Labour Left Podcast Bryn Griffiths

The Labour Left Podcast General Election Special with Momentum’s
Rachel Godfrey Wood.

Between now and the 4 July politics will be dominated by
election fever.  Millions of people will
be drawn into political discussion and thousands of Labour Movement activists
will be involved in the campaign to get rid of the Tories.  Bryn Griffiths, of the Labour Left
Podcast, spoke to Rachel Godfrey Wood of Momentum to consider how the Labour Left must get its intervention
right and act to put the left in a better position for the post-election period.
 In the future you can watch our podcast
on your favourite audio podcast provider and just search for the Labour Left
Podcast.

The podcast starts with a discussion of how socialists should
approach the 2024 General Election. Drawing on the precedent of the 1983
General Election, when socialists were unhappy with Neil Kinnock, the
discussion turns to what we should do now that we are even less content with
Keir Starmer.   The podcast considers how Momentum will
campaign in 2024 and most importantly focusses on how the Labour Left must
prepare for the post-election opportunities which will inevitably come.

It is not an easy at the moment to be a socialist in the
British Labour Movement.  Since our
General Election defeat in 2019 we have suffered serious setbacks.  So, we talked about two related issues that
are emblematic of the challenges we face. 
Firstly, the treatment of socialists in Labour’s selection processes
most notably Jeremy Corbyn and Diane Abbott; 
and, then secondly the disappointing departure from Labour of thousands
of grass roots left wing activists including our own former Chair Hilary
Schan who was a recent guest on
the Labour Left Podcast. You can watch Hilary’s podcast here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9fAZ-aUpIU


The podcast was not all doom and gloom we ended by mapping
out a positive socialist case for staying within Labour. The Labour right is behaving
more factionally than ever before so we need to get organised.   Voting Labour to get rid of the Tories is a decent
start but we think you need to do much more than that.  We hope that when you have listened to the
podcast you will be convinced by Rachel’s case for Momentum.  We trust you’ll be keeping your Labour Party
card and that you can see that our task ahead, if we are to influence a Labour
Government’s direction, is far too big to tackle al one.  If you want to get organised as part of Britain’s
biggest socialist group you can join us  https://join.peoplesmomentum.com/

If you want to get involved in Momentum’s
election campaign, click here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9fAZ-aUpIU

Bryn Griffiths is the host of Labour Hub's spin off the Labour Left Podcast.  He is an activist
in the labour movement, Momentum and The World Transformed in North Essex. Bryn
Griffiths is standing for the National Policy Forum CLP Representatives  Eastern
Region Division 1.  He is standing as
part of the Centre-Left Grassroots Alliance team and you can find all your left
candidates across the country here.  When the General Election is over, please
campaign for all the left candidates.

The Birth of Thatcherism

Jeremy Gilbert Interview with the Labour Left Podcast

Forty-five years ago, on 3 May 1979 Margaret Thatcher was elected. To mark the anniversary of the birth of Thatcherism Bryn Griffiths, the presenter of the Labour Left Podcast, sat down with Jeremy Gilbert to consider the birth of Thatcherism and Thatcher’s legacy.

You can watch the Thatcherism Podcast on You Tube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41MpWil6hgg or go to your favourite Podcast provider and search for Labour Left Podcast.

Jeremy Gilbert is a Professor of Cultural and Political Theory at the University of East London and a prolific podcaster currently hosting Culture Power and Politics. Many of you will know him because of his work with Momentum, Novara and the World Transformed so you will realise that he was an ideal guest to help us consider why Thatcherism was important, still casts a dark shadow over British politics today and needs to be understood so we can learn from history and be stronger as a Labour left.

Other Labour Left Podcasts of interest to historians include Mike Jackson of Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners discussing the 1984-85 Miners’ Strike; a history of Brighton Labour Briefing in the early eighties; Liz Davies, a former Labour National Executive member, sharing her story as a dissenter in Blair’s New Labour; Mike Phipps on the recent Labour history of Corbyn’s leadership; and, Rachel Garnham on the history of the Campaign for Labour Party Democracy.

