The need for a 'Needs Budget'

Mural to celebrate the Poplar rate rebels who used the powers of local government to stand up to a Conservative and Liberal coalition government in the aftermath of the First World War

Guest blog by William Quick, a Green Party member in Bristol. This posting was orginally published on his blog A Green Trade Unionist - In Bristol

I’ve just been selected by the Bristol Green Party to be their candidate for Bedminster in next May’s Council elections.  I’m really excited and want to thank all our local members who voted for me; we came second to Labour in Bedminster by only 3% this year and we have a really good chance of getting atleast one of the two seat in the ward.  I intend to do a longer post on my priorities for the ward, but for now I thought I’d dwell on something that came up in the hustings, my opposition to any and all cuts budgets and the need for a ‘needs budget’.

As you should know the Green Party completely opposes Austerity as a failed economic model, that has held back the economy, and punished the poor and most vulnerable in our society whilst forcing ordinary people to pay for the bailout of the banks.

Nationally our MP has been fantastic in continually voting against cuts and austerity and has one of the best voting records of any Left wing MP.

However, on the local level, the limited options available to resist the imposition of cuts has seen Green Councillors – most famously in Green controlled Brighton – adopt a ‘dented shield’ approach to try and minimise the worst excesses of local cuts and vote for cuts budgets (so they can amend and tinker with them).

The amount of money in the budget is imposed on local authorities by central government and its austerity agenda.  To set a legal budget within those confines means passing on cuts.

The alternative is setting a ‘needs budget’.  Disregarding the limit set by Whitehall this would set a budget adequate to cover provision for all the services local people need (hence a ‘needs budget’).  Such actions have been made illegal under section 114 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 which then obligates the councils financial officer to alert Whitehall as to what’s happened.  After that the council would have 21 days to set a legal budget or supposedly civil servants from central government would depose the council and set a cuts budget themselves.  

That being the case many feel they have no option but to pass cuts budgets that have minimised the threat to vital services as much as possible.

However, to me, and many others, this seems a very improbable course of events.  This is a government with a wafer thin majority, and deposing the democratically elected council of one of the largest cities in the UK would be a deeply unpopular move.  The drama would dominate the news and could be a spark that ignites the disparate movements we’ve seen trying to resist austerity these last 5 years.

Should it even get so far as civil servants being sent into the city, they would be met with large scale protests and no doubt a strike from local government workers who would then refuse to help them carry out their dirty work (and many civil servants are PCS members who would be unlikely to cross a picket).  With all that going on, the likelihood of the worst case scenario (the deposition of the council) happening seems very low.

Instead they’d no doubt try and reach a compromise, in which we’d be able to win a better deal for Bristol.

One way this might work has already been laid out by our Mayoral candidate Tony Dyer.  The Conservatives have said councils can keep their business rates (probably from 2020).  Tony has challenged the government to give Bristol its business rates from 2016, which would allow us to reverse the cuts and invest in the many many infrastructural projects Bristol urgently needs (chiefly social and affordable housing).  If we set a needs budget and demanded we be given our business rates early to pay for it, it seems likely central government would, to some extent, give in.

It’s not as far fetched as some might have you believe.  Remember despite the apparent dire state of the nations finances, in the last budget the Conservatives magicked up £12 billion in extra defence spending (the exact same amount they’re cutting from welfare, coincidently), and another £10 million for a private jet for the PM (among many other things).  Last year they found money for an 11% pay rise for every MP, and £15 billion for Osborne’s ‘Road Revolution’.  In short, they’re very good at finding extra money when they need it.  And in the kind of constitutional crisis they’d provoke by trying to depose Bristol Council, they’d no doubt decided they’d need the money.

Furthermore, councils have already had their budgets cut by so much that there simply isn’t that much more they can cut before statutory services start to fail.  The so called ‘low hanging fruits’ of council expenditure have already been picked.  If councils continue to live within the dictates of the law and refuse to try and set ‘needs budgets’, at some point in the next 5 years we’re going to see a significant failure of the basic services many people depend on.

The main argument against ‘needs budgets’ is that civil servants aren’t going to know our communities needs and their cuts will be far worse than the more compassionate cuts our Council will do itself.

As I’ve said this seems unlikely, and if it got to the point where implementing cuts will result in the failure of services how can civil servant driven cuts be any worse?  Also it would focus the blame for these cuts squarely back where it belongs with central government, and would make the Tories do their dirty work themselves.

We’ve already seen massive mobilisations against the government and its austerity program since the election. If unelected civil servants started deposing local authorities to implicate savage cuts; the protests, strikes and civil disobedience it would cause would be a significant challenge to the government.  

If several councils refused to set cuts budgets at the same time, their likelihood of success would be even higher.  The blowback from them attempting to depose multiple authorities at once could likely bring down the government (so they’d probably give in).  For that to happen we need people elected onto those councils making those arguments and willing to make a stand against austerity. 

If elected I will be one of those people.  I pledge to never vote for a budget containing cuts, and to consistently make the case for the alternative whenever possible.

'Better to break the law than break the poor' - a response to Corbyn's council cuts strategy

This is Jeremy Corbyn's letter on local council cuts and a response from Felicity Dowling, one of the Liverpool 47 - councillors who refused to implement cuts in the 1980s.

