Dave Nellist says thanks to all Socialist voters

Dave Nellist

The following letter from Dave Nellist appeared in the Coventry Telegraph newspaper today.

Dear Editor,

Could I use your columns to thank all those 2592 people across Coventry who voted last Thursday for the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC), and especially the 974 people who were good enough to support me personally in St Michael’s.

Although not large enough to win a seat I know that, in many cases, those voters are people who have supported socialist ideas through many elections.  I suspect over the next 2 or 3 years they will be joined by many more who, having put their faith in larger parties at this election, will be disappointed.

The Local Government Association (LGA), the national body of councils to which Coventry belongs, brought out a report 3 weeks ago.  In that report the LGA predicted, whichever party wins the general election next year, cuts in local services, for example leisure centres, libraries, youth services and many others, will continue until the end of the decade.

If that is the case, then I believe many thousands of people in the city will be looking for a socialist and trade union based alternative to parties which either instigate those cuts in Westminster, or fail to defend us from those cuts on the Council.

It was for that reason that the late Bob Crow, then the general secretary of the transport union RMT, co-founded TUSC 4 years ago.  It’s also the reason why a growing number of active, and in some cases senior, trade unionists including firefighters, local government workers, civil servants, teachers, prison officers, as well as union activists in private industry, feel the need to start again and build a new political party for working people rooted in the organisations and communities of the working class.

TUSC is only at the beginning of that road.

Once again, my thanks to all those who supported us on May 22nd.

Dave Nellist