WORLD WORLDWIDE EUROPE UK - news journal UPDATE - (en) UK, ACG, Jackdaw: Labour: governing for the rich (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

"The state guarantees the status quo: the wealth of the rich and the
poverty of the poor. " - Mikhail Bakunin (1814-1876)  ---- When Labour
came to power one of its first acts was to refuse to scrap the two-child
benefit cap. They followed this up by taking away the fuel allowance
from ten million pensioners. At the same time it was revealed that Keir
Starmer accepted a £19,000 donation for clothing for his wife Lady
Victoria Starmer, but failed to declare this within the time limit
prescribed. The donation came from millionaire Lord Alli, who has made
his money from the media and investment banking.

Another revelation was that
Chancellor of the Exchequer
Rachel Reeves, key architect
of the fuel allowance grab,
received £4,400 in energy
support since she was elected
as an MP in 2010. Labour MPs
received more than £400,000
in public funding to heat their
homes over the last five years.
MPs who have second homes
in Westminster receive an
unlimited free fuel allowance.
This has left a sour taste in
the mouths of many, not just
pensioners. Under pressure
from their members, the Unite
and CWU unions put forward
a motion calling for a reversal
of the fuel allowance cuts
on the Monday of the recent
Labour Party conference.
This was kicked into the long
grass by Labour's leadership
moving it to what is known
as the graveyard slot on the
following Wednesday
Far from attacking the rich,
the Labour government
will concentrate on pushing
through austerity measures
that harm the poor. Collect all
the tax evaded and avoided
over the years by big business?
Increase corporate tax? Shut
down offshore tax havens?
One per cent wealth tax?
Increase windfall tax on fossil
fuel companies? Stop up all
tax loopholes? Nah, none of
these will be implemented by
Labour.
Labour promised union
leaders to bring in workers'
rights immediately on
election. This should have
included scrapping the two
year probationary period
during which workers could
be sacked. Now though,
Labour has compromised with
the employers and will agree
to a six month probationary
period. Business Secretary
Jonatan Reynolds briefed
the press that Labour would
consult with employers -
not workers, of course- over
a maximum probationary
period.
Meanwhile, Home Secretary
Yvette Cooper moved to retain
anti-protest laws brought
in by the Tories. Civil rights
organisation Liberty won a
legal challenge against the
laws in May. Cooper has now
launched an appeal against
this. Meanwhile Labour
is considering allowing
magistrates the power to
sentence to up to a year, twice
the amount currently allowed.
The Labour government is
fearful of civil unrest with
the austerity measures and
attacks on civil rights it is
implementing and looks
towards increasing the powers
of the State.
The Labour government
and the union leaders are
in agreement on workers
accepting current public sector
wage settlements. However,
the news that members of
the RCN nurses' union have
rejected a 5.5% wage increase
is an indicator that workers
may not be ready to accept
such a fix-up.
Labour wants to show
big business that it is a
capable administrator of the
current system. Meanwhile
billionaires in the UK have
increased their wealth by
1,000 % since 1990, and the
richest 1% own more wealth
than the poorest 70%. It's not
refugees, or doctors, or nurses,
or train drivers, who have
more than their fair
share of wealth, it's the
billionaires who tell us not
to be so greedy.
Time to look towards
independent working class
organisation, free from the
control of political parties,
and looking towards
revolutionary social change

https://www.anarchistcommunism.org
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