[thread] When our opponents talk about socialism, they either talk about it as though it is some sort of utopian, fantasy idea that can never happen or a dangerous alternative to what we have right now. I just don’t connect with that view at all. (1/8) #GV6#GrassrootsVoice
My view of socialism is as a political expression of love for one another - a system based on our natural drive to love one another. The truth is, for so many millions of people in the UK & elsewhere in the world this capitalist system is hard, scary & uncertain.(2/8)
Socialism is a set of principles, a different way to organise the world. It is based on a common love for our fellow human beings - not about seeing other people as competition, but as others we can work with, who can enrich our experience in life. (3/8)
Socialism is about not accepting suffering, pain, exploitation, embarrassment, malnourishment, monotony, dissatisfaction, loneliness, injustice, fear & premature death as an inevitability...(4/8)
...purely to allow a tiny minority of people to suck more and more power & wealth away from us & the work we do. It doesn’t need to be like this, there is another way. (5/8)
Socialism is a much more loving way to organise ourselves, away from the harshness of our current, brutal system. (6/8)
People will say there are not enough resources for us all, not enough land for us all, not enough power, food, money, housing, schools, hospitals for us all. That is the biggest lie we are sold - precisely so the wealthiest can continue to steal the worlds resources...(7/8)
..regardless of the destruction they do, while we are told via the media & those who wish to keep things the way they are, to look sideways, to blame our neighbour. No matter how much this system wants to divide us, our love for one another is natural. There is another way. (8/8)
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Rough sleeping has more than doubled since 2010. The number of people dying homeless has risen by 50% in the last 5 years (726 people last year). This shames us as a society. @UKLabour is right, as a party, to see it as a ‘moral mission’ to end it, within 5 years, via: (1/5)
👉 A £600 million ‘Modern Hostels Fund’ for good quality homeless accommodation with 5,000 additional bed spaces to take people off the streets & help them rebuild their lives. (2/5)
👉 A £200 million ‘Hostels Transformation Fund’ to turn existing hostels into places where homeless people can be more comfortable & turn their lives around. (3/5)
[thread] What would higher wages do for your local economy? In Preston, the @UKLabour council introduced the Real Living Wage to its workers & procured services from local companies who agreed to pay it too.(1/4)
Living wage employers in Preston range from multinational giants to SMEs; public sector institutions to charities. As a result of this investment in local business & the local workforce, the employment rate grew faster than in neighbouring towns and than the UK average.(2/4)
Last year, @PwC_UK & @Demos named Preston as the most improved city after it experienced growth in a wide range of areas. That’s the impact these simple, but innovative policies had. (3/4)
[thread] There’s been some discussion over @UKLabour’s tax policy in the last 24 hrs, given a bit of prominence by #bbcqt. An audience member said that, though he earned over £80k, he was nowhere near the top 5% of earners & went so far as to say he wasn’t in the top 50%. (1/8)
This is clearly false, but it has given rise to an interesting debate about tax, high pay & low pay. bbc.com/news/50517136 (2/8)
Whilst I get that those earning good incomes may not feel ‘rich’ for a variety of reasons (e.g outgoings, especially housing costs), the focus should really be on some very stark figures on low pay. That what’s often lost in any discussions about tax bands & top rates etc. (3/8)
[thread] On Sunday, @UKLabour announced we’d be introducing a £10 Real Living Wage, regardless of age. Many welcomed this policy, but some questioned the impact that it would have on employment. Here is the recent history of commitments to the minimum wage / living wage: (1/6)
👉 In 1997, when the Labour government announced the introduction of a minimum wage, some employers & right–wing parties said there would be job losses en masse. (2/6)
🤔 What happened? Unemployment fell and there was no evidence that the minimum wage had any negative impact on employment. (3/6)
[thread] This Parliament has ended & it’s time for the people to decide who they want to put in the next one. I am going to give the campaign everything I’ve got. I just wanted to offer some personal reflections before I get on with it. (1/8)
Since that election in 2017, I have become a mother & lost my father & those two intensely personal experiences were met by the people I represented with love, patience & compassion & for that I will be forever grateful. (2/8)
The thousands of conversations I have had with people in this community - the very personal & painful things you have shared; the stories you have told; the hours we have sat together through laugher & tears, I carry with me. You have taught me so much. (3/8)
[thread] Of course, @realDonaldTrump telling @AOC, @RashidaTlaib, @IlhanMN & @AyannaPressley to “go home” to their “country of origin” is racist. I’m disgusted & appalled by the callousness of these remarks, aimed at these amazingly strong women. #Solidarity to them. (1/7)
But crucially, Trump’s consistent racism gives confidence to others with racist attitudes & builds a terrifying atmosphere for targets of that racism. These are the real, painful, consequences when political or community leaders foster racism & play on xenophobic attitudes. (2/7)
People who are doing or saying racist things often feel like they speak on behalf of their community (ridiculous concept, I know). Therefore, it’s immensely powerful for a member of that same perceived community to say ‘not in my name’ in order to marginalise the racism. (3/7)