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| £300 a day attendance allowance proved too attractive as the fiercely hostile Republican took his seat in the Lords |
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| Bassam’s cynical strategy memo for the directly elected mayor campaign – spin fell flat in the face of a widespread community campaign despite the support of the local Argus and Tory businessmen |
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| Greg Hadfield – former Fleet Street journalist was elected on July 2nd as Secretary and was deposed in a coup 3 days later. Hadfield has led campaign to uncover the truth of what happened. |
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| Katherine Buckingham, LP apparatchik’s invitation to a fake inquiry |
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| Katherine Buckingham’s redacted memo which I obtained under a Subject Access Request – she is in the thick of the witch hunt |
Very smooth he looked, yet grim;
Seven blood-hounds followed him:
Tony Greenstein
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| I attacked Bassam many years ago, as Secretary of the local Unemployed Centre, for his role as a consultant to a company which had contracts with the Council of which he was leader |
Introduction
this pamphlet came after reading about the new Blair supporters club, Members’
First. Its spokesperson was none other
than that well-known grassroots activist, his Gracious and Noble Lord
Bassam. This couldn’t be the Steven
Bassam who I stood shoulder to shoulder with, as the Police battered their way
into our squat at Temple Gardens in 1975, or who – a decade later – was a
founder member of National Labour Briefing?
Was this the same Steve Bassam whose commitment to members first was
such that he single-handedly arranged, in the early 1990s, that 26 of us should
be suspended or expelled from Brighton Labour Party for exercising our rights
as members to challenge his leadership of the Council?
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| The newly re-established Brighton Unemployed Centre (which Bassam had done his best to close) led the campaign against a directly-elected Mayor |
(sorry my noble Lord) Bassam since I came to Brighton as a student in the
autumn of 1974. Since then I have been
mercilessly teased, by miscreants such as Andy Ward, about “your old squatting mate Steve Bassam”. Having selflessly borne such taunts for
years, and having refused on principle to disavow an old comrade because he
entered the Lords in the line of duty, I feel entitled to put pen to paper in
order that a little light is shed about our gracious Baron Bassam.
squatted together, or rather we were part of Brighton Squatters’ Union. But even in our earlier days, our noble Lord
was apt to compromise, to look for the least line of resistance, despite his
avowed anarchist politics. A graduate
from the Sussex University school of anarchism, if his actions were somewhat
less than revolutionary then his rhetoric was always fiery and radical. Many people are puzzled that ex-squatter Lord
Bassam, who once turned a flashing red nose to that caricature of a reactionary
judge, His Honour Justice Grant, has now made it into the citadel of hereditary
privilege that he once decried. How is
it that someone who once told me – after we had given a talk to the Labour
Party in the mid-1970’s – that he could never join the Labour Party, it was far
too right-wing for him, could turn out to be the most sycophantic, on-message
cipher for all that New Labour represents?
Someone whose first vote in the Lords was in support of Rupert Murdoch!!
pamphlet isn’t simply to single out one particular individual who tailored his
political views to the needs of his political career. Nor is it an excoriation of all that New
Labour’s sharp-suited clones stand for.
Rather it is to use Lord Bassam as an example of the corruption at the
heart of New Labour. It is a corruption
that isn’t merely financial, though there is plenty of that (Bernie Ecclestone,
Draper, Liddle et al.) but a corruption of the political process itself, which
hides behind the soundbite and verbal chaff.
It is a corruption which seduces perfectly decent people into trading
political integrity for personal advancement.
It is this that Lord Bassam represents so clearly.
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| My response in the local Argus to Bassam’s elevation to the House of Lords |
the transition from radical politics to New Labour clone effortlessly. His ideas and beliefs are as durable as the
message on the mandatory New Labour pager.
New Labour may, in many ways, be the logical culmination of Old Labour,
with its class collaborationism, but it is also a break with old Labour. In particular it reviles the organisations
that the working class threw up, the Trade Unions and Friendly Societies. Socialism and class-solidarity are part of
the dark past. The market, globalism,
cheap and flexible labour are the new gods.
