G o rdon Brown fam o u s l ythought he hadabolished cap i t a l i s t‘boom and bust’ butc apitalism has prove dhim wro n g. E very twitch of t h estock market creates ap an i c, double diprecession thre a t e n s,b an ke rs have dru n kd e eply at the well ofp u blic funding and areback to theiru n regulated ways. The capitalist wo rld is ind e ep and continuingc risis—a crisis of f i n an c eand of p roduction, eachaspect feeding the other.

Just under a quarter of theBritish people voted for theC o n s e r v a t i v e-LibDem coalition.Thus the political basis for a‘ s o l u t i o n’ to the economic crisisat the expense of the workingclass is very narrow.

Both Simon Hughes, andyesterday the former Lib Demleader Charles Kennedy voiceddisagreement with the strategyof cuts.

The trade unions and theLabour movement can be at thecentre of a huge movement ofthe British people to stop thisgovernment in its tracks. But thecase for an alternative strategymust be made at every level,national and local. And this

must have a local andcommunity dimension with massaction in every town and city.

Among the contenders for theLabour leadership both EdMiliband and Ed Balls, and ofcourse Diane Abbott propose,with different emphases, somekind of alternative.

It is Blair’s heir DavidMiliband and Andy Burnhamwho hark back to the policies ofLabour’s first disastrouschancellor Philip Snowden inechoing most clearly the rulingclass approach of “f i s c a lrectitude’ and cuts in benefitsand public ex p e n d i t u r e .

continued overleaf

Communists at the TUC Wednesday 15 September 2010

Yes Mervyn, it’s acapitalist crisis

U n i t y !

I n s i d eCuts that will dam ag ebus services

D o n’t attack Iran !

F ree Mar wanB arghouti and allPa l e s t i n i an pri s o n e rs

G ro u c h o !

Read theM o rning Star60p daily fro myour new s a g e n tand online atw w w. m o r n i n g s t a ro n l i n e . c o . u k

This crisis is global but it isalso made in Britain, byB r i t a i n’s ruling class. It is setagainst decades of decline inmanufacturing—with the loss ofover six million jobs since1965, more than four million ofthose since 1979, and more lostduring the period of the NewLabour government.

While we sit here listening toMervyn King tell us that wagecuts are necessary (with theimplication left unsaid thatprofits are sacrosanct) the Bankof England predicts that lostglobal output could reach afigure between £42 trillion to£140 trillion, between £1.25trillion and £5.2 trillion in theBritain, as the effects of thecrisis continue. In Europe,manufacturing output is down20 per cent since the beginningof the recession.

Depending on banking andfinancial services means anyrecovery will be ‘weak, fragileand uncertain’. And that is justwhat the IMF says.

The financial crisis resultingfrom 30 years of‘f i n a n c i a l i s a t i o n’ with theprogressive dominance of the

finance sector over theproductive sector is a sign of theterminal decrepitude of thecapitalist system.

‘ Fi n a n c i a l i s a t i o n’ means lackof investment in the ‘reale c o n o m y’, and the furtherundermining of worke r s ’incomes, and has resulted in thethe renewed threat of a doubledip recession.

Gordon Brown played aleading role in the co-o r d i n a t i o nof the main capitalist states andtheir central banks in massivefiscal, economic and politicalintervention that has resulted inenormous costs – over £7trillion – one fifth of the entireglobe’s economic output andjust under £1,800 for everyman, woman and child on thep l a n e t .

But this crisis was created bybosses and bankers and not byw o r kers. The cost should beborn by them.

Making the rich pay for thisbailout must be the basis of ourpolitical approach. To pretendthat any other course of actioncan be followed without harmingthe interests of our class isd i s h o n e s t .

And to believe that suchcrises can be abolished withoutabolishing the system thatcreates them is an illusion too.

Congress earlier in the weekset the stage for a renewedoffensive in defence of theliving standards of the Britishpeople. Every success in thisfight opens up the possibility ofmore fundamental change inwhich the working class isreturned to the centre ofpolitical life and the road toworking class political power isopened up.

