DAY ONE - SATURDAY
As expected a quiet first day at conference, loaded as it was with un-contentious motions. In fact it broke for lunch half an hour early, the Right being unable to pad out the time with enough speakers. The excitement was provided the evening before at Standing Orders Committee (SOC)'s pre-conference meeting, where the delegates were peaceably involved in agreeing to composite (merge) several motions together. Unfortunately one of the motions being merged was from the National Executive Committee (NEC), who had sent a junior representative along. The branch delegates had agreed the composite with each other and with the NEC rep, and were discussing which of them would move the motion at conference. At this point the NEC rep said he would have to check and off he scuttled. Minutes later NEC member Rod Pickford charged into the room, with the junior NEC rep cowering behind him. It seems Rod had been separated from his meal and was not in the best of temperaments. "The NEC is moving this motion, there is no question about it!"
he bellowed to the astonished SOC member who was organising the compositing. She politely pointed out that it was up to the branches to agree who would move their composite, not the NEC. "You can't talk to the NEC like that!" shouted Ron. "There will be no debate, is that understood? I'm off"
and with that Pickford removed himself as quickly as he had unpacked himself.
The stunned SOC member clearly felt intimidated and, with the branch delegates, they spoke to the Chair of SOC Anne Trafford, wife of President Dave Trafford. She quite rightly was very supportive, said we couldn't have SOC being spoken to like that and that she would lodge a formal complaint. We await the outcome with interest. Here is the MSF statement on harassment, occupying the whole of page 2 of the conference agenda
"Amicus MSF section takes harassment extremely seriously…. It includes bullying, intimidation, abuse... Amicus MSF expects members and staff to behave towards each other in an appropriately acceptable, professional and respectful manner."
All became clear this morning. The motion was the very first to be discussed at conference and it had been promised to the Right's candidate for President, NEC member Jack Warner. He did move the motion and very dull he was too.
Meanwhile the Right wing publicity machine that is 'MSF For Labour' (MSFfL) have been active as usual, producing a glossy brochure with four pages to hand out free to all delegates along with 8 large 'Jack Warner for President' posters at the entrance to conference. The Left only managed a single, non-glossy, page Where do MSFfL get all their money from?
The interesting thing about the MSFfL handout was the photos of Dave Trafford and Jack Warner, seemingly taken in front of this years conference stage. As this was the first day of conference the only way this could have happened is if there had been a private photo opportunity for MSFfL in conference hall the day before....
DAY TWO SUNDAY
The Left lost the presidency by 353 votes to 255. Having seen little Jack Warner's campaign ("Don't come a cropper vote for the copper!" - answers on a postcard please) and his chairing ability, the Left really do need to work out why they lost to him, and with a good candidate as well, Dave Nellist.
An important amendment tabled by East London Health branch was passed on Sunday morning, against the opposition of the Right and the NEC. This effectively added to motion 54 instructions to the NEC to (amendments in italics)
"...ensure that the new pay system, “Agenda For Change” is adequately funded and supported, and to oppose the implementation of ‘Agenda for Change’ if
adequate funding is not obtained.
Negotiate lifetime protection for those who may initially lose out on harmonisation, and to oppose the implementation for “Agenda for Change” if full protection is not achieved."
Hence the union is in all reality committed to opposing Agenda for Change. Why did the Right oppose this? The voice of opposition to Agenda for Change within the Right, one of their NEC candidates and very Right-winger Alan Dobbie, has resigned amicus and joined Unison. He was one of our members looking at a 20-30% pay cut (who says material reality doesn't determine your beliefs?). Maybe this democratic decision of Conference will bring him back. Things are never perfect.
Sunday had an interesting start with the Right-wing MSFfL's bulletin, their morning issue - they managed two on Sunday. This issue marked the first time ever that they have published contact details (Allan Sanderson, 205 Irby Rd, Wirral if you're interested). In the previous day's bulletin they had simply said, as always, 'contact out leafleteers'. Their meeting publicity still says pointedly 'all friends welcome'.
They must be getting touchy about their secretive reputation. Even some of their leafleteers were sporting delegate badges, in fact they may even have been delegates, not the usual National Organisation of Labour Student trainee hacks... MSFfL haven't improved their accuracy though, here's a quote:
"A whisper from SOC: There have been five emergency motions on Iraq, each one representing the position of a different Trotskyist faction. SOC have requested a composite [of the five into one] and surprise surprise they [The 'Trotskyist factions'] can't agree!!. Whatever the outcome - oppose"
Actually there were an amazing 9 emergency motion on Iraq, representing members' outrage with the 7,200 dead civilians and 35,000 dead soldiers on both sides of the illegal war, and in particular with SGS Lyons' eve-of-war letter to branches telling them to disaffiliate from the Stop the War Coalition. Most of these emergency motions were sifted out by SOC leaving only four, all from London branches who are used to the careful wording needed to get past the perennially right wing dominated SOC (actually the Left once got majority control of SOC but then the NEC flooded the body with extra delegates).
