People's need before corporate greed
VOTE Communist=============
www.communist-party.org.uk
The Communist Party is standing candidates in this election to show that
there is a real alternative to right-wing, pro-big business policies - be
they 'new' Labour, 'old' Tory or 'modern' Liberal Democrat.
'New' Labour has squandered many of the aspirations awakened by its
landslide victory in 1997. It has failed to make Britain a better, fairer
and more equal society. It has put the interests of the European Union, big
business, the City and the very rich before those of working people.
Under Tony Blair, the Labour leadership has become a pro-big business and
anti-labour movement trend within the Labour Party.
Alienation of Labour's traditional working class supporters could open the
way for Tory or Liberal Democrat advance. This must not be allowed to
happen. A victory for the Tories would unleash an all-out attack on the
British people, while gains for the LibDems would enable Blair to break from
the labour movement, form a coalition and step up his pro-big business
policies.
The Communist Party supports the re-election of a majority Labour
government in order to put mass prerssure upon it.
Within and outside the labour movement, a mighty campaign needs to be built
to force the next labour government to put people's needs before corporate
greed. In this election, the best contribution that can be made to that
campaign is to secure the biggest possible vote for the six Communist
candidates.
The Communist Party fights for socialism. We are committed to building an
equal, democratic and inclusive society in which people's needs are put
before private corporate greed. We campaign for policies which will shift
Labour back to championing the interests of its traditional supporters.
The immediate priorities in this election must be to
* save jobs and rebuild manufacturing
* increase public sector pay and employment, and provide proper healthcare,
housing and education
* take transport back into public ownership and stop further privatisation
* restore the earnings link for pensions and benefits
* boost the value of the National Minimum Wage
* restore and rebuild local democracy
* oppose the introduction of the Single European Currency.
"Only a socialist Britain, co-operating with all other peoples of the world
in close, friendly, free and equal association, will be able to develop and
plan the use of all Britain's material, productive and scientific resources,
that every citizen will be guaranteed security, the right to work and
leisure, a steadily rising standard of living, full democratic rights, and
equal opportunity to enjoy a full and happy life."
from the Aims of the Communist Party
BRITAIN A SOCIETY DIVIDED
The richest one-tenth of the population own half of all the wealth in
Britain, while one half of the people own less than 10% one.
Four million children are still living below the poverty line, while the
number of millionaires has more than doubled to 74,000 since 1995.
On average, women in full-time work earn only three-quarters of male
earnings.
While Britain is losing 2,000 manufacturing jobs a week, British
capitalists have hundreds of billions of pounds invested overseas.
THE PEOPLE OF BRITAIN SAY 'NO' TO THE EURO
Tony Blair wants Britain to join the Single European Currency. But 70% of
people in Britain are against the Euro - and so are the peoples of Europe.
It would be a further step towards an undemocratic European super-state run
for bankers and big business.
It would remove our ability to defend jobs in Britain by setting our own
interest and exchange rates. It imposes austerity budgeting and a 'one-size
fits all' economic policy across the EU, regardless of the needs of
different nations and regions.
Tory opposition to the Euro is based a reactionary outlook - they prefer
Britain to be allied to, and dominated by, the USA and NATO. Communists want
a Britain which is independent and democratic, co-operating with other
countries across the world.
THE REAL NATURE OF THE EU
The European Union isn't just the absence of customs controls on wines,
spirits and tobacco. It is a supra-national structure furthering the
interests of big business corporations whose objective is to grow even
bigger and maximise their profits.
That means mergers, takeovers, job losses, wholesale privatisations and
attacks on public services and the welfare state. It means wages and
conditions being driven down under the impact of sharper competition.
British manufacturing can never be saved by EU policies of privatisation,
free movement of capital nor a single currency run by the unaccountable
European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt. Attempts to put money into saving
jobs in Britain often fall foul of the EU's policy of freedom for the
capitalist monopolies.
The EU also poses a direct threat to our democracy and to the interests of
working people in Britain. Our adhesion to EU treaties is progressively
stripping away the powers of the Westminster Parliament - especially in
terms of its ability to control the economy or intervene in the areas of
foreign policy and defence.
