Michael Lavalette
Encyclopedia
Socialist Alliance (England)
The Socialist Alliance was a left-wing electoral alliance in England between 1992 and 2005.In late 2005, a small group reformed with the name "Socialist Alliance", with a mutual affiliation with the larger Alliance for Green Socialism.-Origins:...
candidate shortly after the start of the Iraq War in 2003. And re-elected as a Respect councillor in 2007. In the split within Respect in 2007 he remained loyal to the SWP and broke with George Galloway.
He is an Associate Professor of Social Work
Social work
Social Work is a professional and academic discipline that seeks to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of an individual, group, or community by intervening through research, policy, community organizing, direct practice, and teaching on behalf of those afflicted with poverty or any real or...
at Liverpool Hope University
Liverpool Hope University
Liverpool Hope University is a university in Liverpool, England. Two of its three founding colleges were established in 1844 and 1856, the third opening in the 1960s. It is the only ecumenical university in Europe. Based on two campuses, the main campus is located in Childwall and the second...
, formerly having worked at both Liverpool and Central Lancashire universities.
Along with Chris Jones, Iain Feguson, and Laura Penketh, he was an author of the Social Work manifesto for a new engaged practice and organiser of the Liverpool and Glasgow conferences of the Social Work Action Network (SWAN), which stands in the radical social work tradition and seeks to oppose the increased managerialism and privatisation within the social work profession, and to promote social work practice based on principles of social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
.
At the end of 2008 the Social Work Action Network ran a campaign defending social workers in the aftermath of the Baby P tragedy. Shortly after, along with Iain Ferguson, he wrote a polemical pamphlet called 'Social Work After Baby P' that included significant contributions from academics, practitioners and senior trade union officers.
Lavalette originally joined his local Labour Party in North Ayrshire
North Ayrshire
North Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas in Scotland with a population of roughly 136,000 people. It is located in the south-west region of Scotland, and borders the areas of Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire to the north-east and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the East and South...
at the age of 16 in 1979, but by January 1981 he had left to join the SWP. In the early 1990s he moved to Preston for work and became politically active in the local labour movement.
In Preston he continues to be politically active. He is the co-ordinator of the local Stop the War Coalition. He organised a solidarity day in Preston for victims of the Asian Tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
and has led campaigns against hospital privatisation, Islamaphobia, the wars in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and support for local trade unionists on strike.
He regularly writes for the local paper the Lancashire Evening Post
Lancashire Evening Post
The Lancashire Evening Post is a daily newspaper based in Fulwood, a suburb of the city of Preston, Lancashire, England. According to the British Library, its first edition was published on 18 October 1886...
.
In May 2007 he was re-elected to Preston council and held his seat until May 2011.
2003 Election
Lavalette stood as a Socialist Alliance Against the WarSocialist Alliance (England)
The Socialist Alliance was a left-wing electoral alliance in England between 1992 and 2005.In late 2005, a small group reformed with the name "Socialist Alliance", with a mutual affiliation with the larger Alliance for Green Socialism.-Origins:...
candidate. He was well known in the area as the leader of the local Stop the War Coalition. The "Against The War" label was crucial in gaining him victory in a ward with over 40% Muslim voters. At the time sentiment against Labour and in particular the pro-war local MP, Mark Hendrick
Mark Hendrick
Mark Phillip Hendrick is a British Labour Co-operative politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Preston since winning a by-election in 2000.-Biography:Hendrick, who is half Somali, was born in Salford, Lancashire...
, was running high. It is questionable if the Socialist Alliance platform alone would have been sufficient for victory in such a ward.
George Galloway
George Galloway
George Galloway is a British politician, author, journalist and broadcaster who was a Member of Parliament from 1987 to 2010. He was formerly an MP for the Labour Party, first for Glasgow Hillhead and later for Glasgow Kelvin, before his expulsion from the party in October 2003, the same year...
was alleged to have backed Michael Lavalette in this election, which was one of the charges that led to George Galloway being expelled from the Labour Party.
2005 election
In 2005 he stood as a Respect candidate in the Parliamentary elections for PrestonPreston (UK Parliament constituency)
Preston is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...
coming fourth with almost 7% of the vote, which is considered very high for a fourth party and saved his deposit.
