Jackie Grunsell

Councillor for Crosland Moor and Netherton

Jackie Supports theMillions not the Million

aires

BACK IN 1997, New Labour told us that ‘Things CanOnly Get Better’. Thirteen years later and manypeople are asking if things can get any worse. Withthe gap between the richest and the poorest in societynow wider than at any point during the last 70 years,working men and women are wondering whetherthere is any genuine alternative to Labour. All that themain parties can offer is promises of, “savage cuts” in jobs and public services.

Viable Alternative

A viable alternative is offered in the Trade Unionist andSocialist Coalition (TUSC), which is standing candidatesthroughout the country in the coming General and localelections.TUSC demands that banks and finance institutions are brought into genuine public ownership under democraticcontrol, instead of giving huge handouts to the bankers andfinance system which caused the crisis.

Jackie Stands

Cllr. Jackie Grunsell is proud to be standing under theTUSC banner.She says, “The UK is engulfed in the worst economic crisissince the 1930s. This crisis has not been caused by workingpeople, yet it is we who must apparently pick up the tabfrom the unbelievable bail-out of the banks - to a tune of over £1 trillion.”TUSC thoroughly opposes the ongoing war in Afghanistanand demands that all British troops are brought home.Instead of sending our young people to fight, we demand thatthe government invests to create and protect jobs.We cannotafford the levels of unemployment last seen under Thatcher.

Support the Alterntive

It is vital that a clear left-wing alternative to policies of publicsector cuts, privatisation, militarism and environmental deg-radation exists in this election. The racist BNP has no solu-tions for the problems besetting people in the UK. The TradeUnionist and Socialist Coalition offers an excitingopportunity to build for something better than the boom and bust policies of the mainstream parties.

Bob Crow, RMT General Secretaryand TUSC Supporter

National Support for TUSC ElectionAlliance Grows

SINCE its recent launch, a large number of trade unionistsand socialist activists have announced their support for theTrade Union and Socialist Coalition (TUSC).The general feeling is that there needs to be a workingclass and socialist alternative to the three big parties whoare all offering the same programme of cuts and attackson working people. Amongst those giving their support,include trade union leaders (all in a personal capacity)such as Bob Crow, RMT General Secretary; Brain Caton,General Secretary of the Prison Officers Association; ChrisBaugh Assistant General Secretary of the Civil ServiceUnion (PCS); and John McInally Vice President of the PCS.In addition there are dozens of other trade unionrepresentatives from their respective National Commit-tees. Up and down the country, at the time of going topress, there were at least 26 candidates standing, includingPaul Cooney in Huddersfield, previously both a Labourand Green Party candidate. Paul andJackie together canprovide an alternative that Kirklees needs.

Kirklees Save Our ServicesCampaign

KIRKLEES COUNCIL has now begun to show its hand, byseeking to get rid of up to 1,000 of its workforce throughvoluntary redundancy. What will follow are huge cuts in budgets for the next 3-5 years, which will see more servicescut to the bone.This year alone 350-500 jobs will go. Highways andTransportation will be one of the hardest hit services interms of funding cuts and job losses. With our roads plagued by pot-holes after the bad weather, how do the councilplan to make desperately needed repairs whilst cutting thisservice?

Public Service Cuts

On top of this, the government has said that it is taking £2.5 billion out of Higher Education. This will mean job lossesand cuts in courses and student numbers. At First Bus inHuddersfield, 6 drivers have been made compulsorilyredundant. Local trade union leaders have said that is whyso many services just don’t run: there are not enoughdrivers to go roundNew Labour has said they will cut the NHS budget by £20 billion after the election, which will have a devastatingimpact on local communities. We have already seen 7local schools earmarked for closure in the Dewsbury/Batleyarea…with more to come in Huddersfield.

Public Meeting

Save Our Services has moved its campaign up a gear with asuccessful public meeting, held on 3rd February and a lobbyof the council meeting which approved their cost cutting budget on 24th February.

Growing Support

The campaign now has the backing of 5 local trade unionorganisations, as well as a number of community groups.The campaign is giving support to the local Unison branchwhich has voted at a mass meeting to take strike action overcuts in pay and jobs. A strike ballot will follow. SOS will be supporting all campaigns and strikes to protect all ourvitally needed services; it will try to organise the widestpossible support for such action and calls on the communityto join the fight back.Local people have expressed anger at the amount of moneypaid out to the consultancy firm Deloittes, which haspocketed £35,000 for advising the council how to makethese cuts. A number of council chiefs have also taken hugepayouts to retire early, and they are doing all they can tokeep these figures from the public. But SOS believes theywill each cash in over £100,000!

