The Socialist 21 February 2018

We can save our NHS

Chatsworth ward victory shows we can save our NHS

Tories raid £1bn from NHS facilities budget - unions must act

Blairite mayor faces open election after democratic 'irregularities' - fight for a no-cuts mayor

Facebook sides with state repression - reinstate the Tamil Solidarity page

Like rats from a sinking Ukip

Usdaw victory - Socialist Party member Amy Murphy wins presidential election

Bosses divided - university pension strikes can win!

After 80 strike days Mears workers achieve victory

Newham academies strike continues with three schools to strike together

Northern Ireland talks process paralysed

How can students and young people fight the Tories?

Leicester Uni makes Tory fee tripler David Willetts chancellor - sack Willetts!

South Africa: Ramaphosa is a safe pair of hands for capitalism

Russia: Ali Feruz, journalist and human rights activist, freed from jail

Building the campaign against clearances of the working class

Northants council crisis - protesters demand an end to cuts and privatisation

Victory: Pontllanfraith leisure centre saved

Save Salford nurseries!

Labour councillors push through savage cuts in Kirklees budget

May Day, May Day! Celebrate solidarity!

Bradford protests against kids' service cuts

Successful Socialist Party Wales conference sets tone for the year ahead

Tremendous determination on show at West Midlands conference

Lively discussion at East Midlands Socialist Party conference

Nottingham hospital black alert

Cardiff Refugee Rights gig success

Outrageous sentence for TUSC agent in 'misleading electors' court case

German engineering strike puts shorter week on agenda - but could have won more

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Blairite mayor faces open election after democratic 'irregularities' - fight for a no-cuts mayor

E15 mums were evicted from their homeless hostel by Robin Wales after he withdrew funding support (Click to enlarge)

'Donna Steeds', Labour Party member, Newham

Hated Newham mayor Robin Wales, the Labour right-winger who's held onto power for 23 years, is finally facing an open election.

20 wards voted overwhelmingly against automatic reselection of Wales as Labour's mayoral candidate for the east London borough. In West Ham Constituency Labour Party, he was able to muster no more than one vote in all wards but one - where he got two votes.

Newham is one of the poorest boroughs in London and has been one of the hardest hit by austerity, directed by the Tories and implemented by the all-Labour council Wales leads.

Meanwhile, Sir Robin has overseen massive wastage - such as £52 million of the borough's funds sunk on the London Stadium it no longer owns - while claiming cutbacks are necessary.

His term as a Tory-lite executive mayor has also been marred by accusations of suppression of democracy. Members threatened legal action when a 'trigger ballot' held last year automatically reselected him.

He won through the votes of local branches of some affiliated unions and societies - many of which give the appearance of being empty bodies, casting their votes without democratic involvement.

Labour Party members in Newham challenged the result, citing procedural "irregularities and inconsistencies." To avoid the scandal of a legal battle, Labour's national executive committee ruled the trigger ballot would be re-run.

Councillor Rokhsana Fiaz, a charity director who describes herself as a "democratic socialist" and has been involved in Newham Against Austerity, plans to challenge Wales.

It's good that left-leaning councillors see the need to organise against the Labour right. The Socialist Party, for example, has long argued for this. But it needs to go further than just winning elected positions.

It's vital that an anti-austerity mayor - if this is what Cllr Fiaz hopes to be - uses council reserves and borrowing powers to end the cuts now. By mobilising the local workforce and community, they can fight for more funding from central government.

We know the money is there. The recent PFI scandals show how much the Tories have forked out to big business privatising public services. An anti-cuts mayor could lead the fight to win it back.

In this issue

Socialist Party news and analysis

Chatsworth ward victory shows we can save our NHS