TUSC’s campaign for Labour councillors to refuse to implement the Tories’ austerity agenda got an unexpected boost last week with a favourable mention in an article by Matthew Turner on The Independent’s website.

TUSC supporters lobby Newham council, January 2017

Matthew was responding to the revelations of how the government had brought off the opposition to its cuts from Surrey county council (see http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/pmqs-labour-councils-sweetheart-deal-surrey-theresa-may-austerity-a7571156.html).

TUSC has pioneered the idea in its electoral campaigns that councils can use their borrowing powers and reserves to set legal no cuts budgets as a first step to building a mass campaign to force the Tories to retreat and properly fund local government.

This is winning growing support amongst working class community campaigners, in the council workers’ trade unions, and now, it seems, from some at least mainstream media journalists!

Matthew finishes his article with the point that “Jeremy Corbyn often says that ‘austerity is a political choice’ and it’s about time”, he goes on, that “Labour councils stood up to the government and opposed their methods of selective austerity”. Who can argue with that?

The TUSC briefing document referenced in the Independent article, Preparing a No Cuts People’s Budget, is available at https://www.tusc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/355.pdf, and a model letter to Labour councillors asking them to join the anti-cuts resistance can be found at https://www.tusc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/389.pdf.