“Every victory we’ve won since the war is up for grabs.” That was the rallying call from RMT general secretary Bob Crow as he launched the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) general election campaign in Portsmouth North by outlining the need to defend jobs, homes and services from the most savage attacks in a generation.
Over 60 local trade unionists and socialists attended the meeting at Unity Hall in Fratton and unamimously endorsed Mick Tosh, RMT activist and former RMT executive committee member as the TUSC parliamentary candidate for Portsmouth North.
While Bob’s speech was mainly aimed at the attacks being prepared by the big three parties against working people he also stressed the danger of the far right. When considering his own constituency of Barking, where BNP leader Nick Griffin intends to stand, Bob commented: “You need to build homes, build hospitals and give people jobs, that’s how you beat the BNP and that’s how we’ll lay the foundation for a new political party for working men and women.”
His message of defiance was matched by contributions from the floor, as speakers who have participated in industrial struggles across the region, including the postal strike, the Ford dispute in Southampton and the Vestas occupation on the Isle of Wight, declared their support for Mick Tosh and TUSC.
As people queued to volunteer to help and make donations the spirit of the meeting was summed up by one local man who, on collecting his TUSC Portsmouth North membership card, said: “I’ve been waiting over thirty years for something like this.”
