Liam redux

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Salma Yaqoob slams budget cuts

This is taken from Salma’s very useful site. Given the scale of public sector spending cuts that the the three big parties are bragging about this needs to be the issue at the heart of the electoral challenge to them. Wednesday, 24 February 2010 A CYNICAL BUDGET AND A COWARDLY OPPOSITION NEWS RELEASE Tuesday’s meeting…

Liam
1–2 minutes

This is taken from Salma’s very useful site. Given the scale of public sector spending cuts that the the three big parties are bragging about this needs to be the issue at the heart of the electoral challenge to them.

Wednesday, 24 February 2010

A CYNICAL BUDGET AND A COWARDLY OPPOSITION

NEWS RELEASE

Tuesday’s meeting of Birmingham City Council adopted a budget that threatens 2,000 jobs this year and up to 7,000 jobs over the next 5 years.

Following the debate, Councillor Salma Yaqoob (Sparkbrook, Respect) said:

“Financial mismanagement on a grand scale by this Lib Dem-Tory council has left thousands of families in fear for their jobs and livelihoods. Job losses on this scale can only means worse services for everyone in Birmingham .

The Lib Dems and Tories claim they are only being ‘responsible’ but this is no more than cynical politics. They are sacrificing the future of thousands of people for the sake of a below inflation council tax rise.

Even a small rise for the richer households – well below the average for English cities – would save these jobs and our services.

Once again, the Labour Party failed to stand up to Tory and Lib Dem cuts. They had their chance to oppose the budget but meekly abstained in the final vote. Birmingham needs courageous not cowardly councillors.”

For further comment:

Salma Yaqoob – Tel: 0773 904 3531

53 responses to “Salma Yaqoob slams budget cuts”

  1. David Ellis Avatar
    David Ellis

    Very encouraging stuff from Salma. Birmingham and all councils are going to need courageous councillors from now on. Those who want to represent the working class and their communities are going to be asked to make serious sacrifices in defence of these communities in the struggle to mobilise a fight back.

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  2. Bob Whitehead Avatar
    Bob Whitehead

    The union rally outside was noisy but modest; about 150 turned up. Maybe the snowstorm that lasted throughout the afternoon dampened the attendance this time, but the game needs to be raised urgently in future. The PA system broke down so it was hard to hear all the speeches, so I may have missed the calls for escalating strike action from the various union leaderships and the Labour leader of the opposition. An anti-cuts Respect leaflet was distributed.

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  3. Jim Denham Avatar
    Jim Denham

    At the “Peoples’ Charter” Birmingham launch meeting last night, Ms Yaqoob’s main (in fact *only*) practical proposal for avoiding cuts in jobs and services in Brum, was to increase Council Tax. Is that “Respect” policy?

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  4. alf Avatar
    alf

    This is a repeat of the dented shield strategy implemented by Livingstone and Hodge in the early 80’s in countering the position of the “NO CUTTERS” in Liverpool and Lambeth.

    Remeber how Sheffield caved in and Labour went on the witchhunt under Kinnock to oppose the councillors who refused to put up rates and cut.

    The raising of rates appears to be an option for those who take a “pragmatic” approach. The anti-cuts campaign must be transforrmed into a campaign linking local public sector workers with users of the services and linking in to a national campaign to defend public services . Rate rises diverts the struggle away from this and leads to the compromises and collapses that took place in many areas by the late 80’s, early 90’s and delivered the Blairite “Third Way” approach. A failed challenge to the Tories resulting in New Labour.

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  5. shug Avatar
    shug

    Is the left in a position to dictate,as daft as that may sound maybe there is a platform somewhere.

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  6. alf Avatar
    alf

    http://www.redpepper.org.uk/Busting-the-straitjacket
    an excellent article by Mike Marqusee in Red Pepper

    Rate rises will compromise the struggle against the cuts . Worth reminding ourselves of the lessons of the past.

    So many Left Labour Cllrs folded under the issue of what is the lesser of 2 evils-cuts or rate rises. Rate rises is not an option now. At the time the arguement was that many would not pay the rise as on benefits, yet they were hit by cuts anyway. So where did it lead to? Instead the movement was divided, disipated and demoralised.

