Mytholmroyd - will it all again end in tears the next time it buckets down?

Former co-op worker Tony Shaw is a Unite Community member whose West Yorkshire home was flooded in February for the second time in five years. He believes that preventing any more repeats of these traumatic incidents means planting more trees, banning upland peat burning and a radical Green New Deal to tackle Climate Change.

Tony Shaw in his front room in Mytholmroyd -
photograph is copyright Mark Harvey of ID8 photography

Tony moved to Mytholmroyd, a large historic village of 4,000 people between Halifax and Hebden Bridge, three decades ago. His front street two-storey house, built originally in the 1760s, is yards from the River Calder which later meets Cragg Brook in the village centre, which has been flooded three times since 2010, around 400 yards downstream from Tony’s property. 

Designed to protect around 400 properties and costing around £32 million, part of a Yorkshire wide £475 million package aimed at protecting 66,000 properties, the construction of new flood defences at Mytholmroyd began after the 2015 floods. These destroyed many businesses that have been left uninsurable by previous flooding.  A new wider, road bridge has replaced the old one. This has facilitated new flood walls to be installed and for a widening of the river channels at key locations. 

Mytholmroyd has a flood record dating back to, at least, 1837. Few details were recorded unlike recent repeats that have by witnessed by millions on national television. Tony’s house, situated yards from his former workplace, has featured a few times.

“In 2015 the floods reached over a metre high in my house. Amazingly, the gas cooker survived but the white goods were ruined. I sat upstairs until the water drained away, making its way into the river and then on to the natural flood zone down at Brierley Fields around a mile and a half away,” said Tony, who, at one point was temporarily distracted from events outside when he heard on the radio that a woman whose property had been flooded was being emergency rescued as she was giving birth. He later found out  it this was taking place next door. Fortunately both mother and baby turned out fine. 

After the water had drained away Tony received around £6,000, £5,000 from Calderdale Council, to spend on future resilience measures. He also spent his own money on replacing carpets with a new stone floor, which has proven effective in 2020 as this time he has been able to sweep away the mud much more quickly than previously. Consumer units containing trip switches have been remounted high up the walls. 

A new front door cost £2000. Whether it is effective is yet to be proven as the water that entered his property came through the back door. A good friend of Tony’s, John Mooney, a retired UNISON member, who lives in the village centre and whose home has been flooded three times since 2010, believes, “Water just moves round defences to find an entry point. I think some resilience measures are more about being seen to do something rather than tackling the causes behind the flooding.” 

Since 2015, Mytholmroyd residents have endured lots of traffic and dust as the village has become a building site during the ongoing construction projects that have been developed organised by the Environment Agency and Calderdale Council with VBA, a joint venture of three companies, the main on site contractor. There has been criticism locally of those organisations who have held a series of open days for local people to discuss progress of the construction projects, which were due to be completed later this summer. 

The website EYE ON CALDERDALE contains information from seven organisations including the EA, Yorkshire Water, Calderdale Council, DEFRA states that the works won’t ‘totally eliminate the risk of flooding. December 2015 was a 1 in 200 year event…….the completed scheme for Mytholmroyd will substantially improve the level of protection for the village.’ 

“It is a fact that the defences currently in place failed. Will they do so again? Can they ever be made totally effective? An explanatory meeting has yet to take place and there appears to be no formal announcement on what went wrong,” explained John. 

“Human error is annoying but I am convinced that all flood defences can do is buy residents a bit more time when Mytholmroyd, or similar places, especially in the Calder Valley, are deluged by so much water so quickly. 

We were told after 2015 that there was a 2-fold strategy being put in place. Firstly, once the water got into the river the new works would mean it could make its way down to Brierley Fields more quickly. Secondly, there would be projects higher up the valley to slow the water down so the village was not overwhelmed with water. That requires more trees and stopping peat burning on the nearby moorlands,” explained Tony. 

Tony's front room three months after the February 2020 floods
Photograph is copyright Mark Harvey of ID8 photography

Britain has less tree cover than our European neighbours, around 9 per cent compared to an EU average of 35 per cent. 

