Tag: Coventry Socialist Party

Thank you to all Socialist voters in Coventry

Leave a comment

Thank you to all Socialist voters in Coventry

30624030_2089282114641279_8492818039870133003_n

 

The Socialist Party in Coventry would like to extend a big thank you to everyone who went out and voted for the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition in the local elections on Thursday. Across the five wards where we stood, we received a total of 795 votes. You can see the results for all wards on the website of Coventry City Council. We will post analysis of the national situation once all results are in.

We would particularly like to thank all members and supporters who took part in our campaign and who worked hard on election day to put forward anti austerity and socialist policies.

We urge people who voted Socialist to consider how you can help build the socialist voice in the future battles that are going to take place against the Tory government and their system. We are active throughout the year in fighting back against austerity, the housing crisis, in defence of the NHS and much more whilst putting forward a socialist response to the crisis of capitalism.

Fill in the form below to get involved!

Advertisement

Vote Socialist on Thursday – a message from Dave Nellist

Leave a comment

Vote Socialist on Thursday – a message from Dave Nellist

30624030_2089282114641279_8492818039870133003_n

In the local elections due to take place on Thursday 3rd May, the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) are standing in 5 seats in Coventry. We have outlined previously our reasons for standing. We carry this message from Dave Nellist, who is our candidate in St Michael’s ward. We also urge support for the TUSC candidates in the 4 other wards – Dave Anderson (Radford), Isla Windsor (Sherbourne), Michael Morgan (Henley) and Rob McArdle (Lower Stoke).

If you are intending to vote for TUSC, want to get involved in our campaigns or join the fight for socialism, please fill in the form at the bottom.

We need a Coventry that works for ordinary people, not the property developers and landlords!

While tax havens are protected, your hospitals, schools and local services are under the gravest threat ever from this government that only cares for the rich.

Yet Coventry’s Labour Council offer no resistance to the Tory diktats to cut and privatise. Instead they dutifully pass on the cuts – this year they are raising Council Tax by nearly 5% whilst cutting our services! The Council have done little or nothing to stand up to the  government.

The Council put the corporate interests of the University,  landlords and developers ahead of local people whilst students are pushed in to even more debt through sky high rents – for the ‘crime’ of wanting an education.

It is a disgrace that so many people find it so hard to get decent housing in our city whilst massive profits are made by the few.

Jeremy Corbyn rightly says  austerity isn’t a necessity, but a political choice, and our Council keeps making the wrong choices. TUSC will vote against cuts and defend your services.

We need a council that defends working class people in Coventry

Labour councillors are saying that they have ‘opposed government austerity measures’ – what they have actually done is cut over 1,000 jobs, increased charges for school transport for children with disabilities and are planning attacks on their own workforce and much more.

We need councillors to oppose austerity not in words but in deeds. The Tory government is weak – we can win back the money stolen from our city , but that won’t be done if the Council keeps making cuts!

Capitalist austerity is causing misery for tens of  thousands in our city, so please help us save services from this government.

Please vote Socialist on Thursday and help us build real opposition to austerity and the system that breeds it.

Let us know if you are voting Socialist, want to get involved or join our movement!

 

 

 

Coventry Socialists join protest against increased charges for children’s disability transport

Leave a comment

Coventry Socialists join protest against increased charges for children’s disability transport

30571920_2089282141307943_7323586545545309374_n

Refused and charged for transport

Earlier this week a protest took place outside the council house in Coventry. Michael Morgan, who will be standing for the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition in Henley ward, has written this report.

Under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn it is fantastic and indeed very positive that we now have a Labour leader talking about anti austerity policies against the continued cuts of the Conservative government.

Unfortunately this is not yet translating to a fightback against austerity at a local level with Labour councillors carrying on as before. In this case they are planning to charge disabled children’s families up to £600 for transport services to school once they are 16 years old.

This is at the same time as the council holds reserves of over £100 million! They still prefer to pursue what some have labelled vanity projects, such as buying Coombe Abbey Hotel, than to effectively oppose Tory cuts. They then continue to claim that they must increase council tax, that they must charge the families of children with disabilities for the ability to travel and receive an education, and to claim that they must ‘save’ money.

The Socialist Party and the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) argues that if the council can afford to buy a hotel, then they can surely afford to give disabled children the opportunity to get their education, and not to be charged for it.

The Socialist Party is standing several TUSC candidates on the 3rd of May in Coventry to oppose policies such as this. In particular we are standing against cabinet member Kevin Maton in Henley, who is behind the charges. Local Conservative councillors and activists have attended protests organised by the campaign against these charges – however it is highly hypocritical when you look at what the Tory government is doing to working class people, particularly those with disabilities. It is incongruous for Tories to campaign for the rights of disabled people on a local level when the Tory party leadership are making it harder for people with disabilities to receive benefits.

