that non-compliance, particularly on issues of the right to family life were reasonable. This is a proof point of the consensus in Westminster that haggling with the EU ‘to win’ all the time, is acceptable behaviour of good citizenship.

The reason we had so many opt-outs from the Justice Pillar is that the New Labour governmentdidn’t want their immigration and trade union laws tested by the CJEU and as reprise act, I read that ‘blue labour’ are questioning whether we should remain signatories to the ECHR.

In 2024, there were three cases at the ECtHR, and the UK lost one; the plaintiff was the Daily Mail who were complaining about lawyers’ fees in cases where they settled, they claimed it was in breach of their rights of free speech. The last time I looked this up, the problem was within the administration of justice and prisons if I remember correctly. The Tories harsh environment in prisons was considered in conflict to human rights law.

But the reason we should remain members is that human rights are a benefit to all citizens and residents.

Image Credit : Luxofluxo, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons …

International Solidarity at GMB 25

many national flags strung accross a path

As is traditional the GMB debated international solidarity on Thursday morning although since a GMB workplace in Northern Ireland had been attacked, a delegate from that Region addressed Congress. He is followed by an address from Tariq Pollard, from the Teamsters in NY an organiser in Amazon and his full time officer,  Antonio Rosario. The organisation in Amazon grows.

The CEC chose to present a special report on International Solidarity to Congress. The paper was moved by Barbara Plant. Special report debates are longer than others because each region gets to speak. The report covered trade and the EU, middle east again, and international solidarity mainly Latin America but also including Ukraine.

After the debate on the special report, Congress was addressed by video by the Palestinian Ambassador, Dr. Husam Zomlot who thanked us for our solidarity and promised that with our help Palestinian voices will not be silenced. See also the 2024 statement on the Middle East.

We also heard, by video from the Deputy PM of Spain, Yolanda Diaz, who holds the Minister of Labour and Social Economy portfolio, and presented a  beacon of hope from one of the few social democratic governments in the world. Even though their confrontation with the far right is more acute and still massively socially divisive the Spanish government is pursuing policies of humanity, anti-poverty and anti-racism.

The video links in this article are the start points of each section I describe.

This article has been back dated to approximately the date of occurrence.

Image Credit: By Nick Fewings from unsplash using the unsplash licence. …

Getting involved in politics

GMB banners on a march/demo

I went to London region's fringe meeting. These are held inside the conference centre and must be sponsored by a region. This meeting was called “Getting involved in politics”. It’s platform consisted of Dawn Butler MP, Robbie Scott (TULO), Miriam Myrwitch (London Labour), and two GMB voluntary officers from the Labour Party branch and the Parliamentary Staffs branch. I don’t know if the platform learnt anything, but some probing questions were asked, mainly about the Labour Party. This article uses my notes to report in the meeting, and I cross-reference and comment on Labour's rules on debate, social media and bullying. The full article is overleaf ...

GMB & Trans-rights

GMB Congress 25, delegates sitting and posters on the wall

There was one motion on the issue of Trans-rights, this is/was 242. RETURN THE CONCEPT OF FEMINISM WHERE IT BELONGS on p121 of the agenda document. At the centre of this motion is the call that “the position that feminism should focus on embracing intersectionality and supporting all women, including transgender women, and not just those who conform to traditional gender norms. “ It was moved by Chiorstaidh Reichle; the moving and seconding speeches are on youtube.

I felt that both speeches were of high quality, full of empathy and knowledge.

There were also two emergency motions, (5&6) one on a workplace response primarily to the EHRC guidance since modified and one on the inadequate and un-inclusive process followed by the Supreme Ciurt and EHRC in developing their guidance.

These debates were preceded by a speech by Dr Victoria McCloud on the iniquity of the court ruling and the EHRC guidance. This is a powerful and moving speech.

The motion text is overleaf/below.  …

Solidarity with David Heurta

a demo of striking los angelos carrying seiu banners

On the day before Congress started a leading US West Coast trade unionist David Huerta was violently arrested in Los Angeles while observing a demonstration. I drafted an emergency motion expressing our solidarity and commitment to the right to assemble and organise and then moved it on the Congress floor. it was carried unanimously by the over 300 delegates representing over 465,000 members.

The text of the resolution is below/overleaf, … …

Universities at GMB25

a group of people from above wearing U. of Bradofrd academic gowns

I moved a motion entitled higher education, knowledge and funding.  In my speech I placed the crisis of HE funding in the context of macro-economic policy and as the results of Labour’s hostile environment. I had been inspired to write the motion as a result of Rachel Reeves autumn statement 24 and after reviewing the industrial policy white paper. The seconder of the motion made what I believe is a powerful statement in favour of universal access to higher education. In this article, below, you will find a video clip of the debate, the words of the motion and my notes, that I used to make the speech.

In this article, below or overleaf, you will find the words of the motion and my notes, that I used to make the speech. …