There is nothing 'internationalist' about the EU either. In fact it is the
opposite, a vehicle for empire, imperialism and oppression.
The EU is a racist 'Fortress Europe' against the peoples of the Third World.
The formation of an EU 'rapid-reaction force' is in effect an EU army to
defend the interests of European corporations and, in the words of former
European Commission president Jacques Delors, to fight the 'resource wars of
the 21st century'. It is a threat to peace and a bonanza for the arms
manufacturers, and should be opposed.
To argue that the EU can be transformed into an instrument to advance
socialism ignores the realities of who controls it and how. The minor
concessions offered by the EU to employees could be legislated for and
vastly improved upon by the parliaments within Britain.
Communists believe that there must be a clear commitment to Britain's
withdrawal from the European Union. This is not a call for withdrawal from
the European economy nor from international economic relations in general.
On the contrary, it is a call for free and equal relations with all nations
around the globe on the basis of peace and internationalism
SOCIAL PARTNERSHIP is the buzzword of the unelected European Commission in
Brussels. It's echoed in Britain by 'New' Labour politicians and some trade
union leaders. But it's not really a partnership because it's blatantly
unequal. And it's hardly social, when one partner (the boss) can dump
hundreds of thousands of other partners (the workers) overnight.
It's a wolf in sheep's clothing - old-fashioned class collaboration in a
modern disguise.
TAKING BACK CONTROL OF THE ECONOMY
Private ownership doesn't work. The capitalist jungle - dominated by the
giant monopolies - cannot provide secure, fulfilling and well-paid jobs. And
throwing public money into big business coffers withut a public stake in
return wastes the wealth of the British people.
Labour in government has done little to rebuild or defend manufacturing.
Their support for big business means that, when redundancies are threatened,
all they can offer is a financial package to manage the resultant hardship.
Communists say that the alternative is to face up to the bankers and big
corporations and to take back control of the British economy. That means
* taking back control of interests rates from the Bank of England,
* restricting capital exports and selectively controlling imports
* introducing a planned investment package to rebuild domestic manufacturing
* returning rail and bus transport, coal, gas, electricity, water and
telecomms to public ownership
* halting privatisation of postal services, air traffic control and London
Underground
* taking banking and strategically important industries - e.g. motor
manufacture, shipbuilding, oil, steel, information technology, aerospace and
telecommunications - into full public ownership and subjecting them to
proper democratic control
* imposing compulsory planning agreements on those companies remaining in
the private sector.
WHERE WILL THE MONEY COME FROM?
Britain can afford decent public services, higher public sector pay and
benefits, lower VAT, the abolition of student tuition fees and a programme
of public ownership. The Communist Party proposes
* an immediate windfall tax on the super-profits of the banks and oil
companies
* a wealth tax and stricter measures against tax evasion by the rich
* an increase in corporation tax on business profits
* a 50% tax rate for those with incomes over �55,000
* return to the 25p income tax base rate
* a big cut in military spending
* public ownership to be financed by the issue of government bonds.
A million new jobs could be created by a public sector jobs programme.
Much of the cost of this can be met by savings in benefits and by more
income from tax and National Insurance contributions. The new jobs
themselves would help to expand the economy and increase our national
wealth.
DIGNITY AND SECURITY FOR ALL AGES
Labour's landslide victory four years ago gave hope to all those millions
targeted by the Tories - from pensioners, students and single parents to the
unemployed, low paid and unprotected workers.
Yet poverty, homelessness and job insecurity are on the increase, welfare
and social provisions are on the point of collapse, and the deterioration of
local communities is reaching crisis point. Services across the board are
under attack and the elderly, sick and disabled are being deprived of
necessary facilities and support.
Despite the government's stated concern about 'social exclusion', the needs
of wide sections of our society are being ignored. In the poorest areas, two
in every five teenagers are not involved in either work or education.
The rundown of manufacturing employment is producing generations without
hope, and fostering anti-social behaviour.
Public spending cuts mean that vital play areas for the young are being
closed. Whole council estates are being run down, threatened with demolition
or sold off to developers on the cheap. Neglect of street cleaning and
rubbish collection is adding to the disgusting state of the environment.
