UKIP on the rise in local elections, a swing to the right in the UK ? or not ?

The UK media has gone berserk in telling us the the anti-EU, anti-immigration, right-wing UK Independence Party (UKIP) had a huge surge from nowhere in its vote. All the talk was that UKIP was about to win the biggest share of the vote and seats in the European Parliament when the results come out on Monday. It was now a 'major threat' to the centre-right coalition government and could even replace Labour as the main opposition and so on...... Actually, the local election results do not bear out that conclusion at all. It was Labour that polled the biggest share of those who voted in these minor elections, albeit only 29%. The ruling Conservatives also polled more than UKIP at 25%. UKIP was third at 23-24%, a leap up from last time, but hardly a victory. Indeed, this 'Poujadist' party will have no more than one-tenth of the council seats won by the two main parties, Labour and Conservative. And nearly all UKIP's seats will be concentrated in rural areas, particularly the better-off south-east and east of England (Scotland and Wales did not vote and UKIP is non-existent there). Actually the real winners, as usual, were the NO-VOTE party. The turnout for these elections was not more than 40%, so most people eligible to vote did not bother. Translating the share of votes into shares of eligible voters, we find that the winners of these local elections, Labour, got no more than one in eight potential voters to support them and the ruling Conservatives managed only one in ten eligible to vote. The government has been crowing about the return of fast economic growth that the UK economy is now experiencing under its policies. And there was apparently more good news in the this week's retail sales figures, which showed a big surge. But it seems that the British electorate does not agree that all is rosy. And we can see why when the latest data continue to show that average real incomes are falling as inflation outstrips wage increases . Even now, Britain's real GDP has not yet returned to pre-crisis levels, and with employment in badly-paid jobs and self-employment rising, the overall productivity of British capitalism has declined. Indeed, Britons are working harder and longer for less money. UK business investment was up 8.7% in the first quarter of this year compared with a year ago. That sounds good - until you see that investment is still some 18% below where it was in 2008 and this is nominal terms. The latest data show that the top 10% of British households own 44% of all household wealth (to use Thomas Piketty's definition) - they are not feeling the depression, only the 'boom'. And it's their sentiments that the government expresses. The reality is that there is increasing disillusionment with the mainstream political parties as we shall see when the EU parliamentary elections are announced In the UK, the combined Conservative and Labour vote in general elections has fallen to 60% from 80-90% in the 1960s, while separatist and other parties have risen from nothing to 12%. In this little local election, the combined vote of the top two parties was 54%. Voter turnout has plummeted from 75% in the 1980s to about 60% now, as politicians become increasingly divorced from their voters. Back in the 1960s, as much as 15% of MPs were manual workers, now it is less than 5% while those MPs who have never had a proper job and are just 'career politicians' is now 15%. The rest had jobs in the 'professions' and business and finance etc, with many millionaires among them. The 'surge' of support for parties like UKIP is a frustrated expression of people despairing at the main parties of capitalist democracy ever doing anything to improve their lot or even stop it getting worse. We'll see that sentiment expressed in the EU election results on Monday. I’ll takea further look at the European elections next week. reblogged and thanks to michael roberts at http://thenextrecession.wordpress.com/2014/05/23/what-a-surge/

French far right on the rise in local elections

France's anti-immigrant National Front (FN) has surged to power in a former Socialist town-hall bastion and sees more victories in local elections where voters punished President Francois Hollande for failing to tackle unemployment. In what leader Marine Le Pen called a breakthrough for her protectionist anti-EU party, the FN won power in the northern former coal-mining town Henin-Beaumont in a first-round vote on Sunday, and leads in at least six other towns before run-offs scheduled for next week. With turnout levels at a record low of 65 percent after a series of political scandals that have hit mainstream French politicians of both left and right, Hollande's Socialists and their allies won just 38 percent of the national vote, behind 47 percent for opposition conservatives, initial tallies showed. The FN won about five percent of the national vote - a proportionately high amount, given that it only fielded candidates in about 600 of the some 36,000 constituencies across France. Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault urged voters across the spectrum to back whatever candidate was best placed to beat FN rivals in Sunday's second round. A triumphant Le Pen said she was not interested in voter pacts with the mainstream right even if that could win her a greater presence on town hall councils. "The National Front is taking root just as it wanted to do - and the crop is pretty exceptional," she told TF1 television. Results released during the night put the National Front ahead in the eastern town of Forbach, in France's former industrial heartland. In the south, the anti-EU party was in the lead in Avignon, Perpignan, Beziers and Frejus, and in second place in Marseille behind the conservative incumbent. 'Exceptional vintage' The party's leader, Marine Le Pen, said the polls marked the "end of the bipolarisation of the political scene" and were "an exceptional vintage" for her party. "The National Front has arrived as a major independent force - a political force both at the national and local level," Le Pen, who won 18 percent of votes in the 2012 presidential election, told TF1 television. The party's Steeve Briois was declared outright winner to run the former northern coal-mining town of Henin-Beaumont, which has long been in Socialist hands. Exit polls also put the National Front ahead in the eastern town of Forbach, in France's former industrial heartland. In the south, it was in the lead in Avignon, Perpignan, Beziers and Frejus and vying for second place in Marseille behind the conservative incumbent. There was some solace for the Socialists as a TNS Sofres exit poll showed their candidate for Paris mayor, Anne Hidalgo, was ahead of her conservative rival Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet. The strong showing by the National Front will alarm Europe's liberal progressives, with the party long associated with racism and anti-Semitic statements. Le Pen's father, Jean-Marie, was prosecuted several times while party leader for Holocaust denial, once referring to the deaths of millions of Jews as a "detail in the history of World War Two". He has also been prosecuted for incitement to discriminate against Muslims. Since becoming leader in 2011, Marine Le Pen has sanctioned or ejected party members found to have made racist comments in an attempt to make the party more palatable to French voters. Her policies focus on reduced immigration and take a stance against EU enlargement. Does this sound all very familiar to you ? well it should as UKIP are looking to follow the FN's example and route to power. Reason for concern ? very much so i'd suggest. Source: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2014/03/french-far-right-party-soars-elections-201432321344496407.html