The political lobbyist – Ben Lucas & co. – are the real
practitioners of the art of politics.
The role of New Labour is not merely to destroy the Left, but to remould
that Left by reuniting the Liberal and Labour traditions. Blairism, despite its toying with a ‘third
way’, ‘stakeholding’ and much other verbal nonsense, struggles for anything new
to say. Its goal is to reverse the tide
of history and go back to the golden age of Gladstone and the Midlothian
campaign.
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| My letter to the Argus in response to a Review by New Labour supporting columnist Adam Trimmingham |
its lessons at the feet of Bill Clinton and the New Democrats. It seeks to remodel British politics
accordingly. Its goal is the destruction
of socialist politics, the idea that there is any alternative to the present
way of organising society. It seeks
instead to replace the present party political system with two openly
capitalist parties – Tory and New Labour/Liberal Democrat – each seeking to outbid
the other in their attacks on welfare and the poor. When political differences between parties
disappear, then it is inevitable that personal advancement and corruption
follow in their wake. It is no accident
that the sleaze of the latter years of the Tory Government has appeared within
the first year of New Labour. Bassam’s
appointment as ‘consultant’ to KPMG is
merely a local manifestation of the Draper, Robinson phenomenon.
strength is its opponents’ weaknesses.
Not only the weakness of the Left and the organised working class but
the divisions in the Tory Party over Europe.
It was the self-destruction of the traditional party of the British
Establishment that gave, and gives, Blairism its seeming strength. The ranks of New Labour, and Lord Bassam is
as good an example as any, are teeming with the superficial and mediocre,
distinguished only by the extent of their ambition. But those who live by spin and the sound-bite
will also die by them. Historically New
Labour is a passing and temporary phenomenon with as much significance as the
opposition of the Duke of Wellington to the Great Reform Bill. The greater the heights of New Labour’s
popularity today, the greater will be the depths of its unpopularity tomorrow.
to amuse ourselves at the verbal indiscretions of our rulers, their foibles and
pretensions. It needs no Oscar Wilde to
point to the absurdities of ruling class speech and manners when we have the
clichés of Bassam past. Of course it is
easy to quote back what people have said in different circumstances and
different times. Most peoples’ views
don’t remain static. There are those,
Tony Benn for example, who have moved to the Left with age. There are others, such as Roy Hattersley, who
have travelled to the left merely by standing still, as everybody around
changed. Our noble Lord is the perfect
example of the political chameleon, whose views change in perfect harmony with
his surroundings. Political principle is
not only completely absent from Lord Bassam’s career, it is a concept that he
would have genuine difficulty understanding.
I therefore offer, with as little comment as possible, some of the
choicest sayings of the Noble and Gracious Lord Bassam, from his many
interviews and recordings, and leave it to others to judge the mettle of the
man. If it takes a long spoon to sup
with the devil then Lord Bassam can truly be said to be a man of many spoons.
information may be useful to the reader.
In 1987, when our noble Lord became Leader of the Labour Group on
Brighton Council, there was a rule that nobody could be leader for more than 3
years. His predecessor, Dave Leppar (now
MP for Brighton Pavilion) had abided by this rule but Bassam made it his first
objective to overturn this particular encumbrance on his career. In this he was successful as he carved a thin
majority among his Council colleagues by promising positions and sinecures to
those who proved malleable. Those Councillors
who refused to support him or his policies were subject to various levels of
vendetta. Six councillors had the whip
withdrawn in 1991 because they refused to support prosecuting those who refused
to pay their Poll Tax. Others who were in the
‘soft-left’ also fell out of favour. One
particular example of personal vindictiveness that remains etched in my memory
is the treatment of long-standing Councillor Joyce Edmond-Smith. The position of mayor had always gone to the
longest-serving councillor, alternating between male and female. When it came to Joyce, the majority of the
Group, after Bassam had done his usual fixing, voted not to support Joyce as
mayor. Others Councillors were simply
whispered against and maligned and deprived of seats on Council committees.
