Red Rob

Coventry Whitefriars Could Refuse To Evict Tenants Over Bedroom Tax

2013-03-17T08:30:00.000+00:00

The Welfare Reform Bill comes into effect in April 2013 and part of that bill is the 'Bedroom Tax', which means that Coventry tenants at Whitefriars would be charged an extra £14 per week if they have an unoccupied room. For around 7% of claimants it will mean they will have to find an extra £31 each week or move out of their home.

WM Housing Group which run over 18,000 "affordable homes" in Coventry will either take the hit or decide to evict people who cannot afford to pay the new tax. The Coventry Telegraph reported that the Bedroom Tax is "set to hit more than 2,300 families who receive benefits in Coventry", and for some the new tax will mean they lose their home. Homelessness is already on the increase as cuts continue, taking out over £84 billion during the course of this parliament.

The board of Coventry Whitefriars is made up of 4 tenants, 4 councillors, 4 independent members and 1 from WM Housing Group Limited. It is possible that they could adopt a non-eviction policy as others have stated or are looking into doing. One would assume that the four tenants on the board would be able to vote against Bedroom Tax evictions and three of the councillors are Labour - so they ought to be opposing the tax. This would give a majority, even without the four independent members.

Pressure needs to be stepped up before people in Coventry face the prospect of eviction with this unfair tax. We need to be asking the four councillors to use their positions on the board to stand up for ordinary people, we also want to see the not-for-profit organisation ensure it will not penalise those who are unable to pay. Many are already in dire poverty without the added punishment of being taxed out of their homes. Taxing the poor because of the mistakes of the rich is not the answer, a mass building of affordable, environmentally friendly homes is the answer.

Coventry faces an increasing housing shortage, with over 22,000 people on the waiting list for social housing and many more trapped in rented properties at the mercy of landlords. Building new homes in Coventry and around the country would not only give a boost to the construction industry (and therefore supply much needed jobs), but would also help deal with the housing crisis. Less than 100,000 new homes were built in Britain last year, and only a small portion of these were affordable housing.

If the Bedroom Tax had been applied to private home owners or landlords, the outcry would be enormous but because this attack is on the poorest and most needy - many think it is alright to attack them. Coventry should lead the way and go one step further than Dundee council which passed a motion agreeing not to evict as a result of arrears caused by the tax for a "transitional period of one year." Coventry Whitefriars should refuse to evict tenants due to the unfair Bedroom Tax and a mass movement of people should rise up and defeat the Bedroom Tax, just as they did with the hated Poll Tax.

Below are the four Coventry councillors who are on the board of Coventry Whirefriars and can be contacted by clicking on their name:

Cllr Kevin Maton (Lab)

Cllr Tariq Khan (Lab)

Cllr Linda Bigham (Lab)

Cllr David Skinner (Con)

Food Banks Or Fighting Councillors?

2013-02-25T10:26:00.000+00:00

I was showing some friends the historical sites around Coventry on Sunday, but got more than I bargained for as we stumbled on a large queue of people under the ring road. They were at the Coventry Food Bank, which has fed over 18,000 mouths since it was started in January 2011. Hidden under the city centre ring road, hundreds of people have been forced to use the service because they are struggling to survive in austerity Britain. Figures in the Coventry Telegraph revealed that almost three quarters of users had applied for crisis loans from Coventry City Council as poverty meant many lacked the means to survive as benefit cuts impacted on ordinary people.

It was freezing cold but people had ventured out because, for many, this was the only option they had. While the government of millionaire ministers enjoyed a hearty Sunday roast, the reality for a growing number of people is the humiliation of having to queue at a foodbank just to get through the week. While MPs 'earned' £65,738 (let's not even mention expenses!), 62.7% foodbank users said they were trying to live on less than £100 per week. MPs and councillors are out of touch with how a growing number of people are being forced to live. As the coalition push through reforms, hammering the poorest in society - the situation of one of the richest countries in the world becomes even more disgraceful.

Coventry City Councillors will meet on Tuesday (26 Feb 2013) to vote through another £29m cuts, which will only increase the queues at the foodbank. Sadly, not one single councillor is expected to vote against cuts - with all 43 Labour councillors expected to toe the party line and impose the coalition cuts, safe in the knowledge we do not have council elections this year. The 'dented shield' Labour spoke about a few years ago has now been well and truly battered, the sad truth remains that not one single Labour councillor in Coventry has a conscience that will say "enough is enough". In fact, if Labour were to win the next General Election, the cuts would remain pretty much intact. So the price for lack of resistance will be that the people of Coventry will have to suffer as hundreds more council workers are thrown into unemployment.

Thankfully one or two councillors around the country, like Keith Morrell and Don Thomas in Southampton are doing what voters asked and voted against cuts. For this they were expelled from the Labour group but they still sought to present an alternative budget, which the Labour council shamefully gagged. I support any councillor, from any party, that will vote against cuts but I can not support councillors that will vote for budget cuts that will hurt the most vulnerable and needy in our city.

If we had fighting councillors instead of food banks, the people of Coventry would be better off - instead we are seeing over £140m of funding being robbed from us, and all of this under a LABOUR council. More fearful of Eric Pickles sending in commissioners than people being thrown into poverty, councillors will sear their conscience and vote for the next round of spending cuts. Not one banker has been jailed for the financial crisis, while millions of hard working Brits are being hammered to the ground. I will be outside the council house on Tuesday voicing my anger as the 54 councillors inside vote for cuts. Their are alternatives Coventry City Council could adopt, history records heroic councillors like Clay Cross, Poplar and Liverpool, that dared to fight. The choice for Coventry is food banks or fighting councillors?