Feeding the delusion

This post is not an attack on TUSC and the socialist party I’ll stress now but a latest article from Stoke Socialist party needs to be addressed. There are major delusions going on within the SP in regards to TUSC and its potential and where it is heading. Yes it is only a working progress but personally I see little evidence of progress and any evidence of willing to adapt and listen to others who have different ideas and strategies. The article in question which I think paints a very rosy picture and creates a false sense of optimism that we are on the verge of a new workers party is quoted below. "Stoke-on-Trent’s City Independents won their second consecutive seat from Labour in by elections as their share of the vote slumped by a massive 13%. This represents another clear message from voters that they want no more of the Labour council’s orgy of job losses, cuts, closures and privatisation. Other cuts parties also suffered as the Lib Dem’s share of the vote was down by 4% and the Tory vote down by 11%. However, in a further humiliation for Labour, the Tory candidate pushed them into third place! As expected UKIP’s vote increased by 8%. The result was also a condemnation of Labour’s decision to continue plans, despite massive opposition, to borrow a minimum of £59 million to build a new City Council HQ. Their recent decision to keep the current Civic Centre in Stoke for ‘some’ council workers but still build the new HQ in Hanley as well has only increased that anger. The by election was triggered because the ex Labour incumbent, Andy Lilley, has been jailed for 16 months for fraud despite Labour trying to sweep it under the carpet – at least while he was still a member of the Labour Party. Of course this didn’t help Labour much either! If local elections took place now across the city Labour would face a wipe out. This after three years of the Con-Dem’s savage austerity measures. If they had at least tried to fight against the government’s cuts instead of carrying them out then they would have won this and previous by elections. But anyone still waiting for Ed Miliband or any other Labour leader to come charging over the hill on a white horse to push Labour back into a party that represents ordinary working class people might as well ‘urinate’ in the wind. This applies as much in Stoke-on-Trent as it does nationwide. The City Independents are now the second biggest party with 10 seats on the city council and pose a serious threat to Labour’s domination at the next full local elections in 2015. Although, if those elections coincide with a general election on the same day it will provide Labour with a better chance of hanging on to power. The City Independents have achieved this position by providing an ‘opposition’ in words to some cuts. But as yet that opposition has not included a clear commitment to oppose all cuts or a serious alternative which could protect jobs and services. Importance of this by election As local elections across Stoke-on-Trent won’t take place again until 2015 this by-election was a rare opportunity for various parties and others to stand as candidates. This led to a large field of 10 in the largest ward in the city which made it more difficult for the Trade Unionist & Socialist Coalition (TUSC) and other smaller parties to make a significant impact at this stage in terms of the votes received. There was only a 19% turnout but that takes nothing away from its importance. Under Labour’s control the city council has already carried out £77 million worth of cuts over recent years. This has resulted in thousands of council workers jobs going and the closure of swimming pools, care homes, children’s centre’s libraries etc. Now they are planning a further eye watering £100 million worth of cuts over the next fours years which would all but decimate what services remain. All the other candidates in this by election seem oblivious that this is the key question facing the 250,000 people who live in the city. Most of their leaflets did not even mention cuts whilst a few did so only in passing with no mention of actually fighting against them or any idea how they could be stopped. This inevitably means that the newly elected City Independent councillor will join the others carrying out these hated austerity measures. TUSC strengthened by this by election Only TUSC candidate Liat Norris stood on the basis of a fight against cuts. We had a great response from people we spoke to. Two fellas in their forties who had never voted before voted for TUSC. A firefighter who we first met three days ago voted for TUSC. Three women who are active in community based groups voted for TUSC. At a public meeting we organised in the ward two local activists said they would stand as TUSC candidates in 2015. This by election represents an important step forward for TUSC in Stoke-on-Trent. It represents an important step forward in the building of a new party that we so desperately need to fight for ordinary working class people and it represents one more step towards our aim to stand working class fighters in every ward in the city in 2015. Liat Norris says, “I would like to thank all those who voted for TUSC’s fight against cuts. One of the most important parts of this election is that TUSC have now stood in 8 wards in the city on a clear platform of fighting against all cuts; we are and we will continue to build our profile as the only alternative to the pro-cuts parties. For a new developing party fighting against the mainstream consensus that there is no alternative but to carry out these brutal cuts, this important groundwork of building a base of support across the city is key, as is giving people the option to vote against these cuts that would have been otherwise lacking. This is not the last people in Milton, Norton or Baddeley Green will see of us, or indeed the last anyone else in the city will see of us. We will continue to fight against the council’s plan to carry out another £100 million of cuts, and will be looking to stand in every single ward in the city in 2015.” Full Result : City Independent – Mundy -861 – 32% Tory – Richardson -504 – 18% Labour – Chetwynd – 444 – 16.5% UKIP – Harold -333 – 12.4% Independent – Gary Elsby -313 – 11.7% BNP – White -79 – 2.9% Green Party Colclough -50 – 1.8% Lib – Dem Grocock -32 – 1.1% Independent – Davis -27 – 1% TUSC Norris -25 – 0.9% • Total votes: 2674 = 19.18% turnout " How the socialist party can dress this up as a step forward is beyond me. If this is a step forward coming 10th out of 10th and with 25 votes all be it with only a 19% turnout i'd dread to think what they'd consider a step back. I do not think the current tactic of standing everywhere and anywhere as the SP seem to favour helps them at all. Campaigns rock up quickly during the election period and disappear afterwards more often than not. There is no base built and more often than not in my experience with TUSC it was a chance for the Socialist party to recruit to its party sell some papers and build their own party TUSC was and still is a means to a end for them in my opinion. Article quoted from http://www.stokesocialistparty.org.uk/2013/11/15/baddeley-milton-norton-by-election-another-shattering-blow-to-labour-another-step-forward-for-tusc/

Why not stand for TUSC next year?

The Trade Union and Socialist Coalition is appealing to anti cuts campaigners, trade unionists and all who are opposed to the savage cuts being pushed through on us all the 99%. TUSC looks to bring together all who want to fight back and think all the political parties including the labour party no longer represent them anymore. “TUSC is an electoral platform for all who want to challenge austerity. TUSC is open to those who want to stand as candidates in the local council elections in May 2014 as part of a strategy of mass fightback, challenging Labour and their do-nothing strategy in as many seats as possible. “TUSC appeals to all those who are suffering due to austerity, angry about losing their job, have had their hours or pay reduced, or benefits squeezed, to play a part and help. “We also welcome those who are just angry about cuts and want to do something practical to stop the future deteriorating into endless poverty.” I’ve stood for TUSC in Ware this year in Hertfordshire and did better than I expected. The mood is slowly changing against this government and many realise there is no opposition coming from labour to austerity only a slightly lesser more fluffy version of the Tories which is frankly not good enough. We need a new mass workers party based on the working class moving into action TUSC can be an expression of this in an early stage. Whilst not receiving huge votes or any major breakthrough as yet TUSC has made some good moves with the addition of the RMT backing and other leading militant trade unionists it is well placed to progress in the next few years. I’d urge you if you have no political party but are angry about the cuts, privatisation of your local public services downgrading of your local hospital or seeing your wages not going so far at all then do get involved in TUSC and contact us to find out more and how you can stand next year in your area. Putting the word out now early gives us the best chance of having and a strong challenge next year where we continue to build on our work of this year. Next year will be a lot of urban council seats up for election including many labour controlled types of council this will provide TUSC with a unique chance to make inroads as labour councils continue to put up the white flag on the cuts passed on by them. TUSC candidates if elected are pledged to vote against all cuts and any rise in council tax. We argue the money is there and the government should be forced to make up the short fall. We would support a local campaign linking up with other councils prepared to not make the cuts linking up with anti cuts groups and the trade unions in a needs budget setting what the council needs to fund its services for that year and then campaigning hard at the government for the money they are rightfully owned back. Even if one council did this it would be a beacon to workers and anti cuts activists. Imagine if all councils did this the government would have to back down. Cuts can be beaten TUSC is providing an alternative. Get in touch for more information Visit TUSC online at www.tusc.org.uk And follow on twitter @tuscoalition

