MID DORSET & NORTH POOLE CLPANew Kind of Politics

SEPTEMBER 2017ISSUE 9

CLEAR BLUEWATER -WHAT A DIFFERENCE A SUMMERMAKES

These two speeches could not be more different - and what a turnaround. Theresa May called aGeneral Election in order to bury the Labour Party - another important national decision taken solelyin the interest of the Tory Party - but her plan backfired and Corbyn is now a PrimeMinster in waiting.Click on the photos above to watch edited highlights.

THE DORSET LABOUR CAMPAIGN FORUMAfter a very successful and well attended meeting in Blandford last month, Damien Stone is the newChair of theDorset LabourCampaign Forum. The group (asmentioned in the Party RuleBook) is taskedwith supporting Labour Councillors, overseeing the selection of Parliamentary Candidates but mostimportantly to help with campaigning across Dorset. The group will work towards the production ofan online Newsletter (like this one!) for the whole of Dorset to help forge links between branches andCLP's and to educate members about how the Labour Party works.

TheDorset LabourNewsletterwill publish contact details of branchandCLPofficers andmembership figures for the county, but it is alsolooking for contributions from members i.e. articles, comments,campaign information, photos, event news and whatever else theywould like to see publshed. Another version to be released to thePress will also be produced so we are relying on officers to keep usup to date with any changes in their contact details.

The Dorset Labour Campaign Forum will in future be commonlyknown as Dorset Labour. It has it's own email address so

NEXTMEETING15/11/2017

if you would like to contribute an article or your ideas please send them to:-

news@dorsetlabour.org.ukMid Dorset & North Poole Newsletter

Wareham

SOUTHWEST REGIONAL BOARD ELECTION

One of the aims of the forthcoming Dorset Labour Newsletter will be to educate members about theLabour Party machine and how it works. By 20th October the Mid Dorset and North Poole CLP hastheopportunity to show their support for twodelagates to representDorset on the SouthWest RegionalBoard. What is this and what does it do?

Here is a summary of it's main roles.

Name - The South West Regional Board of the Labour Party (comprising the former county ofAvon and the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire).

Clause 2 – Objects

a. To service and maintain an effective political and electoral organisation within the regionwhich encourages new members to join and develops current members by being both inclusiveand participative;

b. To work with all members of the Party to ensure that the Party’s political messages arecommunicated throughout the region.

c. To promote and encourage member and affiliate involvement in the various forums andannual events within the region.

d. To liaise with local authority Labour Groups throughout the region and to provide suchmachinery as is deemed necessary for the co-ordination of local government policy throughoutthe area;

e. To co-operate with the regional group of MPs, the MEP(s) and with affiliated trade unions,the co-operative organisations and other affiliates within the region;

f. To co-ordinate women, youth and training activities within the region;

g. To develop an organisational service within the region that includes full-time organisers,and ongoing support for member activities.

h. To undertake appeals and disciplinary matters as described by the NEC and NCC and tohelp ensure adherence to the rules of the national party.

Dorset has two seats on the South West Regional Board and we choose our representativesevery twoyears.Weneed tonominate our two representatives (oneofwhommust be a female)by 20th October 2017.

Only one female candidate has come forward so far (Mollie Collins, the chair of South DorsetCLP) so if no other females enter the race she will automatically be selected as one of our twodelegates.

Two male candidates have thrown their hats in to the ring (Dave Stokes from BournemouthWest CLP and Mark Gage from West Dorset CLP) and so the Mid Dorset & North Poole CLPwill hold a hustings event to give members an opportunity to nominate their preferredcandidate and to ask them questions and find out more about the SouthWest Regional Board.

The hustingswill take place on Tuesday 17thOctober at the Black BearHotel, 14 South Street,Wareham at 7.30pm. Below are the candidates CV's.

MARK GAGE

MARK GAGE - Candidate for the Regional Board

Myname isMarkGageand I am theSecretaryofWestDorsetCLP, amemberof the GMB and CND.

I have lived in LymeRegis for the past 14 yearswhere bothmy childrenwereeducated. I was a Labour councillor in west London for eight years and wasLabour Group lead on planning and economic development.

More recently, I was a Town Councillor in Lyme Regis and Chair of theStrategy and Policy Committee. I rejoined the Party in 2015 to supportJeremy Corbyn’s leadership campaign.

I joined the Labour Party in August 1978 when Jim Callaghan was PrimeMinister. In those39years ofmembership I haveheldmanypositionswithinthe Party. I have stood for Parliament in Bournemouth 5 times, coming 2ndin 2017 with our highest every share of the vote. I was one of the fewParliamentary candidates in 2017 that had a picture of Jeremy Corbyn andmyself with a paragraph underneath espousing the virtues of Jeremy’sbrilliant leadership.

I was born in Bournemouth in 1961. I grew up in a family of six children.After leaving school I took an OND in Construction at Poole College andthen went to Hatfield Polytechnic where I took an HND in CivilEngineering. I now work for a local construction company.

The cornerstones of our general electionmanifesto were the commitments to the NHS, free educationfor all, social housing and investment in manufacturing, agriculture and fisheries. Progress on theseissues is vital to the South West if we are to rid it of the scourge of poverty.

