March 3rd, 2011…

The jail is full of adages and pearls of wisdom applicable to the environment.

“They can lock the locks, but they can’t stop the clocks” is one of them, but my favourite is “the days drag, but the weeks fly”.

I’m beginning to understand that one.

As I sit here in the prison library I’m now into my sixth week and although the days are long and monotonous, the weeks have certainly flown. We tend to be locked up between 21 and 22 hours a day so they definitely drag, but to consider that I’ve done six weeks inside makes me realise the weeks do indeed fly.

I’ve spoken to my sister Lynn about the Defend Tommy Sheridan meeting on Monday night and she was very pleased with the event. She thought there was over 150 people in attendance and all the speakers were really good.

She said Gail spoke really well and received two standing ovations.

That was really good to hear and made my eyes well up with tears of pride. She is such a strong and beautiful woman. I’m so lucky to have her as my wife and the mother of my child. Lucky and proud.

I also spoke to wee Gabrielle the other night.

Her angelic voice makes me want to reach through the phone and hold her tight. The thought of missing her sixth birthday in May, and her first day in primary two in August kills me.

But I’m not the only one.

Everyone with a child in here misses them like crazy. It’s undoubtedly the hardest part of the sentence. It constitutes a real punishment.

My cell mate, or co-pilot as they are known in here, and I share a right few laughs, and I now have him hooked on The Weakest Link!

From not being bothered, he now sits alongside me and attempts to answer the questions. In return he has influenced my musical tastes through his insistence on tuning into the E4 music channel during the day.

I still love Carly Simon and Rod Stewart, but I now appreciate the great lyrics and singing talent of Jessie J and Adele. Their ‘price tag’ and ‘someone like you’ numbers are brilliant. The voice of Adele is so rich and powerful. It is haunting in a pleasant sense.

It is so frustrating on the political front to be incarcerated whilst the anger against the ConDem cuts agenda grows.

How dare this Government of pampered and privileged millionaires promote the callous lie that there is no alternative to the cuts! What complete tosh!

Proper taxation of big business and the billionaire tax dodgers alone would pull in an additional £85 billion to the exchequer every year.

If the banks and insurance companies were also socialised and run for maximum benefit to society instead of maximum profit to fat cat bosses and shareholders we would be facing significant expansion of public services and public service jobs, not the butchery on offer from the ConDems.

There is an alternative.

A fairer, and more economically sound alternative that combats the obscene greed that got us into the financial poo in the first place. This “crisis” is not the fault of ordinary pensioners and public sector workers.

They should not be made to pay for the irresponsible actions of the bankers in an industry de-regulated for them by new Labour.

These cuts must be resisted by every worker and young person, and the lie that there is no alternative repelled as the duplicitous myth it is.

In recognition of International Womens Day on March 8th I want to use this blog contribution to pay tribute to a very special Socialist woman and friend of mine who has recently received bad news.

She is one of the finest human beings I have ever had the pleasure to know and fight alongside against the Poll Tax, poverty and illegal wars.

She and her wonderful partner recently sent me a beautiful card that was full of energy and spirit designed to help me stay strong. She already knew of her unfair and terrible fate but chose not to mention it.

Typical of her whole life, she was thinking of me and my feelings and didn’t want me to be upset.

I hope she reads this blog and realises how much she is loved and respected not just by me, but by everyone who knows her. Few have the ability to light up the lives of those they meet so effortlessly.

This Socialist woman does, and she epitomises why it is right to celebrate International Womans Day.

I salute you Comrade,

Tommy

 

February 24th, 2011…

There is an old jail adage that the days drag but the weeks fly while you’re in prison.

I’m beginning to understand the potency of that statement. I’m now in my 5th week, and although the days being locked up for 22 hours drag, especially at the weekends, the weeks do pass quickly.

The pain of separation from Gail and Gabrielle is acute and deep, but life in here is bearable.

I’m still receiving between 10 and 15 letters and cards of support per day, so replying to them occupies time and some of the messages and stories I receive are humbling and inspiring.

