Meeting held on Monday 17th September 2018
Four people were present, four sent their apologies.
The possible effects of the attempt by the Liberal Democrats to widen its membership and appoint a new leader in order to appeal to the centre ground were thought unlikely to overcome the sense of betrayal felt by former Liberal and young voters in enabling Tory austerity, tuition fees etc. It may take a generation.
Following on from the notes of our previous meeting there was a discussion around the latest developments in the Labour Party’s anti-Semitism deliberations. While we broadly welcomed the acceptance of the IHRA definition with the clarification allowing criticism of the Government of Israel’s policies and actions, we were concerned that it would not be enough to satisfy all sides of the debate. Some Jewish Labour MPs still remain critical and remain dissatisfied with the rate at which complaints are being dealt with. However it is critical that LP members and supporters are able to condemn illegal actions such as the current bulldozing of Palestinian villages in the West Bank which were in existence before the occupation. To close down the issue may be difficult. As usual the sources of news and information on these issues prove unreliable and are a barrier to understanding on all sides.
It was noted that there are public meetings in the Hope Valley with both our local MPs in the near future which would give opportunities to question them on current issues. A local concern was the inability of Northern Rail to run Saturday services owing to the ongoing dispute with the RMT with no sign of a resolution. This led to a short discussion on volunteering for such organisations and also volunteering more generally in the private and public sectors. A topic we might return to at another time.
As the campaign for a People’s Vote on the Brexit deal seemed to be gaining traction it was considered that it would be worth supporting but with some misgivings as to the effect on the support for Labour in any subsequent election in the Leave voting towns.
Only 4 participants were present at both the August and September meetings which rather limited the usual wide range of views expressed. Hopefully the turnout will improve during the Autumn.