Tag: tusc

Come to the TUSC Local Elections Conference!

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The Covid crisis has revealed many things about our society – including how the vast wealth that exists in the UK can be drawn upon to serve public needs when sufficient pressure is applied.
The Tory government – despite being based on Thatcher’s ‘the free market rules’ ideology – has made U-turn after U-turn against the background of growing anger and public outcry.

So many things ridiculed before as impossible or not realistic have been enacted, even if sometimes in a limited and incomplete way. At the start of the spring lockdown the government, in effect, nationalised the railways and other forms of transport to keep the system going. Over the course of one weekend councils were instructed to provide accommodation for all those living on the streets.
Now, it is true, homelessness is rising again and private companies are still embedded in the transport system.
But nonetheless such measures have demonstrated that, when under pressure, even a government of the rich can be forced into making huge concessions in the interests of ordinary people.
And local councils could play a leading role in building that pressure – if there were councillors in them prepared to fight!

Labour leads over 120 councils, with a combined spending power greater than the state budgets of 16 EU countries.
But Starmer’s Labour cannot be trusted to stand up for ordinary people. That is why the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) is preparing to stand across the UK this May in the many elections taking place.
Even one councillor in a local authority taking a stand, if they used their position in the council chamber to appeal to those outside, could give confidence to local trade unionists and community campaigners to fight.
A network of rebel councillors across the country could have an even bigger impact in fighting for what is needed to meet the Covid crisis.

Come to the TUSC local elections conference to be held on Zoom on Sunday 7 February to help organise a fightback at the ballot box this May – or whenever the elections take place.
Conference registration
You can register in advance for this meeting: http://bit.ly/TUSCconferenceregistration.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

You can also just login into the meeting on the day as usual but you will still be asked for registration details on entering the zoom meeting details.

So try and either pre-register or leave a few mins to fill out the online form.
Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82896595909?pwd=OVE5RjNmbjJJcG1vd0RxZ0JyQ2RkUT09
Meeting ID: 828 9659 5909
Passcode: 645766

Spread the word!
You can help build for the event, first by saying you are Going on our Facebook event: http://bit.ly/TUSCconf21
And then by inviting your friends and union and work colleagues, either on Facebook or by telling them about it.

A lot of people, especially trade unionists and young people, have been let down by Starmer’s Labour and are looking for a serious alternative.
We’re building that alternative in TUSC, and each extra attendee hearing from trade union and socialist representatives and learning how to get involved helps develop TUSC even further.
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Peace and Justice Project article and Defend Corbyn Protest report

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Since Jeremy Corbyn resigned as Labour leader, hundreds of thousands of people who supported him and his programme have had to question what the way forward is for socialist ideas. When Jeremy was suspended from Labour, this question rose to the fore again, and again when he launched the Peace and Justice Project.

Here you can find a response to the Peace and Justice Project by the Socialist Party’s General Secretary, Hannah Sell:

Peace and Justice Project – no way forward for socialism

The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition is holding its Local Election Conference on Sunday 7th February 11am to 1:30pm. This will be a fantastic opportunity to hear about the electoral fight against Starmer’s new New Labour. Click here for the Facebook event – there is a link to register in the Description.

Not heard of TUSC? Click here to find out more!

Below is a report from the protest in Coventry after Corbyn’s suspension.

Coventry Corbyn Solidarity Protest: stay and fight, or a new workers party?

By Michael Morgan, Coventry Socialist Party

On Tuesday the 3rd of November members of Coventry Socialist Party attended a protest organised by Coventry Labour Left in solidarity with Jeremy Corbyn, following his suspension from the Labour Party. The protest was relatively small with around 30 in attendance, many of whom were members of left wing organisations involved.

Two approaches to the issue arose at the protest. All were in agreement that no, Jeremy Corbyn was not an anti-Semite, and that the capitalist media and the right wing of the Labour Party had led a concerted effort to smear him as such. Jeremy Corbyn was indeed one of the country’s most ardent fighters against racism.

However, some on the Labour left, as well as some from other left wing organisations that operate within the labour party, argued for their ‘stay and fight’ position. This included members of Coventry Labour Left, Zarah Sultana in the form of a message read on her behalf and others. These speakers argued that the Labour Party is a mass organ of the working class, and that the lefts best course of action would be to petition the general secretary of the party (right winger, Starmer backed David Evans) and even to vote in National Executive Committee elections to fight for Corbyn’s reinstatement!

