Councils must set budgets to meet needs
Tom Gibson, Bradford Socialist Party
Bradford city council, run by Labour, has announced it will raise council tax by 9.99%. It was given permission to do so, without a referendum they would be sure to lose, by Keir Starmer’s Labour government.
We have been out campaigning across Bradford, opposing the council’s utterly cruel actions. People are angry. “Why do we get poorer while the rich get richer?” is a sentiment I hear over and over.
The anger about council tax reflects the anger from ordinary working-class people generally, as poverty and unemployment surges. In Bradford, 36% of children live in poverty. All while the capitalist bosses increase their wealth by billions, and MPs increase their wages.
We say no council tax rises, make the super-rich pay instead. Rather than making working-class people pay more, local councils should be pressuring the Labour government for the funds we need. By setting budgets that meet the needs of the community, making no cuts, councils could mobilise trade unions and communities to join the fight for funding.
We deserve to live in cities with high-quality public services and with councillors who are prepared to fight for the interests of the working class, rather than taking yet more money out of our pockets.
The fight back in Bradford is just one important part of the battle against austerity. Another will be the fight trade unionists and socialists take to the ballot box in the May elections, in the 29 council areas where they are due to take place, standing as part of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC).
We need councillors prepared to fight for the working class, and a party of our own too. Get involved to help us build one, and fight for socialist change.
