LETTERS

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: april/may 2014 :: RMTnews 29 Dear editor, December 2013 marked a unique milestone for the history of Swansea No1 branch as the honourable Mr W K Thomas retired as branch secretary. Ken was an excellent branch secretary for all members and we would personally like to thank him for all the representation we had from him. Ken served the union from an early age and we hope he has a happy retirement, you were simply the best. SW Morris and M Thomas Dear Editor, Little coverage has been given to what should be certainly to those of us trying to halt the corporate takeover of not just this country and others around the globe but of humanity itself. Early Day Motion 748 is one of the most significant to be brought before Parliament by veteran backbench Labour MP Austin Mitchell calling for the restoration of the Bradbury Pound, namely, the issuance of our currency interest free for the nations needs by the Treasury rather than as an interest bearing debt payable to the international banking cartel. The EDM notes that the Bradbury Pound was the historic precedent 100 years ago for public credit as the sound basis for debt and interest-free Treasury money and therefore the sound alternative to the national debt and interest-bearing bank money. It congratulates the Forum for Stable Currencies for having promoted the public credit since 2002 and urges HM Treasury to follow John Bradbury's model and address social, economic and political issues across party lines in one fell swoop and avoid wholly unnecessary austerity cuts. Whilst to date only four other MPs (John McDonnell, Kelvin Hopkins, Jeremy Corbyn and Paul Flynn) has signed up so far it is a start Most ‘aware’ people now realise that the Labour leadership essentially works towards the same agenda as the other main parties, including UKIP, who whilst correct on criticising the EU are still essentially a bunch of pro-globalisation neo-liberals. What should come as more of a surprise is, like their deafening silence regarding the EU/India free trade agreement with Mode 4 provisions, the major trades unions appear to be once again doing their Trappist monks impersonation in not talking about this most vital of economic and political issues. It’s all very well railing against privatisation, austerity and the neo-liberal agenda of corporate fascism. But surely if people are unwilling to relieve those promoting this agenda of their most potent weapon; that is the creation of governments worldwide money supply as an interest bearing debt, with the aim to use this debt to enable the asset stripping of nations by the transnational corporations as their governments respond to the threat of ‘bankruptcy’, then they cannot be serious about defeating this. Why support public ownership of national infrastructure such as railways but not our national currency? TUC, Unite, GMB etc over to you. Yours Faithfully David Duboff Dear editor, Regarding the young members conference report (RMT News March 2014), I am sure that John Milligan gave his account of the history of Scotland from a socialist perspective and why he thought Scotland should vote Yes to independence in an honest way in accordance with his convictions. But what year did his history start though? We must remember that Britain was an island made up of many tribes before the Romans came and built Hadrian’s Wall. That wall split up native peoples and created a boundary which was never previously there before. So if there was no separate country of Scotland and no frontier before Roman times why do the separatists wish to return to a frontier? The various countries making up the UK work better together. We all have a similar culture and most of us are of the same ethnic group. There are many Scottish socialists who believe we are better together. There is only one political party that universally wants Scottish independence and that is the SNP who, I don’t believe, is a socialist party. Remember ‘unity is strength’ and that applies to this issue in the same way as it does for our union. It seems that the young members conference, spurred on by the independence debate, passed a resolution to give 16 and 17 year olds an electoral voice. I am totally opposed to this as they are legally children. If it is thought that 16 and 17 year olds are mature enough then make them adults at 16 rather than 18 and then they can have the vote. Votes at 16 and 17 are just a SNP ploy with the forthcoming independence referendum and shouldn’t be considered in any other UK elections and referenda. Ian Bentley Retired RMT member BETTER TOGETHER SUPPORT THE BRADBURY POUND KEN THOMAS FAREWELL LETTERS