* I stand as the Socialist Party candidate council elections in Lower Stoke, Coventry because I believe ordinary people did not cause the crisis and we should not be made to pay for the bankers crisis. Labour no longer represents workers like myself as it is just another capitalist party. I fight for a democratic planned economy based on Socialism, a society based on need not greed. For more updates locally visit Coventry Socialists or nationally Socialist Party websites.

VIDEO: The 12 Tax Dodgers Of Christmas

2012-12-11T19:33:00.000+00:00

Thanks to 38Degrees for providing the inspiration to make this video about the '12 Tax Dodgers of Christmas' Make them pay up for a fairer society!

Coventry Does Have A Choice Over Cuts

2012-11-21T12:11:00.000+00:00

'No choice but to axe Coventry council jobs' was the headline from the Coventry Telegraph as the deputy leader of Coventry City Council told of another 800 jobs to be lost in public services across the city. I disagree - the Labour dominated council (43 out of the 54 seats are controlled by Labour), could put up a proper fight against the cuts that will continue to impact the people of Coventry. The fact of the matter is, they won't because they hope the people of Coventry will just continue to vote Labour as the councillors carry out the Tories dirty work.

We always have a choice, and TINA (There Is No Alternative) is just a catch phrase used by the Tories to hood wink people into believing the lie. We live in one of the richest countries in the world, the UK finds money for wars and tax cuts for the rich while fooling people into thinking somehow we have no money for the welfare state or public services. Every Labour councillor that has been elected has a choice, they can choose to do the bidding of the government and slash millions from our services or they can put up a fight and demand the money we need to run public services in Coventry. So far all 43 Labour councillors have opted NOT to fight the cuts as they wield the coalition axe and reduce services and funding. I have seen the crocodile tears first hand from my own ward councillors, who follow party politics instead of standing up for the people who elected them to the council.

With no local council elections in Coventry next May, it seems like now is the perfect time to hit the people of Coventry hard and hope the swelling goes down before the next elections in May 2014! Rather cynical view maybe, but there is an air of truth in my irony. As the hated Tories continue to hobble on from one disaster to another, Labour almost silently sits by with just the odd rumble of opposition (but are soon silenced when it is pointed out Labour introduced most of the policies etc). Voters will be more likely to vote Labour as the 'lesser evil' just like in the recent US elections, where Obama scored a second lack-luster term in office.

Lobby outside Coventry Council house

We hear much talk about 'balancing the books', 'painful decisions' and 'listening to people' but the reality is this - unless the people of Coventry get angry enough to DO something about the attacks on public services, then the £140m cuts will grow and grow until virtually all services are wiped out or drastically reduced. The deputy leader of Coventry City Council warns, "the worst is yet to come – and we’re now facing the prospect of having to make the kind of decisions about our services that no councillor would ever want to make." Now imagine if the same Labour councillors did what the Labour councillors did in Liverpool between 1983-87, they stood up to Thatcher and fought for the money Liverpool needed. While it would have just been easier to just say they had no option but to cut jobs and services instead the Liverpool 47 conducted a city wide campaign to save jobs and invest in services. Yes, it was almost 30 years ago and society has changed - people say the unions are weaker and people are not up for the fight. But a change is coming and people are beginning to see we are not 'all in this together', society is geared towards the 1% at the expense of the 99%. The wealth is there but in the hands of the elite, while all the time the hard working people are being downtrodden more and more.

In February 2013, I confidently expect all 43 Coventry Labour councillors to vote through a budget that will wipe millions out of this city. They will all toe the party line and continue the mantra about Tory cuts being too far and too deep, while claiming to be 'honest and open' with the people of Coventry. Meanwhile there are people like myself, calling for a united campaign across the city to fight for the money we need to provide services, we face an uphill struggle. Sadly many of the unions are hand in glove with Labour and this is preventing the battle from even starting. Workers need a new political party that will actually defend them against attacks on working conditions. I stand as a Socialist Party candidate in my ward because like all the TUSC (Trades Union and Socialist Coalition) candidates we oppose EVERY cut to services. I am not ashamed to say we need a different way to run society, one that is democratically planned with the interests of the 99% instead of the 1%. Only by standing up and doing something about the way society operates can we ever hope to change it. We do have a choice about accepting cuts in Coventry - voting Tory, Liberal or sadly Labour has proved to be the option for cuts. You wouldn't open your front door and invite a thief to come inside and take what they wanted, so why accept it when it comes to your services? If Coventry Labour said they would choose not to implement the Tory cuts, I would support their stand but show me just one Labour councillor in Coventry that would be willing to make a stand for the people so I could support him or her. In the meantime, I will continue to stand against the mainstream parties because I love my city and community and want a better world than this greedy, failing capitalist system that enslaves workers.

Why Crime Will Rise In UK

2012-10-14T08:12:00.001+01:00

Police crime figures for the last year showed an overall drop in crime by 4.2%, so it might seem a strange heading to predict crime will rise, given the recent decline. The data for England and Wales was welcome news, showing that up to March 2012 overall reported crime was now below 4 million. Even in Scotland, the latest figures released showed 9,061 fewer crimes had been committed in 2011-12. Will the good news continue into 2013-14 or are we about to see a stark increase in crime?

When Thatcher became Prime Minister in 1979 and began attacking the public sector, she had the sense in protecting the police. This did little to reduce crime, but it did safeguard her government policies from the public backlash that followed. Crime figures rocketed upwards in the 1980's as unemployment climbed above 3m and support services were slashed, according to a parliamentary report. Today the UK faces a similar scene to the 1980's - rising unemployment and a wholesale attack by the coalition government on public services. Cameron and co have not had the foresight to protect the police budget with forces making massive job cuts, filtering through to front line staff. The Guardian reported that since the coalition came into power over 24,000 police jobs had gone (including 6,800 front line officers according to government figures). West Midlands police have shed 814 front line officers since 2010, at a time when around 1 million young people are out of work.

