Tesco u-turn on slave wages, no thanks to Lambeth Labour Party

It is being reported this morning that Tesco has made a u-turn on its 'slave labour' policy.

As the campaign against Tesco's poor treatment of workers increased around the country last week I raised this issue with both Tesco and Lambeth Council last week with regard to the upcoming hub development in Streatham.

I received no response from Future Streatham. However leader of Lambeth Council Steve Reed told me that rather than getting assurances from Tesco they were going to rely on the Conservative/Lib Dem Government to safeguard the rights of workers. This is particularly alarming given the latest suggestions that the Prime Minister is even considering freezing the minimum wage.

Streatham MP Chuka Umunna didn't directly welcome the u-turn by Tesco this morning, but did retweet another Labour MP who did. His new role as Shadow Business Secretary left him ideally placed to speak out on the issue. However he has remained silent. He was even at the London Stock Exchange this week, and so could have easily made it a big issue (to give credit where it is sue he knows how to catch the attention of the media when he wants to).

This all continues to speak volumes about Lambeth Labour Party's reluctance to speak up and advocate for the most vulnerable in the borough.

I'll be going along tonight to the hub development meeting at the Streatham Hideaway to continue to press for assurances from Tesco about the treatment of workers. It was the Greens who got Lambeth Council to adopt a Living Wage for Council employees. It seems it is only the Green Party in Lambeth wants to challenge big business about their treatment of local workers.

Streatham MP puts arms companies at centre of Labour's economic plans

It looks as if arms companies are to be at the centre of Labour’s developing approach to the economy – if comments today by Shadow Business Secretary and Streatham MP Chuka Umunna are anything to go by.

The MP tweeted last night in support of an article about the positive economic impact of Rolls Royce (one of the UK’s biggest exporters of military parts and equipment).

The Press Release from the Labour party about the economic/ business speech which Umunna is giving today also singles out BAE Systems – the UK’s biggest arms exporter. It says that the UK Government should buy more of its weapons from British firms like BAE.

Astonishingly this is described as Labour "calling on the Government to use its consumer power to reward companies doing the right thing"

Rolls Royce and BAE were the two firms which David Cameron was heavily criticised for taking to the Middle East, when weapons sold by the UK were being used to suppress civilians in Libya.

As well as being deeply saddening that Labour, even in opposition, appear to be repeating the mistakes of being in Government about cosying up to arms companies, this is also both a policy mistake and a political mistake.

The arms industry already receives around £700 million in taxpayer-funded subsidies every year. This is partly through the funding of research and development. Future generations will look back in amazement, unable to understand why, when faced with the threat of runaway climate change and financial meltdown, we subsidised jobs in the arms industry instead of putting money into renewable energy and other technologies to tackle the environmental and economic threats.

But this is also a political mistake. Three years ago, along with others at Campaign Against Arms Trade, I drew public attention to the involvement of Clarion events, an events company who promote exhibitions like the Baby Show, in arms fayres – where British companies promote their products around the world.

When people on MumsNet heard about Clarion’s involvement they were outraged and several got in contact with me. I went on the Radio 2 Jeremy Vine Programme to discuss it. MumsNet eventually boycotted the Baby Show being absolutely clear in their feelings toward the commercial arms trade.

MumsNet was a group which Labour were particularly keen to target at the last election. They still are given David Cameron’s unpopularity with women, and the disproportionate impact of the cuts on women.

Streatham MP Chuka Umunna 'breaks election pledge' on EU referendum

The Labour rebels in last night's House of Commons vote on whether there should be a EU referendum have received less attention than the Conservative ones in the national press and media. But how Lambeth's three Labour MPs voted will be of interest to local people.

Among the small number of Labour rebels was Kate Hoey, MP for Vauxhall, who voted in favour of a referendum. Tessa Jowell, MP for Dulwich and West Norwood however voted with the Prime Minister and the majority of the Labour party, against a referendum.

