We held our AGM on the 6th February.
Here is our report on activity in 2019.
Overview
For the first time in many years our group has slightly increased in size, during the year we have gained one extra member, taking our numbers up to 13. We have met six times during the year and twice for social events; a walk at Skelton in the summer and a social in December.
This year the political focus has once again been on Brexit and other important issues have been pushed down the agenda. The year ended with the general election and the landslide win by the Conservatives. It looks as though the new parliament is now dominated by more rightwing Tories so the government will not face any opposition in carrying out its policies. Many of the issues that were discussed during the campaign are subjects that we have been campaigning on, such as global warming, the cost of healthcare, future trade deals and immigration.
Trade
With Brexit being imminent throughout the year, Trade has been an important issue. The Trade Bill has continued to go through Parliament. It was passed in the Lords but then scrapped following the prorouging of Parliament but then reinstated again. It is not clear what the current situation is. The Government promises to provide various protections when we leave the EU are easily made but just as easily scrapped.
Perhaps as a result of GJN campaigning the issue of a trade deal with the US is something that the public are quite aware of, particularly the chlorinated chicken. Of course there are many other aspects of trade which are more worrying and harder to understand. Our group wrote a letter to the local paper on the subject of the risk of falling food standards if we strike a deal with the US.
ISDS
We used some of the GJN materials about Corporate Courts and organised a joint meeting with the Teesside Socialist Campaign Group. We showed the powerpoint and then got into small groups to discuss the case studies. There was a good discussion and questions were raised. We were pleased with the turnout to the meeting, about 20 people, and with the level of engagement.
Global Warming
We were disappointed last year that GJN was no longer actively campaigning on this very important issue. A decision has now been taken to highlight it more in relation to all campaigns.
The MSEC Conservative MP, Simon Clarke, claims to be very concerned about global warming but it appears that he also supports fracking so perhaps we need to follow this up with him.
Several of us attended the Climate Change march in Middlesbrough in September. This was organised by Extinction Rebellion immediately before the two week protest in London.
There is a proposal to develop a carbon capture installation on Teesside. As part of the planning procedure local public consultation meetings were held. Three of us attended a session at which there was the opportunity to speak to staff. We gave fairly positive feedback on the scheme, although we had a debate about whether it was a greenwash.. It is an expensive and high-tech solution to the problem of carbon but it may be part of the mix of measures that will be required in order to reach the target of negative carbon within the next 30 years. There could also be benefits for the local area in developing such a scheme.
Election
The national election results were very disappointing. Between us we cover 4 constituencies, all four are now Conservative with larger majorities. There are three siting MP’s and one new one. Talking to them does not bring results and we run the risk of annoying them if we approach them to often, we need to pick our issues carefully.
The EU election took place earlier in the year. The northern area changed from having 2 Labour and 1 Ukip to having 1 Labour and 2 Brexit. When we leave the EU on 31st January we will no longer have MEP’s and all issues will be dealt with by the UK Parliament.
Possible Future Campaigns and Events
- MIMA in Middlesbrough does a free lunch on Thursdays. This event is well attended and would be a venue for handing out leaflets.
- Next year is the 50th anniversary for GJN National and also our 25th anniversary so we should consider celebrating both occasions.
- The Saltburn farmers market is a great event for a stall but only for food-related campaigns.
- We should try to build more links with other campaigning groups. Our meeting with the Socialists and Labour party members was successful. There is also an attempt currently being made to make Whitby a Transition town.