Scott Hunter, Swindon Socialist Party
Swindon has a Labour council for the first time since 2004. Disgusted by their rotten record in Westminster, Tory support locally has collapsed.
But what did the new Labour leader of Swindon council, Jim Robbins, have to say on the night of the local election victory? “We’ve got a tricky job… an unprecedented amount of cuts that we need to deliver, just in this year’s budget.” The council has already seen a 29% real-terms reduction in its budget since 2010!
Labour’s 22 newly elected council leaders met with Keir Starmer to discuss an ‘emergency cost-of-living action plan’. The cost-of-living crisis is leaving people cold, hungry and homeless right now. Yet, Labour councils are promising to pass on “unprecedented” levels of Tory cuts to ordinary people.
Scandalously, Swindon’s new leader also wants to give more power to the Conservative opposition. Jim Robbins plans to rearrange the council’s scrutiny committees to get more input from the Tories!
What people want is not a mystery. They want homes they can afford, to be able to put the heating on, food on the table, and pay that beats inflation.
These new Labour councillors should set emergency budgets that actually provide what we need, and fight the Tories in Westminster for the money. We need councillors who are prepared to stand up to the bosses, not do their dirty work!
That’s why the Socialist Party was part of the over 250 Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) candidates in the local election, offering an alternative to Tory and Labour cuts. The unions should put forward a workers’ list for the general election to do the same. And this must include backing Jeremy Corbyn to stand in Islington North.
