Frances O'Grady's speech to TUC Disabled Workers’ Conference 2015
| Frances O'Grady's speech to TUC Disabled Workers’ Conference 2015, 21 - 22 May 2015, at Congress House, London. |
Thanks Sean [McGovern] for those words of introduction.
And thanks for all your hard work on the disabled workers committee, on the General Council and of course with Unite.
Conference, Sean has been a tremendous champion of disabled workers and we should all be proud of the great job he has done.
And I want add my thanks to two other people who have made a big contribution to the trade union movement’s work on disability.
First, Sarah Veale.
As many of you will know, this is Sarah’s last disabled workers conference before she retires – in fact her last ever equality conference.
Sarah first joined the TUC thirty years ago.
If you ever want proof of Sarah's red blooded commitment to equality, you should listen back to a radio debate she did with the then UKIP MEP Godfrey Bloom.
She went for the jugular, tore him apart and destroyed him. Metaphorically speaking, of course.
Thank you Sarah for everything you have done on behalf of our movement.
And a big thank you too to another colleague who needs no introduction, Peter Purton.
This is Peter’s last disabled workers conference before he takes a well-earned retirement early next year.
For the past 17 years he has been the TUC’s policy lead on disability and LGBT issues. And, on top of that, he's also a renowned expert in medieval fortifications and even published a book on the subject.
Which, given the mindset of some members of the Cabinet, that book should come in handy for figuring out the best way to storm them.
Peter has made a brilliant contribution to our equality team.
So thank you Peter.
Conference, we meet at a critical moment for disabled workers and for all working people.
Just two weeks on from an extraordinary general election.
We said it was the most important election in generations.
And let’s not beat around the bush.
May 7th delivered great news for the bankers, the tax dodgers and the media barons.
And terrible news for working people, especially if they have a disability.
Because whichever way you dress it up, the Conservative Party won a clear majority of seats.
I realise not everyone may share my analysis about what went wrong. But it's important to have an honest dialogue.
So I want to tell you what I think has happened. I want to share with you what I think we need to do.
And whether it's today, or later, I would welcome your views.
The big news of the night of course was SNP sweeping the board in Scotland.
I realise that not everyone will agree with me but I don't think the entire blame for that can be put at the door of any one leader, political or trade union.
Labour was caught by a devastating pincer movement.
An unstoppable SNP on the one hand.
And right-wing English nationalism on the other.
Fuelled by the Lib Dem collapse, fed by UKIP, but given its lifeblood by shameless Conservative scaremongering questioning the legitimacy of democratically-elected Scottish MPs.
But we have to recognise that the Tories talked up the prospect of Labour being propped up by a party committed to putting Scotland for one simple reason.
Because their research told them that people feared it would mean England would be put second.
Stoking up resentment; encouraging working people to compete against each other for funding; dividing people whereby allegiance to country trumps class.
If that’s David Cameron’s idea of one-nation conservatism, then I shudder to think what his vision of a balkanised state would look like.
And what of Labour?
The Sunday after the election, Tony Blair launched the battle to write the story that Labour lost because it was too left wing.
He is wrong. Any Labour manifesto worthy of the name should be about building homes, raising wages and protecting the NHS.
Rather, I believe a key problem was Labour's early failure to counter the Tory mantra that Labour maxed out the credit card, when in truth it was the bankers who ripped us off.
That would have meant admitting that Labour had been too soft on banking regulation, and that admission came far too late.
And Labour spent too much time on Tory territory of austerity when they should have been setting out a compelling industrial policy for good jobs, decent businesses and fair growth.
I think there were other factors at play.
We cannot ignore the nearly four million votes won by UKIP. We always knew that we had our work cut out on immigration and welfare.
Nationalist parties like UKIP thrive on offering easy answers and always put the blame at someone else's door. In the case of UKIP, that means blaming the EU and scapegoating migrants for low pay, lousy jobs and a lack of housing.
But perhaps the most difficult election outcome we in the trade union movement need to face up to is that many who had voted Labour in 2010 general election, especially in our towns and suburbs, this time turned to the Tories.
Economic competence was often the reason given.
Just after the election, the Bank of England revised down its predictions for growth for the next three years. Perhaps if that report had been published before the election, maybe that reputation would come under more scrutiny.
I don't propose to examine the shameful role of parts of some newspapers. Suffice to say, that if at some point in the distant future one of them describes Ed Miliband as a national treasure (remember, it happened to Tony Benn) I think he would be fully entitled to respond with an appropriate hand signal.
But all this suggests to me that the reasons why Labour lost are not simple or easy to explain away. And that we as a movement have a lot of hard rebuilding to do.
Now, Labour has been written off before – and has bounced back before.
