What promises to be another huge anti-austerity mobilization is to take place Oct. 3-7 in Manchester, England, during the Conservative Party’s 2015 conference. Called by the People’s Assembly Against Austerity, a broad-based united-front coalition that has organized previous anti-austerity mass actions, the aim is to send a clear message that austerity has failed and to demand policies that benefit the majority and not just the few at the top.
A centerpiece of the “national week of protest” will be a national demonstration on Sunday, Oct. 4. According to the PA’s website, transport is being organized across the country for the demonstration plus meetings on key issues including: “Privatisation, Save our NHS [National Health Service], Climate Change, Education, TTIP [Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership] , Europe, alternatives to austerity, Welfare not Warfare, Stand up to Racism, Faith Against Austerity, Hands off our Unions, and more.”
Also planned are “theatre performances, workshops, direct action, People’s Cinema, comedy, music, flash mobs, tent cities and more.”
Among the prominent participants will be newly elected Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn, who helped found the People’s Assembly in 2013. The PA website lists dozens of local groups across the country that will be building the week of protest.
Class struggle on the rise
The central slogans of the Tory conference are: “For hardworking people,” “Welfare capped,” “Crime down,” and “Immigration down.” In reality, the conference will be pushing policies that mostly benefit the wealthy, who are free to not work at all, at the expense of workers and the poor, including immigrants facing racist attacks.
This confrontation takes place in the context of sharpening economic, social and political contradictions in Britain and around the globe. As pointed out in a previous PSL statement, Jeremy Corbyn’s election as Labour Party Leader is only the most recent reflection of these contradictions and the rising class struggle in Britain.
Corbyn’s call for the formation of “citizens’ assemblies” is part of the overall picture. According to Wikipedia: “Citizens’ assemblies have been used in Canada and the Netherlands to deliberate on reform of the system used to elect politicians in those countries. In Iceland, citizens’ assemblies have been used to inform broader constitutional reform. Similar initiatives have been proposed in the UK and Ireland.”
Shadow Communities and Local Government Secretary Jon Trickett announced Sept. 17 that he had been asked by Corbyn to organize a series of citizens’ assemblies across the country: “We want the ordinary people of our country to engage. … To see what they think, if they agree with our analysis that politics isn’t working and how it might be changed. … ”
It is apparent that Corbyn envisions the future citizens’ assemblies and the already existing People’s Assembly to play complementary roles. It is conceivable that they could ultimately merge into organs of struggle that would raise the movement for basic change to a qualitatively higher level.
Mounting attacks, threatened coup
Now what Corbyn and the anti-austerity movement face is mounting attacks and threats from Britain’s ruling class, which has long experience in divide-and-rule tactics and dirty smear campaigns directed against progressive movements. They also face major obstacles to achieving their goals within the Labour Party itself.
According to the Sunday Times, “Half of Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet are prepared to vote with [Tory Prime Minister] David Cameron for airstrikes on Syria as generals and intelligence chiefs criticised the Labour leader for his views on terrorism and the military.”
This is one of the “criticisms”:
“A senior serving general said the armed forces would take ‘direct action’ to stop a Corbyn government downgrading them and said his victory had been greeted with ‘wholesale dismay’, even among Labour-supporting soldiers.
“‘There would be mass resignations at all levels and you would face the very real prospect of an event which would effectively be a mutiny,’ the general said. ‘Feelings are running very high with the armed forces. You would see a major break in convention with senior generals directly and publicly challenging Corbyn over vital important policy decisions such as Trident, pulling out of Nato and any plans to emasculate and shrink the size of the armed forces. The Army just wouldn’t stand for it. The general staff would not allow a prime minister to jeopardise the security of this country and I think people would use whatever means possible, fair or foul to prevent that. You can’t put a maverick in charge of a country’s security.'” (Sunday Times, Sept. 20)
Here you have a brazen threat made by “a senior serving general” of a military coup should the majority of voters in Britain choose a Corbyn-led Labour Party to form a government.
Needless to say, the rising movement against austerity and for basic social change in Britain has to take such threats seriously and prepare accordingly. The Party for Socialism and Liberation is confident that the coming anti-austerity mobilization will be a further big step in advancing the struggle.