Jackie Fighting the Cuts

Jackie is the only local councillor who is campaigning tosave ALL our services. This is why she needs anothermandate at this year’s election from you all, so that shecan to continue her work. Another Tory, Labour or Liberalcouncillor in Crosland Moor will only mean another votefor cuts and loss of services to our community.As local UNISON branch secretary Paul Cooney said to usrecently (in a personal capacity), echoing the sentiments of hundreds of local residents, “Jackie is an excellentrepresentative, and works hard on all aspects of council business, but especially in defending our Health Service. Iknow she will continue her excellent work after theelections.”

Some of the leading local trade unionists who spoke at theSOS Public Meeting along with Cllr. Jackie Grunsell

Join the

Save Our ServicesCampaign,

against the council cuts

Contact: ed@kirklees-sos.org

YF4J Demonstration in Leeds

A LOUD, LIVELY Youth Fight for Jobsdemonstration stopped traffic anddrew widespread support fromshoppers in Leeds city centre on a cold but sunny, Saturday morning inFebruary. The demo was attended bymany young people fromHuddersfield, along and from WestYorkshire as a whole. The protest wasagainst the ever increasing levels of youthunemployment and education cuts.Youth Fight for Jobs members from allover West Yorkshire, and others fromManchester, Hull and Sheffield, cameto support the demo and help publicly build the campaign. Roberto, a youngworker from Halifax, said he’d come tosupport the demo not only in solidar-ity with students and staff in Leeds butalso in protest at the wider attacks onthe working class in society and to help build the much-needed response fromthe oppressed masses.

University Cuts

Leeds University is facing particularlysavage cuts, with up to 700 staff therefacing redundancy as the university at-tempts to slash £35million inanticipation at a national financial crisisin higher education.The Lecturers’ union, UCU, has won a ballot for strike action over the attacksat Leeds University and are fighting todefend their jopbs and the quality of student courses.A representative from the union,spoke at the closing rally in Leeds citycentre, explaining to the crowd thatthe university management have so farnot been willing to discuss alternativesto the cuts. He also made the point thatthe union must make a serious effort toexplain to the wider public why theyare taking strike action.Despite the stance of the LeedsUniversity Students’ Union, whocontinue to oppose the UCU strikeon the grounds that it damages thestudents’ education (as if 700 less staff wouldn’t!), students are generallysupportive once they understand theissue and many joined the protest inthe city centre after seeing what thedemo was about.

No Jobs for Youth

Brionny Fox, a fine arts student atLeeds MetropolitanUniversity, joinedthe protest as it hit the centre she hasseen the lack of jobs on offer afterpeople finish their courses. “My boyfriend left Leeds Uni with a degreein English; yet a year later he’s workingas a car park attendant. We’re always joking to each other about needing toget involved and do something aboutthis situation in society. Once I sawand read what this demo was about, Irealised I had to join in.”

Making a Stand

Sean Clothier and Eli Helliwell, fromLeeds socialist students and YFJ, spokeabout the effects of education cutson young people and the need for anorganised fightback from youth andstudents.YFJ national organiser, BenRobinson described the situation youngpeople face when they attempt to geta job: the sight of 100 people or moreapplying for a single job is becomingincreasingly common. “There is anutter waste of talent in society, withuniversity graduates and skilled manualworkers competing for the same,minimum wage, dead end jobs,” Bencommented. “But the government haveno way out, other than to force peopleto work for free, throwing them intopoverty. But it is the government itself that should be thrown into the gutter if they cannot find a real solution to massunemployment.”

Need to Organise

Ben set out the demands being made by YFJ, emphasing the importance of young people getting organised withinsuch a campaign: “In this country wehave many vital services hugelyunderstaffed. So to say that there isnowhere for people to work is a lie.But it was a different story when the banks were in trouble, when £1.3trillion was conjured up to bail out asystem which is now condemningmillions to unemployment andpoverty.”

Join the Fightback

YFJ in Leeds has grown even largerwith this demonstration, and will be atthe forefront of the campaign to defendeducation and staff at Leeds University.It will be supporting the picket lineslater during the dispute and joining theUCU-organised regional rally in thefirst week of March.All of us involved in the campaign inKirklees would welcome other youngpeople to get involved. Join us in thisfight for decent jobs, education anda better future. You can contact YF4JCampaign at the website:http://www.youthfightforjobs.com