Not only did these branches agree a composite of the four motions, they also worded it with such care that the NEC was obliged to support it, albeit 'with reservations', a new term that doesn't exist in Rule and that the NEC have invented especially for this year's conference. The composited motion is available at the bottom of this page: click here, along with motion 24 on Iraq.
The debate on the composited emergency motion and motion 24 on Iraq was a highlight of conference. It attracted the very best of the Left speakers, whilst the best of the Right left it well alone, as a result the real dregs of the Right got up to speak. One proclaimed "Stop the War aim to overthrow the British Government and close the entire UK defence industry", another referred to "Sama Bin Liner" as if expecting Conference to laugh, and somehow managed to slip in the bizarre claim that Stalin had killed 70 million Russians.
There was a best and worst aspect to the NEC speakers on Iraq too. Their best was Muff Sourani, a full time officer who also happened to be an Iraqi. SGS Lyons, who was pointedly not present for the big debate/defeat, had scuttled off to Burnley to fight the BNP. As good an excuse as any. However he had, true to his love of stunts, appointed Muff as ambassador to Iraq.
Muff was to go to Iraq and help organise unions there, a job not without some danger we imagine, and mostly from the giant CIA friendly US construction companies.
Chair Dave Trafford asked Conference for unspecified extra speaking time for Muff which was granted willingly. Muff spoke for nearly 8 minutes some 4 times the normal allotment, and Conference listened quietly. Apparently the NEC meant him to ask for rejection of motion 24 but he didn't seem to have enough time to get to that.
The worst of the NEC was undoubtedly John Gardner. He had drawn the short straw and was put up to speak on Iraq. In a fumbling speech, John compared himself to Muff, something about him being the opposite religion, and he seemed to think that this entitled him to overrun his speaking time as well. Maybe he had arranged this with some of the NEC and someone had forgot to tell Chair Trafford. Maybe Trafford knew but forgot to tell Conference. Maybe the short straw had been rigged. Anyway Gardner had clearly prepared a speech longer than two minutes, a speech which was not going down well with delegates when the amber "time nearly up" light came on. Immediately Gardner shouted to Conference, and we quote:
"I know the orange light is on but I intend to speak longer whether you like it or not!"
This sort of arrogance never goes down well with Conference. As soon as the red "time's up" light came on, delegates began shouting, not unreasonably, for the Chair to take him off. Gardner struggled on. Uproar. Chair Trafford ruled that Gardner could have another 30 seconds, rather unkindly for Gardner we thought. Delegates began staring at their watches en-masse as Gardner's uncomfortable 30 seconds counted down. Then, having been forced to listen quietly to the extra half minute of rambling nonsense, Conference rose in indignation. Unbelievably, Gardner still would not go. Eventually the poor man shuffled back to his NEC seat. What was he thinking of?
The Composite emergency motion on Iraq was won easily. Motion 24 was very close, an amendment simply asking for a £1,000 donation to 'Stop the War' was lost by 230 votes to 203, a shame as this would have been a real slap in the face to Lyons for his outrageous letter to branches. However the main motion covered 'Stop the War' and was passed narrowly on a count, after Chair Trafford initially said it was lost on a show of hands. Branches and Regional Councils can now (re-)affiliate to 'Stop the War', click here to do it. The embarrassing position of the union now is that it wants to affiliate but is too mean to send £1,000, why not get your branch to send it instead?
One last thing that was revealed on Sunday was that SGS Lyons' stunt the previous day, bringing a group of children onto the stage with him (ostensibly to do with an equal pay campaign in Manchester) was achieved by dispatching MSF full timers to trawl hotel crèches for the necessary children. Many parents declined, as you would.
DAY THREE MONDAY MORNING
Delegates preferred coffee outside the hall to being inside with Spare General Secretary (SGS) Lyons speaking on Finance. As Lyons got up to speak, many experienced delegates left at once. Others persevered, however then Lyons began quoting figures down to the exact £1, in his unique speaking style, figures that in all likelihood are out by thousands of pounds. More and more delegates began to see the attraction of watching the ink dry on the numerous MSFfL posters at the hall entrance. After that, even being hassled by the credit card pushers in the outside arena seemed attractive.