The Socialist Party argues that these measures do not go nearly far enough. In effect this argument is one of continuing to feed the mouth that bit you. To plead to the functions of the Labour Party and its officialdom to right a wrong they committed regardless of the actual findings of the EHRC report or of the Labour party’s rules is a strategy doomed to fail; if Starmer cared for the rules Corbyn would still be in the party!

This is why the Socialist Party argues for a new workers’ party through the Trade Union Socialist Coalition, a political party made up of local campaigners, activists and trade unionists. Labour is not a party of the working class. Jeremy Corbyn presented a great opportunity to democratise the party’s structures, to institute mandatory reselection and to reform Labour councils like the one in Coventry, which charges SEND pupils up to £600 per year to get to school. Yet this opportunity was not taken, and at some point that goes from being a political mistake to being politically disastrous as Corbyn has seen.

We need real working people to take political control and believe this is better done through a mass workers’ party than through Starmer’s Labour. We spoke at the protest to outline this message and handed out leaflets and sold several papers to passers by who took an interest in our ideas. 

Help us bring the challenge to Starmer’s Labour and build a new mass workers’ party!

You might be thinking about joining the Socialist Party, and the best step towards that is clicking below for a sign up form.w

Or at the moment you might be more interested in helping real anti-cuts campaigners challenge pro-austerity Blairite councillors in the May elections. The best step towards that is supporting TUSC!

Join the Socialist Party
Support the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition

Thank you to all Socialist voters in Coventry

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Thank you to all Socialist voters in Coventry

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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!

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

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

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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

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Socialists and the 2018 Local Elections in Coventry

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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!

 

 

Dave Nellist sets out support for Jeremy Corbyn in TUSC election broadcast

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Dave Nellist sets out support for Jeremy Corbyn in TUSC election broadcast

Dave Nellist

Dave Nellist, National Chair of TUSC

The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition election broadcast was released today, featuring former Coventry Labour MP and Socialist Party councillor Dave Nellist. The video explains why TUSC is supporting Jeremy Corbyn’s anti-austerity programme in this election, and is not standing any candidates.

Please watch and share the video!

Want to support Corbyn and fight to change society? Join the Socialists!

Press release: Dave Nellist withdraws from general election

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Dave Nellist withdraws from general election: press release

Dave Nellist

Dave Nellist, National Chair of TUSC

Yesterday it was announced in the local press that Dave Nellist would not be contesting Coventry North West in order to support Jeremy Corbyn. In case you missed it, here is the full press release. We also invite you to our meeting tonight at 7.30pm, Methodist Hall

Dave Nellist, who has stood in the last eight general elections, six of them against Labour, has today announced he won’t be contesting Coventry North West in June in order to support Jeremy Corbyn for Prime Minister.

Mr Nellist, a former Labour MP who was a colleague of Jeremy Corbyn’s in Parliament in the 1980s, was expelled by Labour in 1992 over his opposition to the Poll Tax.  He sat on Coventry City Council as a socialist from 1998 to 2012.  He is now a member of the Socialist Party.

In an open letter being distributed amongst Labour Party members, Coventry Socialist Party says:

“We want to see the Tories defeated, and Jeremy Corbyn elected as Prime Minister. It is for this reason that we have taken the decision not to contest the general election this time.”

“Thousands of people regularly vote for us across the city at each election because they trust us to provide a socialist alternative to the mainstream parties. In this election we support the positive reforms being put forward by Jeremy – including an increase in taxes on the rich, increasing the minimum wage to £10 an hour, the repeal of the anti-trade union laws etc.”

“We’ll be throwing ourselves into doing everything we can to get rid of this Tory government and making the arguments in favour of electing Jeremy Corbyn with socialist policies”.

Mr Nellist said today:

“I support Jeremy’s anti-austerity policies of higher wages, free university education, affordable house building programme, public ownership of the railways – and 4 more bank holidays! I want to see him elected Prime Minister on June 8th.”

“That won’t stop me continuing to oppose Labour’s local council programme of storing up tens of millions of pounds of reserves whilst libraries, nursery provision and youth clubs are underfunded and threatened with closure.”