The government announced in 2018 plans to create a Northern Forest, with up to 50 million trees stretching from Hull to Liverpool and taking in locations over the following 25 years such as the Calder Valley. Yet across England in 2018/19 just 1,420 hectares of trees were planted, half by the Woodland Trust charity. 

Meanwhile the HS2 high-speed rail link will see close to 100 ancient woodlands chopped down. Previous tree planting attempts such as the National Forest in the Midlands, where just half of its proposed 13,500 hectares have been planted since it was announced in 1995, have enjoyed mixed success. 

The Northern Forest is to cost £500 million and of which the Tories have promised just £5 million! Co-ordinated by the Woodland Trust and the Community Forest Trust the plan is to raise the other 99% by charitable donations. Much of the planned works will be undertaken by volunteers. Environmental campaigner and writer Roly Smith, believes, “two years on since 2018 there are still too many unanswered questions before the Northern Forest can be taken seriously.”

Shooting butts on the Walshaw Moor Estate
Copyright Mark Harvey of ID8 photography

Areas of burnt heather on Withen Height above Hebden Bridge
Copyright Mark Harvey of ID8 photography

Tony cannot understand why much more is not being done immediately to plant trees. “We know they help combat climate change by absorbing CO2, removing and storing the carbon whilst releasing oxygen back into the air. They slow down the run off of water into the earth below the tree and prevent soil erosion. This would slash water flow down from the hills above places such as Hebden Bridge and Mytholmroyd during major storms. I think residents here would feel a lot better if they were told that a lot more trees are guaranteed to be planted very shortly.”

What has been taking place over the winter on nearby hills is moorland peat burning. Walshaw Moor Estate is owned by local businessman Richard Bannister, who has received millions of pounds of public funds. These have allowed him to build up his grouse shooting business by regularly burning heather to create different habitats, a land management tool utilised by gamekeepers to increase grouse yields. Scorching the earth destroys the carbon-packed peaty soils. These soils according to Natural England “ reduce flood risk downstream through slowing hydrological pathways.” 

After Hebden Bridge was flooded in 2012 local residents concerned at being left with an £11 million clear-up bill and  seeing some businesses closed permanently formed Ban the Burn to campaign to stop the burning. Following the floods this year Ban the Burn members were promised a meeting with the then environment secretary Theresa Villiers  when she visited Mytholmroyd. Villiers ignored them. 

Since February it has been announced that three large northern England landowners - Yorkshire Water, United Utilities and the National Trust - have banned moorland burning on more than 30 land tracts. This is a major success for the campaign group Ban Bloodsports on Yorkshire’s Moors which has campaigned ceaselessly for such an approach to be adopted including linking up with Unite members at Yorkshire Water who have supported the group which is now keen to see environment minister, Zac Goldsmith, make good on his stated promise to outlaw the practice. 

“Both local MPs round here, one Tory and one Labour, should back any campaign that stops peat burning as I am sure grouse shooting landowners will hang on to their outdated sport for as long as possible,” said Tony who was disappointed that Labour lost the general election so badly last year. He was particularly keen to see the Green New Deal rolled out. 

“ The Green Party should be praised for putting Climate Change on the agenda but they don’t have the political strength to take it forward. For it to happen we needed a Labour Government. The Green New Deal has the potential to create thousands of better paid, rewarding jobs nationwide as part of an ambitious programme working towards decarbonisation in ten years time,“ said Tony who pointed out that It would have also meant substantial investment in many left behind communities.

Will they work next time?
Photo is copyright Mark Harvey of ID8 photography 

Bolton News links football and Spanish Civil War plaques together

Footballer Kenny Davenport and Spanish Civil War fighter James Alwyn are two of Bolton's great heroes and I am delighted to have contributed to making sure they are rightly remembered.

https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/18354412.short-film-honours-bolton-spanish-civil-war-volunteers/

You can now buy a copy of THE TALES OF AMBROSE LANGLEY, football's original hard man

You can now buy a copy of THE TALES OF AMBROSE LANGLEY, football's original hard man, who, amongst many other incidents, twice caused riots at Sunderland when playing for The Wednesday.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tales-Ambrose-Langley-Extra-time/dp/B086PPKGP4/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=the+tales+of+ambrose+langley&qid=1586538428&sr=8-1

Five football historians combine to confirm Sunderland AFC were formed on 25 September 1880

The Founding of Sunderland AFC

25 September 1880

It has long been a source of frustration that the formation date of Sunderland AFC (SAFC), the former 6 times English Topflight League Champions, could not be pinned down to an exact date. It was also wondered why the football club would form on an unknown date in October 1879 and yet not play any football matches for 13 months. 

