We need a ‘people’s budget’ in our area

51 disabled adults are losing their day centre in east London. This is the consequence of Labour councils passing on 14 years of Tory central government cuts.

Councils will have a £4 billion shortfall next year. This is on top of billions of pounds stolen by Tories from local councils, an average 26% cut in their spending power.

But even though the Tories have been kicked out of Westminster, Labour is continuing with austerity.

We won’t take this lying down. The workers’ movement should come together to coordinate opposition.

Community campaigners and trade unionists should draw up ‘People’s Budgets’ based on people’s needs, summarising all the services required by the community. Enfield Trades Union Council in north London has unanimously passed a motion saying just that (see opposite).

Local councils could deliver hardship payments for everyone impacted by Labour’s winter fuel cut. And send the bill to the government.

Even just the councils with elections this May, a minority, together have over £7.5 billion in reserves. That money could be used to fund the services we need, while buying time to build a mass campaign to force the national Labour government to pay up.

1.3 million people work for local councils. When they strike, they have huge strength. The Labour government has already once decided to pay up to avoid strikes.

One third of the country will vote in the May 2025 county council elections. Many of these are still controlled by the Tories.

So, it’s important that the Socialist Party is preparing to stand – as part of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) – for no-cuts People’s Budgets. And we want to discuss with anyone who wants to stand for that.

Unions fighting local cuts

Enfield Trades Union Council unanimously passed this motion to campaign against local council cuts in September. It was moved by Socialist Party member John Dolan.

This Trades Council notes:

  • The crisis in local government acutely affects communities in Enfield
  • Many councils, including Enfield, have carried out damaging cuts and yet are on the brink of financial collapse due to ongoing government cuts
  • That the pay of local government workers has been driven down for more than a decade
  • The most deprived areas of Enfield, such as Edmonton, have been hit by multiple cuts.

This Trades Council supports:

  • The current pay campaign of local government workers.
  • The campaigners for more council housing and for better regulation of the private sector
  • The campaign against library closures in Enfield.
  • The campaign to get Edmonton Green Leisure Centre reopened.
  • The call on councillors to resist cuts to funding, and to demand an end to austerity from the new Labour government.

This Trades Council resolves to:

  • Launch a campaign for a legal needs-based, no-cuts budget.
  • Hold a community-based ‘Peoples Budget’ Enfield event, prior to the Enfield Council budget-setting meeting in early 2025.

Read more – ‘Enfield challenges Labour and Tory politicians over cuts’ and see ‘Councils on the frontline – and where the fightback can begin’