Labour Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls recently made a regional visit to Plymouth in what was scheduled as a 'meet and greet' with the paying public and Labour supporters. Anyone who felt the need for Ed Balls' company paid a £20 fee for fish and chips with the Labour politician - a steep price in times of austerity considering that the supplier - my local fish shop in West Hoe - charges under a fiver!

Ready to meet him were Socialist Party members and other supporters of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) with three letters - one for Ed and one each for Plymouth's Labour parliamentary candidates. The letter urged them to support an immediate increase in the minimum wage, trade union rights, opposition to cuts and renationalisation of the railways and Post Office.

In the event only one MP, Alison Seabeck, turned up and took the letter - Mr Balls and Luke Pollard were considered a no-show after we had waited for over an hour and a half. Was it cowardice and ignorance that Ed Balls kept paid members of the Labour Party and the public waiting for an overpriced fish supper? Why didn't he turn up?

Plymouth TUSC are waiting for a reply to our letters but we can't wait for ever. If we cannot get agreement we will announce our intention to stand in both seats by the end of the week.

Meanwhile - due to the low turnout and rather than let them go to waste, TUSC supporters standing in the cold outside got Labour's fish and chips for free!

The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) is an electoral alliance that stands candidates against all cuts and privatisation. It involves the RMT transport workers' union, leading members of other trade unions including the PCS, NUT and POA, as well as the Socialist Party and other left and anti-cuts groups and individuals.

www.tusc.org.uk

Donate to the Socialist Party

Finance appeal

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.