YOU WASTED YOUR TIME

This is New Labour’s response to all the thousands of men and women who stood in the freezing snow for hours on end at the North Killingholme oil refinery, Grimsby, recently to try to bring attention to their genuine worries and fears of massive unemployment in this deeply troubled area of the UK.

Here, not just old established firms but more modern, recently developed companies alike are closing down literally on almost a DAILY BASIS. Gordon Brown’s gross and negligent mishandling of the Iceland banking situation and the freezing of that country’s assets is bankrupting Icelandic firms who have invested here and who have worked well with local people until recently. This diabolical situation is closing frozen fish and food processing plants here in Grimsby and across Lincolnshire. His mis-management of this area mushrooms out to Humberside and South Yorkshire on a frightening scale, and seriously threatens all. The knock-on effect of the credit crunch has crippled and practically ruined caravan building, fitting and selling businesses, car sales, house sales, shops, old established engineering firms, the steel plants. etc. etc. Our local news here is bleak indeed these days, as I am sure it is elsewhere in poor old Britain:

www.thisisgrimsby.co.uk/news/MP-claims-LOR-strike-waste-time/article-684412-detail/article.html

The Front Page Headlines on the Grimsby Telegraph Feb.10.09 actually read:

MP claims British jobs deal was already in the pipeline

‘YOU WASTED YOUR TIME’ (in 2 inch high letters)

“We would have been better off negotiating from the word go,”

Shona McIsaac MP

‘…….But Ms McIsaac said she believes the strike – which was not backed by unions and led to workers losing more than a week’s wages in an already tough economic climate – was unnecessary because the unions were already in negotiation.

She said talks were taking place between Unite, GMB and IREM, which employed Italian workers on the site.

They were negotiating the conditions for the Italian workers and the British jobs as far back as Christmas.

She is also concerned local business will be

damaged by the strike actions.

However, she said: “The unions handled it as well as they could given the circumstances. They were dealing with a lot of anger, and a lot of fear.

“I still feel it would have been better if they had negotiated – they could have still got to this point through negotiations, and without the walkout.

“My fear is some of these scenes were beamed across the world. I hope they don’t put people off investing in our area.

“We would have been better off negotiating from the word go.”……….’

Just look at this article (above) in the Grimsby Evening Telegraph, Feb. 10.09.

Here we have sneering local Cleethorpes and Immingham MP Shona McIsaac (what a piece of work) twisting the facts and using them to humiliate the North Killingholme oil refinery workers and their supporters by snidely implying they have totally wasted their time by striking – in fact they might have harmed themselves and their local community by doing so! This is a cruel, and rather vicious guilt trip for New Labour to lay on the deeply worried working class people they claim to support, in my opinion.

No, Ms McIsaac and New Labour - YOU are messing up big style!

Don’t you DARE try and blame British workers for the lack of investment and economic growth in this area.

It is time you took responsibility for bringing this country to the edge of ruin, Mr Blair and Mr Brown! Stop blaming everyone else!

The buck stops with you, New Labour!