UKIP rise in polls we need a socialist reply

Last weeks county council election threw up a popular vote for UKIP who have gained some ground of late focusing on immigration and the question of the EU. But for socialists we need to do more than just say people are fed up with the other mainstream parties to give a proper analysis that this recent phenomena deserves. A proper look into UKIP’s policies has not been carried out and taken apart by our dear capitalist media I wonder why? Well they are diverting the attention from the real issue and that is the deepening crisis that which their system of capitalism finds itself in today. UKIP do not oppose the European Union because it benefits the bosses at the expense of workers. They have no problem with privatisation of public services and industries, restrictions on trade union rights, redundancies or forcing wages down. The leaders of UKIP and many of their backers are mainly right-wing Tories who are trying to push the Tory party into opposing the EU. Many rich donors are now transferring their political donations from the tories to the UKIP party now not totally abandoning the Tories mind you but certainly opening a split on the right of UK politics which will be interesting how it plays out long term. These right-wing businessmen aren't giving millions of pounds to UKIP because they want more money spent on hospitals and education. They oppose the EU partly from a standpoint of wanting more "free trade" and "deregulation" of businesses. That is, more freedom for big business to gamble with our jobs and pensions, and to profit from the sell-off of more public services. The UKIP leader who has had reams and reams of media coverage and it has felt like wall to wall coverage I thought the BBC were bad enough inviting Owen Jones on all the time but Nigel Farage in the last week or so has taken it to a new level entirely. We must be careful as socialists to separate those who vote UKIP through ha sense of frustration with the other parties in a out and out protest vote from their own members who more or less are a load of cranks of course with only in the last few weeks BNP sympathisers have found their way into the party and UKIP say they have no way of stopping them. But UKIP are not fascist as some say they are they may become that in the future but at this stage they are not. Whilst not fascist, UKIP is a party of the hard-right which campaigns not just against the EU but also against LGBT equality, for harsh immigration controls, deeper spending cuts and a quicker break-up of the NHS. In the European parliament it is in a grouping which includes the far-right, anti-gay United Poland party and the right-wing Italian Northern League. Although UKIP inhabits the world of the hard-right it is important to distinguish it from fascist parties such as the BNP. The aim of fascism is to smash all working class organisation and ultimately all forms of democracy (including parliamentary democracy). UKIP comes from the traditional right-wing of UK politics - a lineage which includes Conservatives such as Enoch Powell and Norman Tebbit as well as UKIP supporters like the recently deceased Patrick Moore. In other words: bigoted, nasty and slightly eccentric, but not fascist. Its party organisation is not of the disciplined combat form which characterises fascist parties. So where does UKIP's support come from? The party does seem to have gained support from a section of working class Labour voters - in 2009, 27 percent of UKIP supporters had voted Labour at the previous election, compared to 21 percent who had voted Conservative. This perhaps reflects how the poison of anti-immigration rhetoric pumped out by the press and politicians (including Labour ones, of course) have gained a hearing among some workers. This is combined with the intense bitterness that exists towards the establishment (including the EU) which UKIP has tried to tap into with slogans such as "Sod the Lot: Vote UKIP". Therefore there are some former Labour voters, motivated by hostility to immigrants and/or anger at the establishment, who might vote for UKIP. However since the Tory-Liberal government was formed in 2010, UKIP support seems to be coming increasingly from disillusioned Conservative voters. In 2012 the polling data changed markedly - only 3 percent of UKIP supporters previously voted Labour while 37 percent previously voted Conservative. Under the hammer of austerity from a Tory government working class voters who flirted with UKIP might well be returning to Labour. UKIP certainly seems to be targeting "True Blue" Conservative voters as a priority. After George Osborne's autumn statement UKIP's main objections were that he did not go far enough in cutting spending or attacking workers rights - hardly an appealing message for Labour voters. UKIP leader Nigel Farage has also used opposition to gay marriage in an attempt to peel away further Conservative votes. Therefore the Conservatives crisis is UKIP's gain - they can present themselves as the new home for the disillusioned Tory base. UKIP success in exploiting Tory divisions puts pressure on Cameron to tack to the right - as he has done over the EU - but if he goes too far he risks making the party unelectable. This is his dilemma. The background to the rise in UKIP's support then is a crisis within the Conservative Party. Without understanding this it can seem that the votes and opinion poll support for UKIP heralds a right-wing shift in society, when in fact it is an outcome of the fragmenting of the Conservative Party's traditional base. This does not mean we should be complacent. A right-wing which is a minority can still be an organised force which influences a wider layer of people, especially when its views are amplified by sections of the media and pandered to by politicians. Socialists must be alert to the dangers of right-wing scapegoating and racism in an economic crisis, and be at the forefront of combating these trends. Politically challenging racism and all attempts to divide workers is central to the development of effective resistance to austerity. The crisis is bringing both opportunities and dangers. This brings me to my final point is that the need for a clear socialist party with key policies to cut across the growing UKIP support in working class areas to give workers hope is key. The Trade Union and Socialist Coalition can go so far with this but it’s also for the trade unions of which 6 million people are members of to join and to demand their unions fight back demanding no scape goating of immigrants and to fight for the rate of the job. We do need a new party of the working class labour has lost its working class base. Although workers may still vote for it with their nose pegged this doesn’t answer the question of working class political representation. TUSC hopes to fill that vacuum by offering a clear break with the policies of austerity and despair.

A look at last weeks election results for TUSC

One hundred and twenty candidates, standing in 117 wards in 20 councils, contested the English local elections on May 2nd under the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) umbrella. In addition, TUSC stood a candidate in the Doncaster mayoral contest and two candidates in council by-elections that were held on the same day. Elections took place in 35 English local authorities, to fill 2,362 seats. TUSC stood at least one candidate in twenty councils with elections (60%), contesting 5% of the seats. This contrasts markedly with when these particular seats were previously contested in the four-yearly local elections cycle in 2009, before the formation of TUSC. Then, a year after the financial crisis had broken, there were literally less than a handful of candidates presenting a working class alternative to the pro-austerity consensus. The spread of candidates also compares with the situation in 2011 – the first local elections seriously contested by TUSC when we fielded a candidate in 2% of the seats – and 2012 when TUSC stood in 25% of the councils with elections, in 4% of the seats. This year it was mainly county councils up for election, overwhelmingly Conservative controlled after Labour’s 24% vote share in 2009 – although Cumbria had been run by a Labour-Conservative coalition! The Tories held 1,477 (62%) of the seats to Labour’s 273 going into the May 2nd poll. It would be totally wrong, however, to caricature this year’s elections as mostly rural contests. The councils that were up for election administer a range of services – from education, adult social care and youth provision, to libraries, highways and emergency services – that cover a population of 24 million, control combined budgets of £43 billion, and employ 750,000 workers (including school staff). Workers living and using public services in these local authority areas are being hit by austerity politics. But the councils up this year are not the same terrain as the metropolitan boroughs that will be facing elections next year. It will be harder then for Labour candidates, for example, to present themselves as ‘anti-cuts’ in Labour controlled councils. The election report includes a ‘league table’ presenting the TUSC results in percentage order and, separately, the results of all parties’ candidates for each seat contested by TUSC. There is also a comparison of the results achieved by TUSC candidates, aggregated into local authority-wide figures, with the votes won by Labour, Green and Liberal Democrat candidates in the seats TUSC contested. Significant features of the results include: ■ The TUSC candidate for the mayor of Doncaster, Mary Jackson, polled 1,916 votes in Ed Miliband’s ‘backyard’ (he is the MP for Doncaster North). ■ Mary’s 3.1% share of the vote put her in sixth place, ahead of the Liberal Democrats and not far short of the other ‘party of government’, the Tories, who polled 2,811 votes. ■ The total vote for all TUSC candidates on May 2nd was 10,182. ■ In the local council seats that TUSC contested, the ratio of Labour voters to TUSC voters this year was fourteen. In other words, for every person who voted for TUSC (8,188 in the local council elections), there were 14 people who voted Labour (119,204). ■ This ratio has widened compared to that in the 2011 and 2012 local elections – although, in a metropolitan council comparator, the ratio narrowed in Bristol compared to the 2011 local elections in that city (the last council elections there) and last November’s Bristol mayoral poll. ■ Across the local council wards and county council divisions that TUSC contested, the ratio of Green voters (19,652) to TUSC voters (8,188) was two-and-a-half. For the Liberal Democrats, defending 353 seats in these polls, the ratio of their voters (43,521) to TUSC voters was five to one. The Labour Party put up more candidates this year – 2,174, in 92% of the seats – than in recent previous local elections. In 2011, for example, still recovering from the 2010 general election defeat, Labour fielded candidates for just 72% of the seats available and eight TUSC candidates did not face a Labour opponent. This year every TUSC candidate faced a Labour candidate, in a context where Labour controlled just one council before May 2nd. Next year though nearly half of the councils up for election are Labour controlled – and they will have just set their budgets for a fourth year of implementing the Con-Dem cuts. The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition’s fight to present an anti-austerity alternative to the establishment parties will move into a different gear. For more information anda full report please visit www.tusc.org.uk

