13.03.1997

Heat is on

A magnificent display of working class militancy, resulting in demonstrations, strikes, occupations and extremely effective picket lines, swept through Scotland last week. It was enough to have the Labour bureaucrats quaking in their shoes. They were skulking in corners and mingling in with the crowds, as their servants in blue tried but failed to stem the angry protesters.

The Labour hacks who felt threatened squealed and yelled and called it “the politics of violence”, failing as usual to see the cuts that they are inflicting on the working class as the real politics of violence.

Last Thursday, thousands of local authority workers went on strike in Scottish towns and cities to protest against cuts and job losses. A number of councils changed the day or times of their meetings because they feared the wrath of the workers. Bleating that it was all the Tories’ fault cut no ice with those on the demonstrations, as they were well versed in the Labour Party’s pledge of not one penny more for public spending.

Blair and his comfortable cronies may well meet in Inverness and prepare for power, but the working class in Scotland have wiped the smugness off their faces by directing their anger at Labour.

Glasgow is the worst hit by this round of cuts and this is where the most effective fightback has taken place. The Scottish Socialist Alliance is at the forefront of the demonstrations and occupations, building on last year’s successful campaign against school closures. The council has come back for the Glasgow communities a second time with a round of cuts totalling £80.7 million, which will lead to the sacking of thousands of workers and close hundreds of community facilities. This is coupled with a disgusting 22% increase in council tax.

Alliance members occupied council chambers and almost prevented the budget meeting from taking place. They were verbally attacked by Labour leaders, who said they feared for their personal safety in the scuffles that followed. If they can’t stand the heat, they should get out of the kitchen and make way for real working class fighters.

Up until now, Labour have inflicted the cuts with a complacent assurance that by blaming the Tories they would be safe from electoral repercussions. They really expected to be able to continue to wield the axe while the Scottish working class continued to accept their lot.

However, something very interesting is going on in Scotland. There is no doubt that the political situation is much more fluid and more militant in character than anything that is happening in England or Wales. The character of Scottish politics is overladen with the national question and the right of the people of Scotland to self-determination.

The emergence of the Scottish Socialist Alliance as a serious political force, uniting sections of the left, has given a strength and a credibility to these campaigns against the cuts with workers taking to the streets. Now is the time to turn this action against the cuts into political action for the working class. This anger should be channelled into political strikes and demonstrations demanding genuine self-determination. This militancy should and must be harnessed to demand a sovereign parliament with full powers. We do not need to accept Labour’s sop scheme any more than we need to accept their cuts. SML and the SSA must recognise that it is their duty now to fight for what we need and we can win.

If we turn up the heat on these lily-livered council leaders and the Labour Party in general, we can take the bastards on and on the way, show a lead to the working class throughout Britain.

Mary Ward