GFTU BGCM Minutes 2017

For me, the challenge for us as a movement is (1) we have got to raise the

economic literacy of our members, our activists and our officers and (2) we

have got to develop coherent arguments for spending our way out of trouble

and for Keynesian policies. That is the question. How do we win that

argument? (Applause)

BRO CHARLIE SARELL (SUE): I was not planning on entering a debate with Larry,

but it strikes me that one of the things that was missed was that for the last 30

years at least the EU has been a convenient screen for the right to hide behind

and I think this was epitomised to me over the whole steel question. The

Chinese steel that was being dumped on Europe, this Government was saying

there was nothing that could be done because of the EU regulations, but 94%

of the steel that was dumped on Europe was dumped on Britain and the other

European countries found ways round to defend their steel industries. This

Government decided to throw the steel industry to the wolves and I think that

sort of lie and that sort of misrepresentation of Europe was one of the reasons

why the Brexit vote went the way it went. I think one of the things that we now

have to live with is that it is a very strong right wing across the whole political

spectrum that is attacking all sorts of social democratic thoughts and ideas and

I think one of the things that we need to be thinking about is how we move

through this next period and regain the upper hand and I think that is an

important issue for us. Thank you. (Applause)

LARRY ELLIOTT: Thank you for all three very good contributions. As to Kathy’s

question, there is a difference between internationalism and globalisation. I am

an internationalist, but it does not mean to say that because I am an

internationalist that I have to believe in the European Union or all its works.

The whole point about rights, quite a lot of the labour rights that we have in

Britain were domestically generated rights. Barbara Castle was doing stuff for

workers’ rights back in the 1970s which were completely independent of

anything that came out of Brussels, so there is no reason why Britain could not

have had the same degree of labour rights or even better labour rights outside

of the EU as inside the EU. That is not an issue for me. In terms of free

movement of labour, I think trade unions need to be slightly careful about free

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