About TUSC Swansea

The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition, as the name implies, is a grouping of people from different parties or none at all, who share a common aim - to make sure we challenge the current cuts consensus of all the mainstream parties.

Cuts are not necessary; every year the super rich and big corporations avoid paying tax (legally and illegally) to the tune of £120bn+. This is money that could be spent on the NHS on our kids' education, council services and welfare.

Cuts are not inevitable or irreversible; a united committed fight back with unionised workers at his heart and drawing in all anti-cuts campaigners would leave the government's agenda in tatters. More than that, it could bring down this weak, unprincipled coalition of millionaires for millionaires. It is part of a strategy to build such a campaign that TUSC candidates are standing. Regardless of the results in the election you can be sure that we will continue that fight in our communities and in our workplaces and union branches.

Look around Swansea - less than 2 years into a Tory/Fib Dem government and working class people are suffering - Swansea Coastguard Station, Daniel James Community School, Earlsmoor Respite Centre all closed. Perhaps the most callous cut of all is the proposal to shut 36 Remploy factories, including the one in Fforestfach, sacking disabled workers and condemning them to an existence on benefits. Public Sector workers are seeing their benefits stolen and attempts to introduce regional pay. All of us face the destruction of services and the NHS. Incredibly the Con-Dems have carried through less than 10% of their planned cuts.

It is one thing to plan cuts though and another to carry actually them through. Thatcher's government, with a far stronger parliamentary majority than Cameron, passed the poll tax but a mass campaign of non-payment destroyed it and ended her career. We need that sort of mass opposition now and TUSC candidates think that the unity to create such a movement can only come through opposing all cuts.

It's a fundamental union principle that "an injury to one is an injury to all". If you accept that some cuts are inevitable than you have to chose whether to sack this health worker or that education worker and what services to keep and which to cut. Some argue that its better a Labour government or Labour councillors that make cuts – well, as a UNISON member in the LGPS, I've had to take strike action in defence of my pension under the present Con-Dem government and the last Labour one – I can’t say that it felt any different! If we say that some cuts are inevitable then we have to decide which jobs and services to cut. This is something that TUSC candidates are not prepared to do, if you want to fight all cuts then join with us and help in our election campaign.

To get in touch, please send an e-mail to ron.job@sky.com or leave a comment on our newest posts.