On 7 June, tens – possibly hundreds – of thousands will descend on the streets of central London to demand an end to austerity.
Organised by the People’s Assembly, and rallying behind the slogan of ‘welfare not warfare’, this will be the first mass protest against Starmer’s austerity agenda.
This demo could not be more pressing. Next month, MPs are set to vote on the government’s cuts to disability benefits, which the Labour leaders are pushing in order to fund the British establishment’s rearmament drive.
In local councils such as Birmingham, meanwhile, workers are already under attack, with the employers looking to balance their budgets by slashing jobs, pay, and conditions.
All of this is coming on top of the cuts that have already been made to pensioners’ winter fuel allowance. And PM Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves are already sharpening their knives in preparation for further chopping in the months ahead.
The protest’s organisers suggest that all this austerity and misery is a ‘political choice’. In truth, however, there is a cold, callous logic to Labour’s cuts.
On the one hand, Starmer’s government is desperate to appease the country’s creditors, as the global economy spasms and British capitalism plunges ever-deeper into crisis.
On the other hand, as the old international order crumbles and collapses, British imperialism and its deluded representatives are desperate to maintain the UK’s position on the world stage; to keep a seat at the table. Hence their military mania and war on the poor.
The communists also call for ‘welfare not warfare’. For us, however, this is not a timid appeal for nice things instead of bad things. Rather it is a rallying cry to organise and mobilise against the system that breeds austerity and imperialism; cuts and conflict: capitalism.
The 7 June demo must therefore not be a flash in the pan, but the launchpad for a mass campaign against all the crooks, racists, and warmongers in Westminster – and against the bankrupt status quo that they uphold.
The militant struggle by the Birmingham bin workers shows the way forward. The next step is to broaden this out, with coordinated action against cuts and privatisation across the whole labour movement.
Above all, what is needed is a clear revolutionary alternative; a bold socialist programme that makes the bankers and bosses pay for this crisis.
We say: End austerity! End war! Expropriate the profiteers!
Fight for a revolution against the billionaires! Join the communists!
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‘No more austerity 2.0’: How to organise for 7 June
Ruth Logan, Birmingham
On 7 June, in London, the People’s Assembly Against Austerity is organising a national demonstration under the slogan ‘No More Austerity 2.0’. The RCP is mobilising for this protest.
Ordinary people across the country are deeply angry with Starmer and his attacks on the working class. From disability cuts to NHS budget-slashing – there’s plenty to be angry at!
Students have also been hit hard by years of austerity and marketisation, with the Labour government set to continue this trend.
Tuition fees are increasing, and universities are facing huge numbers of job cuts, course closures, and redundancies. No wonder there is a sharp mental health crisis amongst young people.
Both workers and students alike therefore have an interest in mobilising for this anti-austerity march.
Is austerity a choice?
This demo has been called under the banner ‘austerity is a political choice’.
But despite what the left leaders proclaim, austerity is not simply ‘ideological’. Capitalism cannot be made to run in a ‘nicer’ way.
Austerity and cuts are enforced by the capitalists, so that their system can continue stumbling along.
No matter what party holds office, under capitalism, the overall result will necessarily be the same: attacks on the working class; on pay and conditions; and on the very fabric of society – all to prop up the profit system.
All that capitalism can offer is cuts, misery, and suffering for working people and youth.
Organise and mobilise
We cannot plead to the ruling class to tinker around the edges of the system. Demands to ‘tax the rich’ do not go nearly far enough.
We need a root-and-branch transformation of society: the complete overthrow of capitalism; the expropriation of the ruling class; and a socialist planned economy, with the banks and monopolies placed under democratic workers’ control.
To bring this about, workers and youth need fighting organisations.
On university campuses, students should call on their student unions to support this demo, mobilise against marketisation, and campaign against austerity, by passing the model resolution below.
Local rallies should be called in advance of 7 June, on campuses and town centres, in order to bring workers, youth, and their organisations together, and to build for the national anti-austerity protest.
RCP branches will be pushing for this, organising stalls and meetings across the country – in universities and outside schools; in towns and cities everywhere – to put forward a revolutionary answer to Starmer’s austerity agenda.
We call on radical students to join this local activity, reach out to other students and young people, and join the RCP’s bloc on the London demo.
Revolutionary alternative
Together, we can fight for a genuine socialist alternative to capitalism’s crises, chaos, and cuts.
No more papering over the cracks: we need to end the rule of the bosses and bankers for good, and break the power of the super-rich to run – or ruin – our lives.
It’s time that we, workers and youth, get to decide what is done with the wealth that we create.
We need a revolution against the billionaires!
Motion motion for student / trade unions
This body notes that:
- In its first year in power, Starmer’s government has continued the policies of the old Tory one – pushing through draconian austerity policies, at the expense of workers, the poor, and the vulnerable.
- Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves have consistently promised to be “pro-business”, and are implementing cuts in order to shore up the profits of the bosses, bankers, and billionaires.
- The cuts to welfare are also being made to fund warfare, with disability benefits and the winter fuel allowance slashed in order to pay for rearmament and militarism.
- As ever, workers, the poor, and young people are being made to pay for a crisis not caused by them, but by the capitalists, the warmongers, and their system.
This body believes that:
- The national demonstration on 7 June, organised by the People’s Assembly Against Austerity, represents an opportunity for the launch of a mass campaign against the cuts and attacks being made to living standards and public services.
- Student / trade unions [delete as appropriate] should mobilise for this protest, in order to maximise turnout and impact.
- The best way to mobilise, locally and nationally, is to boldly argue for a clear socialist alternative to austerity and war.
- Such a programme should be based around demands to make the billionaires pay for capitalism’s crises, by nationalising the big banks and monopolies, and seizing the wealth and property of the super-rich.
This body resolves to:
- Widely and publicly promote the 7 June demo, and encourage all students / union members [delete as appropriate] to attend.
- Provide affordable transport to London for this protest, to facilitate and maximise attendance.
- Organise a local rally in advance of the 7 June, in association with other unions and campaigning groups, in order to bring together workers and youth across the labour and student movement, and to thereby build for the London demo.
- Make this activity the launchpad for a coordinated campaign against austerity and war, including mass action against any local cuts, privatisation, or arms companies.
