Yavnik Gangully, Lambeth and Southwark Socialist Party
A ‘Workers’ Question Time’ took place in Lambeth on 28 July, with Martin Abrams, Green leader of Lambeth Council. The event was organised by Lambeth Trades Council, to bring together council workers and others to help to apply working-class pressure on the new Green administration.
The Greens have the most councillors in the Lambeth Council (28) but do not have overall control. The Labour Party has 26 councillors and the Liberal Democrats, 9.
Opening the questioning, Socialist Party member Andy Tullis, who is Lambeth Unison’s children’s services convenor, spoke about the attacks of the previous Labour administration on children’s services and asked whether the new administration can commit to a no-cuts budget to stop the cuts on Lambeth’s jobs and services.
Unfortunately, despite Martin Abrams and many of the Green councillors describing themselves as socialists, the leader refused to commit to not making further cuts.
Abrams emphasised the financial difficulty the Greens had inherited by taking power in Lambeth Council, repeating the excuses Labour councillors have parroted previously. He also claimed that if the Greens put forward a no-cuts budget, the Labour and Liberal Democrat councillors would collaborate to oust the Greens from power. What is the purpose of the Greens holding power, if they fall in-step with the cutting establishment parties they have criticised in order to do so?
The vast majority of Lambeth Green councillors, including cabinet members, signed up to the pre-election Greens Organise pledge to oppose austerity in local government, including to “pursue innovative revenue raising mechanisms as well as reserves and borrowing powers”.
A no-cuts budget, drawn up in collaboration with trade unions, and local youth and community groups, would win huge support and lay the basis for a mass campaign fighting to win the money from the Labour government. The Green administration taking that approach would put real pressure on the Labour and Lib-Dem councillors, and would raise the confidence of workers and young people in the borough to fight back. Rather that than the approach outlined by Abrams which basically boils down to ‘we can’t do much’.
