- Support the strikes
- Build a new mass workers’ party
Helen Pattison, London Socialist Party Secretary
The cracks continue to grow in Liz Truss’ weak Tory government. But the divisions in the Tory party aren’t new, and they have been brought to the surface now only in part by Truss’ naked pro-rich policies. Another reason the cracks are growing is the huge anger of working-class people and the rising strike wave against the cost-of-living crisis.
Ever since Theresa May’s general election campaign back in 2017 when she uttered that she would lead a “strong and stable” government, we have known the Tories could only offer the opposite – weak and divided governments which attack our living conditions. With different leaders, the Tories have continued to limp on.
It is vital to build a movement capable of forcing them out of power. The growing wave of struggle offers that possibility. On top of the hundreds of thousands who have already taken coordinated action on the railways, in Royal Mail and in BT, there are many more being balloted by their unions and who could be taking action this year.
There are all the students suffering from sky-high rents, under the pressure of growing debts and attempting to juggle full-time work and full-time education. There are all the people making the difficult decisions of which bill to pay, forced to use foodbanks or skipping meals.
The huge power of coordinated strike action has been shown in recent weeks, as has the huge support and solidarity from ordinary people. It shows the potential to build a mass movement to get rid of this rotten government and win a real pay rise and more for workers.
But getting rid of the Tories raises another question: What force in parliament fights for the interests of the working-class majority? It isn’t Keir Starmer’s Labour Party, which has been clear that it will impose austerity on public services and oppose inflation-proof pay rises.
The current strikes won’t be resolved by an incoming Starmer government. We need a new political voice that fights in workers’ interests against the bosses.
A new mass workers’ party could unite the current industrial, student and community campaigns into a political force for all working-class people.
Join us in that fight.