life strong on civil liberties, squatting, opposition to state abuse of
power. He used to sell Statewatch
magazine and was active in a local radical paper, Brighton Voice (indeed he was its Treasurer for a long time). At the GLC he worked hard in the Police
Committee exposing the racism and thuggery of the Metropolitan Police. Today, as Jack Straw reduces the right to
trial by jury and gives immigration officers the right to enter any home
without warrant, Baron Bassam remains silent and supportive of all that New
Labour does. Today Lord Bassam is a
‘consultant’ to Accountancy firm KPMG.
KPMG are, of course, ‘experts’ on the privatisation of Council Services,
and who better as an adviser than a noble Lord who just happens to be leader of
the Council. Of course, none of this is
corruption and, as Mark Anthony noted, he is an honourable man. Of one thing we can be certain. Lord Bassam has certainly earned his place in
a future government reshuffle.
future ahead of him, Lord Brownnose – as he is known to his colleagues – certainly
deserves greater recognition for his past.
The erudite philosophy that he espoused, the thoughtful answers, the dedicated commitment that he showed, all
of these demand a wider audience. Perish
the thought that my intention is to steal a cheap laugh at Lord Bassam’s
expense. There may come a time, when New
Labour is just a bad memory, when our noble Lord will rediscover his roots, and
the word ‘socialist’ will once again grace his most noble of lips. What could be more useful than a compendium
of his noble Lord’s sayings?
His Own Words
Wit & Wisdom of Baron Bassam
do you think will happen if Labour finally gains control of Brighton
Council?
left-wing socialist programme.”
Q: “Surely that will lead to… conflict
with the government over ratecapping?”
making, not Brighton Labour Party’s. If
there is a conflict then I’m sure Brighton Labour Party and members of the
Labour Group will take up the issue and
fight a campaign to ensure Brighton’s services are maintained.”
Question
concerning the “failure” of the last Labour Government and a future
Labour government.
more accountable to Conference decisions.
We must ensure that we have a decent minimum wage….I shall not be
part of a Government that urges wage restraint and holds back the demands of working people.”
[Bassam
at this time was Labour PPC for Brighton Kemptown] “I
think the Campaign Group has provided a very useful focus in Parliament fore
the activism in the Labour Movement.”
[Interview in Brighton Labour Briefing, June 1985]
Bassam was selected as Labour’s PPC he made it clear that “I am committed to fundamental socialist change, … giving workers a
controlling stake in all sections of the economy…We do have to have massive
wholesale nationalisation which will mean rolling back the denationalisation
process… and no compensation except in cases of proven hardship.”
Accused of being “an old-fashioned Tribunite” our future Lord reminded us that “You cannot correct the problems of
capitalism by taking hold of the capitalist structure and reforming it.”
On the Militant Tendency (now the Socialist
Party) Steven was warmly appreciative: “I
recognise that they work very hard in local govt. and in Liverpool Militant
comrades have taken a decisive role in campaigning and have undoubtedly
mobilised large sections of the working class behind a very strong defence of
local government democracy.”
When
Leader of the Council he launched on a purge of
Militant Councillors and supporters.
Asked about his attitude to Sinn Fein he was equally effusive. “Sections
of the Party will react with undeniable indignation when they talk about not
having SFG coming to the GLC or House of Commons. That is a lot of nonsense. I agree elements of SFG policy would form
part of a socialist programme and its vital that we develop some of those
links, particularly since there is an electoral force now developing within SFG
capable of commanding broad based support among working class catholics.”
[BLC May-June 1985]
In May 1986, in a front page article our Steve was quite
explicit about the task ahead. “The challenge for the party is then to
sustain the Labour Group as it battles with a largely conservative bureaucracy
to implement its programme… and how to mobilise public support for policies
which means a profound shift of power away from vested interest groups of
estate agents, hoteliers and the business elite that have run Brighton Council
for decades, to working people.”
