The Independent Working Class Association has announced its candidate for the London Mayoral election due to be held on 10 June 2004.
Lorna Reid, 39, an advice worker who lives on a council estate in Islington was elected to receive the party nomination at a recent all-London IWCA meeting.
‘The aim of myself and my party during this election is to give a political voice to the concerns of those millions of ordinary working class people in London who, unlike the fashionable chattering classes, find their concerns ignored by all the mainstream parties,’ said Ms Reid.
Lorna continued, ‘In many areas of our city turnout at council elections has fallen to as little as 20% as voters abandon a political process that has abandoned them. Out-of-touch politicians from the three main parties battle for the “middle ground” and the votes of “middle England” because they believe, in the words of the prime minister, that “we are all middle class now”. And with former “independent” Ken Livingstone welcomed back into the Labour Party, the options available to us all on June 10th are likely to be even narrower still. But for the majority of people in London this scenario simply doesn’t reflect the reality of their everyday lives.’
In May 2002 Lorna, who has two young children who attend the local primary school, stood for the IWCA in the local authority elections. Standing for the first time in the increasingly gentrified ward of Clerkenwell (London Borough of Islington), Lorna and her colleagues came second, winning enough support from working class council and housing association tenants to knock Labour into third place in the former home of New Labour guru Peter Mandelson.
Lorna Reid is also the chair of her tenants and residents association and a voluntary director of the Federation of Islington Tenants Associations. She has a long record of working alongside fellow tenants to secure better conditions and facilities on her estate and has been at the forefront of campaigning for increased play and youth provision in her area. Locally, many believe it is this record of local action that led Islington’s Liberal Democrat council to mount an unsuccessful attempt to remove Lorna as chair of her tenants association last year.
Lorna believes that most working class Londoners are dismayed over the lack of progress on key issues since Labour took power in 1997. Issues such as increasing anti-social and drug-related crime; the growing housing crisis; mounting council tax bills; the farce that is privately-run public transport; the closure and privatisation of public buildings and facilities; and poverty pay—will all feature prominently in the IWCA’s forthcoming London manifesto which will be published later this month.
Lorna said, ‘Statistics show that the gap between the richest and poorest in our society—which widened under the Tories—is actually increasing under New Labour, with child and pensioner poverty in the capital amongst the worst in Europe.
‘According to the government’s own figures I live in one of the poorest and most deprived boroughs in London. Yet life here is portrayed in the national media as the home of luxury lofts and celebrity dinner parties. This scenario is true to working class people across London. But the reality is that day-by-day, in every sphere of life—whether it be housing, education or pay—our city is becoming ever more polarised between the super-rich and the rest of us, many of whom lead increasingly desperate lives.
‘To make sure our interests are top of the agenda every time, working class people in London need a strong political voice. I want to play my part in making that voice heard. The message we are sending is: We live here too!’
‘The aim of myself and my party during this election is to give a political voice to the concerns of those millions of ordinary working class people in London who, unlike the fashionable chattering classes, find their concerns ignored by all the mainstream parties,’ said Ms Reid.
Lorna continued, ‘In many areas of our city turnout at council elections has fallen to as little as 20% as voters abandon a political process that has abandoned them. Out-of-touch politicians from the three main parties battle for the “middle ground” and the votes of “middle England” because they believe, in the words of the prime minister, that “we are all middle class now”. And with former “independent” Ken Livingstone welcomed back into the Labour Party, the options available to us all on June 10th are likely to be even narrower still. But for the majority of people in London this scenario simply doesn’t reflect the reality of their everyday lives.’
In May 2002 Lorna, who has two young children who attend the local primary school, stood for the IWCA in the local authority elections. Standing for the first time in the increasingly gentrified ward of Clerkenwell (London Borough of Islington), Lorna and her colleagues came second, winning enough support from working class council and housing association tenants to knock Labour into third place in the former home of New Labour guru Peter Mandelson.
Lorna Reid is also the chair of her tenants and residents association and a voluntary director of the Federation of Islington Tenants Associations. She has a long record of working alongside fellow tenants to secure better conditions and facilities on her estate and has been at the forefront of campaigning for increased play and youth provision in her area. Locally, many believe it is this record of local action that led Islington’s Liberal Democrat council to mount an unsuccessful attempt to remove Lorna as chair of her tenants association last year.
