by Socialist Party member delegates to Lambeth Trades Council
Lambeth Trades Council was visited by Lambeth Green councillor and cabinet member Michael Chessum on 7 September, unveiling the Green council’s new anti-austerity campaign ‘Services Worth Fighting For’, set be launched two days later.
Michael explained that Lambeth council was facing ‘agreed savings’ of £53 million by 2030, pushed through by the previous Labour administration, and an additional cumulative shortfall of £93 million. The council’s strategy: “To tell the truth to Lambeth residents, that we need to win more money from central government.” The trades council was asked to support the campaign, including a public launch meeting on 15 October. Ultimately no decision was taken.
Any steps by Lambeth council to publicly campaign for more money from central government will be welcomed by thousands of working-class and young people who expect the Green Council to act differently from previous austerity administrations.
Lambeth Socialist Party members who are delegates to the trades council welcomed Michael’s attendance but stressed the importance of the trades council maintaining its independent fighting platform, at this stage.
This is especially the case given that at the last trades council meeting, the Green council leader Martin Abrams refused to commit to not making further cuts. This is contrary to the democratically agreed policy of the three largest trade unions in local government – Unison, GMB and Unite – for councils to set no-cuts budgets as a means to mobilise a mass fightback for the funding needed.
Michael said that the Green council wants to ‘give over’ this anti-austerity campaign to the local trade union movement.
People’s Budget
Much more important for the trades council to set the date for its own People’s Budget meeting – bringing together delegates from local trade union branches, workplaces, community campaigns and youth groups to hammer out a needs budget. The Green councillors would then be faced with the decision on whether or not to support the demands of the workers’ movement, fighting for the funding we need, starting with setting a needs budget.
Unfortunately, Michael concluded the discussion by saying that “neither the dented shield, nor the strategy of adopting illegal no-cuts budgets is the way forward”.
But no-cuts budgets aren’t illegal. It’s the norm for councillors to use reserves and borrowing powers – as they have done for the best part of two decades while also wielding the axe against local services!
The Greens are in the leadership of five councils in London and take part in the administrations of 39 nationally. If those councils collaborated in taking a no-cuts approach, including pooling their reserves and borrowing powers for example, Andy Burnham would come under enormous pressure to cough up funds.
Unfortunately at this stage, the Lambeth Greens’ anti-austerity strategy amounts to campaigning publicly against cuts, while making excuses that their elected politicians have no choice but to put them through.
How can we defeat austerity?
But how is that a means to win the confidence of trade unionists, workers, community campaigns and young people? Good luck trying to mobilise trade unionists and the wider community to back you up when you’re increasing their council tax, rents and cutting already collapsing local services further!
The Greens’ victory in the May elections could still be the start of a genuine anti-austerity fight, as many workers and young people across the borough are desperately hoping for.
But with the budget setting process fast approaching in January, as things stand the Greens will be a new administration presiding over cuts using more or less the same excuses Labour before them made.
It’s vital that the trade union movement in Lambeth and nationally prepares for the struggle needed to defeat austerity in local government, no matter which party presides over it, including urgently taking steps towards forming its own working-class, anti-cuts political voice.
Hackney anti-austerity summit meets
Taking place after the Socialist goes to press, Green-run Hackney Council has organised an ‘anti-austerity’ summit, to which Socialist Party members have been delegated by their trade union bodies. (see ‘Anti-Austerity Summit hosted by Hackney council’ at socialistparty.org.uk)
Socialist Party members are taking the proposal that the summit “Reconvenes after the 28 October Budget, with the aim of bringing together representatives of at least ten councils committed to refusing to pass on cuts and to maintaining services, alongside delegates from trade union executives and branches, to plan a coordinated national campaign to win the money back from central government.”