Socialist Party Wales Socialism In Wales
By Mark Evans (Carmarthenshire County Unison Branch Secretary (personal capacity) Unison Local Government Service Group Executive personal capacity)
The Welsh Labour government has threatened new round of cuts to Welsh public services, incredibly including to the NHS (already on its knees), citing a £900 million hole in Welsh public finances.
The Socialist Party has highlighted how the Welsh Assembly Labour Government under the leadership of Labour’s Rhodri Morgan was able to implement some reforms and increase public spending to a certain extent due to the temporary boom in the UK economy at the time.
This all changed with the financial crash 2007-2008. While Labour leaders including in Wales have always seen their role as making capitalism a little more palatable for the working class – this was only possible when Capitalism had some crumbs to offer. Those days are long gone with the British and Welsh economy in long term decline.
According to Mark Drakeford First Minister of Labour Welsh Government, Wales faces the ‘toughest financial situation since devolution’. He said that he had asked ministers to find cuts in their departments to fill a £900m gap in its £20bn budget!
Mark Drakeford blames the scale of the cuts on inflation, mismanagement of the economy by successive UK Governments and underfunded commitments made by UK government particularly regarding public sector pay. He said, ‘that the cabinet will be working over the summer to mitigate these budgetary pressures based on our principles, which include protecting public services as far as possible, and targeting support towards those at greatest need’.
While it will come as a surprise to most people in Wales that public services have received any protection as both NHS and council services are in a parlous state due to previous Tory cuts and or underfunding passed on by successive Welsh Labour Governments (see the article above) you will search or listen in vain for an alternative from Mark Drakeford or his party to Tory cuts. Indeed, the above indicates they further intend to ration services further ‘targeting support towards those in greatest need’.
While Mark Drakeford and the Labour government bemoan the cards they are dealt (financial settlement) by the Tories they accept capitalism as the only game in town and therefore should understand the deck and the rules of the game are stacked against working class people and the vital services we use. Appealing to the Tories better nature’s for more money will never succeed, trying to juggle an ever decreasing budget only results in our class and the most vulnerable in society losing out.
The Welsh Government should refuse to implement any further cuts, it should set a needs led no cuts budget and use its reserves (and reserves of local authorities) and borrowing to maintain services while launching a mass campaign of opposition to Tory cuts mobilising the trade unions, councils and working class communities in support.
The Welsh Labour Government sees its role as dividing up a cake that gets smaller and smaller in real terms with each budget settlement. However well intentioned that is it is failing working class people who elected them. Working within the confines of capitalism- and doing its bidding a Starmer led Labour government and Welsh Labour can only offer further misery. We need a new mass workers party fighting in our interests with socialist policies. If this was in place now it would mobilise workers across Wales on a mass scale in defence of jobs and services -it would be Liverpool City Council that defeated Thatcher on steroids.