For the last 5 years a small band of football historians have been researching the founding of SAFC and can finally inform the footballing world that evidence supports the football clubs founding on 25 September 1880 at Rectory Park School, in the then town of Sunderland, before or following a meeting of the Sunderland & District Teachers Association and the leader of what would become the National Union of Teachers.

The evidence for 25 September 1880 is as follows:

1. Submissions by SAFC to Charles Alcock, the then FA Secretary, annually from 1880 to 1908, that formed part of the contents of “The Football Annual”, a publication of the era; which from 1883 onwards stated the club was formed in 1880.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. Martin Westby in his “England’s Oldest Football Clubs” book, published in 2019 and which is now considered to be the ultimate authority on the subject. Martin states that when SAFC celebrated its centenary in October 1879, it did so 11 months too early. Martin confirms the SAFC formation date as September 1880; 
   
   
   
3. SAFC’s 1884/85 season ticket which states that the football club was established in 1880;
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Monday 27 September 1880 edition of the local Sunderland Daily Echo & Shipping Gazette, that announces the formation of (what would become SAFC on 16 October 1880); The Sunderland & District Teachers Association FC; 
   

   

   
   
   
   
5. The Northern Athlete newspaper in its 26 September 1883 article, on page 984, entitled “Football Clubs”. Section 5 for each named club gives the “date of formation”. For “Sunderland Association Football Club” section 5 states “September 1880”. 

The above research has been endorsed by a Professor of History at a British University.

So where did October 1879 come from?

In the modern era the football club gave 17 October 1879 as the clubs’ formation date. Our 5 years of research reveals that.

1. The date “17^th” comes from an unpublished article produced by an un-named SAFC official in 1990;
2. “October” comes from an article by “Referee” the forerunner of The Sunderland Echo’s “Argus” written on 27 March 1895; and the
3. “(late) 1879” comes from a journalistic error in the 19 December 1887 edition of The Sunderland Echo, where the journalist was pressed for time when writing what is the de facto first history on the football club. Due to this constraint he did not refer to previous issues of his own newspaper (see 4 above).

So “17” “October” and “1879” is what can be termed a “Frankenstein date” as it has its origins in 3 articles, 103 years apart, with none of the 3 parts supported with evidence.

The main body of this above research has been published in a 2 volume, 700 plus pages, series of books entitled “Founding Fathers, The Men Who Made Sunderland AFC”, by Paul Days, which looks as the first 10 years of SAFC from their 1880 founding to their election into the Football League in 1890. 

SAFC and its supporters can now look forward to celebrating the football clubs’ 150^th anniversary on 25 September 2030.

Sunderland AFC are aware of our research.

Please contact Mark Metcalf (mcmetcalf@icloud.com) or Keith Graham (footy@thestatcat.co.uk) for any supporting statements or interviews regarding the Founding of Sunderland AFC on 25 September 1880. 

Researchers:

1. Days, Paul – football historian, and published author 
2. Graham, Keith – football historian & statistician 
3. Kitching, Gavin – football historian, published author and former Emeritus Professor of Politics, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
4. Metcalf, Mark – football historian and published author 
5. Westby, Martin – football historian and published author 

Polish migrant women's perspectives from inside the UK on Brexit and precarious work

EU Migrant Workers, Brexit and Precarity

Polish women’s perspectives from inside the UK

Eva A Duda-Mikulin 

Written by one of their own, this book provides a unique insight into the lives of Polish migrant women workers in Britain. Duda-Mikulin was one of thousands who left the former Soviet bloc country when it joined, along with seven other Central European nations, the European Union in 2004. 

