“We need for a break from the more than 40 years of profiteering.”
By Matt Willgress, Arise – a Festival of Left Ideas
Tuesday lunchtime at the TUC in Brighton saw a packed out event hosted by Arise on Socialist Economic policies – the alternative to never-ending cuts hear powerful speeches from a range of high profile speakers. Chairing, Sarah Woolley, BFAWU General Secretary, welcomed everyone to the biggest left meeting of the week, by highlighting the “growing anger across society at this Government’s total failure to deliver meaningful change.” She added that, “We see it on the streets, we see it in our workplaces, and we also see it with the 100,000s signing up for Jeremy’s new party, the anti-austerity win in the Greens and the growing rebellions of Labour MPs against punitive welfare cuts.”
Gawain Little, GFTU General Secretary, kicked off his contribution by drawing attention to how across our movement there is broad agreement that Labour’s first year of Government has been a disappointment. But it is vital to also understand why this is. Labour has the wrong economic framework and there has been a failure to correct the weaknesses and fissures that have opened up, particularly since the 2008 financial crash. Quoting Gramsci, Gawain characterised this deep crisis as where the old is dying, but the new cannot yet be born – and we are seeing the morbid symptoms in our economy and our politics with the real and long decline in living standards resulting in anger from working people.
Gawain, and other speakers, not only emphasised an analysis that a fundamentally different approach is needed but the need – and existence – of clear, concrete policies and demands.
Building on these points, RMT General Secretary Eddie Dempsey also emphasised the need to to go beyond being just anti-austerity, but instead to address the deep structural problems in our economy such as the record low levels of investment and a shrunken productive sector, with macro-economic policies such as growing manufacturing of the future and expanded transport system alongside this.
Eddie also underlined that our economic policy is a democratic issue, stating; “We elected a government not the bond markets, and the government needs an industrial strategy rather than to leave us to the mercy of the markets”.
Meanwhile Andrew Fisher, well known writer and analyst on the left, put forward that socialist economic policies are indeed the only alternative, and also that they are the only way this Labour government could survive.
In addition, even within their own fiscal rules and tax restrictions very different political and economic choices could have been made by Labour – for example, imposing rent controls, levying a windfall tax on the banks who have experienced their most profitable years and preventing the energy and water companies from skyrocketing peoples’ bills. This would have benefitted people with better living standards, created greater disposable income that would have been spent in local communities and boosted economic growth. Andrew highlighted that these are just some of the options open to the government rather than cutting disability benefits and the Winter Fuel Allowance.
Rebecca Long-Bailey, MP and Chair of the BFAWU Parliamentary Group, made the powerful point that danger lies ahead if we are not able to close the void of hope she saw opening up as people are told there is no money, and there is no money going into their local communities – yet they see and know that money goes into the hands of the very wealthy.
Public ownership, including of water, energy, rail and mail, good wages with good jobs and conditions – and how we need for a break from the more than 40 years of profiteering – were all highlighted as popular policies that would deliver economic growth and raise living standards.
Zita Holborne, Black Activists Rising Against the Cuts (BARAC UK), outlined how BARAC had been founded in 2010 as an anti-austerity organisation focused on the disproportionate impact of austerity on black workers, communities and service users. Zita emphasised how you cannot have a campaign against cuts that doesn’t take up the impact of racism and fight against it, highlighting how BARAC UK have been involved in campaigning for justice on Windrush, against the threat of the far right, and for decolonisation, reparations and migrant rights and the need to stand collectively so we are not divided by our enemies. This means giving practical support and solidarity to calls for justice for Windrush victims, to the need for an independent inquiry into the Windrush scandal, and support to campaigns such as that for justice for Jay Abatan.
John McDonnell MP closed the meeting by reflecting on the contributions made by other speakers – and being clear of the need that these points need to be hammered home again and again, especially in context of so much disillusionment caused by people voting for a Labour government feeling now that they didn’t got one. In particular, he emphasised the points on the need for much greater public investment and a series of radical different measures that would redistribute power and wealth, as being part of the total change of direction of economic policy that is needed.
- Matt Willgress is our a ‘Red Weekly’ columnist on Labour Outlook. If you support Labour Outlook’s work amplifying the voices of left movements and struggles here and internationally, please consider becoming a supporter on Patreon.
