Why do we need a new workers' party?

No one will deny that Labour has betrayed the workers. Life under New Labour has, amongst many things, taken this country to an unlawful war in Iraq, deepened Thatcheresque attacks on the public services through selling it off into business. This means instead of health prioritising in the NHS, now it is profit. Instead of education above all, it is profit. Instead of welfare, public protection and other services, profit will always come first. Our food prices keep rising every year, raising the average family’s shopping bill by £750 a year. This when Tescos have announced record profits of £2.85 billion this year already! Also, according to Energywatch, British Gas has raised our gas bills by 76.7%, to £653 per year, and our electricity by 74.3%, to £413. This might seem like British Gas has enforced this to keep the business from drowning in inflation. Yet British Gas has been able to increase profits from £95 million in 2006, to £571 million in 2007!

What has the government done? They provide tax cuts for business – from 30p to 28p - and lower public sector wages to below inflation. Inflation increases and yet business is doing better than ever. If this is the case, is it really true that society can no longer afford to give us all a decent pension, liveable wages, affordable food, etc? Personally, I’m sick of hearing the governments’ ‘justifications’ like the abused free trade metaphor, ‘a rising tide lifts all boats’. This is a remarkable form of economical thought, as the reality of this ‘rising tide’ is that in order for corporations to maximise profit, they must minimise expenditure - in other words - our wages! Gordon Brown justified his policies at a TUC conference, when he said they are “to prevent inflation, maintain growth, so we never return to the old boom and bust of the past”. So that is why we are all pushed face first towards an ever-nearing breadline?

The chair of the CNWP, Dave Nellist wrote of Gordon Brown’s comment:

“It is not a message he ever delivers to company boardrooms, where pay (sorry remuneration) can be counted in millions of pounds. For Brown, the rich getting richer is a positive sign of an economy doing well. But what about the millions in insecure, low paid, often temporary jobs, trapped at precisely the ‘minimal wage’? For them it is a sign of a government that despite what it says, just doesn’t care for the majority of ordinary working-class families. Part of that reason is that, when it comes to elections, Labour believes it can take working people’s vote for granted, because they have nowhere else to go.”

None of the ‘big three’ have spoke on behalf of the majority by condemning corporate greed and corporate disdain. Nellist believes that “Britain’s three main parties act more like three wings of the same party – united on privatisation and on working class sacrifices to preserve the economy for the rich”. Maybe then, as all parties on offer are following this line, it is understandable that voter apathy has set in.

However, there is only so much that the public can take. Under New Labour, the gap between the rich and poor has widened significantly in Britain and finally the public is starting to fight back. Workers are, to say the least, angry at their government for their betrayal. A general strike is back on the agenda and New Labour is quickly losing support. Of course, this indeed would be great if we already had an alternative for the workers’ on offer, but we don’t. So instead people are forced to turn towards the Tories, and yet again, our political history will repeat itself.

So now is the time to become active and work harder than ever before. We need to make the CNWP heard all across Britain. In every street, home and workplace people need to be presented with an alternative - an alternative which proposes the rational planning of society’s resources to ensure a decent life for all. It falls to us to encourage the masses that working towards a socialist planned economy is the only way of alleviating poverty and building a prosperous society for all. It falls to us to make sure this happens.

Stand up and stand together: join the Campaign for New Workers’ Party!

Article by ZS, the CNWP coordinator for Devon Socialist Party. The 2008 conference for the CNWP will be held in London on Sunday 29th June. Contact us at socialistpartydevon@gmail.com for more details.