At the London Anglo-French 26-28 March summit, ‘entente cordiale’ was upgraded to ‘entente amicale’ while Gordon Brown took it up a notch to ‘entente formidable’. Substance will be put into it with cooperation on defence, nuclear projects, immigration, aid and development and pledges to stand together on UN reform, climate change, trade and financial regulation.

British and French citizens are no strangers to increasing enthusiasm for cross border entente. Around 300,000 mostly young French people, live in the UK. Many work in London, the 7th largest city of French citizens, savouring its flavour and seeking a modernised economy to increase their salaries. Sir John Holmes, former British Ambassador in Paris indicated some 500,000 British live and/or own property in France with a conservative estimate of 50 billion euros property investment. Magnets are life quality, work, cheaper property, love of France, climate. (1)

Some British citizens living in France recently set up Labour International in France (LIiF), a branch of Labour International (LI), the British Labour Party’s overseas global section. LI serves it members abroad, contributes to Labour party policy with its overseas perspectives, cooperates with national and regional sister parties and community groups, and promotes the Labour Party’s agenda.

LIiF’s members’ goals are to maintain a Labour Government in the UK, link with socialist groups and institutions in France and contribute to local government. For instance, Treasurer Brian-Thomas Richardson, just won a seat in the municipal election at his home, Couture, Charentes. He found the election fascinating because ‘Here we have our closest neighbours doing it in a completely different, yet equally democratic way. I look forward to being involved in the local decision making process and understanding more the " small commune " side of French everyday life.’

Currently LIiF in France is preparing its first national meeting on 10 May 2008 at the Partie Socialiste’s (PS) Paris Headquarters in cooperation with Labour International’s executive committee. LIiF Secretary Eric Green underscored that: ‘In the Paris Conference we shall together provide a solid foundation for the future progress of the Labour Party in France and the Socialist Movement in Europe. It will be the first national conference to be followed biennially by similar conferences’.

Discussions on these LIiF themes will be followed by a meeting focussing on LI’s International contributions to Labour Party policy, Branch development, Overseas voting rights and the the Party of European Socialists’ (PES) 2009 Social Manifesto. Participants will include LIiF members and representatives of the PS, PES French activists, LI Geneva/France voisine branch and the LI executive. The last are from Denmark, France, Spain, Switzerland and the USA.

Central to overseas voting rights is the fundamental democratic right of 5.5 million British citizens abroad to vote in Britain. That right to vote is a fundamental tenet of the British Constitution. The right to vote without time restrictions is wholly consistent with relevant international instruments. However, unlike many other countries, the UK is one of the most restrictive in depriving its expatriates of these democratic rights.

British citizens living abroad for more than 15 years can no longer vote in British elections. Even the franchise for the expected referendum on the EU constitution treaty would have excluded British overseas residents who were not eligible to vote in UK parliamentary elections, despite being EU citizens and living within the EU.

Labour International has campaigned since 1996 to maintain franchise for all British citizens abroad. It strongly supports taking a leaf out of the French legislative book whereby French citizens abroad never lose their vote and the voting procedure for expatriates is uncomplicated. French socialists abroad can vote for 3 senators to represent their interests in the Senate. Senator Richard Young expressed dismay that Britain, famed for its civil liberties tradition, could deny voting rights to expatriates. (Geneva Eurosocialists meeting 13 May 2005)

Sir John Holmes’ report stresses ‘Concern at being "disenfranchised" does seem to be growing. An issue to watch’. While some Westminster MPs are bewildered and bemused at the bother, it was given fair and square ‘watch’ this year. Take a look at:

• - BBC News ‘Politics at a distance’ by Lucy Wilkins on 2 January
• - This Europe, ‘15 years of Belgitude’ by Gareth Harding, Editor, on 14 March
• - (first printed in The Bulletin, Belgium)
• - The Wall Street Journal ‘One man no vote’ by Gareth Harding on 14 April
• - French News ‘Shocking Lack of Votes from Abroad’, by Brian Cave in April.

As for the Socialist movement in Europe, the centre piece for discussions will be contributions to the Party of European Socialists’ 2009 Social Manifesto. This innovative road map, launched for the first time in Europe pivots on forward political solutions to global problems through A New Social Europe, Europe in the World, Democracy and Diversity, Saving our Planet.

Labour International’s 10 May meeting thus seamlessly slots into Europe Day on 9 May 2008, the anniversary celebrating the initiation of the European Union on 9 May 1950. Then, French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman gave a speech calling for European countries to combine their coal and steel production under a single European institution. This paved the way for a European Union aspiring to unite its peoples in a European home, where ‘its not them and us, its you and me’ in the words of the poster for the 2008 European year of Intercultural Dialogue.