Council Illegal Budgets 2

This is what Felicity Dowling, one of the  47 Liverpool councillors stripped from office, fined and banned from standing again after Liverpool Council adopted the slogan 'better to break the law than break the poor' and refused to implement Tory cuts has to say

"As one of the Liverpool Councillors from the 1980s, I obviously disagree with the Labour Party decision to support cuts budgets at local government level.

 What though could they do to effectively oppose these cuts with this 'legal'framework?

- They could honestly explain to the people in their wards what the effect of the cuts will be. No false distractions with how great they are doing while services are in reality being broken.
- They could insist all council reports are written in plain English and openly explain the likely consequences.
 - They could organise community self defence groups in their community and make sure all council buildings and services are open to them.
 - They could hold public meetings to explain the situation.
 - They could insist that not one penny was spent on municipal fripperies and receptions for the rich.
 - They could liaise with local authority workers for a huge national demonstration. - They could defend local authority trade union rights to organise
. - They could open all public buildings as places of succour and sanctuary in the cold weather. - Every home in the local authority control could be made available for social housing.
 - Different councillors could become champions of the different services.
 - They could declare that this is an emergency and operate as such.
- Every day they could be organisers for working class communities and recruit hundreds of thousands of people to socialist politics and workplace organisation, building a mass movement.
 - They could organise lots of study groups and action groups on different issues.
 - They could link all the Labour Councils together in a coordinated national campaign.
 - They could become a voice that could be heard despite the press and media whiteout of the effect of the cuts.
- They could link with all the other campaigns for housing, education, health and social care.
- They could build links with other councils in Europe facing cuts.

 Such campaigns would give hope to the desperate, courage to those tiring in the struggle, inspiration to the weary workers in the services and present an alternative. Left Unity would certainly help.What we won't accept is that our communities must suffer in silence until 2020."

What will McDonnell say about Brent Council cuts on Sunday?

From the current Kilburn Times

On Sunday at 1pm  John McDonnell MP, the anti-austerity Shadow Chancellor, will hold a street meeting at the Jubilee Clock in Harlesden with Labour councillors and activists before they go off to canvas for the Labour candidate in the Kensal Green by-election. (Kensal Green ward covers a large part of Harlesden)

On Monday at 7pm Brent's Labour Cabinet will be setting in motion consultation on the latest round of cuts and increased charges and fees as they implement the Conservative's austerity agenda.

Rather than challenging the cuts agenda they will be operating a bidding war where supporters of different services compete with each other for survival - rather than unity against the Tories attack on local government this will be divisive. According to Michael Pavey's comment it could be those with the loudest voice who will win out : 'If the public is up in arms about any one of these issues we will talk it through and if necessary we will change it.' On the surface this sounds reasonable but leaves those who are most vulnerable and lack a voice at a disadvantage.

There appears to be little appetite for a change of policy in the Labour Group. There are only one or two who have lined up with the recently formed Brent Momentum  LINK while others have joined the anti-Corbyn Labour International. Brent Momentum is urging its members to attend Sunday's event and canvas for the Labour candidate but the effect will be to elect a 55th Labour councillor (out of a total council of 63) who will vote for cuts. If he wins they will hail this as a victory for Corbyn's Labour - all rather contradictory.

This is why the election of Jafar Hassan as a single Green councillor pledged to oppose cuts and hold the dominant Labour group to account would be a much better outcome in Kensal Green.

Green Councillors on Norfolk County Council resign committee positions over 'savage' spending cuts

In the light of an earlier post on local council cuts and the new Labour leadership LINK I thought readers might be interested in this news:

Green Party County Councillors Richard Bearman and Elizabeth Morgan will today stand down from their positions as Vice-Chairs of Norfolk County Council’s Communities and Adult Social Care committees, to take effect at the next full Council meeting.  Both councillors have said that they feel unable to implement the "savage spending cuts" which the government would force them to make.

The Chancellor’s Autumn Statement and financial settlement is expected to deliver further cuts to local authorities, and the Green Party's councillors have warned that further reductions in government grants to councils will undoubtedly damage the ability of Norfolk County Council to deliver statutory services.

Norfolk County Council has seen its budget reduced dramatically over the past 3 years, and is going to have to save at least a further £111M in the years 2016-19. The modelling of a 25% reduction in funding, equivalent to £169M  over a three-year period has brought into sharp relief the potential devastating effects on local libraries, fire services and children’s social care.

Green group leader Councillor Richard Bearman explained:

“Efficiency savings are one thing, but we are being asked to support spending cuts which go way beyond this. We are effectively being expected to deliver a Conservative party manifesto for local councils; and as county councillors and members of the Green party we are not prepared to do that.”

He continued:

"The anti-austerity movement in this country needs to get its message heard in Whitehall loud and clear. The path of deficit reduction chosen by this Conservative government by slashing the funds they give to local government will change forever the way councils operate."

The trade union Unison, which represents council employees, recently described some of the proposals as “devastating” for staff and services. According to its local branch secretary, the cuts could lead to hundreds of job losses for Norfolk county Council employees.

