Bob Crow speaking at TUSC's 2012 London Assembly election campaign launch, photo Paul Mattsson

March 11th marks two years since the passing of Bob Crow, the inspirational general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) workers' union from 2002 until his death.

Bob was also a co-founder of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) in 2010, which he saw as an important step towards a new vehicle for working class political representation.

He sat on the TUSC national steering committee, initially in a personal capacity but, after the decision of the 2012 annual general meeting of the RMT to be officially represented within TUSC, as one of the union's official nominees.

The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) national steering committee has approved the first batch of candidates for the English local council elections taking place on Thursday May 5th.

TUSC's local election platform this year is headed, Build on Jeremy Corbyn's anti-austerity call - A councillors' revolt could stop the Tory cuts! (see http://tusc.org.uk/policy.php). It takes into account that Jeremy Corbyn's election as Labour leader on an anti-austerity message has changed the political situation compared to the first five years of TUSC's existence. There will not be TUSC candidates standing against Labour councillors who vote against cuts in the council chamber.

But the big majority of Labour councillors did not support Jeremy Corbyn for leader and still continue to vote for cuts. Any politician who does that shouldn't be surprised if they are challenged by anti-austerity candidates at the ballot box, no matter what party label they wear. We need councillors who will stand up to the Tories, not carry out their policies.

Despite local people lobbying them, viable budget alternatives produced, and a request to delay for a week to think again, Warrington's Labour councillors rushed to agree £20 million of cuts at the council's budget-making meeting on Monday 29th February, with the support of the local Tories.

No cuts needed to be made this year in Warrington, as alternative budget proposals from the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) councillor Kevin Bennett proved. But the Labour councillors went ahead anyway.

The budget agreed means devastating cuts. The local YMCA could close for want of £38,000 that is being cut, barely more than the £34,000 the Labour councillors voted to award themselves in extra allowances.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was questioned by the local media during a visit to Coventry about a recent appeal by the ex-Coventry MP Dave Nellist, the chair of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC), for serious discussions on how to resist the new round of council cuts in May's local elections.

The appeal had been made after TUSC decided not to contest a February council by-election in Coventry's Lower Stoke ward, even though socialist councillors have been elected in the city in the past, including Dave himself (see http://www.tusc.org.uk/17165/21-01-2016/dave-nellists-by-election-appeal-to-corbyn-lets-discuss-how-to-fight-the-cuts).

The Coventry Telegraph (26 February) reported that "the Labour Party leader was asked about comments from TUSC chairman Dave Nellist who had told the Telegraph the left-wing party was seeking talks with Mr Corbyn over a potential alliance".

Today's Guardian carried a letter from Dave Nellist, the chair of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC), and 27 leading trade unionists at national executive level, calling on the Electoral Commission not to give public resources to Tory and UKIP EU campaigners in the forthcoming EU referendum.

The text of the letter is printed below along with the list of signatories, which include two national union presidents and two national vice-presidents.

TUSC will be arguing for a leave vote in the referendum on June 23rd. We stand on the tradition of the late Bob Crow, the RMT transport workers' union leader, one of the co-founders of TUSC in 2010, who was well known for his support for international workers' solidarity while opposing the EU as an agency of anti-worker and pro-austerity policies.

The Sheffield No-Cuts People's Budget conference held on Saturday 13th February met against the backdrop of proposals from the Labour-controlled city council to make 400 redundancies and £28 million in service cuts at its budget-setting meeting on March 4th.

The conference, initiated by the PCS civil servants' union Sheffield Town Committee, was supported by the local Trades Council, GMB union and People's Assembly as well as the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC), and was attended by 45 activists from several trade unions and campaigns.

Marion Lloyd (PCS), a Sheffield resident and member of the union's national executive committee, opened the meeting by explaining that the Tory government was moving the Northern Powerhouse to London by closing her BIS (Business, Innovation and Skills) office, costing 250 jobs, on top of 500 jobs going with the closure of the city's tax office.

In early January the UNITE union's National Industrial Sector Committee for Local Government workers agreed a significant resolution calling on Labour-controlled councils to no longer meekly pass on the Tories cuts to local government funding.

Instead, the motion argued, by using reserves and councils' borrowing powers, they should set legal no cuts budgets to buy time to build a mass campaign to force the Tories to retreat and properly fund local government.

Now the Local Government Service Group Executive (SGE) of UNISON, the union representing the majority of local government workers, has made a similar call (see below for the full text).

By Clive Heemskerk, TUSC National Election Agent

The EU referendum campaign is now officially under way. Although the actual date has still to be announced the main rules for how the referendum will be conducted have passed through parliament - including plans to potentially give millions of pounds of public money to Tory and UKIP EU campaigners.

Under the rules the Electoral Commission, an unelected quango, has been given the power to choose who shall be the 'official' Remain and Leave campaigns in the referendum.

The TUSC national steering committee met this week and agreed a timetable and procedures to approve candidates for the English local council elections taking place on Thursday May 5th. It also agreed a Guide for TUSC Candidates and Agents, available as a downloadable PDF at http://www.tusc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/359.pdf

The steering committee recognises that the election of Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader on an anti-austerity platform has changed the political situation compared to the first five years of TUSC's existence and that this effects how our coalition will approach the May polls.

Although the big majority of Labour councillors did not support Jeremy for leader, TUSC's local election platform, Build on Jeremy Corbyn's Anti-Austerity Call - A Councillors' Revolt Could Stop the Tory cuts! (see http://tusc.org.uk/policy.php) is clear that "TUSC will work with any Labour councillor who backs the call to refuse to implement the cuts". There will not be TUSC candidates standing against councillors who vote against cuts in the council chamber.

Ex-Coventry MP Dave Nellist, the chair of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) and a former backbench colleague of Jeremy Corbyn, today appealed to the Labour leader to meet up and seriously discuss how to resist the new round of cuts being made by local councils.

The appeal was made after TUSC decided not to contest a forthcoming council by-election in Coventry's Lower Stoke ward, even though socialist councillors have been elected in the city in the past, including Dave himself.

Dave explained: "When the council by-election was announced early in the new year we were immediately approached by trade unionists and community activists in Lower Stoke asking us if we were going to stand.

The Scottish Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition is meeting on 23rd January under the heading, 'Preparing the 100% anti-austerity and socialist challenge for the Scottish elections'.

Keynote speakers at the opening session include Sean Hoyle, the newly-elected national president of the RMT transport workers' union, and PCS civil servants union vice president Cheryl Gedling (personal capacity).

Scottish TUSC conference - Saturday 23rd January

At the Renfield-St Stephens Centre, Bath Street, Glasgow, G2 4JP

Registration opens at 12.30pm

What can councils do in the face of government cuts to funding for local public services? Actually, they could do a lot to throw back the Tories' austerity agenda - if councillors had the determination to fight.

A new briefing pack has been produced by the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) drawing together notes, documents, transcripts of speeches, etc of four cases where rebel councillors showed how it would be possible for councils to fight back and not implement the Tory cuts.

Under the title, Preparing a No Cuts People's Budget, the 43-page pack is available as a downloadable PDF at http://www.tusc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/355.pdf