It never fails to amaze me how human beings with serious problems to confront, and tragedies to deal with can still find the time and energy to sit down and write messages of support and solidarity to me.

I am forever in their debt.

Some people have been sending books of stamps and significant financial donations of £10, £50, and even one of £100, yet they have not even attached their addresses, so if they are reading this I thank you sincerely.

The warmth of words and sentiments I have received have been overwhelming.

In relation to the stamps sent to me a minor dispute has broken out.

In recognition of the large volume of mail I was receiving and sending out a number of prison officers were allowing me to keep the stamps sent in safe in the knowledge that they were all being used productively and legitimately.

Sadly, that has now ceased to be the case, and all stamps sent to me are now confiscated.

Matters escalated when supporters decided to chip in and buy me 100 1st class stamped envelopes.

These have also been confiscated from me and I am in the process of appealing that decision to the Governor.

I was told the position regarding access to stamped envelopes was an open question, as it had not arisen before, so this is about setting a precedent.

I hope we can reach a compromise as buying enough stamps from the once a week canteen opportunity we have can be very expensive.

To add a bit of spice to the equation, apparently the officers were ordered to refrain from handing me my stamps even though they thought it was fine and sensible.

And now I’ve been told that the copies of The Socialist newspaper being sent to me are also to be confiscated.

I am going to fight that decision as well.

Hopefully copies of The Socialist and Socialist Worker can continue being sent to me direct and the prison authorities decision to withhold them, my stamps and my envelopes will be seen as the petty actions they are.

I’ve had a cell mate, or co-pilot as they are referred to in here, for a couple of weeks now and he is a really decent young guy. I am twice his age, he 23 and me 47 on the 7th of March, and I suppose I am his old man in jail.

Fortunately he is very clean and hygienic as that is an essential quality in any co-pilot given the size of the tiny cells we live in for 22 hours a day together.

He is also a good footballer and Celtic fan, so we were able to cheer together last Sunday, and will hopefully do so again next Wednesday.

I have liberated several Mars Bars & Snickers from Rangers fans keen to bet on their team against me.

The only problem is not eating them in case the two chins I already have become three or more!

The mystery of where I send this blog from continues. Myself and my cell were strip searched last week by three officers searching for a mobile phone.

They didn’t find one.

It is a fact, however, that there are several computers in the library!

Stay strong everyone, and remember that every sinner has a future, and every Saint has a past.

In Solidarity,

Tommy

 

February 14th, 2011…

Comrades,

Thanks for your letters which I receive daily.

The first couple of weeks have been fine. The level of kindness from the other lads has been overwhelming. Every one of them has been helpful and supportive. The prison officers have also been decent and professional.

I am receiving between ten and fifteen letters and cards per day, so writing replies to those who attach an address has been taking up some time, whilst reading the wonderful comments and sentiments has been really uplifting.

I’m also getting to attend the gym or play 5 a-side football most weekdays, so that takes up some time and burns off some energy and frustration at being locked up.

With any luck I may even lose some weight while I’m here. That would be a streak of silver lining on the cloud!

Then again, my attachment to calorie-filled chocolate bars won’t help on that front!

We tend to be locked up for around 22 hours per day, but replying to mail, reading books and watching the wee portable telly helps the time to pass.

I have been engrossed in the people’s revolution in Egypt.

What remarkable courage, stamina and spirit the protestors have displayed, largely led by the youth.

Truly inspirational.

What makes me sick is the hypocrisy of the ‘western leaders’ who armed, financed and backed the Mubarak regime and its brutal suppression of protest for three decades, but who now want to bathe in the glory of the uprising.

They are two-faced swine, epitomised by the likes of Blair, who talks of caution in relation to other regimes in the area, scared stiff that similar movements erupt in Saudi Arabia, the west’s powerful guard dog in the region.

Israel’s denial of freedom to Palestine and policy of brutal genocide while flaunting international law with oblivion cannot continue much longer.

Surely the Egypt of tomorrow will not stand idly by any longer and see basic human freedoms, and food and medicines being denied to the people of Gaza and the West Bank?

