Once a month we will be offering the Leaders of both Medway Council and the official opposition the opportunity to talk unedited about.. well, Medway politics.
Today we hear from Vince Maple, leader of Medway Labour, the official opposition on Medway Council.
With a little over 50 days to go until May 2nd, the focus now is firmly on the pledges which each main party is putting forward.
I’m proud of the manifesto launch held this past weekend at Dragon Co-Working in the heart of Medway. A packed room heard outstanding speeches from our administration in waiting on the key pledges to the residents of Medway. We were also joined by the Shadow Treasury Minister Lyn Brown MP who gave an inspiring speech, in particular highlighting how austerity has impacted on the community she represents.
Once a month we will be offering the Leaders of both Medway Council and the official opposition the opportunity to talk unedited about.. well, Medway politics.
Despite the excellent efforts of the Political Medway website and our own Medway Labour Facebook Live feeds, it is difficult for those who are interested to see everything that is going on at Medway Council. I want to highlight a few issues which Medway Labour councillors have been raising over the past few weeks:
Once a month we will be offering the Leaders of both Medway Council and the official opposition the opportunity to talk unedited about.. well, Medway politics.
Once a month we will be offering the Leaders of both Medway Council and the official opposition the opportunity to talk unedited about.. well, Medway politics. Today we hear from Alan Jarrett, Leader of Medway Council and the Conservative Group.
This is the first of my monthly contributions to the Political Medway, and I read last week’s contribution by the leader of the opposition with a sense of déjà vu! For this is what I have been listening to ever since we took control of the council 18 years ago; but this time carefully setting out the ‘achievements’ of his Labour colleagues.
One by one the members of the Labour Group were named, and one by one we can now see just what they have achieved over all these years. NOTHING!
Whilst we read a list of what Labour had been trying to stop from happening in Medway, my contribution is going to set out all the things that the Conservative administration has actually done.
Time again for our round-up of the week. What we said, what others said and most importantly, a bumper edition of what Rehman did in ‘Rehman about Town.’
Following recent press coverage, will Cllr Gulvin still be a member of the #MedwayCouncil Cabinet in 2019? Take the Poll, Comment on the Poll and RT the Poll!
We've just updated our 2019 candidates list. Added: Rav Jassal for Labour in Princes Park Wendy Purdy and Asha Saroy for the Conservatives in Watling Removed: Funmi Ayemi for Labour in Strood South Paul Chaplin for Lib Dems in Watling https://t.co/1hNixoUcBG
It is said that elections are won on the doorstep, and that may well be true. Being armchair activists, it’s difficult to check up on that. Twitter and blogs however are part of our social media present and future, and if the election was decided there, how would each of the wards be looking?
Once a month we will be offering the Leaders of both Medway Council and the official opposition the opportunity to talk unedited about.. well, Medway politics. Starting today with Vince Maple, leader of the Medway Labour Group.
I want to start by thanking Ed and Steve from the Political Medway for giving pieces of this nature a new home. Historically, the local KM paper had a weekly political column which residents would often talk about when speaking to them on the doorstep. Although I’m sure I’ll disagree with the vast majority of what Alan Jarrett will say when his pieces are published, it’s healthy for local democracy for the Leader of the Council and the Leader of the Opposition to have an accessible platform of this nature.
We are in the middle of December, a great opportunity to reflect on the positive actions Medway Labour Councillors have taken over the past year in the community we call home. It goes without saying that Labour Councillors deal with hundreds of pieces of casework to support residents in their ward on a wide variety of issues. Alongside that the Labour Group have shown true community leadership in a number of ways, working hard to deliver for the residents of Medway.
Just time for a quick roundup of the week, where we take a look at the big stories in local politics, what each political party has been up to, and a special Brexit debate special of Rehman About Town.
Strood South Cllr Mark Joy (Con, Formerly UKIP & Independent) has been announced as a candidate for Twydall in #LocalElections2019 Do you feel this is;
In which Keevil starts off with a funny title for a blog and then goes on an unexpected personal journey. In doing so, he meets the expectations of many right-wing readers of the blog by wondering what anarchism actually is rather than the pejorative and then goes looking for it online and in Medway!
A Brief Political Revision of Keevil
As mentioned before in the day’s of ‘The Centre and What’s Left’ Keevil has, in his electoral lifetime voted Labour, Lib Dem and Green. He even stood for the Green Party in Medway Council by-elections! But he never felt like he found his tribe.
At the top is the political compass, it shows where you stand on a four point axis, rather than a simple left/right. Keevil and Jennings have disagreed in the past about its validity. Above is the results of Keevil’s Votes for Policies test which show where you come out if you vote for policy rather than party. But it’s still based on party policy.
Keevil retook the political compass test below, going even further to the bottom left then ever before, to the surprise of few and the disgust of many.
What is an anarchist and is Keevil one?
A Brief Cultural History of Anarchy
For some, depending on your age, or your cultural reference points then your understanding or thoughts of anarchy are either:
“I’m a natural-born anarchist,” Lydon, Johnny Rotten to his fans, said to NPR. “I’ve never in my life supported any government anywhere, and I never will.” Lydon says “‘Anarchy in the UK’ is to be sung with love.”
Or for fans of movie comics adaptations:
But whilst arguably fun and exciting or dangerous and criminal, do they truly represent anarchy?
Definitions; Words to empower the disempowered
anarchy; – a social situation free of Government and coercive hierarchies.
anarchists; – identify themselves with a social movement or philosophy of anarchism.
