NEC chair: Labour people voted for Brexit because they felt ignored by politics

 

This is the full text of the speech delivered today by Paddy Lillis, chair of Labour’s national executive committee, at TUC annual congress.

 

President, Congress,

Brothers and sisters,

I’m proud and honoured to bring fraternal greetings from the Labour Party.

And can I start, Congress, by congratulating our General Secretary Frances O’Grady on the tremendous job she is doing leading the TUC.

With the vote for Brexit,

And with the challenges posed by last year’s re-election of the Tories,

These are, without doubt, difficult times.

And Frances has done a great job in leading and guiding the trade union movement.

I’m not just saying this to be polite and to be nice.

Look at the TUC’s work around the Trade Union Act.

A focused campaign to ensure the public could see this Bill for what it is –

A vindictive and malicious attack on the trade union movement.

But this public campaign was combined with effective lobbying to successfully remove some of the worst aspects of the Bill.

So, well done Frances for doing such a great job as General Secretary of the TUC.

Congress, 12 months ago I was elected as Chair of Labour’s National Executive and I thought:

Well we’ve just had the Labour leadership election, so that’s settled for the foreseeable future,

And David Cameron’s just been re-elected as Prime Minster and looks secure with a working majority.

So, I thought to myself this may well be a relatively quiet year as Chair of the NEC.

Well, how wrong could I be!

The last 12 months have turned out a bit more eventful than I thought they would be!

Cameron has now gone and his political career is destined for the dustbin of history,

And we are in the middle of another Labour leadership contest.

Congress, I’m sure that Liz has her difficulties chairing the TUC General Council,

But imagine the challenges of being Chair of Labour’s NEC over the last year?

Now, I don’t like giving people tips on how to do their job,

But one tip I would give to the incoming President of the TUC is that if you turn up for a meeting,

And there are so many members of the press outside that it is difficult to even get into the building,

Then you may not be in for the easiest meeting to Chair.

There were some Labour NEC meetings I attended in the last 12 months,

Where you would be forgiven for thinking that the National Union of Journalists had launched a wave of secondary action,

And had organised a mass picket of the building!

Congress, Sean O’Casey, the famous Irish playwright, socialist and comrade of James Connolly, once said:

The Irish people are in danger of treating every serious thing as a joke and every joke as a serious thing.

So, before I live up to that cliché I should move on.

But turning every serious thing into a joke,

And every joke into a serious thing,

Could sum up some of what has happened in the Labour Party in the last year.

Congress, I want to thank the trade union delegates on Labour’s National Executive.

The trade union reps play an important role because they don’t represent one wing of the Party or the other,

They are there to represent the hundreds of thousands of ordinary trade unionists affiliated to the Party.

That is a difficult role,

And I appreciate the long hours in meetings and the efforts put in by my trade union colleagues on the NEC.

Congress, I also want to give credit to Iain McNicol, the General Secretary of the Labour Party.

He has made a very important and constructive contribution in helping the Party navigate its way through a difficult year.

We should also acknowledge the work of all the staff employed by the Labour Party.

As you might imagine this has not been the easiest year for Labour Party staff.

But they have got on and done the job.

So it is only right to acknowledge their work, their commitment and their dedication to the Party and the membership.

Congress, I am here to bring you the fraternal greetings of the Labour Party,

But I also stand in front of you as a lifelong trade unionist.

I joined Usdaw over 35 years ago when I was working at Abbey Meats in Newtownabbey, just north of Belfast.

At that time, Northern Ireland was a very dark place.

Sectarian killings were at their height.

The hunger strikes in the H Blocks were heading towards their grime and tragic end.

Northern Ireland was a very divided society.

Catholic and Protestant workers lived in separate areas,

Drank in different pubs,

Voted for different parties.

At that time, the trade unions stood out alone as a beacon of light.

And in that divided society, workers from both communities were united together in the trade union movement.

I joined my Union realising that workers would only ever get a better deal if we are united together.

I learnt from the trade union movement that whatever divides us, we have more in common than separates us.

That lesson,

That I learnt in the stark environment of Belfast of the 1970s and 80s,

Is very relevant for all of us in the Labour and trade union movement throughout the UK.

In our debates and decisions,

In our votes and when we choose leaders,

We must remember we have more in common than divides us.