I want to see our Party supporting a balanced high wage economy that is not wholly dependent ontourism and for our young people to have the housing and education they deserve. This is a key timefor us; the Party now has more members than at any point in recent memory and we need to keep upthe struggle to make sure their democratic voice is heard.

I passionately support initiatives to extend the involvement of members and to make our Partystructures more democratic. I believe in a Socialist, member-led Party that thrives on a spirit ofopenness and democracy. If you support my candidacy for the Regional Board I will work tirelesslyto represent the voice of rank and file members and to support the policies of the Party leadership.

DAVE STOKES

I am now a member of Unite the Union, since my old union UCATT merged with them on January1st this year.

I am married with three grown up children. I am involved in my local church and I am a member of‘Christians on the Left’. I haveworked overseas for 12 years. I lived andworked inAustralia, Botswana,Sultanate of Oman and Seychelles Island for around one year and Malawi for 8 years.

I would like to be re-elected to the South West Regional Board of the Labour Party because I feel thatI can best represent the Dorset CLP’s at the regional level. I will ensure that our voice is heard as acounty and that the smaller rural area’s are not overlooked by the bigmetropolitan conurbations. I willsupport progressive measures and policies. I fully support Jeremy Corbyn as our leader.

I will push for more regional training and fight our corner when it comes to visits from the nationalParty. I will work closely with the Dorset County Campaign Forum. I will try and attend as many CLPfunctions as possible and urge cross county support for all by-elections.

I hope you will give me your support.

DAVE STOKES - Candidate for the Regional Board

MOLLIE COLLINS - Candidate for the Regional Board

MOLLIE COLLINS

Before I had my children I worked in Orchestral Management at the BBC, a Production Assistant atITN, Television Executive in a film production company and as an Advertising Film Producer in 2leading Advertising Agencies. At ITN I was a member of ACTT, and a temporary member ofNATSOPA when working for both Express Newspapers and The News of the World.

I ran ShelterGroups in Frimley andCamberleywhere I also studied for aDipoma inSociology, SocialHistory and Psychology with London University. When I moved to Cornwall with my husband andfamily to run a 11 bedroom hotel I again ran a Shelter Group in Liskeard and Looe. In 1974 I wasappointed Homelessness Officer for Caradon District Council. covering the whole of South EastCornwall and beganNALGO training inHousingManagement. I attendedmeetings of the 6DistrictCouncil Housing Management groups in Cornwall.

In 1977 I began a four year honours degree in Plymouth studying Sociology, Politics, Economics,Psychology and Social Policy togetherwith a qualification in SocialWork. In 1981 Imoved to Surreyto work for 5 years as a Hospital Social Worker in Chertsey. I then worked in Richmond where Itrained as anApproved SocialWorker inMental Healthmoving next toHounslow as a TeamLeaderof a multi disciplinary team. From that time I chaired Child Protection Conferences and Reviews ofLooked After Children. I was asked to join the Committee of Open Door Project - a mental healthresource providing counselling and day time activities and support. I was electedChair andDirectorafter a year taking responsibility for funding, employment of the Project Leader and Assistants andsupervising expenditure. I also undertook Project Leader training.

LABOUR PARTY INVOLVEMENT

I joined Labour Youth inCroydonwhile at school, joining in local campaigns. In Frimley Iwas askedto stand as a Councillor but unfortunately we then moved to Cornwall. I was asked to join the CABManagement Committee Liskeard on behalf of the Labour Party and held this position for two years.In Hounslow my membership of the party was through my NALGO membership later becomingUnison.

I joined the party in Weymouth about 4 years ago but found it difficult to get involved in anythingbut leafleting. I rejoined in 2015 and while previously much of my involvement was on FacebookGroups, supporting ideas, sharing experiences and seeking at all times to ensure the labourmessageis defended and critiquing the tories and their cruelty to the unemployed, sick and disabled, I wasable to become involved through attending Momentum Meetings and meeting fellow socialists.Living in Weymouth I always attend Tolpuddle Martyrs and joined the Labour Land Campaign,currently chaired byDaveWetzel who had been leader of the Council when Iworked inHounslow.

I have campaigned with 38 Degrees against TTIP. As Chair of my CLP I campaigned in the councilelections with 6 of the 8 candidates each week and organised the Labour Party Office during theGeneral Election.

If elected to the Regional Board I would take the opportunity to become better acquaintedwith howthe party runs regionally and hopefully use this experience to encourage others in our Dorset CLP'sby sharing this experience... I fully support the 10 policy objectives announced by Jeremy Corbynduring the second leadership contest and the Manifesto For the Many not the Few.

If you cannot attend the hustings on 17th October but would like a particularquestion to be asked, please send your question or questions to:web@wimbornelabour.co.uk

SOUTHWEST REGIONAL CONFERENCE

The SouthWest Regional Labour Conference takes place at PlymouthMarjon University on25th November 2017.

RegionalConferencewill be a fantastic opportunity tomeetmembers fromacross the region,engage in lively political debate, and look at how wemove forward from the 2017 GeneralElection, with guest speakers, Q&A sessions, and a variety of training sessions.

