Bank Holiday

So this is it...the end of summer. Today is the last bank holiday of the summer. Our next official holiday is Christmas Day! (at least in the US 'Labor Day' is a week later - so I'll be following the US example!!).

But a new season is about to begin...

The House of Commons returns on 2nd September. The week's business can be found here. (and they'll be discussing cycling on their first day). Conference season starts with the TUC Conference in Bournemouth from the 8th September - and the party conferences follow.

The Institut francais in South Kensington reopens and there's a lot on - I hope, with my newly found free time, to make my visits more frequent. There are a number of films on that I'm keen to see. The programme can be accessed here.

In Stony Stratford, Milton Keynes - Feastival returns.

So, if you are in Britain - enjoy today! (to friends overseas, also enjoy yourself - even if it isn't an official holiday!)

Margaret Bondfield

On Thursday the 180th anniversary of the Great Reform Act was celebrated (in secret??). Yesterday was another anniversary concerned with the progress of spreading power. It was 83 years since Margaret Bondfield was appointed as Britain’s first woman cabinet minister.

In Northampton (where I lived for just over 20 years), the Labour Party used to hold an annual Margaret Bondfield dinner. Ms Bondfield had been the MP for Northampton in 1923-24, a period which saw the first (minority) Labour Government. She lost that seat at the October 1924 General Election, returning in 1926 as the MP for Wallsend. There is a short biography of her on the Union History website. She was an active trade unionist – beginning whilst working as a shop assistant. Before entering Parliament she had become the first woman chair of the TUC. I remember meeting an old lady who recalled running around as a little girl carrying ribbons, while Ms Bondfield was campaigning in Northampton.

Born in 1873, she died in 1953.


 

TUC Conference

The major party political conferences kick off next week with the Liberal Democrats in Bournemouth (13th - 17th September) - although minor conferences (such as UKIP) have already taken place [Bournemouth 4th-6th September]. The first major event of the "conference season" in Britain is the conference of the Trades Union Congress (TUC).

This year the conference is taking place in Brighton. Ministers will speak today - with a closed door meeting with the Prime Minister due this afternoon at 4.30pm.

Conference is described by the TUC itself -

"The policy making body of the TUC is the annual Congress which meets for four days each year during September. Each affiliated union can send delegates to Congress - the larger the union, the more it can send. At Congress 'motions' (resolutions for debate) are proposed and discussed. These form the basis of the TUC's work for the next year."

Further details can be found at http://www.tuc.org.uk/congress/index.cfm?mins=578