GFTU BGCM 2019 Minutes

discourse. Over the years the public has got wise to that. Austerity fatigue has

actually set in. The fact that people have not seen a real wage increase for 10

years really, living standards have stagnated, has made people much more

aware of the bogus nature of George Osborne’s claims and I think that is one

of the reasons why Jeremy Corbyn was so popular in 2017 that he did

articulate that sense that there is an alternative here, we do not have to go

through a period of prolonged austerity to get the sort of economy we want, we

can get it in a different, more progressive way, so, yes, I totally agree with you.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Larry. Before we take the next question, I just want

to welcome Claire Smith who has had a terrible journey. She is the Senior

Finance Officer of the GFTU. Welcome, Claire, I am glad you made it.

Manuel.

BRO MANUEL CORTES (TSSA): Hello, Larry. Just to start off by saying that I share

most of your analysis, even though we are on different sides on the Brexit

debate, in particular that many people were disgruntled and they were right to

be disgruntled, because their lot had not improved over a period of time and,

you are right, if we do not tackle the underlying issues that led to Brexit, in my

view, which were predominantly around economics, if we do not do that, we are

just stoking a large, large fire that at some point is just going to spread like

wildfire. I went and knocked on a lot of doors. I was remain and reform, which

was a different platform. I actually did a couple of rallies with Jeremy and we

were talking about the need to have a different economic model, but the people

who were disgruntled were right to be disgruntled. They have the right to be

angry and they have the right to tell politicians that they wanted something

different. The problem was, of course, that the majority of the people in the

remain campaign were saying, “It is all hunky dory, just vote for us and we will

continue the way we are” and that was a real danger and, in my view, the

reason why that Referendum was lost.

But just looking forward, because one of the anniversaries that we should also

mention is the rise of Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party after 2015, because

what you have been articulating is the need for a new economic settlement.

120