Britain had a labour and skills shortage plus an ageing population and was thus an attractive location to move to for young Poles, especially for those from rural areas and small towns, seeking a better life and some adventure. Over 80% making the journey were aged 18-34. 

This was a second wave of migrants from Poland to Britain, the first arriving to escape Nazi occupation during WWII and amongst whom were pilots who played an essential role in the Battle of Britain. 200,000 Poles stayed in Britain after 1945 and have fully integrated. 

Today there are 907,000 Poles living here with more females, 467,000, than males. Internationally the number of migrant workers is roughly equal between men and women, at 48%. Yet very often the image portrayed of a migrant worker is male and single. 

The author was keen to show that migrant women, even those with primary care responsibilities in Britain and back home, are workers in their own right. They thus have needs that need acknowledging so that they can feel valued such that new policies can be adopted to help improve their lives and those of their families and friends. 

40 interviews were conducted with 32 women, some of whom have returned to Poland, where work is now more plentiful than before, whilst others, a minority, are now, following the 2016 vote to leave the EU, seeking to regularise their stay here by seeking permanent residency. It is likely to be a lengthy process for many as the Government has been unable to clarity many questions that are troubling EU residents.

As regards Brexit, the general view of the women, was expressed by Kamelia, “Brexit was all to do with getting rid of immigrants.” 

The interviews reveal a mutual suspicion between the migrant workers and residents of areas where they moved to and those they have worked alongside.

The interviewees worked across many sectors, many migrant women are employed in wholesale, retail, hotels and restaurants and as nurses and health visitors. There are more women migrant workers than male in agriculture. Many rates of pay are poor, long hours are the norm and employment can be insecure. Zero hours contracts are not unusual. 

The women though are politically aware, many are highly qualified, and know their labour is needed across many sectors, especially in London. They also know that Britain is an ageing society. Migrant women have seen their rights to welfare benefits increasingly restricted and as they are generally also the first to undertake care and/or parental responsibilities, including for those back home, this has created a more hostile environment for them.

All of this is causing many to question staying in the long run. It is clear from their own voices that if these women are not guaranteed status they will look elsewhere for work. “We are viewed as second class citizens” said Olivia, a women in her 40s and so “I am not prepared to bend over backwards.”

According to the author, the interviews, which are representative of EU migrants, who contribute more than they take out in tax and benefits, to the UK reveal a need for greater gender equality especially around work life balances and more family friendly initiatives. High fertility rates across migrant communities are halting the ageing process across the UK and migrant workers are fulfilling essential roles in alleviating skill shortages in many sectors of the economy.

English agricultural workers, already the lowest paid in Britain, set to further lose out when Britain lives EU

Even Margaret Thatcher accepted the argument that farmworkers were in a difficult position to bargain, so she saved the Agricultural Wages Board (AWB) when getting rid of the other Wages Boards. She was following in the footsteps of Winston Churchill, who stated at the establishment of the original Wages Boards in 1909, “it is a national evil that any class of Her Majesty’s subjects should receive less than a living wage in return for their utmost exertions…….where you have what we call the sweated trades, you have no organisation, no parity of bargaining …..where these conditions prevail you have both a condition of progress, but a condition of progressive degeneration.” 

The AWB’s main function was to agree decent wages between national representatives of the workers and the employers, to provide a decent and respectable return. Farmers and farmworkers liked the Board because by providing set agreements and rates without individual negotiation they did not have to worry about bargaining. the AWB also dealt with issues relating to tied cottaging and skill structure rewards. 

In the early 2000s, moves by the NFU and Fresh Produce Consortium to scrap the AWB were resisted by the Labour government with the Lib Dems also swearing they would never abolish it. Fast forward to 2011 and the Lib Dems backed their coalition Tory partners Bill to do just that! In early 2012, the government’s impact assessment stated that the abolition would mean £250 million would be removed from the rural economy. Labour and trade union activists, including one of the co-authors of this piece, lobbied the Lib Dems leader, Tim Farron, at his Cumbrian home surgery. He virtually laughed them out. The AWB was abolished without a proper Commons vote.                   