Hopefully more bloodshed can be avoided, but Israel cannot continue to bully and kill a nation indiscriminately and expect no retaliation.

I hope the Solidarity all-members meeting on Saturday, February 19th decides to stand a Solidarity slate in the Scottish elections.

We have a proud and spotless banner to be proud of.

The people of Scotland should be given the opportunity to vote for us. The butchery of public services to pay for the obscene greed of the bankers and the bosses over the last decade must be resisted.

What a sick and pathetic bleat we hear from the ConDem millionaires – “we are all in this crisis together!”

What utter bullshit!

The bankers and bosses have gorged themselves on obscene salaries and bonuses throughout the Blair and Brown years, comforted by that Goverments lifting of regulations and restrictions on their pursuit of profits at all and any cost.

Blair and Brown lifted controls and then complained about the financial meltdown that resulted.

If vampires were let loose in a blood donor centre you would hardly be surprised if they drank all the blood!

These bankers and bosses insisted on the fine Capitalist principle of privatising the profits. Only the privileged few were to benefit from the billions in profit generated from the blood, sweat and tears of ordinary workers.

Meanwhile, longer hours and weekend working becoming the norm and real cuts in living standards were the ‘rewards’ for hard work among the working class.

Then the greed-inspired financial crisis kicks in and the Government of Brown bails out these fine Capitalist bankers when their rotten system proved how unstable it really is. The cry then from these bloated millionaires was “socialise the losses”. Let the people pay!

Privatise the profits but socialise the losses.

In any case, it doesn’t matter to them. They continue to pay themselves obscene salaries and bonuses during the good times and the bad.

That is why we are definitely not ‘all in this together’.

We must use Solidarity to communicate the message that not one single cut in public services, not one single job loss in necessary.

If the banks and other major levers of the economy were properly socialised we would be expanding services, not butchering them. We are far from bankrupt, check the billions in profit now being reported by the banks, big supermarkets and other companies.

Instead of job losses and wage cuts we should be implementing a shorter working week with pay protection to offer a future to the one million young people who now face nothing but the desolation and despair of the dole queue.

Sorry for ranting so much Comrades. Being locked up in here and unable to play an active role in the resistance is frustrating.

Let everyone know I am fine.

All the cons let me know about the latest lies in the lying and criminal Murdoch rags. Everyone in here pisses themselves with laughter at all of the lies, from fictitious affairs, to fictitious jobs and jail incidents.

I’ve not played a single game of cards since I cam in but am apparently the card king!

I’ve not been offered any job, but am apparently a passman.

I’ve been told that I’m being moved to a different hall, when I haven’t.

These people are serial liars, and more and more people now realise that. They are a laughing stock in here.

Anyway, I’ll leave it at that for now.

Take care,

Tommy

 

January 31st, 2011…

Comrades,
 
First of all, many thanks for all of the letters & cards that you have sent me over the past week, I certainly appreciate them. My spirits are high and my mood is dented, but not broken.
 
Of course, I miss Gail & Gabrielle like mad, but I am mentally tough and will get on with serving my time.
 
All the various court actions and appeals will keep me going while my fellow convicts in here have been excellent, and really helpful and supportive.
 
They cannot do enough for me.
 
From milk to soap, shampoo to training shoes, not a single con has been anything but courteous and supportive.
 
For now, I am just getting settled and trying to answer the eighty odd letters & cards I have already received. I am grateful for the support & best wishes of all who have taken the time to write to me.
 
I have not had access to a single newspaper since Wednesday, apart from The Sun & The News Of The World because one of the cons gets it delivered. It’s amazing that in a hall of 70 or 80 here, only one con gets a paper in.
 
Just shows you how little people think about papers nowadays.
 
I remember back in 1992 everyone in Saughton had paper orders. Perhaps access to the telly is part of the reason.
 
The stuff I have read about me is outrageous, but as Oscar Wilde was known to have said, “the only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about”, so to Hell with them.
 
They can lie, distort, and expose their own hypocrisy until their tiny brains are content.
 
Watching the Egyptian revolution unfold has been fascinating. Mubarak is finished, but what will fill the vacuum?
 
