Dave, Nick & Ed
In just under a week from when this blog was published, the UK will be commencing the largest single day of lawful industrial action in living memory. Millions of public sector workers, many of them striking for the first time are all standing together, in a battle to defend their pensions against swathing cuts from the Tories and Lib Dems.
Yet, is it just those two?
The current proposals to make huge changes to public sector pensions was actually kicked off by none other than the Labour party, when they were still in charge in Westminster. Labour's Lord Hutton started a wide ranging review which culminated in the current dispute. Of course, his conclusions were taken on by Labour's opponents but if Labour were still in charge, would there be any difference? Maybe I have missed something, but have Labour actually come up with an alternative to the Tory proposals?
Labour are intensely embarrassed about this dispute, as the trade unions leading the fight are the very same affiliated unions who delivered their new leader his majority. Yet at the same time, they are desperate not to be labelled ; loony left' by the Daily Mail readers who once voted for them and so are playing a very careful game of saying absolutely nothing about the dispute - anywhere. If challenged, the line they have been given by HQ is: -
"We fully support the right of trade unions to take lawful strike action."
How comforting for the thousands of Welsh trade unionists who voted Labour in May, believing that they would 'stand up for Wales' against the Tories. Well, sorry to upset the Labour applecart, but I have absolutely no intention of letting the hypocrites off the hook that easily. If I'm going to lose a day's pay next Wednesday to defend public sector pensions, then I intend to highlight the culprits at every opportunity - including the Labour party.
Surely by striking, you are indulging in the same anti-Tory sentiment you were suggesting Plaid members to retreat from?
ReplyDeleteGood grief no. I am striking to use the last legal avenue open to me, to defend my pension and that of every other public sector worker. I believe that all 3 London based parties are complicit in this dispute and that the overall aim is not pension sustainability, but the eventual collapse of public sector pension schemes. Many people will simply not be able to afford the additional payments and will either drop out or never join.
ReplyDeleteLove the fact that the Occupy people have pitched their tents outside Labour TQ in Transport House, Cardiff. Labour started this mess - and other 'Labour' parties in Europ; Greece, Spain etc are the worst countries.
ReplyDeleteI know the lefties in Transport House like to think they're supporting their 'brovvers an sistas' in the 'movement' by giving them the right to pitch their tent there, but to the common people going to work in Cardiff it looks like a protest against Labour. Hilarious.
It's Labour's mess Ian, don't blame the Tories and LibDems for it. Every time you and Plaid attack the Tories and LibDems you're letting Labour off the hook. Don't.
Spain had a Labour govt for the last 18 months and look at the mess they're in.
For what it's worth Anon 09:23, the problem isn't one of "Labour" or "Tory", it's the problem of neoliberalism in general. The UK's problems developed on Labour's watch. In Spain they were brewing under Aznar, not just under Spanish Labour. In Greece they accumulated under both centre-right and PASOK governments. The pattern is that it doesn't matter which centrist party had power in any given European country during the 00's, they all supported the same credit-driven project, as it was the only way to get elected.
ReplyDeleteThe result is that Europe has surrendered its economic power to the far-east. It means probably no more pensions. These are the big issues. In Ian's defence it's bigger than "letting Labour off the hook" or "attacking the Tories"- those things are insignificant when it comes to actually defending the living standards of Welsh people and Welsh workers.
The fact is that the current Labour party bares no comparison with the lofty ideals of the original Socialist movement from which it evolved. It is no more than a slightly less right wing, marginally more palatable version of the real Tory party. It fully supports a voting system that puts the real power in the hands of a relatively small number of voters in "Middle England" constituencies.
ReplyDeleteThe system means they have to appeal to this narrow constituency and thus appear to all intents and purposes to be at best marginally different to the "Real Tories". In the mean time the real Tories in the guise of the Condem government are busy taking from the poor to subsidise the lavish lifestyle of the rich.
With regards to the comments of Anonymous above, all I can say is who are you trying to kid? The seeds of the present Financial disaster were planted by right wing governments (aka Thatcher and Reagan) and ably supported by the assortment of Spivs, Con artists and thieves masquerading as "Bankers, Hedge fund Managers, The Markets" etc.
Greed, corruption and inequality are not the sole preserve of right wing governments, but as Bond might say "Nobody does it better". The mess we are in was and is caused by the excessive greed of the people who have conned their way to the top of society and just as in the Middle East people are at long last recognising the fact!
It's called, throught Europe, the 'Anglo Saxon' model of capitalism -- Neo-liberal unregulated free market. The Regan/Thatcher grand experiment - it hasn't worked - it has been a disaster - and yet the London Government are desperately trying to prop it up. The best way to reduce the deficit would be to increase the 50% tax rate to 75%, but no, instead, they are talking about scrapping it. What a bunch of crooks!
ReplyDeleteThe reason why I am particularly critical of Labour, is because they still label themselves as the party of the workers but when the single biggest attack on workers' conditions in living memory is in the process of being delivered, they are silent.
ReplyDeleteFor what it's worth, the unions would accept change over and above what they have already accepted, but what the Tories and Libs are proposing is way beyond any statistical justification of 'fiscal prudence'. It's ideological and I genuinely believe that in the schemes that rely on new starters to fund members soon to retire (as is the case with the LGPS), these challenges will be their death knell in the medium term.
The free market capitalism that has prevailed since the 80's must be replaced with an alternative, but there is precious little evidence from any of the UK parties which way to go. I believe that we are not far from a time when very expensive cars would be unwise to pull up at raffic lights in poor communities, because the gap between the richest and poorest is becoming obscene. The English riots in the Summer will not be the last and in Wales, we would be very unwise to believe that we will be immune from future public unrest.
Supportive of Ian's analysis but is there any evidence that Plaid is an alternative to the UK parties? I appreciate the stance on independence but presumably that can't happen until Wales is economically stronger. Through no fault of Plaid's (or even Carwyn's to be honest) Wales is going to become weaker, not stronger, over the next decade or so. More young people will leave the country and the private sector needs vast amounts of now unaffordable state support to even exist in Wales. I'm not for a second saying Plaid is responsible for this. But where within Plaid is an actual alternative to free market capitalism being pushed?
ReplyDelete