Greek protests - June 2012

This weak and divided government have been able to get away with their wholesale attack on public services because of an even weaker opposition from Labour and a timid response from many of the big unions. While European workers have been leading the fight back through co-ordination via strikes and public meetings, in the UK the TUC has 'allowed' workers to let off steam via one or two demonstrations. The Labour Party have shamefully sold workers out by supporting the coalition, albeit with a 'slower, less deep' cuts agenda. This has led to the Labour funding unions becoming a mute warrior at the front of a battle cry.

As the rushed through social policies of the ConDem government become law and changes begin to affect growing numbers of people (through benefit and housing policy changes), more and more people will begin to slip through the Welfare Security safety net. The means of help that was previously available to the most vulnerable and low paid in our society is quickly disappearing as we edge back to a Victorian era system of charity handouts via soup kitchens and food banks. Growing numbers of homeless people and a sharp rise in sofa surfing tenants unable to get any type of social housing is only one component in the lethal cocktail waiting to explode over the coming years. Under employment and rising food / fuel prices adds even more dynamite in what could become a decade of anger and crime.

Youth services cut

The divide between rich and poor, north and south, haves and have nots are becoming increasing evident in our society once again. The hard fought gains of the working class - such as the NHS, free education for all and affordable social housing are set to be lost if the three main political parties have their way. Young people are being priced out of education and the thought of owning their own home is becoming just a dream for many. With youth services among the first to go and little opportunity for full time employment, it is little wonder crime will be back on the agenda in the coming years. The Conservative Party will be rubbing it's hands because it will give them the excuse to introduce even more unfair laws that target those driven to crime in order to survive.

Crime is not the solution, but neither is the wholesale attack on public services and the people who did not cause this financial crisis. Osborne's Plan A is actually expected to cost the UK an £76 billion by 2015, according to the IMF, highlighting the disaster this government has been. While thousands of police, fire, NHS and council workers have lost their jobs and been thrown on the scrap heap - the country sinks ever deeper into the crisis of capitalism Instead of taxing the rich or closing the corporation tax loopholes - the coalition have attacked hard working people by increasing VAT to 20%, slashing services, robbing pension rights and ripping up the Welfare State. More and more people will find themselves pushed to the limit as the Welfare State is reduced. As the 1% continue to get ever richer and the 99% become poorer, more will see no alternative but to survive by alternative means.

Many UK companies avoid paying full tax

We need a properly funded Welfare State that helps the poor and vulnerable in our society. We should be encouraging all young people to reach their potential through an education system that is not obsessed with league tables but offers the chance to excel not based on how much money is in your bank account. The Tories and Labour have increased the burden of debt and closed the door of opportunity for a growing number of young people - it is time to look again and invest in education. Those who say there is no money in society are wrong, the headlines day after day highlight that wealth is here in the UK but it is how that wealth is distributed that is wrong. If business started paying the taxes they should and the rich paid more, we would have enough money to fully fund the NHS and all our public services. Building more green affordable social housing would give this generation the real hope of having a home while giving meaningful employment to many in the construction industry. With doors of opportunity opening for people, crime would be less on the agenda because society would be working together in a meaningful way.

First we need to change how society is run and only by admitting this rotten greedy capitalist system based on exploitation of labour is wrong and exploring the real need to plan the economy for ALL is a step in the right direction. The elite are ruining society, yet remain untarnished by the economic woes but it is the army of working class people that can change society for the benefit of the 99%. A democratic socialist society that provides a meaningful life for all is the only lasting way we will see crime figures drop forever.

[PICS: Student protest - http://london.indymedia.org/articles/6259
Greece protest - http://www.wealthwire.com/news/economy/1244
Youth Services - http://falseeconomy.org.uk/blog/youth-services-in-crisis
Tax avoidance - http://godandpoliticsuk.org/2012/08/18/majority-of-british-adults-say-tax-avoidance-is-morally-wrong/ ]

VIDEO: NxtGen - Greedy Tosser Ft MC Cameron

2012-02-25T10:43:00.001+00:00

Great new video by the talented NxtGen entitled 'Greedy Tosser' (featuring MC Cameron) and is a fitting follow up to the highly praised video 'Andrew Lansley rap'. The tune is infectious and the lyrics are spot on. I especially enjoyed watching 'Cameron' exercising his MC skills (which are much better than the real Cameron's PM skills!). Even Lib Dem turncoat, Nick Clegg gets a look in during the course of the video.

Well done to MC Sean 'NxtGen' Donnelly!

Three Main Parties Face Election Challenge

2012-01-27T13:32:00.000+00:00

Many voters have been put off by the three main political parties because they are failing to represent them. Our wages have declined in real terms while the bosses of the FSTE 100 companies saw their pay increase 49%. At last a real alternative for London voters has been announced today....

A new alliance, the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC), made up of trade union members and socialists, is to stand candidates in the Greater London Election on 3 May to challenge the all-party support for the government’s austerity cuts and pay freeze.

The coalition expects to win support from trade unionists and other voters who are angered by the recent statements of Labour leader Ed Miliband and the Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls, in which they stated that they will not reverse the Government’s cuts and that they support its pay freeze.

A list of candidates will challenge in the ‘top up’ section of the election and if it wins at least 5% of the vote across the whole of London it could win at least one place on the 25-seat Greater London Assembly.

The coalition has already selected prominent London trade union leaders such as Alex Gordon, the national president of the RMT rail and maritime union and Steve Hedley the RMT’s London Transport regional organiser, Ian Leahair, the Fire Brigades Union executive committee member for the capital, Joe Simpson, assistant secretary of the Prison Officers’ Association and Martin Powell-Davies, who is the London representative on the national committee of the NUT teachers union.