Communists say life doesn't have to be like this. We propose immediate
measures to create jobs, clean up the environment, improve and restore
public services, boost spending power and shift wealth back from big
business to working people. That includes
* increased government spending of �20 billion on construction, pensions,
benefits and public services
* the extension of the 35-hour working week to all workers
* raising the National Minimum Wage in stages to two thirds of average male
earnings in order to combat poverty and boost economic demand
* cutting VAT and bank interest rates immediately and imposing price
controls.
PENSIONS Today's pensioners helped create the wealth that Gordon Brown has
in his war chest. They are entitled to a dignified and comfortable
retirement. Yet Labour has refused to reinstate the link between state
pensions and earnings.
The Communist Party calls for
* a �28 per week rise in the state pension to make up for the years of
shortfall
* a universal pension as of right, free of means-testing and linked to
average earnings
* long-term nursing home care for the elderly to be provided publicly and
free of charge where needed.
BENEFITS 'New' Labour has cut single parent benefit and intensified the Tory
attack on the unemployed and incapacitated. Actual and threatened loss of
benefits is forcing people into low-paid short-term jobs or 'New Deal'
'training' schemes of little value.
Communists say
* unemployment, invalidity and sickness benefits should be entitlements, not
allowances
* the best way to cut unemployment is to provide decent well-paid jobs.
HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES
While Labour has ended the internal market in the National Health Service,
it hasn't stopped privatisation.
Major services still face contracting out, and public-private partnerships
mean that private financiers will be siphoning off much-needed NHS cash for
years to come - cash which could be used to provide more doctors, nurses and
hospital beds.
Communists call for an end to all health privatisation. We support a
completely free properly funded NHS, including free eye tests, prescriptions
and dental care.
Communists would run an integrated health and social service, and end the
post-code lottery that currently determines the quality and speed of
treatment.
HOUSING Housing costs - including those for many home owners - are out of
control. Rents have reached levels that working people cannot afford.
Meanwhile the government is forcing councils to privatise their remaining
housing stock. Such transfer has always meant increased rents and loss of
security of tenure.
Communists say - affordable housing must be a right for all. We demand
* an immediate end to privatisation and 'right to buy' council housing
* restoration of housing subsidies and cuts in council rents, with housing
debts written off
* local authorities to regain the right to fund housing out of local
taxation
* a massive drive to repair council homes and build new ones for rent
* reintroduction of rent control and secure tenancies in the private sector
* scrapping of new restrictions on housing benefit.
TRANSPORT Communists are committed to an integrated, publicly-owned and
safe transport system covering railways, buses, waterways and roads.
In particular, we oppose the privatisation of air traffic control and the
London Underground, and support the return of all rail and bus services to
public ownership - with Railtrack as first priority.
EDUCATION 'New' Labour has continued the Tory attack on the comprehensive
system. League tables, 'specialist' status and scarce resources are
restoring the old two-tier system through the back door. Meanwhile the
teacher shortage is acute, class sizes in secondary schools are still far
too large, and colleges and universities have been starved of resources.
Communists oppose all attempts to privatise education, whether through
public-private partnerships or contracting out of school management. We call
for
* a properly funded comprehensive schools system under local democratic
control
* smaller school class sizes at all
* massively increased funding to solve the real problems in primary,
secondary and tertiary education.
CRIME Daily we hear in the media about robberies, sexual assaults and
murders. Vandalism is widespread and the drug trade has become endemic in
many areas.
This state of affairs is especially worrying to pensioners and those living
at home. Some places are so badly lit that women are afraid to go out after
dark.
'New' Labour in turn has adopted much of the Tory agenda, that crime can be
solved simply by harsher sentences. Meanwhile our prisons are bursting at
the seams.
Crime and anti-social behaviour will not be solved overnight. But they can
be reduced by providing meaningful jobs, good education and affordable
recreation facilities.
Meanwhile, there should be closer liaison between local councils, community
groups and the police, adequate lighting in all urban streets and parks, and
funds for security measures in pensioners' homes.
YOUTH 'New' Labour's National Minimum Wage has continued Tory discrimination
against young people.
