BBC News 11 August 2015: Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition National Election Agent Clive Heemskerk refutes claims that TUSC is infiltrating the Jeremy Corbyn campaign in the Labour leadership election and confirms the popularity of socialist ideas.

Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) supporters were among the tens of thousands of protestors who took to the streets of London and Glasgow on 20 June 2015 to march against austerity.

TUSC is a 100% anti-austerity coalition of trade unionists, community campaigners, young people and socialists, with TUSC candidates polling nearly 120,000 votes for that message in May's elections.

The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) today called on media outlets to name the sources for their stories that the Labour Party is being 'infiltrated' by TUSC members.

This follows the revelation that a former South London councillor who stood for TUSC in May was wrongly named in The Times as somebody who had signed up to support Jeremy Corbyn's leadership bid.

Last week The Times named Chris Flood, who stood as a TUSC candidate in the Lewisham Deptford constituency in May, as a new registered Labour supporter.

From The Independent on Sunday, 2nd August:

"If, as many Labour MPs believe, their party isn't having a leadership contest but a troubled convention of ghosts from socialists past, then Dave Nellist is among the haunting elite.

The former MP for Coventry South, now 63, was among those expelled from Labour in the early 1990s because of his links with the group centred around The Militant newspaper.

The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) Fleetwood town councillor Simon Roberts has added his voice of opposition to a recent government decision to allow a controversial gas storage facility on the Fylde Coast.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has granted the Halite Energy company permission to develop a huge underground gas storage scheme in salt caverns at Preesall (Over Wyre), in Lancashire, despite three rejections of the plan and massive public opposition.

The decision by the DECC to allow Halite to proceed follows last month's rejection by Lancashire county council of bids by the Cuadrilla energy company to test frack on the Flyde and bodes ill for the outcome if Caudrilla appeals.

The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) national steering committee has agreed a draft statement of core policies for the 2016 local council elections, A councillors' revolt could stop the Tory cuts! (see below).

This will now go to the TUSC conference being held on September 26th, where local TUSC groups, constituent organisations or individuals will be able to move amendments to the statement for debate and decision. Amendments should be sent to the TUSC national agent, Clive Heemskerk, at [email protected], by Friday 18th September to be included in the conference discussion.

The platform, once it has been finalised, is the basis on which any prospective candidate can stand under the TUSC name in the elections taking place next May in 127 English councils.

The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) has added its voice to mounting opposition against the Conservative government's Trade Union Bill raising the threshold for union strike ballots, and allowing employers to bring in agency staff to break strikes.

The Trade Union Bill, introduced to parliament on Wednesday, 11th July, imposes a minimum 50% turnout in union strike ballots; for public sector strikes to be legal they would need the backing of at least 40% of those eligible to vote.

TUSC national chair, former Labour MP Dave Nellist, said:

Scottish TUSC conference

The Scottish Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) meet in conference on June 27th to discuss plans to field the largest possible number of working class fighters as candidates in next May's elections for Scotland's Parliament.

The platform was dominated by those at the sharp end of fighting austerity, including speakers from the Glasgow School Buses campaign; Graham Nelson, a senior shop steward for Unite and a striking hospital porter from Dundee; and Chris Semani, Unison steward and striking Glasgow caseworker.

Another keynote speaker was Gordon Martin, the Scottish organiser of the RMT transport workers' union, whose members at CalMac are also on strike.

The June meeting of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) national steering committee included a detailed discussion, the first in a series, on how to develop the coalition following the TUSC campaign in May's elections.

Also on the agenda was a plan for a TUSC National Election Fund appeal - with the aim being to meet the costs of election deposits for candidates in the 2016 contests for the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly, the Greater London Authority and the three council Mayoral elections taking place next year, in Liverpool, Salford and Bristol.

The meeting confirmed the date of the TUSC conference to discuss the 2016 elections as September 26th, to be held at London's Student Central venue, Malet Street, WC1E (11am to 4-30pm).

Kevin Bennett

Around 50 activists from across the region attended a Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) North West conference on 27 June, to assess the post-election situation and make plans to build TUSC going forward. Meeting on the same day for their conference, Scottish TUSC sent us a message of solidarity which was well received.

Kevin Bennett

TUSC councillor Kevin Bennett from Warrington introduced the discussion, with the memorable line that "it's like the Tories decided to usurp the tale of Robin Hood, except this time the Sheriff of Nottingham is the hero! And it seems Andy Burnham agrees!" The main theme to emerge from discussion was that TUSC has achieved significant momentum from our landmark election challenge this year, and must keep this up against a backdrop of international crisis, developments in Greece, and the Tories' war on the poor and organised workers while Labour remains in turmoil.

Daren Ireland, the regional organiser of the RMT transport workers' union, one of the constituent organisations of TUSC, outlined the essential organisational steps to take - building finance through standing orders with only ten months until next year's local elections; pushing TUSC in the trade union movement and winning the unions to a position of support for a new mass working-class party; building and strengthening local groups operating on an open and federal basis welcoming all individuals and groups; and standing at least 500 candidates in May 2016 when around 2,200 councillors face election across England.

No to austerity! An election broadcast on behalf of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition.

If you liked our broadcast, join us here: http://tusc2015.com/get-in-contact/

The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) national steering committee held its first post-election meeting this week. Against the backdrop of a Tory-majority government committed to accelerated austerity, albeit one with the lowest ever share of support amongst the total electorate (24.4%), the need the build on the TUSC campaign to develop a socialist electoral alternative was recognised by all.

The meeting agreed a vote of thanks to all the 748 candidates - and their agents and campaign teams - who contested the elections on May 7th under the TUSC umbrella, polling a combined total of 118,125 votes.

A detailed report of the TUSC results was accepted and is now available, in PDF format, at www.tusc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/338.pdf