The Labour Party will be concerned that many public sector workers who participated in the 30 November pensions’ strike may be moved to vote for this coalition because of the failure of Labour leaders to support the walk-out.
Labour leaders will also be worried that rank and file union members of Labour affiliated unions could press for their funds to go to a party like TUSC instead of to Labour.

Steve Hedley, whose RMT union was expelled from the Labour Party in 2004 for backing the Scottish Socialist Party, said, “We need candidates who support the ordinary man and woman. TUSC is the only organisation that opposes all cuts, defends pensions and benefits for all working people. Labour just wants a compliant, silent union movement to hand over its money. TUSC will be a voice for all workers and will support trade unions in struggle.”

TUSC national committee member Nick Wrack, who is also a candidate, said, “London is a city of stark contrasts. There is a huge amount of poverty amidst the plenty. Corporate bosses and bankers still get their million pound pay and pension packages while one in six London workers is paid less than the Mayor’s £8.30 per hour living wage. Millions are suffering from the cuts to services and benefits yet last year the city paid out over £4 billion in bonuses. It’s extremely hard even for those on better wages to make ends meet. We believe that there is an opportunity for a party that will speak up for working-class London to make a real break-through and that would begin to change the nature of political debate in Britain today.”

TUSC believes it can get a candidate elected if it wins at least 150,000 votes across London.

VIDEO: What's The Point Of Nick Clegg?

2012-01-05T12:12:00.001+00:00

The latest video from Captain SKA asks the question 'What's The Point Of Nick Clegg' after he betrayed millions of voters, especially young people. He then sold out the Liberal Democrats and the country for a taste of power.

Watch it and share.

dan hancox: Kettling 2.0: The Olympic State of Exception and TSG Action Figures

2011-12-08T17:08:00.000+00:00

For a fascinating read about the new police 'weapon' that is to be used against the public, have a read of this excellent blog:

dan hancox: Kettling 2.0: The Olympic State of Exception and TSG Action Figures

*EXTRA BLOG - more from the world of robmacca

VIDEO: Rioters Explain Their Reasons

2011-12-06T12:11:00.000+00:00

Newsnight (05/12/11) highlighted the findings from The Guardian and London School of Economics, which looked into the summer riots. They spoke to those people involved and found out why they rioted. The findings (see video above) were very interesting and gave a real insight to how people felt during the rioting and especially their attitudes towards the police and government.

Back in March 2011, I wrote an article on this very blog saying 'Anarchist Numbers To Rise In UK'. The student movement had been hit hard by the government tripling tuition fees and scrapping EMA, closing the door for many from poorer backgrounds. Naturally that anger would find an outlet, as I said:

Direct action is on the increase and no matter how many new laws or impositions Home Secretary Theresa May introduces, anarchists will work around the law to get their point across. The main political parties have failed young people and peaceful demonstrations, in their opinion, do not work. For many anarchists, taking matters into their own hands has become the only option. We will see more events like this over the coming months unless the government gives young people hope instead of hurting cuts.

Even before I wrote that article, the seeds of uprising in the UK were being sown as the coalition government began to unleash £81 billion in cuts to services and tax increases. They were hoping we would be just like the Irish, and roll over and take it. Our 'stiff upper lip' attitude would not wash once cuts to services and rising unemployment took effect. Back in December 2010, this blog correctly stated;

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.

Rioting by a section of marginalised, mainly young people was only one result seen this year. We also witnessed around 1m people march in London against the cuts and millions of public sector workers joining together in strike action last month. With over 1m young people in the UK unemployed and many facing the prospect of either a lifetime of student debt or no university, the government needs to give the future generation hope. Sadly they are not listening, instead they roll out slave labour jobs where young people will have to either work for free or face having their dole cut or stopped. Young people want to better themselves and further education was meant to be one of the avenues they could take but alas, for many that avenue will be closed.

As mentioned on Newsnight and in other places, rioting will take place again unless the symptoms are addressed. Increasing child poverty, closing doors to young people, driving down workers wages and slashing public services will only exasperate an already volatile situation. Mark my words, we will see more unrest during 2012 and beyond unless the government changes course.
*video source: The Guardian / London School of Economics

Proud To Be A Socialist

2011-11-26T20:10:00.002+00:00

I've not always been political - like so many others I would try and avoid politics and save any arguments, but the last General Election ignited something within me that made me come alive and begin questioning how our society operates.

Having grown up as a teenager during the Thatcher years not understanding why miners were on strike or why it mattered if The Sun moved to Wapping. I was ignorant to the struggles workers were facing as I left school, not realising I was one of those struggling workers. Instead of going to university I had opted to work for £50 a week at a supermarket because my mum and I needed the money. Thatcher promised us that if we worked hard we could improve our lives but instead millions were thrown on the dole queue or forced into a YTS (Youth Training Scheme) while the yuppies got rich as she privatised our utility services.

I remember the excitement when New Labour swept to power in 1997, workers were told 'things can only get better' - according to the official music track for the election. Tony Blair seemed like a nice chap compared to bland John Major but workers would soon discover what New Labour was. Any socialist ideas were sucked out of the party as it had transformed into New Labour and what we were left with was a 'nicer' Conservative Party! The utilities stayed privatised and more of our public services were carved up and handed to the private sector for them to make money from it instead of provide a service. The anti-union laws were left unchanged as New Labour shifted ever more to the right.

The General Election of 2010 got people talking politics and I questioned who should get my vote this time. Would I vote for the party that had tried to privatise the public service I work for or was there another party out there for me? It was at this point I had read a link on a friends Facebook page from the Socialist Party. The points they raised stirred my curiosity and so I began to look into what the Socialist Party stood for. I'll be honest, at first I didn't agree with alot of what they were saying but the more I read, the more clearer the page became. I could now see that the Socialist Party stood for workers like me and were daily involved in the struggles I go through as a public sector worker.