Perhaps of greatest interest though is that Chuka Umunna, MP for Streatham, also toed his party's - and the Conservative - line, and voted against a referendum. This appears to contradict a pledge he made during the election campaign last year.

There didn't appear to be anything in his election literature about the issue one way or another. But like all candidates, it is likely that he was asked questions on the doorstep about it. And a promise was apparently made on the subject to Mark Wallace, a campaigner and blogger.

Through the medium of Twitter, in recent days Wallace has been asking Umunna publicly if he would honour what he said to him during the election - or at least clarify where he stands.

I asked Wallace what Umunna had actually said to him. He replied that Umunna had made a pledge to back an EU referendum face to face with him, on the doorstep. Umunna, he said, stated that he preferred an in/out referendum to settle the issue once and for all. In addition, Umunna had even promised to write to Gordon Brown on the matter.

This appears to contradict how Umunna voted last night.

In the end, in the absence of any written evidence, it may come down to one person's word against another's. But there are some big issues of concern here. The first is that Umunna has failed to make clear what his position is on a referendum. His constituents should know, and they should have been told long before last night's vote. It is not as if this is a minor issue.

The second is that even when asked publicly, he has failed to respond. There is an issue of accountability here. Umunna has voluntarily chosen to use social media to communicate with constituents and others. He has fallen silent on this issue. Why? Is it because he believes one thing, but has voted another for reasons of advancement within his own party? These are the kinds of questions that will now be asked.

Even at this point it would have been very quick and easy to make his position clear. He has not done so.

It should be noted too, that Umunna had the opportunity to express support for a progressive amendment to last night's House of Commons motion, tabled by Green MP Caroline Lucas. This backed a referendum on the basis of democracy and that it is right for people to be given a choice. He did not take that either.

You can read the full debate and the way all MPs voted in Hansard here

Boundary Review: All change for Lambeth

So, it seems it's all change in Lambeth as far as Parliamentary constituencies are concerned.

The Boundary Commission Review, due for public consumption at midnight, has already been leaked on the net and is being discussed widely. Under the proposals it appears as if Battersea, Streatham, Tooting and Vauxhall constituencies would be abolished and several new constituencies created instead, which would take in parts of both Wandsworth and Lambeth.

Three new constituencies are being proposed that each contain parts of the two boroughs. In addition a fourth new constituency would be created comprised of remaining wards in Lambeth.

Streatham and Tooting Constituency

The first is 'Streatham and Tooting' which would take four wards in from each borough. These are not specified by name, but look likely to be Tooting, Graveney, Furzedown and Bedford from the Wandsworth side, and Steatham Hill, St Leonard's, Streatham Wells and Streatham South from Lambeth.


Battersea and Vauxhall Constituency

The next is 'Battersea and Vauxhall'. Again, this would take four wards from each borough, and again they are not specified in the leaked Boundary Review.


Clapham Common constituency

The third is a new Clapham Common constituency, which would be slightly different in that it will take in just three Lambeth wards (probably Thornton, Clapham Common and Clapham Town) and five Wandsworth wards.


Brixton Constituency

A fourth constituency would also be created made up of the remaining eight Lambeth wards in the central part of the borough.

Predictably, jokes are already being cracked about which of Miliband's MPs would get the Labour nomination to fight the Streatham and Tooting seat - Chuka (Umunna) or (Sadiq) Khan. It's quite possible that Sadiq could fight Streatham and Tooting, whilst Chuka ends up fighting Brixton. But there is likely to be some healthy competition for the Labour nomination in Brixton, given that Tessa Jowell's seat would also go.

But that is to get ahead of the game... There will now be a 12-week consultation period on the proposals, and later a vote in the House of Commons. Given the many changes throughout the country, a lot of MPs may yet have a change of heart on whether scaling down their number in the House of Commons is such a good idea after all.

Lambeth Ward map available here and Wandsworth ward map here