Matt Wrack's speech at the People's Charter Convention

Fire Brigade's Union General Secretary Matt Wrack's speech at the People's Charter Convention on Saturday 21st November at Camden Town Hall.

Around 150 people from a broad range of organisations, and from different regions of the country took part in what ex-NUT President Bill Greenshields described as an 'historic occasion' - the first Convention of the modern day Chartist movement.

Despite the top-heavy male-dominated platform which also included RMT General Secretary Bob Crow, Labour MP John McDonnell, Colin Prescod of the Institute of Race Relations, John Hendy QC, Bill Greenshields and a few others, there were some excellent contributions from the floor especially from representatives of local groups in Oxford, Barnet & Wigan.

Whether there is a second and much larger Convention next year, either before of after the General election, will very much depend on how all the fine sounding contributions of most of the speaker is translated into grassroots activity on the ground, across the length and breadth of the country.

It would appear that those of who have united together in the Wigan area around the People's Charter are very much in the vanguard of the growing movement around the Charter nationally and are an example to others.

We need to intensify our efforts locally and nationally in the run-up to the General election if we are at all to have an impact. We also need to continue our efforts after the election too, if we are turn the movement behind the People's Charter, as one of the speakers said, into a genuine mass movement of the people, for the people.

Put people before profit!
What we need and want is a 'People's Britain' not a 'Bankers Britain.
Build Charter Groups in your own town, workplaces and neighbourhoods.
Turn the TUC and widespread union support for the Charter into deeds rather than words.
Build a new mass movement of ordinary working people around the Charter.

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• FBU
• People's Charter Convention
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• speech