I voted for the Socialist Party in the General Election and soon got myself involved with the party. I want to see society run differently, and that means this rotten capitalist system based on greed instead of need has to go. Labour might have dropped 'new' from the title but sadly it no longer truly represents the working class, instead it's leader condemns workers who defend their pensions and Labour councillors pass on Tory cuts without one single voice of opposition.

In 2011 I had the honour of standing as a candidate in the area where I live and I hope to do the same again in 2012. I am proud to be a socialist who stands up for working class people. It is only by standing up for what we believe in can we hope to gain our aspirations. We need a new mass workers party that will be the voice for the workers, young people and vulnerable - I believe it is the Socialist Party

VIDEO: The Workers - Let's Work Together

2011-11-21T15:53:00.002+00:00

The Workers are a group of 14 public service staff from around the country, who've come together to record the classic song 'Let's Work Together'. Please help get some solidarity into the charts ahead of the day of action on 30 November by watching the video, buying the song, and spreading the word.

Public service workers are under a lot of strain - Job losses are happening at an even higher rate than in the private sector, and government cuts mean more people are needing to fall back on our public services in a time of need - putting more strain on fewer staff. Added to this, the government are planning to drastically cut their pensions, and make people work much longer and pay much more into the bargain. This will mean many low paid staff unable to afford to contribute to any pensions provision at all - a race to the bottom that will do nothing to help pensions under attack in the private sector too.

Public sector unions are staging a day of action on 30 November, to highlight the problem, with events happening all over the country. It would really set the mood music for the day to have a song in the charts when it happens, so the TUC are backing The Workers to raise awareness and solidarity ahead of the 30th, and to raise money for Age UK into the bargain. Let's get them as high up the charts as we can.

Buy the single:

You can download the single from loads of online stores, including iTunes, for around 99p. Here's a list of some of the places you can download it and have your purchase count toward the UK singles charts.

Spread the word:

Without the record industry's regular mega promotion budgets, this chart attempt is going to stand or fall on how many people tell their friends and colleagues about the single. Please take a minute to send a Tweet, Facebook share or email to your friends so they check out the song!

Source: Going To Work

Big Society In Action

2011-11-08T18:18:00.000+00:00

While out shopping, I bumped into two of my old postal customers and was firstly reminded that others have it harder than me, then secondly, David Cameron's 'Big Society' is a pile of crap!

The two neighbours are both unemployed for various health reasons and are likely to be sidelined by many employers because of their illness. The men told me how they shopped together and then shared the food in an effort to save money. Maybe this is Cameron's idea of 'Big Society' - two men pulling vital resources together in an effort to stay above water. One cooker on the go instead of two, while the Prime Minister enjoys all the trimmings of being in power.

One of the men told me how they had run out of food before shopping day and had to just trow whatever bits of food they had left to make a shepherds pie. He went on to tell me how the housing officer belittled him, I could see how he'd been made to feel worthless and would give anything just to have a proper job to escape the cycle he lived in. He showed me around is flat with some pride that he had managed to keep it clean and tidy. It was devoid of luxuries and reminded me of the sort of conditions I lived in the 80's, yet he was trying his best to keep a roof over his head.

I'm all for people coming together in society, but when people are forced to share meals out of poverty - then something in our society is wrong. David Cameron's 'Big Society' seeks to divide the rich from the poor, while those at the bottom of society and constantly humiliated. Forced to jump through hoops in order to get benefits or facing the prospect of losing their social housing through changes in terms and conditions are just some of problems we see as a result of this new society being unfolded. Maybe the coalition government should spend a few weeks in the shoes of these two men and see what the big society in action really means!

Fuel Poverty

2011-11-07T19:44:00.000+00:00

I remember the recession in the 1970's and our hardship continuing into the 80's, we were a poor family that could not afford to pay the gas bill. In those days, the utility companies would cut off the supply if you could not pay - so for several years we lived without heating and hot water. The headmaster at my school said I could use the shower, but I was too embarrassed to ever use it. This meant I had to sit on the kitchen sink at home and wash myself from the bowl. If it got cold in the house, I guess we would just wear more clothes - maybe having the family stay in the living room made it a bit warmer. Either way, it just seemed like normal life.....

Today, I consider myself to be in a 'better' position than my parents were in many ways. I have been fortunate to have good health and I've been able to keep working since I was 14 years-old. These days the utility companies can't just cut off your supply if you can't pay and I've never fallen behind paying my bills. Even though I live in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, I am still surrounded by poverty and this is growing at an alarming rate.

I am almost half way through my goal of reducing my energy bills by 50% by June 2012, a task made even more difficult by the almost 20% price hike in August. This winter I am trying to avoid putting the fire or heating on and I'm more careful with my use of hot water, all of which reminds me of those dark days as a young teenager in our gasless house. While mine is a choice this time, there are many families that face winter without that choice. For some it will be heating or eating as society slips back into the dark days, made all the more worse by the vicious Tory attacks. Sadly, even more children like me will be going to bed cold and dirty........

VIDEO: Kill The Fat Cat Director

2011-10-28T17:55:00.003+01:00

News that the top bosses in the FSTE 100 have awarded themselves pay rises of 50% in the past year, highlighted the vast difference between the 1% and the other 99% in our society. The rest of us have either taken a pay cut or a pay rise that is lower than inflation (which still means we have had a pay cut!).

The video above was made as a result of this news story and is meant to inject a little humour into a serious situation. Hopefully viewers will be able to see the need for a different way to run society. Wealth needs to be shared more evenly and capitalism is failing to deliver. As the slogan says "Capitalism IS The Crisis" - It is time to figuratively 'kill the (fat cat) director'!

