Dave Reid, Socialist Party Wales
Labour-run Caerphilly council has doubled down on its cuts agenda by announcing 600 job losses. This follows threats to close meals on wheels, Blackwood Miners’ Institute, and Llancaiach Fawr house.
At its latest meeting, Labour gave in to pressure not to close meals on wheels, although it has increased charges to service users. In effect, this is another tax on the elderly, following the Labour government cutting winter fuel allowance.
Neither heating or eating
The Labour government is cutting their heating, and the Labour council is cutting their food!
Labour politicians have bemoaned the 2,000 devastating job cuts at Tata Steel in Port Talbot. But now they are carrying out nearly one third of Tata’s cuts at Caerphilly!
And, of course, with those 600 jobs, go the vital services those workers provide the local community.
This isn’t out of financial necessity but on the advice of private consultancy firm Perago, which profits from cutting services. The council is paying it £1.7 million for ‘help’ with restructuring.
We have a Labour UK government, a Labour Welsh government, and a Labour council. Labour is in charge at all levels of government, and yet the cuts continue.
The council has already agreed £20 million cuts, and plans £45 million more. Caerphilly council must vote down these cuts.
If there is a shortfall then it must work together with other Welsh councils, and build a mass campaign to demand that the UK and Welsh governments provide sufficient funding to restore our services.
Where’s the money?
In the meantime, it can draw on its reserves to plug the gap. All Caerphilly council departments underspent last year.
Council reserves stand at £192 million. £90 million is “unallocated”, ready to be used in any way the council sees fit.
Another £73 million of reserves has been allocated for “specific projects” by the council. What is more important than basic council services? More white elephants?
Who should pay for this crisis in public funding – working people who have kept this country going, or the very wealthy who have accumulated enormous wealth? And some of those profits drip into freebies for Labour politicians.
Labour is not Labour anymore. It puts forward watered-down Tory policies, instead of fighting for the working class.
We need our unions to stop funding Keir Starmer’s Labour, and instead form a new workers’ party that will stand up and fight to defend our services.
Caerphilly Socialist Party says:
Stop the cuts. Save 600 jobs! Dip into the council’s £184 million reserves as a temporary measure
- Build a mass campaign of communities and trade unions to defend all council services and jobs
- Campaign with other councils to demand adequate funding from Welsh Labour Senedd and UK Westminster governments
- For workers’ candidates to replace the councillors who are trying to cut our services
- Make the rich pay for the Tory mess, not our pensioners
- For a new mass workers’ party
- Read what we’ve said before – ‘Save services – No cuts! Make the super-rich pay’
