‘We won’t pay more’
Make the super-rich pay
Does anyone still believe anything Keir Starmer’s Labour government says?
Sir “we won’t raise taxes on working people” Keir has handpicked local authorities to be given special permission to accelerate council tax hikes. Almost everyone will pay an extra 4.99% for crumbling, privatised and ever-shrinking council services.
People face an increase of 10% in Bradford; 9% in Newham, Windsor and Maidenhead; and 7.5% in Birmingham, Somerset and Trafford. These councils will be exempt from the requirement for a referendum if council tax increases exceed 5%.
This Labour government is telling councils to cut services and telling working-class people we have to pay more. But people are already fighting back, in dozens of campaigns in defence of services (see pages 10-11).
But there is no excuse for councils passing on cuts and tax rises. After all, Britain’s super-rich are only getting richer by ripping us off – like the bosses of the privatised water companies hiking our bills and polluting our water.
Councils could resist New Labour austerity now by setting budgets that make no cuts, provide services to meet the needs of our communities and refuse to make workers pay. Such a stance would be hugely popular and could help mobilise a movement of working-class communities and trade unions to demand funding from the Labour government.
Faced with working-class pressure, this government for the rich can be made to cough up. Just look at how it paid out pay rises to try to avoid strikes in its first weeks.
The workers’ movement and trade unions have to give a lead in building the socialist opposition to Starmer. Part of that is taking steps towards building a new mass party of the working class. The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition stand in May’s local elections is an important part of that process (see pages 8-9). The working class needs its own voice, fighting for socialist change. Help us fight for it.
