Meeting held on Monday 21st June
Nine people were present.
Apologies were received from seven people.
The Lib. Dem. win at the Amersham and Chesham by-election, where clearly tactical voting by former Labour supporters had a large influence, prompted discussion of the possibility of a formal/informal arrangement (progressive alliance?) between Labour, Lib. Dem. and Greens before the next General Election. It was suggested that there is evidence of movement in this direction by many members of the Labour Party. The word ‘progressive’ was thought by some to be rather out of date and a new name for such a co-operative venture could prove beneficial. The basis of such a co-operation would require manifesto commitments to some agreed form of Proportional Representation and a Green New Deal with explanation to voters in clear, non-technical language. The constituencies plus top up Party lists as in Scotland seems to work well.
The COP26 UN Climate Conference in Glasgow in November will hopefully move on the World climate agenda. The fact that it is being hosted by a Tory government and will probably be hailed as a success for Johnson should not overshadow any good outcomes which are agreed. It was noted that sometimes perfectly acceptable ‘green’ initiatives which are put forward by Tory MPs etc. can often be rejected out of hand by the left.
A discussion of the NHS and Social Care focussed on their meaningful integration about which the Government seem to be well behind the views of the public. It was recalled that in the past there was much more joined up working between the two but this has been eroded by ‘reforms’ which have led to more and more privatisation in both the Care System and the NHS. This trend was not reversed during the period of Labour government and has continued to the present day. It was thought that more privatisation in health and social care goes against the wishes of the majority of voters.
A short discussion on Democratic Renewal included the use of Citizen’s Assemblies (and their make-up), the replacement of the House of Lords with a more democratic form of revising chamber and the input of citizens to the outcomes of the so-called ‘culture wars’. Opinion was divided on the ‘statues’ issue as to where to draw the line on removal and who decides on new ones.
The NEXT MEETING will be on Monday 19th July. As this is the day on which all restrictions may be lifted it was decided to wait and see before fixing a time and place.