May Day rallies in Swansea and Ipswich

Swansea

Swansea Socialist Party members (resplendent in new Socialist Party t-shirts) joined other trade unionists for Swansea Trades Council's May Day rally. Together we honoured the memory of Tony Benn and Bob Crow by committing ourselves to continue their fight for socialism.

Tyrone O'Sullivan, South Wales NUM during the miners' strike and leader of the workers' co-operative at Tower Colliery, was the first guest speaker.

Despite being, in his words, "a Labour man all my life", Tyrone reserved his bitterest words for the Blair/Brown government: "Labour had three terms in office, three terms in office and did bugger all!".

Swansea West Labour MP, Geraint Davies, spoke out against those that have attempted to bring racist division to the city recently - the National Front and Nigel Farage and Ukip.

Continuing the theme of opposing racism was Swansea Socialist Party branch secretary, Claire Job, representing No2EU - Yes to Workers' Rights.

Claire linked the fight against racist division with the need for a united campaign to end the poverty and misery from which racism breeds as she called for a united campaign for 'jobs and services not racism'.

Unison members in Gwalia Housing Association have voted overwhelmingly for strike action over Gwalia's drive to cut jobs and attack terms and conditions.

Their representative, Allan Thompson, explained that strike action had been postponed in order to reach agreement on how to protect some of their most vulnerable clients but that this is a postponement only and that workers are determined and angry.

Three people gave their details to find out more about the Socialist Party and how we fight for socialism.

Ronnie Job

Ipswich

Ipswich May Day festival included great speeches from Claire Laker-Mansfield from Youth Fight For Jobs and Megan Dobney from the TUC and Ipswich FBU.

John McInally, vice president of the civil servants' union PCS, called for a programme of joint coordinated industrial action across the public sector around common demands to defeat the pay freeze.

He said: "Capitalism has nothing to offer workers but racism, division, austerity and war. Build a mass movement to defeat austerity and fight for an effective political voice for the working class. Fight for a society that puts people before profit - a socialist society."

Donate to the Socialist Party

Finance appeal

The coronavirus crisis has laid bare the class character of society in numerous ways. It is making clear to many that it is the working class that keeps society running, not the CEOs of major corporations.

The results of austerity have been graphically demonstrated as public services strain to cope with the crisis.

The government has now ripped up its 'austerity' mantra and turned to policies that not long ago were denounced as socialist. But after the corona crisis, it will try to make the working class pay for it, by trying to claw back what has been given.

The Socialist Party's material is more vital than ever, so we can continue to report from workers who are fighting for better health and safety measures, against layoffs, for adequate staffing levels, etc.
When the health crisis subsides, we must be ready for the stormy events ahead and the need to arm workers' movements with a socialist programme - one which puts the health and needs of humanity before the profits of a few.

Inevitably, during the crisis we have not been able to sell the Socialist and raise funds in the ways we normally would.

We therefore urgently appeal to all our viewers to click here to donate to our Fighting Fund.