U n i t y ! TUC Confe rence 20102

by Graham Steve n s o n

The ConDem coalitiong overnment hasd e c l ared its intent tom ake cuts of 25-40% in‘ n o n - e s s e n t i a l ’d ep artments. TheD ep artment forTran s p o rt wants tom ake £500 million insavings across publ i ct ran s p o rt expenditure.

The government hints at theremoval or a cut in Bus ServiceOperating Grant. Formerly theFuel Duty Rebate, it isessentially a tax concession tobus operators who receive a75% refund but there is talk ofa cut to 25%.

The subsidy originated whenbuses were in the public sectorbut privatisation has seen arange of forms of such incomevalued by the share quotedcompanies that now dominatethe industry. Unsurprisingly,most bus employers areunenthusiastic about this andother ConDem cuts. Unite issupporting a joint campaignwith Stagecoach andenvironmental groups againstany cut in BSOG.

If BSOG is hit savagely, theseemployers will pass on the coststo the public, or if they can getaway with it their employees.The result will be faresincreases that could lead to a10% reduction in passengerscarried and service cuts, withjob losses in some thousands.

It is still not clear what thenew government’s position isgoing to be on ConcessionaryFares, although it has stated thatit does not plan to get rid of theover 60s travel pass. Pe n s i o n e rgroups are gearing up to protectthe Freedom Pass and we salutethat and will join with them, too.

It’s not just local bus servicesthat face massive cuts, thegovernment has announced alist of tram and light railprojects that it had decided toscrap.

This has had the effect thatFrench transnational, Tr a n s d e v,now up for a global merger withfellow TNC, Veolia (formerlyC o n n ex), has been axed fromthe Edinburgh new tram projectas part of a drive to cut costs onthe troubled £500m project. Thejob has now been brought in-house by the council as part of aprogramme of “logistical and

Cuts that willdamage buss e r v i c e s

Join the discussion‘Another Bri t ain is Po s s i ble – Build a Wo rking ClassM ovement to Challenge the Ban ke rs, Bosses an dtheir Gove r n m e n t’

Available now the domestic resolution for 51st Commu n i s tP a rty Congress at http://www. c o m mu n i s t - p a rt y. o r g . u k

H arsh conditionsimposed on politicald e t aineesin Iranp rompted the re c e n thunger stri ke of 1 7political pri s o n e rsagainst theirm i s t reatment and there g i m e’s decision to puton trial the leader ofthe Te h ran Public BusWo rke rs’ UnionM ansour Osan lo u .

Osanlou was arrested in July2007 on trumped-up charg e s .He is suffering ill health anddoctors who have examined himhave say that he is too ill toremain in prison and should behospitalised. Despite this,Osanlou was sentenced to aone year’s imprisonment.

The Tudeh Party of Iran andthe Communist Party of Britainhave agreed to coordinate aseries of activities in solidaritywith victims of the Iranianregime’s repressive measures.

They declared their supportfor the current popular strugglefor human rights, justice,d e m o c r a c y, peace and an end totheocratic rule in Iran.

They called for theimmediate release of allpolitical prisoners in Iran andfor the Tehran regime to fullyrespect the UN Charter and theUN Convention on HumanRights, of which it is as i g n a t o r y, and all ILOconventions on workers’ rights.

The two parties alsoexpressed their admiration forthe brave stance of the Iranianw o m e n’s movement in thecurrent struggle to expose theiroppression and work towards ademocratic and equal future.They expressed grave concernabout the treatment of womenby the Islamic government inIran and condemned theendemic discrimination againstwomen in employment and allaspects of economic, social andcultural life.

The Communist Party and theTudeh Party of Iranunreservedly condemn thebarbaric punishments metedout to victims of the country’ slegal system. The parties calledfor an end to all forms ofdiscrimination against womenand an immediate cessation ofall barbaric and medievaltortures and executions.

