Why We Should Be Angry With The Banks

The governor of the Bank of England has been surprised that the British public have not been as angry with the banks as he thought they would be. Mervyn King told the treasury committee,"The price of this financial crisis is being borne by people who absolutely did not cause it," he said. "Now is the period when the cost is being paid, I'm surprised that the degree of public anger has not been greater than it has." The financial meltdown of 2008 is now being felt, yet widespread anger has yet to erupt. People are beginning to wake up to the reality that the governments £81 billion austerity cuts are linked to the banking crisis - the same crisis that has crippled Ireland.

Banks have continued to reward themselves massive bonuses while thousands of workers have lost their jobs, all of this comes after banks like Lloyds and RBS were bailed out by the government. British taxpayers were forced to handover almost a trillion pounds when the capitalist money markets failed. RBS recently reported an operating profit of £1.913bn (core RBS operating profit was £7.418bn) but told the government it could not afford to start paying back the bailout money. Unsurprisingly the bank somehow managed to find £950m to award themselves bonuses, with over 100 bankers earning more than £1m each. As Len McCluskey, the general secretary of Unite pointed out, "Taxpayers will be baffled as to how it is possible that while we own 84% of this bank it continues to so handsomely reward its investment bankers. This is an institution in which over 21,000 front-line and support staff have been sacked."

Barclays boss was indignant when he faced the Treasury Select Committee earlier this year, Bob Diamond told them, "There was a period of remorse and apology for banks. I think that period needs to be over." Just a few weeks later Barclays announced pre tax profits of £6.07bn and a bonus pool of £2.6bn, with investment banks seeing a salary increase by around 40% over the past year. As a result pay, pensions and bonuses per head at Barclays Capital have risen 20% to £236,000 on average - no wonder Bob Diamond wants to see an end of banker bashing. He must have been annoyed when it became public that Barclays paid just £113m in corporation tax in 2009. The bank was able to use tax avoidance rules in order to protect their bonuses, while at the same time the government began to force the British people to live with £81bn cuts to services.

What will it take for the British people to rise up and say "enough is enough"? Will it be the news that 37% of the FTSE 100 companies did not pay any corporation tax in 2010, while we have been forced to pay an extra 2.5% on VAT this year? Could it be the fact, Lloyds will not pay corporation tax until profits hit £15bn? The bank reported £2.2bn profits, while getting rid of some 26,000 workers since it bought HBOS - many of those former workers have a right to be angry with Lloyds for it's failure.

For the banks it is business as normal, clearly seen when Standard Chartered announced pre-tax profits leaping 19% to a record £3.8bn. The government must be pleased it is being able to rush through it's savage £81bn austerity measures with little or no protest from the vast majority of the British public. Mervyn King hit the right cord, even though his monetary polices and the system of capitalism are a failed system - there is anger at the banks and that anger is not going away. As the cuts begin to hit home and more and more people lose services and jobs, that anger will rise.

Many people are questioning the system and also see the failure of the main parties (Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrats) as they deal with the effects of the financial meltdown. Scores of young people, sold out because of banker greed, are looking for alternatives to capitalism. A future of sky high university fees, youth unemployment nearing 1m and the prospect of being able to afford a mortgage a distant dream - young people are very angry. Anger will not be enough to change our society, we need to change the system.

A socialist society would see the banks and financial power houses taken into public ownership, ending the big bonus culture as surplus monies are channelled back into society. Instead of a small number at the top benefiting, society as a whole would see investment. Education would be a provided for free because a socialist society would be run differently to this greedy capitalist system. The idea of a democratic planned economy has been growing in a new generation of young people who have seen the terrible effects of capitalism - where the rich get richer while the poor get poorer as the ConDem government role back the advances made by the working class during the past 100 years. Labour no longer represent the working class as they mirror the right wing policies of the Tory party, having sacrificed workers to the gods of the financial markets. We need a new mass workers party and the Socialist Party (England & Wales) are building for this future - a future where young people receive an education that is properly funded, housing is created to ensure everyone can obtain a home at an affordable price and a banking system that is properly nationalised for the use in a planned economy that benefits society.

References:

* Guardian - Lloyds bonuses , RBS profits 

* Telegraph - Corporation Tax avoidance , Mervyn King bank anger , Standard Chartered profits , Lloyds avoid corporation tax

* BBC - Barclays bonuses

* Daily Mail - Bob Diamond on banker bashing

* Socialist Party - Socialism

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!

If Labour Were In Power Today

Just suppose we had a general election now and Labour regained power, would Ed Milliband's all new Labour Party be any different from 'New Labour'? The latest YouGov opinion poll put Labour on 42%, Tories on 39% and LibDem's slumped down to 9% as the ConDem cuts became reality for more and more people.

Labour have been able to gain support at the LibDem's expense, enjoying a free ride on the back of Nick Clegg's dwindling popularity over tuition fees. Could Ed Milliband's new New Labour be a winning formula? Have Labour suddenly become the worker's party once again? Not on your nelly!

On numerous occasions Ed Milliband has distanced himself from workers and student struggles, failing to turn up for protests against cuts and condemning union leader's for daring to suggest coordinated strike action against the £81b coalition cuts. Milliband and Labour are no more friends of the working class now than Brown and Blair were. Labour would sooner suck up to the markets and fat cat business leaders than stand up for the workers who vote for them election after election.

If Labour were in power today, they would still be slashing public services and would still leave anti-union laws untouched, ensuring the UK continued to have the worst anti-union laws in Europe. Secretly Labour are hoping the public will turn on the LibDems and Tories, resulting in a Labour government. But the Tories will be able to remind voters that Labour, instead of resisting cuts, actually encouraged cuts on a local level as Labour councils up and down the country wielded the axe on much needed public services.

