We won’t pay for Trump’s war
Oscar Parry, Hackney and Islington Socialist Party
Trump and Netanyahu have unleashed devastation in the Middle East. Following the ongoing genocidal war against the Palestinian people, the renewed war on Iran has unleashed further horrors. US and Israeli bombs strike Iran daily, with retaliatory strikes returned. Lebanon has been partially occupied by Israeli troops. Millions of civilians have been forced to flee the terror raining down from missiles and bombs, with thousands killed. The office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has reported that missiles have hit 500 schools in Iran.
The Iranian regime has struck back and blocked the Strait of Hormuz, through which one fifth of the world’s oil supply travels. This is their strategy to exert maximum pressure on the world economy. This impacts not just global energy prices but also food production, pushing up prices for petrol, food, electricity and heating.
Capitalism globally is a system of war and crisis; capitalist powers fight against each other but are united in their attacks on the working class. As in all wars, it is the working class and poor who suffer the most. This latest round of economic disruption is another blow to an increasingly moribund capitalist system that offers no future to the vast majority of humanity but poverty and war.
There is a lot of uncertainty about how long the war will last, but even if disruption to the Strait is relatively short-lived, the war will exert inflationary pressure on the world economy, stalling central banks from cutting interest rates. UK government bonds are heading for their worst month since the historic rout that led to the ousting of former prime minister Liz Truss. Keir Starmer, the most unpopular prime minister in history, is now letting Trump use UK bases to attack Iran. He will undoubtedly seek to implement further austerity measures to address the economic crisis, while energy companies rake in billions in profits.
We won’t accept being made to pay for the bosses’ wars with our lives and our living conditions. Workers must organise to fight back: strike action, protests against war and austerity. We demand pay rises to keep pace with the cost of living and the nationalisation of energy companies. May’s elections present an important opportunity, in thousands of council seats, to put forward a working-class, socialist stand against austerity and war.
To give that stand the biggest profile possible, join Socialist Party members in standing as part of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition.