59 votes for a clear anti cuts candidate in a Tory stronghold

59 was the number of votes I gained this Thursday 2nd of May. In a county council election. Although this doesn’t sound huge and I’m in no way making it out to be I am quite impressed with this myself. Seeing as I only stood last minute as a paper candidate which means you just appear as a name on the ballot paper nothing else no leafleting or stalls or anything is actually pretty good I think. This is more people than I know and shows that even in tory stronghold like Ware North a part rural area to the north a genuine anti cuts message can be heard loud and clear and people will react to this. Up until the election I was saying in my head seeing as I’d done no work for the election due to helping other candidates in neighbouring Harlow in Essex I’d do well to get 20 given the anti party feeling and the poor turnouts. So 59 while still not much more is a decent vote I would say given the lack of media coverage and all the other factors working against an anti cuts voice in the UK. Other notable results were in Harlow West ward we gained 270 (3.5%) Which again looking at the percentage isn’t huge but as a vote is a decent one for us standing in Harlow for the first time. In Doncaster we were standing for mayor and gained just shy of 2000 votes this again is laying down an important marker for future battles and elections to come. We must remember as Marxists that elections and bourgeois elections as they are that are the lowest form of class struggle you can put a lot of work in and get little reward back. But for myself and others just standing and providing that alternative is important to us and is sign things are changing ever so slowly. I will no doubt blog on the incredible rise of the UKIP vote in these elections and what it means to us the working class in time. But for now thank you to all who backed me and TUSC in these elections. It’s a start and if we did not stand who would be providing that anti cuts anti privatisation alternative it certainly wouldn’t be the labour party! You can find out more and follow TUSC results as they come in on www.tusc.org.uk

Support TUSC this Thursday there is an alternative

This Thursday people do have a choice and someone to vote for now. The Trade Union and Socialist Coalition of which I’m standing for in Hertfordshire county council elections for Ware north providing a anti austerity message. We are standing in over 120 seats covering 5%. This may seem a small number but it’s a big step forward when you look at how many anti cuts candidates stood when these elections were last contested back when labour were still in power. It’s important to pose an alternative and provide an alternative for people to vote for. As Marxists we do not consider elections the be all and end all they are a platform we can use to reach workers we otherwise wouldn’t be able to. We do not take an absolute view on elections and do see them as the lowest form of class struggle but this doesn’t stop us using any platform we can get. We are clearly limited with media coverage and ability to get to people with our production of leaflets being limited by our resources. Despite all this I feel we’ve run good campaigns reaching new contacts and providing an alternative where previously there was none. We’ve come across many thinking UKIP are the answer we have won a few around from this position who were going to vote UKIP but will now not after knowing what they are all about. People may vote for UKIP or labour even as a protest votes to punish the Tories and lib dems. This doesn’t mean to say people have any great enthusiasm for labour or UKIP they are just the nearest lot to bash the Tories with. TUSC will not get a big vote or win much if at all but it’s important we do not leave the door open to the right in the form of UKIP who could become a danger in the future as capitalism fails to find a way out of its own contridictions parties like UKIP are far more dangerous than the BNP as they are seen as more credible and will whip up racial tensions and create divisions in society increasing social tensions. But do back TUSC this Thursday but more importantly join the fight for a new workers party. If you’re in a union put pressure on it to back TUSC and stop funding a Tory light labour party. There is an alternative. The money and the funds are out there if brought under democratic workers control. We may be small and our votes may be modest at this stage but give us a listen and see what we can achieve together as the most powerful force out there the labour movement fighting back. For more information on TUSC visit www.tusc.org.uk

The alternative TUSC offer

Many workers may not have heard of TUSC – The Trade union and Socialist Coalition and that is understandable we are small and have no mainstream profile with any big business backing. The media has also made a concerted effort to sideline any of our ideas or tell people about us at all. During the last local elections there was a complete black out against us which we have trouble in countering given we have no way of accessing mass media apart from the internet and our own communications within the working class. But this may a vote for TUSC in the county council local elections will represent clear vote against the cuts. We don’t just talk about fighting the cuts we are ordinary trade unionists fighting day to day in our workplaces and our communities to fight cuts and support local campaigns. We do not expect to receive a huge vote this may our vote is constantly squeezed by those wanting to punish the Tories voting for the nearest party who can hurt the Tories and that is so far a vote for the labour party despite labours poor record in fighting cuts locally. TUSC is an electoral vehicle and is not as yet a new workers party we are quite clear about that but it is a vehicle for those opposed to the cuts to appear on the ballot paper and provide an alternative which we would otherwise be denied. I am standing for this first time and I’m proud to be standing for TUSC. I don’t expect to get a big vote at all but I’m happy that I can be able to be that alternative in Hertfordshire. I like the federal structure of TUSC allowing each part of the coalition to get on and campaign on their own terms but sticking to the main policies that all TUSC candidates must agree to before standing. We are often told a vote for TUSC and any minor force is a wasted vote I personally don’t accept that. It is a continues thought that someone feels your worth a vote its showing that your vote hasn’t been brought by a pro cuts party and that people have registered what you are staying and do want an alternative. People may not always agree with us and feel we’re a bit too broad or even reformist but it’s a start a clear break with the main 3 capitalist parties of cuts and privatisation. TUSC may end up not being the new mass workers party we are flexible maybe a union like unite may break away from the labour party in which case we’d back that as a positive move away from the labour party and an effort to get something new going. We will have to see how things progress and what way the class struggle develop. The trade unions hold the key to any new working class political formation as that is where the organised working class struggle on a day to day basis. In many ways the trade unions have forgotten how to struggle to fight for their members we do need a rejuvenated trade union movement but this will come when workers feel they have no choice but to struggle and begin to reclaim their unions back for themselves again. TUSC are right to stand this may and it’s important that we do to counter the growing threat from the right including the likes of UKIP. We do need to be aware of the UKIP threat and look to cut across them by giving a clear class alternative along socialist lines. We will be the only force this may with 120 odd candidates standing against all cuts. No other formation can lay claim to this. Vote TUSC for no cuts for a workers representative on a workers wage.

Why I’m standing for TUSC

I initially wasn’t going to stand this year for elections in the county council but I am glad I have thrown my hat into the ring now. It hasn’t been easy for a blind person to stand in elections there is so many inaccessible forms to fill in and getting nominations is a challenge too I eventually managed this though with the help of my comrades who I thank hugely. I will be standing in the Tory rural strong hold of Ware north in East Hertfordshire. The initial policies I will be standing on are • Oppose all cuts to council jobs, services, pay and conditions - we reject the claim that 'some cuts' are necessary to our services. • Reject increases in council tax, rent and service charges to compensate for government cuts. • Vote against the privatisation of council jobs and services, or the transfer of council services to 'social enterprises' or 'arms-length' management organisations, which are first steps to privatisation. • Use all the legal powers available to councils, including powers to refer local NHS decisions, initiate referenda and organise public commissions and consultations, to oppose both the cuts and government polices which centrally impose the transfer of public services to private bodies. • When faced with government cuts to council funding, councils should refuse to implement the cuts. We will support councils which in the first instance use their reserves and prudential borrowing powers to avoid passing them on - while arguing that the best way to mobilise the mass campaign that is necessary to defeat the cuts is to set a budget that meets the needs of the local community and demands that the government makes up the shortfall. This is the basic TUSC programme it’s designed as a basic outline as candidates can add bits to it for their local campaigns and local issues which affect them in their area. As I’m standing in Ware North I stand also against local cuts handed down by the Tory lead Herts County Council which include cuts to street lighting at night which I’ve previously blogged about, the cuts to lollipop crossing workers putting children’s lives at risk when walking to and from school and cuts to budgets on the roads meaning we have some of the worst kept roads in the county with many pot holes on our counties roads. Its clear labour are no alternative and in Hertfordshire this is no different their record in local councils like Stevenage Borough Council highlights this where they have implemented the cuts passed on to them from the con-dem government. The Trade Union and Socialist Coalition do not accept any cuts are necessary and in fact even more investment is needed in our public services. There is poverty in Ware despite many thinking we are in a relatively well off area no doubt some are doing quite well but how long this will last as the financial crisis deepens by the month. In ware we have a food bank which serves around 200 people a week so anyone pretending Ware is well off is lying as many who use a food bank are actually in low paid work often unsocial hours that are not paid enough to live on. Hertfordshire County Council should look to pay all its employees a liveable wage not just a living wage which his a code for a increased minimum wage but a wage that workers can live on properly without the need for benefits or food banks. I do not expect to gain hugely from standing this may but by me standing it offers the people of Ware and beyond an alternative from the main cuts parties. TUSC will be contesting 125 seats this may up and down the country with a candidate for the Mayor of Doncaster too. If you wish to find out more check out www.tusc.org.uk

