A public meeting to debate the long-term economic future of Barrow and Furness took place at St George's Church hall, Lonsdale Street, Barrow, on the evening of Wednesday 9th December and was well attended.
Prospective parliamentary candidates for the Conservatives, John Gough, and the Liberal Democrats, Barry Rabone, together with the leader of the Conservative Group on the borough council, Jack Richardson, and the secretary of Ulverston Trades Union Council, George Appleton, contributed to the debate.
Unfortunately, the following neither attended nor even acknowledged invitation - John Woodcock, prospective parliamentary candidate for New Labour, Dave Pidduck, leader of the Labour Group on the borough council, the secretary of Barrow Traders' Association, the Chairman of Furness Small Businesses, the secretary of Barrow Churches Together and Bob Pointer, secretary of Barrow Trades Union Council. Clearly, some townsfolk holding positions of influence wish to avoid any discussion on a sustainable economic future for Barrow and the surrounding area 'though exactly why this should be so is difficult to fathom.
Don't they really care or have they a more important agenda of their own? Let's have a look!
Take John Woodcock, a John Hutton clone quite content to go with the flow of a Trident replacement programme because Barrovians associate this with 'jobs'. A nice 'vote catcher' - except the Tories and the LibDems have exactly the same pitch on this subject!
Barrovians have forgotten that the original 'Trident Programme' cost 11,000 jobs and devastated the town's economy. And they appear willing to go down that same path yet again.
And what about the owners of local businesses - you'd think they'd have a vested interest in well-paid sustainable employment for the local workforce, wouldn't you? Guaranteed work with good pay gives working people spending power to support local businesses so it is strange that these businesses appear to be indifferent to the local jobs situation. If they are pinning their hopes on persuading the local council to provide cheap parking, to reduce business rates and to dole out generous business grants for tarting up their premises then a rude awakening awaits.....as does a stack of wooden sheets for boarding up their former business premises.
You'd think leaders of the local religious community would be concerned that the town is so reliant upon manufacturing weapons of mass destruction delivery systems for its economic survival - that their God-fearing congregations are faced with no alternative but to build these hellish things in order to feed their families - yet they are not. (I bet the guy whose birth this lot of hypocrites have just commemorated would gleefully give them all a sound, long-overdue, whipping)
As for the local borough New Labour Party....well, they are not allowed to think for themselves and cannot contribute to any discussion offering anything other than nuclear weapons systems.
If any group was going to be fully supportive of schemes to provide long-term, well-paid, sustainable employment you'd think it would be the local Trades Union Council, wouldn't you? Well, you'd be wrong because this is Barrow in Furness and the local TUC only meets once every three months. And the few delegates who can be bothered to attend are all employed by BAE. Draw your own conclusions.
A serious question was put before all those taking part in the Public Debate - whilst locals are prepared to contemplate the murder of millions of innocent civilians (if they weren't, they'd refuse to do any work for the Trident project.....you don't build these things at enormous expense - especially when the country is flat broke - unless you are prepared to use them) why can't they contemplate an American president ordering a British government to cancel it? Unthinkable? You'll be provided with something to think about in the next posting........
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