The two parties alsoemphasised their totaland unequivo c a lopposition to an yexternal intervention inI ran under any pretext.

They stated that suchadventures serve only tostrengthen the hand of thetheocratic regime in furtherextending its repressive rule.This is already proving to bethe case in relation to recentsanctions imposed by the UNSecurity Council and theEuropean Union.

Sanctions have been used bythe regime as an excuse tocrack down on the opposition,blaming them for the unstableconditions in the country.

The Tudeh Party of Iran andthe Communist Party of Britainemphasised that the futuredirection of politicaldevelopments in Iran can andshould be decided only by theIranian people themselves.Neither theocratic dictatorshipnor intervention by any foreignpower should feature in thefuture of the country. .

TUC Confe rence 2010 U n i t y !

financial efficiencies”. Thismay be a good move amongstmany difficult ones.

Fo r, irony of ironies, Tr a n s d e vis a subsidiary of Caisse desDépôts et Consignations (CDC),a French financial org a n i s a t i o n ,created in 1816 as part of thoseGovernment institutions underthe control of the Fr e n c hParliament, with the ex p r e s smission of serving as asafeguard for public funds,including the pension funds ofthe country’s civil servants.

The reshuffling of theportfolios of Transdev andVeolia will see parts of theformer – including Londonoperations – sold to RAT P,Régie Autonome des Tr a n s p o r t sParisiens, the Paris bus, tramand metro operator ...whichcurrently owns 25.6% ofTr a n s d e v. If the British state –and by extension BorisJ o h n s o n’s London fiefdom – hasno interest in preservingsomething of our publictransport system, the Fr e n c hstate – and the Mayor of Paris –seem to be fascinated! It’s justthat it’s their state and notB r i t a i n’s that’s involved.

Perhaps the most serious busindustry target to date to beidentified as ripe for theConDem hatchet is the networkin London. Boris Johnson’ sTransport for London chiefshave already volunteered –without even being asked by theTreasury – a cut of £5 billion.

L o n d o n’s bus market, unlikethe rest of the country, runs on atotally contracted market withthe private sector. TfL areforcing these to have lowerrevenue per mile targ e t s .N a t u r a l l y, this will reduceoperating profit margin in onefell swoop, perhaps by around1.5% when most operators arel u c ky to obtain an 8% returninL o n d o n’s regulated marke t .Loosing a quarter of their profitwill encourage the employers tosavage the workforce and thetravelling public both.

Boris Johnson – at electiontime – described London’ s

b u s w o r kers as “the world’sfinest”. But not only did hegain few busworkers’ votes, he’snow about to find out whyUnite’s London busworkers havethe reputation they do. For mostof the 20th century they werethe former-T & G’s flagshipmembership. They are now setto claim that title from Unite.And busworkers across the UKwill be following hard in theirfootsteps to defend terms andconditions along with publicrights against the slashing aimsof the coalition of Tories and theyellow ones.

An excellent start to thecampaign against cuts has beenmade in London, with a “SaveOur Buses” lobby at City Hallt o d a y, addressed by Unite AG S,Len McCluskey and Ke nLivingstone, who Unite isstrongly backing in his bid toreturn to the Mayoralty. TheUnite campaign rightly links theinterests of the travelling publicwith those of busworkers.

For we know what this means,Ken Livingstone had to win abattle with Gordon Brown’ sTreasury to gain enough incometo ensure decent services.

This first step will be followedby more ‘b e l t - t i g h t e n i n g ’ .Clapped out buses, cuts inmileage, soaring fares and athinner service in outer London.Wages freezes, attacks onconditions, buy-outs andm e rgers resulting in forcedmoves for busworkers.