All CLPs are entitled to send two voting delegates. one of whom must be a woman. Thesedelegatesmust have been continuousmembers of the Labour Party for 12months up to 25thAugust 2017.

Please send an email to web@wimbornelabour.co.uk if you would like to be a delegate atthe South West Regional conference. If more than two people want to be delegates we willhave to have a selection process. We could use the hustings for the South West RegionalBoard candidates on 17thOctober to select candidates.Wewill let you know in due courseif an election will need to take place.

Highlights from the2015 Regional

Conferenceclick on the photos

Mid Dorset & North Poole Newsletter

Ken Loach

Paul Mason

Paul Mason interview

John McDonnell

Daniel Harris

Ann Pettifor

Jon Lansman

Chris Williamson

Why pundits don't understand politics

Technology & Post Capitalism

The FIX - Corbyn, McDonnell, Mason and others

Chunky Mark at TheWorld Transformed

DENNIS SKINNER - CAREER HIGHLIGHTSDennis Skinner on PRDennis Skinner on BrexitDennis Skinner on ThatcherDennis Skinner vs Dodgy DaveDennis Skinner on Royal ExpensesDennis Skinner on the NHS vs UKIPDennis Skinner schools a journalist - "You're Fired"

Jeremy Corbyn

John McDonnell

Dennis Skinner

Keir Starmer

Angela Rayner

Rebecca Long Bailey

Ian McNicol

John Ashworth

Naomi Klein

Sadiq Khan

TomWatson

Diane Abbott

Emily Thornberry

TomWatson on Sky

Len McCluskey on Newsnight

Owen Jones at Conference

THEWORLD TRANSFORMEDLABOUR CONFERENCE

Click on the links below to watch conference highlights

Corbyn on Channel 4

Reaction to Corbyns speech

BRIGHTON2017

LABOUR NATIONAL CAMPAIGN

PHOTOS

Top left - Wimborne LabourMiddle left - Canford HeathBottom left - Canford HeathTop right - Canford HeathBottom right - Christchurch

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Your donation will be processed nationally and paid straight in to your local CLP bank account.

DATES FOR THE DIARY17th October 2017 MID DORSET & NORTH POOLE CLP MEETING

Selection of South West Regional Board candidate and

delegates for Regional Conference

Black Bear Hotel, 14 South Street, Wareham at 7.30pm

15th November DORSET LABOUR CAMPAIGN FORUMRyan House, Sandford Lane, Wareham BH20 4DY 7.30pm

25th November SOUTH WEST REGIONAL CONFERENCE 9.45amPlymouth Marjon University, Derriford Rd, Plymouth PL6 8BH

November 2017 MID DORSET & NORTH POOLE CLP AGMDATE & VENUE TO BE CONFIRMED SOON

Mid Dorset & North Poole Newsletter

To CLP and branch officers across Dorset … and other interested persons.

The Dorset Labour Campaign Forum (aka Dorset Labour) will soon be producing a Newsletter to help Labour Partymembers across Dorset share information and communicate with other. We would like one of the regular features tobe an up to date contact list of all the officers across the whole of Dorset so that members, branches and CLPs officerscan contact each other about various aspects of Labour Party activity.

If for example the social media officers from across Dorset want to get together to share knowledge then an up to datecontact list of officers including all the social media officers contact will really help them to make arrangements.Fundraisers from across Dorset might want to get together to organise a Dorset wide fund raiser or again just shareknowledge. A somewhat redacted contact list could also be made available to the press. If people would like to becontacts for the Press on various topics it might be really useful to add them to a contact list.

I appreciate that branch andCLPAGMswill be happening over the next fewweeks and that new officers will be electedbut there is no reason why we can’t start the process now, given that some officers will remain in their posts.

It would also be interesting to publish membership figures from across Dorset, perhaps even by branch and come upwith a grand total. This may be for internal use rather than external information but we can decide that at the nextmeeting of Dorset Labour Campaign Forum.

Wealsowant to do somearticles about how the Labour Partyworks at the national and local level i.e. educating currentmembers and new members about Conference, Regional Boards, Regional Conferences and ParliamentaryCandidate selection.

Other possible features for the Newsletter might be:

Articles by Dorset Labour Party members about any topicArticles by anyone about DorsetEvents informationBranch/CLP newsLetters pagesPages of links to interesting things on Youtube etc ….The Labour Party of the last few decade … your stories and photos from days gone by… or anything else members can think of.

ThenextDorset Labourmeetingwill beat 7.30pmon15thNovemberatRyanHouse,SandfordLane,Wareham,DorsetBH20 4DY. Anyone in Dorset is welcome to attend these meeting to talk about campaign issues for Dorset - shareknowledge and help reach out in to our communities. Your input would be very welcome and if we can all collaborateon a Dorset wide Newsletter/Magazine it will be a very useful publication for us all.

PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD - All comments, articles and suggestions that are Newsletter related should be sentto news@dorsetlabour.org.uk This email will have a single use - to receive Newsletter contributions and ideas.

Damien StoneChair Dorset Labour (Campaign Forum).