Councillor Morgan echoed this, saying:

“The cuts to local government funding are hitting vulnerable people the hardest, and although one of the council’s four key priorities is supporting vulnerable people, we find ourselves forced into a position where we are simply no longer able to do that adequately.”

She added: 

“I did not get elected to implement the kind of cuts the chancellor wants us to, which would dismantle the essential services so many people in Norfolk rely on." 

Both councillors keep a place on their respective committees and will hand over any special responsibilities to their successors.  

 The Green Party has 14 Norwich City Councillors (Labour 22, Lib-Dems 3) 

 Natalie Bennett, Green Party Leader, said:

"I know these two councillors personally and I know how dedicated they are to the welfare of Norfolk communities, and particularly to the most vulnerable people in them.

"Like councillors up and down the country, they are seeing funds for essential services slashed, communities torn apart by the loss of facilities and support, and I commend them for taking action to highlight this.

"Austerity is making the poor, the disadvantaged and the young pay for the greed and the fraud of the bankers - and that's hitting home in the furthest corners of rural Norfolk as well as in its cities and towns.”

Corbyn and Council Cuts: Time for a united resistance?

Local councils are currently drawing up their budgets for 2016-17 with the accompanying cuts to accommodate the cuts in local government funding. Council leaders across the political spectrum have warned that these are cuts too far and will have a devastating impact on core services.

The budgets are often part of a 3 or 4 year plan started a year or two ago. Labour councils (and the defeated Green minority council in Brighton) have used the 'dented shield' argument that only they can make the chocies that will preserve vital services.  This looks increasingly weak as the cuts accumulate and the poor are hit.

Since those cuts were projected in budgets the political situation has changed. On the one hand the Tories are back in power but on the other hand Jeremy Corbyn has won the leadership on an anti-austerity ticket with a surge of support, often from local activists involved in housing, NHS and cuts campaigns.

The run up to local and the London Mayoral and GLA elections will be accompanied by local press stories on the council cuts and their impact on vulnerable adult care, children's social services, provision for children with special education needs, local libraries and youth provision.

Labour will be in the contradictory position of having an anti-austerity national Labour leadership and a local leadership that is implementing the government's anti-austerity measures.

There has been a silence from the new Labour shadow cabinet on this so far but the call for resistance and a strong campaign based on local activists and public sector unions that was made under the last Labour leadership by the left must surely be repeated with added urgency now?

I have raised this issue in Green Party circles with a varied response. Some have shrugged and said, 'What else can local councils do?' and suggested we concentrate on the source of the cuts - the Tories and their ideology - emphasising that there is no need for the cuts but it is a choice that the Conservatives have made: Councils have no choice. This leaves us with divisive debates about exactly where the cuts will fall.

Others see the Corbyn phenomenon and the various broad alliances proposed (Momentum, Red Pepper circles etc) as well as the People's Assembly and trade unions as an opportunity to build a massive resistance.

What advice will Corbyn give local coucils?

I publish below a response I received about this from a Green Party activist:

I agree that we have to draw attention to the inconsistency between having an "anti-austerity" policy position, whilst being forced to implement austerity cuts locally, which are once again directed at the most vulnerable, in a deliberately discriminatory and disproportionate manner.

e.g. Disability groups have been calling for a 'Cumulative Impact Assessment' (CIA) to asess what the cumulative effects are, of 'multiple cuts' to different services and benefits, on those who (being the most vulnerable) rely on a range of different benefits and services. There are assessments of each individual cut, but no asessment of those who are subjected to multiple cuts over time. This has been requested repeatedly for several years now, and the Government/DWP still refuses to do it. Meanwhile, there has been a rise in the death-toll of vulnerable people, and those people deserve not to die unacknowledged, while their 'deaths' were a deliberate 'colateral-damage' decision, which was made by Tory 'policy-makers'.

"The United Nations is carrying out an unprecedented inquiry into “systematic and grave violations” of disabled people’s human rights by the UK government"
http://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/confirmed-un-is-investigating-uks-grave-violations-of-disabled-peoples-rights/

We need to be behind this move by the UN and seen to be showing solidarity with anti-austerity disabled rights groups around the country, who have been on the receiving end of these deliberately 'Targeted' cuts for 5 years already. Cuts which have potentially contributed to thousands of deaths.

Either Labour are going to be an opposition thorn in this sociopathic government's side, or they are going to continue with the Neoliberal narrative that 'economics' makes it all inevitable because... money, family purse, budget... mixing macro-economics with family economics like the Tories always do, and confusing people's perceptions of how 'money/debt' is created (while the Tories have doubled the 'debt' and handed the 'money' to their old-school corporate chums). The Green Party has a new and important policy around money-creation, and this is also a big opportunity for Greens to push that & to explain it to the public, so as to dispell the 40 year old Thatcherite meme of a family purse budget.

A Green New Deal is beneficial socially, economically and environmentally. It ticks all the boxes as the alternative to 'austerity'. A nation-wide renewable energy and energy efficiency programme (managed at the 'Local' level), coupled to electrification of transport (which would require offshore wind wave tidal development), would be a massive (but increasingly urgent) undertaking, which would both improve 'quality-of-life' for people locally, as well as mitigate some of the damage we're doing to the environment. Voters need to know that the Tory government are letting Britain be left behind in the new global renewable energy industry, which has massive social & economic benefits if encouraged to prosper.

