Britain assembles against austerity
(Originally published by Equal Times)
Translations: Español | Francais
When Maria Brabiner describes herself as “ordinary”, few who
meet her are inclined to agree. The
47-year-old’s story is not dissimilar to those of thousands of others across
the UK, though unlike theirs it hasn’t gone unheard. For months she has been
campaigning against the government’s cuts to housing benefits, drawing on her
personal experience as an unemployed woman to debate welfare policy alongside
seasoned politicians and commentators on national television.
“I’ve worked all my
life since I was 16. I gave up my job when I was nearly 40 to care for my mum
because she had a stroke and I was her full-time carer for five years,” she
explains. When her mother passed away in 2010, Brabiner was unable to find work
and was advised to sign on for jobseekers’ allowance.
“The people at the top of society hate the idea of a health
service that we all pay for collectively and that is then used by people
according to need rather than how much they earn...at the same time the
government says it can’t possibly introduce a mansion tax for people who have
mansions. But we can have a bedroom tax for people who are on benefits and are
disabled.”
Translations: Español | Francais
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The People's Assembly hope to synchronise with movements around Europe |
For two years she struggled to survive on savings after
being told her Carer’s Allowance did not pay full National Insurance
contributions. Then, last year, after finally qualifying for assistance, the
government passed the Welfare Reform Act which included the slashing of housing
benefits received by occupants of council houses with one or more spare
bedrooms. “I was aware of the changes but I thought I was bound to get a job in
the meantime before it came into effect,” she recalls. Yet as time wore on, work
continued to prove elusive and two months ago Brabiner joined an estimated 660,000
households – many of them occupied by disabled tenants – that have fallen victim
of the dreaded bedroom tax.
The tax is just one of countless examples of public spending
cuts primarily affecting the poor and the disabled in Britain. Despite repeated
warnings from the IMF and woeful growth forecasts from the OECD, the coalition
government remains determined to press ahead with its austerity programme. Meanwhile,
opposition to austerity has been scattered and disorganised. The Labour party leadership
has yet to offer a clear anti-austerity message, and the voices of those worst
affected have been largely drowned out in the media by endless reports of benefit
“scroungers” determined to bleed the country dry.
Now there are signs this may be about to change. Brabiner
has joined forces with a growing movement, led by a coalition of left wing political
parties, organisations, unions and journalists, in an effort to unite the
country’s numerous dissident factions in opposition to austerity. They call
themselves The People’s Assembly, and their aims are ambitious.
“What we want to create is a movement of millions of people
that can put pressure on the government. A movement that’s so big and so broad
it involves every single section of society”, says Sam Fairbairn, secretary of
The People’s Assembly.
Plans for the movement were first announced in February with
an open letter in the UK’s Guardian newspaper
calling on millions of people to join the Assembly which would “provide a
national forum for anti-austerity views which, while increasingly popular, are
barely represented in parliament.” Its list of signatories included almost
every noted voice on the British left – from veteran politician Tony Benn, to filmmaker
Ken Loach. A month later they were joined by 60 economists who published
another letter in the Guardian
pledging their support.
Over the past month the Assembly has hosted rallies in
cities across the country, and on June 22 it will stage a national meeting
opposite the Houses of Parliament in Westminster. Last month it attracted its biggest audience yet at an event
in Manchester, where Brabiner shared a platform with newspaper columnist Owen
Jones and comedian Mark Steel. Speaking in front of around 650 supporters Steel
summed up the injustice felt by his comrades:
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Comedian Mark Steel talking in Manchester |
All the panellists in Manchester received rapturous applause
from a like-minded audience, but the wider success of the movement will depend largely
on public opinion. A poll conducted by Opinium and the Observer found 58 per cent of voters believe the
government’s austerity programme is harming the economy while only 20 per cent
believe it is the correct policy.
Nevertheless,
some sections of the media feel the government isn’t going far enough in
cutting public spending and this sentiment appeared to be reflected in last
month’s local elections, where the right-wing UK Independence Party (UKIP) –
who promise to cut deeper and faster if they are elected – averaged an
impressive 26 per cent of the vote in council wards where they stood. Green MP
Caroline Lucas, one of the Assembly’s key spokespeople, says the movement can
help to counter pro-austerity voices in the right wing media.
“It’s
not surprising that a lot of people feel confused because the messages that
they are receiving from the right are completely disingenuous. I think there’s
a real opportunity, not only to mobilise people who would already oppose
austerity, but to help with the strong arguments to demonstrate the bankruptcy
of the pro austerity side.
Sam Fairbairn agrees, highlighting public disillusionment with mainstream politics as a major factor in the success of right wing parties like UKIP. "I don't believe there's a big swing to the right in the UK at all," he argues. "I think people have lost faith in mainstream politics in alot of ways which is why you're seeing smaller right wing oganisations doing better in elections."
Aimed at capitalising on this political disenchantment, the
assembly in London on June 22 will last a full day and include workshops and
discussions on a variety of issues related to austerity. The organisers will
also propose a series of actions to follow the event, including a national
demonstration in the autumn and a day of civil disobedience.
Delegates from movements across Europe have been invited to a
special European conference the following day to discuss the possibility of
synchronising mobilisations and industrial action. The Assembly is also working
closely with the leaders of the Occupy movement whose success they seek to
emulate.
“The Occupy movement
was very inspiring to millions of people, it got a lot of media attention,”
says Fairbairn. “Obviously the tactics they’ve used and their success points
are something that we’ll want to replicate in the future.”
Brabiner is equally optimistic. Ever since she began relating
her story on television and radio she has frequently been approached in the
street by strangers who congratulate her on her bravery and express solidarity
with her cause. She hopes her personal ordeal will soon be over, but her desire
to continue fighting on behalf of the most vulnerable victims of the cuts
typifies that of the movement she is now a part of.
“The reason The People’s Assembly is attracting so many
people is because of the sheer severity of the cuts,” she says. “I keep hoping
that I’ll get out of this mess by getting a job soon, but that won’t stop me
campaigning to help others.”
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