2007 Election
Lavalette kept his council seat, Preston Town Centre, with 1179 votes (52%).Opposing Cuts
In December 2010 Michael Lavalette proposed a motion to Preston City Council calling for opposition to cuts, job losses and privatisations. This motion had the backing of the local trades council and of 'Preston Against Cuts'. 5 Labour councillors had voted and spoken in favour of this motion at these meetings. When it came to the full council meeting however, all the Labour councillors voted against this motion, and for an amendment supporting 'fairer' cuts backed by the Liberals and Tories.Published works
- The Forgotten Workforce: Scottish Children at Work (1991)(Glasgow, Scottish Low Pay Unit) issbn: 1 872466 01 X
- Child employment in the capitalist labour market (1994) (Aldershot, Ashgate)isbn: 1 85628 600 2
- Solidarity on the waterfront: the Liverpool lock out of 1995/96 (with Jane Kennedy) (1996) (Liverpool, Liver Press)isbn: 1 871 201 06 3
- Social policy: a conceptual and theoretical introduction (edited with Alan Pratt) (1996)(London, Sage) isbn: 0 6039 7532 5
- Anti-racism and social welfare (edited with Laura Penketh and Chris Jones) (1998) (Aldershot, Ashgate) isbn: 1 84014 507 2
- A thing of the past?: child labour in Britain in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries (editor) (1999)(Liverpool, Liverpool University Press) isbn 0 312 21811 7
- Child labor: a world history companion (with Sandy Hobbs and Jim McKechnie) (1999)(New York, ABC-CLIO) isbn: 0874369568
- Class struggle and social welfare (edited with Gerry Mooney) (2000)(London, Routledge)isbn: 0415201047
- Social Policy: A conceptual and theoretical introduction (second edition) (Edited with Alan Pratt)(2001) (London, Sage) isbn: 0761969527
- Leadership and social movements (edited with Colin BarkerColin BarkerColin Barker is a British sociologist as well as a Marxist historian and writer. A long-standing member of the Socialist Workers Party in Manchester, he is the author of numerous articles and works on Marxism, including a history of the Polish trade union Solidarity, Festival of the Oppressed.A...
and Alan Johnson)(Manchester, MUP) (2001) isbn 0 7190 5902 X - Rethinking social welfare: a critical perspective (with Iain Ferguson and Gerry Mooney) (2002)(London, Sage) isbn: 0 7619 64177
- Children, welfare and the state (edited with Barry Goldson and Jim McKechnie) (2002)(London, Sage)isbn: 0761972331
- A Palestine Journey; Respect For Palestine (pamphlet)
- Globalisation, global justice and social work (edited with Iain Ferguson and Elizabeth Whitmore)(2005)(London, Sage)isbn: 0415325382
- Social Policy: Theories, concepts and issues (Third Edition) (Edited with Alan Pratt) (2006) (London, Sage) isbn 1 4129 0170 7
- George Lansbury and the rebel councillors of Poplar (foreword by George GallowayGeorge GallowayGeorge Galloway is a British politician, author, journalist and broadcaster who was a Member of Parliament from 1987 to 2010. He was formerly an MP for the Labour Party, first for Glasgow Hillhead and later for Glasgow Kelvin, before his expulsion from the party in October 2003, the same year...
) (2006)(London, Bookmarks) isbn: 1898877440 - International Social Work and the Radical Tradition (edited with Iain Ferguson) (2007)(Birmingham, Venture Press) isbn: 978 1 86178 076 8
- Social Work After Baby P: Issues debates and Alternative Perspectives(Edited with Iain Ferguson) (2009) (Liverpool, Liverpool Hope University Press) isbn: 978 1 898749 02 8
- Radical Social Work Today (Editor) (2011)(Bristol, Policy Press) isbn: 976 1 84 742 817 2
- Social Work in Extremis (edited with Vassilios Ioakimidis) (2011) (Bristol, Policy Press) isbn: 978 1 84742 718 2
- Voices From the West Bank (with Chris Jones) (2011) (London, Bookmarks) isbn978 1 90519 282 3
External links
- Forward thinking
- Group will fight 'academy' plan, Lancashire Evening PostLancashire Evening PostThe Lancashire Evening Post is a daily newspaper based in Fulwood, a suburb of the city of Preston, Lancashire, England. According to the British Library, its first edition was published on 18 October 1886...
- Academies head to head, This Is Lancashire
- Michael Lavlette quoted on 'Kid Power'