Ed Milliband is neither red nor representative of real workers, sadly the Labour Party sold workers out back in the early 80's and eventually became more blue than Margaret Thatcher as it encouraged back-door privatisation of our health and education service. Most Labour voters will be hoping Ed Milliband can usher the party back into power, but don't be surprised if the Tories win the next election as Labour fail to offer a real socialist manifesto defending services and workers from the greed of business.

The three major parties are failing the working class with their general centre-right policies, yet more and more people are discovering there is a better way to run society. Socialist principles are beginning to become a viable alternative to the failed capitalist market economy, as highlighted by the Socialist Party. A planned economy based on workers democratic control, producing goods and services for the nation rather than for the fat cat bosses is possible.

Visit: www.socialistparty.org.uk

How Cameron Cost Us The World Cup Bid

David Cameron cost us the 2018 World Cup bid as his austerity World Cup plans were leaked today. Under the coalition government, cuts would have been forced upon the FIFA World Cup if England were to have hosted the massive sporting event. Below are some of the proposals David Cameron would have introduced:

* The number of players per team would have been cut from 11 to 8, with a three year wage freeze imposed on every team except China.

* Instead of using official FIFA referees, as part of Cameron's 'Big Society' he would replace them with charity workers who have an interest in football.

* Worried about the cost of policing and stewarding at the 2018 World Cup games, volunteers from the public would be drafted in under the banner of "we're all in this together!".

* The 5m extra visitors would have to be revised downwards for fears some may actually want to stay in England long term. Strict control at border control would ensure that only Tory supporters would be allowed into the country. Although if the Lib Dems rebel,the ratio would become 70% Tory, 20% Lib Dems and 10% so rich that a blind eye would be turned.

* The £202m spent on beer would bring extra income for the government, especially once VAT hits 20% in January 2011. A quango would be set up with friends of Cameron looking at ways to hike prices to make sure the poorer people couldn't buy a World Cup ticket.

* The unemployed would be forced to work for free in cleaning up stadiums and streets during the World Cup - this will save the coalition paying minimum wages to cleaning contractors.

* Council houses will be used as guest houses in a new Tory partnership with social housing companies. There will be an acceleration of families being turfed out under new benefit changes, making sure large numbers of homes become available by late 2017. Those families affected, will be moved far enough away from stadiums so as not to cause any disruption.

* By 2018, a large number of young people who couldn't afford the debt of tuition fees will become available following the introduction of a  'Conscription Act' c.2015. Those that are conscripted to public duty will be encouraged to sell World Cup programmes at games, man stalls and generally help fat cats profit from the FIFA games.

VIDEO: Osborne & Co - The Spoof Advert

You know those adverts on the TV that are always giving you the number of some company or other if you have debt problems, well - I thought I'd make one of my own about George Osborne and Co. Seemed quite fitting on the week he announced spending cuts of £81b, we need a little bit of humour during this serious situation.

Enjoy.................

An Army Awakens

There is a war going on in Britain, and the working class are finally waking up in response to the all out ConDen attacks on public services and welfare cuts. I was one of the 7,000 crowd who marched in Birmingham as the Tory party conference got underway. The rain may have been coming down all morning but the mood from the demonstration was one of awakening - slowly those who serve the public or rely on public services are beginning to see how drastic the coalition cuts are going to be.

I was stood shoulder to shoulder with a group of women who had never been on a demo before, but now they were losing their jobs at Connextions in Birmingham - they took to the streets because these cuts were now affecting them. As we passed their place of work, the group stood in unity outside the building, chanting in unison. While Britain may be far behind Greece and France when it comes to demonstrating on the streets, slowly a consciousness is being aroused. The ConDem government has been firing shot after shot (or  cut after cut!) since it came into power, they are merely continuing the work of Labour but an army of people are starting to mobilise. People do not want to see the NHS destroyed through privatisation, nor do they want to see local services in their council outsourced or axed. Over the coming months Britain will see more demos and protests, but we need more than a march to save this country from slipping back into some type of Victorian era.

People are angry that not only did the banks take our money (£1.3 trillion) , they have continued to award themselves big bonuses as they profit from our bailout. People are angry that we are being forced to pay for their mistakes. Yet none of the three major parties have an alternative to cuts - Labour, Tory and Liberal councils are rushing to cut jobs and destroy lives. Eventually ordinary people will stand in elections as independents, anti-cuts or as Socialists in a bid to remove the politicians who have become deaf to the painful cries coming from the working class.

Nick Clegg Turns Tory

Nick Clegg grilled by voters
*pic by Andy Rain EPA

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg was forced to say he was not a Tory after facing a tough grilling from voters on Mumsnet. As Liberal Democrat support continues to drop even further, voters have been angered as the party drops policies on Trident and tuition fees in favour of adopting Tory policies on cuts.

The millions of people who voted for the LibDems at the last election have been aghast at how Nick Clegg and other MP's have become puppies for the Tories. One Mumsnet user wrote, "Nick – when did you realise that you were actually a Tory? Was it before or after the election?" Clegg declared, "I am not a Tory." But the vast majority of people disagreed as the evidence proved otherwise.

YouGov currently have the LibDem support down to around 13%, plunging 10% since the May election. As Nick Clegg and Vince Cable taste power, they have clothed themselves in the Tory cloak. The Mumsnet online session could be summed up by this comment, "No question for you Mr Clegg just a feeling of great disappointment."

Sadly for LibDem supporters, they have been sold down the river - just the same as Labour voters were. The Tories will allow the LibDems to take the rap and become the fall guy. All three major parties intend to make the poor pay for the banker's crisis, but there is an alternative. The Socialist Party say "make the bankers pay!" It is a simple solution that protects public services and jobs, while making the culprits pay for the crisis.