In a not altogether unexpected contrast, amicus General Secretary Derek Simpson's speech was outstanding. It received a full standing ovation from a packed hall, both rare events on the final day at MSF conference. The speech contained amusing digs at Lyons' imminent and enforced retirement, a awipe at union credit cards v the true aspirations of members and concluded with a promise to 'expand' on the new rule book and to make the union much more democratic. Chair Dave Trafford promised to publish the speech but 'technical difficulties' prevented this, we hope to obtain one soon.
A subtle and well crafted motion from Bristol West branch was passed by conference on Monday, despite National Executive and MSFfL opposition, and of course despite the blatant attempt (in our view) to push all contentious motions to the last day of conference, hoping they would fall off the agenda. NB. Anyway motion 9 from Bristol began with six paragraphs on the need to maximise income for the union and on the good work of full time officers. However the final paragraph said
"The NEC should advise officers that all funding received in this way [from outside the union] should be paid into the union coffers."
On the platform sat Spare General Secretary Lyons, set to personally cop £261 a day from an outside body, the Employment Appeal Tribunal, in precisely this way, and who had already raked in £16,000 a year by sitting on the Monopolies and Mergers Commission. All in union-paid-for time, Lyons has never returned these gains to the union, and he wasn't planning to start now. He appeared to turn pale, no mean achievement from his traditional conference fake-tan orange pallor.
Maybe Lyons had put his faith in the disgraceful Dudley and District branch who had submitted a 'wrecking' amendment to Bristol West's motion. This amendment deleted the final paragraph, the only bit of the motion that called for any action, and replaced it with another four paragraphs in praise of full time officers.
Wrecking amendments are illegal, you cannot reverse or nullify a motion by an amendment. It should obviously have been ruled out of order by SOC, chair one Anne Trafford, wife of Right-wing president Dave Trafford. Conference delegates were wise to this sort of thing by day three and, assisted somewhat by the number of right wing delegates who had disappeared for home, rejected the amendment. The NEC and MSFfL policy was to oppose the motion unless amended. It wasn't amended and it was carried overwhelmingly.
Another motion of note passed on Monday was number 6 (and why is the sixth out of 80 motions being considered on the final day you might ask? See above). An excellent anti-witch hunt motion, it is summed up in the first paragraph:
"This Conference believes that the precise and impartial application of Rule is essential, both for the protection of the individual member and the Union as a whole."
The NEC to their shame opposed this motion, as did MSFfL. Coincidentally MSFfL's list of opposed motions replicated exactly the NEC position, or was it vice versa?
Also on Monday the result of the vice presidency was announced, the Right having known since Sunday evening but having kept it to themselves in a remarkable show of restraint. The hard working well speaking Gill George lost this by 360 votes to 268, and to the unknown Michelle Evans. The Left will need to have a full post mortem on the reasons for this.
On Monday Spare Assistant General Secretary Paul Talbot was on form answering Branch's questions on finances. Surprisingly only half a dozen questions had been submitted, but after Talbot had hacked them up and re-hashed them in the worst light he could, and even refused to disclose some parts, you could see why branches don't bother. There didn't seem to be one question that he read out verbatim. For Computer Staff's legitimate question on MSF's funding of the Labour party with discounted room hire, Talbot attempted to raise a laugh from Conference by deliberately labouring (sorry) over the text.
Hounslow and Feltham branch had, very even handedly, submitted two questions, one for each of the feuding Right Wing factions in MSF. The first was on a £11,000 donation to the Merseyside Unemployment Centre, Director one Bob Braddock, chair of the General Purposes and Finance Committee. Here's the question:
"How much has been donated to the Merseyside Unemployment Centre in the last financial year
and to date, and did NEC member and Director of the Merseyside Unemployment Centre Bob Braddock declare an interest?"
Talbot read out and answered only the first line, omitting the £11,000 paid this year and not disclosing whether Braddock had declared an interest. Hounslow and Feltham's delegate Peter Wilkinson had been forced to the other side of Blackpool after his room was cancelled by MSF and he missed this farce. What was interesting though was the question Talbot point blank refused to read out to Conference, let alone answer. Here it is "Has NEC member John Gardner claimed loss of earnings in the last financial year, what is the amount and who authorised the payments? Were they authorised in the same way and by the same person as all other NEC members' loss of earnings expenses?"
This was asked because the rumour in the NEC is that failed businessman John Gardner is claiming loss of earnings but no one seems to know what he is doing, his own company 'Causeway Travel' having gone bust some time back (despite 
