InternationalSocialistLeague
Mobilise against all cuts General strike against austerity European struggle against EU Statement by the international socialist league “We face a choice that will shape our society for decades to come. It is a choice faced by ordinary people in every part of the globe.” People’s Assembly.
W
e are facing a global crisis, that is deep and continuous crises of the capitalist system. So we welcome this opportunity to build a mass movement fighting against the austerity programme which is already crippling millions of workers and will lead to degrading and inhumane conditions in our lives and communities.
Cameron stands firmly with the European Union (and US) in a march towards the privatisation of all our services. Along with the banks and UK multi-nationals Britain, Germany, France and the IMF are forcing Greece, Spain, Portugal and Ireland under their boot. The debts of the latter countries are unpayable, at the same time the demands by the former are driven by global indebtedness. British imperialism with its supine support for US greed and plunderous wars across the world remains a major force in Europe. The European Union does not have an alternative to dealing with the crises other than austerity attacks on the whole of the working class. The plan includes the ending all the hard won gains of the past and in Britain this includes the destruction of the welfare state and the NHS. Capitalism needs a greater naked dictatorship of the market in order to continue. That’s why this year the US and EU agreed to open up and deepen the deregulation and privatisation of markets
so as to ensure that they can continue to loot the heritage and gains of the working class indefinitely. The anti-working class and racist UKIP and some members of the Tory party want to leave the EU, and far right fascist groups such as the EDL also want out. The alternative that they propose is a nationalist movement that will increase the attacks on immigrants, Muslims, other minority communities and trade unions which is nothing but a method to divide the working class and suppress our fight against austerity. We must build an anti-racist, anticapitalist and internationalist alternative that is based in the struggles of all employed and unemployed workers and youth and fight against all forms of oppression including violence against women. We need to make direct links with unions and social movements across Europe to build and strengthen our movements and fight. We cannot go back. The EU debt is used as a tool to force continual structural changes. We must demand the immediate suspension of debt payments in southern Europe and Ireland. Their struggle is our struggle. We have to demand that the UK leave the EU, and build support for the people in struggle on the streets of southern Europe and across the world. We need an international movement because we are not just against the British government and the city of London. We need an anti-capitalist program and we need to develop it as a matter of urgency. This will require the mobilisation of masses so we can destroy what exists and build upon the ruins socialism and a United Socialist Europe for all workers and peoples. people are rising Globally the world is increasingly divided between oppressor and oppressed, rich and poor, powerful and powerless. Assad in Syria with the support of Iran and Hezbollah has killed thousands of people who protested for Syrian independence
and the US and EU are trying to work out how they can maintain their interests in the country against this background. Erdoğan in Turkey is trying to crush the mass resistance and occupation of Gezi Park by brutal violent means. In Brazil workers and students in their
London support for Turkish struggle from the ISL
hundreds of thousands are occupying the city streets against increased bus fares and police repression. These civil wars and conflicts are coming out of the very pores of a capitalist world in crisis. The picture of the world today is one of the world’s working class taking to the streets and beginning to rise against the repression and set in motion a determined resistance. The need for internationalism is so clear.
Brazilian mass struggle forces fare hike reversal, PSTU. IWL section in the thick of the battle
Labour Party We are critical that the People’s Assembly has raised no criticism of the majority trade union leadership or the Labour Party. Labour controlled councils are obediently making cuts for the Tories and the Labour Party has still failed to commit itself to repealing any cuts, in fact they are committed to the welfare cap and support the draconian and hated ‘fitness to work’
tests. Furthermore Miliband colludes with Cameron every time he refuses to back a strike or a community campaign. Any support to the Bedroom Tax campaigns has been nothing but words, and with further huge cuts in benefits about to devastate the lives of millions, their silence is deafening. This is a betrayal to their own history and the class they claim to represent. The PA plan of action calls for “a new anti-austerity government”, this cannot be achieved with Labour. “The People’s Assembly will support every genuine movement and action taken against any and all of the cuts. We support all current industrial actions by the unions.” This can only happen by fighting the Labour party, Labour MPs and Labour councillors who vote for and support the cuts and by fighting against all union leaders who refuse to call or support actions and campaigns against austerity. For a programme of struggle Public sector jobs are disappearing and workers are being re-graded, given zero hour contracts, and having pensions cut...the list goes on. This will worsen and become the ‘norm’ if services are handed over to the private sector. The reality is that there is no solution within capitalism to prevent the increased suffering and misery that we are witnessing. Capitalism can only continue to exist by taking from workers and worsening our lives not theirs, so their solution to their crisis is a barbarism of austerity for the majority. We can fight for an alternative solution with a workers’ programme involving the millions of workers and oppressed across Europe. Fights have begun but now we must unify our struggles and so strengthen our fight. We agree that we must start with an understanding that an alternative is possible which will involve taking the banks and big business into public ownership.