One of Thatcher's biggest crimes, was not investing North Sea oil tax revenues in the renewable energy technologies which were available at the time, like on/offshore wind power, and solar water heaters & insulation for homes etc etc. The 'jobs' thus created could have replaced the coal jobs lost, instead of throwing tens of thousands into unemployment, with no new jobs to go to. Those new sustainable jobs are still screaming out to be created. Austerity is a lie. It is the diversion of Public money into Private offshore accounts without the 'societal' benefits that should come from creating that money.

But let's not forget there are powerful neoliberal forces in Labour still. The first Bail-Out was under Brown and that alone was enough to pay off every single mortgage in the UK at the time. Those people haven't just gone away because Corbyn became 'Leader' and there hasn't been a huge shift in policy position by the Parliamentary Labour Party as far as I can tell - so far.

Earl Bramley-Howard
West Mendip Green Party

ShahrarAli: Corbyn victory a good result for everyone on the left in British politics

Fighting for our Future: The Alternative to Austerity, Humanitarian Disaster & Market Meltdown

Book tickets HERE

Book your coach from Brent to Manchester for Oct 4th anti-Tory protest

Despite Corbyn the impossibility of tackling climate change within capitalism remains the key issue for eco-socialists

The old politics is crumbling, not just in Britain but across our continent. We now have the chance to embrace a movement based not on greed or fear, but on resilient local communities, people working together and a stable economy that works for generations to come. I truly hope you win the contest on 12 September – and I look forward to continuing to work with you to bring about the progressive politics that has inspired us both for so many years...

Caroline Lucas' open letter to Jeremy Corbyn published in the Independent LINK  has created a lot of discussion and comment, not all of it complimentary.

When members of the Labour Party have asked me to join the party I have often replied, only half-jokingly, 'I can't. I'm a socialist!'

Now it looks as if that is what the Labour Party itself is saying to some of those who have joined recently as a result of Jeremy Corbyn's leadership campaign.

I haven't because I am committed to eco-socialism and a member of  Green Left. This is what we said in 2006:

 “Activists in the Green Party have founded Green Left because many Greens believe the only path to an ecological, economically and socially just and peaceful society has to be based on an anti-capitalist political agenda.”

You can read more about Green Left's political position HERE but for me a key issue is that climate change as a result of human activity is such a threat that we have to change that activity. We cannot continue expanding industrial production without limit as the processes involved will accelerate climate change and eventually threaten humankind and other species.

To change to a sustainable economy requires separating wants from needs, ending the artificial creation of demand through advertising,  stopping the plundering of the earth's finite resources, and creating an economic system based on cooperation rather than competition and exploitation.

This is the opposite of neoliberalism which monetises everything from education to water and has no regard for the damage it causes to people and planet.

Corbyn's campaign although sharing many of the Green Party's policies does not address this fundamental issue at the heart of the planetary crisis.  The Labour Party he will inherit as leader, if elected, is still committed to the neoliberal agenda, albeit a slightly softer version than the Tory one, and it will be a huge battle to change that commitment as the reaction of the Blairites, the bulk of the media, and the Establishment have shown.

The Labour leadership campaign has highlighted one issue for me regarding democratic policy making. All the candidates seem to be putting forward policies as individuals, reflecting the party's move away from the sovereignty of conference when members can put forward motions about vital issues and principles, debate and vote on them - it is now a top-down process.  The leadership campaign, rather like a General Election, gives rank and file members just one chance to vote on policy through choosing one of the candidates rather than a say in formulating policy.

The Green Party  still makes policy democratically at its two Conferences a year with a process that includes pre-agenda discussions, pre-conference prioritisation, conference workshops culminating a debate on the floor of the Conference. The leader has no more say in these debates than rank and file members.  The Autumn Conference will be after the winner of the Labour contest is announced and any alliances or pacts will be subject to Conference debate and decision making.

The process means that our leaders cannot make up major policy on the hoof without it first having been decided by the membership. This probably led to some of the difficulties experienced by Natalie Bennett during the General Election campaign when the media expected her to have the same freedom to make policy as other party leaders.

These differences in the process of policy making will present some difficulties if a Corbyn led Labour Party and the Greens set up some kind of 'progressive' alliance ('progressive' is a vague label claimed by many often conflicting groups - anti-austerity or socialist alliance may be better as a guide to action in this parliament).

The undemocratic structures of the Labour Party, the dominance of the far from radical Parliamentary Labour Party, the behind the scenes machinations of the Establishment and intelligence services (cf my previous article on Harold Wilson and my prediction of dirty tricks over Corbyn's support for Palestine LINK) and media hostility all lead me to fear that Andy Burnham will end up as Labour Party leader but, along with Caroline Lucas, I wish Corbyn well.

Caroline Lucas makes case for staying in Europe despite Greece

Caroline Lucas has contributed to the debate reported below LINK where iIsaid that some Greens were looking critically at our 3 Yeses Policy (Yes to Referendum, Yes to Refor, Yes to staying in Europe).