TUSC biggest challenge to labour from the left in years

This may the Trade Union Socialist Coalition will be fielding hopefully its biggest number of candidates in a local election across the country ever. This will mark a dramatic step forward in the TUSC name and profile. What this will also represent is the biggest challenge to labour from the left in probably a generation. Standing on a class basis of opposition to all cuts fielding anti cuts candidates with many from the Socialist party itself too shows that the labour boss’s never did finish off militant and we’re making a comeback on the electoral front. Whilst we do not expect to win or gain huge votes at all just by simply standing many candidates in such areas like Hertfordshire where I hope to be standing myself in my town of Ware will show that an alternative to the cuts is possible. We hope to begin to dent if not fully smash the lie that there is no alternative to the cuts and the cuts are inevitable. There is always an alternative an alternative of investment in public services we vitally need not cuts would be our priority. All TUSC candidates stand for an average wage of a skilled worker and would not benefit financially from being elected. We are true class fighters using elections as a platform to gain access to a wider layer of workers that we wouldn’t otherwise be able to reach. The pro capitalist parties of Labour, Tory and lib dem all stand for cuts of some speed or description even if they won’t be honest about it up front. We as TUSC are proud and clear to declare our opposition to all cuts and will be building links on the ground with workers in new areas spreading our influence and resistance to the cuts onslaught. All TUSC candidates pledge to vote against all cuts and any rises’ in council tax to offset cuts, we oppose all forms of privatisation even arms length out sourcing which is often the first step to privatisation. In and around the country there will be local issues we look to take up and fight on in our campaigns we can make these big areas of our material and propaganda. In Harlow for example we will make the closure of the Harlow Welfare rights centre which many struggling people relied on for benefit advice and support part of our campaign. These are just county council elections and in many ways the vote is not important if we do well then fair enough but we are laying down a marker building our forces on the ground for future struggles up ahead. If you wish to find out more about TUSC and what we stand for please visit www.tusc.org.uk

A look at this weeks big elections, TUSC still finding its feet

I've heard many comments about TUSC's performance this week in various elections many writing TUSC off and many saying its never going to happen voters still prefer labour just to get rid of the tories. This may well be true at this time but Labour lost 10k votes in Manchester Central this time despite keeping hold of the seat. Its still early days for TUSC as a electoral force on the main stage. We are limited in resources and numbers on the ground. Our votes go up and down but at this stage as the post below posted on the TUSC website we dont feel at this stage we can draw any definitive conclusions for TUSC and the project for a new mass workers party. There is still the need for such a party given no political party is offering anything for working people just more of teh same all be it at a slightly slower pace. Just a note on the Police Crime commisioner elections some dreadful turnouts with many not voting some areas not even recording a vote shows the publics indifference to elected police commisioners and is a hugely humiliating record for this Con-dem gov. This can finally put the nail in the coffin when tories use low turnout figures which are partly to do with teh harshest anti trade union laws in the western world when these elections have been so poorly supported. No more attacks on the unions strike ballots given this bit of embarrassing news for the tories. WITH A £5,000 deposit required to get on to the ballot paper – but with no candidates’ freepost mailshot available – TUSC did not field any candidates in the Police Commissioner elections held on November 15, dubbed by the media as Britain’s ‘super Thursday’ with 40 million people eligible to vote. But TUSC did stand candidates in the Manchester Central parliamentary by-election, the Bristol mayoral election, and three council by-elections, held on the same day. In Bristol the TUSC candidate Tom Baldwin, the youngest contender in the field, polled 1,412 votes. For comparison the Liberal Democrats, who lead the city council, polled just over six thousand votes while the Greens, with two city councillors, managed 5,248 votes. In Manchester Central Labour held the seat while TUSC candidate Alex Davidson polled 220 votes. Showing how alienated working class people are from all ‘politics’ at this stage – not making it easy for a new force to make a breakthrough – the by-election saw the lowest ever turnout in a peacetime parliamentary by-election, at 18.1%. In the council by-elections, TUSC’s vote ranged from 3.9% in Rugby’s New Bilton ward to 2.2% in Manchester Ardwick ward – although in Liverpool’s Knotty Ash ward Charley Cosgrove outpolled both the Conservatives and the Greens. UKIP polled more votes than TUSC in four of the contests but not overwhelmingly so – despite Nigel Farage’s Question Time season ticket (while TUSC faces a media blackout). In reality not too much can be drawn from a handful of electoral contests, either ‘writing off’ TUSC or exaggerating the possibilities at this stage. The most important fact is still the absence of a vehicle for working class political representation, given Labour’s broad acceptance of the capitalists’ austerity agenda. Standing in elections is part of the struggle to build one. Bristol Mayoral election: Bristol First 31,321; Labour 25,896; Conservative 8,136; Lib Dems 6,202; Green 5,248; Independent 2,404; Independent 1,855; Respect 1,568; Independent 1,413; TUSC 1,412 (1.6%); Independent 1,037; Independent 994; Independent 761; Independent 494; Independent 411. Manchester Central parliamentary by-election: Labour 11,507; Lib Dems 1.571; Conservative 754; UKIP 749; Green 652; BNP 492; Pirate Party 308; TUSC 220 (1.3%); Respect 182; MRLP 78; People’s Democratic 71; Comm League 64. Rugby council, New Bilton ward by-election: Labour 496; Conservative 192; Green 100; UKIP 82; Indpendent 56; Lib Dems 41; TUSC 39 (3.9%). Liverpool council, Knotty Ash ward by-election: Labour 1,213; Lib Dems 149; Liberal 131; UKIP 101; English Democrats 50; TUSC 48 (2.7%); Conseravtive 40; Green 36. Manchester council, Ardwick ward by-election: Labour 1,904; Green 120; Lib Dems 94; Conservative 92; UKIP 61; TUSC 52 (2.2%); BNP 43. For a full breakdown of TUSC’s May results see http://www.tusc.org.uk/pdfs/2012/TUSC_Results_Report.pdf

The delusions of Ed Miliband and the labour party

The local elections just gone were not an endorsement of the labour party or of its leader Ed Miliband. Ed described the results of labour reconnecting with the voting public. This couldn’t be further from the truth if he tried.

Take Harlow where Ed Miliband visited to proclaim a labour victory and to have a pop at the Tories the local labour vote could only muster a win out of 30% of people who bothered to vote. Over 71% of people registered to vote in Harlow did not bother to come out of their homes to vote for labour or any of the major captivity parties either.

It is an absolute fabrication of labour to spin this as a vote for labour and a big wave of people supporting them again. Quite frankly it is further evidence of the disengagement of politicians with ordinary people and who can blame people with a all parties standing for cuts reluctant cuts, slower cuts or fairer cuts all amount to the same thing at the end of the day cuts to jobs and services however much hand ringing they do they are still making cuts. Cuts we as Marxists do not feel are necessary at all.

We are at one with unions such as the PCS and the RMT who have planned out an alternative a reformist position against the cuts and yes the money is there to cover the need to make any cuts to jobs or services. We feel this argument will be born out in time and we are on the right side of the argument.

But it’s all about convincing people it’s about reaching that 71% of people who did not vote or felt the need to vote. They will be being affected now swell but do not feel voting can change anything. We agree to an extent but a vote for someone like TUSC can make a difference we can be that voice on the inside for you offering that working class socialist alterative. Correct we cannot bring about socialism simply by standing in elections but we can certainly use them as a platform to get our ideas across to a wider audience than otherwise we could.


But for labour and Ed Miliband to claim this as a victory for labour in the local elections is way far wide of the mark with such low turnouts apathy was the real winner and for any political party to claim a victory with such low turnouts is pretty poor in stretching reality.