“But we have a chance on June 8th to send Jeremy to No. 10 and we can’t do that if Coventry sends Tory MPs to Westminster.”

Mr Nellist is the national chair of TUSC, the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition, which stood 135 parliamentary candidates in 2015, making it the sixth largest party across Britain.

The TUSC national steering committee meets on 10th May in London and is expected to endorse no candidates at the June general election to maximise the opposition to the current government.

The Socialist Party is holding a public meeting at Coventry’s Methodist Central Hall on Wednesday, 10th May at 7:30 pm to further explain its stance.  The speaker will be Hannah Sell, Deputy General Secretary of the Socialist Party, who was a former member of the Labour Party National Executive in 1988/89.

A message to Jeremy Corbyn supporters in Coventry

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A message to Jeremy Corbyn supporters in Coventry

Labour leadership contest

Jeremy Corbyn

We are pleased to carry this message from Coventry Socialist Party to supporters of Jeremy Corbyn in Coventry and everyone who wants to see the end of the Tories at the forthcoming general election in June.  We are holding a public meeting on Weds 10th May, 7.30pm at the Methodist Hall in the city centre where we will be discussing how we can get rid of the Tories and elect Jeremy on socialist policies. One of the main speakers will be Hannah Sell, deputy general secretary of the Socialist Party and former member of the Labour NEC.

Dear brothers and sisters,

Theresa May has called this election with the expectation of a Tory landslide. Her mantra of “strong and stable” leadership, which appears as her answer to every question, hides the fact that her leadership and the Conservative Party are anything but “strong and stable”.

For the first time in recent memory, the Tories will be faced not by “New Labour” but by a Labour Party leader in Jeremy Corbyn who is committed to putting forward an alternative to the Tories, unlike the Blair and Brown leadership which essentially proposed Tory-lite policies.

Our position

We want to see the Tories defeated, and Jeremy Corbyn elected as Prime Minister. It is for this reason that we have taken the decision not to contest the general election this time.

This is not a decision we have taken lightly. Since the expulsion of Dave Nellist from the Labour Party we have contested general elections, as well local and European elections. With the RMT trade union we have developed the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition as a contribution to rebuilding political representation for working class people.

Thousands of people regularly vote for us across the city at each election because they trust us to provide a socialist alternative to the mainstream parties.

We ensured there was a Socialist presence on Coventry City Council between 1998 and 2012 – meaning there was a consistent and principled voice for working class people against cuts being put forward by both Labour and Tory run councils.

However we think that in this situation the campaign of Jeremy Corbyn can win widespread support. Taking a bold, socialist and anti-austerity programme with mass rallies to every corner of the country could galvanise and channel the anger and discontent that exists in society in a socialist direction.

Some of the policy announcements from Jeremy are already showing the potential for being immensely popular – an end to zero-hour contracts, £10 per hour minimum wage and end to the pay cap in the NHS to name just a few.

Though there are clear differences, the campaigns of Bernie Sanders in the US and Jean-Luc Melenchon in France show the potential for radical ideas and movements to develop.

The ‘rigged economy’? Time to replace capitalism with socialism

Jeremy and John McDonnell have struck a chord with millions by talking about “fixing the rigged economy” and wanting a “fairer society”. Little wonder when thousands of people in Coventry have to resort to foodbanks to be able to eat, in the 6th richest country in the world!

The key question is how do we get that fairer society? Jeremy and John are absolutely correct – the capitalist economy is rigged. We support all the positive reforms being put forward – an increase in taxes on the rich, an increase in the minimum wage to £10 an hour, repeal of the anti-trade union laws etc. However we argue that we need to go further – and that these policies should be linked to the socialist transformation of society.

As long as the economy remains in the hands of the 1 per cent, i.e. remains a capitalist economy, it will always be rigged. That is why we think we need to break the power of the capitalists and their political establishment by nationalising not only the banks, financial institutions etc., but all the big corporations which control the majority of economic activity.