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  7. Liam Avatar
    Liam

    Well Jim unlike Labour politicians and some union officials Salma isn’t advocating sacking agency staff . Nor is she asking department heads to draw up lists of services to cut.

    However its fair to say that the discussion in Respect on how to respond to what’s impending is still rather underdeveloped. On the level of slogans it’s fine but at a more strategic level, especially if more councillors are elected, something of the experience of Liverpool and Lambeth will have to be relearned.

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  8. ger francis Avatar
    ger francis

    Any suggestions that Respect is calling for an across the board council tax rise is nonsense. Salma’s argument is that ‘even a small rise for the richer households – well below the average for English cities’ would save the 2,000 jobs under threat:

    http://www.salmayaqoob.com/2010/02/cynical-budget-and-cowardly-opposition.html

    In her speech in the Council House, and in the Respect leaflet distributed at the union rally outside, she was more specific and called for an 86p increase per week for council tax payers in Band D.

    There is a high level of abstraction in this exchange. There is absolutely no relevance in any comparison between the fight over rate capping and the situation in Birmingham. In one, there was a national backdrop of resistance, led by a large Labour left. In the other, there is an very demoralised, isolated and defensive group of workers, in which there is no Labour left worthy of the name, but there is a Labour opposition in the Council is so pathetic as to abstain on the budget vote, despite the rhetoric of its leader at very small union rally beforehand.

    The only councillors who did vote against the implementation of the budget were the three Respect ones.

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  9. Jim Denham Avatar
    Jim Denham

    Mr Francis writes:

    http://www.salmayaqoob.com/2010/02/cynical-budget-and-cowardly-opposition.html

    In her speech in the Council House, and in the Respect leaflet distributed at the union rally outside, she was more specific and called for an 86p increase per week for council tax payers in Band D.

    My response:

    No shame in being a reformist, Mr Francis (unless, of you’re you’re an ex -revolutionary): so “Respect” now advocates a re-run of the Kinnock/Livinstone “dented shield” strategy?

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  10. ger francis Avatar
    ger francis

    This is stupid posturing from Jim Denham. There is nobody in Birmingham, even on the fringes of the far left, making anything other than reformist demands in response to the council job cuts.

    The Tories attacked Salma during the debate on the budget, heckling that she was a ‘communist’, because one of the arguments she made was for increasing the council tax on richer households. For his own bizarre reasons Jim Denham is apparently on their side on that issue.

    As for any analogy with Kinnock/Livingstone, the Labour left councils of the 1980’s and a Tory run Birmingham, with no left but for three Respect councilors, this is simply ahistorical nonsense.

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  11. Jim Denham Avatar
    Jim Denham

    Mr Francis:

    “This is stupid posturing from Jim Denham. There is nobody in Birmingham, even on the fringes of the far left, making anything other than reformist demands in response to the council job cuts.”

    As I said, Mr Francis, there’s no shame in being a reformist a la Kinnick in the 1980’s. ..so long as you admit that’s what you now are (albeit with a more reactionary social and international policy).

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  12. ger francis Avatar
    ger francis

    Whatever.

    The council workers of Birmingham no doubt await with bated breath your ‘revolutionary’ solutions on how best to safeguard their futures.

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  13. Liam Avatar
    Liam

    Jim – bearing in mind the bias of this site’s readership it might be better to steer clear of the reactionary foreign policy approach.

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  14. Jim Denham Avatar
    Jim Denham

    Liam says: ” it might be better to steer clear of the reactionary foreign policy approach”: Ok, if that’s a tiouchy subject for you (and I *do* understand why) let’s just stick to the question of increasing council tax to fend off cuts. I’m a member of Unite, and I know what our refuse collectors and manual council workers think about an increase in council tax. What do the members of Mr Francis’s and Ms Yaqoob’s union(s) think? Btw: what union(s) *are* they in?

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  15. ger francis Avatar
    ger francis

    There will be no refuse or manual council workers hit by Salma’s proposal. By and large they don’t live in homes that fall within the council tax band her proposal is specific to.

