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Liverpool turmoil: Unite branch ‘no cuts’ plan points the way forward
Liverpool city council is in turmoil. Late last year the city's right-wing Labour Mayor Joe Anderson, in office since the directly-elected post was first established in 2012, was arrested on suspicion to commit bribery and witness intimidation.
Anderson denies any wrongdoing but has stood aside from his mayoral duties, and withdrew from the Mayoral election that takes place on May 6th this year.
Since then the Liverpool Labour Party has been involved in a process to select a new Mayoral candidate that has seen an initial shortlist of three sitting councillors overturned; a court challenge, unsuccessful, against the Labour Party by one of those excluded councillors who had drawn the backing of Jeremy Corbyn and the national Unite union for her candidacy; and the imposition of just two candidates - both right-wingers - in a new selection ballot, with the result of that not due until the day official nominations open on March 29th.
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Resisting Covid austerity at the ballot box – first TUSC candidates in place for May’s polls
Last week's meeting of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) steering committee approved the first batch of candidates to contest the various elections taking place on Thursday May 6th.
The February 24th meeting was the first steering committee since the TUSC zoom conference on February 7th, attended by over 500 people. It also finalised the TUSC core policy platform for the local elections in May, which can be found at https://www.tusc.org.uk/policy - alongside the Scottish TUSC manifesto for the parliamentary contest in Scotland and the TUSC Wales Senedd election platform.
The first set of candidates for May include an executive council member of the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU), which is currently undergoing a members' consultation about whether they want to remain affiliated to the Labour Party, and two members of the UNISON Local Government Service Group Executive, out of a total of 19 UNISON members on the list.
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TUSC core policies for local elections finalised after steering committee debate
The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) All-Britain Steering Committee finalised the TUSC core policy platform for the May local elections at its latest meeting on February 24.
This followed the discussion on the draft platform at the recent TUSC local elections conference, attended on Zoom by over 500 people. The draft core policies, and the amendments received which were also discussed there (see https://www.tusc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/435.pdf), had been taken back from the conference to the constituent components of TUSC for debate and a final, consensus, decision at the steering committee.
The steering committee agreed to the proposal to re-word the draft bullet point on social enterprises. This now makes it clearer that TUSC candidates oppose the transfer of existing council services to social enterprises or 'arms-length' management organisations which are the first steps to the privatisation of those services, while not excluding support, for example, to a new community-run facility.
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President of ‘big four’ Labour-affiliated trade union joins TUSC committee
Amy Murphy, the outgoing President of the fourth-biggest Labour Party-affiliated trade union, the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW), was today welcomed as a new member of the national steering committee of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC).
Amy, who is retiring as union president in April and will sit on the TUSC committee in a personal capacity, said: "The government is continuing with its aggression towards trade unions while big businesses are reaping in the profits with one hand as they viciously attack terms and conditions and inflict pay cuts and freezes with the other. They are culling their workforces, firing and re-hiring whilst hiding behind the pandemic, and with no or very little opposition".
"So now, more than ever, there is a real need for change. We need an alternative that will politically and socially defend the working class. One which will give a voice to workers, engage with, support, and fight for them, and build on Jeremy Corbyn's socialist ideas. I believe TUSC is the way forward, a party for the working class".
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Could councils implement the green policy pledges in Labour’s 2019 Manifesto?
The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition All-Britain steering committee recently published a briefing paper looking at how councils could use their existing powers to implement many of the policies promised in Labour's 2019 general election Manifesto, drafted under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn. (See https://www.tusc.org.uk/17462/01-02-2021/new-tusc-report-could-councils-implement-labours-2019-pledges)
The following article examines this question in relation to the climate and environmental policy commitments in the Labour Manifesto 2019, which were presented under the heading, A Green Industrial Revolution.
It has been drafted by Chris Baugh, the former assistant general secretary of the PCS civil servants' union, who held responsibility for developing the union's policies for combating climate change. Chris was a founding member of the TUSC steering committee when our coalition was established in 2010.
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Over 500 at launch conference of TUSC’s 2021 election campaign
Over 500 people zoomed in to the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition 2021 local elections conference on Sunday 7th February.