If you’re enjoying the Labour Left Podcast, please like, comment, follow and share the podcast with fellow historians. If you are moved to respond to our podcast, please contact labourhubsite@gmail.com to submit an article and have your say.

Bryn Griffiths is the host of Labour Hub's spin off the Labour Left Podcast. He is an activist in the labour movement, Momentum and The World Transformed in North Essex. You can find all the episodes of the Labour left Podcast here https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6OoOmRsNNbCsHy_vtJ-Dl4KuHLIoOpI1 or if you prefer audio platforms (e.g. Amazon, Audible Spotify, Apple etc,) just search for Labour Left Podcast.

Bryn Griffiths is standing for the National Policy Forum CLP Representatives Eastern Region Division 1. He is standing as part of the Centre-Left Grassroots Alliance team and you can find all the details of the campaign here https://labourhub.org.uk/2024/04/09/preparing-for-a-labour-government-why-labours-national-policy-forum-elections-matter/

British politics in 2024 will be increasingly dominated by the General Election. In the latest Labour Left Podcast Bryn Griffiths speaks to the Labour Hub co-editor Mike Phipps and they consider what a strategic left approach to the big year in the Labour calendar and beyond must look like.

Dr Mike Phipps is a member of Queens Park and Maida Vale Labour Party who sits on the Campaign for Labour Party Democracy Executive. He is the author of Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow – the Labour Party after Jeremy Corbyn and before that in 2018 he edited For the Many – Preparing for Power.

The podcast inevitably starts by casting its eye back over its shoulder to ask how the Corbyn leadership did so well in the 2017 General Election only for it to go so badly wrong in 2019? But what characterises the interview in the words of Mike’s book is a determination to never stop thinking about tomorrow.

As we considered the political landscape Michael Chessum’s book, This is Only the Beginning, gets a complimentary examination due to its determination to learn and not blame as we engage in self-criticism to dissect the Corbyn moment. The tone of the interview is self-critical considering blunt questions such as were the Labour Right correct when under Corbyn they said “any other leader would be 20% ahead?”.

Inevitably we turned to the bombshell dropped by former Labour Left stalwart Owen Jones. Was he right to decide that Gaza was a red line for socialists and promptly leave by Keir Starmer’s open door? The discussion ranged across Momentum’s approach to the coming General Election and looked further forward to map a route back to Labour Left power. What role can trades unions and social movements play in our revival? We also considered what we could learn from the painful demise of social democratic parties across the rest of Europe.

The Mike Phipps podcast interview is an important start and a contribution to our strategic thinking but we need your contributions and help to stimulate the revival of a pluralist and thinking Labour Left. If you would like to contribute to the debate, please drop us a line. So that’s the challenge - how do you think we can rebuild the left?

Listen to the end to find out who Mike has selected as his class hero of the month and added to the Labour Left Podcast Hall of Fame. Who could it be?

Finally, please help us to build the podcast’s following by subscribing, liking, sharing and commenting whenever you have a watch or listen.

Bryn Griffiths is the host of Labour Hub’s spin off the Labour Left Podcast. He is an activist in the labour movement, Momentum and The World Transformed in North Essex. You can find all the episodes of the Labour left Podcast on You Tube or if you prefer audio platforms (e.g. Amazon, Audible Spotify, Apple etc,) just search for Labour Left Podcast.

Bryn Griffiths is standing for the National Policy Forum CLP Representatives Eastern Region Division 1. He is standing as part of the Centre-Left Grassroots Alliance team and you can find all your left candidates across the country here https://peoplesmomentum.com/transforming-labour/internal-labour-party-elections-2024/

#labour #LabourLeft #labourparty #momentum #CLPD #MikePhipps #BrynGriffiths #LabourHub #MichaelChessum #corbyn #generalelection2024 #owenjones #starmer #tradeunion #classHero #LabourBriefing

It is hard for veteran socialists amongst us to believe that March brings us to the fortieth anniversary of the start of the Miners’ strike when Thatcher sought to close Cortonwood.  What followed was the Great Strike which defined and framed the political development of so many of us. You can watch
the Labour Left Podcast on the anniversary of the strike on You Tube https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6OoOmRsNNbCsHy_vtJ-Dl4KuHLIoOpI1&si=tNCdaXmXm7sbTCom

The Labour Left Podcast is marking the strike anniversary with Mike Jackson the co-founder and secretary of Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners.  Mike Jackson is an excellent guest to
take us through the political, cultural and industrial legacy of the strike.


