"If Chile was the birthplace of neoliberalism, it will also be its graveyard" Gabriel Boric
Chilean
leftist, Gabriel Boric, won the country's presidential election on
Sunday 19 December.
On
11 September 1973 the Chilean military imposed a junta led by General
Augusto Pinochet. During the air raids and ground attacks that
preceded the coup, the left-wing Popular Unity President, Salvador Allende, gave his final speech,
refusing offers of safe passage into exile. I remember the photos of
him in helmet, looking up from a balcony at the presidential palace
as the US supplied Lockheed F-80s and British Hawker Hunters attacked
after completing their destruction of radio transmission antennas and
of the presidential residence at Las Condes. Witnesses claim that
Allende committed suicide.
The
military suspended all political activity in Chile and repressed
left-wing movements. The Nixon administration promptly recognised the junta, having helped create
the conditions for the coup This task had been given to Henry Kissinger who had recently been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Pinochet's
soldiers rounded up supporters of Allende's Popular Unity party. Many
were imprisoned in the Chile Stadium. The popular singer/guitarist
Victor Jara had his fingers broken and the guards then taunted
him to play. He managed to sing Venceremos
before
being riddled with bullets. If you have Netflix you can watch
“Massacre at the Stadium” His
last words - “How
hard it is to sing when I must sing of horror / horror
which I am living / horror which I am dying.”
Before
the coup, Chile had been hailed as a beacon of democracy and
political stability when much of South America was in the grip of
their militaries. It was now to become the beacon for the playing out
of the economic neo-liberal ideas of Friedrich Hayeck, Milton
Friedman and James M Buchanan and supported by the policy makers,
Ronald Regan, Margaret Thatcher and Alan Greenspan.
They
advocated the resurgance of 19th-century free-market capitalism, now
referred to as neo-liberalism. This included privatisation,
deregulation, globalisation, austerity and reductions in government
spending to increase the role of the private sector in the economy
and society.
The 1973 coup was a bullet to the head for those struggling for a more
equitable economic and social order, while it was a tonic to the rapid
advance of the 1%.
48
years later Lucrecia Cornejo, 72, a seamstress joined the many
thoudands celebrating on the streets of the capital, Santiago, and
spoke not just for Chile, but for us all. "I
want equality, for us not to be as they call us, the 'broken ones’
- more fairness in education, health and salaries. I want real
change."
Venceremos
I
resigned from the Labour Party in February 2020. Twenty months later,
on 3 November 2021, I received an email from the Party which said
...
We
are writing to you to let you know that a third party that handles
data on our behalf has been subject to a cyber incident. While the
Party’s investigation remains ongoing, we wanted to make you aware
of this incident and the measures which we have taken in response. We
have also provided details of precautionary steps you may consider
taking to help protect yourself.
What
happened? On
29 October 2021, we were informed of the cyber incident by the third
party. The third party told us that the incident had resulted in a
significant quantity of Party data being rendered inaccessible on
their systems. As soon as the Party was notified of these matters,
we engaged third-party experts and the incident was immediately
reported to the relevant authorities, including the National Crime
Agency (NCA), National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and the
Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The Party continues to
work closely with each of these authorities. The Party is also
working closely and on an urgent basis with the third party in order
to understand the full nature, circumstances and impact of the
incident. The Party’s own data systems were unaffected by this
incident.
What
information was involved? We
understand that the data includes information provided to the Party
by its members, registered and affiliated supporters, and other
individuals who have provided their information to the Party. The
full scope and impact of the incident is being urgently investigated.
What
are the Labour Party doing? The
Party takes the security of all personal information for which it is
responsible very seriously. It is doing everything within its power
to investigate and address this incident in close liaison with law
enforcement, the Information Commissioner’s Office and the affected
third party.
What
you can do With
incidents of this nature becoming increasingly common, it is more
important than ever to remain vigilant against suspicious activity.
