Let us write the next chapter

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham moved a motion on industrial and economic policy section, in what many considered to be the best speech heard in the hall so far.

Unite’s motion noted that for decades working class communities have had to pay the price for of crisis after crisis not of their making. This failure of politicians to deliver on real change for workers and communities had been key in the rise of the far right.

But Unite believed that a critical political window was now open ‘for the newly established Labour leadership to deliver an uncompromised pro-worker agenda.’

Sharon Graham opened her moving speech by saying, “that for decades working class communities have borne the brunt of decline. Decades of neglect.”

By working class Sharon was referring to “those that get by by the labour that they sell. Everyday people too often at the back of the queue. Those that we represent, those that make the profit, those not getting their rightful piece of the pie.

“The fact remains that if the bosses went on strike no one would notice – it’s only the workers who do the work.

She continued, “We hear that the working class is better off; have better terms, better wages, better opportunities. I say absolute rubbish. The truth is the working class is now trapped in a death march of decline. Jobs offshored, public services decimated, investment slashed, energy and food prices rising and the social contract broken.”

She said there was a particular phrase she’d been hearing lately. “I’ve heard this in the last few weeks, over and over again, how awful it would be to go back to the 70s. The time when we had public ownership of energy and water, when we mass produced what we needed, the time when British cars like the Mini led the World in innovation. And the time when people knew that their children would have a better life than them.

“We could do with some of that now!”  she added to applause.

She explained that before the crash of 2008, our debt was around 17 per cent but after, it was 35 per cent. Even the Covid bail out never cost that much to the country, “and we have never recovered.” The big four banks in the first quarter of this year reported profits of £14bn. “Now is the time for them to put their hands in their pockets and pay the country back.”

She firmly believed that Labour now had a chance. But she added, “We cannot keep being told we must wait for change.”

She continued that excuses politicians continuously used like the Liz Truss budget were wearing thin. “We cannot keep being told we cannot do anything because of the markets. Because that Budget was a Budget of unfunded tax cuts. We cannot continue to do nothing.

“We must have a plan. If it’s costed, if we borrow to invest, it will be an asset on our books and the markets will adapt. We need immediate change. We need a wealth tax for our public services, we need investment in British industry and we need to renationalise power energy.

She concluded her speech by saying, “This plan must come from our movement, this story must be told by us, one built on solidarity, not division. We cannot pit worker against worker in this room.

“The next chapter in our story must be written by us; a story of hope and a story of a new social contract. And finally, I want to say to every striking worker, they’ve taken their moment, let’s take ours.”

And closing with her signature phrase, to loud applause, “Solidarity – see you on the picket line.”

By Amanda Campbell

Pic by Mark Thomas