Successful Day of Action on Saturday!

Campaign for a Public Inquiry at Stafford Hospital

Stoke Socialist Party members started off the day with stall in Hanley campaigning for a Public Inquiry into the scandal of Stafford Hospital. Over 100 people signed our petition calling for a Public Inquiry led by NHS workers and service users and to stop private sector leeching off the NHS.

Some people who stopped to sign our petition told us of friends who had died as a result of the cost cutting measures used by NHS bosses at Stafford.

Many of those we spoke to supported us standing a candidate as part of the Trade Unionist & Socialist Coalition in the forthcoming General Election and thirty five people also bought copies of the Socialist.

RMT trade union Signallers Conference

RMT union leader Bob Crowe is supporting the Trade Unionist & Socialist Coalition (TUSC). We visited their Signaller’s conference at the North Staffs Hotel to speak to delegates and hand out TUSC leaflets which were well received. Five of the delegates also bought copies of this week’s Socialist.

Leafleting against the BNP

FOR JOBS, HOMES & SERVICES NOT RACISM!

In the afternoon Socialist Party members were out on the streets of Northwood delivering leaflets which explained why voting for the BNP only helps big business bosses and the government’s attacks on our jobs, pay, conditions & public services.

Below is the main text of our leaflet

“The BNP are trying to exploit the devastating economic crisis to promote racist ideas but have no solutions to the misery caused by the crisis.

Over one trillion pounds of our money was used to prop up banks as top bankers continue to pay themselves massive bonuses. Bosses and their politicians want us to pay for bailing out bankers!

New Labour, Tories & Lib Dems are competing to carry out the most savage cuts in public services, already cut to the bone. It’s no surprise that electoral support for parties like Labour has collapsed allowing the BNP to get 2 Euro MP’s and councillors elected in places like Stoke-on-Trent.

Leading BNP members try to hide their neo Nazi ideas and past activities but not because they have changed their ideas or their long term aims. They know that if they tried to build an openly Neo Nazi party with an organised street fighting wing to carry out physical attacks on trade unionists and large scale racist attacks – they would get limited support and be defeated as they were in the massive mobilisations of the late 1970’s & early 1990’s.

This does not mean that the BNP are not dangerous to ordinary working class people; by blaming Muslims, immigrant workers & asylum seekers they are providing a smokescreen to allow big business bosses and the government to make us all pay for the crisis they have created.

It’s our government that used our money to bail out millionaire bankers but refuse to bail out much needed jobs and services. It wasn’t immigrant workers or asylum seekers who closed all our pits & potbanks. Its local councils who are cutting jobs, closing or privatising our schools, care homes, swimming pools etc & pushing up council tax.

BNP councillors in Stoke-on-Trent have not seriously opposed any of these slash & burn policies. They lined up with the Tories and others to support the City Council Budget passed on 25th February which will mean further savage cuts in jobs, closure or further privatisation of more services and an almost 3% council tax increase!

The BNP have proved in action that they have no solutions! Blaming Muslims, immigrant workers and asylum seekers is not a solution but is just shifting the blame from the real culprits – the 3 main parties, their friends in big business & spineless local councils. But what can you do at the General Election?

SUPPORT THE SOCIALIST PARTY & TRADE UNIONIST & SOCIALIST COALITION IN THE GENERAL ELECTION

Stoke Socialist Party member, Matt Wright, (pictured) will be the candidate of the Trade Unionist & Socialist Coalition (TUSC).

TUSC will be standing candidates across Britain to provide an opportunity for you to support a serious trade union & working class based opposition to the slash & burn policies of New Labour, Tories, Lib Dems and the far right divisive poison of the BNP.

For more info – www.tusc.org.uk