Tory policies by Sefton Labour have meant decline
Conor O’Neill, Liverpool Socialist Party
Given the consistent attacks on the working class by this vile Tory government, it is important socialists offer a real anti-cuts, anti-war alternative at the ballot box. The Labour Party has controlled Sefton Council, and has continued to vote through cuts to jobs and services.
This has left community hubs, such as the Marian Square, and the council-owned New Strand shopping centre in the adjacent Derby ward to complete decline. The closure of youth centres and libraries has allowed crime and other anti-social behaviour to increase, leaving many residents feeling unsafe after dark.
The Labour council continues to increase council tax, creating an unnecessary burden on working families. Meanwhile, the council sits on millions of pounds in unused reserves.
Nationally, Keir Starmer’s Labour Party offers no alternative, hiding behind excuses of a Conservative government in order to pass the cuts. Labour is more interested in shilling for big-business interests, and providing cover for imperialist wars, than they are providing basic necessities for working-class people.
Given the vacuum left by Labour’s shift to the right, left-wing candidates challenging Tories and Labour have found an echo. George Galloway’s victory in the Rochdale by-election, on an anti-austerity, anti-war platform, was a blow to the establishment.
TUSC has stood before in St Oswald ward in Sefton. In the 2024 local election, we came in second place behind Labour, with 8% of the vote.
We beat the pro-austerity Conservative and Green candidates. The other parties couldn’t even put up a candidate.
I was the St Oswald TUSC candidate in May’s local elections, and I’m standing there again in the 20 June by-election.
TUSC has repeatedly advocated for electoral cooperation between organisations standing anti-cuts, anti-war candidates at the ballot box. The Socialist Party supported Galloway’s campaign in Rochdale in February, and I personally went down to campaign for a vote for the Workers’ Party in the by-election.
Given this, it is unfortunate that the Workers’ Party has decided to stand against TUSC in the upcoming by-election, despite being aware of our previous success in the ward. Unfortunately, good faith attempts by TUSC to negotiate with the Workers’ Party proved unsuccessful.
Anyone who wishes to help the campaign should contact us to get involved.
- Conor O’Neill is the TUSC candidate in the St Oswald by-election in Sefton on 20 June
Cuts are abhorrent, Coventry can’t take anymore
Mila Matharu, Coventry Socialist Party
On top of everything, this year will see another reduction in public spending – £8.4 million, supported by both Tory and Labour councillors.
In Radford, the impact of council cuts has been abhorrent. Our libraries have reduced hours, community centres struggle to stay open, and the maintenance of public spaces has declined. Labour councillors’ support for such cuts shows very clearly where their intentions lie – not with the very people they claim to represent!
Crisis after crisis, it’s the working class that foots the bill. Our bills skyrocket, yet public services dwindle.
The Tory government slashes budgets. And what do Labour councils do? They fail to defend us, opting to slash services even more, piling on more fees and council tax rises. A stark warning to the council looms – a £30 million budget gap.
Britain is the sixth-richest country in the world, but the money is in the wrong hands. A socialist alternative is needed that prioritises the needs of the many.
The Socialist Party stands as part of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC). We offer concrete opposition to these austerity measures that have left our public services and communities bled dry. I am standing to fight back against these detrimental local council cuts.
- Mila Matharu is the TUSC candidate in the Radford by-election in Coventry on 20 June
