cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/57720333
The Greens became the largest party on Bristol Council last year, promising change after years of service cuts under Labour. What has this bright new future meant for Bristol? £50 million more cuts!
Greens were beaming ear to ear, two of their leading councillors spoke of their “pride” in their council budget. That’s pride in slashing funding for services for domestic abuse, mental health, and children in care, and reducing bin collections to once every four weeks.
The change in council has meant very little for the people of Bristol. Yet again we have a party aligned with austerity, maintaining a political system which puts private profit first.
Labour’s attempt to pose as opposition was extremely hypocritical. They spent the last eight years running the city, making cuts, and blaming the Tory government.
Now Labour sits in Westminster, and the Greens in Bristol. But austerity still continues. Labour even moved an amendment to reopen public toilets – toilets closed by a Labour mayor seven years ago!
Councillors repeatedly spoke of the collaboration between parties in the budget process, congratulating themselves for bridging a “broad church” of different ideologies. It’s hardly a wide array of opinions when they’re united in cuts and devastating the most vulnerable.
There wasn’t even a sniff of fightback to the national Labour government, in order to protect the community from the defunding of public services.
The Socialist Party was out in force, joining the lobby outside the council building organised by the trades union council. We gave out Socialist Party leaflets opposing cuts and pointing a route away from austerity.
Councillors do have a choice. They must refuse to make cuts, and instead mobilise a mass campaign of people to demand that council funding be restored.
Bristol council does still have the flexibility to prevent cuts in the short term, while a campaign is built. This budget saw the Greens find £60 million more to put into council reserves.
As we see public services cut, the Greens have the gall to state that this money is to be held back for an emergency. As if the current funding crisis doesn’t qualify as an emergency!
The Greens have no new ideas for running the council, and are totally fangless in opposition to Starmer’s Labour government. Now more than ever, we need a new mass workers’ party to take the reins from careerist politicians and into the hands of the working class.