Blogpost: Workers of Thurrock unite!

Blogpost: By Scott Nelson @socialistvoice

Workers, trade unions and people must unite and vote Labour on 8 June. Here’s why

THE snap general election on 8 June is a huge opportunity for workers, trade unions and people across the country to unite and vote the Tories out.

The disabled and their carers. Public Sector workers including teachers, doctors, nurses, paramedics, police officers, firefighters, social workers, members of the Armed Forces, council workers and Civil Servants. Young people aged 18 to 24. Families and households who are ‘just about managing’. And women including lone parents and those fleeing domestic violence who have lack of support because Tory cuts have led to the closure of refuges.

All of the above – and I am one of them – have been affected by Tory austerity in one way or another. The disabled are being robbed of their dignity, others robbed of their benefits and mobility vehicles while mental health patients are being left to fend for themselves because of Tory cuts to mental health services. Some disabled people have resorted to suicide because they saw it as their only option.

Public Sector workers including the Emergency Services and Civil Servants are working under immense pressure because of Tory cuts to staffing and resources. Offices are being closed, work is being centralised (and endlessly being relocated from one site to another) while staffing levels continue to fall. NHS waiting times are up while hospitals and A&E units are being closed. Crime is up and so are police response times, while police numbers continue to be cut and stations are closed. And teachers are struggling to cope in oversized classes.

Tory cuts to public services are having a detrimental effect on the people who rely on them. Public Sector workers are leaving their posts after years of dedication, care and loyalty – and I am on the verge of doing the same after 16 years. Public Sector workers are going off sick with stress, depression and anxiety – mental health conditions caused by work-related stress – who are often bullied back to work because they are threatened with dismissal. And to add insult to injury, Public Sector workers have been awarded a paltry 1% pay rise.

Young people and women have been hit the hardest by Tory austerity. Young people who have fallen on hard times are now being denied Council Tax and Housing Benefit which will cause debt, stress and homelessness. Young people are leaving school with no aspiration because careers offices have been closed and financial support for college students from poorer backgrounds has been axed. Tuition fees have also been hiked.

Young people from poorer backgrounds have been priced out of further education and forced into low-paid jobs and zero hours contracts. Some young people are even turning to a life of crime because they have been thrown on the scrapheap.

Working mothers are struggling to feed and clothe their children, while those fleeing domestic violence have lack of support because Tory cuts have led to the closure of refuges. Refuges are a lifeline for anyone fleeing an abusive relationship. Child poverty has also reached record levels and is about to get worse because of Tory cuts to Child Benefit and Child Tax Credit.

Theresa May says Britain is uniting post-Brexit but her claim could not be further from the truth. The gap between the rich and poor has reached record levels while the North-South divide continues to widen. Hate crimes against ethnic minorities, immigrants, Muslims, Jews, the LGBT community and the disabled are on the rise and much of that has been caused by divisive political rhetoric pre and post-Brexit.

Britain has never been so divided, some might even argue that it’s worse now than it was under Margaret Thatcher. But it really doesn’t have to be like this.

On 8 June, workers, trade unions and people must unite and vote Labour. Jeremy Corbyn is the first politician in decades to truly represent working class people and he has moved Labour back to the Left where the party belongs. Labour was built on left-wing principles and social reform which benefits everyone and not just a few.

Labour has recently announced a wave of new policies that will transform Britain:

• Free school meals for primary school children aged between 4 and 11

• Minimum Wage will be £10 an hour by 2020

• Rail and bus companies will be renationalised when the current private franchises reach their end of contract

• £500 a year extra for carers claiming Carer’s Allowance

• NHS services will be renationalised saving £5bn in profits to private companies like Virgin Care

• More investment in mental health services

• Tackling Britain’s housing crisis by building 200,000 affordable homes a year, including £100,000 council homes

• Tory Inheritance Tax cut will be abolished

• Tory Corporation Tax cut will be abolished

• Private firms in tax havens will be banned from bidding for Government contracts

• Public Sector pay cap of 1% will be abolished

• Sweetheart deals between multi-corporations and HMRC will be banned

• Tory grammar schools and free schools will be abolished

• Late payments to SMEs will be banned

• Tory business rates hike will be abolished

• Gender pay cap will be abolished

• Zero hours contracts will be banned for employees who have regular hours

• Multi-corporations like Tesco and Amazon will have to publish their tax returns

• People earning £70,000 or more a year will pay a higher rate of tax

• More apprenticeships for school leavers

• Paying off Britain’s debt and deficit in a fair way where everyone pays their fair share as opposed to the disabled and working households

• £500bn investment in local communities across the country including housebuilding and local infrastructure

• Fracking will be abolished

• A Brexit that benefits everyone and not just a few

• A breakup of media monopolies like the Rupert Murdoch empire

• Banking reform

• Tackling child poverty

• Welfare cuts will be abolished and more support given to the disabled and working families

Labour will be announcing more policies over the coming weeks. Jeremy Corbyn’s social reforms will transform Britain and hand power back to the people – and that’s why he is under constant attack by the Tories and Establishment. The days of the rich living a life of luxury at the expense of ordinary people will be over, and that’s why Jeremy Corbyn poses a huge threat to the Establishment.

Jeremy Corbyn genuinely cares about the difficulties that are affecting ordinary people across Britain. Tory austerity is causing hardship, homelessness, inequality and deaths and it will get worse if Theresa May is re-elected.

People have a choice on 8 June: Social reform under Jeremy Corbyn or an extreme right-wing Tory Government under Theresa May that will continue to cause division and only look after the rich.

I will be voting Labour on 8 June because I want a fairer society and a Britain I can believe in. As a disabled man, Theresa May and the Tories couldn’t care less about me, but at least I have Jeremy Corbyn fighting my corner. And he’s fighting for the millions of other people across Britain who are finding life difficult under the Tories.

Vote Labour on 8 June. Let’s make this election a revolution and put an end to Tory rule once and for all.

Written by Scott Nelson

Follow me on Twitter @SocialistVoice