TUSC conference January 2017

The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) national steering committee has agreed the agenda and timetable for the TUSC conference to be held in London on February 10th.

The main conference session will be under the heading, 'Building support for Jeremy Corbyn's anti-cuts policies in the 2018 local elections'.

Platform speakers from the constituent components of the TUSC steering committee, the RMT transport workers' union, the Socialist Party, and the Individual Members' representatives, will introduce the discussion - which will include the controversial question of whether or not socialist anti-austerity candidates should stand in next year's council elections.

The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) is conducting an autumn survey to find out how far local Labour councillors are preparing to back Jeremy Corbyn's anti-cuts policies in next year's council budget-setting process.

During the autumn local councils will start to draw up their 2018-2019 spending plans, which they will finally agree at budget-setting meetings in February or March next year. The autumn months will include public consultation events and initial discussions with the local council workers' trade unions.

This is certainly a time to bring into the debate the TUSC policy of 'No Cuts People's Budgets' - of councils using their reserves and borrowing powers to set budgets that don't pass on Tory cuts and using the breathing space provided to demand that central government makes up future shortfalls.

The September 20th meeting of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) national steering committee sent its full solidarity to the Birmingham bin workers in their increasingly high-profile dispute with the Labour-led council over plans to end safety-critical jobs on its bins service and cut workers' wages.

The workers, members of the Labour-affiliated Unite the Union, recently voted by 92% to 8% to re-affirm their strike mandate. Subsequently the High Court ordered the council to withdraw its redundancy notices, pending a full hearing. Austerity can be beaten back from whatever quarter it comes from, including so-called Labour councillors who so obviously oppose Jeremy Corbyn's anti-cuts stance.

We carry below a video of the speech by Unite assistant general secretary Howard Beckett moving an emergency motion at the recent TUC conference, which was carried unanimously. If Labour councillors "act like Tories we should treat them like Tories", he said. Who could disagree?

The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) today launched a new report on the level of reserves held by Labour-led councils across Britain, arguing that "the substantial resources of the local state under the control of the Labour Party" could be used to start putting Jeremy Corbyn's anti-austerity policies into action now, "without waiting for a change of government".

The TUSC national chairperson Dave Nellist, a Labour MP from 1983-1992 and a former backbench colleague of Jeremy Corbyn, said:

"One of the most outrageous aspects of the Grenfell fire disaster was the fact that Kensington & Chelsea council slashed safety standards to 'save' money while they were sitting on £274 million in usable reserves.

The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) national steering committee, meeting this week for the first time since the election, has hailed the phenomenal support achieved for Jeremy Corbyn's anti-austerity policies in the June 8th poll. That support, together with the increase he is receiving post-election, can propel him to victory in the next general election and mean an end to government-led austerity.

TUSC campaigns for another general election to be called as soon as possible. In the meantime, we believe that the level of support for Jeremy Corbyn's policies should be the signal for Labour-led councils to call an immediate halt to cuts to local public services.

The TUSC national chairperson Dave Nellist, a Labour MP from 1983-1992 and a former backbench colleague of Jeremy Corbyn, said:

In the May 2015 general election the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) stood enough candidates to qualify for a party election broadcast, which was met with wide acclaim - certainly Sandy and Sandra from Gogglebox thought it was great! The four-minute broadcast can be viewed on the TUSC website at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcEMrCTVRdg. It's still worth watching two years on.

But of course things have changed since 2015. Jeremy Corbyn has put radical ideas like free education, opposing wars for oil, taxing the rich and public ownership back on the agenda. And TUSC is not standing candidates in the general election. But we've still done a broadcast! This time explaining why TUSC is fighting for a Corbyn-led government with socialist policies on June 8. Watch it by clicking below.

Following last week's decision by the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) national steering committee not to stand candidates in June's general election (see http://www.tusc.org.uk/17366/11-05-2017/tusc-confirms-no-candidates-in-june-and-full-support-for-a-corbyn-led-government-with-socialist-policies), TUSC chair, Dave Nellist, was invited onto the BBC's Sunday Politics show for the Midlands region. Watch the full piece by clicking below.

TUSC chair Dave Nellist & Jeremy Corbyn, September 2016

The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) national steering committee today confirmed that the left-wing alliance will not be standing candidates in the general election.

TUSC, co-founded by the late Bob Crow in 2010, was the sixth-biggest party on the ballot paper in May 2015, with its general election and council candidates polling 118,125 votes. This time, however, TUSC will be working all out to try and get Jeremy Corbyn into Number Ten on June 8th.

The TUSC national chairperson Dave Nellist, a Labour MP from 1983-1992 and a former backbench colleague of Jeremy Corbyn, said:

The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) stood 78 candidates across 24 local authorities in last Thursday's local council elections, as well as candidates for the mayor of Doncaster and the Liverpool City Region Metro-Mayor. Overall the TUSC candidates won a total of 15,407 votes.

A report of the campaign, with details of the full results of every TUSC candidate, has been prepared by the TUSC National Election Agent (see the draft report at http://www.tusc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/400.pdf), and will be discussed at the TUSC national steering committee meeting this week.

When Theresa May made her surprise announcement of a general election in the middle of the local election campaign it was obvious that, whatever the TUSC candidates did, this would cut across the council contests.

The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) has 78 candidates standing in Thursday's local council elections, contesting seats across 24 local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales.

TUSC is also standing in two of the mayoral elections taking place on May 4th, with the former Unison national executive member Roger Bannister contesting the new Liverpool City Region 'Metro-Mayor' position and NHS worker Steve Williams standing for the mayor of Doncaster. A full list of all the TUSC candidates can be found at http://www.tusc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/398.pdf

The general election, called after the local elections were already under way, has obviously cut across the council contests. Driving the Tories out on June 8th and the election of a Corbyn-led Labour government will clearly create the best conditions to defend local public services. But every TUSC vote on Thursday will be an early declaration of support for Jeremy Corbyn's anti-austerity policies - policies that are being attacked relentlessly not just by the Tories but by Labour's right-wing Blairites too.

Steve Williams, TUSC candidate

Steve Williams, the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) candidate to become Doncaster's mayor, had to send his apologies to the Chamber of Commerce mayoral hustings at the Chamber's Business conference at the Legacy Centre on Friday 21 April.

Steve is not a politician. He works as a mental health nurse in the NHS. He was rostered to work on Friday and like most workers cannot take time off and so was unable to attend.

However, Steve took up the invite from the Chamber of Commerce to explain his policies for local businesses in a 350 word written statement, policies which TUSC believes would benefit the Doncaster economy, create jobs and raise wages, and stimulate small businesses in the local area. These include refusing to carry out the Tory government imposed cuts in council spending, implementing a £10 an hour minimum wage, a mass council house building programme and inviting small businesses to contribute to his People's Budget.

TUSC chair, Dave Nellist

The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) national chairperson, Dave Nellist, today welcomed the general election called for June 8th as a chance to drive out the Tory government and reverse their vicious austerity agenda.

Dave, a Labour MP from 1983-1992, urged his former backbench colleague Jeremy Corbyn to fight the election on clear socialist policies, pledging to support him in resisting the efforts of Blairite MPs to water down the anti-austerity platform which won Jeremy his Labour leadership victories.

"According to the annual Sunday Times Rich List survey the wealth of the thousand richest people in Britain has more than doubled since the Tories came to power in 2010", said Dave. "Levying capital gains tax even just on that increased wealth would alone bring in over £80 billion for extra public spending. Austerity is 'working' only for the rich and a new course is needed.