A publicly owned economy, under the democratic control and management of workers, could actually start to plan production in the interests of the 99%. (for more information about how the question of Brexit should be approached please visit here )

Time to fight and win the civil war in the Labour Party

What is becoming crystal clear is that sections of the right-wing in the Labour Party are continuing to do everything in their power to undermine the campaign. Every few days Tony Blair or Peter Mandelson are appearing in the media to try and demoralise Corbyn supporters. We even have John Woodcock MP stating that he could not support Jeremy as PM! How is that people like these can act with impunity with no action taken against them, yet expelled Socialists like Dave Nellist are not allowed to rejoin Labour?

As we have argued, the case for mandatory reselection has not gone away. In fact with every passing day it shows itself to even more critical. We need MPs who will support Jeremy Corbyn, not undermine him, MPs who will reflect the aspirations of the hundreds of thousands of new members who have supported Jeremy. We need MPs who, like Dave Nellist, would only take the average workers wage.

Lessons of the West Mids mayoral campaign

We have written a detailed article on our website about the Tory victory – we believe it is confirmation that the Labour right have not got the ideas to win this election. The election material did not even mention Jeremy Corbyn or any of his popular policies!

All to play for

We in the Socialist Party look forward to the period between now and the election. We will be throwing ourselves in to doing everything we can to get rid of this Tory government, making the arguments in favour of electing Jeremy Corbyn with socialist policies, and strengthening the fight to build a mass socialist movement that can provide an alternative to crisis ridden capitalism.

Yours in solidarity

Coventry Socialist Party

If you agree with what we are saying, are interested in more information or want to join the Socialists, please get in touch. Fill in the form below!

Support the junior doctors! New strikes announced

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Support the junior doctors! New strikes announced

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Picket line at Walsgrave

The union representing junior doctors has just announced a new plan of industrial action. The British Medical Association (BMA) will go on strike against the imposition of the new contract initially for 5 days, beginning on Monday 12th September to Friday 16th September between 8am and 5pm.

The Socialist Party and the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition fully supports the junior doctors in their campaign to defend their terms and conditions and the NHS itself.

It is now a critical task that they receive the maximum support of the entire trade union movement. The TUC will hold it’s annual conference in Brighton and it needs to be turned in to a council of war with the aim of building co-ordinated industrial action linking up the many different disputes in the public and private sector to defeat the capitalist austerity agenda of the Tories.

The National Shop Stewards Network (NSSN) will be holding a public rally at TUC conference where the speakers will include Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, Ronnie Draper of the BFAWU and many more and will be discussing how we build support for the junior doctors and the opposition to the Tories.

A referendum day message from Dave Nellist

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A referendum day message from Dave Nellist

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Dave Nellist

Please read and share the message below from Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition Chair and Socialist Party member Dave Nellist about today’s EU referendum.

The European Union is Thatcherism being developed on a continental scale, a club for bosses designed to make it harder to fight capitalism.

Isn’t it odd that those who wouldn’t trust the UK Tories an inch somehow go all misty eyed about the undemocratic EU, where laws are made by the 28 heads of EU governments – 27 of which we didn’t elect – 2/3 of them Tories, and all of them in favour of implementing austerity!

The EU really should stand for Employers Union. It hasn’t given us equal pay, paid holiday or maternity rights, unions have had to fight for those things and unions will still have to fight to keep them.

If the EU was really on the side of workers there would be a minimum wage across the continent, something like €13 an hour, so people didn’t have to move thousands of miles to get a decent job. Instead the EU, together with the European Central Bank and the IMF, is implementing brutal austerity against the people of Spain, Portugal, Ireland and especially Greece.

So, if you hate austerity from Westminster or Brussels you get the chance to vote against both today!

Let’s vote Leave and remove an obstacle to nationalisation of rail, post, gas, electricity and steel. But don’t stop there – we need a new internationalism to combat the regional and global problems of poverty, forced migration, wars and global warming, one based on socialist planning and cooperation, not capitalist competition and markets.

And if we get Leave and David Cameron goes, let’s not worry about the debate on who should be the next leader of the Tory Party. Jeremy Corbyn and the unions should demand an immediate General Election so we can replace this Tory government with one on the side of working people!

Coventry Socialist Party will be holding an open meeting on June 29th discussing the aftermath of the referendum.

After the Referendum – now kick out the Tories! 29th June, 7.30, Charterhouse Club,
David Rd, Coventry, CV1 2BW