Stevenage against the cuts

So tonight i attended a stevenage meeting held by the trades union council and the local branch in conjunction with teh socialist party. With me being a labour party member i was fully expecting labour bashing and it didnt disapoint. There were great speechs tonight from Martin- Powell Davies from the NUT and Billy hayes from the CWu and a guy who stepped in for the guy who could not get here from teh PCSU who are the public sector union.

Now as many of you may or may not know i'm hugely in favour of the union movement so tonight encouraged me greatly that the unions are starting to move once again. The government consisting of the tories and the lib dems keep on poking the sleeping giant taht is the trade union movement putting out policy after policy against the working class's and the middle class's i might add as i dont think this is purely a attack on the working class anymore its escalated.

But waht the tory lead coalition as that is what i firmly believe it is, the role of the lib dems is to just take the flack of the tory policies almost like a human shield for the tories. A very clever tactic i must admit. But tonight i felt a start of something new. From small acons grow big trees was the line that struck me as meaning the most. A movement from the left organised and strong can take down this government of ours. They are weak, weak i tell you many many cracks are appearing in this tory lead coalition. We must aim to exploit their lies and their broken promises. Boy the lib dems could fill a whole parliament with broken promises already and we are not even a year into this sham.

There was call for a day of general strike which was debated like a hot potato, some for it heavily some not so sure. Me myself are for it and think that a day of co-ordinated strike action in the public sector hopefully followed up in the private sector too is what we are heading towards. I think labour will have nothing to do with this. Just as Ed miliband has kept out of all demo's and student protests so far i can only see that continueing.

People like John Mcdonald in the labour party have the right idea but get hammered any time they talk up a mass movement against the cuts which is unfair as he is entitled to his opinion. Even if it doesnt follow labours plan of a 4 year deficit reduction. John recognises that cuts are not nessesary and there is another way.

Ed balls also recognised this but was shouted down by other labour members and MP's sadly.
The meeting tonight was very inspirational with many gettting up and talking passionatly about their situations.
A post office worker spoke passionatly of his struggle to keep his job and the proposed threat to stevenage post office and how it is set to close. There was anger directed to the union rep of the CWu present Billy hayes. But it is difficult when your facing a situation of 69 post office sorting centres across the country and a lot needing to go. That is the situation facing the post office and its workers across teh united Kingdom right now. Billy Hayes- a labour party member and having his union still affiliated to the labour party is in a difficult situation. He wants to keep his members on side but also protect his affiliation with the labour party.

There were calls for a break away from the labour party by the unions who recognise that labour no longer represent the mass workers party it once was and going back to a post i made earlier in the week that some labour MP's have become career polititians and no longer represent the working class.

I myself am a labour party member for the time being so have to be careful what i say but i myself am becoming increasingly frustrated by labour lack of a alternative plan. Their plan still seems to be the old Alastair Darling 4 year half the deficit plan. This for me stil goes too far with cuts, even if cuts are not carried out as quickly or as deep i still am not sure the cuts are nessesary. It woudl appear labour has swalloed the idea that cuts are nessesary from George Osbourne and wont shift from that idea.

Well hwo about more growth for a start, investing in our future, investing in students and their education ? Wales has shown the way from a labour perspective and Ed miliband should be championing the idea of wales to not put up its tuitian fees.

It can be done. The capitalist system all over the world has failed and to use the anology of someone who spoke from teh audience tonight you cant carry on pouring water down the drain eventually you will run out. I really feel it is time to stop throwing our money away to these rich bankers in the elite class who seem to thinkw e have a unlimited amount of money and more money is the only answer.

One of the over riding messages to come out of tonights meeting is that we must start to ramp up the pressure on our local councillors to not impliment cuts even if they are a labour councillor. We must create a movement similar to the anti poll tax movement back in the 80's. It can be done and this government we have now is weak in so many ways. The tories wont know what has hit them once they start stirring the union movement.

Already the students have shown from their brave occupations and mass protests that the government wont get everything its own way and we must stand shoulder to shoulder with the student movement who some are so young we must protect them too.

After all it is their and our future we are fighting for we must stand up and be counted or we never will see the country the same way ever again.