TUC: Workers Want Action Not Words

2011-09-12T13:36:00.000+01:00

As the TUC conference takes place this week in London, the growing call for co-ordinated strike action was firmly delivered by the National Shop Stewards Network (NSSN) during a lobby of the TUC. Hundreds of union activists delivered a petition and letter to Frances O'Grady (Deputy General Secretary of the TUC) calling for a 24 hour public sector general strike. I am proud to have been one of those marching, waving my CWU banner and joining with others from around the country seeking to defend our future.

For the past year the Tories and Liberal Democrats have been attacking workers as they impose £81bn in cuts - public sector workers have been feeling the brunt of the cuts, as thousands of jobs have been already cut. Sadly, the big unions that dominate Labour have been the slowest to move into action - Unite, Unison and the GMB have all dragged their feet in delivering action for their members who are losing their jobs. The ground swell of voices calling for strike action to stop the cuts has grown louder and louder over the past year, the big unions need to listen to their members and begin the serious fightback.

This government will not change course because of a few demonstrations, they have proved they will not listen to ordinary working class people. Therefore working class people need to withdraw their labour as a last resort and stop the government in it's tracks - before we lose more public services and the skills associated with those jobs.

One of the biggest crimes against the working class has been the silence of the Labour Party, they have proved unequivocally they no longer represent the working class. The mantra of 'slower cuts' has worn thin, especially with those who have been made redundant by Labour councils up and down the country. Ed Miliband even had the audacity to condemn the 750,000 workers who took action to defend jobs on June 30th. No wonder voter apathy is setting in fast, they want a party that will speak up and represent them - the Labour Party, by their relative silence, are no longer the worker's party.

As the PCS union has already outlined, we have an alternative to the cuts agenda, which over the past year has proved the cuts are ideological. Labour opened the door for the ConDem government to introduce their attacks on our public services and take back the gains made by hard working people. The TUC is meant to represent their members, and those members at ground level are calling for action. The TUC needs to stop sucking up to Labour and they need to stop doing secret deals behind members backs. It is time for mass action against the attacks we are seeing on the working class. It is also time for each and every union member to question their unions link to Labour. The time is also right for a new mass workers party that will actually speak up for the working class.

*PICS: Top - Sujeeth Bottom - Peter Playdon

Ed Milliband: The Silent By-Stander

2011-09-05T11:45:00.000+01:00

The classical role of the Labour leadership towards any decisive struggle is like the man who is following the crowd. When a by-stander asks him who he is, he replies, 'Oh , I'm the leader.'

- Liverpool A City That Dared To Fight (by Peter Taaffe and Tony Mulhearn)

VIDEO: Young People Rise Up Around The World

2011-08-27T18:20:00.002+01:00

Youth protests and revolutions in the Middle East along with movements for political and economic freedom against a backdrop of worldwide economic cuts - swept across Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Bahrain, Yemen, Greece, Canada, US, UK in 2010/11. Young people have been at the forefront of the uprisings as they struggle against leaders and policies that seek to damage their future.

The video highlights their struggles and serves as a reminder to us all, that the future is worth fighting for. Young people ARE the future and political leaders will be held to account by this generation for trying to sell out the next generation with the failed capitalist system.

The Lost Generation Riots

2011-08-09T09:46:00.000+01:00

When people condemn the rioters, I wonder what youth services have been forced to close due to the cuts?

When the public criticise the police for lack of action, I wonder how many front line officers have been forced out of service?

When MP's speak about the need to rebuild communities, I wonder how that can be done when they voted to take out £81b from our communities?

When criminals are locked up, I wonder how the prison system will cope since this government is hell bent on privatising them?

When shops are looted, I wonder if some of the robbers are angry because many of the big companies avoid paying tax?

I do not endorse looting, violence or rioting - likewise I also do not endorse the theft of young people's right to a decent education, or the hope of a decent job with a living wage.

Riots in the UK should have remained a thing of the past, but if you give people fewer options because you take away their future - then riots can become the result.

*PIC: Toxteth, Liverpool / Guardian

A Tale From The Warehouse

2011-08-04T13:17:00.000+01:00

I entered the building and could see the power cables were just encased rather crudely on top of the breeze block walls. Walking around, watching the people crammed into purpose built warehouse, I was amazed accidents hadn't already taken place. The stress levels must have been sky high as each worker vied for their own space, while at the same time managers and security cameras looked on.

Black beetles scurried across the floor, trying to dodge being crushed by the speedy feed of those inside the building. One worker could be heard complaining about being bitten by a mosquito, they even showed me their arm. Some time later I could see a mosquito type insect on another worker, who carried on unaware they could be the next one to be bitten.

A visit to the toilet showed the toilet pan was a breeding ground for tiny insects, flying around as I went to urinate. They seemed to have found a safe haven with the water supply being close by, yet the sight of drowned flies was enough to put you off going to the toilet!

This building was not in the Third World, but here in the UK - it is a testimony of what the UK is becoming. We are going backwards, not to the 1980's but to the 1880's, where workers are expected to labour in so-called 'fit for purpose' warehouses that have been built on the cheap. The outside world thinks Britain is the place to be - for those of us who work here, it is becoming the new Third World.

The New Workplace Bullying Culture

2011-07-17T12:34:00.000+01:00

Workers are under more pressure than ever before as wages are being driven down by employers who are always seeking to maximise their profits. The race to the bottom for employees has accelerated since the banking crisis in 2008 and even more so since the ConDem government's drive to cut 'red tape' for business bosses. Making it easier to sack employees, while at the same time making it harder for employees to take the bosses to court.

In recent days we have witnessed councils threatening to sack staff unless they signed up to pay cuts and inferior working conditions. The councils would not define this as bullying, yet if you were to ask the low paid council workers how they felt - you would get a different answer. Bullying is no longer confined to the school playground, it has become a wide scale practice in the workplace. Management are provoking situations that will force employees out of the business in an effort to shed workers without having to pay them redundancy.

