“The People’s Assembly is bringing together progressive forces to fight for real change.”
By John McGrath
Under mounting pressure from protests, grassroots campaigns and poor election results, Keir Starmer has been forced to announce a loosening of the eligibility criteria for the Winter Fuel Payment. This U-turn from the administration is a small win for the movement, and a reminder that collective action can change political outcomes.
In his first year in government, Keir Starmer has been carrying on where the Tories left off, with cuts, privatisation and attacks on working people.
The People’s Assembly is bringing together progressive forces to fight for real change. A National Demonstration is being organised for 7 June in London. This the first step in building a mass movement to usher in a new politics that prioritises workers’ rights, public ownership and peace.
The National Demonstration on 7 June is being supported by the trade union movement including the NEU, RMT, Unite, Unison, CWU, FBU, PCS, TSSA, UCU, BFAWU, and GFTU. Trade unions will unite against austerity with DPAC and disability rights activists, the peace movement, and NHS and anti-racist campaigners.
A Movement Against Austerity, Racism, and Militarism
Starmer’s Labour Party, which once carried the hopes of working-class communities, is now responsible for privatising the NHS and putting profits before people. His recent rhetoric on immigration has echoed the divisive language of the far right. By blaming migrants for housing shortages and low wages, Starmer reinforces racist troupes while diverting attention from the real causes: corporate greed, underfunded public services, and policies that undermine workers’ rights.
Meanwhile, the increase of £13bn in defence spending is being directly funded by cuts to the foreign aid budget and Personal Independence Payments for disabled people. As Tony Benn said: “If we can find the money to kill people, we can find the money to help people.” One of the slogans of The People’s Assembly’s national demonstration on 7 June is ‘Welfare not Warfare’ ,and we are building a movement against militarism and austerity.
A New Politics for Working People
The demonstration isn’t an endpoint; it’s the beginning of a campaign to transform politics in this country. The People’s Assembly will continue to unite trade unions and grassroots organisations to challenge power, build solidarity, and usher in a government that delivers for the many, not the few.
At the People’s Assembly press conference last week, Diane Abbott MP made clear: “The problem is that Starmer—and the people who manage Starmer—knew how to smash the left of the Labour Party, but they hadn’t really thought through running the country.”
Trade union leaders, campaigners, and activists are stepping up to fill the void left by Labo ur’s abandonment of its principles.
On Saturday, 7 June, we will gather at Portland Place at 12 noon, marching to Whitehall to demand an end to austerity and the politics of division. We will no longer accept cuts that devastate our communities while the rich grow richer and we will no longer tolerate policies that pit us against one another while protecting the interests of billionaires and warmongers. United against austerity, we are building a movement to reshape politics and deliver real change.
- John McGrath is an activist with the South East London People’s Assembly Against Austerity- you can follow him on Twitter/X.
- You can follow the People’s Assembly Against Austerity on Facebook, Twitter/X and Instagram.
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