After Labour's leadership election: The role of trade unions‏

Mike Rustin, writing on the Open Democracy website, says that trade unions will have an important part to play in revitalising the Labour Party as a grass-roots movement and opposing the Coalition's spending cuts.

Why let the truth get in the way of investigative journalism?‏

Channel 4’s Dispatches programme is worthy of the Man Booker prize for fiction. Last night's 'what’s the point in unions' dragged up every malcontent and scab that felt aggrieved. Amongst the hilarious claims was that RMT ballots were subject to voters being intimated into voting for strike action.

"Time for a new shared agenda for better public services" - Dave Prentis at Labour Party Conference‏

Full text of Dave Prentis speech moving public services composite at Labour Party Conference 27 September 2010: On 6th May our whole world changed. Last Saturday we elected our new leader, and today we begin the task of defending all that we hold dear. Our public services facing an attack, the like of which we’ve never seen. A dishonest coalition of vandals, bent on destruction. Using the financial crisis to plunder our welfare state - take a chainsaw to our public services.

City pigs squealing already about Ed Miliband‏

The London based City A.M. newspaper (among others) today rages against the election of Ed Miliband as Labour leader. http://www.cityam.com/news-and-analysis/city-says-red-ed-anti-business

Labour - no room for complacency‏

There has been some leaping and a whooping about Ed Miliband’s win with the left clearly pleased that the union vote swung into action (albeit a luke warm response from UNISON’s own Labour Link members with a substantial vote for David Miliband).

Will Con Dem Freedom Bill remove restraints on trade union freedom?‏

Keith Ewing poses the rhetorical question in an article reviewing prospects for the Lawful Industrial Action (Minor Errors) Bill, to be introduced as a private member’s bill by John McDonnell MP on 22 October.
http://www.opendemocracy.net/ourkingdom/keith-ewing/coalition-faces-challenge-to-restore-trade-union-rights?

Welsh Labour: anti-privatisation & 'proud to be different'‏

Wales First Minister Carwyn Jones yesterday told Labour’s conference of his pride in governing differently in Wales: Aneurin Bevan once told this conference that 'the language of priorities is the religion of socialism'… well, we have always spoken the language of priorities in Cardiff Bay. And that's why we will seek to protect the people's priorities in frontline public services from the ravages of Con Dem excesses.” http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-11415244

Tell a Pal there is a Better Way

UNISON Scotland is urging members and their friends to spread the word and 'Tell a Pal' that we don't need these public service cuts and There is a Better Way. You can email, use Hotmail or Gmail and share on facebook, twitter and many others. Help put out the message for public services. http://www.unison-scotland.org.uk/publicworks/tellapal.html

They Clapped by Nikki Giovanni‏

they clapped when we landed
thinking africa was just an extension
of the black world

Sweet irony of the decisive union vote in Labour leadership election‏

The votes of trade union Labour Party levy payers were decisive in Ed Milband’s success in the Labour leadership election, much to the chagrin of the right inside and outside of the labour movement who had anointed David Miliband as the New Labour continuity candidate:
http://www.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/6306398/the-unions-deliver-ed-miliband-to-the-throne.thtml