    But we know you are with the tories on this one. What we don’t know is what your ‘revolutionary’ solution is? Why so quite on that??

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  16. alf Avatar
    alf

    The rates are a regressive tax system which may appear to hit large houses, they also hit working famillies caught in the mortgage trap by Thatcherite policies. Council tenants also pay tax and although the band will appear to hit the middle classes more than the working class, this is not a certainty.

    Yes it provides revenue to save jobs in the short term, perhaps and hence appeals as the lesser of 2 evils arguements. But does it protect jobs in the long run? Where is the evidence for this? Local councils in the 80’s and 90’s ended up both raising the rates, council rents went sky high and services / jobs were still cut. Many inner cities are suffering from the running down of local services then and never recovered.

    Yes rate rises appears in the short term appealing, and may marginally save some jobs and services admittedly in the short term. Yet it divides users from ratepayers, who are also working class, and places less emphasis on mobilising / occupations and developing alternative strategies.

    No we do not want either council leaders in taxis distributing redundancies. Yes defensive actions may be needed but given the state of the crises Socialists should be arguing a different line.

    Greek workers are not arguing for tax rises on everyone but a tax on the rich and no cuts. Progressive wealth tax and defending public services, taxing income-yes. Raise corporation tax and nationalise large companies. These can unite during struggle in defence of jobs and link up with the service users in the communities. Demands to raise the rates does not unite workers and users. It never did. It acted to demobilise the struggle.

    I never saw workers parading and celebrating every time the rates went up in Brent in the 80’s.

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  17. alf Avatar
    alf

    The Chair of the Local Government Association has just announced that 170,000 jobs in local government is at serious risk, with local services facing cuts. In spite of New Labour’s promises that this will not affect front line services, no one believes them. All services are at risk. John Denham’s promises are false, guidelines or no guidelines laid out by his office.

    Rate rises on Band D in many areas will a) be inadequate and b) highly divisive. The case for rate rises is a totally inadequate move faced with what response to this crises is needed.

    Remember that the case in the 80’s and 90’s followed heavy labour movement defeats, retreating and reliance on labour councillors. Yes it was an error then although understandable at the time. The call is understandable, the intention is well meaning, but it will not work. What does one then do? Raise the rates a 2nd, 3rd,4th time?

    We need to unify the movement against the cuts with the workers affected by them and the users relying on them. The call for rate rises will not achieve this.

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  18. martin ohr Avatar
    martin ohr

    Ger,

    What I never understand about the ex-swpers who now run respect is that you embrace reformism so militantly that you end up sounding as strident. as Kinnock and Hattersly did in the 80s and 90s when arguing with the rest of the left.

    Apart from Salma’s proposals being wrong and regressive, it seems to me they are also tactically stupid for a socialist to argue because

    1) (as others have pointed out) raising rates to defeat cuts was such a disasterous failure previously

    2) Since you have no chance of being in power to implement such a rate rise in the near future in order to defeat the cuts, a different tactic will be necessary in order to win anyway

    3) Since you have no chance of being in power in the near future to implement any solution to the cuts there is no point in arguing for such a feeble and beauracratic response- instead, genuine socialists would call for working class action.

    It’s typical of the Galloway school of politics to suppose that you can come up with a solution which can be neatly summarised in a sound-bite and which bypasses actual working class action.

    In this case it’s not reform vs revolution, but simply timid defeat vs actually doing something.

    The only good point that could come of this is for the ISG and others to finally identify this viscious strand of reformism that they’ve rode alongside for the past few years and return to being revolutionairies.

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  19. skidmarx Avatar
    skidmarx

    this viscious strand of reformism
    Is that viscous, a.: Having a glutinous or gluey character
    or vicious, a.:Inclined to be savage or dangerous ?

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  20. ger francis Avatar
    ger francis

    Side with the Tories if you want. My class allegiances lie elsewhere. And if you think it ‘divisive’ going around very poor working class areas saying richer middle class households should be pay a fair share to help keep nurseries open, give it a try and feel the response.

