Organised by Reading Trades Union Council
A Report of the Evening, by John
S. Partington
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| Harry Leslie Smith |
Date & Time: 8 June 2016, 7pm-9pm
Venue: The Reading International Solidarity Centre,
London St, Reading
Chair: Jan Bastable, President, Reading Trades Union
Council
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| Jan Bastable, President of Reading Trades Union Council, with Harry Leslie Smith |
As chair of
the event, Jan Bastable made a few opening remarks by way of introduction. She
noted that she first saw Harry Leslie Smith at a Labour Party conference fringe
event two years ago and was moved to tears by Harry’s story, as were many
others present. Having visited Reading a year ago, Harry was welcomed back by
Jan and the floor was given over to him.
Harry
thanked the audience and the Reading Trades Union Council for the invitation to
speak to them. He urged all to vote in the forthcoming European Union
Referendum. He asserted that austerity must be fought. During the Second World War,
despite hardship and war, the nation was united – but now we are divided by a
Tory-induced austerity more extreme than any time since the 1930s. From a
Britain which shone like a beacon of liberty, austerity and Tory anti-trade
unionism is provoking intolerance and division.
Harry
declared that healthcare is the right of every citizen regardless of economic
means. His sister died of tuberculosis in Barnsley in the 1930s and his father
lost his job through a workplace accident. His family moved to Bradford as
economic migrants. He remembers foraging through dustbins for food in the 1930s
when his father could find no work. At age 7 he found work as a beer seller
from a barrel in working-class areas. In 1941, aged 18, he took up the fight
against the Nazis.
Following the
war Harry engaged in the fight for a more equal Britain and a more liberal
world through the Labour Party. But today we are returning to the blackness of
the 1930s – with such things as homelessness and zero-hours contracts. David
Cameron is using fear of immigration, foreigners and the poor to dismantle the
welfare state. Harry ended his talk by beseeching his listeners to ‘Go out and
fight for social and economic justice!’
At this
stage, Jan invited questions and discussion from the floor.
One attendee asked if Harry had any tips for
disabled rights campaigners, given his experience of the war and human
destruction.
Harry observed
that, over the last 20 years, ‘creature comforts’ have been prioritised over
compassionate policies. Wealth needs taxing and loopholes closing. Houses,
schools and hospitals are being neglected in favour of tax breaks.
A second questioner pointed out that we do not want
another world war and asked Harry what might be the catalyst for change today.
Harry observed
that the government has taken hopes for change away but it is within our power
to achieve change. We need to organise big demonstrations and vote for change.
A third questioner asked Harry how we can reinstil
a collective consciousness in the younger generation.
Harry urged
all present to lead by example, demonstrate and support Jeremy Corbyn who he
described as a ‘good man’.
A fourth questioner asked if Harry felt there was a
win-win situation which would keep Britain in the EU. (I.e., a result which
would oppose austerity, protect workers’ rights and keep Britain in the EU).
Harry
countered critics of the EU’s anti-democratic structure by declaring the
Britain is not democratic. He pointed out that citizens across the EU are
people too and they must rise too. Europe-wide efforts are needed to achieve
our aims. The ‘Out’ campaign needs to explain where Britain will stand in the
event of ‘Brexit’. Food security is essential, but they are not clear on the
subject.
A fifth questioner noted Harry’s active Twitter
presence and asked if he is ever bothered by what people write to him and about
him.
‘People like
to talk to me; I don’t always say what I think...’, Harry replied.
A sixth questioner, while reflecting on ‘scandals
around “Panamagate”, coke-snorting and anti-democratic tendencies in government’
asked: ‘should we stage a general strike?’
‘Yes’, Harry
replied, we need to show the government how we feel. He also pointed out that
he was in the first general strike!
A seventh questioner asked whether social media can
fill the gap of print media given its fragmented nature.
Harry declared
that social media is a great invention but too many people use it for ‘chit
chat’. We need to utilise it, but Harry suggested we should also continue to
take a printed newspaper.
The final question of the evening asked, ‘How do we
overcome apathy and cynicism?’
Harry
answered by stating that he does what he does because he witnessed the 2008
economic and banking crisis. We need to change laws and have a just taxation
system.
Jan wrapped
up the evening by thanking Harry for a delightful discussion and thanking the
audience for their attendance and interaction. After events closed, many of the
audience took ‘selfies’ with Harry and conversation continued for a further
hour.
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| The audience at the Reading International Solidarity Centre |
This report
is merely a synopsis of issues raised and Harry’s thoughts about them. The
evening was as much a discussion among the audience as it was a
question-and-answer session with Harry – one representing a variety of views,
but which proceeded and ended on a note of good-natured enquiry.
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| Reading Chronicle, 30 June 2016, p. 16 |