Meanwhile Arriva plc, whereUnite has 16,000 bus members,and one of the biggest operatorsin London, has been whollyacquired by a 100%-o w n e dsubsidiary of Deutsche Bahn,the nationalised German bus,tram and rail operation. A startto a reversion to the publicownership of bus and rail hasbegun in the UK – it’s just thatit’s the French and Germanstate that’s at it! Graham Stevenson is NationalO rganiser – Transport of Unitethe union and President of theEuropean Transport Wo r ke r sFe d e r a t i o n

U n i t y ! TUC Confe rence 20104

Without justice for thePa l e s t i n i an people therec an be no peace in theMiddle East. The USg i ves $70 million dollarsa day in military aid toI s rael. This underp i n sI s ra e l ’s violent flo u t i n go f international law, itsi l l e gal settlements an dthe Ap artheid Wall thatdivides Pa l e s t i n i an lands.

U S, British and EU supportfor Israel is a vital element ini m p e r i a l i s m’s strategy todominate the Middle East.

Communists supportPalestinian resistance to theIsraeli occupation and call forthe establishment of a two-s t a t esolution which would create aviable Palestine based on the1967 borders, with EastJerusalem as its capital, and aright of return for refugees incompliance with UN resolution1 9 4 .

The Communist Pa r t ycondemns the concept of a‘Jewish state’ which threatensthe future of the 20 per cent ofthe Israeli population who aren o n -Jews and entrenches Zionistracism.

Communists fully back theTUC campaign to boycott Israeligoods from illegal settlementsand call for an end to Britishinvestment in Israel, the ex p o r tof arms and materials for theconstruction of the ApartheidWall. Israel must dismantle its‘secret’ nuclear weaponsc a p a c i t y.

The piratical Israeliinterception of the Gaza aidconvoys has brought home tomillions that Palestinians live inan Israeli prison house.Palestinians cannot leave Gazaor the West Bank unless theIsraeli military permits them. Ifthey leave they have no right ofreturn and many have beenprevented from returning to theirhomes, families and jobs.

But many Palestinians alsoexperience the inside of Israeliprisons. Since the beginning ofthe Israeli occupation ofPalestinian territories followingthe 1967 war over 650,000Palestinians – one in five of thepopulation – have beenimprisoned by Israel.

At the last count Israel heldover 7,000 prisoners. Aroundone in twenty are children andthere are dozens of women inc a p t i v i t y. Over three hundredare detained ‘administratively’ .The Israeli jail populationincludes 25 members of thePalestine Legislative Council.

More than two hundredprisoners are from EastJerusalem, near two hundredfrom territories annexed in 1948and over seven hundred fromG a z a .get the new CommunistParty bro a d s h e e tFree Marwan Barghoiti and allPalestinian political prisoners

Pamphlets, CommunistReview and books fro m

w w w. c o m m u n i s t -p a r t y. o r g.uk

or CPB Ruskin House, 23Coombe Road, Cro y d o n

w w w. y c l . o rg.uk www. s o l i d n e t . o rg

www.communist-party.org.uk

Free Marwan

B a r g h o u t i

Free all Palestinian political prisoners

Is Mick for the chop?I only ask because threenecessarily anonymous but well-placed centre-right types haveexpressed concern that for theumpteenth year the right winglist for the TUC general councillooks like a flop. And it is thehapless Mick Leahy who carriesthe can.

Gone are the day’s when thebattle for seats was a bruisingleft/right contest. And this is notthe only setback for the poorman. That coveted seat in theLords still eludes him.

Socialism is backOdd that the only contenders forthe Labour leadership to take upthe Morning Star’s offer a freecolumn in TUC week are DianeAbbot and Andy Burnham.

Comrade Burnham showed abit of nouse in deploying theforbidden ‘S’ word thus provingthe old saying that socialdemocracy in oppositionespouses the cause of thew o r kers and in government ...

M an agement discre t i o nBad luck for Unite’s DerekSimpson who arrived too late tosecure a place in the standing-room only hustings for Labourleader and went off in a huffwhen the stoic stewardsteadfastly refused to admission.But consolation in the free CubaLibre cocktail at the CSC do.

On Britainby VI Lenin

Women and Class by Mary Davis