Tories declare class war to solve economic crises.

As far as the British Labour governments Pre-Budget Statement is concerned, I 'basically' agree with the statement issued by the Campaign for a New Workers Party. (see below) Whilst welcoming all within Alistair Darlings statement that gives some relief to those who are finding themselves at the sharp end of the economic down turn. Whether they be middle class, working classes or underclass, although when it comes to the latter group, even in the boom years they gained few real benefits. The government with this pre budget statement are clearly only tinkering around the edges and have yet to get to grips with the economic problems the UK and the rest of the world faces. Nevertheless I especially welcome the direction the government has taken in this statement, as it has opened up clear blue water between themselves and thus a section of the labour movement that still supports the LP, and David Cameron's Conservative Party and the media moguls who are the public face of the City of London. 

In response to the economic crises, David Cameron's Tories have jettisoned all talk of being a caring, pro green party, that advocate’s policies that are aimed at all members of society and not just the moneyed elite; and have reverted back to being the willing tool of the City of London and those with extreme wealth. There is absolutely no doubt that their strategy to deal with this economic crises is to cut and burn the welfare state and by so doing drive wages down to rock bottom in the hope that this will enable business to kick start the economy. Whilst at the same time ring fencing the enormous wealth that has been accumulated in the boom years by a minority of individuals and the multi national corporations. Under the Tories, the city would be provided with cheap government loans paid for out of tax payers money, whilst working class tax payers will be consigned to the dole or sweat shop.

The Tories are well aware that were they to cut State bureaucracy it would throw tens of thousands of civil servants onto the unemployment register, the majority of whom would be low earners of the type who administer unemployment benefits and pensions for the elderly and disabled; and the only way these people would become surplus to requirements would be if the Tories had first removed millions of people from these state benefits. Far from improving the economic situation, to cull the State bureaucracy would be disastrous to millions of workers and the economy as a whole.

Despite being a lefty, I have a grudging respect for the former German Chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, who at the end of WW1, as Mayor of the city, rebuilt the economy and infrastructure of Koln; and after WW2 that of West Germany. He believed at times of grave economic crises,  governments could justify borrowing large sums and thus taking the nation into deficit and remember he was a very conservative man.

Having experienced first hand three of Germanys major economic disasters. After WW1, 29-33 and post WW2.  he understood better than most the social consequences of a massive recession and came to regard balancing the books at such times as secondary, social cohesion must have priority.

Social cohesion is something the Cameron Tories are totally ignoring as they believe they will be able to use the police and other state agencies as Capital’s bully boys, as Thatcher did during her period in office. Cameron and his media gofers will play on the fact that a large part of the British population has no collective memory going back further than 1979. Thus they have little real understanding that a massive economic crises is about much more than the economy alone and the size of the budget deficit. 

To his credit Brown does seem to have understood that at a time of a grave economic crises, social cohesion is more important than balancing the books. but the only way this can be achieved is if we all believe we are in the same boat; and as I wrote at the top of this peice the LP government has some way to go before it can convince me of this. 

In truth any politician with an iron hand can balance the nations books, the neo conservative economists who have led the world to its current precarious economic predicament, first cut their teeth advising the Chilean butcher Augusto Pinochet how to rebuild the Chilean economy against the best interests of the mass of the majority of its people.  

The question people need to ask is like the Tories, do they too wish to live with the consequences of such an act, mass unemployment, a massive extension of the underclass and all that flows from it, mass bankruptcies within the small business communities, poverty on a scale not seen since the 1930s, massive cuts in public services such as education and health; and the inevitable riots that would flow from the aforementioned. All of this and more would be on the agenda if the Tories were in power and they implemented their current strategy of, ‘leaving it for the market to decide.’ 

Think! if the Tories had now been in power now and we are only at the beginning of this crises, Northern Rock would have gone to the wall and possible Halifax and Bank of Scotland, savers with more than the guaranteed limit would have lost their savings. The speculators would still be able to distort the markets in a manner which amounted to criminality, mortgage holders would have no protection if they became unemployed, etc, etc. 

Perhaps some people need to get the history books out and take a look at the dire consequences when governments in the 1930s balanced the books.

MH

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Press Statement from the campaign for a new workers party.

The Labour Government is hoping to convince (or con?) Working class

people that the financial measures announced in the Pre-Budget

Statement today will prevent them suffering from the Recession.

Labour may well be gambling that the proposals announced earlier will

be sufficient to persuade voters to return another Labour Government

at the next General Election – which could now be next year. How

wrong they are going to be!

The Pre-budget measures do little or nothing to help the vast

majority of people who are living in fear of losing their jobs, going

into further debt or, in many cases, not being able to afford to eat

adequately or heat their homes.  The temporary cut in VAT announced

in this Statement will have very limited benefit for lower income

families because essential items like food and clothes are not

included in the standard VAT cut from 17.5% to 15%.  Nothing was put

forward to reduce energy bills.  All workers will have to pay an

extra 0.5% in National Insurance contributions.

“In many ways, this is a typical New Labour ploy to con people that

they are looking after those suffering the most from the present

crisis of capitalism, whereas, in reality they have announced far too

little and far too late,” CNWP spokesperson Pete McLaren said today.

“Of course we support the new 45% top tax rate for those 1% who earn

over £150,000 a year, but those earning above £34,800 already pay

40%, so it will hardly re-distribute wealth.  It is not a wealth

tax.  What we need is full blooded nationalization of the banks and

building societies, and the energy industry, so that the vast profits

these institutions make can be used to adequately benefit those in

need – the consumers.  The very small increases in pensions and child

benefit, welcome though they are, will do nothing to alleviate

poverty.  Once again under New Labour, the working class has to pay

for the economic crisis.  That is why we are building a new mass

socialist party,” he concluded.

http://www.cnwp.org.uk/