Thank you for voting Socialist!
We’d like to thank all the people across Coventry who voted against austerity and for a socialist alternative yesterday. TUSC candidates received 4388 votes in the council elections and 3052 in the three parliamentary seats – a total of 7440 votes for Socialist candidates.
A full analysis of the election results will follow. TUSC candidates will continue our campaigns against the cuts, and we urge you to get involved!
Did you vote TUSC? Let us know!
Looking Back at 2014’s Heroes and Villains!
2014 was a year that showed the brutal nature of capitalism on many occasions – and also the strength and power ordinary people have when we fight back! So here’s our list of 2014’s heroes and villains.
“Sir” Nigel Thrift
For Warwick University’s Vice-Chancellor Nigel Thrift, he began 2014 as he ended it – by giving himself a pay rise! As we reported in January, the inappropriately named Thrift increased his pay from £316,000 to £332,000 at the start of the year – he’s just put it up again to £348,000! This means that since “Shifty Thrifty” became VC in 2006, his pay has gone up by 26% – while other workers have seen their pay cut by 6-7% in real terms.
Nigel wondering how much to pay himself next year
So what has Nige done to justify this salary? Well, at the start of December he defended the shocking violence used by police against peaceful student protesters – they were CS sprayed, slammed to the floor and threatened with a taser. The University management then sought an injunction against students who were peacefully occupying part of the Rootes building – and successfully managed to ban occupations on campus indefinitely. Despite this, not only has Thrift given himself yet another pay rise – he’s also been given a knighthood!
So Thrift is definitely on our villains list – but it’s not all bad at Warwick!
Warwick Uni Protesters
There were a number of demonstrations at Warwick last year, organised by various different groups. In June, after the media revealed that a member of the openly fascist group National Action was studying at Warwick, over 200 students joined an anti-fascist demo to oppose them and other far-right groups.
Over 1000 students gather at Warwick for #copsoffcampus protest
In December after a peaceful sit-in demonstration was viciously attacked by police, Warwick students immediately organised a #CopsOffCampus demo in response, which was attended by around 1000 people! Hundreds of students then occupied the top floor of the Rootes building in protest, and issued a list of demands to the university – rather than responding to the demands, management organised “negotiations” which were a sham, and sought an injunction against the occupiers. Despite this, students are planning to keep fighting in the new year – so they’re very much heroes of 2014!
Ann Lucas
After the actions of Coventry Council in 2014 no list of villains would be complete without including the council’s Labour leader Ann Lucas, who has happily signed off on cuts to thousands of jobs, loads of crucial services and even cut funding to local charities like Coventry Haven. The council’s “City Centre First” plan, if carried out, will devastate the city’s services.
Anti-cuts protestors outside the Council House
The Council also sold the Ricoh Arena to Wasps for a pittance, threatening the existence of CCFC and Cov Rugby Club.
One particularly vicious cut planned by the council was to cut transport to school for disabled children – however they went back on this after a protest outside the council house!
Anti-Cuts Protesters
Throughout the year there have been repeated protests against cuts being carried out by Coventry Council. These have been organised by different organisations including Coventry Against the Cuts, Disabled People Against Cuts and a number of different trade unions – and supported by the Socialist Party and TUSC. As mentioned above, one of these protests – against cuts to disabled children’s transport – forced the council to reverse their plans.
Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition and Socialist Students campaigning against cuts
The position of Coventry TUC, Coventry Unison, TUSC and the Socialist Party is that the council shouldn’t simply carry out the Tory cuts, but should use some of their £81million reserves to fund services for a year and buy them some time to build a campaign to demand the rest of the money from central Government.
Striking Workers
Workers have been under attack from this Government since they took power, and continued to fight back in 2014. Teachers in the NUT went on strike in April against attacks on the education system, and over 800 joined a rally in Birmingham on the day. The Fire Brigades Union has taken strike action repeatedly throughout the year against the Governments plans to cut their pensions and make them work until they’re 60. PCS members in HMRC also took action in June, and again on July 10th. 6 unions (Unison, Unite, GMB, FBU, NUT and PCS) took action on “J10” and 500 workers rallied in Broadgate against the cuts!
Industrial action is a key weapon available to the working class to fight the bosses – in 2015 we need to develop co-ordinated national industrial action between the unions and develop and support local community campaigns to defend services. At the same time, we should build the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition to develop working class political representation that can challenge the Westminster mainstream parties who are united behind the same austerity agenda.
Rob McArdle supports Lobby of Coventry City Council
Rob McArdle speaking at an anti Bedroom Tax protest
Socialist Party member Rob McArdle outlines why he is supporting a lobby of the Cabinet organised by Coventry TUC
“The proposal for a further £43m cuts will have a devastating effect on those who most need help. We’ve already seen the terrible effects cuts have – with growing queues at food banks and increased homelessness. Sadly all 54 councillors are likely to approve plans, resulting in job losses and reduced council services. They DO have a choice, they could fight for the money being stolen by the government. Unless we get organised and build a campaign to fight the cuts, they will keep cutting until nothing is left. I will be supporting the lobby because the people of Coventry should not be made victims of banker’s greed. In May 2014 we will have the chance to vote for Socialist candidates that will oppose the cuts. At the lobby we can make our voice heard in support of council services and urge this council to fight for us.
Details
Lobby of Cabinet meeting
Called by Coventry TUC
Tuesday 10th December
1.15 – 2pm, Council House
Comment of the day: Boris Johnson – Super rich a ‘put upon minority’
Even less taxes for the rich!
Many people today will have seen the comments by Tory Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, claiming that the super-rich are some sort of oppressed ‘put upon’ minority. We can say that Johnson is at least half right. They are indeed a minority, a tiny minority, the 1 per cent, that he and his Tory party of millionaires represents, and they and their capitalist system are bleeding working class people dry.
The article published on the politics.co.uk website (and many other sites) explains how under Johnson that the number of rough sleepers in London have doubled in the capital over the last 5 years. Many people in London and up and down the country are facing eviction due to the bedroom tax, with ordinary people paying for the crisis causes by the minority at the top. How many of his rich buddies have been evicted recently? So to say that the rich and the homeless are both oppressed minorities is truly something else.
Wages have in real terms got worse, with the cost of living rising. He states that the rich should be given further tax breaks! Despite his ‘fluffiness’ Johnson has shown again exactly what he is, a vicious representative of the rich minority.
We in the Socialist Party will make no apology for criticising the banks, the city financiers and their lackeys in the 3 Westminster establishment parties. But we go further. We need to build a political alternative not just to individuals like Johnson and the bankers, but the entire capitalist system. We want a socialist society, where production is based on fulfilling human need not private profit.
Help us to fight for such a society, by applying to join the Socialist Party today. Click here
Coventry Socialist Party 
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