The parents of the campaign have done a great job in organising and arguing their case, including mounting a legal challenge to the council – as they believe the proposed charges are age discriminatory. The Socialist Party will continue to raise this issue in our local election campaign and continue to support the campaign until the council stops these discriminatory charges.

Socialists and the 2018 Local Elections in Coventry

1 Comment

Socialists and the 2018 Local Elections in Coventry

Image result for coventry socialists tusc

Socialists with the local community prevent bedroom tax eviction in Charterhouse

May 3rd will see local elections take place in Coventry, with 18 seats (one third of the council) being contested.

Nationally the Tories continue to show that they are not “strong and stable” but weak and wobbly. The 2017 general election called by Theresa May was supposed to follow the Conservative script  – an increased majority for May, with Corbyn’s Labour suffering. The actual results were very different. We predicted that Corbyn’s anti austerity policies would be popular despite the constant sabotage of the Labour right wing. The outcome showed that working class people are looking for change – not surprising given year after year of austerity cuts.

Unfortunately Corbyn’s anti austerity leadership has not yet been reflected in Labour Councils across the country, and Coventry is no exception.

We have outlined previously how we think the council should be opposing the cuts by refusing to pass on Tory austerity and campaigning to win back money stolen from Coventry by central government, a strategy which has obtained support at a national level within the local government trade unions as well as union branches locally. Sadly, instead of using some of the substantial reserves (which have now risen to over £100 million since 2010) to fund services and hold down council tax whilst a campaign is built, they have chosen to reduce library services, increase charges for children’s disability transport and made cuts to community centres and adult education. Coventry is suffering massively from the crisis of capitalism – we need public representatives who are going to help organise resistance to these attacks.

In recent elections the Socialist Party, as part of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition, has stood widely across the city, including standing in all 18 wards. We wanted to ensure that there was an anti austerity and socialist voice when both of the main parties offered more of the same, pro cuts pro big business polices – this stance being supported by several thousand votes across the city. In the 2017 general election we took the decision not to stand in order to support Jeremy’s battle against the Tories – we distributed over 15,000 leaflets outlining why the Socialist Party supported Corbyn’s policies, and why they needed to be extended further.

In 2018 we recognise that Jeremy Corbyn is attempting to build on his anti austerity message at a time when the Tories are on the ropes. Therefore we will not be contesting all wards, but will be standing in 5 – St Michaels, Radford, Lower Stoke, Henley and Sherbourne.

Whilst recognising Jeremy’s position and so standing in fewer seats, we are continuing to fight austerity and the capitalist crisis using every opportunity we have, whether that’s taking part in campaigns to save the NHS and other key services, helping to build stronger, more militant unions, or standing in elections.

We will be continuing to put forward the idea that councillors do have a choice to oppose the cuts, both in the council chamber and on the streets, and that working class people should not pay for the capitalist crisis. Given the latest increase in PFI car parking charges at Walsgrave we will continue to call for these Profit from Illness schemes to be scrapped.

We will be arguing that to end the situation where thousands of Coventry kids are living in poverty we will need to create a socialist society that puts ordinary people before profit. A socialist society that through public ownership of the key sectors of the economy including the banks, can plan the enormous resources that exist for the benefit of the majority.

We urge you to support our candidates in the wards where we are standing, attend our public meeting, help our campaign by for example making a donation, putting up a poster or volunteering to distribute leaflets. We also would encourage you to think about joining the Socialist Party – help us build a mass socialist movement armed with the policies that can defeat capitalism once and for all.

Public Meeting 

Council cuts, Corbyn and the Tories – how can we fight back?

Tuesday 24th April, 7.30pm

Methodist Central Wall, Warwick Lane, Coventry.

Please fill in the form below to get involved!

 

 

Stop union busting in Coventry – support the UCU!

Leave a comment

Stop union busting in Coventry – support the UCU!

13310327_1036941839716080_6004148449495610762_n

Campaigning for workers’ rights in 2016

Members of the University and College Union (UCU) in Coventry are fighting back against attempts to undermine trade unionism and workers’ rights. Coventry University Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of Coventry University, has refused to recognise the UCU but has signed a recognition with a ‘staff association’, the Staff Consultative Group. The UCU are clear that this Group is not an independent organisation and has no support from staff.

We urge all readers of this website to sign the petition in support of the UCU here, where you can also read more background to the situation.

UCU have called a protest on Weds 18 April, at 1pm outside the Graham Sutherland Building, Cox Street, CV1 5PH.

