Let’s build a socialist alternative to all the warmongers

Callum Joyce, Socialist Party National Committee

In less than three weeks of war, thousands have been killed and no less than 14 countries have been subject to bombing and missile fire. Workers and poor people across the Middle East will be wondering where the next bomb might drop – at their local hospital, at home, or at their children’s school?

How long the horror will continue to unfold is not clear, but the impact of this war will be felt long after the bombs have stopped dropping. The full effects to the world economy haven’t yet been felt, but the disruption will be another blow to the already teetering, rotten capitalist system that increasingly has nothing to offer but poverty, starvation, and war.

Already in Britain petrol prices have begun to increase as companies try to prevent a potential hit to their profits. It is only a matter of time before they attempt the same with the costs of household electricity and gas as well. These are the same companies which made over £420 billion in three years during the cost-of-living crisis – money that could have been used now to keep bills down and invest in infrastructure, rather than lining the already overflowing pockets of shareholders. Only big business could look at the rubble and gore in the Middle East and try to find their next source of profits.

Working-class people in Iran, Israel, the US, or here in Britain have nothing to gain from this war but death, destruction, and an increasing squeeze on our living standards. Keir Starmer stated recently in the House of Commons: “No matter the headwinds, supporting working people with the cost of living is always top of my mind.” That would be a little easier to believe if his government hadn’t spent the last two years trying to cut benefits, break strikes, and hold down wages!

The only way workers can really defend ourselves is by organising to fight against the bosses’ onslaught – taking strike action, protesting against war and Labour’s austerity, and campaigning against any attack in our communities, workplaces and campuses. We could demand pay that rises with the cost of living, the immediate nationalisation of the energy companies along with all the other profiteering monopolies, free good quality public transport, and more.

Joining the stand of anti-war, anti-austerity Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) candidates in the local elections on 7 May is another key step to oppose Starmer’s war and austerity agenda and to fight to build a genuine socialist alternative.