The Socialist 17 October 2018

Tories’ Brexit bust-up - general Election Now

Tories' Brexit bust-up - general election now

Universal credit = universal misery

New anti-poll tax type revolt needed today

Homeless driven from Windsor streets for royal wedding: abolish the monarchy and end homelessness now!

Toxic fracking gets the go-ahead while protesters jailed

No to fat-cat top judges' £59k pay hike - fight for decent pay for criminal justice workers

Tory and Trump hypocrisy over murder of Saudi Arabian journalist

Fully fund mental health services now

PCS union: nominate Chris Baugh as Left Unity candidate for assistant general secretary

Striking Brum home carers reject 'final' pay cut offer

South Western rail workers launch five-day safety strike to save guards

Uber drivers strike against unfair 'deactivation' and low pay

Bolton hospital workers strike

Grimethorpe dinner ladies stage all-out strike against redundancy

Cable makers' pay strike bites as production falls 33%

Newham finance staff fight pay and grading insult

Libres y Combativas: striking for women's rights in the Spanish state

The renewed relevance of Engels' classic Socialism: Utopian and Scientific

Demo against far-right DFLA

Socialism - the podcast offering Marxist analysis for the movement against capitalism

'Corbyn-council' faces a choice: Implement or fight the cuts

Devon foster carers fight 30% cut in allowances

De Montfort freshers stall

Peterloo film exposes bloody nature of capitalism

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Militant supporters marching against the poll tax, photo Steve Gardner (Click to enlarge)

New anti-poll tax type revolt needed today

The following letter was sent to the Guardian on 11 October by Socialist Party general secretary Peter Taaffe

Owen Jones is correct (Guardian 11 October), as were Gordon Brown and John Major, to warn of a poll tax-type revolt over Universal Credit.

He is also right to point out that it was the All-Britain Anti-Poll Tax Federation, set up by Militant, now the Socialist Party, and the mass movement of non-payment, together with the issue of Europe, which brought down Margaret Thatcher.

This movement was not organised by the witch-hunting Labour Party leadership of Neil Kinnock, nor unfortunately the trade union leaders, nor even the Labour left.

It was Militant that pioneered the tactic of non-payment which led to 18 million people refusing to pay the poll tax and finishing it off.

Terry Fields, the Labour MP for Liverpool Broad Green, went to jail for refusing to pay the poll tax and Dave Nellist MP was expelled by Labour for doing so.

Hundreds of others were imprisoned for their defiance, including at least 34 supporters of Militant.

But to expect the Momentum leadership to lead such a movement against Universal Credit is fanciful in the light of their many political retreats, for instance on mandatory reselection.

Indeed, Jon Lansman, Momentum's leader, directly told us early on that he opposed mandatory reselection.

It would be a welcome political somersault if Momentum were to join with us and others in leading such a movement but it must also combine with the fight against all cuts. In particular, Labour councils must pursue legal 'no-cuts' needs budgets.

To help with this, the Socialist Party should be allowed to join Labour - with the same rights as the Co-operative Party, for instance - in a new, democratic socialist federation.

Such an 'extra-parliamentary movement', combined with action in parliament, could force a general election and defeat May and the Tories.

Yours faithfully,

Peter Taaffe

General Secretary, Socialist Party

This version of this article was first posted on the Socialist Party website on 12 October 2018 and may vary slightly from the version subsequently printed in The Socialist.

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