Why I support the Left Unity initiative

In 2010 I joined the Labour Party, with the naive view that things may change and the party would reposition itself on the left of politics.  I realised I would have to compromise some of my principles, but after 5 years in the Green Party seeing little progress and seeing the party failing to win over voters I felt Labour where the only option to ensure we could remove the Tory/Lib Dem coalition at the next election.

Ed Miliband started by saying the right things by stating the Iraq war was wrong, calling for Palestinian statehood and arguing the gap between rich and poor does matter.  Unfortunately two years later it was clear that little had changed in the Labour Party.  In August 2012 journalist Sonia Poulton wrote an open letter to Ed Miliband calling on him to stand up for the disabled against work capability assessments (http://soniapoulton.co.uk/page11.htm) this was followed up by further articles and many activists contacting Ed Miliband calling for him to take a stand, yet the response was silence.  I had to draw the line when it was clear Labour was failing to stand up for the sick and disabled and I cancelled my membership.  Since cancelling my membership I realise definitely made the correct decision as the party lurches to the right on immigration chasing UKIP votes and most recently abstaining on the workfare bill to reverse a judicial voting.

I realise now that it is not good enough to want Labour in power because they are not as bad as the Tories and Lib Dems, it is time to offer a true left alternative to the electorate.  There is some cynicism around that we are just repeating the mistakes of the Socialist Alliance and Respect, and why will it work this time?  I have confidence that the Left Unity shows real promise for the following reasons:

• We are facing a Tory government and there is strong unity among left groups working on campaigns such as scrap bedroom tax, stop the cuts, save the NHS etc.
• There is currently a re-alignment of the political spectrum in the UK. A lot of voters are feeling let down by Labour and looking for an alternative, some are falling for the UKIP populist message and it is important to have a genuine alternative on the left, which doesn't scapegoat immigrants and stoke xenophobia.  We need to challenge the lies of the right wing media, and stop the divide and rule tactics of the Tories.
• The splits in Socialist Alliance/Respect were in part due to disagreements with SWP. Following the recent wave of resignation from the party I don't think the SWP are in a position to dominate a new left initiative.
• This is a grass roots initiative. Unlike SA/Respect it is not a group of parties on the left getting together to decide a manifesto. It will be built from the bottom up, with many independent socialists at the heart of the discussion.
• Over 6,000 signatories to Ken Loach's appeal in the space of 2 weeks shows a genuine will on the left to work together and form a genuine left alternative.

In the space of a week over 40 people in York have expressed interest in getting involved in the discussion as to what we want to see in a new party of the left, and we will be meeting in the next few weeks to start this debate.

Sign Ken Loach's appeal at http://leftunity.org/appeal/

To become involved in Left Unity York email leftunityyork@gmx.com or join the Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/groups/126850760835222/

Labour are failing us, help shape the future of the left and sign up to Ken Loach's Left Unity appeal

Last August I wrote an article arguing that Labour must take a strong position against ATOS Work Capability Assessments.  They didn't, Ed Miliband and Labour remained silent whilst the sick and disabled who clearly weren't fit for work were being found found capable for work by ATOS and their benefits cut.  Journalist Sonia Poulton carried out a high profile campaign calling on Ed Miliband to take a stand, yet he remained silent.

Because of this silence I felt I could no longer remain a member of the Labour Party and cancelled my membership.  I had only been a member for a couple of years, I joined after the 2010 general election along with many others from the left  hoping that Labour would change and reposition itself back on the left.  I accept that I was naive and made a mistake.  We were let down, and whilst I agree with some Labour policy and at the moment would vote for them to remove the Tories from power, they are not a genuine alternative to the current government.

The problem is that currently there is no real alternative to the Labour Party.  There are many groups and parties on the left whose policies I agree with, but they are small and don't realistically have much chance of growing beyond their current support base.

The only answer is left unity.  This has been tried in the past with groups like the Socialist Alliance and Respect, but for various reasons have never managed to unite the left.  This is not however a reason not to try again.

I have signed up to Ken Loach's appeal for left unity:

The welfare state is being dismantled by the coalition government, bringing great suffering to the most vulnerable in society and eroding the living conditions of millions of ordinary people. Worse still, the Labour Party is not presenting a strong opposition to austerity and instead appears to have wholeheartedly adopted neo-liberal policy, advocating its own brand of austerity and privatisation. 

Ken Loach's The Spirit of '45 gives us a perspective on the achievements of the post-war generation, transforming the lives of ordinary people by bringing improved health, housing, education and social security to the people of Britain. We need to defend these achievements and continue the tradition of protecting the most vulnerable in society.

Support Ken Loach's appeal to discuss the formation of a new political party of the Left to bring together those who wish to defend the welfare state and present an economic alternative to austerity.

I call on all those on the left to sign the appeal at http://leftunity.org/appeal/ and help shape the future of the left in Britain.

If you are in York a Facebook group has been set up at http://www.facebook.com/groups/126850760835222/http://www.facebook.com/groups/126850760835222/

How will Bedroom Tax affect York?

The National Housing federation has published figures showing how each parliamentary constituency will be affected by the Bedroom tax.  In York it is estimated that 1,151 households in York Central and 992 households in York Outer will be affected by the charges.  These households will pay an extra £556 per year for 1 extra bedroom and £992 per year for 2 or more bedrooms.

The figures are even more shocking for the region.  A report on ITV news shows that 80,000 people will be affected in Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire, with 50,000 of these people are disabled.

The bedroom tax takes no account of:

• Foster carers who need a room available to take children in
• Parents sharing custody of children who need a room available for their child at weekends
• Disabled people's adapted homes
• Couples who use their ‘spare’ bedroom when recovering from an illness or operation
• If a family has a member of the armed forced away on service for more than 13 weeks this will also be classed as an unoccupied room.

The government seem to suggest everyone can just do a house swap and the problem is solved, yet in reality there are just not the 1-2 bedroom houses available for people to "downsize" to.  This was demonstrated in a recent article in the Mirror which reported that there are only 50 one bedroom properties in Newcastle to downsize to, yet 7,000 will be stripped of benefits because they have unoccupied rooms.

There will be a network of 50 demonstrations against the bedroom tax across the country on March 16th.  Find your nearest one at http://www.greenbenchesuk.com/2013/03/50-bedroomtax-protests-see-details-of.html