You Caused This Crisis

There has been a shift in responsibility during the past 18 months, and it seems WE are the ones to blame for the financial crisis. No longer is it the fault of the market speculators, nor the banks that happily lent billions on dodgy deals.

The ConDem government (and Labour), have shifted the debt burden to local councils - basically telling them to cut budgets by around 25%. That means YOUR services get cut because YOU are now to blame for the crisis!
Added to the misery of public sector cuts, employers have used the crisis to their advantage - forcing wages down as inflation climbs and reducing employee head count, even though British businesses have billions in the bank. The business world have used the historic low interest rates to their advantage, paying off debt which has enabled many companies to sit on a large pile of cash.

Little wonder business leaders are now calling on the government to lower taxes further and toughen union laws beyond what Thatcher did in the 80's. Money didn't disappear from our society, it just shifted into the hands of the few. The ruling class now have more of the wealth and YOU are being made to pay for 'the crisis'. While pensions are destroyed and earnings spiral downwards, the big bosses want even more from us - they want us to pay for their crisis. This is a crisis of capitalism, a failed economy that is now destroying the very fabric of society.

Barclays boss, Bob Diamond told the select committee that banker bashing needed to end, while he enjoys around £9m in bonuses during the coming year. He might be surprised to see people are angry that Barclays not only announced £6.07b in profits, but also robbed the UK by paying just £113m corporation tax. It has been business as usual at the banks, the millionaire government ministers do not know the reality of living on the poverty line. Sadly we can't afford a team of lawyers and fiddle our taxes, we are meant to just be grateful we have a job - even if rising inflation means we take a pay cut year after year.

It is a lie to say WE caused the financial crisis, even though the capitalist elite would like us to think otherwise. The £81b of spending cuts that are being forced through now are being blamed on YOU, but the truth is - these cuts are not necessary. They are an excuse to roll back advances made by the working class, our NHS and schools are all under treat because they don't make money for the capitalist system. Britain is heading back to the Victorian times unless we fight with all our might against the cuts. We need a democratic workers led society that runs a system for the benefit of all, not the elite.

Royal Mail Sold Out

The Tory and Liberal Democrates have voted to sell off Royal Mail, with only the House of Lords being able to stop the destruction of this much loved public service. Although Labour were against privatisation this time, we need to remember that Labour sought to part-privatise this 350 year old service.

In private hands Royal Mail will transform from a daily universal UK delivery into a post code lottery, where those in cities will be cherry picked and those in rural areas will eventually see the daily delivery of post eroded and eventually wiped out.

A privately owned Royal Mail will no longer be willing to offer a 'one price goes anywhere'. The logic of cost will compel any capitalist company to exert the maximum profit and posting a letter from Lands End to John O'Groats does not fit into this business model.

Separating Post Office Counters from Royal Mail will signal the end of the Post Office, as the two companies will quickly go their separate ways and the interwoven link will fray. As Royal Mail loses a third of it's income from the Post Office both will become more fragile.

Not only have Royal Mail been sold out by the coalition, the British public will be worse off as this public service will be lost forever. Margaret Thatcher sold off our gas, electricity, water and railways, Labour opened the door for privatisation of Royal Mail, education and our health service. It is of no surprise then that Cameron and Clegg want to get their greedy hands on our remaining public services and sell them to their business friends.

We need to continue to oppose the sale of Royal Mail and call for the investment into the Post Office, as communities and businesses rely on this publicly run service. What next - will we see the BBC sold to the likes of Rupert Murdoch? Privatisation of Royal Mail was defeated before (on it's final reading) as Michael Heseltine was forced into retreat because of the public outcry. A Socialist government would make sure the postal service remained 100% in public hands and used for the benefit of all, not for the greed of the few.

Burning Quangos Becomes A Puff Of Smoke!

