by Nick Auvache, Camden and Haringey Socialist Party
Labour has set what could be its last budget as the governing party in the London Borough of Haringey. It was no surprise that they took the decision, once again, to pass on further cuts.
This Labour council has already implemented £148 million of cuts since 2010. The council is now cutting a further £53 million!
Photo: Amnon Cohen
Whilst there was little opposition voiced to these cuts in the council chamber, a loud and vibrant protest was organised outside. The protestors mainly consisted of socialists from the Haringey Socialist Alliance (HSA), including the Socialist Party and Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC). Some Green candidates also supported the protest.
Two Green councillors present – Rory and Mark – pledged to vote against the budget. Luca, a Green candidate, spoke in favour of a needs-based no-cuts budget.
Others cited the example of Liverpool socialist council in the 1980s. Led by Militant, now the Socialist Party, it beat Margaret Thatcher’s Tory cuts.
Socialist Party member and teacher Chris Holmes spoke about austerity in education and teacher strikes last year in Haringey. He called for support for TUSC and Haringey Socialist Alliance candidates standing in the May local elections.
Mass movement
Chris emphasised the need for councillors to vote against and oppose the cuts, and also to present an alternative budget to protect jobs, services, and wages. He called for a coordinated fightback, explaining how councils setting no-cuts budgets could find themselves at the forefront of a mass movement against austerity nationally.
He finished by citing the slogan used in support of socialist Liverpool council, and in other struggles – ‘better to break the law, than break the poor’. Unlike in the 1980s, setting a needs-based, no cuts budget is now no longer illegal. But, protesters responded enthusiastically to this call.
Many people are looking for an alternative to the familiar diet of austerity and cuts offered by the traditional pro-capitalist parties. The Greens are favourites to win big across Haringey and other boroughs.
TUSC, together with other socialists, like Haringey Socialist Alliance, are also standing candidates. TUSC and HSA offer a clear ‘needs-based, no-cuts’ alternative – the only practical way to defend jobs and services, and fight for rent freezes. And this requires the movement to engage with the trade unions and wider working class.