This is part of what she had to say:

The EU is far from perfect, but turning our backs on it is a risky strategy. Profoundly re-imagining what a reformed EU might look like shouldn’t just be left to David Cameron. We should be building a progressive case for Britain’s membership of a radically reformed union that works better for all of us. Completely reappraising the values and end goals that lie at the heart of the European Union.

With the European council made up of ministers from each member state, it often simply reflects the prevailing currents in European politics. The imposition of austerity in Greece – forcing a population to pay the price for a crisis they didn’t cause – is simply an extension of an economic logic that spans our continent.

It’s easy to blame the EU when free-market economics tramples across our continent’s welfare states, but it’s governments like our own who have overseen the EU becoming a byword for greater liberalisation, deregulation and privatisation. The left lost the last election in Britain – giving Tories a seat at the top table in Europe. Perhaps we’d be better off reflecting on our own failings to successfully inspire hope and unity, rather than kicking out at the EU.

The full article is HERE


Green Party policy of course remains decided by Conference, rather then the leader or our single MP (something the media sometimes find hard to grasp) and it is essential that a discussion happens at Conference in September.

A vital aspect will be the question of where we will stand, if as seems likely, that any 'reforms' that Cameron negotiates will undermine the positive social aspects of the EU that the Green Party supports.

After Greece where should the Greens stand on the EU and the Referendum?

Events in Greece have led to a discussion in the Green Party, particularly amongst Green Left, about the party's position on the EU in general and the referendum in particular.  The Green Party's official position is what has been called the 'Three Yeses': Yes to a referendum, Yes to major EU reform, and Yes to staying in a reformed Europe.

The benefits of EU social policy are now being weighed against the neoliberal assumptions and anti-democratic tendencies revealed in what Caroline Lucas has termed 'a coup'.

The Green's Autumn Conference takes place in September and will offer a forum to discuss these issues which could contribute to a change of position.

Below is a video of Romayne Phoenix of the Green Party and Green left speaking at the demonstration which took place outside the German Embassy in London last night and a guest blog by Haroon Saad of London Green Party and  Green Left which was first published on the London Green Left blog LINK.

The European dream is being destroyed by those who claim to act in defence of that dream. The dream was already beginning to fade but the front of screen and back of screen machinations that have accompanied the “Greek tragedy” played out over the last six months and the eventual   “treaty of reparations” –or otherwise known as the “deal” – has killed the dream for me.

It’s salutary to go back to the beginning. As hardly anyone knows, the current EC grew out what was called the European Coal and Steel Community. It’s here that one can locate the European Dream.

Again as hardly anyone knows, 9 May is known as Europe Day. 9 of May is Europe Day because it was on that date in 1950 that what is known as the Schuman Declaration was launched and which laid out the key features of the European dream. A revisit to this is illuminating in terms of “progress to date”.

• It would mark the birth of a united Europe.

An element of the dream that no longer relates to reality. In treating Greece as an “outsider” we have seen the reemergence of an imperial and colonial mindset. It may yet come to German style “stormtroopers” being the response that explodes in Greece. It’s not just Greece, however, the EU may be united but it is unequal. It’s an EU dominated by Germany with several smaller states simply being vassals. The problem goes even deeper when you consider the impact of EU funds and how they have widened disparity between regions in the EU.

• It would make war between member states impossible.

If you ignore the Balkans and Srebrenica, then this has held up well in terms of old style warfare. However, the Troika, the replacement of the elected government in Italy with an appointed technocratic boss, the bulldozing away of the Greek prime minister when he had the nerve to suggest that it might be appropriate to check out what the Greek people thought about the terms of the bailout being stuffed down the throats of the Greeks by France and Germany, the contempt with which the Cypriots were treated etc has just been warfare through financial markets and financial institutions like the ECB.   

• It would encourage world peace.

It's salutatory to remember that “black lives are worth less”- more African, Asian, Latin American, and Arab, people have died through conflict  since the Second World War than those  who died in the second world war. Europe in fact has exported war and the EU has financed state terror. Follow the money as they say and voila you will find that the EU arms industry is doing very well.

• It would transform Europe in a 'step by step' process leading to the unification of Europe democratically, unifying two political blocks separated by the “Iron Curtain”

There is a huge democratic deficit if the European Institutional framework that has been established. Everyone goes round pointing out what important work the EP undertakes and how it is directly elected by citizens. The EP for its first 30 years simply rubber stamped 83% of what the European Council decided. The EC is the place where our elected leaders wine and dine and talk and make decisions without any accountability. Sure there is “cloak of accountability” provided by the phase “some decisions of the EC have to be ratified by national parliaments”. However, this just conveniently ignores the fact that the EC sits on top of a largely broken and corporate dominated party political system.

There is no democratic accountability for the European Commission. Incredible given the fact that it has the power to initiate legislation. That it has the power to deal with trade and investment matters.

With Nato trashing the 1997 agreements with Russia regarding expansion of Nato and the “soviet bloc”, need I say more given the fact the phrase “cold war” has suddenly come back out of hibernation.