Simply put anarchy works
Simple Politics explains it thusly:
Anarchism isn't just about chaos. It's not about people who just want to watch the world burn. Here's your 40 second guide to anarchist vibes. pic.twitter.com/01dO7oLpwm
”The aims of anarchy; to exist without domination, is easily understood in terms of violent destruction of the current order, rather than a creative reconstruction of it. Therefore the worst fears of people manifest when they hear anarchy in terms of the destruction of the status quo.”
Alan Moore, creator of many incredible comics including the original ‘V for Vendetta’, explains anarchy thus:
Anarchy would never work
Anarchism is a social movement against capitalism. It aims for a world free from all forms of domination and exploitation. Cynics claim that people do not know what is best for them, that they need Government to protect them and the Markets to decide for them. Anarchists counter that decision-making should not be centralised but instead power should be free to meet their needs in common with others. That we can live in a society free of masters, and no criminals, no rich or poor. Free of sexism, racism, misogyny, and transphobia. The only thing stopping us are prisons, programming and the paychecks of the powerful.
As well as our own lack of faith in ourselves.
There is no central committee giving out membership cards and no standard doctrine. Anarchy means different things to different people.
Basic principles of anarchism
Autonomy & Horizontality Anarchism opposes all coercive hierarchies, including capitalism, white nationalism and the patriarchy.
Mutual Aid People should give voluntarily. Generousity forms a stronger social bond than fear. This is neither charity or an exchange, since neither holds power. They increase collective opportunities
Voluntary Association People free to co-operate and free to refuse anything not in their interest. Freedom of movement, both physically and socially. Anarchists oppose borders of all kinds and involuntary categorisations by citizenship, gender or race.
Direct Action More empowering and effective to accomplish goals then to rely on authorities or representatives. Free people do not request changes, they want to see in the world; they make those changes.
Revolution Entrenched systems of repression cannot be reformed away. Those who hold power in hierarchical systems utilise reforms in ways that preserve or even amplify power. Anarchist revolution means fighting to overthrow elites in order to create a free society.
Self-Liberation ‘The liberation of the workers is the duty of the workers themselves.‘ People must be at the forefront of their own liberation. Freedom cannot be given, it must be taken.
A Brief History of the Culture of Anarchism
The historical examples of anarchy do not have to be explicitly anarchist. Most societies free of government have not called themselves ‘anarchist.’ That term originated in the 19th Century. Many examples were ultimately crushed by the state. It is in large part due to this systematic repression of alternatives that there have not been more examples of anarchy working.
Isolation Many anarchist projects work quite well, but only make an impact in the lives of a tiny number of people.
Alliances In a number of examples anarchists are betrayed by supposed allies who sabotage liberation.
Repression Autonomous communities and revolutionary activities have been stopped by repression. With people intimidated, arrested, tortured and killed.
Collaboration Some radical projects participate in the present system to overcome isolation, be accessible and avoid repression.
Temporary Gain Many examples no longer exist. Anarchists are not trying to create permanent institutions. Specific organisations should come to an end when they are no longer helpful.
An anarchist society is it’s own reward
In Gloucestershire, the Whiteway Colony was founded in 1898. Setup by Tolstoyans private property was rejected and personal property shared. There were 120 colonists and over sixty homes. Mohandas Gandhi called it a failed experience that as today the homes are privately owned and sold at market value. Sometimes the best thing a community or organisation can do for it’s participants is permit them to move on.
In an anarchist society, we would have to invent entirely new solutions for wholly unpredictable problems. To be free, we need to regain control over every aspect of our lives: – Culture – Entertainment – Relationships – Housing – Education – Healthcare – Protection – Food Production An anarchist doesn’t need permission, anarchy thrives in the struggle against domination.
Anti-authoritarians expressly want to live in a society without coercive hierarchies, but do not, identify as anarchists. Anarchism as a self-conscious social movement is not nearly as universal as the desire for freedom. It is presumptuous to label people anarchist if they have not chosen it.
As a clear anarcho-feminist-communist Keevil is a danger to society and his access to this blog and the Twitter account will shortly be revoked.
But.
Does he have a tribe?
Are there anarchists in Medway?
So the response on the above forum from 2011 it wasn’t looking likely but it did suggest check out the ‘AF’.
So did the AF have members in Medway?
Oh. Nevermind.
hidden stories
There are hidden stories all around us, growing in abandoned villages in the mountains or vacant lots in the city, petrifying beneath our feet in the remains of societies like nothing we’ve known, whispering to us that things could be different.
But the politician you know is lying to you, the manager who hires and fires you, the landlord who evicts you, the president of the bank that owns your house, the professor who grades your papers, the cop who rolls your street, the reporter who informs you, the doctor who medicates you, the husband who beats you, the mother who spanks you, the soldier who kills for you, and the social worker who fits your past and future into a folder in a filing cabinet all ask
“WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITHOUT US? It would be anarchy.”
And the daughter who runs away from home, the bus driver on the picket line, the veteran who threw back his medal but holds on to his rifle, the boy saved from suicide by the love of his friends, the maid who must bow to those who can’t even cook for themselves, the immigrant hiking across a desert to find her family on the other side, the kid on his way to prison because he burned down a shopping mall they were building over his childhood dreams, the neighbor who cleans up syringes from the vacant lot, hoping someone will turn it into a garden, the hitchhiker on the open road, the college dropout who gave up on career and health insurance and sometimes even food so he could write revolutionary poetry for the world, maybe all of us can feel it:
our bosses and tormentors are afraid of what they would do without us, and their threat is a promise–
