- Councils can act on cost of living
- Fight for socialist change
- Support the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition stand
Scott Hunter, Swindon Socialist Party
By brutally bombarding Iran, spreading carnage across the Middle East, leading to thousands being killed, Donald Trump has put the cost-of-living crisis back into the headlines. But for most of us, it never really left.
When prices skyrocketed after Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, we were told it was a one-off. But Trump and Netanyahu’s war on Iran shows that is not true. Capitalism is a system built on division and exploitation and is now in a time of huge volatility, making new conflicts inevitable. Crisis fuels crisis as capitalist states scramble to secure the interests of their own ruling classes. Bosses are determined to keep their profits high and make us pay for the crisis of their system.
In Britain, the 2022 cost-of-living crisis was met by the biggest strike wave since the 1980s, as millions of workers fought for pay rises. In almost all cases, workers won better deals than employers initially offered. Faced with inflation spiking today, we need to get organised now for the coordinated strike action that can win.
We also have to make the fight political. Capitalist establishment politicians have spent the past decades carrying out cuts and claiming we ‘can’t afford’ social housing, decent education, or a fully funded NHS. But when it comes to war, they’re happy to write a blank cheque!
Councils could act to shield residents from the cost-of-living squeeze, for example by allocating support payments to households, through the Crisis and Resilience Fund, to those unable to pay sky-high bills. They could bring down energy bills by subsidising home insulation schemes for existing homes, build high-quality and energy-efficient new council housing, and implement and enforce a landlord register to ensure rented properties are being properly maintained. Bus services could be brought back into public ownership and fares capped. Ending outsourcing would stop the haemorrhage of money to the private sector.
All these examples and more are possible, if councillors have the will to fight for them. They say there’s no money? We say the money is there in the pockets of the super-rich – use council reserves and borrowing powers as an interim measure and build a mass movement to demand Westminster settles the bill!
That is the approach that candidates for the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition will take in May. If you want to be part of that fight, join the Socialist Party and get involved!