With Ed Milibands approval rating currently sitting at minus 41% and the other major parties leaders at a similar level he can hardly claim he is winning people over and convincing people labour is a real alterative. It simply is not but hey what would be the point if a politician didn’t spin things for their own advantage.

People simply do not believe a politician in a suit any longer they think they are all the same and largely they are. The fact that Ed Miliband is now saying he wont be making any promises in the fear he may break them says it all quite frankly a lack of confidence in his own policies and his own ability to convey them to people.

As Marxists we do not have this problem we are bold in our ideas as we know that we stand on a class basis not looking to run ahead of the class or tag along from behind we look to lead if we can and provide a beacon of hope to those struggling to get by be that in work or not. We are all working class if you have to work to get by. Ed Miliband doesn’t get the idea of class he is afraid of using terms like working class or socialism as they have lost their working class base. People may still vote labour for now but how they can claim to be a workers party any longer is beyond me. There is no working class base in the labour party any longer with the trade union link still there but barely noticed and to be honest the labour leadership only see it as a pot of money they can dig into to fund their election campaigns not to use it to fight for working class interests.

Just this last week we had a fantastic strike by half a million public sector workers with many more in support of them but where were labour ? They could not bring themselves to support this strike and haven’t been able to for a very long time.

TUSC supports workers in struggle and is keen to be there wherever it can lend support. It is time a new workers party was formed and built lets drop any illusions we may have in the labour party but holding a friendly door open to those good comrades still plugging away in the labour party. We think you’re wasting your time and effort and you’d be better working with us in trying to form a new workers party with democracy and trade union and socialist value sat its core.

TUSC has room to grow

With the recent local elections I’d like to say this can be and I’m sure will be the greatest period of growth for TUSC if the lessons are learnt and put into practise.

Rugby TUSC which I see personally as a shining example has made huge inroads into keeping their vote up and doubling it. If any TUSC branch or future TUSC branch wants an example to follow look no further than Rugby TUSC with pet eMclaren and his comrades heading up a fantastic anti cuts fight. A lesson we can all learn. Work in-between elections are absolutely key in my view. Not being just seen as politicians which we’re not of course who just want your vote and only call round at election time is not the route we want to be going down.

Building a TUSC branch in your area should be the objective and I fully believe this can be done. With socialist party and SWP comrades in most areas there is no reason why we cant form branch’s of TUSC and lay the base for a new mass workers party which can challenge labour in the ballot box, on the picket lines where labour are rarely seen and in amongst the working class where many are now looking for a alternative to labour.

I firmly believe if TUSC hold their nerve and all who support it hold their nerve and double our efforts and raise the name we can start to see major breakthroughs in the coming period.

With the capitalist crisis only going to deepen a party and a coalition like TUSC can really make big gains if it plays its cards right. Forming branches and being seen as always alongside workers in struggle is key if we are not we open the door for others to be seen to be.

TUSC is serious I believe in attracting new layers of workers and existing workers to the banner of TUSC. I am optimistic for our chances going forward and the campaign for a new workers party is gaining support and influence certainly within the trade unions such as the RMT and beyond. This period we can cease for ourselves if the right ideas are put across and the right lessons are learnt by all.

The most important part is putting those theories into practise and making sure we are seen wherever workers turn to struggle as they are likely to in the coming period.

TUSC can be that vehicle for working people if it plays its cards right let us be that banner to win workers too. As a step towards a new mass workers party with socialism as its aim.

A comradely approach

As members of the socialist party we are well aware that labour after gaining big victories and control of lots of councils and gaining lots of seats are riding on a high right now. Let them celebrate. But also be under no illusion the level of support they really have. With voter turnout last week hovering around the 30 percent mark a victory for labour last Thursday is no ringing endorsement of them or their policies of a cuts light package.

Labour members and even those on their left may be feeling encouraged by these results but what will they do with their newly found positions of power. Will they fight the cuts and refuse to pass on Tory cuts?

These results cannot be taken as an endorsement of New Labour or of Ed Miliband and his policies.
His personal ratings before the election stood at -41%! It was primarily a massive rejection of the Con-Dem government and especially of the savage cuts.
There was nothing in this election campaign of the enthusiasm witnessed in France where the left, particularly the Left Front of Mélenchon, fired up millions of working people with radical policies and a glimpse of changing society.
All that Miliband offers, at most, is a change of curtains: "The more things change, the more they remain the same."
Will newly-elected or strengthened Labour councils pursue a policy of resistance by refusing to implement the cuts? Up to now, they have unfortunately aped the Tories and Liberal Democrats by acting as transmission belts for the government's attacks on working-class people.
But if they were to take a stand - even at this late hour - in refusing to implement the eye-watering measures coming down the line, then the anti-cuts movement would be prepared to form a united front with them. If, however, they don't, their new-found 'popularity' will rapidly evaporate.
In reality, working people expressed on the doorstep, on television and in newspapers their complete exasperation with 'all the main parties', who are perceived to be 'all the same'.
This mood has not been dissipated by these elections. This is indicated by the turnout of 31%, the lowest for 12 years.
In other words, the worse the economic and social situation gets, the less the mass of the population is prepared to engage in politics.
If New Labour was really offering something new - a fighting anti-cuts programme allied to the idea of changing society - then working people would come out in their droves to support them.
But, in fact, the votes of all the main parties went down but New Labour just decreased less than the Tories or Lib Dems.
Previous Tory and Lib Dem voters did not swing over to New Labour but tended to abstain. The unavoidable fact is that 70% of the electorate are disengaged on a local level from politics.
They do not believe that what happens in these elections has a major bearing on their lives. This is a very dangerous situation for the capitalists.
The seeds of new riots are being sown. The poor, disenfranchised, jobless young people and working class generally are increasingly excluded from real democratic participation through their own mass party. They will then seek to express themselves by other means as we saw last august with the riots.

But as far as going forward goes we are happy to work with others who oppose all the cuts. We do not hold a open door invite all policy in and collaborate with those who are making the cuts as that gives out totally the wrong message a popularist approach as some taken the left can be very appealing but as we know there are no shortcuts in the class struggle those who opportunistically jump in bed with those who are making cuts will be punished in the end.

But as the socialist party we will always take a comradely and a friendly welcoming stance to others. We realise as the cuts continue to bite and labour do little to nothing to resist the cuts and offer an alternative more will be drawn to the likes of the socialist party and we will be happy to welcome anyone over to our ideas. Taking a friendly approach to those who may have been labour, voted labour all their life but will feel betrayed or already do we understand and are happy to talk to you and show you a alternative can be posed and the cuts are not inevitable as labour tell you there is something we can do and that is to fight. As the old saying goes you win nothing if you don’t fight if you do you has at least a chance of winning.

So if you are interested in finding out more about us or just would like more information or to join please check out
www.socialistparty.org.uk
And www.socialistparty.org.uk/join

The coalition we are apart of which we stand in elections is TUSC the Trade Union and Socialist coalition
Who are openly socialist and proud to be so you can find out more about them at www.tusc.org.uk

The lessons for TUSC in the recent local elections

Overall I feel the recent elections were good to be honest for TUSC in many places we were standing for the first time. We may not have made a significant breakthrough but I am still confident our time will come.

Labour gained big numbers of councillors and control of councils again this is a last chance for labour if you like given to them by those who voted. This is no way an endorsement of the labour party and their slow cuts strategy but an anti Tory vote where people looked to punish the government including Tories and lib dems. This at the moment has meant labour has won big but unless they break from the base of capitalism they are based on they too will be carrying out the cuts and feeling the wrath of the anti cuts movement.
It is certainly going to be a very interesting period now with still only a estimated 9% of the cuts been seen so far many labour councils will have to make the cuts if they want to stay true to their capitalist masters. If they do break from this and do stand up for ordinary people and refuse to make the cuts all well and good that is what we want to happen but frankly from the evidence so far where labour control councils this does not appear to be the case at all.