As an immediate precaution, and in line with National Cyber Security
Centre guidance, we recommend you take the following steps to protect
yourself:
Be
especially vigilant against suspicious activity, including suspicious
emails, phone calls or text messages. The National Cyber Security
Centre has published advice regarding suspicious emails on its
website: https://ncsc.gov.uk/guidance/suspicious-email-actions
For
more information If
you have any questions or queries in relation to this incident,
please direct them to privacy@labour.org.uk.
We will also provide updates on our website in respect of this
incident in line with guidance received from relevant law enforcement
authorities.
Kind
regards,
The
Labour Party
This
was my reply…
TO:
The Labour Party
I
am seeking more detail about your breach of data given that you
should have deleted it when I left the party over 18 months ago.
Consider this an SAR request under article 15 of the UK GDPR.
1.
Provide me with greater clarity about the third party you gave my
details to including their name, reason for giving it,, when you gave
it and the exact details you gave to the third party.
2.
Provide me with the names of all parties you have shared my data
with, again with reasons for sharing, times and dates and the exact
details that were shared,
3.
Provide me with details of when and to what extent I granted you
permission to give my details to any third party,
4.
Provide me with all information you hold on record about me.
5.
Provide me with an explanation as to why you did not delete my
personal data when I left the Labour Party.
6.
You suggested what I should do even though the responsibility for
this data breach is yours, not mine. Provide me with details as to
what measures you have put in place to ensure there is no repetition
of a similar breach.
7.
Provide assurances that all third parties you have shared my details
with have deleted my personal data. Please inform me when you have
deleted my personal data except for this email address.
Please
be aware that you should respond without delay and within one month
of this request.
Regards
David
Wilson
and
this is their reply to me:
Hello
Thank
you for making a subject access request (otherwise known as a “SAR”).
We will respond to your query as quickly as we can, as we are
currently receiving a large volume of enquiries. If you have not
already provided the below, please send that to
dataprotection@labour.org.uk
If
we do not receive your ID, we will assume you do not wish to progress
your SAR.
What do you need from me?
Provide
us with your ID. We ask for a copy of photo ID (e.g. driving
licence, passport) from requesters to guard against unauthorised or
unwarranted attempts to access your confidential information. This
is in line with guidance provided by the Information Commissioner’s
Office. On verifying your identity, copies of any documents you
provide will not be retained, and will be securely and permanently
deleted.
Limit
the scope of your request (if you have not done so already). It is
likely your request will be returned much sooner if you limit the
scope of your request. This could include providing the following:
-Date
range – e.g. any emails between June 2015 and March 2016
-Specific
search terms – e.g. where “Doncaster North CLP” has been
mentioned alongside my name
-Specific conversations/email trails
between named individuals
-Only related to a certain event –
e.g. only about the complaint I raised/the dispute I was involved in
Provide
us with your postcode and membership number. This ensures we can
locate you on our systems.
Thank
you if you have already specified the scope of your request in your
original correspondence to us.
What information will I
obtain from a SAR?
A Subject Access Request will provide
the personal data the Labour Party is processing about you. There are
however exemptions which apply to the disclosure of this data.
The
Labour Party will apply limited redactions in line with the
provisions given under the Data Protection Act 2018 (Schedule 2, Part
3 Para 16). It is therefore important to note that 3rd party personal
data, as well as any information provided to us in a 3rd party
capacity (e.g. complaints made to the Party which mention your name)
are likely to be redacted, or removed entirely, before the
information is disclosed to you. This reflects the need to also
respect the privacy rights of the 3rd party and is in line with the
ICO’s detailed guidance on SARs, which you can find here.
The
Labour Party will also include the following information as part of
your request:
•Any profiling carried out using your
personal data
•Personal data transfers internationally
•Other
rights available to you under the GDPR
•Retention
periods
•Your right to complain to the regulator
In
accordance with the provisions of the General Data Protection
Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018, we will respond to your
subject access request within 30 calendar days of date of receipt.
