Wednesday 25 February 2015

GREAT NEWS!!

Our candidate for Croydon North, Glen, is now joined by two other TUSC candidates. April Ashley will be standing in Croydon Central and Pauline Gorman will be standing in Sutton and Cheam.

Window posters are now available! If you'd like one, email us at suttoncroydontusc@gmail.com

Watch this space...

Thursday 5 February 2015

NEW LABOUR’S FAILING IN CROYDON NORTH!

There are, about 6,000 households in Croydon North living in “fuel poverty” - that’s about 11% of them. And 6,000 households could mean around 25,000 people - including children and older residents.

But “Fuel poverty" is just another, less upsetting way of saying that these families cannot afford to pay their fuel bills - suggesting in turn that they are having to choose between heating and buying other vital things - such as food and clothing!

One Nation Labour Steve Reed to the rescue, you might think.

He spoke in Parliament, in January, saying that, "the gap between their bills and what they can afford has grown to nearly £500”. He rightly drew attention to the thousands of people in his constituency who must be freezing at this time of year. He went on to say that, "nothing less than a price freeze and action to stop these companies overcharging again in the future will do”.

Has the honourable member thought this policy through?

A price freeze and the prevention of over-pricing will mean that those 6,000 households WILL CONTINUE TO BE UNABLE TO PAY THEIR BILLS! Prices are already much too high! Freezing those prices and preventing over-charging in the future is a SHOCKINGLY INADEQUATE response by New Labour!

This pathetic proposal to tackle an urgent issue of serious poverty is just one reason (of many) why TUSC exists - and why we will stretch every sinew to be rid of these “Labour” careerists - not only here in Croydon, but also in 100 other constituencies (maybe more) around the country.

TUSC calls for the RE-NATIONALISATION OF THE ENERGY COMPANIES.

They would be run as a PUBLIC SERVICE. And as such, would be run much more efficiently and cheaply - meaning NOT a freeze in already very expensive bills, but meaning instead A SUBSTANTIAL AND PERMANENT REDUCTION IN ENERGY BILLS!

That’s the kind of response we need from a party that represents working people.

And that is the response we’ll get from TUSC!

The man at the top of this column is our man for Croydon North. VOTE HART!

Monday 2 February 2015

QUICK CROYDON NEWS ROUND-UP

- Multi-talented GLEN HART has created an excellent ANIMATION - Why TUSC? You can see it on YouTube, > HERE

- Look what’s been happening recently in LAMBETH. STEVE REED was council leader here until he was parachuted into Croydon North. A petition has been organised through Change.org because, it says, “Lambeth council is forcing people from their homes”.

Lambeth United Housing Co-op says - Lambeth Council is destroying housing co-ops that have existed in the borough for 40 years, while at the same time marketing itself as a ‘co-operative council’.

Lambeth’s actions means that members of these co-ops (including OAPs and other vulnerable people) are being taken to court so that the council can gain possession of their homes – homes that co-op residents have maintained across this 40-year period – and sell them on the open market, at auction.

And now? The “Labour” council is selling off libraries! Steve Reed is on record saying he is proud of establishing what he calls a “co-operative council” in Lambeth. No irony intended…

- According to Private Eye, CROYDON COUNCIL'S shiny new offices, Bernard Weatherill House cost more, per square metre, than the Shard! It cost £140 million - that’s £6,280 per square metre. The Shard cost a relatively dirt-cheap £4,545 psm to build. The council is also paying £85 million in interest payments. Well, not actually the council…

There was a letter in the MORNING STAR recently from an RMT member, praising our candidate Glen, known to the writer for many years, as “a committed trade unionist and socialist”.

He was, however, very disappointed that the Communist Party of Britain is not participating in the TUSC Coalition - despite the CPB’s claims to want a broad working class, socialist alliance to challenge the decrepit One Nation Labour.

We too would love to see the CPB in the TUSC alliance. We recently met up with the Croydon branch of the CPB and told them as much. They sympathised as individuals, but, they said, must wait for the Party nationally to make a decision.

We’d also love to see LEFT UNITY in the Coalition. Regrettably, LU nationally has chosen to remain separate (despite their name). Fortunately, though, many individual LU members and branches are working with us.

There is to be a BY-ELECTION IN SELHURST. There has been a minor scandal because it was precipitated by the untimely death of the local councillor; and UKIP, we understand, were somewhat quick in petitioning for the by-election - ahead even of the councillor’s funeral.

Once petitioned though, the “Labour” council arranged the election in double-quick time. By our calculation, they could have organised it so as to allow at least another week for preparation and obtaining nominations. That would have permitted TUSC to challenge the seat.

Sunday 1 February 2015

TUSC AND GREECE!


The Greek election has very real meaning for TUSC. So too has the massive growth of Podemos in Spain - witness the 100,000 strong demo in Madrid the other day!

These events shout loud and
clear that austerity is not the only show in town.

PASOK, the Greek equivalent of the UK Labour Party, has been obliterated. Not because it was too left-wing; just the opposite.

PASOK, like One Nation Labour, caved in to the intimidation (and the temptations) of big business and finance.

It had no political programme that would transform the economy and society in the interests of working people. It endlessly repeated the worn-out mantra that there is no alternative; we must obey the orders of the Euro bankers and the financial elites.

But the Syriza election has shown there is an alternative; that we do not have to bend our knee to the oligarchs.

Of course Syriza must now deliver on its promises. In doing so it will face the implacable hostility of the corporate media and the super-rich, with their loyal stooges amongst the senior ranks of the Greek state, and their craven servants in the fascist "Golden Dawn".

The Syriza government will face the blackmail of big money, which will threaten further measures to evacuate capital from Greece and withhold investment and lending, etc.

They will test Syriza's mettle.

Syriza may have to call on further support and commitment from working people if it is to prevent the forces of capital from stealing their victory - and they will surely try!

Syriza's leadership may have to act sooner rather than later in making sure the major capitalists and financiers are not able to sabotage their work.

They may have to repudiate the loans burdening the Greek economy - loans that were not taken by the workers of Greece, but who nonetheless are being asked to pay them.

Syriza may soon have to nationalise the banks and the main levers of the economy so that the true wealth of Greece, its people, can be put back to work again, to rebuild what the opulent idle have wrecked.

The nationalised core of the economy could then be planned, democratically, by the organised workers and communities - in the interests of the vast majority of Greeks - who need schools, hospitals, roads, food!

When this happens, the future of Greece will be theirs!