Local MP Jim Cunningham has come out in support of the UCU. All Labour MPs and councillors in the city should publicly condemn this attack on trade unions in our city – particularly given the way the University dominates the city, assisted by the council.

An injury to one is an injury to all – support the UCU!

 

Coventry protest shows solidarity with Palestine

2 Comments

Coventry protest shows solidarity with Palestine

Palestine protest

Protest in Broadgate

At short notice a protest was called today to show solidarity with Palestinians killed and injured by the Israeli military in Gaza on Friday. You can see more pictures by visiting our Facebook page. The Socialist Party distributed a bulletin which you can download here.

Activists from Palestine, local campaigners, trade unionists and socialists gathered together to ensure that what has taken place did not go unchallenged. Coventry has a long history of showing support for the Palestinian struggle and this will need to be stepped up – the only consistent allies of the Palestinians are ordinary working class people around the world.

The scenes in Gaza have been horrific – at the time of writing at least 16 Palestinians have been killed by bullets fired by the Israeli military, with over 600 injured.

Around 20,000 Palestinians had gathered to commemorate what is known as Land Day, the anniversary of the killing of 6 peaceful Palestinian protestors in 1976 who were taking part in a General Strike against the expropriation of Palestinian land.

Protests are expected to continue for 6 weeks leading up to 15th May – the 70th anniversary of the Naqba (Catastrophe) which saw 750,000 forced to flee from their towns, cities and historic homeland.

The situation in Gaza has continued to deteriorate – 1.9 million Palestinians live in what is in reality the world’s largest open air prison camp – blockaded by land, air and sea by Israel and Egypt. The economy is completely crippled – according to figures from the World Bank, there is 44 per cent unemployment, which rises to 60 per cent for those aged between 15 and 29. Around 80 per cent of people rely on humanitarian aid to survive whilst a staggering 97 per cent of water is not safe for human consumption. Israel controls all movement of goods and people, to and from Gaza. The United Nations has stated that Gaza may not be fit for human habitation within a few years.

In this latest outrage, the Israeli army revealed its deadly intention in dealing with the protest by positioning 100 snipers along the border fence. The Israeli ruling class fear the potential of the mass nature of these protests, hence why they were determined to use such lethal force. They cynically use any Palestinian protest to point to how this allegedly threatens the security of the Israeli population – in reality it is the racist policies of the Israeli government, the occupation and the ongoing oppression of the Palestinians that is the biggest threat to the safety of ordinary Israelis.

Sadly, the latest massacre is not a new occurrence for Palestinians in Gaza. Thousands have been killed and many more wounded by numerous Israeli attacks. Responses to these murderous attacks have ranged from very mild condemnation from the Western powers and institutions, to outright support for the actions of the Israeli government and military.

Further protests around the world  will take place in the coming weeks. The establishment, including the right wing in the Labour Party who discovered their previously never seen before ‘anti-racist’ conscience for about 30 minutes last week, will be silent towards the suffering of the Palestinian masses. It will require the active solidarity of ordinary people, including the hundreds of thousands of Jeremy Corbyn supporters in this country, to ensure the Palestinians are not isolated.

The Socialist Party commits its solidarity to the struggle. At the same time, pointing out with our co-thinkers in the Socialist Struggle Movement in Israel-Palestine, that we need to build a mass movement for socialist change here and in the Middle East; to end the siege of Gaza, the occupation and to build a society that ends all racism and oppression and where national rights and self-determination are guaranteed for all.

If you agree with us, fill in the form below to get active in the struggle for socialism

 

 

 

Socialists hold successful meeting on IWD

Leave a comment

Socialists hold successful meeting on IWD

28616803_2072304839672340_8499156272685310172_o

Over 35 people attended a Socialist Party Public meeting to celebrate International Women’s day in Coventry last week. The event was chaired by NUT NEC member and Coventry TUC President Jane Nellist (in a personal capacity). Our main speaker was Tessa Warrington, a Socialist Party organiser in the East Midlands who gave a fantastic introductionary speech to a meeting room filled with many working class women involved in different struggles and battles.

Local activists from the WASPI (Women Against State Pension Inequality) campaign updated those present about their struggle. Keep our NHS Public organisers Julie and Vicky Horbury attended and spoke about the local battle to defend the NHS and explaining the crucial role it plays in defending and fighting for women’s rights.

Other speakers spoke about the role working class women and socialists played in winning the right to vote, on fighting for equal pay and maternity and abortion rights. What was clear throughout the contributions is that the ruling class has never granted any rights without the struggle of ordinary people – and it is that struggle to which the Socialist Party is committed to build, and win.

