Unity
Communists at the TUC
by Robert Griffiths George ‘Captain of the Titanic’ Osborne and his ToryLibDem crew of millionaires refuse to change course. They are steering Britain towards the iceberg, while promising more gambling chips and champagne for the passengers in luxury class (the ones with the lifeboats). As economic growth flounders around zero, they plan to give more public money to the bankers and cut the top rate of income tax. The banks have already received £200 billion in ‘quantitative easing’ from the Bank of England, as part of the £1,350 billion bail-out package of share purchases, loans and
September 2011
guarantees. (‘Quantitative easing’ is the term given to Bank of England operations to buy bonds – mostly government Treasury stock – held mainly by the banks and other financial institutions, usually funded from reserves or by printing money). Now the bankers are demanding another £50 billion and Osborne and the ship’s purser, Bank of England governor Mervyn King, want to give it to them. The theory is that the banks use this money both to rebuild their capital reserves and extend loans to housebuyers and businesses, thereby stimulating the economy. In reality, much of the original £200 billion was used to
speculate on the stock exchange and in the currency, commodity and financial markets. This helped push up world commodity prices and fuelled the market frenzy of recent weeks. And the Chancellor intends to give the gamblers – sorry, ‘investors’ – more to gamble with! At the same time, he wants to abolish the 50 per cent top rate of income tax on earnings above £150,00 a year. This would cost the Treasury almost £3 billion a year in lost revenue. His junior crew members, the LibDems, need a fig leaf should this go ahead and so are arguing for a ‘mansion tax’. But the policies that set Britain on course for the icebergs remain unchanged. In particular, public spending cuts of £21 billion this year and an extra £40 billion next will destroy jobs, services and purchasing power in the economy. The private sector boom that is supposed to replace this lost public sector demand is not materialising. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, which brings together the world's developed capitalist countries, warns of another recession ahead – especially in Britain. Yet OECD chiefs also peddle the line that austerity and privatisation measures should continue, alongside more quantitative easing. It’s as though the whole Admiralty is lost at sea in a fog of dogma. That is why this year's TUC conference must help set clear bearings for the labour movement. continued overleaf
Two decades of Unity! at the TUC Unity! has been published by communist trade unionists for nearly two decades. The line it takes does not always win full agreement – at first. But often it is proved right by later events. Who now remembers the extravagant expectations that the TUC establishment encouraged after the speech of Jacques Delors. Now as even our remaining union rights are stripped away who thinks the EU will provide protection for job security, pay levels and pensions. It is the EU that has institutionalised the machinery of privatisation. Unity! said so. Unity! gave direction to the movement among delegates to reject the Maastricht Treaty when right wing leaders sought accomodation with the EU bigwigs. Who now among our trade union leadership is willing to do penance for their role in blunting opposition to PFI? Lord Monks? Unity! championed solidarity with Cuban socialism when the right parotted the Foreign Office line. Unity! backed the Palestinian cause when the Zionists lobbyists had the ear of the TUC and Labour Party. On the 11th September a decade ago Unity! brought out a special afternoon issue that spelled out how the people of New York were reaping a whirlwind sown by US imperialism. And Unity! warned of a decade of wars to follow.