The conference, convened under the heading, 'Fighting back against the Tories and Starmer's New Labour - including at the ballot box!', heard speakers from all the constituent components of the TUSC coalition. The opening platform speeches are now available on YouTube at https://youtu.be/71MV7OttXFg
The conference also discussed the draft TUSC core policy platform for the May 2021 local elections proposed by the TUSC steering committee, For a working class, socialist voice in the council chambers to resist Covid austerity, and the amendments that had been received (see https://www.tusc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/435.pdf).
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TUSC local elections conference agenda published
The agenda for the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition 2021 local elections conference on Sunday 7th February has now been published and is available as a PDF at https://www.tusc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/435.pdf.
The conference has been convened under the heading, 'Fighting back against the Tories and Starmer's New Labour - including at the ballot box!', and starts at 11am.
The opening 45 minutes will see introductions from the constituent components of the TUSC steering committee, explaining their position on the broad conference theme.
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TUSC Individual Members’ representative elected to steering committee
The long-standing independent socialist Pete McLaren has been elected as the Individual Members' representative onto the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) All-Britain Steering Committee for 2021.
TUSC is a coalition with an all-Britain steering committee comprised of representatives from its constituent organisations alongside leading trade unionists, sitting in a personal capacity. The current constituent organisations are the RMT transport workers' union, represented on the steering committee since 2012; the Socialist Party, a co-founder of TUSC in 2010; and the Resistance Movement, established in 2019 by, amongst others, the ex-Labour MP Chris Williamson.
Other individual members of TUSC who are not members of a constituent organisation also have a place on the committee selected, where there is a contest, by individual members at the TUSC conference.
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New TUSC report: could councils implement Labour’s 2019 pledges?
The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) All-Britain steering committee has launched a new report examining what policy pledges that were made in Labour's Manifesto for the 2019 general election could be implemented today by the 120 or so councils across Britain that are under Labour control.
The report, available at https://www.tusc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/434.pdf, goes through in detail what was pledged by Labour in 2019 and what councils have the legal powers to implement now - not after a general election, or after new legislation is passed, but immediately, today. If, that is, there were councillors in our town halls prepared to fight.
And that is certainly one thing the Covid crisis has revealed - how the vast wealth that's there in what is still the fifth or sixth richest economy in the world can be drawn upon to serve public needs when sufficient pressure is applied.
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Spelthorne councillors resign from Labour and join discussion on an alternative
Two Labour councillors on Spelthorne borough council, Veena Siva (representing Staines ward) and Jenny Vinson (Staines South), have announced their resignation from the Labour Party and opened discussions with TUSC.
They have been joined by the chair of Spelthorne Labour Party, Sue Bryer, who has also resigned from Keir Starmer's new New Labour party. In a press release the three explained their decision:
"After a great deal of agonising and soul-searching, we have been left with no option but to resign from the Labour Party".
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Pre-conference discussion: is TUSC ignoring pensioners’ demands?
Following the publication at the end of last year of the TUSC draft core policy platform for the May 2021 local elections (see https://www.tusc.org.uk/17426/22-11-2020/tusc-sets-out-core-policies-for-may-2021-local-elections) a number of individuals and organisations have taken up the opportunity to comment.
One question that has come up can be summarised in the blunt heading the correspondent gave to her e-mail: "you have ignored pensioners in your draft council election policies".
Obviously that does not refer to the core policies that every TUSC candidate must commit to of opposing all cuts and closures to council services or their privatisation. But specifically measures to right the injustice suffered by women in particular from the raising of the state pension age by both New Labour and Tory governments.
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TUSC to hold local elections conference in February
The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) national steering committee has agreed the agenda and timetable for a local elections conference to be held on Zoom on Sunday February 7th.
The conference has been convened under the heading, 'Fighting back against Starmer's new New Labour - including at the ballot box!', starting at 11am to conclude by 1-30pm.
Platform speakers from the constituent components of the TUSC steering committee, the RMT transport workers' union, the Socialist Party, the Resistance Movement and the Individual Members' representatives, will introduce the single plenary session.
Policies
TUSC will oppose all cuts to council jobs, services, pay and conditions. Reject increases in council tax, rent and service charges to compensate for government cuts. Vote against the privatisation of council jobs and services.
Support TUSC or find out more
TUSC has had hundreds of declarations of support. You can support TUSC as an individual trade unionist or socialist, or apply for your organisation to join TUSC.