Just a few days into 2011 we have been inundated with news stories about the effects of the coalition's savage attacks on ordinary people. While George Osborne has praised his £81b cuts, leading organisations have repeatedly condemned the short-sightedness of the government.

Much fanfare proceeded the burning of the quangos, but now it looks like the £1b of so-called 'savings' have gone up in a puff of smoke. Conservative MP Bernard Jenkin, chair of the cross-party committee, said: "The whole process was rushed and poorly handled and should have been thought through a lot more." The effects of axing education quangos, such as almost 1,000 jobs lost in Coventry from Becta and QCDA are being felt by those who lost their jobs and schools will not save money. This coalition government has repeatedly failed to listen or take heed of warnings.

The police have issued warnings about the dangers of cutting their budgets, not because they want to keep their jobs but because they know the effects of the Comprehensive Spending Review will lead to an increase in crime. As poverty increases, more people will resort to a life of crime and reduced police numbers will only exasperate the situation. The last time the Tories were in power, Thatcher cut public services and police numbers fell - while crime increased under her leadership. The ConDem coalition will end up with the same result if the people of Britain don't fight back.

We all hate waste and quangos that flutter away our money, should indeed be exposed and call to account. Yet the bonfire of quangos has become nothing more than a puff of smoke - the promised £1b 'savings' will not take place and unsurprisingly, more quangos will be created to replace those burned out quangos.

Meanwhile, for the banks it is business as usual with big bonuses continuing to be paid out in 2010/11. Even though Liberal Democrate Vince Cable indicated he would take action against the banks that continued to award big bonuses for failure. Once again the opposite has been true and the coalition have taken no action, instead banks have seen many salaries rise significantly, by up to 40% in some cases. The highlights above are just a few examples of the failure that this capitalist government seeks to pursue it's ideological goals at the expense of the working class.

We need a workers party that will defend the working class in word and in deed, may 2011 be the year that workers unite and fight to gain control of our lives and society!

People Power Stikes Fear Into Government

The government are in fear of a public backlash, the likes of which have not been seen since the anti Poll Tax revolt in Thatcher's Britain. Intent on rushing through reform and billions of pounds in public sector cuts, the coalition government was hoping the 'shock and awe' tactics would stun the nation into submission.

The Tories knew they had not been elected with a clear mandate and were forced to rub shoulders with the Liberal Democrates. Meanwhile the LibDems were only too pleased at finally having the opportunity for a political voice in the UK. After 13 years of Labour rule, the party was in defeat and busy picking up the pieces.

The working class had been beaten into submission by Thatcher and then failed to be liberated under Labour in 1997. The worker's struggle was contained by weak union leadership that made sure members didn't rock the political boat. But given the large scale of cuts announced in October's Comprehensive Spending Review and the unfair nature being imposed on the poorest in society, the working class have finally woken up and started to fight back.

Students have led the way, much too the shame of some of the unions. They didn't wait six months for a national demonstration, unlike the TUC, who are waiting until March 2011 for a national funeral march! By taking action on the streets, students and workers have begun to show the ruling class that WE have the real power and their attempts to suppress,weaken and destroy us will fail.

The fuss created when Prince Charles and Camilla were surrounded by students (who had chosen not to be kettled in by police and were then free to protest where they wanted), showed the fear of the ruling classes. What if ordinary people were to rise up and say no to the ideological cuts? What if people power should gain momentum?

The reaction of the ConDem government and the police clearly shows they will use as much brutal force as needed to suppress such an uprising - even if it is used against school children. Labour will not be the answer for the working class, as they long sold workers out when they sucked up to the markets and became 'New Labour'. Union leaders have an opportunity to lead the struggle against this government as it seeks to smash up the welfare state our forefathers sacrificed so hard for.

The coming year will either see the working class roll over into submission and accept unfair public sector cuts or 2011 will become the year that those from the very bottom of society fought back and beat the ruling classes by refusing to accept their ideological cuts agenda. It's time to make the rich pay for their greed!