If anything they seem to not even debate the cuts just interested in the speed of the cuts not the cuts passé. It is a good time for TUSC now we really have to keep our nerve and keep firm to our principles stand by what we’ve stood on and build on these elections.

Standing as broadly as we can in new areas building the TUSC name is key for this coming period between now and the next elections. We can’t just be seen as another party who is only seen at election time. We must be standing shoulder to shoulder with workers in struggle be that on strikes on demonstrations and mass movements as the crisis in capitalism will deepen there is no doubt about that.
As Marxists we see the struggle for a new society based on the needs of people over the profits of a few a process which can be and flow seeing our movement thrown back at times when other times we can advance consciousness and make gains. The recent elections have clearly given labour one last chance to prove they can stand up for ordinary people against the cuts. We know this won’t happen but people have to see this in action and will be betrayed. We have been told well why you don’t join the labour party to affect change from within. This is a dead end argument as we were in the labour party and were expelled for giving workers a voice. We are not prepared to sit in the labour party and sit by as the working class goes to hell in a handcart. We are actively trying to give a lead to workers and that alternative which is being searched for more and more.

As some commentators and others on the left think this will be the end for Tusk and the likes of Dave Nellist who unfortunately lost his seat to a new labour pro cuts candidate on Thursday but this is not the end if anything it is just the start and we will be there on the right side of the picket lines standing with ordinary workers who need our support against the boss’s

So onwards and upwards I say let labour show us what they are all about now as we will be watching closely and ready to expose them.

Labour gain in local elections but will they stand up to Tories against the cuts?

Last nights elections results showed a swing to labour from Tories and the lib dems. Labour has taken control of lots of new councils. But to me this is more of a vote against the Tories and the government than a vote for labours slow cuts policy to be honest.

You only have to look at the appalling turnout figures across the country typically between 20 and 30 percent. That is dreadful and says much for the current state of our democracy or excuse for a democracy in this country when so few people can be bothered to vote I think the time is nearly up for the major political parties out there offering you the same old crap served up with a different shade of tie on.

So will labour mount a stronger fight back at a local level against cuts ? I personally can’t see it more councillors and more labor run councils means nothing. When up till now all labour councils have happily passed on all Tory cuts handed to them without as much as a whimper there’s nothing to suggest this trend won’t continue. Of course I’d over it if a labour ran council did refuse to make the cuts but from those councillors who have already one has found himself expelled for daring to vote against the labour group and the other is still under investigation. So if any do and I really hope some do they will be in for a severe ticking off. The only voice for anti cuts will be TUSC still who unfortunately did not poll hugely or win big, but we weren’t expecting to. With a disgraceful media blackout of our campaigns we received reasonable votes in places unfortunately loosing out to the fact people who did vote largely voted for labour to give the Tories a kicking, this was their choice as at the moment they are still seen as the only opposition to the Tories wrongly in my view but there we go those illusions still hold strong in a lot of areas. But as the cuts begin to bite harder and harder and no fight back from labour councils is forthcoming parties like TUSC can get a better hearing I’d have thought with people finally seeing that labour when it comes down to it would do very little different to the Tories in power.

TUSC is well placed to expose labour for its hypocrisy and outright lies that it defends ordinary people TUSC rejects all cuts whoever is making them but when labour makes the cuts people will see the true face of the labour party and will be looking for an alternative.

Our ideas did get a good reception on the doorstep but unfortunately much like last year that isn’t translating into votes. That doesn’t mean to say we don’t have the support it just mans people are not yet rushing to the polling stations to affect change. They don’t believe in the system and well neither do we but we do at least offer an alternative to the cuts agenda of the main 3 parties.

Labour will not face up to the Tories and reject all the cuts for the simple reason as they do not see an alternative. They could be looking to tax the rich and collect the 120 billion which goes evaded and avoided every eyar but do we hear labour shouting about the rich ? No we don’t we hear them joining in with bashing the poor rhetoric and anti worker sentiment. Even last night on BBC question time Hariot Harman the deputy leader of the labour party could not even support public sector workers going on strike she said she hopes there isn’t a strike, well so do we and the government backs down but they wont so strike action is necessary and will be important to building the fight back again against the government and this rotten capitalist system where the poor aware being made to pay for a crisis not of their making.

These local elections results tell you something though that 68% of people are not voting and that those can be won over to voting for an alternative, a socialist alternative in years to come. As Marxists we see everything as a process and constantly changing. TUSC will stand again and again and again building our roots in the working class so next time people will know us and know our record of opposing all cuts and defending working class people wherever we can. Labour will be exposed mark my words their idea of slow cuts will do nothing to ease the pain on ordinary people at the bottom of society and one day all capitalist parties and ideas will be rejected once and for all.

Vote TUSC this Thursday against all cuts!

This Thursday you can vote for an anti cuts candidate across the country. A vote for TUSC is not a wasted vote. Every vote we get is a vote against cuts from all parties.

Total number of TUSC council candidates: 132
Councils in which TUSC candidates are contesting a seat: 38
In addition there is the TUSC list of 17 candidates for the Greater London Assembly, and the TUSC candidate for the mayor of Liverpool, Tony Mulhearn.
This compares well with last year’s elections. Then there were a total of 174 candidates, standing in 50 councils, who contested the local elections under the TUSC umbrella. However, in 2011 there were elections in 279 councils (all in England) with 9,396 seats to be filled. So last year TUSC fielded a candidate in 18% of the councils where there were elections and contested 2% of the seats.
This year there are elections in just 128 councils in England, with 2,407 seats to be filled. In England TUSC are standing 118 candidates (5% of the seats) in 34 of the local authorities where there are elections (27%). In Wales there are 14 TUSC candidates (out of the 1,224 seats vacant) in four of the 22 Welsh councils with elections.
In Scotland, all 32 councils are up for election, with 1,222 seats (proportionally elected in multi-member wards). There are 38 candidates standing in nine Scottish councils as the Scottish Anti-Cuts Coalition – a name registered by TUSC and made available to candidates in Scotland, in accordance with the TUSC mandate to enable trade unionists and anti-cuts campaigners to contest elections without having to appear on the ballot paper as ‘Independent’ or with no ‘party description’.
Aswell as this we have a sitting Cllr Dave Nellist who in coventry is standing under the banenr socialist alternative who needs your votes too he has a fantastic record of standing up for ordinary people and deserves your votes.

You may still think labour stand for you and won’t be as harsh like the Tories but reality has shown this is just not the case any longer.

The old phrase we got to vote labour to keep the Tories out is not washing so much now. It has been shown when labour have got control of councils they have voted for cuts just like the Tories. There is very little difference any longer

So why not vote TUSC then if labour Tories and lib dems all would be voting for cuts.

TUSC candidates would not vote for cuts under any circumstances we’d reject rises in council taxes and reject outsourcing and privatisation.

TUSC cllr’s would represent ordinary people and not put their own interests ahead of the working class they would demonstrate this by only taking the average wage of a skilled worker in their area they would not financially benefit from the position like other parties elected representatives do.

As I have blogged about previously there is no need for any cuts and the cuts are simply to make the working class pay for a crisis not of the making.
I’d urge everyone who can vote TUSC to do so but not only vote TUSC join the socialist party and join the fight back against austerity the fight for a change of society which we are starting to build.

Do not take labours word when they say they care for you and your vote matters to them it doesn’t all that matters to them is to get elected to continue pocketing a nice salary. For them it’s a career move for TUSC candidates it’s about defending ordinary people from the attacks of the Tories under capitalism.

The deeper this crisis gets under capitalism as it will do the more people will look for an alternative. TUSC will be there offering that and we will be standing more broadly year on year.

This year the RMT union backed by Bob crow is officially backing TUSC in the local elections and the mayoral election in Liverpool where our comrade Tony Mulhearn is standing and has a good chance we feel.

