Liz Truss's honeymoon period, if indeed there was one, was already well and truly over prior to the Conservative Party Conference earlier this week. The Chancellor's 'fiscal statement', 'mini budget', 'largest tax giveaway in 50 years', call it what you will, sent shock waves through the financial markets, shudders through Tory 'red wall' MPs and … Continue reading The Tory lurch to the right – in speeches
The utter shambles of this Truss-led government has clearly indicated that they intend to renege on a promise made by the previous Chancellor Rishi Sunak, to uplift social security benefits in line with inflation. They may well now claim it is due to the ‘difficult choices’ they have to make as a result of the … Continue reading Truss lines up Austerity 2.0
The UK's political system has some obvious democratic failings, perhaps the most prominent being the 'first past the post' voting system, which has enabled our current Government to rule as an 'elective dictatorship' on a minority of votes cast. However, there is less obvious inequality of representation created by the lack of working-class voices in … Continue reading Why we need more working-class voices in Parliament
For many people the walk to the polling station is a forlorn and pointless ritual, with no prospect of your vote making a shred of difference to the result. General Elections are decided by a sprinkling of marginal seats across the UK. In the 2019 General Election, a landslide victory for the Conservative Party, only … Continue reading So why does the UK need PR?
I am proud to have written the motion on a fairer voting system that was recently adopted by ASLEF at their Annual Assembly of Delegates. However, in a democratic union like ASLEF, success is only achieved with the support of branch delegates from across the railway network. I am particularly grateful to my colleague who … Continue reading The push for PR gathers momentum
It is said that most political careers inevitably end in failure. I seem to have turned this statement on its head and started my journey with a series of defeats! I've been reminded that it is a year since the local government elections. This made me reflect what a year it had been and how … Continue reading A turbulent year
I remember tentatively walking into my first ever local Labour Party meeting in October 2016. Little did I know then that in three years I'd have been a candidate in not one, but two General Elections, that certainly wasn't the plan! The result was shockingly bad for the Labour Party and a new leader will … Continue reading It’s time for us to step up, not down
My name is Julian Vaughan and I am standing as your Labour candidate in North East Bedfordshire. A train driver on London Underground, I have lived in Langford since 2006 and am married with a teenage daughter. I am proud to be British, with our sense of fair play, our tolerance and our willingness to … Continue reading Julian Vaughan – a strong voice for you and your family in NE Bedfordshire
The following blog post is a review of my experience as a Labour candidate during the June 2017 General Election. Over those thirty seven days I experienced many different emotions, and it is this aspect that I deal with, rather than policy matters, or the strategy of the campaign. Those who have been through an … Continue reading Candidate
Julian Vaughan 