In recent days a growing trend where management manipulate a situation in order to invoke a response from the victim has become the new working culture. If the bait is taken, that employee is usually suspended and pending a disciplinary hearing - will be sacked. We all agree that if people flagrantly break rules they should be dealt with, but the culture of bullying has become a wide spread practice - especially in the public sector.

Although I am unable to reveal individual cases (for obvious reasons!), I have been sickened at the lengths employers are taking in order to shed staff 'the cheap way'. Year after year of efficiency savings has produced a stressed out workforce that feels the pressure every time management cut out another job. Doctors have reported a sharp increase in stress/depression cases as workers are expected to become ever more 'flexible' or face the sack.

The drive of capitalism is always to exact the maximum profit from goods or services, yet that profit is not returned to the ordinary people. Wealth has been channeled back to the top 1%, while the rest of society pays the price for the banking crisis. Many unions have become ineffective as they cut secret deals with employers or fail to take action because they are paying into the Labour Party. The crisis of capitalism is already having a devastating effect on the people of Ireland, Greece, Portugal, Spain and Italy - with the UK also cutting £81b from the public purse. Austerity cuts have given employers the opportunity for embedding a culture that allows for bullying, harassment and unfair demands.

Workers need to say no to bullying, they need to get organised and turn their unions (if they have a union) into a fighting union that refuses to accept boardroom deals that sell the workforce down the river. The three main UK political parties have collectively sold out workers and made them slaves to the capitalist system. They pander to the whim of the markets and money lenders, telling the public 'there is no alternative' - but there is an alternative. We deserve to be treated with dignity and respect in our workplaces, we shouldn't feel we are just a cost to the business. We need a society that distributes the wealth more fairly, bringing an end to the workplace bullying culture that capitalism propagates today!

VIDEO: Stuff The Cuts

2011-07-05T18:02:00.001+01:00

NxtGen - Stuff The Cuts

Following the success of his first video about the NHS, the Loughborough grime rapper NxtGen is back with another video about the effects of David Cameron's cuts policies in Britain. Aptly entitled 'Stuff The Cuts', it addresses many of the issues that have arisen for working class people. At the same time it exposes the hypocrisy in the Big Society - that the bosses of the banks, who caused the crisis, still award themselves massive bonuses.

Yet, if voters are pinning their hopes on the return of Labour at the next general election, then millions are going to be seriously let down. Labour would have cut almost as much out of public spending as the ConDem coalition. While it would have been slightly longer in coming, those cuts would still mean working class people pay for the bankers greed. Labour will offer working class people little in the way of an alternative because they are a slave to the markets, just like their Tory and Lib Dem peers. Unison are featured in this video, shamefully it is a union that has failed to use it's strength in mobilising it's members in co-ordinated action against the cuts because the union is in Labour's back pocket and funds the party with millions, while thousands of members are losing their jobs.

What is needed is a real change in society, taking control of the banks and commanding heights of business from the few who control so much wealth and into the hands of the working class under democratic control will mean we can 'Stuff The Cuts' and finally produce an economy for the millions, not the millionaires!

Your Jobs Will Go, My Bonus Will Grow!

2011-06-15T10:59:00.000+01:00

As Royal Mail boss Moya Greene looks at axing another 40,000 jobs (on top of the 65,000 that have already gone since 2002), she will be very happy with her £777,611 pay and bonus package while Royal Mail workers will be told to be even more flexible and accept wages that are declining as inflation rises.

According to the Royal Mail results released this week, the public service is 'insolvent' and would be unable to pay workers wages if it were not for the £1.7bn lifeline from the public purse, reports This Is Money. Yet Moya has no problem accepting her massive wage during her 9 months at Royal Mail, while at the same time telling employees that they will NOT be getting the bonus they were expecting.

Some might be tempted to believe that Moya Greene has cooked the books, especially since modernisation costs have been added to the figures for the first time - resulting in the letters and parcels loss. While others might think privatisation would lead to a better service, but the truth remains that competition in the postal market did NOT lead to lower stamp prices for customers. Instead first class stamps have risen 40% since competition was introduced and selling off Royal Mail will eventually see the end the universal daily delivery.

Royal Mail employees have spent the last ten years being told that modernisation will lead to job security, but for the many thousands who lost their jobs, this promise proved false. Now one in four posties will lose their job and the other 75% of workers will have their wages driven downwards - while sitting at the top of Royal Mail, Moya Greene will be enjoying her bumper wage packet!

Are Royal Mail Cooking The Books?

2011-06-11T20:58:00.001+01:00

Royal Mail not only have a reputation for losing letters, they have now mysteriously turned a £121m profit (see chart on left) into a £100m+ LOSS for 2010-11, if Sky News has it's figures right. That means around £220m has vanished from Royal Mail letters in one year, a figure quite unbelievable yet some how convenient for those who wanted to privatise this national service.

While mail volumes are expected to show a 5% decline for 2010-11, the head count reduction more than offsets that decline - meaning the £100m 'loss' has appeared, in yet another accountancy trick of massaging the figures in order for Royal Mail to paint a grim picture ahead of industrial action and privatisation.

Is Royal Mail really in need of a private cash injection as ConDem MP's claim or are we being hood winked into allowing our national daily postal service to be handed over to private hands in order to eventually end the daily delivery (as has now happened in Holland following privatisation of it's postal service)?

The truth is - Royal Mail letters are NOT losing money, it is the cost of modernisation that has cost the service over £220m during the past year. As Sky reports, "The costs of the company's modernisation programme, led by Moya Greene, the new chief executive, have been taken into account as part of the reported numbers for the first time." For those not familiar with what modernisation at Royal Mail entails - it means the purchase of thousands of new vans and equipment for Royal Mail's new delivery methods. The cost will be offset by the reduction of staff involved with delivering the mail (according to the same report, up to 40,000 jobs could be at risk). New sorting machines are being deployed around the country and it seems that these costs are now being added to the balance sheets, even though the previous government loaned Royal Mail £1b for it's modernisation programme.