I think last year people wanted to give the lib dems a kicking and did that I think now we may find a difference with the cuts really starting to take affect people may be willing to take that step now to move away from labour and vote for something different. It is a hard inertia to break those traditional labour voters to see that their vote isn’t helping and is voting for cuts to changing to vote for us is a tough job but during this election I have spoken to many who are considering switching. Whether they ultimately will or not when they get into the ballot box will be the test from last year. Last year we got a fantastic response on the doorsteps and our vote was poor but this year we have had a similar response but we can’t tell if people will come out and vote for us.
It is difficult to tell what that objective shift in consciousness will be what will get those who may never have voted and don’t normally vote would come out in support of a socialist alternative. Our ideas are having an echo but whether it’ll translate into votes it is hard to tell at this stage. But it is important we do stand though and don’t just give labour the credibility of appearing anti cuts as they are not and we are doing well to point this out. Still more needs to be done to convince people of labours record and how they will vote for cuts and ultimately no different from Tories in terms of policy. Whether it’s a Tory or a labour cllr making your cuts matters little to people on the sharp end of cuts. But people will want to see an alternative increasingly so. A change is coming please be part of it on Thursday and vote TUSC where you can.

TUSC’s role in the coming elections

Firstly I’d like to say I don’t expect us to win big that may be a given to say that but I really don’t. For us in the socialist party at least our role as we see it is to get the message out there to as many people as we can that there is an alternative to vote for and that the 3 main parties do not offer you a solution to cuts.

We will maybe gain a few decent votes here and there and many I am sure will ridicule this especially others on the left. But to me this does not worry me at all. For now TUSC is a new project of trade unionists and socialists with the backing of the RMT for the first time. Even if we consolidate our base and our name out there and our message which is the most important bit I’ll be happy with our lot. Of course I’d love to win seats all over the country but realistically we are not going to I don’t think. That sea change that spark we talk about has not happened yet and we as Marxists cannot predict what will spark people into that shift in consciousnesses that tells them that the 3 main political parties cannot offer them a alternative and perhaps a grouping like TUSC can. The only way we can appear credible is sticking to your programme and putting it to a wider audience. If we do get comrades elected here and there we can point to the work they do. It is difficult telling people what we would do as it all seems hypothetical to them at present there is no struggle we can point to that highlights the role we can play. We will simply have to be there on every protest, every strike, every election we can manage to publicise our name and program and convince many more to join with us.

For socialist party branch’s participating in TUSC across the country apart from Coventry which has a good base now we are all looking to build our party and our branch’s off the back of election work. We don’t see winning as the be all and end all at the present time. As Marxists we see the situation out there as constantly changing and ebbing and flowing and we can not predict the next spike in consciousness and where the next sharp rise in consciousness will come. We know it will and can prepare ourselves for that shift but we can’t actively predict its arrival.

I myself do feel we can do more at times and we are perhaps not bold enough but are reminded that you can do all the work and canvassing and campaigning as you can possibly do and it still may not affect your election result at the end of the day.

In Stevenage last year where the situation was perhaps different before the cuts had really hit and people wanted to give the lib dems a good kicking. We experimented by canvassing and leafleting one ward like mad and another hardly at all the actual vote turnout was minimal to be honest and our one comrade who stood in Ware got 12 % of the vote and was a paper candidate so you can say do all the work in the world but it ultimately does not matter it’s the objective situation and whether people are prepared to trust you in what you say at that given time.

A whole host of various reasons can be to blame why things are the way they are but until the mass of the working class turn towards electoral politics we will still be making the arguments for no cuts and no to privatisation but there is not that mass of people moving towards us at present.

This does not make our ideas wrong or irrelevant but simply haven’t had the airing yet to a bigger mass of people.

The lack of a mass workers party in this country and across the globe plays its part in a fragmented left in many ways with some clinging to labour for warmth and others doing their best to provide a clear alternative to labour and the other pro capitalist parties.

Things will change and it can happen quickly but I think again this May’s elections will be a good test for us to see how the ground lies but I don’t expect despite my optimism for TUSC and our fantastic campaign for us to make any major breakthroughs just yet. I do hope Dave Nellist is re-elected but I can’t see mass’s of us getting elected right now. Besides this isn’t our major goal at the moment that may come though so we will have to be ready. But just to challenge the consensus that some cuts are necessary gets our message and arguments to a wider audience than we perhaps would be able to at other times of the year.
To be pointing out that labour councils are not opposing the cuts and are not using all their powers including using their reserves and prudential borrowing will be key arguments making the case for elected workers representatives on workers wages as all TUSC elected officials would only take. Our stance of no to all cuts will at some point really hit home I feel as the cuts really begin to flood people and hit home hard I am sure there will be a mass shift to finding the only credible party standing against all cuts and means it.

It is clear to me we are entering a very turbulent time in the class struggle anything ca happen now as George Galloway’s fantastic Bradford west victory showed but we can make that more a regular occurrence in time but this may not come as quickly as we think. We have got to be optimistic but realistic too given the situation.

Helping to re-elect Dave Nellist a true class fighter in Coventry

Today and many comrades descended on Coventry St Michaels ward in particular to help out the big push to mass canvas the whole ward on behalf of our sitting socialist councillor Dave Nellist

Dave has a proud record of defending working people in Coventry having been a city councillor for 14 years now standing by his socialist principles for all that time. So it was testament to this that so many had turned out from all over the country to help campaign for Dave’s re-election.

Dave Nellist who has always only taken the average wage of a skilled workr not the 60 K plus expenses other politicians do still till this day. He was expelled from the Labour party for refusing to pay his poll tax and rightly so as the poll tax was rightly roundly defeated not long after. A true gentleman who I had the pleasure of meeting last summer is a real genuine class fighter too on our side.
The 2 hour journey up to Coventry was good and all comrades were in good spirits heading up
When we got to Coventry we found the Coventry comrades have been doing a fantastic job and have covered large areas of the ward already.

With a ward with a turnover of residents of between 40 and 50% a year it is a very hard ward to win. With the ward being made bigger to include different parts each time in order to unseat Dave and the level of working class supporters becoming less and less not due to the lack of support that’s still as strong as ever but due to the turnover of residents as a high student area with a very multi cultural diverse make up of residents.

We were split up in to various teams and covered most if not all of the ward I’d have thought I was shattered by the end but I was very encouraged for the movements and Dave Nellists chances of being re-elected. Of course we cant take anything for granted in politics and we’d be foolish to rest on our laurels but as Dave said before we all set off they wouldn’t have tried to get so many comrades down to help out as they did if they didn’t think they had a chance of winning back the seat.
The labour party locally try to scare voters into voting labour by saying only labour can beat the tories. We know this is simply not true as Dave has beaten both labour and the tories the last few times.

Having Dave on the city council as was felt on many doorsteps today is very important and gives ordinary people a voice inside the council chamber. Dave has consistently opposed all the cuts and has voted against them too. Some will argue can Dave make a difference being the only socialist in the council

I’d argue he does and if he wasn’t there anyone would represent you the cuts would be voted through straight off with no opposition at all. At least Dave draws attention to labours hypocrisy and anti working class actions by passing on all of the Tory cuts in Coventry by showing opposition he can show what a opposition could do if there were more of us which we intend on doing in the years to come.

I was inspired today that a movement is growing against the cuts and against the rich. There is a feeling that things can’t just go on and something needs to happen. No doubt the George Galloway victory will give people confidence to vote for who they want a bit more now rather than voting to keep a certain party out. As we have explained the time old argument of we got to vote labour to keep the Tories out is waning fast as has been shown there is little difference any longer you can fit a cigarette packet between the parties in terms of policies nowadays. As someone rightly said the Tories want to cut this week labour the next. Where is the alternative and opposition in that I ask you ?


With George Galloway sending Dave a good luck message and offering to come and speak on a public platform with Dave in coventry there is certainly a groundswell of support out there to be tapped into i feel.

So please if you live in Coventry or can lend Dave Nellist your support between now and may the 3rd please do. Every vote matters and every vote counts. Your vote can make a difference this year.

Vote for a socialist alternative in Coventry and across Britain this may with TUSC