The Socialist 31 August 2016

#KeepCorbyn: For a party that fights for workers

#KeepCorbyn: For a party that fights for workers

Right's purges and exclusions show we must fight for a party for the 99%

Packed meeting discusses Trotskyism, Corbyn and socialist change

Trade unionists for Corbyn rally in Cardiff

Education: fightback needed

Pressure, lies and head games: being a school student in Tory Britain

Join the student fightback to end education cuts and austerity

No NHS cuts or closures

Grantham protest against night-time closure of A&E

Invest in grassroots sports needs

Women still take home 36% less than men

Over a million families in 'extreme problem debt'

France: Burkini ban fuels division

Chile: general strike threat as pensions protests grow

UberEats: Angry delivery drivers protest over pay

Solid bus strike for better terms and pay

Southern strike

Why you should join the Socialist Party today

Socialist Party 'collectathon' to raise crucial cash

Ken Loach and a Socialist seller join Sisters Uncut protest

Sunshine and socialism at Socialist Party summer camp

Can Britain have a pay rise?

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Over a million families in 'extreme problem debt'

Pressure and stress can be overwhelming, photo Bhernandez (Creative Commons) (Click to enlarge)

Mary Jackson

The latest report from the Trade Union Congress outlining personal debt in Britain is shocking.

1.6 million low-income families in 'extreme problem debt' - debt so crippling that it takes 40% of their total household income. Another 3.2 million households, that's one in eight, are struggling to manage their debt repayments, taking up 25% of income.

Total 'unsecured' debt - which excludes mortgages - for UK households rose by £48 billion between 2012 and 2015. It reached a staggering £353 billion. Debt has risen and income fallen by a tenth since the world economic crash in 2007-8.

Behind these figures is a nightmare of misery and deprivation: real people, worried to death at how they are going to survive.

Unnecessary

I worked in Citizens' Advice for many years. It's extremely rare for people to get in unnecessary or unfordable debt. It's invariably a change of circumstances that makes debt unaffordable. A decrease in hours, losing a job, becoming ill, having an accident.

We can't wait until 2020 for a general election. People are dying, children are hungry.

We need a minimum wage of £10 an hour without exemptions, and the reversal of all benefits cuts - now. Nationalise the banks and loan companies under democratic workers' control and management. Mass investment in infrastructure and council house building to create jobs and homes.

Kicking the Blairites out of Labour and building for a 24-hour general strike against austerity would be a good starting point. The Tories are still weak and divided. United working class action with a clear socialist programme could bring them down.

In this issue

#KeepCorbyn

#KeepCorbyn: For a party that fights for workers