People in Southampton are angry about everything! That was the conclusion from the Southampton Test branch stall as part of the 'Join the Socialists' week of action.

And that anger is palpable, from the pensioner who has worked for decades before being forced to live on a meagre £130 per week, to the woman with a four year old daughter being sanctioned by the jobcentre for six weeks and forced to visit a food bank.

Socialist ideas and our strategy to defeat the cuts are able to give people hope that things can change.

The enthusiasm for our ideas was demonstrated by very vocal support for our call for the energy companies to be nationalised and run in the interests of ordinary people rather than profit.

Many people left their details to find out about joining the Socialist Party and the fight to make these ideas a reality.

Josh Asker

Coventry

Members of the Socialist Party were out in Coventry city centre, building support for socialist ideas in opposition to the capitalist system.

Party member Dan Crowter who is also a leading figure in the Coventry Against the Bedroom Tax campaign, commented:

"What is striking is the anger out there. With the recent announcements from the utility companies that they are going to raise their already high prices even further, many people will be forced to 'heat or eat' this winter.

"None of the big three parties are talking about the solution - which would be to bring all privatised utilities back into public ownership run under democratic workers' control.

"I would urge all of those thousands of people who regularly vote Socialist in Coventry to seriously consider helping the socialist cause, by donating, subscribing to the Socialist, and by joining the Socialist Party."

East London

East London branch of the Socialist Party had a large stall in Ilford on 19 October. We sold papers and asked people to join the party.

Many more people than usual are planning to come to our meeting and gave us their contact details to continue the discussions.

With printed copies of all the petitions we have used recently in the area on the stall, you could see the scope of work the branch takes on. 250 leaflets advertising our next meeting were distributed.

Usually our stalls focus on one campaigning issue such as the NHS, bedroom tax or energy prices. Both new and longer standing members found it very encouraging to instead focus specifically on talking to people about socialism and joining the Socialist Party.

Helen Pattison

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.