A meeting on the cuts was organised by Chelmsford Trades Council on 22nd September in Chelmsford, in the heartland of "Essex Man."
I went along and was surprised to see a
big crowd of around 70.There were speakers from GMB and Unison and
the Defend Council Housing campaign. I sold 10 copies of Socialist Appeal and 4 "End of New Labour" pamphlets in just 15 minutes before the meeting had even started - if only I had more brought papers with me!. All speakers on the top table spoke well, informing
us of the cuts to come and it all seemed very comradely but a clear plan of action is needed. There is is already a mood for resistance to these bosses cuts in Chelmsford and I am sure other towns all over the country are the same. We must
channel our actions in the right direction and force our unions to
look at industrial action as the centre point of the fight to come. The Labour and trade union movement must take a lead in organising action throughout the country involving all sections of the class. The Poll Tax struggle of 20 years ago shows that the government can be defeated but this time our leadership cannot be allowed to just sit on the sidelines.
If 70 people are prepared to come along to a meeting in the middle of Essex now, what will be the response in a few months time when the cuts start to hit? Everybody will be affected. Only the workers movement has the power to take on this bosses government and show them that we will not be paying for their crisis and their greed.
