We won’t pay for their crisis!

Youth Fight Austerity budget day protest 2015, photo Senan

Youth Fight Austerity budget day protest 2015, photo Senan   (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)

Laurence Maples

As the number of officially unemployed people increases, Tory Cabinet minister Michael Hancock has announced punitive plans to force unemployed youth to attend military-style boot camps.

This is supposedly to teach young people employability skills, but is in reality a further intensification of the government’s benefit sanctions regime and an attempt to blame the unemployed for the crisis caused by the criminal bankers.

The odious, privately educated, carpetbagger Hancock has never been subjected to such a regime himself – despite once failing to get out of bed for a TV debate with Socialist Party member Ian Pattison and subsequently lying about it!

This attack follows on from tens of billions of pounds of cuts to social security by the previous government and the withdrawal of housing benefit for under-21s, announced in the June budget.

Labour no better

The Tories are deliberately attacking the young as an easy target, but this is the thin end of the wedge.

Once implemented, the change will be extended to others, just as the single room rate for housing benefit has been extended to all under-35s. However, the vast majority of Labour MPs are no better, having abstained on the welfare bill vote in the Commons.

The ruling class is making young people and workers pay for a crisis caused by the failings of the capitalist profit system.

The banks trashed the world economy resulting in millions of workers being laid off, while low-paid, insecure employment has proliferated.

The Tories would have us believe that there is no money to fund jobs and services. Yet while the previous government cut £80 billion, the exact same figure was paid out in bankers’ bonuses!

This is to say nothing of the £120 billion plus stolen by big business in unpaid taxes, the £700 billion corporate cash hordes of UK plc, or the £93 billion in big business subsidies paid each year. Big business is the real scrounger!

A workers’ government would eliminate unemployment by nationalising any company laying off workers and cutting the working week to share out the work with no loss of pay.

Taking the bosses’ profits would also make it possible to raise the minimum wage to £10 an hour for all and bring an end to zero-hour contracts.

Socialist nationalisation of the major industrial and financial corporations would enable the democratic planning of the economy to end poverty, create full employment, and provide fully funded public services.

NSSN public rally and lobby of TUC Congress in Brighton

Speakers to include:

  • Mark Serwotka, PCS general secretary
  • Mick Cash, RMT general secretary
  • Matt Wrack, FBU general secretary
  • Ronnie Draper, BFAWU general secretary
  • Steve Gillan, POA general secretary

Sunday 13 September, 1pm

Charlotte Room in the Grand Hotel, 97-99 King’s Rd BN1 2FW

(next to the Brighton Conference Centre)

www.shopstewards.net