• It would create the world's first supranational institution.

If you ignore the UN then this element of the dream may just hold up. The problem is that over 60% of European citizens have no trust in the supra national institutions that have been created.

• It would create the world's first international anti-cartel agency.

This has turned out to be the exact opposite. The EU has institutionalised corporate democracy. Big business interest rule in Brussels, there is a revolving door mechanism from and to big business and the EU institutions. The expert groups that “advise” the EU institutions are dominated by corporate interests. Key texts produced by the Commission turn out to be just cut and paste versions of submissions made by vested interest groups.

• It would create a common market across the Community.

In terms of capital and goods one could say that the dream has been largely realized but when it comes to labour then it’s a nightmare scenario with deportations now taking place regularly  between member states(e.g. Belgium is routinely deporting EU citizens without work). With the coming restrictions on access to welfare benefits for EU citizens, the free movement of labour will be reduced to one for those who can afford it.

• It would, starting with the coal and steel sector, revitalise the whole European economy by similar community processes.

Steel production has declined. A renaissance in coal is underway with Germany and Poland (or coal land as it is referred to in environmental circles), but this will be very short lived as China moves off coal usage. Growth for the past 15 years has been anemic and globally the EU is in decline with its share of the shrinking global trade set to decline further in the coming decades.  We have rising poverty in Europe. A whole new category of “in work poverty” has been created. We have had youth unemployment levels running at over 14% since 2000. Long term unemployment is growing. Indeed, given the current stagnation the EU has created structural unemployment as feature of the economy.   

• It would improve the world economy and the developing countries, such as those in Africa.

Far from improving the situation in Africa, it has initiated a new rape of continents like Africa through dumping of subsidized farm goods, through displacement of rural labour by the introduction of agri-business style agriculture which produces food for anyone but the Africans. It has fermented civil war through arms sales and bribes. It has participated in destroying countries like Libya and Syria through its so called “wars for democracy”. The saga of the migrants in the Med is just a visible sign of how much damage has been inflicted upon Africa.

So the dream is dead. What will we be voting for next year in our referendum? The issue is no longer just about whether or not any more power can be ceded to the EU institutions. Nor is the issue about what powers need to be repatriated.  It’s not about being pro- or anti-Europe. We need to dismantle what we currently have and re-establish the European project with a new dream. For that we need new dreamers of which there is simply a dearth at this moment in time.

Written by Haroon Saad who is a member of the London Green Party and a supporter of Green Left

Lucas: Budget 'Cruel and counterproductive'

Caroline Lucas MP (Green Party)  has labelled yesterday’s emergency budget as ‘cruel and counterproductive’ after the Chancellor announced deep cuts in welfare spending and failed to propose serious action on climate change.

Lucas said:

“This cruel and counterproductive budget is dire news for people in Britain and a serious blow to the Government’s already stained record on climate change.

“The welfare cuts announced today will plunge thousands of people in poverty, and cause families to be evicted from their homes. I’m deeply concerned that my own constituents are set to face needless hardship as this Government continues its economically illiterate and utterly unjust mission to hack away at our welfare state and public services.

“This Government’s ideological obsession with welfare cuts is gutting our social security system. It’s now vital that the Labour Party quickly rises from its post-election slumber and fulfils its job as the official opposition – giving in to the Tories on an issue like the benefits cap cut would be an utter betrayal of the many people in Britain who are struggling to get by.”

Lucas labelled the budget as a ‘serious blow’ for the fight against climate change.

"There is an enormous climate shaped hole in this budget.”

“Ministers know that climate change presents a huge threat to our economy and national security - not just to public health and our environment.  Yet George Osborne has refused to change direction and, in axing the climate-change levy exemption for renewable electricity and committing to further funding for road building, he’s putting progress on climate change in jeopardy . We’ve seen yet another example of reckless short-term policy making that prioritises the profits of polluters over the public interest in a safe and habitable climate."

Lucas has also cautiously welcomed the Chancellor’s promise to increase wages.

Inheritance tax needs ‘radical overhaul’

Lucas is calling for a ‘radical overhaul’ of inheritance tax policy so that levels of taxation depend on the wealth of the recipient, not the donor.

She said:

“The plan to raise the inheritance tax threshold will, according to Treasury’s own analysis, benefit high income and wealthy households.

“Only five constituencies in the entire country have average house prices above £1m – all of them in London. The rise in the threshold will benefit just the wealthiest, at a time when we’re seeing swingeing cuts to our welfare state.

“Given that at present inheritance tax is one of the easiest taxes to both avoid and evade, and the very rich often find ways of paying very little –it’s clear we need to radically rethink the whole policy.  

“The level of the tax should depend on the wealth of the recipient, not the donor, so that, for example, all bequests to individual recipients who have less than around £200,000 should be tax free. This would encourage people to spread their wealth more widely.”

We need a budget fit for the future, says Caroline Lucas MP

Caroline Lucas, the Green Party MP for Brighton Pavilion, is calling for a budget ‘fit for the future’ as George Osborne prepares to announce his Government’s spending plans tomorrow.
 

