Solidarity 245, 9 May 2012

The Tory attack on the welfare state is ideological, it is not about tackling debt. In housing this is combined with sheer greed. Housing is a basic need. To the Tories it is a commodity to be used for maximum profit. In the 1980s Thatcher virtually abolished building social housing, creating huge shortages and simultaneously driving vast numbers into the private sector. The Tories now want to increase rents to market levels for council and housing association tenants. In many areas this means rents increasing to £350-400 a week. Iain Duncan Smith's assertion that Tory policy will reduce...

Pete McLaren, independent socialist representative on the TUSC National Steering Committee and 2012 candidate in Rugby, says TUSC has made modest gains. TUSC’s election results were a modest improvement on last year. Standing mostly as Trade Unionists and Socialists Against Cuts, TUSC stood a total of 133 candidates in England and Wales on 3 May, standing in 132 wards in 40 councils, proportionally a higher number of candidates than last year. In addition TUSC stood in the Liverpool Mayoral contest and for the GLA. In total these candidates polled 43,671 votes. In the council elections TUSC...

On 3 May a spokesperson for Kofi Annan, broker of the 12 April Syria peace plan, claimed, “The Annan plan is on track… [although] there are no big signs of compliance on the ground.” Annan’s six-point plan includes a ceasefire, deployment of observers and free access for journalists and humanitarian aid. The number of UN observer personnel has risen to 70, with 300 expected by the end of May. But at the same time that Annan’s assistant was speaking to the press, security forces and pro-government thugs were attacking anti-regime protesters at Aleppo university, killing four and detaining 200...

On 13 February 2012 an indefinite student general strike in Quebec against an increase in tuition fees began. This now involves nearly 200,000 students from universities and CEGEP (“collège d’études générales et professionnelles”, an intermediary level of education between secondary school and university). A fee rise of $1,625 over five years is planned — a phenomenal increase on the current $2168 per year. The stated intention is to raise fees to the Canadian average of $4,000 per year. Quebec currently has the lowest tuition fees in North America. The fee hike was part of the Liberal...

On 28 April, English Defence League thugs attacked a socialist stall in Lewisham, south east London. The EDL gang smashed up the Socialist Workers Party stall, and assaulted the SWP comrades around it, headbutting 69 year old pensioner Andrew Smith and severely injuring him. Smith, who is Lewisham NUT retired members' secretary, has a possible fractured sinus and torn retina. (For reports see the local press and Socialist Worker .) Despite his injuries, Smith was in Luton the next weekend to demonstrate against the EDL. During the attack, the EDLers apparently shouted references to anti...

Labour gained 823 council seats in the 3 May 2012 local elections. The Tories lost 405, and the Lib Dems 336. UKIP and Greens scored fairly well, but made no breakthrough: the Greens gained 11 new seats, UKIP gained no new seats despite a slightly raised vote. The BNP lost all the seats it contested. Up to and including George Osborne's 21 March 2012 budget, the Tories had retained their base much better than a party in their position might expect. Since May 2010 they have led a government ramming through unpopular measures - huge cuts in social spending, big rises in student tuition fees...