Meeting held on Monday 15th August 2022
Seven people were present. Apologies were received from eight people.
The announcement of Kier Starmer’s policy initiative on freezing the Energy Cap at its present level with the £30 billion cost to be funded from an additional Windfall Tax on the Energy Companies was thought to be a welcome intervention. Some discussion followed as to whether an approach which targeted help for lower income groups would be preferable but it was generally felt that it was better for Starmer to keep the message simple in order to make Labour’s ideas clear.
The performances and declared policy positions of the two candidates in the Tory leadership election were considered briefly in light of the fact that they were addressing a small and, in general, a fairly extreme right-wing group of Tory Party members. An informal poll in the meeting indicated that we would prefer Truss as an opponent in both parliament and at the next General Election. There was some speculation that Johnson may attempt some sort of comeback either before or after an Election.
Labour’s policy announcement on charging VAT on school fees in the private education sector and reviewing the charitable status of such schools was welcomed. It was noted that the enormous gap in the provision of sporting and cultural facilities between private and public sectors can be evidenced directly by comparing, for instance, successes in elite sport and theatrical careers.
In terms of the Energy, Water and Transport it was felt that, if suitable candidates for public ownership are not identified, there should be an emphasis on very robust systems of regulation with tough targets to hold privatised corporations to account.
Mention was made of a new campaign of resistance to the current Cost of Living crisis. ‘Enough is Enough’
A brief exchange regarding the ‘Re-join the EU campaign’, whilst drawing some support, was thought by most to be premature and a policy of seeking better relations with the EU is more likely to be more popular as the harms done by Brexit become increasingly obvious.
The ambiguous status of Taiwan was thought to have become a danger to be handled very carefully in order to avoid a takeover by China and a situation developing as in Hong Kong.
Next Meeting. Monday 19th September 2022
.