    Of course, that is not the totality of what Salma said about the cuts crisis. She is only politician to highlight the waste of money on PFI. There are also savings to be made on waste being spent on consultants and senior management. But at least she has something practical to say. I notice again the complete absence of a practical response on what to do other than abstract calls for ‘working class action’ from the so-called ‘revolutionaries’.

    Anyway, think what you want. I don’t really have the time for this. And, as a rule of thumb, I believe Orange Zionists only deserve my contempt.

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  21. martin ohr Avatar
    martin ohr

    Ger,

    Who on this thread:

    *has sided with the tories
    *is an orance zionist
    *has suggested going around working class areas suggesting that middle class people shouldn’t pay for nurseries

    except in your embittered imagination noone.

    Get a grip and engage which what people actually say for once.

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  22. martin ohr Avatar
    martin ohr

    skidmarx -both.

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  23. alf Avatar
    alf

    Perhaps instead of a sectarian and personal attack, we can discuss politically if raising the rates is a way forward.

    When Labour Councillors voted for rate rises before they confused being in office with having power. Instead they ran the local capitalist state with good intentions but at the end of the day failed.

    Do we repeat the same errors or review in light of this. Personal attacks are not the solution.

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  24. Jim Denham Avatar
    Jim Denham

    Mr Francis: “Anyway, think what you want. I don’t really have the time for this. And, as a rule of thumb, I believe Orange Zionists only deserve my contempt.”

    Funny, isn’t it how a certain type of person manages to bring everrything round to the qustion of “Zionism” sooner or later? I couldn’t be some sort of obsession, could it? Or pehaps (more innocently) just a way of avoiding having a rational discussion of the subject in hand.

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  25. alf Avatar
    alf

    170,000 jobs at stake and the response is sectarian comments. Public services facing collapse and insults are thrown.

    Working class unity, Left unity, Socialist unity not personal abuse.

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  26. andy newman Avatar
    andy newman

    It seems to me that Salma makes very good points here.

    The difficulty in local government is that most of the funding comes from the central state subvention, and only a relatively small part from the council tax; and broadly that increasing council tax falls hardest on households least able to pay.

    Dpety leader of the Labour opposition in Swindon, Jim grant, recently pointed ut considerable areas of saving that could be made just by changing the prioriies of the council:

    in this year’s budget there was enough money that could be saved from areas of council expenditure that did not directly bring positive results to Swindon (the Labour Group raised £400,000 in savings from non-essential council expenditure), in order to both save council services designed to maintain the local environment and support the vulnerable, as well as keeping the council tax increase at the same level as the Conservatives proposed.

    Some of the areas of non-essential spending include:

    • A gross-spend of £560,000 on the council’s communications budget.

    • £129,400 agreed to be spent on a London lobbying firm.

    • £33,000 on council hospitality.

    • £15,000 on a membership with Cotswold Water Park.

    In a Tory/ Lib Dem local authority like Birmingham, there will be all sorts of waste spent on consultants and hospitality, and PFI; and remember that the pay structure could be changed to remove a layer of fat cat
    senior managers.

    What is needed is a broad approach that fights on all fronts;

    i) that is prepared to make savings if they fall on management, instead of on ordinary staff and services

    ii) that is prepared to work with the trade unions, and take their input into account

    iii) that is prepared to raise council tax only so far as necessary, and attempts to make the burden fal on better off residents. Clear guidence to the collection dept not to enforce where there is genuine inability to pay

    iv) the above measures will generate some political capital that can be used in a fight with central government for more cash.

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  27. alf Avatar
    alf

    The problem with this is:
    1. What do you mean by management-top layers or team leaders. Yes fewer managers and more front line workers, with less targets and so-called quality managers who empire build. Yet what impact will this have on service delivery? Livingstone and others argued for top salaries to be offered to attract the best in line with agreed levels. Yet did Londoners get value for money from this. No ofcourse not. Could it be done for less, yes. Will it save enough although this should be done on principle anyway. There was no defence for paying £80,000 a year to such people.

