A quick THREAD on the controversy surrounding Zarah Sultana.
Firstly I know she’s new, and a youthful 26 years old, but don’t patronise her. She’s an elected MP, clearly capable and articulate and her words should be scrutinised just as any MP’s statements should be.
Firstly I know she’s new, and a youthful 26 years old, but don’t patronise her. She’s an elected MP, clearly capable and articulate and her words should be scrutinised just as any MP’s statements should be.
So what were the words in her maiden speech that caused controversy?
Well she’s proudly tweeted it here
N.B. It's the "40 years of Thatcherism" bit that has caused controversy
Well she’s proudly tweeted it here
N.B. It's the "40 years of Thatcherism" bit that has caused controversy
This has raised the ire of some who have misrepresented her as suggesting the Thatcher and Blair govts were the same
Neil Coyle MP rightly notes some of the great things New Labour did “introducing the Human Rights Act & National Minimum Wage… Sure Start programme & Tax Credits”
Neil Coyle MP rightly notes some of the great things New Labour did “introducing the Human Rights Act & National Minimum Wage… Sure Start programme & Tax Credits”
But Thatcherism isn't defined by those things. It defined itself by privatising public assets, reducing trade union power and having no industrial strategy beyond financialisation
New Labour, for all its positives, did not unpick those fundamentals. In some areas it built on them
New Labour, for all its positives, did not unpick those fundamentals. In some areas it built on them
That’s not just my assessment. It’s also Tony Blair’s – and he knows a thing or two about New Labour...
He said that, “My job was to build on some Thatcher policies”, spelling out that he kept trade union law as Thatcher left it and didn’t renationalise.
bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-pol…
He said that, “My job was to build on some Thatcher policies”, spelling out that he kept trade union law as Thatcher left it and didn’t renationalise.
bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-pol…
So what Zarah Sultana said was right.
She is a socialist elected on a manifesto that explicitly promised to strengthen trade union law, to build a #GreenIndustrialRevolution and to extend public ownership
i.e. to end Thatcherism where New Labour did not, as Blair himself said.
She is a socialist elected on a manifesto that explicitly promised to strengthen trade union law, to build a #GreenIndustrialRevolution and to extend public ownership
i.e. to end Thatcherism where New Labour did not, as Blair himself said.
But not only was Zarah Sultana right, her whole maiden speech was brilliant. You can read it in full here but some highlights below …
bit.ly/30qaJc3
bit.ly/30qaJc3
“For my whole adult life, I have only known Tory Governments who wage war on working-class communities like mine, cutting our services, underfunding our schools and hospitals, and saddling me and my generation with tens of thousands of pounds of student debt.”
“The manufacturing jobs which were the backbone of Coventry, and which brought my family from Kashmir to the region, are now few and far between … The council houses that gave working-class families like mine access to safe, affordable homes have been sold off.”
“I am a working class Muslim woman, and I know that the Bullingdon boys will never be on my side or on the side of the shop stewards in Coventry, the cleaners in Carlisle, the migrant workers in Manchester or the teachers in Tottenham”
"In 10 years’ time… I want to look teenagers in the eye and say with pride, 'My generation faced 40 years of Thatcherism and we ended it. We faced rising racism and we defeated it. We faced a planet in peril and we saved it.' We have our work cut out, but together we can do it."
So 👏 to @zarahsultana on a brilliant maiden speech that demonstrated a real understanding of her generation, the city she represents and of British politics. ✊🌹
