Offical unemployment amongst young people stands at 19%. In working class areas, the figure is higher. That is the price working class people are paying for the crisis which the spivs and the rich have caused.
Because of the recession and the massive bail-out of the banks, the British economy is now left with enormous debt. All the parties in Westminster are united in agreement that working class people will be made pay the price by carrying out major cuts to public services, including attacking those on benefits.
The results of these cuts will be devastating. It will mean closures of hospitals, schools and other essential services people rely on, especially those in financial hardship.
Locally, all the parties in the Assembly Executive are carrying out right-wing policies of cuts and privatisation of services. £10bn is expected to be awarded to big business as a result of the privatisation policies so far agreed by all the parties in power in Stormont. The cuts which are being implemented today were decided BEFORE the world recession.
Workers, young people and communities must get organised to defeat the cuts. Major cuts to the public service will result in a devastating collapse of the economy in the North, because of the weakness of the private sector. The Socialist Party is calling on the leadership of the trade unions to call a one-day general strike involving public and private sector workers agaist job losses and cuts. This must be the beginning of a movement to defend jobs and services.
Join the Socialist Opposition!
Without a political voice, we are fighting with one hand tied behind our back. A mass party which unites working class people, Catholic & Protestant, based on the labour movement and young people is urgently needed.
The Socialist Party has been to the fore in campaigning together with workers in struggle such as the Visteon workers and the sacked NCP workers. We play a central role in building the We Won’t Pay Campaign against water charges. We stand for replacing capitalism with a socialist society, based on a planned economy democratically run by ordinary working people to meet peoples needs, not profit.
Across the world capitalism has been squandering enormous wealth and resources to serve the greed of the speculating MEGA-rich. War, poverty, starvation and the destruction of our planet’s resources are happening to line the pockets of bankers, bosses and politicians.
The general election in Northern Ireland looks set to be dominated by sectarian politics and deep divisions within unionism. Neither will inspire workers, Catholic and Protestant, to go and vote. Less than 43% turned out to vote in the European elections last year – an extremely low turnout by Northern Ireland standards.
Anti-racism campaigner calls for community to stand together against racism