    2. The unions should be working on an agreed plan with service users working out levels of needs and fighting for that. The quality of service should not be determined by those delivering the local Capitalist State. A workers plan for the local needs of the community based on defending local services and assessing the needs should be the priority.

    3. The Chief Executive and the Collections Departments will always argue under bourgeois property laws they have a legal duty to collect. We must argue for unions to defend those members who refuse to do so. Such workers will face threats of disciplinary action for not collecting. The unions will need to take industrial action in response.

    4. The above actions will not provide the basis to mobilise around. The movement will be divided. We must ensure unity is built around a fight back which refuses to compromise on cuts and their imposition. Hence rate rises seem appealing but are a substitute for organising mass opposition to cuts.

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  28. alf Avatar
    alf

    Correction- when i say in point 4 “The above actions “, i am ofcourse referring to the 4 points in Andy’s article.

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  29. andy newman Avatar
    andy newman

    “What do you mean by management-top layers or team leaders.”

    well I don’t know about Birmingham, but Swindon has half a dozen directors who earn more than the Prime Minister, apprioaching £200 k each. It is also a council with one of the highest proportiosn of minimum wage staff. It is also an underperforming council!

    So we want to see a flatter wage structure, with less very highly paid top bosses, and more money for ordinary staff, ,including the middle managers. Why would any socialist opose removing this layer of under-performing parasites?

    With regard to your point about collecting the council tax, you seem rather timid for a s called r-r-r-revolutionary. It is entirely possible for a council to show discretion in not pursuing debts through the civl courts, they do it all the time. Indeed, if there were an attempt to force the council to collect debts from people who couldn’t afford it, then that would bea defensive context fr a campaign.

    Alf: “We must ensure unity is built around a fight back which refuses to compromise on cuts and their imposition.

    Yes I am sure you could have a very exciting headline of a small unreadable trot paper calling for that, and you might even get some students to shout it through megaphones, well done.

    How exactly are you intending t leverage this “fight back” if not throyugh the actualy existing staff and their unions, and the actually existing servce users?

    Is there anything in your expereince that suggests that council staff currently have this level of combativity?

    that is precisely the reason why there needs to be a nuanced, and dare I say it, transitional approach, proposing steps, some of which can be done in the here and now, and some of which could only be acheived via a fight; but absolutely crucial is some sort of confidence raising for the worksforce.

    Council workfroces are not some stage army that you can lead into struggle, the likelihood of a fight will depend upon cooperation between councillors and unions, and also convincing the workforce that other alternatives to a fight have been exhausted, and that they can win, which means building a broad political support fr cuncil wrkers in the community that crrenty doesn’t exist.

    .

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  30. alf Avatar
    alf

    Removing top managers etc obviously i do not disagree. Cutting their pay or taxing at a higher rate yes.However in both local government and the Civil Service , as well as in the public sector generally, there is a need to distinguish between workers with managerial responsabilities and top managers.

    Many “low” managers now take on with little choice such positions, as faced with little option even though in practice it means extra work for very little extra pay. In F.E. under New Labour, we are all “team leaders / managers”. The system divides the labour force, which is its intention. Combined with the use of Taylorism targets.

    Again re refusing to pursue non tax payments, I have no objections but doubt it will happen. I can imagine the threat of the lawyers used against both councillors and staff. The threats will lead to cave ins and some will, a few may not. Yes we must defend council workers who refuse to implement such penal tax policies.

    As for combativity, that is something we have to work towards, without tiying our hands behind our back before hand.

    No there is no stage army anywhere, and no it is not easy, given the levels of casualisation and also bullying by managers in many sections. Yet whilst rate rises in band D areas is appealing, and am all for taxing property of the rich, will this work? Evidence of the 80’s and 90’s suggests it had very limited and short term gains, dividing labour councils from workers and users of services.

    The only real winners from all this was the Tories in gaining votes from the backlash of disillusioned Labour voters and high abstentions in local elections. Who tries to fill this void-BNP.

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  31. shug Avatar
    shug

    Money sorts the belief from the knoledge,anyone on the left or right got the answer.