‘A challenge to Labour’

Lucas challenged the Labour Party to oppose the proposed ‘benefits caps’ which will reduce the amount of money any family can receive from the welfare state. She said:

“Our welfare state is on the edge of collapse, yet the so-called opposition seem unable to muster the strength to oppose further pernicious cuts to social security spending.

“The cut in the benefit cap will hit people hard. Housing experts are saying that families will be forced out of South East England because they will no longer be able to pay the rent.

“Progressive MPs must come together to oppose the lowering of the welfare cap – and to fight for a welfare state that serves all of us when we need it. There is simply no excuse for Labour supporting this proposal.”

‘A tough new law on Tax dodging’

Lucas is also calling for Osborne to honour his Government’s commitment to cracking down on tax avoidance. She said:

“This budget must include a very clear road map on tackling tax avoidance. Indeed if the Government is serious about recouping the billions of pounds lost through tax avoidance it should urgently introduce a tax dodging bill which enshrines into law a commitment to a global tax system that’s fair for everyone.”

“Decisive action on climate change”

Lucas is calling for ‘decisive’ action on climate change ahead of a global summit in Paris later this year. She said:

“Ministers know that climate change presents a huge threat to our economy and national security - not just to public health and our environment.  Unless George Osborne changes direction and puts the green economy at the heart of this Budget, it’ll be another example of reckless short-term policy making that prioritises the profits of polluters over the public interest in a safe and habitable climate.”

“The Government must get serious about leaving the vast majority of fossil fuels in the ground. It should start by cancelling unaffordable and unsustainable tax-breaks for fracking and other polluting industries. Instead, Government should be investing in a rapid transition to clean, home-grown renewable energy, and the roll-out of energy efficiency measures for homes and business across the UK, thus creating jobs, cutting fuel bills and reducing carbon emissions.”

Greece: You cannot impose economics on such a politicised people

Paul Mason's commentaries from Greece have been invaluable as we try and make sense of this confrontation between neoliberalism and democracy. Follow him on Twitter @paulmasonnews

This is his latest video blog:

Greens welcome the Greek 'NO' to bailout proposals

Greens have welcomed the outcome of the Greek referendum, which has shown around two thirds of voters have said ‘No’ to European Union and International Monetary Fund bailout proposals for more austerity in exchange for rescue loans.

Caroline Lucas MP said:

“The Greek people have made a decision which must now be respected. This referendum has seen EU states do their very best to undermine the democratic will of the Greek people but it’s time to draw a line under the past and move onwards.

“History shows us that countries can escape crippling debt in a just way. In 1953, at London Conference, Greece was among the European nations signing a deal which allowed for the cancellation of German debt, to enable the country to grow again after the destruction of the Second World War. Europe needs to come together to offer the Greeks a deal which allows their country to be rebuilt.”

Molly Scott Cato, Green MEP for the South West, said:

“This referendum has provided an opportunity for all EU states to reflect on the balance of power between finance markets and democratic governments. We now need to see an urgent conference to address the issue of Greece’s debt with restructuring and debt relief a clear outcome. There also needs to be clear support for rebuilding the economy, especially by investing in sustainable sectors of the economy.”

 Michael Rosen posted this on his Facebook page today:
 
Standby for long grey files of Europe's elder statesmen
their wallets stuffed with the riches of
bad banking, offshore deals and weird deals
we know not of
standing solemnly in front of us
telling us that the Greek people
are mad, irresponsible,
and don't understand money.
Standby for them to tell us that the system
is essentially good and the Greek people
are essentially bad,
standby for them to tell us that their core belief
that money can create money is
wise and wonderful
and that the wicked Greek people
are betraying the law of nature
that whatever is lent must be given back
a hundredfold
and the law of nature that trees produce olives
is as nothing compared to that.

Shakira Martin of NUS (FE) on 'Proper, proper, proper solidarity'

One speaker made a particular impression at yesterday's Downing StreetStreet demonsration against the measures contained in the Government's Queen's Speech. Shakira Martin, from Lewisham, is the newly elected NUS Vice President for Further Education. Shakira spoke about how daily lived experience deepens political understanding and the ability to connect with people and express solidarity.

Natalie Bennett: Don't Get Angry - Get Active!

Natalie Bennett, leader of the Green Party, was speaking at the demonstration marking the Conservative Government's Queen's Speech, at Downing Street today.

Earlier Caroline Lucas had given her intial reaction to the Queen's Speech:

 

Defy the Tories-Build the Fightback: 2pm Saturday at the Jubilee Clock

Brent Fightback, the local campaign against cuts and privatiation has called a 'Speak Out' event for Saturday May 23rd, 2pm at the Jubilee Clock in Harlesden High Street. In a message to supporters and the public Fightback say:

Only 24% voted for the new Tory government, but that's not stopping them from gearing up to scrap the human rights act, restrict the right to strike, close our hospitals and make vicious attacks on welfare for the unemployed, elderly and disabled.Cameron's chosen a minister of justice who believes in hanging, a minister for equalities who opposes equal marriage. They're talking about ending statutory maternity pay, taking housing benefits away from young jobseekers.