Leading Coventry trade unionist urges support for International Women’s Day meeting

Leave a comment

Leading Coventry trade unionist urges support for International Women’s Day meeting

jane-nellist

Jane Nellist

Coventry Socialist Party are holding a meeting this week to mark International Women’s Day 2018. The event will take place on Thursday 8th March, 7.30pm at Methodist Hall, Warwick Lane, Coventry City Centre, CV1 2HA. Please visit the Facebook event for more information.

Here Jane Nellist, a prominent socialist trade unionist in the city, explains why she is attending the meeting and why everyone should attend.

“It’s 48 years since the first Women’s Liberation demonstration took place in London on March 6th 1971.  This had a huge impact on me as a 15 year old, reading about the demand for equal pay and equal rights for women.  It gave me confidence. This year we celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the right for some women to vote (all working class women gained the vote 10 years later!).
Whilst women have made huge strides forward thanks to the struggles of women, especially working class women, there is still a long way to go.
As a member of the Socialist Party in Coventry, I will be going to the public meeting on Thursday 8th March, International Women’s Day, at the Methodist Central Hall to discuss how we can take the fight for full rights for women and the real liberation from a class system that still divides and rules us.
The equal pay gap, continuing sexual harassment of women, the cuts to our services- our health, our safety and our children’s services and many more- must be challenged.
But more importantly we have to rid ourselves of capitalism that creates a society where the 99% are forced to endure austerity whilst the 1% continue to cream off vast wealth.
We stand in the shoes of those women and men who have fought and won- the Ford Workers, the women Chainmakers, the working class women in the cotton mills fighting for the vote.
Come and join us on Thursday evening”

 

Coventry shows solidarity with the Syrian people

Leave a comment

Coventry shows solidarity with the Syrian people

cof

In Broadgate to show solidarity

A protest was held in Coventry today to stand in solidarity with the people of Eastern Ghouta, Syria – where in the last few days alone 500 have been killed by bombing with many more injured.

At short notice around 65 people assembled in Broadgate, many originally from Syria.  Speakers spoke passionately about the situation facing people – with millions displaced from their homes, families separated and lives shattered.

It was pointed out by speakers that the so called international community have abandoned the people of Syria – the various governments, whether that be the UK, US or Russia are busy vying for influence alongside their regional client states and organisations, all at the expense of ordinary people in the region.

As we wrote

“We need to build mass movements of ordinary people both here in the UK, and across the Middle East. These need to provide solidarity to those affected whilst at the same time being armed with a socialist programme for revolutionary change that can cut across national, religious and ethnic divides, to build a society that puts an end to the chaos of capitalism and imperialism”

Members of the Socialist Party attended the protest to show our solidarity, and also distribute our leaflet outlining where we stand. You can download this by clicking here.

You can see more pictures of the protest by visiting the Coventry Socialists Facebook page.

If you are interested in finding our more, please fill in the form below!

Jobs threatened at Culture Coventry Trust

Leave a comment

Jobs threatened at Culture Coventry Trust

The Herbert

The plans to deliver Coventry’s City of Culture in 2021 were badly dented as news was released that as many as 17 staff (over 15% of the total workforce) could face redundancy at the city’s main museums and art galleries, including the Herbert and Coventry Transport Museum.

With reduced funding from Council grants and general cuts to art’s funding, the cultural experience for Coventry citizens and visitors to our city is continually threatened.

Cuts to library services, reductions in opening hours of museums and more reliance on volunteers have weakened the cultural foundations in our city. Initiatives such as the historic 12th century Grammar School building in the centre of the city are also at risk.

Local groups are constantly struggling to provide and enhance those activities which enrich so many people’s lives with arts and music, especially disadvantaged groups and people with disabilities. Many are having to spend huge amounts of time on bids and fund raising to keep their groups going.

Art, music and other subjects in our schools are under threat because of government underfunding and the pressure to deliver narrow exam results.

People in the past had access to a wide range of Adult Education classes in arts, crafts and music but many of those have now been cut.

It’s undeniable that Coventry has a rich cultural history and there is lots going on, but just imagine what cultural life in Coventry could be like if there were much more resources available and people had more time to get involved.  We are a wealthy country, but whilst the top 1% syphon off their money to squander on hugely expensive pieces of art for personal gratification instead of paying their fair share of taxes, the rest of us are expected to put up with endless cuts.

As Socialists, we believe that investing in the arts is important.  It is about creating a world to allow all people to live life to the full: to run society, to study, and to create.   We want to see a society where every city and community is a beacon of culture and not just for one year. To do that, will mean fighting for a different type of economy – a socialist system where human need is put before private profit.

  • Not a penny to big business or property development projects!
  • Use the money to fund services and leisure opportunities for working class people all across the city!