Harry's Last Stand

"I Got Out, Dad" Death Before The Welfare State.

"On this day in 1943, my grandfather, Albert Smith, died.
When he was twelve, he began working in a coal mine dug beneath the village of Barley Hole. He had a hard life. My father remembered him as a gentle soul with a keen curiosity for history, who could play the piano and loved his children."

https://open.substack.com/pub/jmsmith/p/i-got-out-dad-death-before-the-welfare?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email

#HarrysLastStand #HarryLeslieSmith #JohnSmith #politics #fascism #WelfareState #poverty

Welfare State / Lol Coxhill by Welfare State / Lol Coxhill, released on Caroline Records in 1975

Inconstant Sol wrote:

"This is something of an oddity in the Lol Coxhill discography, but a delightful record all the same. Coxhill was the musical director for this travelling troupe from 1973 to 1975... Welfare State was a nomadic consortium of artists, makers, musicians and performers...the WS envisaged themselves as Civic Magicians and Engineers of the Imagination, devising rituals and constructing images for particular times, places and seasons. They travelled throughout Europe with a mobile village of lorries and caravans, creating and animating outdoor events with sculptures, theatre pieces, celebrations, dances and processions. Consisting of 16 adults and 7 children, WS would stop for shorter or longer residences, whenever the opportunity arose to "make poetry concrete..."

https://inconstantsol.blogspot.com/2012/08/welfare-statelol-coxhill.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ie8UjqLee3o&list=RDIe8UjqLee3o&start_radio=1

#LolCoxhill #WelfareState #Music #CarolineRecords

3️⃣/4️⃣ Proposals for a Green New Deal Beyond Growth

🤲 UNIVERSAL PUBLIC SERVICES

🔗 Read the full policy brief and executive summary at: https://degrowth.org/blog/2025/09/09/a-green-new-deal-beyond-growth-for-the-eu/
—
#policybrief #greennewdeal #wellbeing #welfarestate #degrowth #postgrowth

First Minister leads tribute to Llanelli MP Jim Griffiths, father of the Welfare State

First Minister Eluned Morgan led tributes at a special event at Llanelly House marking the 50th anniversary of Griffiths’ death, describing him as a “forgotten hero” whose values still resonate today.

Griffiths, a former collier from Betws, became Wales’ first Secretary of State and was instrumental in the creation of Family Allowance and the wider welfare system that supported millions across post-war Britain.

“He may be gone,” the First Minister told the audience, “but what he stood for, what he fought for, what he achieved, is as alive today as it ever was.”

She said Griffiths would be “frustrated” by the persistence of child poverty, homelessness, and the housing crisis in modern Britain, but praised his enduring influence on Labour’s values of solidarity, equality, community and hope.

“The boy from Betws who went down the pit and came up fighting would be proud of what we’ve achieved. But he’d also challenge us to do more. To be better. To never give up the fight for a fairer, more equal Wales.”

The event was attended by Llanelli MP Nia Griffith, Labour councillors, and party members, with many calling for a more prominent memorial to Griffiths in his home communities of Llanelli and Ammanford.

Who was Jim Griffiths?

• Born: 1890, Betws, Ammanford
• Background: Began work as a coal miner before becoming active in the trade union movement.
• Political career: Elected Labour MP for Llanelli in 1936, serving until 1970.
• Father of the Welfare State: As Minister for National Insurance in Clement Attlee’s post‑war government, he introduced the Family Allowance and laid the foundations of Britain’s social security system.
• First Secretary of State for Wales: Appointed in 1964, he established the Welsh Office and became a key advocate for devolution.
• Local legacy: Instrumental in bringing the Trostre tinplate works to Llanelli, boosting jobs and industry.
• Died: 1975, aged 85.

Griffiths is remembered as a man of principle who rose from the coalface to Cabinet, shaping modern Britain while never losing touch with his community roots.

Calls for a lasting tribute

Deputy Mayor of Ammanford Calum Higgins said Griffiths’ contribution deserved recognition on the same scale as Gwynfor Evans in Carmarthen.

“Ammanford and Llanelli were once linked as a constituency and shared Jim Griffiths as their MP. He came from the working community of Ammanford and Betws, and represented his people at a national level. We haven’t given him the profile we should have.”

Llanelli town councillor Shaun Greaney described Griffiths as “undoubtedly a forgotten hero”:

“Everyone knows Nye Bevan founded the NHS, but few know the story of Jim Griffiths. A mural declaring Llanelli the cradle of devolution would be a fitting tribute.”

County councillor Janet Williams, who helped organise the event and install the plaque at Llanelli Library, said:

“Jim was a progressive politician and played a major role in bringing the Trostre tinplate works to Llanelli. He was a man of principle, and a man of the people.”

While funding for a larger memorial may be challenging, councillors say grant support could help realise a tribute that reflects Griffiths’ national impact and deep local roots.

#Ammanford #CalumHiggins #ElunedMorganMS #FamilyAllowance #FirstMinister #JanetWilliams #JimGriffiths #Llanelli #LlanellyHouse #WelfareState #WelshLabour

"When I started this piece, I claimed that poverty occurs when the following four conditions are present:

1. The national income is distributed using payments to laborers and capital owners.
2. Capital ownership is very unevenly distributed across families.
3. A large share of the population is not working at any given time.
4. Nonworkers are unevenly distributed across families.

One could do more, but I think I have demonstrated this all pretty well using the most recent census income microdata. If this is a correct diagnosis of the problem, then the solution involves flipping one or more of these four conditions.
(...)
So what we are left with is flipping the first condition and using mechanisms other than payments to laborers and capital owners to distribute the national income. This is called the “welfare state” and it is, as a factual matter, how low-poverty countries come to be that way.

Indeed, if you look at the categories of nonworkers in the graphs above, you might notice that they map perfectly onto the populations that welfare states are designed to serve. In good welfare states:

- Children receive a monthly child benefit check, child care, pre-k, K–12 education, among other things.
- Elderly receive an old-age pension.
- Disabled receive disability benefits.
- Students receive tuition subsidies, living stipends, and subsidized loans.
- Carers receive paid leave and home care allowances.
- Unemployed receive unemployment benefits.

Even the United States has some of these benefits and they work in proportion to their coverage and generosity. We can see this in the below graph where I introduce a bar for disposable income poverty, which counts government benefits."

https://jacobin.com/2025/08/welfare-state-poverty-aging-disability-unemployment/

#Poverty #Inequality #WelfareState #Capitalism

You could do both if you Tax the Rich, but you won't and so you won't get support for defending Europe from Russia (because I'm sorry to break it you tankies, but Russia is the Baddie) , and you'll lose in every way possible because you're British and shit.
Brits love losers though, and love being losers, it's less effort than being good and smart. Just give up....wallow in shit, 'the British Way'

#UKPOL #UKPOLITICS #Russia #WelfareState #TaxTheRich #EatTheRich

Price ceilings and price floors: https://www.aurianneor.org/price-ceilings-and-price-floors/

#aurianneor #consumergoods #control #cost #decent #democracy #economy #education #energy #essential #farmer #food #health #housing #humanrights #market #peasants #prices #rent #subsidy #weapons #welfarestate