Socialist Party Wales Socialism In Wales
By Dave Reid
Labour-run Caerphilly council has doubled down on its £45 million cuts agenda by announcing 600 job losses at the authority. This follows threats to close meals on wheels, Blackwood Miners’ Institute and Llancaiach Fawr house (as reported in The Socialist Issues 1287-1292).
At its latest meeting the Labour administration gave in to pressure not to close the meals on wheels service, although it has increased charges to its service users. In effect this is another tax on the elderly following the decision of the Labour government to cut their winter fuel allowance. The Labour government is cutting their heating and the Labour council is cutting their food!
And then the leader of the council announced the loss of 600 council jobs, 10% of the workforce!
Labour politicians have bemoaned the loss of 2000 jobs at Tata in Port Talbot, but now they are carrying out nearly one third of Tata’s cuts at Caerphilly. And of course, with those 600 jobs go the vital services those workers provide the local community. Not out of financial necessity – but on the advice of a private consultancy firm who profits from cutting services.
The cuts of £1 million a year have been proposed by consultancy firm Perago, who the council pay an estimated £1.7 million for ‘help’ with restructuring.
All Caerphilly Council departments underspent last year. Jointly, they returned £8.2 million from their allocated budgets. Council reserves stand at £192 million!
And £90 million is “unallocated” ready to be used in any way the council sees fit. £73 million of reserves has been allocated for “specific projects” by the council. What is more important than basic council services? More white elephants?
There is no financial need to lose these irreplaceable institutions. It’s a question of priorities. Caerphilly Council has already agreed £20 million of cuts – and plans £45 million more over the next two years.
We have a Labour UK government, a Labour Welsh government and a Labour council.
Labour is in charge at all levels of government and yet the cuts continue.
Caerphilly Council must vote down these cuts. If there is a shortfall then it must work together with other Welsh councils and build a mass campaign to demand that the UK and Welsh governments provide sufficient funding to restore our services.
In the meantime it can draw on its reserves to plug the gap.
Labour leaders claim that they have to make tough decisions. The ‘tough decisions’ facing them seem to be ‘how many free tickets to Taylor Swift do I want?’ And should it be Gucci or Prada?
Labour claims that the Tories left them no money to spend on public services.
The real tough decisions are going to be made by the low paid and pensioners this winter—heat or eat?
Who should pay for this crisis in public funding—working people who have kept this country going or the very wealthy who have accumulated enormous wealth?
Profits for big business have been soaring. Shareholders received dividends of over £100 BILLION last year. And some of those profits drip into freebies for Labour politicians.
And Starmer does not want to touch the profits of the rich. Instead he is cutting our services. Labour is not Labour anymore. It puts forward watered-down Tory policies instead of fighting for the working class.
We need our unions to stop funding Starmer’s Labour and instead form a new workers’ party that will stand up and fight to defend our services.
Caerphilly Socialist Party says:
· Stop the cuts. Save 600 jobs! Dip into the council’s £184 million reserves as a temporary measure
· Build a mass campaign of communities and trade unions to defend all council services and jobs
· Campaign with other councils to demand adequate funding from Labour Senedd and Westminster government
· For workers’ candidates to replace the councillors who are trying to cut our services
· Make the rich pay for the Tory mess, not our pensioners
· For a new mass workers’ party
