Of course any sensible thinking person is going to be opposed to the cuts proposed by ‘Snatcher’ Osborne and his Lib Dem cronies, although I confess it is good to see at least Simon Hughes is looking a bit guilty. However, the big question is what are we going to do about it?
Unison and PCS have already said they intend to fight for their members whenever jobs are under threat and the Labour party should offer wholehearted support to any campaign organised by the unions, including industrial action if it occurs.
Let us not forget, we ‘sold out’ when it came to the miners strike in the 1980s and left thousands of working men and their families politically isolated, although there were a number of notable and courageous exceptions (Tony Benn, Dennis Skinner etc). As a result, the Tories annihilated entire communities, forced thousands onto the dole queues, destroyed the mining industry and left hundreds of other workers without work because the company they worked for was forced to close because the local pits were no longer producing coal. We must not make the same mistake again.
This fight against the cuts is going to be tough. Cameron is not going to give in easily and those who think Tuesday was harsh need to prepare for something 5 times worse come the autumn. Some are already estimating he will try and lop off another £13bn off the welfare benefit bill and if he does, it will be pensioners who will be the first to suffer. Already there are indicators the Winter Fuel Allowance is under threat, but there will be worse behind it.
Already the long-term unemployed living in rented accommodation have been attacked and in the months to come many will find themselves in debt, or homeless. Similarly, if you are poor and pregnant you will no longer be looked after as you were under a Labour government.
We need to make a firm stand. Yesterday Alistair Darling broadcast his response to the budget – it was accurate, it was reasoned, it was fair - but it lacked passion. It could have been delivered by a chartered accountant, not a socialist.
If we are going to convince people to join this struggle we will need to have passion. It is not enough to leave the fight to the unions and for parliamentarians to take the higher ground. We need to be prepared to get our hands dirty. This involves organising a mass movement with local, regional and national activities taking place. We have to show ordinary men and women we have not forgotten them – that Labour does care, that we will stand and fight for their rights whenever they are under threat.
Remember the CND campaigns of the 1980s? Remember the Anti-Nazi League? Did they rely on deep-seated reasoned argument? Yes and no. Yes there was an intellectual base to their approach, but it relied on people standing under a common single banner – united and willing to fight for what was right. We have to build that new mass movement once again.
If we don’t, what is the point in calling ourselves socialists and organising under the banner of the Labour party?
Our problem is that for many at the top of the Labour party, opposition to the ruling class agenda hasn't been viewed as a strategy for success. In the past, this might have had a certain logic - we can't get our arguments across to people if we are presented in the media in a negative light.
ReplyDeleteBut our ability to organise independently of the Tory press will be boosted by online social networks which are connecting members of the party, elected councilors and MPs, to the concerns of ordinary people.