Join us for a long form interview with Mike in which we explore Mark Ashton’s legacy, compare Kinnock and Starmer, re-examine the awful Clause 28, consider the importance of the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign today and share our deep-seated loathing of Margaret Thatcher.

Many readers will recall how Mike Jackson was portrayed so well by Joe Gilgun in the iconic film Pride.  Back in 2014 I attended the film with one of my daughters and a gang of their teenage friends.  As we left the film it became clear that the consensus was that the film was fantastic but then one of them turned to me and asked pointedly “…but did it really happen?”  Now ten years later, I have interviewed Mike Jackson because his Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners story is part of our labour movement history and the story needs to be remembered and told again and again to new generations so they know it really happened.  Not only did it happen but if we fight together, we can make big change happen again. 


Click here to watch it on https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6OoOmRsNNbCsHy_vtJ-Dl4KuHLIoOpI1&si=tNCdaXmXm7sbTCom  and you can also listen to it on all your favourite podcast platforms such as Amazon, Audible, Apple Podcasts, Pocket Casts, Spotify etc

Bryn Griffiths is the host of Labour Hubs spin off the
Labour Left podcast which he produces with Luke Robinson the
podcast editor.  They are both activists in the labour movement, Momentum and The World Transformed in North Essex. Bryn writes regularly for Labour Hub. You can find all the episodes of the Labour left Podcast here  Bryn Griffiths will be speaking at a University of Sussex, UNITE and Sussex UCU event on Wednesday 20 March  to consider How Sussex Supported the Miners.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/how-sussex-supported-the-miners-tickets-847092034077?aff=erellivmlt#:~:text=But%20Shoreham%20Docks%20was%20a,building%20a%20broader%20solidarity%20campaign.

The latest Labour Left Podcast catches up with Rachel Garnham, the Co-Chair of the Campaign for Labour Party Democracy (CLPD), whilst she prepares for their fiftieth Annual General Meeting on 11 February 2024.  Most of the content is timeless and of general interest to anyone who wishes to find out more about the CLPD. You can also watch the podcast on You Tube https://youtu.be/bibtVyTHrz0?si=w0uaxQLBTbr24huO

The purpose of the podcast is to draw on the CLPD story so
we can understand our Labour Left history and most importantly consider how we can rebuild our power.

The podcast starts with a fantastic BBC news clip from the
1983 Labour Conference featuring the late socialist veterans Eric Heffer and Tony Benn who  sum up the very essence of
CLPD.  Newer party activists can learn about why CLPD is such an important component of the Labour Left.

The podcast looks at Vladimir and Verer Derer’s creation of
the CLPD back in 1973, Vladimir’s support of East European socialists during the Cold War, the Labour Party trade union link, the economy, left strategy and the struggle for equality within the Labour Party.

Comrades will have the opportunity to discuss the issues
and themes raised at the CLPD Annual General Meeting on 11 February 2024 and at the Arise Day School on 17 February 2024.

…

Thank you for all your feedback in response to our second podcast with the Momentum Co-Chair Hilary Schan.  Pete Firmin thought the last podcast was a bit soft on Hilary and Momentum.  But Pete, with the Labour Left haemorrhaging support due to demoralisation, my motivation was to point to the positive
things we are still doing in the Labour Party. I am not merely an interested commentator I am a Momentum activist.  I
wanted to help Hilary show case the campaigning role a council Labour Group can have when it has an active left presence.

As Jillian Guest said about the podcast ‘the more chances Hilary is given to speak the better it is for the ‘many’ and not the ‘few’”.