We call for a mass social housing building programme, of at least one million affordable homes. Unemployed building workers and unemployed young people can be trained and thus provide employment and address the serious shortage of social housing. We also call for rent control to address the exploitative level of rent in the private sector. All private business must be thrown out of public education and public health services. PFIs must be stopped and all debt to the owners of the PFI projects be cancelled without compensation. Environmental destruction, like a damaged economy, hits the poor the hardest and further devastation to the planet will be unavoidable, so strict and enforceable measures must be taken against those polluters. General Strike Last September the TUC Congress agreed to begin organising the discussion for a general strike. The RMT, the POA and other unions pressed the TUC to name the day. In March 2013 the North West TUC, representing nearly one million workers, voted unanimously to support a general strike. Despite this the majority leadership of the TUC voted against showing their lack of commitment to really fight against austerity. The question of a general strike must be put back on the agenda. The North West TUC on 9 March unanimously agreed to support organising a general strike and pressed all union branches to discuss it. The national conference of TUCs on 1 June also voted in favour of pressing ahead with plans for general strike including lobbying the TUC conference in September. We call on all rank and file members to resume discussions and preparations in your branches for a general strike. It is the only way that we can bring an end to the degradation that this austerity programme is creating. Our fight against austerity and this anti
working class system cannot succeed unless we link and organise with the European working class. We must oppose the resistance of the trade union leaders who want to keep us isolated and who want to restrict our movements and struggles within national boundaries.
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Unify our struggles against all cuts in services, benefits and jobs. Labour councillors stop voting for cuts, join the growing opposition. Labour and unions oppose the EVICTIONS OF TENANTS, support any victim of this monstrous tax. Unions stop funding Labour MPs and councillors who vote for cuts. TUC conference lobby, 8 September, TUC call a general strike.
SocialistVoice
No 2 September 2011
JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL SOCIALIST LEAGUE, BRITISH SECTION OF THE INTERNATIONAL WORKERS LEAGUE FOURTH INTERNATIONAL
Youth need jobs not police harassment
£1
Great victory of Libyan people! Beware TNC treachery! NATO out now! International Courier pages 9-11
Flames that reached high into the night during the August ‘riots’ illuminated more than burning buildings and cars they cast a penetrating light on the way the youth and poor working class communities have been neglected for decades under this and previous governments. The flames also shone a light on the future, the total destruction of working class communities or a united working class struggle fighting for socialism. The flames of the Arab revolution also showed us something, dictators can be overthrown and like in Libya important victories can be achieved quickly, as in Tripoli, when there is mass support for change. But we warn that in Libya that victory cannot stop there, now the struggle must continue against NATO, foreign control and the Transitional National Council.
The youth in England protested creating panic amongst the political and ruling elite of this country, at the same time a riot was shattering the stock markets of the world which escalated the economic crisis in the USA and Europe. The shockwaves that spread through the financial markets following the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers in 2008 created a financial maelstrom which is out of control and is continuing to sweep across the world causing chaos and resulting in direct attacks on the world’s working class. The living conditions which sparked the struggles against dictatorships in the Middle East can be glimpsed in Britain: one million youth unemployed with disproportionate continued on page 3
Build action against cuts and privatisation Pages 4
Liverpool 8 activists speak Pages 5, 6 and 7
Capitalism in the post-war period Page 14
Permanent Revolution Bill Hunter Page 18
For more information contact ISL:
islinfo@talktalk.net
Build the revolutionary party in the struggle
T
he International Socialist League is part of the International Workers League which has sections involved in the resistance in Turkey, Spain, Brazil and many other countries. We support the Syrian revolution against Assad, imperialism and Hezbollah. We are against class collaboration. We are fighting to build an internationalist and socialist working class party here. Only such a party with members in the unions and social movements can forge a leadership in the process of unifying our struggles. A storm is coming against austerity from the many struggles in the unions and communities and we call on workers and youth to help us build the ISL as a weapon in this struggle.
Printed and Published by the ISL, c/o News from Nowhere, 96 Bold Street, Liverpool L1 4HY