Expanding on his themes of empowerment, Steven explained that “Tackling discrimination within the
Council’s service for oppressed groups and opening up council services to those
excluded because of disability or sexual preference is vital if the Party’s
manifesto commitments are to mean anything.” Quite, and no doubt the hounding from pillar
to post of travellers was uppermost in the mind of the yet-to-be enobled Bassam
as he warmed to his theme. Nobody can accuse him of underestimating the task
ahead.
“One of the important lessons of the demise of the GLC was the failure
of the Labour administration to develop a soundly based working strategy with
unions to oppose abolition. Trade Union
activity in the Council must be taken seriously by encouraging time off for TU
work and participation in vital decision committees.”
He also recognised that “At some point, a degree of conflict with central government is
likely….We will need a campaign unit within the Council… in order to implement
the programme. A Programme Officer will
be needed to ensure the even moving into place of key parts of the manifesto.” Does anybody know the name of this
person? All of this would, of course,
require “a more open and democratic
relationship with the Labour Party… to project socialism by the sea an exciting
experience worth being part of.”
Socialism
by the sea became transformed into the City by the Sea. [Brighton Briefing, May 1986, ‘Brighton’s Going Labour’]
Seeking Selection
as Parliamentary Candidate
In February 1996, in an article for Brighton Briefing, Steve Bassam found himself up against a fellow
Cllr. Richard Stanton (who later had the whip withdrawn by Bassam’s
administration). Steven waxed lyrical
about the “cosmetic electoralism” of
the Labour Party, and the “Labour’s
shabby electoralism was such that it failed to set the political agenda.”
On Privatisation the
future consultant for KPMG wrote that “…when
the profit motive is introduced” wrote, “the
standard of services declines. We must
highlight the need to take control of the industries de-nationalised (without
compensation).” [BLB 2/96]
“So far the Labour Group has used its
strength to successfully resist the privatising of council services. The logic of central government moves against
local government spending make it inevitable that further efforts will be made
to drive council services further into the hands of the privateers.” Clearly the ‘logic’ of the situation demanded
that we would have to wait for a Labour majority before services could be
effectively privatised! [BLB October 1984]
Brighton Council. They are proposing a
Council reorganisation package which has as its main objectives cuts in
services, redundancies and a running down of the local democratic process.” Clearly what the then Deputy Leader of the
Labour Group objected to was the fact that it wasn’t KPMG, with him at the
helm, who were making the proposals.
And
what were these rascally accountants proposing?
“…to reduce the number of
Departments from 14 to 10. They would
like to reduce them still further to 4 but realise that Labour Opposition will
prevent them going that far. If approved
there would be less democratic control over the activities of Chief Officers.”
Unlike today of course when there are even
fewer departments and Glynn Jones is an island unto himself. And in case we didn’t get the message,
Bassam explained that if PW got their way then “Power would rest in the hands of a special Chief Executive Dept. team
of officers, with an elite of 7-8 making policy decisions and recommendations.” Err, isn’t that what happens now? “The
town hall trade unions are all against the amalgamations, job cuts and threats
to democratic accountability contained in these proposals…. We must take up the
challenge and campaign to force out PW – the sequestrators.” (referring to their role vs the NUM). [Brighton
Labour Campaigner, March-April 1995]
on the Strong State he noted that “The
miners strike has brought the reality of the 6 counties of N. Ireland into our
pit villages and shown us in the long term effects of militarised policing and
repressive legislation.” Speaking of
“the dangers inherent in the Police Act
1984” he wrote that Labour must “avoid
out-torying the Tories as previously Labour governments have done on prison and
policing policies.” And on Ireland
Steven was equally forthright: “To end the political veto of the unionists,
the case for troops out and the disarming of the RUC remain convincing.” It was all heady stuff, though it is
doubtful if he meant a word of it. [BLB February 1985]
In 1993 Steve Bassam was instrumental in cutting of the