Most of the placements of young people under the 'New Deal' appear to be in
non-union firms, with the 'trainee' being used as a source of cheap labour
and then dismissed after six months.
Students in higher education have been forced to pay tuition fees and take
out loans to support themselves. Many are working part-time without trade
union protection, and are thus at the mercy of unscrupulous employers.
Access to higher education now depends on whether an individual has money.
Many students finish their courses with an enormous millstone of debt around
their neck.
Communists believe that young people have a right to financial independence,
decent jobs and housing. We call for the scrapping of all tuition fees and
student loans, and the introduction of full maintenance grants.
Workers aged 16 or over should be entitled to the full National Minimum
Wage.
Alongside this, vocational training must be strategically implemented to
provide high quality schemes meeting long-term employment needs.
"The major social and economic problems we face today can only be resolved
by putting an end to capitalism and establishing socialism.
"Decisive advances towards socialism can only be achieved by mobilising the
mass of the people in support of an intermediate alternative economic and
political strategy which aims at securing full employment, a general
improvement in living standards, a wide expansion of democracy and a genuine
policy for peace." From the Communist Party programme
WOMEN'S RIGHTS Despite the increase in the number of women MPs in the last
parliament, most women have seen precious little change for the better. The
gap between male and female earnings is as wide as ever. Compared to men,
women experience a higher level of poverty, lower pay and pensions, worse
working conditions, greater levels of violence and abuse, more limited
access to employment and education and greater responsibility for raising
the next generation.Part-time working for many women is now a necessity
rather than a matter of choice.
The government says that it is 'family friendly', but these phoney values
disguise increased exploitation of women in the workplace. 'New' Labour has
attacked the rights of single parents, predominantly women, to social
benefits and housing.
Communists believe
* anti-discrimination and equal pay laws, and the powers of the Equal
Opportunities Commission, must be strengthened and a fight waged against
institutionalised sexism
* positive action programmes must be introduced in education, training and
employment
* part-time workers must have the same rights as full-time workers
* a woman's right to abortion and free contraception must be maintained, and
access to abortion within the NHS improved
* laws to protect women from violence must be strengthened
* free childcare must be accessible to all parents, supported by improved
universal benefits and welfare provision
* the Child Support Agency must be scrapped in favour of a return to the
previous system of court orders for maintenance.
TRADE UNION LAWS
The workplace isn't much fairer now than it was under the Tories. There is
no protection for those working in small companies; no employment rights
'from day one'; precious few rights for many part-time employees and no
protection for casual and agency workers.
While ballots for trade union recognition can now take place, there are many
loopholes which employers can exploit. Even if they are ultimately forced to
recognise the union, they are not obliged to negotiate in good faith.
Trade union activists can still be victimised and sacked, and not reinstated
even if an industrial tribunal finds the sacking unfair.
We still have the most vicious anti-union laws in Europe - imposed by the
Tories, but retained by 'New' Labour.
It is these laws which stack the cards against workers. Thus, there is no
right to 'stop the job' immediately if working conditions are dangerous.
Employers can announce redundancies and plant closures, but union members
are not allowed to respond without the long drawn-out process of a ballot
and then seven days notice. During ballots, bosses put enormous pressure on
workers, threatening them with reprisals if they vote for action.
The harshest anti-union legislation is the ban on solidarity and 'political'
action. Workers are prevented from supporting fellow-members in dispute or
from striking against government policy - e.g. lack of funding for public
services.
Communists call for the repeal of all anti-trade union laws as the only way
to ensure decent pay, a safe workplace and the full development of both
workers' rights and democratic rights in general.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
The stability of our planet's life support system is under threat from ozone
depletion, the greenhouse effect, deforestation and toxic and radioactive
wastes. Pollution and unregulated dumping pose unacceptable long-term health
hazards.
Communists demand controls on transnational corporations, which have ravaged
the resources and environment of the earth in their drive for super-profits.
We call for greater emphasis on energy conservation, renewable energy
resources and cheap, accessible and efficient public transport.
Existing nuclear power and waste incineration plants should be phased out,
and we should move towards a system of production in which waste products
are eliminated, recycled or reduced to an absolute minimum.