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  32. bill j Avatar
    bill j

    I do agree with removing top managers. The amount of bureaucracy at the top of local government and indeed all government, including the NHS etc. is ridiculous. These people sit in meetings all day, draw up action plans and do nothing, while getting paid bucket loads.
    But it is noteworthy that Salma Yaqoob seems to counter pose an alternative – and basically reactionary – budget to a fight that is strike action. In fact all local government still have the funds to meet the demands on them, but have decided to pre-empt the results of the election by putting the boot in early.
    It is of course amusing that Ger Francis objects to Salma Yaqoob being called a “communist” by the Tories. Of course she is not a communist. We knew that already. But it doesn’t mean that anyone who is a communist is a Tory.

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  33. shug Avatar
    shug

    Where on this ball of ours, are we going to get a straight answer from a politician.

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  34. birminghamresist Avatar
    birminghamresist

    Bill, you seem to be saying that any attempt to put forward an alternative budget is counterposed to a fight (‘strike action’)
    But surely any strike has to have demands and those demands do amount to an alternative budget (unless what you are proposing is the old syndicalist one big push to overthrow capitalism!)
    You can criticise the specific proposals but the concept of putting forward an alternative is correct and it can and should go hand in hand with mass workers mobilisations to force it onto the agenda.

    “all local government still have the funds to meet the demands on them” Really? that sounds an awful lot like what new Labour or the Tories would say- you have enough money, just spend it wisely…

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  35. bill j Avatar
    bill j

    I’m only going off what’s on here. I’m not counter posing them. But it would appear that Salma Yaqoob is. What’s her attitude to strike action?
    They still have the funds because they have not yet been taken off them. We have the same thing at MMU. The vice chancellor has announced £6million pre-emptive cuts, with 127 compulsory redundancies, even though the institution is in surplus this year and will still be in surplus next year. It is a union busting attack, politically motivated, not a result of economic necessity.
    I’m assuming its the same in Birmingham.

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  36. bill j Avatar
    bill j

    Just checked on Salma Yaqoob’s website. Strikes are not mentioned once. Surely not an oversight?

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  37. ger francis Avatar
    ger francis

    bill is talking complete nonsense by saying that Salma is counter posing ‘alternative budgets’ to strike action. To my knowledge the unions involved are not even mentioning strike action yet (although I did not hear any of the speeches from the union reps at the rally). If they want to take it, you can be sure Salma will be 100% with them and using her platform to support them. But whether they do or not is a tactical one that union activists and members are best placed to adjudge. And we certainly are not. Only cartoon Bolsheviks shout ‘strike’ at every given opportunity, irrespective of whether it can actually be delivered or not.

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  38. alf Avatar
    alf

    Let us get back to the point. No one is suggesting that Salma will not support union action, nor suggesting a general strike. What we are discussing is the tactic of rate rises, do they really save services and jobs, or do we argue against them.
    My own view is that rate rises is not the way forward.

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  39. ger francis Avatar
    ger francis

    and my view is that while there is some truth in some of your abstractions, in relation to the concrete situation you are wrong. which is generally what i think about about most of your posts on most topics. not much more to say really.

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  40. bill j Avatar
    bill j

    Certainly neither Ger Francis or Salma Yaqoob are cartoon Bolsheviks. I’m sure no one’s so silly as to think that. But will strike action be necessary say – to stop the cuts that Birmingham council are introducing?
    Excuse my syndicalism but I think they will be. The concrete situation is that Ger Francis and Salma Yaqoob have proposed a budget that stands no possibility of being introduced while refusing to advocate strike action the only thing likely to make the council change their mind.
    Not so much cartoon Bolsheviks as joke politics.

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  41. ger francis Avatar
    ger francis

    Apparently Salma’s crime is to propose something that has no chance of being introduced. And this, said in all seriousness, from a member of Workers Power and spokesperson for the League for the 25th International based in world control centre, Manchester! You are always good for a laugh…

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  42. alf Avatar
    alf

    No one has accused anyone of any crimes, so let us get real. What we are discussing once again is whether the defensive tactic of rate rises is appropriate? Does it help mobilise local public sector workers and the working class who need the local services? Does it offer prospects for local unions of uniting around? Is it a demand Socialists should be raising at this time?
    In the view of some it is not at this time the way forward but the lessons of the past need to be reviewed in regard to local fightbacks. That is what is being raised.