Hopefully a socially progressive force that puts the people and freedom first, and shakes off the shackles of US imperialism.
 
Time will tell.
 
It’s now 8:15pm on Monday, January 31st and I have loads of letters & cards to reply to, so I will sign off for now.
 
Yours in Solidarity,
 
Tommy

 

The Fight Isn’t Over Yet…

Comrades, 
 
By the time you read this I will be a guest of the Crown.  Despite a tremendous fight against the combined forces of the state and the Murdoch empire, we have lost this round.  But the fight isn’t over yet.
 
Though I have been in jail before, this time will be tougher because I will be separated from my family.  But my plight is nothing compared to the families blown apart and torn apart by the horrors of war in Iraq and Afghanistan.  I have friends whose husbands, sons and fathers have to go to fight wars in these places, some of them never return.  My family’s troubles do not compare to the loss these people face.
 
Across the world there are migrants who have to leave their families and travel across the world, trying to earn enough just to eat, sometimes never seeing them for years, if at all.  There are families who lose everything in natural and man-made disasters.  In Haiti their lives are destroyed by Earthquake, in Australia by floods, in Gaza by Israeli Bulldozers.
 
These are the people who make us know that it is right to fight for a better and fairer world, these are the people who show the strength to keep going and fight back.  When we fight back it can mean that we become a target of those in power.  Right now, I am the target and I am being made to pay.  I accept that and, inspired by students across this country, and my brothers and sisters in Tunisia and Egypt, know that it is right to fight on.
 
It may be some time before I can join you again on the picket lines, at the protests against war and weapons of mass destruction, at the marches and meetings to fight against the slash and burn policies of the Government coalition.  But I will be there in spirit and, before long, will be back by your side, fighting the good fight.
 
I have been humbled and empowered by the strength of the support you all have shown to me and Gail, I am lucky to be supported by some outstanding and talented individuals and organisations,  I will be alright.  I urge you to give your support to trade unions in their struggle against the cuts, students in their battle for fair and equal right to education, ordinary families on benefits who face the brunt of the tory onslaught.  They need you now, more than ever.

In Solidarity,

Tommy

 

Holyrood Elections Statement

As the Holyrood elections approach in May it is perhaps helpful to highlight some facts concerning Solidarity , Scotland ‘s Socialist Movement.
 
Four years ago Solidarity fought across Scotland on an anti-poverty, anti-nuclear weapons and pro-trade union and independence agenda. Our proposal to replace the unfair council tax with a progressive income based alternative was particularly popular.
 
Solidarity emerged with 3 times the votes of all other left parties in Scotland added together. In Glasgow that margin was 4 to 1. We missed winning a seat by slightly less than 1%.
 
We welcomed George Galloway’s contribution in support of our campaign, including addressing a 600 strong rally in Glasgow ‘s Royal concert hall.
 
In the last 4 years Solidarity has tried to forge greater left unity between various movements and trade unions. This has included joining with the Rail Maritime and Transport union and the Fire Brigades union in the NO2EU and Scottish Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition respectively. The avoidance of left parties fighting one and other for the same votes has always been one of our aims. We have yet to decide our final strategy for the May elections as we continue the process of discussion and dialogue with possible coalition partners.
 
In May Solidarity will play a role in the Scottish elections either as part of a left coalition or in our own right. We have the best trade union activists and socialists within our ranks.
 
Specifically in Glasgow we will either fight alongside George Galloway or on our own on a clear anti-cuts agenda. Working people must not pay for the banker’s and bosses economic crisis.
 
Should a link up with George and Respect not prove possible we would obviously urge Glasgow citizens to back the Solidarity list with their second vote but should they not be convinced to do so would also welcome the election of George to represent Glasgow . In 2003 Glasgow elected 3 candidates of the left. In 2011 we hope that is again possible.
 
George Galloway has been a left wing leader for many years who deserves respect. His contribution to the anti-war movement in particular is worthy of note. However Solidarity and its members have been the foot soldiers and leadership of every major anti-war, anti-cuts and anti-poverty campaign in Scotland over the last 4 years. We have a proud record and an inspiring banner that deserves to be raised throughout Scotland in May’s elections.
 