PEACE
Britain should adopt an independent foreign policy based on peaceful
co-existence and the rights of all nations to self-determination.
We should withdraw from NATO, close all US bases on British soil and oppose
US plans for the new 'Star Wars' missile system, which would trigger a new
arms race.
Trident should be scrapped, and arms spending cut by half. The saving should
be spent on health, education, job creation and a properly resourced arms
conversion programme.
Britain should unilaterally renounce nuclear and depleted uranium weapons,
and end the immoral arms trade with repressive regimes such as Saudi Arabia
and Indonesia. British troops should be withdrawn from Sierra Leone and the
Balkans. The bombing of Iraq must cease and sanctions must be lifted.
DEVOLUTION MUST BE MADE TO WORK FOR THE PEOPLE
The establishment of the Scottish Parliament, Welsh National Assembly and
Greater London Authority marked a key step forward in bringing democracy
closer to the people. Now this democracy must be made to work and extended.
Mass pressure from trades unions and communities will be needed to
counteract the centralist big business agenda of 'New' Labour.
The Welsh National Assembly must be given full parliamentary status. Both it
and the Scottish Parliament should be enabled to fund the development of
industry on the basis of full tax-raising powers. They must have the
political will to use that power to attack poverty and unemployment, develop
the public sector and turn the balance against big business.
Comparable powers must be given to the Greater London Authority and to
elected Regional Councils in England, making them accountable for services
currently controlled by non-elected quangos, such as regional economic
development, health and further education.
Local municipal and county councils must regain full control of their
budgets, and be responsive to social need and accountable to local
communities. The 'New' Labour agenda of elected mayors and cabinet-style
decision making will concentrate power at the top and squeeze any remaining
democracy from local government. Councils should instead be elected by
proportional representation using the single transferable vote system.
NORTHERN IRELAND
The Communist Party supports a united independent Ireland, and welcomed the
Good Friday agreement as the way forward for peace and the end of centuries
of national oppression in Ireland by the British state.
We are deeply concerned that delaying tactics by both the Unionists and the
British government have stalled the peace process. We demand that the
British government immediately becomes an active persuader for the peace
which the vast majority of the people in Ireland, north and south, desire
and deserve.
FIGHTING RACISM
Racism is a scar on the face of Britain, encouraged by much of the big
business tabloid press and sections of the Tory Party.
Racism means that black and ethnic minority people have fewer opportunities
in jobs, housing, health care and education. In our inner cities, racist
attacks are a daily reality, fanned by harsh economic conditions and media
portrayals of black youth.
Racism divides workers and allows the capitalist class greater opportunity
to exploit. The devaluation of black people's lives allows the ruling class
the freedom to bomb Third World countries like Iraq - with the idea that the
people there don't matter because they aren't white.
Demonising refugees and asylum seekers represents only the latest example of
media-inspired racism. 'New' Labour politicians have not only failed to
challenge it - they have contributed to it by stigmatising asylum seekers as
'bogus'.
Instead of welcoming refugees and asylum seekers, and assisting them to
rebuild their lives, the state locks them up or forces them to live below
the poverty line.
Every person should be entitled to equal treatment, regardless of their
race, culture, religion or national origin. We call for immediate measures
to root out racism - institutional or otherwise
* repeal all racist immigration, nationality and asylum laws
* make racist attacks a specific legal offence
* treat asylum seekers with humanity
A WORLD IN CRISIS
The 'New World Order' since the end of socialism in the Soviet Union has
been a disaster.
In the west, big business corporations pile up huge profits, slash jobs and
pollute the environment. The welfare state is under attack. Insecurity and
crisis threaten people's living standards everywhere.
Throughout the Third World, United States and British imperialism carve up
countries that defy the policies of the big transnationals.
In the former Socialist countries, a hundred million people have lost their
jobs, wages, pensions and social services thanks to the 'free market'. Tens
of millions vote Communist to try and regain their quality of life.
The capitalist system, based on exploitation and conflict, has no solution
to the global economic and environment crisis. But it finds the cash for a
new arms race aimed at socialist China, People's Korea and Cuba.
VOTE COMMUNIST ON JUNE 7th.
