Driving Women to the Top
Sunday May 12th, Holiday Inn, Ilford. 09.00-17.00
by Annajoy David
When I returned to Redbridge after my time in Scarborough and Whitby as PPC I noted a distinct lack of women active in the party . When I turned up to my first GC meeting in Ilford North CLP, I think I was 1 of 2 women in attendance. I have to say it wasn’t much better out canvassing and talking and listening to residents. It was a case of “rarely seen” and practically “never heard”
The two CLP’s have been working hard with our excellent borough organiser Matt Goddin to do something about this. Following a workshop at our Redbridge wide conference last September we started a women’s coffee morning group.
Our little group is now not so little and has a wide range of women involved; some of whom are supporters of the Labour Party, we also have many of our women councillors along with lots of our new younger women 
members .
The conference will principally focus on Health and Well Being issues and those of Work, Pay and Pensions. There will also be a range of workshops on these issues and one on Education and local schools hosted, by Fiona Millar
In the morning our panel will be discussing Work, Pay and Benefits: the female economy including join Seema Malhotra MP and Susan Nash, former chair of Young Labour with Unite the Union Siobhan Endean, National Officer for Equalities,
The panel will run for about an hour including a 15 minute Q&A. It will be chaired by Cllr. Elaine Norman from Redbridge Labour Group. The Panel discussion will run from 11.00-12.00
The afternoon will focus on health and well-being issues, such as obesity and the role of fast food chains, the “pollution” of our high streets of the industrialised global food chain . Diane Abbott will focus on “sex-texting”, looking at the influences and pressures on young teenage girls, and the good, bad and ugly in social media and women and girls. The panel discussion will also focus on domestic violence and abuse and the 1 billion rising campaign. Diane Abbot MP and Stella Creasy MP will sit on this panel with Gladys Xavier, Deputy Director of Redbridge Public Health .
A crèche for children will be available and a ’1,000 dresses’ swap shop clothes stall will run throughout the day. A full buffet hot/cold lunch will be provided as will servings of tea and coffee. The event is free and is by registration in advance. You can sign up by clicking here, and there is a map to the venue below. We look forward to seeing you there.
‘Well I wasn’t expecting that!’ – Miliband’s speech reviewed
6 Octby Annajoy David
I wasn’t expecting that, thank you Ed Miliband! Quite apart from an excellent delivery which is not easy by any means, he told a story and he told it emotionally. I loved that fact that he recognised the need for One Nation in the age of globalization with all that it has brought.
As we did in the post-45 period, it falls to Labour again to articulate the nation’s identity and deliver its hopes. For me, in this century as we grapple to deal with all the mitigating effects of globalization and the loss of our “middle” economy, One Nation will be the glue that holds us all together and above all sets the gold standard to ensure prosperity and opportunity for all.
I love the fact that Ed said we are the party of the South as well as the North, that he recognised that any interests that were against the best interests of the country and its citizens, be it as consumers, tax payers or users would be challenged by Labour.
His speech had a gritty no pretence, stripped-bare honesty that we need to see more of in politics and in our other institutions. I admired his sadness and frustration at the level of youth unemployment and with that, his recognition for the need of a new 21st Century industrial vision for the whole of our country in all our regions.
On a lighter note, , One Nation is also part of the title from one of the best jazz funk songs, The 1978 One Nation Under A Groove by George Clinton’s Parliament – Funkadelic. You can watch it here:
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Tags: Ed Miliband, Lab12, Labour, news, politics, speech