TOMMY SHERIDAN

CO-CONVENOR

SOLIDARITY

 

Solidarity with students

In an earlier blog entry here I was bemoaning the fact that as we approach the second decade of the 21^st century the political consensus had shifted away from trying to reduce the retirement age and instead, for the first time since the war, was planning to make young people work longer and for less money than their grandparents did.

The gains made by working people during the 20^th century, securing small improvements to their lot from the state such as the NHS, decent public services, a state pension are all under threat whilst the idea of free higher education seems like a distant memory. The recent debate in Westminster on tuition fees is testament to that.

Make no mistake, the measures voted through Parliament in a shameful manner last week mean that in England and Wales kids from poorer backgrounds are now much less likely to get a university education. Trying to survive whilst studying, holding down jobs and struggling to make ends meet was hard enough before that vote. Now, faced with years of financial hardship followed by debts in excess of £9,000 for tuition fees many working class kids will simply give up on the idea that university is meant for the likes of them. In Scotland the situation is slightly better, but here too, unless you have the means to support yourself or you are lucky enough to come from a wealthy background, the cost of a university education is a daunting prospect.

Previous generations of working class youngsters were denied the opportunity to attend university and unless they had occupational apprenticeships even Further Education Colleges were out of the question for some. After the Second World War, socialists and trade unionists were at the forefront of the battle for the introduction of free higher education and the student grant. Thousands benefitted from a system that placed a worth on learning and equal opportunity. Many of those currently in government and most of those in the previous Labour administration benefitted from a free university education yet now seem hell bent on denying the right to future generations.

The attitude of this government towards students exposes the lie that is David Cameron’s “The Big Society.” The Tories want a much smaller society, one in which the role of the state is reduced and the private sector is enhanced. One in which the idea of profit replaces the idea of service and provision. A society where if you have money you have opportunities unavailable to those who have none. Whilst the Conservative administration of John Major preached the “back to basics” morality of Victorian Britain, the ConDem government seems to want to create the economic and social conditions that existed at that time as well. With community projects reliant on the whims of wealthy philanthropists and the state urging the unemployed to have to work for their dole money history it seems is repeating itself, (and as Karl Marx would say) this time as farce.

This is more than just a disagreement about cost savings in time of austerity. This is fundamentally an argument about the type of society we want to live in. The population of a country benefits from students completing their degrees and entering society as new doctors, architects, surgeons, dentists, scientists, engineers and dozens of other socially useful careers.

As each graduate progress in their chosen career they contribute their knowledge and experience to the benefit of us all. If they earn more money as a result then they should pay the exchequer back through a fair and progressive system of taxation. A system that recognises ability to pay at its core.

The size of the fee increase also exposes a fundamental truth which is at its heart; this is a government of the wealthy and privileged elite. If you come from the background the most of the cabinet members of both parties do, then £9,000 or even £15,000 is not a lot of money. Clegg and Cameron never had to worry about the cost of their university education, never had to work two jobs to be able to survive, never had to worry about the cost of their next text book, or how they were going to make the rent. A handful, mainly on the LibDem side, don’t come from that background, which makes it all the more disgraceful that they voted for the measures in order to maintain their status as junior partners in the administration.

It seems that whilst the government expected some opposition to the move to triple tuition fees it has been entirely unprepared for the size of the backlash from students themselves. The protests across the country are proof positive that young people, often accused of being apolitical are very much aware of the importance of the battle they face. As the rest of the austerity measures planned by the ConDems hit home it is my belief that the demonstrations we have seen so far will just be the tip of the iceberg. Trade Unionists and communities affected by the government’s determination that we all should pay the price for the bail out of the banks are also beginning to mobilise in opposition to the cuts.

If we can unite students, community campaigners, trade unionists, working people and all of those worst affected by the cuts then the challenge to this government would prove unstoppable.

Yours in Solidarity,

Tommy

 

We Need an Avalanche of People Power

The UK seems to have ground to a halt with the recent heavy falls of snow and the weather has even impacted on our court case.

