A TALE OF TWO CITIES

RMTnews :: january 2006 :: www.rmt.org.uk 26 A TALE OF TWO CITIES Edwards Duthie Solicitors has a special affinity with trade unions, their members and officials. We have advised union members and their families for some 22 years, to the point where we now serve some 40,000 members across 230 branches nationwide. We have a dedicated team which serves RMT members, their families and friends. Unlike our competitors, we offer a full range of legal services, many of which are free or heavily discounted for union members : ●PERSONAL INJURY CLAIMS ●SPECIALIST CLINICAL NEGLIGENCE TEAM ●EXPERT ADVICE ON ALL ASPECTS OF EMPLOYMENT LAW ●24 HOUR CRIMINAL ADVICE AND REPRESENTATION ●FREE WILLS SERVICE FOR MEMBERS ●10% DISCOUNT ON RESIDENTIAL CONVEYANCING ●LAW SOCIETY SPECIALISTS IN FAMILY AND MATRIMONIAL ADVICE ●FREE HALF HOUR INTERVIEW IN ALL AREAS OF LAW Our approach is both proactive and hands on. Our lawyers go to see members and officials at the workplace, at home, at union premises or wherever discussion can best be accommodated nationwide. We are here to provide a service and, unlike our competitors, we do not consider that we can do that from a remote standpoint. RING NOW FOR ADVICE & ASSISTANCE ON 0208 514 9000 email: allinfo@edwardsduthie.com In partnership with the T his is traditionally a time of year for reflection. When I look back on 2005 one event stands out. It’s that magnificent July Saturday when the Make Poverty History demonstration engulfed Edinburgh. I am proud to have been part of that historic day, that outpouring of 250,000 people full of hope. Hope that at last we would see an end to the misery and degradation facing billions in a world of plenty. It was a day whose awesome spirit implored the most powerful men in the world, the G8 leaders, meeting in Scotland that week, to face up to the biggest issue facing the world and to redistribute its wealth to those in most need. But looking back on those July days now, it is a quote of Dickens, from A Tale of Two Cities, that springs most readily to mind - ‘It was the best of times. It was the worst of times’ because barely had the protesters left the city when the G8 leaders gave up the ghost. The atrocious London bombings usurped the political agenda, but the harsh reality is that they never had the slightest intention of fighting world poverty. And the G8’s relief to have gotten off so lightly was palpable. How many more people today now conclude that the G8 preside over rules which mean more people are living in poverty now than at any time in history? How many more believe therefore the G8 are part of the problem not the solution? Poverty in the world today is no natural disaster. Unlike the Asian tsunami, Pakistani earthquake or New Orleans hurricane it is entirely man made. It is a consequence of economic decisions taken by multinational corporations and the governments they control. What is needed is a globalisation programme with a difference, one which ends the corporate exploitation of the peoples and resources of the world for a tiny elite and redistributes our astonishing wealth from those who have the most to those most in need. Of course, the unavoidable fact remains that the 250 corporations who control 50 per cent of world trade for example, will never, as Karl Marx famously warned, just give it up. They must be compelled to do so. And for this change to occur a movement needs to be built to press for it. The Scottish Socialist Party is part of that movement. This global force for change faces many obstacles, not least an opposition which will go to any lengths to protect its privileges. It also has to appreciate the strength it has as a movement. But let anyone who doubts how ‘persuasive’ these democratic aspirations are, then consider how South African apartheid was routed or the eastern European dictatorships. I am a democrat and a socialist, for me they are synonymous. I believe the legacy of July 2 lingers more potently than many believe. For me that day and this growing movement will come back to haunt Tony Blair and the G8 leaders who underestimate it still. Colin Fox MSP