Prepare the biggest possible anti-cuts stand in May
Mila Hughes, Coventry Socialist Party
Councils of all shades are yet again preparing budgets that slash services, close libraries and hike charges, with the familiar excuse that their ‘hands are tied’. Tied only by their complete unwillingness to stand up to what the ‘profit before people’ system demands!
In Coventry, Socialist Party members and Your Party supporters are helping to build for a people’s budget – a fighting manifesto that starts from what communities actually need, not what Labour says is ‘affordable’. That includes organisations such as CRASAC (Coventry Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre) whose funding recently got slashed, campaigners that argue against library closures and many others.
A people’s budget exposes the lie that councils must act as ‘little Tory chancellors’ so as to not rock the boat. It demands the use of reserves, borrowing powers and a mass campaign to force the government to cough up the money that has been stolen from our areas.
These coming elections in May will show huge disdain towards Labour. In the big cities, it will be the first time the working class has gone to the polls since Starmer’s government began its attacks on us over eighteen months ago. We need the biggest possible stand, pointing towards the new party of the working class that is needed. Socialist candidates fighting for decent jobs, council homes and re-opened local services.
Across the country, people are looking for an alternative. Trade unionists facing real-terms pay cuts, young people locked out of jobs and housing, and campaigners against racism, sexism, Trump, war and climate destruction – all know the current system is failing. What’s missing is political representation that actually fights on the side of the working class.
That’s why the task now is to fight for a clear, anti-cuts socialist stand. We need a mass working-class party rooted in our real needs – democratic, accountable, and prepared to take on the bosses, not manage austerity with a friendlier face.
In May, voters have the chance to land a real blow against Starmer’s Labour. Not by drifting towards dead-end, establishment-backed parties, including those who try to divide the working class and our communities. Instead, by backing socialist candidates who will refuse to make cuts and lead a united fightback for the fully funded services and council homes we need.
