Labour, Tory; Same Old Story!

On Sunday 2nd of October Manchester played host to the biggest political demonstration staged outside of London in a generation as 35,000 people marched past the Conservative Party conference protesting against the government’s austerity measures. 250 coaches brought people from all over the country to the North West for the day and the depth of anger people felt towards the government was palpable, the shouts of ‘Tory Scum,’ directed at the conference hall as the protest marched past, contained a viciousness that is vital if the working class is to defend itself against the capitalist’s onslaught.

Encouraging as the day was, there was also the sense that the trade unions, who were largely responsible for mobilizing the numbers on the day, would be happier if the anger directed at the conservative party stayed as just that. The speeches made by the leaders of the unions at the rally talked of building a resistance to the ‘ideological attacks.’ Those with more integrity spoke positively of the need for coordinated industrial action to stem the assault. The broader message though was not one of class struggle, pitting the workers against the bosses, but rather was directed at building a vague opposition to the ‘nasty Tories’ and implicitly supporting the Labour Party.

         

An attitude of ‘this would never happen if only Labour were in power’ is far worse than naive, it is dangerous. Recalling everything the Labour Party has said since the global economic crisis hit, not to mention their record whilst in power, we know that if the Labour party were in power it would be implementing exactly the same attacks on the working class, the only difference being that it would be the unions, and not big business, who would be funding the political party pushing the cuts through. Additionally, the Labour party does not even support the efforts of the working class people who vote for it to defend  their working conditions and livelihood by using the best weapon they posses, the strike. Ed Milliband categorically called strikes a mistake at the TUC conference earlier this year.

           

To expect any other attitude from the Labour Party though would be completely illusory. The Labour Party is a Bourgeois workers party. It is a party that represents the working class but does so in a way that works actively against the interest of its electors. It used to at least advocate a ‘responsible’ form of capitalism, but now it does not even do that. Margaret Thatcher, when asked what her greatest achievement as prime minister was, famously replied, ‘New Labour.’ A reference to the parties championing of de-regulation of the financial sector as well as its driving through of ‘neo-liberal’ economic measures such as the privatisation of parts of the National Health Service and the Royal Mail.

The fact of the matter is that the attack on the working class during this age of austerity is not ideological, it is not only a Tory policy, a Labour policy or a Liberal Democrat policy. The cuts are the policy of capitalism and if we want to stop the cuts then we have to overcome capitalism itself. This means organizing as a class around the revolutionary ideas of Marxism, with the goal of bringing about a communist society. 

The established leaders of the working class in the unions and the Labour party have made it explicitly clear that they want no part whatsoever in this project. Why would they? A revolutionary upheaval in society would threaten their comfortable position as sergeants of the capitalists, gorging on the crumbs from the capitalists table as reward for keeping their troops, the ordinary workers, in line.

Take, for example, the former leader of the Labour party, Tony Blair. A man who sent working class soldiers to their deaths in two unnecessary wars, who cosied up to dictators, such as Colonel Gadaffi, so British oil companies could exploit the nations resources, and who spoke constantly of the great achievements of the financial institutions of the city of London. He was rewarded after his time in office with a job on the board of Goldman Sachs which pays him millions of pounds a year for his previous services to them.

Another example of this failed leadership is Derek Simpson, former joint secretary of Unite, the union. He was so dedicated to fighting for the betterment of living standards for his union’s members that he constantly sold them out to employers and pocketed a £300,000 golden goodbye from union funds upon his retirement.

These are just two examples of how the supposed opponents of the cuts use their positions of influence to lead the working class into traps. This means the working class is more easily exploited by the capitalist class and the bureaucrats and MPs get their thirty pieces of silver for selling the workers out.

The working class, even in the best of economic climates, cannot afford to trust such men to lead them, and in the current dire economic climate placing faith in such traitors may be fatal.

If the bosses and capitalists are not shown a proper fightback then they will continue with their policy of exploiting the workers and scrounging from the wealth of society. This however can only happen if the workers stop relying on leaders who have sold them out time and time again and if they take their fate into their own hands.

 We need to remember that it is the workers, not the bosses, who create the wealth of society and that when they decide to do so they can bring the whole of production to a grinding halt. The bosses and the government know this but they are calling the union bosses bluff. The working class needs to show that it is serious about not taking any more punches from the ruling class. That is why on the 30th of November all workers, both in the public and private sector should take strike action as a first step in the counter offensive during this age of austerity.

But finally, a wider fightback, not just against the current cuts, but against this whole system of misery and poverty has to be put on the agenda. Only if the working class gains confidence in its own power and abilities, goes on the offensive, and brings into life a new revolutionary communist party that will fight in every workplace, in every university, on every street for socialism, will the working class succeed in its historic task.