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Why I'm standing
To fight austerity and build vital support for socialism
Bristol TUSC campaigning in 2015 (Click to enlarge)
Tom Baldwin, TUSC mayoral candidate, Bristol
Over £100 million has been cut from Bristol City Council by the independent mayor and his cross-party cabinet. Over 1,000 jobs have been threatened, with cuts to libraries, care services, parks and more.
These cuts haven't gone unchallenged. Anti-cuts campaigners have managed to reverse proposed library closures and the removal of public toilets.
But with the possibility of huge funding cuts by the Tory government each year until 2020, we face an uphill battle to stop the complete destruction of some services. Nobody in the council is giving voice to that battle, to the workers who provide vital services and the people that use them.
Unfortunately, despite the new leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, Labour councillors once again all voted for the latest cuts budget. We need representatives who are going to stand up for the city and oppose Tory cuts, not pass them on to us.
For that reason the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) decided to stand me in the election for mayor of Bristol, along with 18 candidates for council seats. We're standing on a platform of stopping and reversing the cuts.
We want a budget that reflects what Bristol needs, not the Tories' demands to cut. Campaigning can push them back on council cuts like it did on disability benefits, but we need to take a stand.
We're getting a great response to our message. I've spoken to hundreds of people at hustings and been interviewed in local papers and on the radio.
We have to fight to get the same coverage as the 'bigger' candidates, so we're doing what we can to reach people on the doorsteps and on the streets. We're building support for socialism and for fighting austerity. That's vital in these times of cuts and capitalist crisis and it won't stop after election day.
TUSC is the 100% anti-austerity electoral coalition made up of the RMT transport union, the Socialist Party, other socialist groups, and leading trade unionists from other trade unions. This year we're standing 309 candidates cutting against politicians.
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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.
The government has now ripped up its 'austerity' mantra and turned to policies that not long ago were denounced as socialist. But after the corona crisis, it will try to make the working class pay for it, by trying to claw back what has been given.
- The Socialist Party's material is more vital than ever, so we can continue to report from workers who are fighting for better health and safety measures, against layoffs, for adequate staffing levels, etc.
- When the health crisis subsides, we must be ready for the stormy events ahead and the need to arm workers' movements with a socialist programme - one which puts the health and needs of humanity before the profits of a few.
Inevitably, during the crisis we have not been able to sell the Socialist and raise funds in the ways we normally would.
We therefore urgently appeal to all our viewers to donate to our Fighting Fund.
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