Whilst it may be spectacular to look at and the kids may enjoy extra days off school to enjoy sledging the snow has once again underlined just how vitally important the  battle to oppose cuts in public sector spending really is.

The ConDem axe is currently hacking its way through services and jobs that are essential to our communities. Home helps, meals on wheels, health and social care to pensioners and the vulnerable are all under threat at this time whilst community centres and libraries that can provide care, shelter, companionship and vital face to face contact are to close.

The madness of our economic system is exposed at this time of year more that any other. Even before the recent raft of cuts Councils across Scotland have been sacking workers employed in clearing snow and ice from our roads and pavements. At the same time as DLO workers are being paid off or privatised, our roads have never been in more urgent need of repair. Building workers are on the dole at a time when we are desperate for affordable social housing that provides decent, dry and warm accommodation. Pensioners and others in low paid jobs or on benefits shiver in poorly insulated and damp homes. For those homeless people, sleeping rough in our towns and cities, weather like this can be the difference between life and death.

At a time when we rely on gas and electricity the most prices are set to rise increasing profits for a handful of wealthy shareholders. Petrol prices continue to soar to crippling levels especially for those in rural communities whilst already scandalously high train fares are set to rise further.

In just a few weeks we will move further into the second decade of the 21^st Century in a country whose millionaire leaders seem determined to drive us towards 19^th Century levels of poverty and destitution. This Dickensian theme is further confirmed by a report published by The Register General of Scotland yesterday which concluded that men living in affluent areas of our country live on average 13 years longer than those living in poverty. As Glasgow contains some of the poorest parts of any conurbation in Western Europe side by side with wealth and affluence it literally is a Tale of Two Cities.

Just as sure as this snow will eventually thaw then you can be certain that ordinary people will not stand idly by and allow the Governments plans to continue without resistance. Young People and students are talking to the streets, occupying their campuses and demonstrating in unprecedented numbers. Anti-cuts campaigns are springing up across Scotland whilst in Ireland, just as they have across Europe, people have come onto their streets in their tens of thousands to voice their opposition to the austerity measures brought forward by their governments. It is an avalanche of people power that politicians will finder harder to resist.

 

Solidarity 1 day conference 2010

On Saturday I attended Solidarity’s one day conference to discuss our approach to the 2011 Holyrood elections. It was an excellent meeting, conducted in a comradely manner and we had a good discussion of the issues.

For the past two years Solidarity has maintained a consistent approach in trying to seek left agreement at elections. We have worked in coalitions with trade unionists and other political parties at the European and General elections. On Saturday we agreed that we should once again enter discussions with trade unionists, community campaigners and other parties of the left in an initiative organised by the RMT Motherwell and Wishaw Branch. A steering group meeting of this fledgling coalition has been arranged for Saturday 27^th November following the STUC Anti-Racism march and rally. The organisers hope that a single left slate can be presented to the electorate in the Holyrood elections.

Solidarity has much to bring to the table when these discussions begin. We ourselves are a coalition of different left groups. The two biggest groups on the left in the UK the SWP and the Socialist Party of Scotland coexist side by side in Solidarity along with members from no particular left tradition. We have members who are in leading and influential positions within their union and we have comrades who have played important roles in setting up anti-cuts campaigns. Whether it is standing up for asylum seekers who are being disgracefully treated by the UK Borders Agency or protesting against cuts in education, Solidarity members are at the forefront of all these campaigns.

At the last Scottish elections Solidarity emerged with the biggest vote of all the left parties standing. We received around three times the votes of others on the left and in Glasgow that figure rose to four times the vote.

The barriers to providing a single left slate are formidable but the need for a socialist voice at Holyrood is great.

The cuts proposed by politicians in Edinburgh and London will decimate our public services and fling thousands onto the dole. The ConDem government is unleashing an ideological attack on the very idea of public services, of the right to a council house, of a decent state pension, of further education free and accessible to all, of a welfare safety net for those unable to find work and of facilities that make our communities a better and safer place to live. In a week where the government prepares to foot the majority of the bill for a Royal Wedding, Pensioners Groups like Age UK and the National Pensioners Convention report that last year nine pensioners each hour died from the cold.