Lorna believes that most working class Londoners are dismayed over the lack of progress on key issues since Labour took power in 1997. Issues such as increasing anti-social and drug-related crime; the growing housing crisis; mounting council tax bills; the farce that is privately-run public transport; the closure and privatisation of public buildings and facilities; and poverty pay—will all feature prominently in the IWCA’s forthcoming London manifesto which will be published later this month.
Lorna said, ‘Statistics show that the gap between the richest and poorest in our society—which widened under the Tories—is actually increasing under New Labour, with child and pensioner poverty in the capital amongst the worst in Europe.
‘According to the government’s own figures I live in one of the poorest and most deprived boroughs in London. Yet life here is portrayed in the national media as the home of luxury lofts and celebrity dinner parties. This scenario is true to working class people across London. But the reality is that day-by-day, in every sphere of life—whether it be housing, education or pay—our city is becoming ever more polarised between the super-rich and the rest of us, many of whom lead increasingly desperate lives.
‘To make sure our interests are top of the agenda every time, working class people in London need a strong political voice. I want to play my part in making that voice heard. The message we are sending is: We live here too!’
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Hide the following 9 comments
vote respect
06.02.2004 21:39
ps who da f**k is iwca?
red letter
Verticals: Respect or IWCA
07.02.2004 00:35
Yer! How? What is going to replace him?
> ps who da f**k is iwca?
Independent Working Class Association - spawn of Red Action. A heirachical organisation. But one I would have enough time for to suggest Indymedia can leave it on the wire.
Unlike Respect, the broad coalition, politically dominated by the SWP, not socialist, not really anything except an electoral machine for "doing something with the anti-war movement". The IWCA, not socialist, seriously organise on an estate level, areas picked do seem to be council estates, for working class *self* representation. There are lots of flaws but generally some anarchist-communists could do well to learn from them!
ex-trot
IWCA odd
07.02.2004 11:40
I fear they may be wasting their 20k quid deposit (that they are struggling to scrape together in fact). And I hear that they are also having trouble scraping together the dozen or so names from each London Borough required to be a candidate for Mayor. Not a good sign for a successful challenge to Livingstone (who we all know will win by a mile anyway).
I agree with the person above that RESPECT is a better bet to cause Tony Bliar some political pain.
Bill Oddie
iwca
07.02.2004 15:27
The iwca concentrate on consistent grassroots work in working class communities, amongst people of their own class. Compare that to the SA, and almost certainly Respect, who spend most of their time shouting at people through megaphones, doing the odd-leaflet drop and flogging countless trot newspapers. Bill Oddie (really?) says iwca "policies are ill-thought out and opportunistic", ignoring the fact that iwca policy derives from prolonged canvassing in working class areas. Saying that iwca policies is "bordering on racist as a result" is typical lefty crap which ignores the background of the iwca in Anti-Fascist Action, and our deliberate refusal to racialise our policies, but keep them entrenched in a CLASS analysis. We should be addressing people in terms of their class, not their race as the Left insist on doing, and subsequently divide the working class. IWCA elections results speak for themselves
If working class people in London, and all over the country, are going to have a political voice again, it must come from organised working class people, promoting solidly working class policies, with strong roots in working class communities. The middle class ego's of the official Left have nothing to offer us.
iwca supporter
Stunned
07.02.2004 15:42
But even more perplexing is why Mr/Ms Ex-Trot thinks that 'non-hierarchical' organisations are not allowed to post on indymedia. As far as I know, the ban is on racists and fascists, not on everyone who doesn't subscribe to a particular organisational model.
Out, proud Marxist-Leninist
X
Have you read the editorial guidelines?
08.02.2004 11:33
including the line:-
Hierarchy : The newswire is designed to generate a news resource, not a notice-board for political parties or any other hierarchically structured organization.
ex-trot
hierarchical
08.02.2004 14:26
As a member I can state that, unlike my time in the SWP, there are no central committee diktats, bans on communication, and bans on democratic debate of policy positions. The iwca website is not lying when it says ‘Like a lot of parties the structure of the IWCA resembles a pyramid except, unlike all other parties, power resides at the bottom with the rank and file.’
What a revelation!
vote iwca
Still stunned
08.02.2004 14:31
Ah forget it, we are taking up the space that should be for some more sensible discussion. Sorry I started it.
O.P.M-L
London mayor?
08.02.2004 14:44
vote iwca