(1) Holmes: Number of British residents and property doc. Paris 2006

Dr Sylvia Moore, Deputy Chair, Labour International April 2008

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For further information please contact:

Eric Green at ericlgreen286@msn.com tel 0545300248
Sylvia Moore at Ssindamanoy@aol.com

You can also consult

• LIiF at www.labourenfrance.com,
• Labour International at www.labourint.org.uk
• British Labour Party at www.labour.org.uk,
• PES at www.pes.org

by Sylvia Moore, Deputy Chair, Labour International Co-ordinating Committee

On 23 August 1963 Martin Luther King delivered his famous dream speech of hope at the Washington DC march, declaring: ‘I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.'" … .`Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children’

In 1984 some twenty years on, thousands marched to l’Elysée, in Paris. They were mainly ‘beurs’, youngsters born in France of Arab immigrant parents. Then Harlem Désir launched a massive campaign ‘Touche pas à mon pote’ - Don’t touch my friend - and set up SOS Racisme with the dream of integrating immigrants. His parents came from 2 farflung French departments, Alsace and Martinique. Former conga player in a rock métis band, like Martin Luther King, he became a political drum major. He was spokesman for SOS Racisme until 1992, and from 1989 – 1994 member of the Economic and Social Council. In 1999 he was elected as socialist MEP for Ile de France, and he became Vice President of the Global Progressive Forum. (GFP)

In a nutshell the GPF’s goal is to reform globalisation by creating progressive communities for change. (see www.globalprogressiveforum.org) The latest GPF session at International Labour Office at Geneva, on 14 and 15 February last week, provided the opportunity for resident members of socialist parties in Europe to hear about the GPF’s on-going discourse at a special meeting on 15 February on the theme of the Party of European Socialists’ Manifesto 2009 - "Decent work, Decent Life". (On PES see www.pes.org)

Our speakers were Harlem Désir and Luciano Vecchi PES Presidency member, and National Executive member of the Democratic Socialist (DS) party in Italy. As MEP from 1989-1999 he served on several committees. In 2005 he became DS’ Director of Foreign Affairs. The meeting was arranged by Labour International’s branch at Geneva and neighbouring France with participants from the British, Dutch and French socialists parties, the Eurosocialist Association of Geneva and journalists.

The centre piece was the negative impact on a world propelled by one track globalisation, unbridled free market forces and governance blurred by fragmentation, with a downward spiral of inequality, environmental damage and political instability. The issue at hand was how to create an alternative globalisation for sustainability, equity and legitimacy.

Luciano Vecchi introduced the theme by zooming in on the key challenges for the PES - European identity and diversity, Europe’s role in the world, Saving the planet’s environment, Harmonising work and social norms. He referred to the PES Council’s November 2008 resolution ‘The EU on the international scene; promoting sustainable peace’, with its mandela for sustainable peace, solidarity – globalisation for the benefit of all, democracy – more rights and duties for individuals and states, respect for the environment, and the role of the PES.

He underscored that the PES was the only transnational party with forward political solutions to global problems through its 2009 Social Manifesto. The PES could promote dialogue across borders and show that Europe in the framework of a new constitution treaty could be an example and opportunity for open style governance. It could be an axis for political proposals to governments which ultimately would make decisions on the social future of Europe and its place in the world.

Harlem Désir, in rivetting rap rhythm oracy, called for the reform of global financial and trading insistutions in tune with new models of global, democratic governance. ‘Raise the PES flag’, he urged so that the Social Manifesto could be moved forward by urging national parliaments to discuss it themes: A New Social Europe, Europe in the World, Democracy and Diversity, Saving our Planet. In synergy with trade unions, governments should be pressed into putting in place social norms and implementing international labours conventions.

Concerns expressed by participants were that the GPF could have a wider scope to include other non-state actors such as consumer groups and could pave the way for genuine grassroot participatory democracy and direct democracy through national parties at national and European levels. Ordinary citizens should not be held hostage or unrepresented by the labyrinth of mega governance. They should have a say in multi-track globalisation with a human face through public, political debate.

Alan Leather, former Deputy Director of Public Services International feared that trade unions in Eastern countries were too weak to influence positive change. Working now in Georgia he found that the shaky relationship between the government and trade unions made it difficult to set up a better health care system. Luciano Vecchi noted that other than Hungary, on the whole political parties were transient and weak in Eastern Europe and did not even want elections. Workers were reluctant to join trade unions which lacked experience. Nevertheless it was important for all players to respect each other’s autonomy in order to build solid working relations.

Transborder co-citizenship has a unique identity given that almost every issue is cross frontier these days needing global responses. It transcends national identities with their myriad diversities. I asked the speakers what concrete measures the GPF would bring up to guarantee harmonious transborder community co-existence.

Harlem Désir stressed that international organisations especially the World Trade Organisation should be sensitised by speaking out loudly and clearly to put on pressure to standardise global social norms through multi-lateralism. Trade Unions should be approached with concepts in common as basis for cooperation. Luciano Vecchi called for action through appropriate institutions and using means such as advocacy and political thinking.

Wouter van Ginneken, Deputy President of the Eurosocialist Association of Geneva wanted to know what kind of product was expected from our discussions and how we could particpate in the Social Manifesto process.

Luciano Vecchi’s clarion call in response was to encourage PES activists to come up with clear ideas on the Social Manifesto in a short, precise and pithy format. ‘Don’t be put off’, he said, by diverging political views as an excuse for mass inertia and for doing nothing. So many different ideas from all the possible actors are facts of life. Indeed, his compatriot, composer Luigi Nono said that ideas inspire innovation and generate their own appropriate technologies and tools.

The heart of the matter is to turn dreams into reality with ideas to kickstart creative, viable solutions. They become reality through engaging responsible political architecture and a global ethic of planetary stewardship, the other face of globalisation. The PES and the GPF are opening doors to take up this challenge and prevent a repeat of Martin Luther King’s verdict that: ‘History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.’

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20 February 2008