Royal Mail will now try and present a bleak picture with the aim of trying to scare employees and give the government the free hand as it tries to sell off the nations silverware on the cheap. Royal Mail workers have bent over backwards since the liberalisation of the postal market by New Labour at the start of this millennium. They have accepted below inflation pay rise while at the same time seen thousands of jobs disappear, all in the name of 'moderisation'. London workers are facing the prospect of compulsory redundancies if Royal Mail closes the three mail centres in the capital.

The CWU have tried to work with Royal Mail, putting forward alternatives that would help build the business but Royal Mail have consistently ignored such proposals as they remain hell bent on selling off assets ahead of privatisation. Postal workers know the stakes are high, and they are often the last line of defence in protecting this valued public service. The Royal Mail financial figures may not match up, but the need for co-ordinated industrial action matches. It is time workers stood up to the ConDem government and opposed the sell off of Royal Mail. Posties need to see through the Royal Mail propaganda that will be coming their way over the coming months and stand united in defending jobs and conditions.

Coventry Socialist Election Results: May 5th 2011

2011-05-06T22:49:00.000+01:00

Here are the Coventry local election results for May 5th, 2011. The Socialist Alternative candidates are highlighted in each of the 18 wards. The Socialist Alternative candidates polled 3,081 votes (3.59%), which was up 0.51% on the last election.

Bablake:
Laura Dodd (Con) 1873
Philip Jones (BNP) 208
David Kershaw (Lab) 2687
Walter Milner (Green) 233
Hannah Seaman (Socialist Alternative) 45
Peter Simpson (Lib Dem) 231

Binley and Willenhall:
Steven Adams (Green) 123
Dave Clarke (BNP) 207
Lindsay Currie (Socialist Alternative) 79
Ram Lakha (Lab) 2436
Jonathan Smith (Con) 970
Colin Stubbs (UKIP) 329

Cheylesmore:
Kevin Foster (Con) 2493
Alison Gingell (Lab) 2188
Judy Griffiths (Socialist Alternative) 161
John Verdult (Green) 331

Earlsdon:
John Fletcher (Lab) 2482
Thomas House (Socialist Alternative) 136
Greg Judge (Lib Dem) 469
Scott Redding (Green) 343
Ken Taylor (Con) 2596

Foleshill:
Shabbir Ahmed (Con) 1124
Betty Booton (BNP) 125
Gavin Collins (Green) 133
Jim Hensman (Socialist Alternative) 77
Abdul Khan (Lab) 3184
Scott Tallis (Lib Dem) 116

Henley:
Lynnette Kelly (Lab) 2409
Josie Kenny (Socialist Alternative) 113
Brian Patton (Lib Dem) 1170
George Robinson (Green) 171
Liesel Wagstaff (BNP) 337

Holbrook:Joe Clifford (Lab) 2793
Charles Cox (Con) 897
Danny Foulstone (Green) 243
Richard Groves (Socialist Alternative) 57
John Hurren (BNP) 252

Longford:
Linda Bigham (Lab) 3036
James Edgar (Socialist Alternative) 101
John Griffiths (Green) 165
Will Jones (Con) 602
Keith Oxford (BNP) 252

Lower Stoke:
Robert McArdle (Socialist Alternative) 291
John McNicholas (Lab) 2608
Mary Nicholls (BNP) 261
Laura Vesty (Green) 353
Nick Williams (Con) 1018

Radford:
Gareth Fowler (Con) 699
Stephen Gray (Green) 226
Hunter Helmsley (BNP) 205
John Ryan (Ind) 159
Tony Skipper (Lab) 2607
Glen Watson (Socialist Alternative) 94

Sherbourne:
Frank Bates (BNP) 195
Damian Gannon (Lab) 2606
Jamie Simpson (Lib Dem) 281
Jason Toynbee (Socialist Alternative) 117
Jane Williams (Con) 1281
Justin Wood (Green) 220

St Michael’s:
Dial Masih (Con) 434
Jim O’Boyle (Lab) 2419
Rob Windsor (Socialist Alternative) 1263

Upper Stoke:
Denise Beech (Con) 508
Derek Benefield (Lib Dem) 799
Colleen Fletcher (Lab) 2536
John Halpin (Green) 159
Paul Smith (Socialist Alternative) 95
Darren Thomas (BNP) 193

Wainbody:
Rachel Adshead (Green) 393
Daniel Crowter (Socialist Alternative) 83
Napier Penlington (Lib Dem) 410
Tim Sawdon (Con) 2452
Mark Taylor (UKIP) 379
Sundeep Virk (Lab) 1909

Westwood:
Mark Badrick (BNP) 256
James Donnelly (Socialist Alternative) 95
Merle Gering (Green) 291
Nigel Lee (Con) 1793
Richard Sandy (Lab) 2184

Whoberley:
Teresa Chalcroft (Socialist Alternative) 109
Ken Charley (Con) 1392
Tom Gower (BNP) 270
Dan Howells (Lab) 2561
Brian Lewis (Lib Dem) 295
Jo Rathbone (Green) 330
Martyn Richards (Ind) 119

Woodlands:
Jacqueline Basu (Lib Dem) 549
Christian Cliffe (Con) 1972
Dan Gower (Green) 187
Patricia Hetherton (Lab) 2286
Lenny Shail (Socialist Alternative) 44
David White (BNP) 283

Wyken:
Jaswant Birdi (Con) 1727
Jodie Hannis (Socialist Alternative) 121
Adrian Roll (Ind) 206
Hazel Sweet (Lab) 2606
Cathy Wattebot (Green) 220