We must show respect for each other.

In the last year, in the debates about the future of Labour there has been:

Too much abuse and not enough respect for each other’s views,

Too much shouting and not enough listening,

Too much name calling and not enough discussion about policy and strategy.

Congress, this bad behaviour is a sad reflection of the abuse that is too easily found in political debate in today’s society.

The advent of twitter, social media and online debate should have been a great democratic step forward,

Instead, it seems to be a green light to some of the most vile abuse of political representatives and opponents.

The most extreme example of this was the tragic murder of Jo Cox MP.

Here was a trade union member,

A member of the GMB,

Who was murdered in the course of doing her job.

We, the trade union movement, should more than anyone else make it clear that:

The abuse, harassment and attacks on political representatives because of their views is unacceptable.

Colleagues, I have been attending TUC Congress for many years as part of the Usdaw delegation.

In the last few years, I have also been a member of the General Purposes Committee which acts as the Standing Orders Committee for this conference.

Congress, in this room we have different views,

We have a range of approaches to fit the needs of the different workplaces we are organising.

We will have serious debates over policy issues.

But Congress, we have these debates in a comradely way.

We respect each other’s views.

And we strive to have those discussions in an atmosphere reflecting that we have more in common than divides us.

Those are the democratic principles linked to debating issues and taking decisions that we need to strive to get back into the Labour Party.

Congress, whatever happens in the Labour leadership election we as a movement, as a matter of urgency, need to return to the policy agenda.

In the last year, we have seen the Tories push forward with their anti-trade union agenda by passing the Trade Union Act.

Working together, we were successful in getting some of the worst aspects of this Bill dropped.

However, the Trade Union Act continues to present serious challenges to both Labour and the Trade Union movement.

We have also seen the vote for Brexit.

Britain leaving the European Union could have serious consequences for many of the employment rights that are underpinned by membership of the EU.

Just as worrying is what the Referendum vote means in many traditional working class communities,

Where people – our people – voted for Brexit because they feel ignored by the political process, they feel they have been left behind and overlooked.

That alienation in our communities is a challenge to Labour,

And it is a challenge to the trade union movement.

In the aftermath of the Brexit vote, we have seen a rise in hate crime.

Migrant workers and British ethnic minority communities are facing abuse.

Congress, this hostility and harassment is unacceptable,

And we will not and should not allow it to take place in our society.

Looking forward, we need to tackle all these issues.

And there are many other issues that also need to be addressed.

We need a Living Wage that means what it says.

We need a Living Wage that delivers a decent standard of living for workers and their families.

Workers are continuing to face a cost of living crisis.

We need radical policies to deal with the housing crisis.

The shortage of housing is leading to out of control rents across the UK.

Everyone should have the right to good quality affordable housing.

We need public services that meet the needs of our communities.

Public services that are adequately funded and properly staffed.

We want to defend the NHS,

Ensuring we have a health service that is free to use,

And treats people on the basis of medical need and not their ability to pay.  

We need schools and universities that deliver education that our young people, and all our people, deserve.

We need a workforce that has skills and training to meet the challenges of the 21st Century.

Congress, above all, we desperately need a Labour Government.

We must get ourselves into shape so we can fight and win a General Election.

We can have the best polices in the world but if we don’t win power it is pointless.

We must have policies that will mobilise our core vote,

But we must also be able to convince and win back voters who have voted for other parties.

We have a duty and a responsibility to the workers, the people, the communities we represent that we get ourselves into a position where we can win the next General Election.

Congress, Labour and the trade unions have always had a close relationship.

We stand together for social justice.

We are on the side of the have-nots and the oppressed.

We want to empower ordinary people so we can make a difference.

Congress, we have bold principles,

We have ambitious policies,

And we also want to win.

Because without winning,

The principles and the policies mean nothing.

We are at a difficult time for the Labour movement.

At this time, we must all remember that we have more in common with each other than divides us.

Unity is strength.

And winning for our members is what matters.

So Congress, on behalf of the Labour Party I bring fraternal greetings.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today.

And I hope you have a great Congress.

TUC annual congress runs from Sunday 11 to Wednesday 14 September in Brighton. To see the rest of our coverage go to LabourList’s trade unions page.