The country now has a Labour government. Starmer’s Labour, having a commanding majority of 172 seats, now runs the show after fourteen years of Conservative rule.
Many workers will quite understandably be very relieved to see the back of the Tories. Very few, however, will be overly optimistic about their prospects under Sir Keir.
For one thing, the crisis afflicting many workplaces is still ongoing. There is the fiasco at Port Talbot steelworks, where the last chances for saving the jobs are slipping away without a fight.
Hospitals are literally crumbling around their occupants. Roads, railways, and water infrastructure alike see very little maintenance, thanks to a mixture of privatisation and brutal budget cuts.
In higher education, meanwhile, many universities are staring down the barrel of bankruptcy and total closure due to budget black holes. The situation is no better in schools, where horrendous overwork burns out new teachers faster than they can be recruited.
These are just a few examples of the crises workers face – all a part, in turn, of the crisis of British capitalism as a whole.
The new Labour government will inherit this mess. And Starmer himself has already been clear that he will do precisely nothing to solve it.
What are Labour’s plans?
Labour have said all along the line that they will be ‘fiscally responsible’ and ‘a party for the wealth creators’.
What this means in plain language is that they will work to defend British capitalism, and work in the interests of the British ruling class.
By way of example, there’s the question of the long-running junior doctors’ strike. In secret talks reported by the Financial Times, Labour have been looking for ways to end the strike without setting a precedent on pay that they’d have to honour for other unions.
In other words, it’s a game of trying to buy-off the doctors in order to keep them from setting a good example. The last thing Starmer wants is the working class presenting its bill for the last twenty years!
In addition, the Institute of Fiscal Studies (amongst others) has poured cold water on Starmer’s manifesto. They note that in all reality, promises of growth with no tax rises in the next period are simply impossible. And that means, whether Starmer admits it or not, austerity will be back on the agenda.
Foot-dragging
The current union leaderships have proven inconsistent at best when it comes to how they’ll deal with Labour in power. Up until now, their line has been to get the Tories out, then ‘wait for Labour’ to deliver greener pastures.
Now Labour is in, ‘keep the Tories out’ – as a slogan or strategy – won’t impress millions of workers who’re sick and tired of their lives constantly getting harder.
Some of the more right-wing union leaders, such as those of Unison and the GMB, will no doubt attempt to give Starmer a ‘honeymoon’ period by holding back pay claims and similar disputes. But even the lefts will dither, preferring ‘negotiation’ to taking a real stand.
Astonishing that it’s taken 800 years for the Uk to have a woman as Chancellor of the Exchequer . And @RachelReevesMP is definitely the best person for the job.
Well done Rachel – a serious woman for a serious job. @unisontheunion— Christina McAnea (@cmcanea) July 5, 2024
We see in the case of the steelworkers of Port Talbot, where the workers are being sold down the river by the trade union leaders, the real fruits of this class collaboration. There’s more fight in a paper bag than in the union tops involved in this battle.
Such class-collaboration leadership is stuck in the past. Members, meanwhile, will see attacks by Starmer as a red rag to a bull. They won’t be in the mood to get poorer now on the promise of jam tomorrow!
The coming battles
What will be needed is action, not mealy-mouthed promises and hot air. Rather than giving Starmer any honeymoon, the unions must send a clear message: we will defend our members with class struggle, regardless of who is in government.
Any announcement of cuts must be met with stiff resistance. Industrial ballots must be won, and strikes readied through mass workplace meetings, in order to engage the maximum number of workers. Appeals must be made to the wider community when this happens, in order to bring broad layers into the battle too.
But most importantly of all, rank-and-file members need to be armed with a perspective for struggle.
The reality is that the current trade union leaders are not fit for purpose.
At bottom, the problem is the capitalist system itself. So long as it exists, governments of all stripes will dance to its tune, while workers foot the bill for crises they didn’t cause.
The only way to end this misery is to organise to overthrow this broken system.
That’s the perspective that needs to be taken into the labour movement – by building a genuinely revolutionary leadership that is willing and capable of carrying the struggle through to its necessary conclusion.
If you agree, then it’s time to get organised and join the RCP.