The Lords, at least, offered a proper discussion with Labour opposing, sadly unsuccessfully, an abolition amendment in the Employment Bill. Its inclusion in such a Bill was intended to avoid a challenge by the Welsh Assembly, led by Labour. This in fact failed as the Supreme Court decided Wales had a right to make up its own mind and with Scotland and Northern Ireland having both decided to continue with their AWBs, then only England has no AWB.                    

Unite warned that without an AWB, English workers would lose out heavily. So it has proven, especially for the young who in England are only covered by the rules governing the national minimum wage which is just £4.35 an hour for under 18s and £6.15 for those aged 18-20 and £7.70 from 21-24 years old. In Wales all young agricultural workers 16 to 24 ages receive £7.70 an hour.

                                          This means a 17-year old agricultural worker in Wales working 40 hours a week will earn £308 a week, while his English counterpart will earn £174 — a whopping £134 a week less. The difference if you are aged 19 is lower but still corresponds to £62 a week.                          

In Scotland where Unite continues to put the case for better pay on the AWB the situation is better than anywhere else as all agricultural workers are now being paid £8.21 an hour.                          

Sadly, the situation facing English agricultural workers might be about to worsen as since the AWB abolition the principal protection has come from the EU Working Time Directive, which sets the standard on the length of the working day. Documents seen before the general election revealed that the Tories were considering deviating from some EU environmental regulations and workers’ right.

The Withdrawal Act 2020 that agreed that Britain would leave the EU on January 31, has no guarantees about enshrining European labour legislation into British law.

The Colombian State fails to keep its promises as Peace Deal staggers on

The Colombian State fails to keep its promises as Peace Deal staggers on 

Justice for Colombia (JFC), a British NGO established by the trade union movement 18 years ago, is continuing to support all those working in the South American Republic for peace. In 2016 an agreement between the state and FARC armed rebels ended five decades of conflict in which over 200,000 people were killed. 

JFC was key to the Peace Deal seeing it as part of a path towards social advance and greater equality. Major problems have arisen due to President Ivan Duque’s government failure to invest in civli society or provide security for its citizens. Rural land that was earmarked for redistribution to communities has yet to be formalised. In turn this has caused problems reincorporating former FARC combatants. 

With a permanent peace remaining elusive, JFC has sought to bring international pressure to bear for action and has organised a series of Peace Monitor delegations that have included representatives of UNITE, a major supporter of JFC’s work.

The fourth delegation, twelve-strong, visited Colombia in February. It included some MPs and Gerry Murphy, President of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. Delegates met with Colombian Congress members from several opposition parties and the FARC, trade unions, human rights and civil society leaders. They also visited communities in Bajo Atrato, North Choco affected by paramilitaries who appear to operate with apparent impunity. 

On the ground, developments were worrying. During the six day visit, two rural trade unionists from Fensuagro, Unite’s sister union, were murdered. Over the decades more than 1,500 Fensuagro members have been slaughtered, mainly by paramilitary groups.

The killings are continuing. On 19 March, Marco Rivadeneira,  President of the Peasant Association of Puerto Asis was abducted from a meeting and killed. He was coordinating programmes between local communities and authorities involving coca crop substitution and which 100,000 heroic families have voluntarily responded to. 

On the same day, social leader Ángel Ovidio Quintero was found dead after he and his nephew were attacked by unknown assailants. Ángel was president of his local community council and of an association of miners. Several paramilitary and armed groups are known to be active in the region where he was killed. There is also news that 180 former FARC combatants have been killed since the signing of the Peace Deal. 

The delegation reported “this is crisis of extreme magnitude…..requiring….full implementation of the peace agreement…..we give our full support to the transitional justice mechanisms created…it is essential that the Colombian government takes maximum advantage of those opportunities.” 

Unite will continue to give full support for the activities of JFC and we urge members in branches that are not already affiliated to the organisation to get backing for its important work. JFC has speakers for branch meetings.  Contact JFC at https://justiceforcolombia.org