Nice to see our Ken has advanced by three points in the polls despite the frenetic, but extremely shallow media campaign waged against him by extremist newspapers like the standard this week, not to mention the inane despatches programme against him earlier in the week.
The London section of the Professional Drivers Branch will be working hard to help Ken get re-elected and there are a number of issues we are reminding members about like how he helped get us access to pick up and drop off on red routes, how we retained our ability to work thanks to grandfather rights and the issuing of temporary licences and how wider issues like the congestion charge (from which we are exempt) has helped us do our job.
I understand that there will also be council elections in the provinces which you have to fear about as people do vote in locals a lot of the time based on what has gone on nationally. Never the less as licensing authorities it is important to us to have political influence.
Next to industrial work (i.e. taking on two bob outfits like City Sprint and the host of stoppages that have taken place around the country by drivers over various issues) the political issue is of the utmost importance.
The law has to be used where it can but it has nothing to do with justice or fairness, so while important it is nowhere as important as the political work.
If anyone is developing any work to get labour councillors elected please let us know as we can all learn and get ideas from one another
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