WE NEED TO TAKE TO THE STREETS!!! We'll be holding an open air assembly in Harlesden with an open mic and speakers from a range of campaigns to get the word out: enough is enough, We've had five years of Tory attacks on our Welfare State and we're not going to take it anymore!!

BRING YOUR PLACARDS, RAISE YOUR VOICES AND HELP BUILD FOR A MASSIVE ANTI-TORY DEMO ON JUNE 20th.

'No return to New Labour' call by group of newly elected Labour MPs

In case you missed it this letter published in Saturday's Guardian suggest some at least of the newly elected Labour MPs will resist a return to New Labour policies and challenge austerity. It is interesting that they are mainly from the north of England with just one London Labour MP signing the letter:

Having arrived in Westminster as newly elected Labour MPs, and after speaking to tens of thousands of voters during our election campaigns, we know how important it is for the future of our party to move forward with an agenda that best serves the everyday needs of people, families and communities, and that is prepared to challenge the notion of austerity and invest in public services.

Labour must now reach out to the 5 million voters lost since 1997, and those who moved away from Labour in Scotland, renewing their hope that politics does matter and Labour is on their side.

We need a new leader who looks forward and will challenge an agenda of cuts, take on big business and will set out an alternative to austerity – not one which will draw back to the New Labour creed of the past. Labour needs a leader who is in tune with the collective aspiration of ordinary people and communities across Britain, meeting the need for secure employment paying decent wages, homes that people can call their own, strong public services back in public hands, and the guarantee of a real apprenticeship or university course with a job at the end of it. From restoring Sure Start to providing dignity and a good standard of living in retirement, these are the aspirations key to real Labour values today and will re-engage people across our country in the years to come.

We look forward to engaging in the debate in the weeks ahead to secure our party as being best able to meet the challenges faced by ordinary people at this time.

Richard Burgon MP (Leeds East), Louise Haigh MP (Sheffield Heeley), Harry Harpham MP (Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough), Imran Hussain MP (Bradford East), Clive Lewis MP (Norwich South), Rebecca Long Bailey MP (Salford and Eccles), Rachael Maskell MP (York Central), Kate Osamor MP (Edmonton), Cat Smith MP (Lancaster and Fleetwood), Jo Stevens MP (Cardiff Central)

Handful of 6th form students galvanise 3,000 into anti-austerity protest

I was heartened by this news from Bristol where a handful of 6th form students organised an anti-austerity protest in reaction to the Conservative election victory. They apparently did so independently of any political party.  This is an interview they gave after the event to the Student Assembly Against Austerity LINK:

On Wednesday (13 May), a group of A Level students organized a 3,000 strong protest in Bristol against the Tories and their austerity agenda - a protest which is hopefully a sign of things to come! 

Below Fiona Edwards from the Student Assembly Against Austerity interviews Bristol Against Austerity activist and A Level student Rosie Simmons who was one of the organisers of the protest.  


When we woke up last Friday morning to the news that the Tories won the election we were very shocked and disappointed.

Why did you decide to organise a protest following the Tories winning the election and why do you think its important for young people and students to get involved in the movement against austerity?

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We organised a protest for several reasons. Firstly because austerity doesn’t work, it is not the solution that our country needs. We don’t think that taking money from the people that are the most vulnerable and already suffering is right. 

We also disagree with the Tories themselves, as we think that they are fundamentally selfish party who over the next 5 years are going to make living in this country even harder for those that are less well-off. 

We finally disagree with the first past the post system, as 76% of those eligible to vote did not vote for the Tories, but they still won with a ‘majority’. We think it’s important for young people to get involved in the movement against austerity because whether or not it’s affecting you or someone you know, we need to take care of the people in our country that are struggling, not take away from them. 

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Students across the country were so inspired to see over 3,000 people march against austerity in Bristol this week. How did it all come together? 

After the general election, we were all really disappointed and unhappy with the results. We were tweeting about how we wished that we could get involved with some sort of protest, and annoyed that there wasn’t one in Bristol, so we decided to make one ourselves! We knew that there are enough people in Bristol angry about the election results to make it viable. So we made a group chat on facebook, made an events page, invited all our friends, and it really caught on! A lot of people felt that they needed an outlet to express their views and come together, and we provided that platform. 

What are the next steps in your campaign? 
We’re currently studying for our A-levels so we’re talking at a couple of events and then taking a break until exams are over! After that though we are planning on dealing with the direct effects of austerity; by helping at food banks and women’s shelters in Bristol. We’re really excited that as a result of the protest we now have sufficient contacts and support to be able to make a big difference in our community! 

On Saturday 20 June hundreds of thousands of people will be marching on the ‘End Austerity Now’ national demo. We are organising a student bloc – do you have a message on why people should join us? 
People should join this march because we, as people living in the UK need to make our voice heard. This isn’t about being bad losers, or expecting the Tories to magically disappear, but about seeing a massive problem in government policy that is going to affect so many people’s lives negatively and showing that we don’t like it and we’re not going to be complacent while austerity continues to affect the people in our communities that are already suffering. So please join us, the more people that come, the more of an impact we can make!


Inspired? Join the fight back today! Come along to the massive national demo on Saturday 20 June and find out about other actions you can take in the run up here (including local protests which are happening nationwide)

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