10 reasons why you should support TUSC

1. We need real opposition to the cuts being made by the Tories, not feeble cries of “We agree with the need for cuts, but they should not be made so deep or so fast”.

2. Labour has made promises before in opposition – to renationalise British Rail, not to bring in tuition fees. They cannot be trusted to deliver.

3. Labour councils across the country are carrying through massive cuts to local services. Where Labour councillors are standing up against the cuts (The Hull Three and The Southampton Two, for example) they have been expelled from their own party! They should be supported, not witch-hunted, for standing up for local people who elected them. The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition opposes ALL cuts to public services.

4. Labour conference decisions are ignored and the handful of left-wing backbenchers that do exist are sidelined; left-wing candidates face likely deselection. The Labour Party cannot be reclaimed for the left.

5. Trade unions should stop funding Labour and instead build an alternative party to stand up for their members’ interest.

6. Labour began the process of privatising schools, the NHS, council services, the welfare state. The Tories have only put their foot on the accelerator. There is no difference between any of the main parties on the need to slash vital services and punish the poor for the economic crisis.

7. Inequality increased under Labour as well as the Tories.

8. If we carry on down the path of cuts, the outlook is bleak – look at Greece, Ireland, Cyprus, Spain, Portugal . . . Iceland, by contrast, where the people in a referendum voted to reject austerity, is doing much better.

9. Labour is wedded to a failed model of capitalism. We need democratic socialism, planning instead of the anarchy of the “free market”.

10. Where TUSC has been seen as a credible alternative to Labour, it has achieved respectable votes – in Coventry, Maltby, Huddersfield, Preston, Walsall – TUSC candidates have come close to winning or have won council seats.

TUSC is aiming to stand 400 candidates in the local elections across the country in May – why not be one of them – look at http://www.tusc.org.uk for more details.

Can you taste the difference?

We have three main flavours on offer at election time – all saccharine, bitter-tasting and guaranteed to leave a nasty aftertaste.

New Labour Cola

This is marketed as dependable, traditional and in touch with ordinary people. When Labour Cola it was launched 100 years ago, it was bottled by the trade unions, to give a different taste to the other drinks on offer – the Tories and the Liberals, which were strictly for the middle classes. However, Kinnock got hold of Thatcher’s recipe for Tory Pepsi and shamelessly ripped it off. Since then drinkers have commented that it lacks the bite of the original recipe as it has been watered-down. When the new recipe was tried out on a large scale across the country, the result was promising at first, as people thought it couldn’t possibly taste as bad as Tory Pepsi but after the novelty wore off, they soon realised that it left a horrible, saccharine aftertaste. Blair and Brown have stuck rigidly to the “New” recipe ever since, despite it becoming increasingly unpopular.

Tory Pepsi

Enjoyed by the rich, who invest in huge private stores of the stuff. This is an expensive tipple,  which promises much but ultimately fails miserably to deliver. Prolonged drinking leaves you soulless and greedy for more. Those who haven’t tried it before may be attracted by the glossy advertising, but in blind taste tests, people were disappointed to find that it tasted exactly the same as New Labour Cola.

Libdemade

The perennial third-placed drink on the market, it has never taken off. It is wishy-washy in flavour, and people are never sure exactly what it is supposed to taste like. Although it is marketed as being made with real lemons, it tastes like lemon substitute and in practice it rots your teeth just as effectively as New Labour Cola or Tory Pepsi. Pretty revolting by all accounts.

So what is the answer?

In 1906, with the launch of Labour Cola, the unions decided that working people needed a drink of their own. They promised to make a flavour that people actually enjoyed rather than one which was cheap to make and produced lots of profit. Now the bottling plant has been closed, the factory sold off and workers have lost their jobs. The only thing on offer is three shameless interpretations of the same horrible brew.

We need a new drink – a drink that is satisfying and good for you. One that lives up to its promises and won’t let you down. A draught that is refreshingly different, which has been formulated to meet the needs of ordinary people. A drink made by the trade unions, who are in touch with what people want from a beverage. If people are unhappy with the drink, they should be able to pass comments on to quality control and change the formula. Those who are in charge of the factory should not be careerists, who are only out for themselves. Their objective should be only to refresh those who voted for them.

We need a new party to represent ordinary drinkers. Join the campaign for a new workers’ party today.