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  43. Jim Denham Avatar
    Jim Denham

    I called Mr Francis a “reformist” earlier. I now wish to take that back. It’s too kind to him. He’s an apologist for clerical fascism and Gallowayite antisemitism.

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  44. skidmarx Avatar
    skidmarx

    Gallowayite antisemitism
    What’s that then? Is it different to ordinary anti-semitism, and is it the same as the anti-semitism you like to accuse anyone of that doesn’t cravenly defend Israel in a manner you would approve of ?

    alf – my sympathies with your desire to discuss the issue. I’d tend to think that proposing rate rises isn’t appropriate, and it seems disingenuous of Ger Francis to claim that proposing rate rises is not suggesting an alternative budget rather than the strike action he dismisses as cartoon bolshevism.

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  45. ger francis Avatar
    ger francis

    What ‘strike action’? Who is proposing strike action at this stage? I am not aware that the unions are doing so yet, nor anyone else. The cartoon bolsheviks are those busy pontificating tactics from the comfort of their laptops while being completely ignorant of the facts, and mood, on the ground

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  46. bill j Avatar
    bill j

    “Who is proposing strike action at this stage?” Certainly not Ger Francis. Heaven forbid. How outrageous.

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  47. alf Avatar
    alf

    Skidmarx thanks for your sympathies. However I think Ger needs it more as he will quickly find that he will be out of touch with the mood of the movement as the state of play worsens.

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  48. ger francis Avatar
    ger francis

    I am not in the business of shouting ‘strike’ from the comfort of my living room, ignorant of the mood on the ground. i will leave toy bolshevism others on this thread. it is what they know best.

    the city council leadership are boasting that the first 2,000 jobs will go in voluntary redundancies. if the rally and recent union activity is anything to go by, many union members are very demoralised. there are good reasons for them to feel so. and it would not surprise me at all if there was no strike action in relation to these jobs cuts.

    we have no leverage in this situation. all we can do is work in the most constructive manner with the unions who, i should point out, did everything to turn the recent lobby into a craven Labour party fest.

    the best we can hope for is some rank and file militancy we can get behind and use our platform to best support and further. i would not hold my breath on that happening. but i am outside this particular site of struggle, and maybe stuff is going on i am unaware of. i certainly hope the picture is better than what it appears. either way, i at least have some engagement with a sense of the complexity of the reality of the situation. the workers power hangers on have none. but it does not stop you pontificating, engaging in abstract propaganda and wishful thinking.

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  49. Liam Avatar
    Liam

    PCS strikes today and a good local event in Brighton organised by the Trades Council which is reported on below. Maybe the straws are in the wind.

    http://brightontradescouncil.blogspot.com/2010/03/trades-council-demo-unites-brighton.html

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  50. bill j Avatar
    bill j

    Ger Francis does a lot of shouting. He could do to keep a bit more of it in his bedroom if you want my personal opinion. OK so he’s against campaigning for strikes. I thought the point of supporting people like him was that they were “radicals”?
    Not that I would have thought advocating strikes against redundancies is that. But times change eh?

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  51. tony collins Avatar
    tony collins

    “OK so he’s against campaigning for strikes.”

    And you appear to be against honestly arguing with what people have actually said.

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  52. skidmarx Avatar
    skidmarx

    the best we can hope for is some rank and file militancy we can get behind and use our platform to best support and further.
    Quite what this is supposed to mean in the context is anyone’s guess.

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  53. bill j Avatar
    bill j

    No I’m not. He is against campaigning for strikes. He’s only for strikes if they miraculously appear.
    If he was for campaigning for strikes then he would have said so and denounced anyone who disagreed with him for something or other (usually revolving around the random combination of “ultra left” “bedrooms” “Bolshevik” “toytown” or “cartoon”). One thing he’s not is original.

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