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Tuesday 20 March 2012

ANTI CUTS PUBLIC MEETING A SUCCESS


VISITING SPEAKER OUTLINES SOCIALIST VISION
Former Chair of the Socialist Alliance and Respect, Nick Wrack, lead an interesting and successful public debate at the Rugby United Railway Club, Spring St., on Monday evening (March 19th). The meeting was organised by Rugby TUSC (Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition), as a start to the party’s 2012 election campaign.

Nick Wrack, who is the TUSC No2 candidate in the London Assembly Elections in May, set out a clear vision of an alternative to the present reliance on a capitalist approach by the three main Parties.   “They all see vital services within society as opportunities for profit,” he argued.  “The result of such an approach is the privatisation of public services and the driving down of the living standards of working-class people”.

“I applaud the founding ethos of the NHS, in which all members of society contribute collectively to the communal well being, taking back their individual care needs when required. I campaign for a society in which this value informs all our communal action.  This demands the emergence of a party that will represent the views and needs of the working class,” he concluded.

Rugby TUSC convenor Pete McLaren (Prospective TUSC candidate for Wolston and the Lawfords) spoke of his long standing commitment to the ward in which he lives.  He outlined his pleasure at the progress Rugby TUSC had made.  “The TUSC branch in Rugby was formed just 12 months ago.  It has already made its presence felt in the area, with a number of stalls, leafleting, public meetings and campaigns against many aspects of the way public spending cuts have hit local people, including opposition to bus service cuts, the closure of Birch ward and the Welfare Reform Bill presently going through Parliament,” he commented.

Dave Goodwin (Prospective TUSC candidate for Hillmorton) confirmed TUSC’s commitment to opposing all cuts in public spending at every level.   He deplored the closure of care homes for older people, and the sale of associated assets.

Steve Roberts (Prospective TUSC candidate for Bilton) exploded the myth that the pensions’ pot cannot support the current commitments, using carefully researched figures. It was apparent that the raid on pensions was purely to bolster the bailout of the banks, he argued.

Julie Weekes (Prospective TUSC candidate for Rokeby and Overslade) spoke of the three-pronged effect of the cuts on women. Her research demonstrated that women are disproportionately more likely to lose their jobs; that cut services are more likely to have been used by women; and that the gaps thus created are more likely to be filled voluntarily by women.

Ally MacGregor (Prospective TUSC candidate for New Bilton), in the Chair, closed the meeting reaffirming Rugby TUSC’s determination to continue to work towards these visions through, and beyond, the coming election.

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