Report from Labour Assembly’s Delivering a Pay Rise meeting held on 14th October in support of the TUC Britain Needs a Pay Rise demo.
The Tories ideological assault on the public sector and the vital public services that people rely on is deepening a cost-of-living crisis that is already the worst since records began.
It is no surprise therefore that an increasing number of party members are calling on Labour’s leadership to make a clear break from austerity or ‘austerity-lite’.
At a Labour Assembly Against Austerity meeting in Parliament on the eve of the TUC’s Britain Needs a Pay Rise demonstration, a broad panel of representatives from across the party, from MPs to councillors and affiliated trades unionists, demanded a change in Labour’s economic policy.
Opening the meeting, prospective parliamentary candidate Cat Smith, explained that the event had been called in order to ‘support for the Britain Needs a Pay Rise agenda of the TUC’, as a challenge to a historically unprecedented fall in real earnings directly linked to the Government’s austerity agenda.
Expanding on the impact of the earnings crisis, other speakers referred to the growth in self-employment and in-work individuals relying on social security as evidence of the growing crisis.
The growth in strike balloting and unions organising walk-outs, particularly in the public sector was seen as a sign of an unwillingness to accept the earnings crisis, while the development of local activist groups shows the growing political opposition to cuts in public services.
Trade unions were represented at the event by Kevin Rowan of the TUC and Mike Hedges from Unite the Union.
Kevin Rowan explained that not only do ‘We need to show our solidarity with public sector workers taking action but it’s not just them’ as ‘workers across the UK are facing the seventh year of decline in spending power.’
Mike Hedges of Unite related this struggle to developments in the Labour Party and the increasingly difficult job of Unite in convincing its members that Labour represents a genuine alternative added that ‘when we see Ed Balls saying he’s going to cap child benefit it doesn’t help. Instead of ‘austerity lite’, people want to hear things about how we can make their lives better.
Speaking about strikes in the health sector, MPs Katy Clark and Ian Lavery led the way for Labour representatives, setting out their support.
‘@IanLaveryMP proud to support local #NHSpay #NHSstrike picket because recovery not helping ordinary people #PayRise pic.twitter.com/QzOJaPCMhn
— Labour Assembly (@labourassembly) October 14, 2014
The growing concern amongst Labour’s local councillor base that they will be asked to deliver Labour cuts after five years of Osborne’s axe was reflected by Alice Perry, councillors newly-elected representative on the Labour NEC.
By 2015 Islington’s budget to be cut by 50% – @aliceperryuk elected to Labour NEC opposing local govt cuts #PayRise pic.twitter.com/rA2KkvxCD1 — Labour Assembly (@labourassembly) October 14, 2014
She highlighted how ‘Islington council pays the living wage and insist our contractors do too’, as well as taking services back in-house but noted that, the ‘cuts had a devastating effect locally’ and that local government ‘can only achieve things if funded properly’ and that ‘It’s completely wreckless and irresponsible not to fund local government properly’ as Labour looks at its post-election spending plans.
‘@ChriswMP says we need to defend local services and end spending cuts to local govt #PayRise pic.twitter.com/We9Djha7L0
— Labour Assembly (@labourassembly) October 14, 2014
Reflecting on Labour’s response to the Tory agenda, the MPs on the panel said Labour had failed to set out a clear alternative and a new approach was needed. Cat Smith said ‘Ed Balls had offered only a further tightening of social security spending’ – an agenda which Mike Hedges of Unite the Union said made it more difficult to convince Unite members to vote Labour, the increasingly difficult job of Unite in convincing its members that Labour, because ‘people want to hear things about how we can make their lives better.’
‘@unitetheunion‘s @mikeghedges says Labour failing to inspire its voters with an austerity-lite message #PayRise pic.twitter.com/UkThYj6Ryf — Labour Assembly (@labourassembly) October 14, 2014
Diane Abbott MP gave the context to the cuts devastating Britain, saying that ‘The Tories aren’t making these cuts because they have to, its because they want to’ ideologically, before outlining their impact, including that they are, ‘hitting women and lowest paid workers the hardest.’
Arguing that, ‘We have to offer people hope by contesting the Tory austerity agenda,’ she concluded that ‘the alternative to Tory austerity is to fight austerity… not a race to the bottom on immigration with UKIP’ or austerity lite.
‘@HackneyAbbott says pay is falling under Tories as part of their ideological commitment to austerity #PayRise pic.twitter.com/Agv5Dahw4v
— Labour Assembly (@labourassembly) October 14, 2014
Chris Williamson MP argued that not only is it ‘abundantly clear that neo liberalism doesn’t work and needs to be junked,’ but that changing the situation is ‘about political will in the end” and that ‘we need to be bolder’. Katy Clark MP, who hosted the meeting as Co-chair of the Labour Assembly Against Austerity, argued that the current difficulties stem from that ‘we have a labour leadership that hasn’t sufficiently differentiated itself with the coalition government’ and that ‘we’re simply not providing the leadership to enable people to fightback.’
‘@KatyClarkMP says Labour not sufficiently differentiated from Tory cuts so failing to connect with voters #PayRise pic.twitter.com/i4bi8arrwg — Labour Assembly (@labourassembly) October 14, 2014
Looking at the positive alternatives Labour needs to set out to win the election, Mike Hedges stated that ‘We need to argue for an end to austerity, for investment & growth, [as] the bold step Labour needs to take including building a million homes, freezing rents and renationalising rail.’
Katy Clark repeated the need for council house building and taking rail franchises into public ownership, while Chris Williamson made the case for championing public intervention and public ownership as a vehicle for economic growth through housing construction, infrastructure investment and smart procurement
‘@KatyClarkMP simple commitments to fund council house building and take rail franchises in to public ownership will win votes #PayRise
— Labour Assembly (@labourassembly) October 14, 2014
Public sector a vehicle for economic growth through housing construction, infrastructure investment and smart procurement @ChriswMP #PayRise — Labour Assembly (@labourassembly) October 14, 2014
The meeting concluded that not only is there an alternative to austerity – and that Labour needs to embrace this – but also that we need to build the People’s Assembly Against Austerity movement and strengthen links with local Labour activists. As People’s Assembly Secretary Sam Fairbairn put it, ‘creating a broad movement and alliance against austerity is essential going forward,’ not only in terms of relating to ‘millions who feel voiceless’ but also in order to, ‘mobilise people on these issues (of anti-cuts), involving them in a broad movement, therefore putting pressure on for progressive policies and shifting the situation.’
‘@samfairbairn says @pplsassembly a vehicle to hold politicians to account – will need to continue campaigning after election #PayRise
— Labour Assembly (@labourassembly) October 14, 2014
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