(en) AF leaflet on the TUC demo in London ? 18th October 2014: We need a lot more than a pay rise

?Hardworking workers who work hard at work.? That?s all we hear about from politicians ? 
Labour, Tory or LibDem (remember them?). But the attack on our living standards goes way 
beyond the workplace. There?s the bedroom tax and benefit cuts for a start. We need a lot 
more than a pay rise. And focusing on wages ignores the attacks on those who can?t work, 
or whose work is unpaid. ---- The social wage ? benefits, pensions, the NHS ? is under 
attack like never before. Last year, food banks provided 20 million meals ? 54% up on 
2012. The situation is obviously desperate. According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, 
sixty per cent of planned cuts have yet to be implemented and the situation will get a lot 
worse over the next few years. ---- A to B to where? ---- So here we are again, on another 
A to B march. It?s always good to remind yourself that you?re not alone in opposing cuts 
and attacks on living standards. But ask yourself, did any of the previous A to B marches 
change anything? The million strong demo in 2003, did it stop the illegal war on Iraq? Did 
the huge demonstrations in March 2011 and October 2012 stop the cuts? Did they hell! No, 
in all instances, government carried on as before.

What is needed is imaginative action at local and national level. Action like the mums 
from Focus E15, who have fought displacement and eviction, stood up to their Labour 
council, and shown what can be done by ordinary people if we stick together and fight to win.

This will mean blockades, occupations and other forms of direct action. It will mean 
building campaigns and movements where decisions are not made by leaders or celebrities 
but by the people affected. It means making links with other people fighting cuts in their 
areas. But more than anything else, it means getting stuck in and not relying on 
politicians and leaders to do it for us.

Printed and published by Anarchist Federation (London) BM ANARFED LONDON WC1N 3XX

http://www.afed.org.uk london [at] afed.org.uk
* for more about the E15 Mothers, see: 
http://www.afed.org.uk/publications/resistance-bulletin/431-resistance-bulletin-issue-157-angry-women-win-special-issue-autumn-2014.html 
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