Fast news

Family fortunes

Tory party leader David Cameron has admitted on the Andrew Marr show that his is "definitely a well-off family". That's putting it mildly. The Sunday Times Rich List valued the family wealth of David and his wife Samantha Cameron at Ł30 million plus in 2007.

If Cameron comes to power and introduces his plan to cut inheritance tax for the rich, the slimy Old Etonian has been estimated to make Ł500,000 profit out of it. He is expected to inherit Ł2.5 million when his stockbroker father dies.

In 2007 Labour - not to be outdone by the Tories - increased the 40% inheritance tax threshold for married couples from Ł300,000 to Ł700,000 by 2010.

However, Tory plans would allow married couples to pay tax only on estates worth more than Ł2 million, so Cameron would pay only Ł200,000 when his father dies if Dad can hold out until his son becomes PM.

Postal ballot

Postal workers are balloting for national industrial action to defend jobs and working conditions. 121,000 angry Communication Workers Union members are voting as Royal Mail management try to impose 'modernisation' measures - in many cases severely worsening working conditions. The ballot closes on 8 October, with the result likely to be announced soon afterwards.

Greek election

Greece's conservative New Democracy government of prime minister Costas Karamanlis suffered its worst ever general election result, crashing to just 91 MPs with only 33.5% of the vote last Sunday.

The main beneficiary was the social democrats of Pasok, led by its veteran leader George Papandreou. Pasok won 44% of the vote giving it 160 seats in the 300-member parliament.

During New Democracy's five years in power, workers were forced to organise a series of one-day general strikes against attacks on pensions, pay and jobs. There were also a number of high profile ministerial corruption scandals.

Greece's Communist party took 7.5% and 21 seats and Syriza (in which the Greek CWI participates), with support among young workers won 4.6% and 13 seats. Alarmingly, Laos - a far-right anti-immigrant party - increased its share of the vote to 5.6% and won 15 seats with votes from disaffected conservatives.

See www.socialistworld.net

NAECI ballot result

Construction workers covered by the National Agreement for the Engineering Construction Industry (NAECI) have voted to reject the employers' offer on pay and conditions. This ballot covered around 30,000 workers, mainly members of GMB and Unite, although workers on seven sites have already voted for industrial action.

The main argument is over stopping the employers bringing workers onto the sites on lower wages and conditions as they attempt to water down the provisions of the NAECI agreement.

At the moment the unions are seeking further talks with the employers.

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In The Socialist 7 October 2009:

Needed a party for workers, not bosses