I’ll be blunt though: with boundary changes in the offing, it will be tough this time.
And while others agonise about the future of Labour, let's be clear:we've got our work cut out fending off Tory attacks in the here and now.
More radical cuts to welfare.
More threats of privatisation of the NHS and other public services.
An EU referendum based on a renegotiated settlement that may seek to water down workers' rights.
And attacks on our fundamental liberties, including a right respected by any nation that wants to be regarded as a democracy - the right to strike.
Let's send out a clear message today, brothers and sisters, we will fight that attack with every bone in our bodies.
But there is no way of dressing this up.
As a trade union movement, we will be on the defensive.
But I'll also say this.
Don’t under-estimate this government's cunning; but don’t over-estimate its strength.
They may be ruthless but they are not invincible.
And we have to be ready to make more and broader alliances; and we must work to divide our opponents.
Firstly, remember this will be a weak administration with a smaller majority than the previous Coalition government.
That means the real battles of the next parliament will be blue on blue.
Without the Lib Dems as a human shield, Cameron will feel the full force of his own backbenchers. If UKIP can mount a backbench rebellion against their leader with just one MP,all think what those Conservative back benchers might do.
And the splits won't be confined to Parliament.
Already the Conservative led Local Government Association has fired a warning shot against further cuts to local services, including care of the elderly and disabled.
Secondly, Cameron has already said that he will not stand for another term.
That means that the contest for the next leader of the Conservative Party has already started and will last a full five years.
In fact, on election night, the only face that looked more disappointed than Nigel Farage was that of Boris Johnson.
And thirdly, there's that European referendum. Be in no doubt, the Tories will tear themselves apart.
Brothers and sisters, we have to be ready to exploit every pressure point, every division, if we're going to defend ourselves.
That doesn't mean that we give up on our campaigns:
For a new economy that works for ordinary people.
For decent jobs and wages for all.
And for good public services in public hands.
On the contrary.
We have done some great campaign work over the last five years.
Like the “Saving our Safety Net” campaign, exposing the human cost of benefit changes and sanctions.
Like the work with Disabled People Against Cuts, highlighting the importance of the Independent Living Fund.
Like the brilliant work you’ve done on issues as diverse as hate crime, mental health provision and accessible transport.
And we need to build on it.
But we do also need to think hard about what else we have to do; and what we need to do differently.
We will have to box clever in the corridors of power.
We will have to reach out beyond just our good friends to make a difference.
And we need to recognise that unless we defend our industrial base and membership organisation, we won't be able to help those who need our help most,
Delegates, we know what we're up against.
A government that proclaims “we’re all in it together” – and then gave us the Bedroom Tax.
A government that supports the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – and then slapped on benefit sanctions.
A government that tells us the NHS is safe in their hands and then flogged parts off.
Shirkers versus strivers. British born versus immigrants. English versus Scots.
This brand of Conservatism is always about divide and rule.
The biggest mistake we could make is disunity.
As workers, as unions, as a labour movement: united we stand, divided we fall.
One thing’s for sure.
When George Osborne gets up to give his Emergency Budget speech this July and explain where those £12 billion worth of welfare cuts will come from:
It won’t be the rich who'll be worried sick about seeing their income stripped away.
We know the new disability minister Justin Tomlinson has already voted against providing extra benefits for disabled children and cancer patients.
He's also opposed letting people who have been disabled since childhood claim Employment Support Allowance as if they’ve paid into the system.
And we already know about the injustice meted out to our brave Remploy members.
Delegates, our movement must lead an intelligent fight back.
For a model of disability which - just as your committee has guided - isn’t what people can’t do; but what – with the right support – they can achieve.
We will need all our wits and determination over the months and years ahead.
To lobby for changes to the Work Programme and more investment in the Access to Work scheme, as we have set out in the TUC report today.
To bargain for agreements with employers so we set a standard for others to follow.
To organise not just to defend our membership but to grow it.
Conference, I’ll finish with this.
Disabled people deserve a fair deal.
The chance to participate and progress in the workplace.
The chance to live with dignity, decency and security.
The chance to win decent pay, training and promotion at work - just as trade unions every day of the week.
For me, that's what real aspiration looks like.
Over the past five years, we’ve seen magnificent, self-organised resistance by disabled workers.
It has been inspiring.
And I’m proud that the TUC and unions have been a key part of that mass movement.
In the months ahead, I want us to make that mobilisation for change even bigger and better.
Let's be smart about our campaigning.
And let's be confident in our values.
Equality, democracy and, above all, unity.
It may be a long hard road.
We may suffer setbacks along the way.
But I am confident that, if we stick together, campaign together and organise together, we will win.