Nick Chaffey, Southern and South East Socialist Party secretary
The horror of war and all its consequences are sharpening the outlook of millions of workers and young people. They are questioning the establishment politicians and their parties. The May local council elections loom on the horizon in Britain.
Support for the capitalist parties of war and austerity is collapsing. Britain’s two parties of government came third and fourth in the Gorton and Denton by-election.
Is it any wonder? Fuel prices rocket, adding to the unbearable squeeze on workers and young people’s pockets. Politicians seek support for increased military spending, while cutting pay and funding for schools and the NHS.
Labour will suffer a crushing defeat in the May elections. But the divisive racist and reactionary ideas of Reform are threatening to fill the political vacuum.
Oxfordshire firefighters have begun their strike ballot to fight job cuts and station closures.
Trade union members seek fighting leaderships that will effectively defend and improve jobs, pay and working conditions. We are taking that fight into the trade union elections, where Socialist Party members are standing in Unite, Unison, and PCS. Our member Duncan Moore has already been re-elected to the University and College Union (UCU) executive.
£24 billion cut from vital council services since 2010, over one million jobs cut in that time, and thousands of youth clubs and libraries closed. 100 companies on the stock market pay out £70 billion in dividends to a handful of shareholders every year.
No wonder support for socialist ideas is growing. No wonder 800,000 showed an interest in the launch of a new workers’ party last year.
We face tremendous opportunities to inspire workers and young people, with a fighting socialist programme to oppose war and continued austerity to deliver jobs, a living wage, free education, homes, and fully funded services for all.
The mass demonstrations against war in Gaza, the one-year indefinite strike of Birmingham bin workers, and the election of the anti-war MPs and Jeremy Corbyn at the 2024 general election, show that workers and youth are prepared to fight back, and are looking for an alternative.
Financing our campaigns over the next eight weeks in the council elections and Unite the Union elections, producing thousands of leaflets and posters, organising our public meetings across England and Wales, is vital to rapidly build support for our socialist message.
We appeal to all our readers to donate, and ask others to do the same. On every campaign stall, when we sell the Socialist at work, or a drink with your mates – when we meet those who support our message, be bold and ask for a donation.
