'Labour, make lasting change'

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham gave a barnstorming speech to thunderous applause on the final day of Labour conference on Wednesday (September 25) in defence of the Winter Fuel Allowance.

Moving a motion on the economy, Graham began with a quote: “The nation wants food, work and homes. It wants a high and rising standard of living, security for all, against a rainy day.”

She noted that the quote was from the 1945 Labour Manifesto, which, she said, was “written in the shadow of death, destruction and debt, caused by years of war”.

She called it a “manifesto of hope, written at a time when our debt to GDP was 270 per cent — nearly three times higher than it is now”.

 Sharon emphasised that this manifesto had “no mention of cuts, no mention of austerity and certainly no mention of making everyday people pay”.

“Labour knew then, that to make Britain more equal, they had to act and think differently,” she continued.

“They knew to make it count. To make a real difference, Labour could not simply be better managers, they had to make lasting change.”

 “They promised jobs and homes — and built a national health service on the back of crisis,” Sharon noted. “Their story wasn’t one of tightening belts or making some of the poorest in our society pay.”

To loud applause, Sharon said that no one understands “how our new Labour government can cut the winter fuel allowance for pensioners and leave the super-rich untouched. This is not what people voted for. It is the wrong decision and needs to be reversed.”

“Friends, we are the sixth richest economy in the world,” she asserted. “We have the money. Britain needs investment, not austerity mark two. We won’t get any gold badge for shaving peanuts off our debt. These fiscal rules are self-imposed and the decision to keep them is hanging like a noose around our necks.”

 Sharon spoke about how public services and British industry needed investment now.

“It’s no good having sympathy for workers at Grangemouth losing their jobs — they do not want your pity. They need Labour to step up to the plate and not allow a billionaire, who buys a football club as a hobby, to throw these workers on the scrap heap.

“We cannot leave Britain at the whim of footloose corporations, hoping and willing for those corporations to invest – this is a prayer, it’s not a plan,” Sharon added.

 She went on to acknowledge that Britian was broken, and that the Tories are to blame for the mess they’ve left.

“But Labour is now in Government, and we can’t keep making everyday people pay,” she told conference. “Friends, I keep hearing, ‘a wealth tax is too difficult, it would take too long’ — and I say absolute rubbish: we seem to be able to get workers paying their taxes in a matter of weeks!”

 “The system is rigged and the country knows it,” she pointed out.  

Concluding her speech to a standing ovation, Sharon urged conference to “hold up our heads and be proud to be Labour”.

“Let everyday people know – we are on their side. Let’s put our arms around the working class and make lasting change.”

The motion was carried.

If you missed it, you can catch up on Labour conference here – and you can follow UniteLive’s coverage of Labour Conference here.

By Hajera Blagg

Photo by Mark Thomas