Josh Asker
Life goes on. Bills keep rising, profits do too, and a Tory prime minister hands out billions to big business.
Before Liz Truss’ announcement of an up to £150 billion package that still doubles our energy bills, she had spent weeks saying she was opposed to ‘handouts’. Now we can see what kind of handouts she is in favour of.
There is no prospect of her solving our other problems either: NHS waiting lists grow to their longest ever, as do the food bank queues, and schools are forced to choose between teaching assistants or heating.
People have come to the conclusion that we can’t go on like this. And even a new king can’t hold back the tide.
Strikes are sweeping Britain already, and millions of ballot papers for strike action will land on the doorsteps of public sector workers throughout the autumn.
Strike back
When trade union leaders representing seven million members meet at the reconvened Trades Union Congress, the mood for coordinating the strikes will have grown further. But it doesn’t have to wait. Already Royal Mail and BT workers have taken action on the same day. Railway and London transport workers in different unions have too.
Britain’s biggest 350 companies have profit margins 73% higher now than in 2019, according to research by Unite the Union. We know where our higher prices are going!
The antidote to profiteering is nationalisation and public ownership – so that energy, Royal Mail, BT, and railways can be run democratically to meet needs not for profit, and workers in those industries can be ensured a secure job with decent pay. But Sir Keir Starmer has ruled that out under a Labour government. The trade unions are leading the fightback, demonstrating workers’ power by hitting the bosses’ profits at source and striking. That fightback would be strengthened by a new mass workers’ party – backed by the trade unions, bringing striking workers together with all those fighting against the rising cost of living, and that stands clearly for a socialist programme of public ownership.