grant of the Unemployed Centre for running political campaigns. In the previous year Brighton Law Centre had
closed when its grant was removed and partially reallocated to Brighton Rights
Advice Centre. BRAC too lost its grant
and closed a year later. In 1987 Council
intervention, and a further freezing of funds, caused the Unemployed Centre to
abandon any thought of future political campaigning. All of this would not be worth mentioning
except for an interesting article entitled ‘Benefit Take Up Campaign Takes Off”
where our Steve states that “Most of all
this is a POLITICAL CAMPAIGN, any criticism of the present inadequate benefit
system must be.” [Brighton Labour
Briefing, May 1982]
In the course of a long, two-part article ‘Policing by
Coercion’ Steve Bassam waxed lyrical about the attack on civil liberties that
the Police Act 1984 represented. “We urgently need a local campaign to
highlight the Bill’s potential impact, we could do worse than create a Labour
Party civil liberties group to give the issues of civil liberties and freedom
from oppression a higher profile in our political work.” [BLB March 1984]
In the first part of the article he explained
that “The Bill deserves to be a political
priority this session because of its significance for civil liberties and
organised opposition to Thatcherite policies…. Put simply, the Bill must be
seen as part of the Thatcher strategy of disciplining the labour force… In
short blacks, CND activists, trades unionists on picket lines, squatters, and
those involved in the struggle for a united Ireland have experienced coercive
policing for years.” It was all
heady stuff.
Election Results
In his role as Election Co-ordinator in 1984 Steve Bassam,
noted that “hard –work around a radical
socialist programme can work wonders for party unity and party morale.” A few years later he would be singing a
different song. [BLB, June 1984]
Defying The
Government
In an article ‘Council Under Fire’ Bassam was withering in
his criticism of the latest cuts from Patrick Jenkin, then Environment
Minister. “New public toilets… would stop.”
Unlike the later Bassam administration which introduced Shirley Porter
super-loos and closed most of Brighton’s free public toilets (are there any
left?!) Roused to indignation, Bassam
demanded that “Labour must confront the
government and local Tories with a policy of non-compliance.” Of course Steve could be excused the heady
rhetoric, as the Miners’ Strike was still on.
“opposition must be built into our
County Council manifesto and our alternative budget strategy.” [BLB, September 1984]
Housing
“Bad housing
debilitates and depresses whole generations.” wrote Steve. “In
Brighton we must work in the communities, the Town Hall, with the Unions,
particularly UCATT and NALGO to get the message over – Brighton demands its
right to good housing for all.”
(there was no caveat for the single homeless, travellers or other
minorities that upset the good Lord) [BLB March 1985]
Those with long memories will remember the
eagerness with which the new Labour administration in 1987 moved to increase
rents. At one Labour General Committee,
the then Mr Bassam seriously suggested that it was the tenants themselves who
were demanding their rents be increased!!
It is amusing to note that prior to gaining power Bassam boasted of how “Labour Councillors successfully led
opposition to the Tory’s 20% rent rise proposal at the last council meeting…
Brighton’s case for cheaper rents is beyond question… It matters not to most tenants whether the
rise is £3 or £2 a week a rise at all will hurt most of the 8 000 tenants who
pay all or part of their rents…”
Alongside his Council Report was ‘Campaign Notes for Your Branch’ which
called on members to distribute the NO RENT RISE poster door to door on
estates. [BLB December 1984] The
previous month Bassam had written an article ‘Freeze Council Rents!’ “Brighton Labour Party can see no
justification for the massive rent rises which have taken place… They represent
part of the Tory offensive designed to make low income families pay more for
their housing…” except presumably
when levied by Labour Council’s under Lord Bassam!! –BLB 11/94]
an easy ride by the Left. His clichés
and waffling were rarely challenged (the interview in Brighton Labour
Campaigner May-June 1985 was the exception).
It was also clear to some of us, even then, that the main interest of
Steve Bassam was in fulfilling his political ambitions by paying lip-service to
the current political fashions rather than using the achievement of office to
achieve prior political aims. I am left
with only one question. What would Steve
Bassam circa 1985 would have made of the future Lord Bassam?