Politicians from all the main parties have only one answer to the economic crisis we find our selves in…the old, the sick and the vulnerable must pay the price for the bailout of the banks. The problems caused by the reckless, unregulated speculation of casino capitalism is to be addressed by attacking public services, public sector workers, pensioners and the poor.

Yet the solutions advanced by all the main parties have already been tried and failed. Just weeks ago the Irish Government of Brian Cowan was being praised for the toughness it had shown in addressing its deficit problems. Austerity budget after austerity budget brought pain and misery to ordinary Irish people but brought praise from Governments like our own for their firmness and resolve. Yet Ireland stands once more on the brink, going cap in hand for more money to stop the country going into financial meltdown. Our own chancellor has somehow found another £7 billion to throw at Irish bankers in an attempt to stave off further damage to our economy.

Workers, students and communities are beginning to get organised to resist the cuts. The STUC demonstration on October 23^rd proved that when it mobilises, the trade union voice is a powerful one. Local anti-cuts campaigns are beginning to spring up and students have been protesting in numbers not seen for generations. These grass roots campaigns are essential but we also need an elected voice in the Scottish Parliament to hold the main parties to account for their actions and decisions.

We need a voice of sanity in the midst of this madness. We need a socialist alternative that would prioritise the needs of the millions of ordinary people over the propping up of a failed and discredited system.

We in Solidarity hope we can play our part in providing a voice of socialism in Holyrood 2011.

 

Solidarity with the FBU

Fire-fighters across London have been taking part in a series of strikes against the imposition of new contracts by management. If fire-fighters fail to sign these contracts they can be dismissed under a clause known as a Section 188 Notice of Termination. The new contracts also propose changes in shift patterns which the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) believe are just the beginnings of a series of savage cuts to the service.

An 8 hour stoppage on October 23^rd was followed by a strike on Monday and plans are in place for a 47 hour stoppage from November 5^th.

Like all of our public services, the fire service is in the frontline of a battle being waged by the Government which plans to make the public sector pay for the bail out of the banks.

The cuts in the fire service are based on a report by the Audit Commission which recommends a series of measures aimed at reducing costs. The FBU has reacted angrily to the report and have produced their own document, Falling to the lowest Common Denominator to advance the unions arguments.

In the reports introduction, FBU General Secretary Matt Wrack states;

The truth is that the Audit Commission has not thoroughly examined our service. It has completely ignored the professional concerns of fire-fighters about the quantity and quality of operational training being delivered or about the number of fatalities at operational incidents. They completely ignore the need for fire services to assess risk and then to plan for how it will deal with the operational incidents which will and do happen. The quality of the service provided is completely ignored.”

Whilst the FBU members are on strike, bosses have paid a private civilian company, AssetCo Fire and Rescue, £12million to provide cover using fire service appliances, equipment and fire stations. This scab workforce does not have the same level of training or experience as FBU members and are part of the thin end of the wedge that will see more and more private firms taking over the essential services provided by public sector workers.

Three FBU members and a police officer were injured and hospitalised during Monday’s picketing of fire stations in the capital after being run down by vehicles driven by AssetCo employees and a fire service manager.

FBU Regional Organiser Ian Leahair and fire-fighter Tamer Ozdemir had been exercising their right to picket when they were run over yet you will struggle to find much about the incidents in the national media. Imagine for a second if the shoe had been on the other foot and a striking fire fighter had injured a member of management or the private firm. Politicians and media pundits would have been falling over themselves to condemn the violence and the recklessness of the strikers.

Fire-fighters risk their lives every day for an annual salary that George Osborne and his millionaire palls in the coalition government wouldn’t get out of bed for.

The FBU and its members deserve our full support in their struggle against cuts in this essential service.

Protests can be sent to London Fire Brigade at info@london-fire.gov.uk  Messages of support can be sent to the FBU General Secretary at matt.wrack@fbu.org.uk

In Solidarity,

Tommy