You should be aware that there are provisions which allow us to
extend the timeframe for response by a further two months where we
determine that a request is either excessive or complex. I will
confirm whether the party intends to apply this extension once we
have conducted our initial searches.
Yours sincerely,
Data
Protection Team| The Labour Party
So
no apology for this "incident", which is a major breach of
data protection, but a lengthy explanation of what steps I must take
to protect myself from data abuse. Then a request for detailed
information about myself, my membership number and emails, search
terms and so on. When I resigned I binned my membership card and
since the LP has me on their records – that is why I received the
initial email from them – why must I give them further details? My
personal data should have been deleted from Labour Party files when
I resigned my membership instead of which they now want MORE
information about me. This is beyond crazy.
“We
should just take it on the chin.” Boris Johnson
As
of October 4, 2021, the number of confirmed UK deaths due to
coronavirus is 136,986.
Britain’s
handling of the coronavirus pandemic is one of the worst public
health failures in UK history, with the government’s “fatalistic”
approach resulting in the huge death toll. According to a report
titled “Coronavirus: lessons learned to date” that was headed by
two former Conservative ministers, the UK’s “slow and gradualist”
approach meant the the country fared “significantly worse” than
other nations.
Impaired
by lack of transparency, the crisis exposed “major deficiencies in
the machinery of government”, with public bodies unable to share
vital information and scientific advice.
Despite
being one of the first countries to develop a test for Covid, the UK
“squandered” its lead and “converted it into one of permanent
crisis ... For a country with a world-class expertise in data
analysis, to face the biggest health crisis in 100 years with
virtually no data to analyse was an almost unimaginable setback.”
It’s
not all bad news. Ministers have handed out billions of pounds in
Covid mateocracy contracts and right now, the man in charge is lying
beside the Marbella pool of a Tory donor who bought himself a lordly
title. And hey, it would have been so much worse if Jeremy Corbyn had
been PM.
It was great to meet up with Carole Vincent at the 85th anniversary Cable Street march. She told me that, as a delegate to the recent Labour Party conference, she was interviewed by the police so they could find out whether she was a 'suitable' delegate! As I suspected no sign of Margaret Hodge or Keir Starmer in Cable Street. Jeremy Corbyn there of course and a wonderful speech from Rabbi Herschel Gluck, who made clear that the battle of Cable Street is ongoing.
I
hope you will join me on Sunday 3 October 2021 in Cable Street for this ‘No
Pasaran’ memorial march. Assemble
1pm Junction of Cable Street, Leman Street and Dock Street. Marching
to the Cable Street Mural/St George’s Gardens.
Speakers
include: Apsana Begum MP, Jeremy Corbyn MP (Project for Peace and
Justice), Rabbi Herschel Gluck, Mick Lynch Gen Sec RMT, Amina Patel
(Unison), Abdul Chowdhury (NEU), Noorahmed Uddin (Altab Ali
Foundation) Joginder Bains (Indian Workers Association-GB) Julia Bard
(Jewish Socialists’ Group), Rob Griffiths, (Communist Party),
Weyman Bennet (Stand Up To Racism) Marlene Sidaway (International
Brigades Memorial Trust), and relatives of the activists of 1936:
Michael Rosen, Ruth Levitas, June Legg and JVL member Tony Booth.
Co-chairs: Julie Begum (Swadhinata Trust), David Rosenberg (JSG)
Margaret
Hodge’s “Fucking antisemite and racist” Jeremy Corbyn will be
speaking alongside rabbis, the Bengali and Indian communities, Stand Up to Racism and
members from the Jewish Socialists and Jewish Voice for Labour. Their
co-chair Leah Levane, was recently thrown out of the Labour Party
conference. We will be remembering those who stopped fascism all
those years ago and reminding ourselves that the struggle continues.
I don’t think Hodge or Starmer will join us.
