Until a few weeks ago the North West regional convenor, and proud of her UNISON background, on Tuesday Angie made her maiden speech in the House of Commons promising to ‘always tell it like it is’ but be in no doubt if the Tories attack the NHS and public services Angie will punch like an ‘angry mother’.
A breath of fresh air to the stuffy stale, male and pale stereotypes UNISON should be proud of our fantastic advocate in Parliament and the history making Angie; the only former care worker to become an MP. A reality check for the Westminster bubble is our North West firebrand. Get in there girl!
http://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/9061ea41-3778-4f99-b4bd-39ce38299801?in=15:34:55&out=15:50:00
Anna Rose
The massive protests against the Israeli attack on Gaza all over the UK, coupled with the resignation of the Conservative foreign office minister Sayeeda Warsi in protest at the Government's policy on Palestine, may have finally helped to bring about a shift in opinion among politicians.
It's too early to say, but MPs were queuing up to criticise Israel after the troops moved into Gaza in July, no doubt encouraged by hundreds - and in some cases over a thousand emails they had received. For some MPs it was the first time they had voiced any criticism of Israel.
August is usually the quiet month in the political calendar, the sleepy summer season where our parliamentarians take themselves off to foreign climes for a spot of R’n’R, and re-acquainting themselves with their loved ones. Not only our ministers and MPs but the political correspondents, the Pollys and the Andrews, for whom politics is a spectator sport concentrated on the London Arena (sorry, Houses of Parliament).
Yesterday the Commons spent 90 minutes debating ‘union funding’, a pretext for some Tory MPs to attack trade union facility time in the public sector. Aside from many excellent interventions by Labour MPs, the intervention by Robert Halfon, Tory MP for Harlow was notable for his defence of union facility time: ‘...nevertheless, some facility time is good. A local employer in my constituency, the bus company Arriva, says that facility time is incredibly beneficial’. The whole debate, including a cameo performance by shamed Nazi stag party MP Aidan Burley, is well worth a read:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201212/cmhansrd/cm120229/halltext/120229h0001.htm#12022953000001
Last week saw the launch of a new All Party Parliamentary Group on Outsourcing and Shared Services, chaired by Conservative MP Bob Blackman along with Labour vice-chairs Siobhain McDonagh and Tom Blenkinsop. "As more organisations look to benefit from outsourcing and sharing services, it is vital to learn from past experiences: what had worked and what has not", said Blackman. "We are keen to learn from those experienced in outsourcing, on all sides of the relationship - buyers, suppliers and officials."
