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From The Socialist newspaper, 11 October 2017
Manchester rally discussed unionisation and nationalisation
John McDonnell answering questions in Manchester, 2.10.17, photo by Tom Costello (Click to enlarge)
Tom Costello, Lancashire Socialist Party
Crowds poured into Manchester Cathedral on 2 October to see the shadow chancellor John McDonnell at a free event. The audience was first greeted by various trade union speakers, including representatives from the transport union RMT, Communication Workers Union and public sector union Unison giving their perspectives on ongoing industrial battles and the growing fight encapsulated in the march against Tory conference the previous day.
But perhaps the highlight of the early speakers was Shen Batmaz of the McDonald's strikers in the bakers' union BFAWU. Batmaz ended her address with some of the most striking words of the night: "Young people around the country are angry. They're ready to unionise. But they're waiting for the trade union movement to stop saying we're 'un-unionisable' and for them to help us in organising."
Following this, McDonnell took to the stage facing rounds of passionate applause from the attendees before delivering the anti-austerity message seen in Labour's election manifesto. The event transitioned to a one-on-one interview with Guardian journalist Gary Younge. They discussed issues such as renationalisation, fighting cuts to health and education, guaranteeing the rights of EU nationals to remain in the UK following the Brexit negotiations and banning fracking.
The event was rounded up with a very apt summary of what socialists should all stand for: "We don't believe in just instituting a few reforms here and there. We believe in changing the system so we will never again have to pay for the crisis that they created."
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The coronavirus crisis has laid bare the class character of society in numerous ways. It is making clear to many that it is the working class that keeps society running, not the CEOs of major corporations.
The results of austerity have been graphically demonstrated as public services strain to cope with the crisis.
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In The Socialist 11 October 2017:
Socialist Party news and analysis
Nasty party imploding...drive out the Tories
Major attacks 'Universal Credit', half a million more face poverty
IMF helps cause inequality it slams
NHS meltdown - fight the Tory cuts
Catalonia
Catalonia: Workers can finish what Puigdemont won't
Black History Month 2017
The fight against racial discrimination is tied to the fight to defeat capitalist austerity
Socialist Party workplace news
Royal Mail workers fight court attempt to stop national strike
Boeing bust-up threatens thousands of skilled jobs
Who's watching who?: The fight for justice, trade union and democratic rights
Housing crisis
Housing crisis: Corbyn's positive measures blanked by Labour's right
No more fire deaths - ensure safety now!
Socialist Party reports and campaigns
Don't wreck our rec! Campaigning to save green space in Standish
Carlisle NHS campaigners hand in petition to MP
Cardiff Socialist Students confront 'Parasite' Jacob Rees-Mogg
Manchester rally discussed unionisation and nationalisation
Join the Orgreave Halloween rally
Comment and reviews
Poverty, repression and fightback on the docks
Theresa May, Frida Kahlo and turning women into wares
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