by Jay Coward, South East London Socialist Party
Southwark Trades Council hosted a public meeting on 24 June to discuss trade union political representation. A range of activists and political groups were invited to attend.
The meeting was chaired by Unison NEC (personal capacity) and Socialist Party member April Ashley. It heard speakers from Disabled People Against the Cuts, Aylesham Community Action, which has been fighting recent gentrification plans in Peckham, and from a member of Rank and File Trade Unionists Divest from Israel.
in Peckham. Photo: Berkay Kartav
The contributions were tied together by the common thread of cuts, gentrification and increased military spending instead of money for public services, all taking place under a Labour government and Labour council.
During the discussion, Socialist Party members made the case for those looking for a political alternative to stand as part of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition in next year’s local elections. We argued the need for a left-wing electoral stand to put forward an uncompromising no-cuts programme.
The Green Party received the most scrutiny and criticism within the meeting, being labelled a party that stands for green- and worker-friendly policies only until it gets into power. A claim made hard to refute by the actions of Green councillors making cuts around the country.
After being put through the ringer a bit, the Greens did not just leave quietly with their tails between their legs. A member who had attended a Socialist Party branch previously came to discuss with us ways they can better things within their party and to make it more democratic!
We pointed to the working class and the trade union movement as the force that can offer the way forward, out of the muck we have been put in by Tories and Labour.