Electrifying meeting hears the socialist alternative to cuts

Over 50 people packed into a Socialist Party Public meeting last night on “Liverpool 1983-1987 when socialist councillors refused to make the cuts and why we need more of the same today” Socialist Party Scotland predecessor, Militant, played a leading role in the Liverpool struggle. 

Half those attending were at their first Socialist Party meeting. The attendance reflected the increased profile and standing of the party from its work in the struggle against the Bedroom Tax with many activists from the anti-bedroom tax campaigns attending as well as the trade unions. The electrifying atmosphere of the meeting showed the appetite for the lessons of the Liverpool struggle and its relevance today when local authorities are passing on the Tory’s vicious cuts onto working class communities.

Luke Ivory Glasgow Socialist Party Branch Secretary and National Secretary of the Scottish Anti Bedroom Tax Federation chaired the meeting. Luke introduced Cheryl Gedling from the PCS NEC (speaking in a personal capacity), explaining that the PCS trade union has been at the forefront industrially against austerity. PCS members over the last few years faced cuts and attacks from Westminster from New Labour and the Con Dem’s and the Scottish Government. The PCS’s record of struggle has been based on a socialist leadership that empowers the members that had defeated the right wing. The government is attacking PCS reps facility time in an attempt to weaken the union and the rights of workers precisely because PCS has been successful in forcing concessions even in a time of austerity through industrial action. Cheryl made the call for co-ordinated general strike action.

Margaret Chambers a Scottish Anti Bedroom Tax Federation activist based in Pollokshaws made a moving and heartfelt contribution about how she had been politicised by the brutal benefit cut. She explained that she was effectively being penalised and demonised for living in a decent flat on benefits after living in damp sub – standard conditions for years while she was working. Her involvement in the local anti-bedroom tax campaign has rekindled a socialist tradition from her father. As a housing association tenant she is being harassed for being in rent arrears with evidence that she is being targeted as an activist who is building defiance in her community. However she concluded saying she is determined to fight back with confidence from the support she has in her area and from the Socialist Party.

Liverpool struggle

The next speaker was Tony Mulhearn, a Socialist Party member who was President of the Liverpool District Labour Party and one of the 47 socialist councillors who refused to make cuts in the 1980’s Tony began by contrasting the courage and sacrifice of people who built the labour movement by “breaking the law rather than breaking the poor” like the Liverpool 47 and the Tolpuddle martyrs to the careerist New Labour politicians of today like Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson who have “ridden on the backs of those who have struggled in the past”.

Labour are in power in Liverpool today but rather than being city of struggle that inspired millions from 1983-7 they are top of the league for making cuts. Tony made the point that the constituency of politicians like Anderson today is big business and the right wing press rather than the mass working class democracy that existed in the labour movement with the District Labour Party and the Trade Union Co-Ordinating committee in Liverpool under a socialist leadership, and that this reflects the fundamental change of Labour into a party of capitalism.

This transformation started with what happened in the Liverpool struggle, where socialist policies and full resistance to austerity cuts won mass and increasing support at the ballot box and on the streets with mobilisations of the trade unions and communities at one point over 50,000 marched through the city in support of the council. During his speech Tony demolished the shrill lies and denunciations of the press and capitalist politicians that continue to this day that claim the stand of the council wrecked the city.

Labour in Liverpool at that time got its highest ever votes and the trade union movement mobilised in support of the strategy and tactics of a council which fought for jobs, housing services and the funding the Tories had stolen from the city.

The Tories couldn’t remove the socialist council by democracy and the ballot box so they resorted to stage a coup by using the district auditor. They were assisted by the other councils that capitulated and the witchunt led by the right wing Kinnock Labour leadership.

Tony got raptuous applause when he remarked “when I hear Labour politicans say today in local government there is nothing we can do about the Tory cuts, I say there is plenty you can do you can mount a mass campaign and adopt a socialist program build houses, expand services and create jobs, the Liverpool council built more houses than all the other councils put together it’s a question of political will”.

Tony concluded by outlining the potential for a mass working class struggle today which can be successful against austerity and its political advocates with the right political leadership. He denounced the cowardice of the right wing trade union leadership in selling out the pensions struggle in 2011. Tony echoed the call made by Cheryl for a 24-hour general strike and pointed to the union leaderships who are determined to fight like the PCS, RMT and the POA and urged Unite and Len MCluskey to join them and name the day for action. He also raised the need for a new mass party of the working class to fight for our interests and a socialist society.

Tommy from Ayr who has recently been coming to Socialist Party meetings remarked when leaving the meeting early to catch an bus “I could listen to that man Tony and your kind of politics all night, every night”.

socialist alternative

The final speaker, Philip Stott, National Secretary of the Socialist Party Scotland outlined the party’s strategy for continuing the legacy of the role played by Marxists in Liverpool and fighting for socialism in the future.

Philip commented that the previous speeches showed that any idea that working class people won’t fight back against endless austerity is totally wrong. Philip highlighted the wave of working class and youth struggles across the globe from Turkey to Brazil. He also mentioned Tory chancellor Osbourne’s drive to create “planned poverty for the majority” with the further cuts announced in the hours before the meeting started.

The message from the Socialist Party and the working class is that we won’t pay for their crisis. The message from all the main political parties is the same to increase the wealth and privilege of the rich. We don’t need Plan A or Plan B with the Tories and Labour rearranging the deckchairs on the titanic we need Plan S for socialism – a massive redistribution of wealth from big business and the rich to those working people who create it. Philip gave some statistics from a recent Oxfam report showing that 1 in 3 of those in work in Scotland are officially poor, in the public sector wages have fallen by 16% over the last four years that’s all capitalism has to offer.

There is no prospect of economic recovery under this system. Philip answered the question often asked of socialists where is the money going to come from? “Big business and the banks in Britain has £850 billion underneath the mattress. If they don’t want to invest that money we will take that off them and invest it in jobs and services and improve people’s lives for the majority”. We have to build a mass movement against attacks and austerity, working class people coming together in unity is the most powerful force in society that’s why we call for a one day general strike bringing everybody out together to bring down this government. But we need an alternative that can’t be Labour who will carry out cuts or even the SNP who want to lower corporation tax under independence. If we have the powers of independence how can they be used to benefit the majority? The Socialist Party calls for the major corporations, big business and the banks to be brought under public ownership, control and management by working people on an international scale.

The discussion after the speakers was wide ranging with questions and contributions from anti – bedroom tax campaigners and trade unionists from local government, the NHS and the teaching unions. The critical role of the Socialist Party in the workplaces and communities in showing political leadership was evident this was also shown by the enthusiastic response at the meeting to the party fighting fund appeal which raised £410 and by many of the new people attending asking to join and find out more information on the Socialist Party.