Finally, if you are enjoying the podcast give us a like and a follow.  Please, please share it with your friends.  Each time you do something to promote our podcast and the other great podcasts on the Left you help create our own alternative media. Let us all work together to voice alternative opinions from the front line and escape the grip of Britain’s legacy media.

Next time, on 6 March 2024,  to mark the fortieth anniversary of the Miners’ strike we have got a real treat in store for you.  I will be joined by the legendary Mike Jackson, the founder and secretary of Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners, to discuss the Great Strike’s legacy. Subscribe now to make sure you do not
miss the next episode of the Labour Left Podcast.

The Labour Left Podcast is brought to you by Bryn Griffiths, the podcast host, and Luke Robinson, the podcast editor.  We are both activists in the labour movement, Momentum and The World Transformed in North Essex. Bryn writes regularly for Labour Hub. You can find All future podcasts here. Episodes to date have included a look at the 1980s Labour left through the lens
of Brighton Labour Briefing and episodes with both Liz Davies and Momentum Co-Chair Hilary Schan

This episode of the Labour Left Podcast is an interview with Hilary Schan, the Co-Chair of Momentum and a Worthing Councillor.

Dave Lewney, a recent Chair of Hilary’s local Constituency Labour Party, described her as  “the centre of gravity of the East
Worthing and Shoreham Left.”  I think we can safely say Hilary is one of the key figures on the Labour Left today.

The interview starts with Hilary’s political awakening during Jeremy Corbyn’s first leadership campaign. Key passages of the podcast include:

·     Why Momentum is so important to a thriving left? (5 min 17 secs in).

·     How did Worthing Labour Party deliver a political earthquake and seize control of Worthing Council for Labour? (21
min 21 secs in).

·     Was it all a bit too good to be true? Enter the Labour machine and the march of the cookie cutter Starmerites (32 min 58 secs in).

·     Momentum’s campaign for a ceasefire now in Palestine (41 mins 37 secs in).

·     Find out who Hilary has appointed as the Labour Left Podcast’s latest class hero. Do not miss out on our class hero’s poem as it is hilarious (49 mins 32 secs in).

·     Feedback from listeners and watchers of the last Labour Left Podcast with the indefatigable Liz Davies (53 mins 36
secs in).

Can I thank you all for your feedback in response to our first proper podcast with the Labour left activist Liz Davies.  If you didn’t catch the last episode you can watch it on YouTube or listen to it on Spotify here. 

 

Jeremy Gilbert described the Liz Davies episode as “a valuable resource to the Labour Left.”  If you have not listened to Jeremy’s
podcasts, look him up on your favourite podcast provider or click here because he is brilliant.

 

Can I thank Andrew Fisher, Jeremy Corbyn’s former Director of Policy, for plugging our podcast show on his way to October’s Labour Conference.

 

Finola Brophy who worked alongside Liz Davies in Islington Council’s Women’s Unit fed back that it was “a real honour to contribute to this powerful podcast.” 


I think both Liz and I would agree that the honour was all ours.

The last comment goes to Pete Firmin who reported that our Glastonbury clip with Jeremy Corbyn had him “welling up about the hope inspired at that time and the hope Starmer and his friends are determined to kill.”

Me to Pete.  I am sure we would both agree that the point is do not mourn organise. And I hope the Labour Left podcast can make a continuing contribution to that all important task.

If you are enjoying the podcast, give the podcast a like and a follow.  Please, please share it with your friends. If you are moved to do so comment on the podcast to keep the debate going. Each time you do something to promote our podcast and the other great podcasts on the Labour Left you help create our own alternative media. Let us all work together to voice alternative opinions from the front line and escape the grip of Britain’s legacy media.

We are hoping to publish a Labour Left Podcast every month. If you have got a left figure or radical author you would like to see interviewed in 2024 drop me a line at LabourLeftPodcast@gmail.com

The new podcast is brought to you by Bryn Griffiths, the podcast
host, and Luke Robinson, the podcast editor.  We are both
activists in the labour movement, Momentum and The World Transformed in North Essex. Bryn writes regularly for Labour Hub. You can follow Bryn on social media here