The End of 2020: Prospects for 2021

 

The End of 2020: Prospects for 2021

The pictures at the end of 2020 showed towns covered in snow; waves lashing the shoreline; rivers bursting their banks; floods driving people from their homes; Torvill and Dean skating on a frozen lake glacier; lorries blocking the roads of Kent leading up to the Channel Port at Dover; lorry drivers stranded far from home at Christmas; Prime Minister Johnson glorying in his Brexit deal; and news stories reporting that the Government was considering slashing the rail network by one fifth.

The snow could be considered as an answer to the Christmas dream. The high winds, rain and floods were certainly a reminder of climate change. The fear of which gave Torvill and Dean their concerns that their memorable artist performance on the beautiful frozen lake was something that would soon be impossible as the glacier melts. The chaos that faced the lorries bound for the Continent was on this occasion caused by Covid, but was a warning of what would could well come with the final exit of Britain from the European Union.

2020 came to an end with the three issues that have dominated the whole year creating the headlines. Those issues being Climate Change, Coronavirus and Brexit. Underlying all three was of course the economic crisis which, though hidden, was ever present throughout the year, at its end, and as a major consideration for the new year.

Although the three issues will dominate thinking in the New Year, as they did in the old, the issue to which we need to give our attention is that of the economy. There is a cost to the crises that we have been through and will continue to be faced with in 2021. The important question is who will pay that cost? There is no doubt that the Government will seek to ensure that their sponsors will retain the ability to profit whatever circumstances they face. The aim of Government will be to transfer the cost to the working class. This will not be a direct charge but a subtle indirect change resulting in a higher cost of living; increased prices in shops for essential items; cuts in essential services and the loss of other services which the Government decides are not necessary (but which they obtain as a matter of course because they have the necessary resources to obtain them). Wages will be affected in a variety of ways, through the failure to keep pace with the cost of living, through wage controls and limitations on pay increases; through reduction in periods of work in zero hour contracts. There will be job losses and possibly short time working. As costs of essential needs rise a greater proportion of income will be spent on such needs further increasing the problem of meeting the high rents and mortgage costs that many people face. This will lead to many losing their homes, whether because they fail to pay their rent or whether they fail to meet mortgage costs. All of this will affect individuals and their families. It will appear as a problem for individuals, but will actually be a sustained attack on the working class in order to maintain the profitability of Capitalism.

What should our response be to this situation. The problem will be the individual nature of the attack and how we can mobilise to ensure that class solidarity is brought to bear on the situation. The situation is different to that faced when Margaret Thatcher tried to impose the Poll Tax (Community Charge). That imposition affected everyone. The new situation will affect isolated individuals unless we create a means of providing communal support.

In Britain, an organisation People Before Profit has set out a series of demands. Among these demands are the defence of every job, safe workplaces, tax the wealthy, no to austerity, public ownership of services, massive investment in the green economy, a welfare system that provides security and dignity, and a demand that ordinary people should not pay for the crisis. This I believe is an important initiative. Support for People Before Profit is a major component of the fight to ensure that the rich do indeed pay for these crises.

So far, this account has posed the problem, we now need to look towards the solution. 2019 ended and 2020 began with a great deal of activity, particularly from young people, around the issue of Climate Change. School strikes and Extinction Rebellion showed the way in which public opinion could be informed and aroused regarding issues that directly affected them. Even during the coronavirus crisis the massive demonstrations in support of Black Lives Matter showed the fundamental unity that exists within the working class. Clapping for nurses, carers and other health service workers showed the appreciation that people had for those working in difficult and dangerous circumstances. All of this proves that there is a solid basis of working class solidarity on which to build a response to the crises, to challenge the ruling class, and to begin the process of building a different form of society. The future will be different from the past, but what that difference will be depends upon how people react top the new situation.

Within the working class there are a whole range of different organisations and groupings seeking to create a better world. These range from outright political revolutionary organisations, to reformist groups like members of the Labour Party, to voluntary groups and those who find a solution in religion (in the many different forms that exist within our society). I personally belong to the revolutionary socialist tradition, believing that human society can only exist in the longer term if we get rid of capitalism and create a society in which everyone is free to develop their individuality within a communal structure which unites individuals within the common good. I am aware that others may share my aims but disagree on the means of attaining those aims. In my approach I hope to show that whilst I respect those differences and seek to work with anyone who share my aims, I hold to those values which I have found to be those of people with whom I have lived, met and learnt from.

Which brings us to the question of how should we operate in this situation and back to People Before Profit. This I believe is a vehicle that we can use to both defend the working class and challenge the ruling class and the Government that it uses to extend its power. I believe that in this battle we have to use all the resources that are available to us. Those resources include the political and economic analyses provided by the revolutionary organisations. However, I also believe that we need the resources of Labour Councillors, voluntary organisations, religious structures in all their forms, individuals who may not adhere to any of these bodies but are concerned about the well-being of their neighbours, however close or far their neighbours may be. Some years back. I was responsible for Medway Pensioners Forum. As such, on many occasions, I was approached with regards to a problem faced by an individual. I had built up a network of people who were able to deal with the problem that the individual faced. However, behind the individual problem there was always a general problem arising from the general political situation. It was necessary to also raise that general problem and to relate that to the fundamental structure of society. [I am not claiming that I was able to do this in any complete sense or that I was correct in every thing I did. I have no doubt that I fell short in many ways. What I do claim is that it is of no value telling a person who is suffering an immediate problem that the coming revolution will solve their problem, first you deal with the problem and, over time, people will see the value in what you are arguing].

The approach to People Before Profit must be in the form of a United Front. We must engage all the resources that we have to combine together in the face of a common enemy. The working class must work together. That is what a united front means, a coming together to fight for a common cause. What it does not mean is that in coming together for a specific purpose we also surrender our own particular beliefs. We engage in the common struggle as revolutionary socialists and we argue our case. There is no point in winning battles if they do not lead to ultimate victory in the war. Whilst we recognise that others may be in a better position to solve particular problems, we are convinced that the ultimate solution will only come with a complete reorganisation of society.

We cannot stand aside from the problems that people face. We have to find a way of relating to those problems. This means that we have to be visible in our activities. As I mentioned above, the situation is different from that faced under a universal attack such as the Poll Tax. The attack will be on individuals therefore there will need to be a public means by which our operations, through People before Profit, our individual organisations, or other forms, are promoted. This above all means a presence on the High Street or wherever public presence is made. This has been difficult under Covid restrictions but is an essential part of our work. Whilst Social Media has become an important aspect of our work, many of the people we need to contact will not have access to our sites. It is therefore as necessary, as it always has been, to be seen in public, on demonstrations, and in support of strikes and other forms of protest.

As in all our work, solidarity is the key. People Before Profit are spreading the word about different sections of the Working Class that have been forced into taking strike action. We must do what we can, individually, within our organisations and within out united fronts, to support all workers who are fighting back against the attacks on their lives and their livelihoods. The battle will fought on many fronts and we must engage in each one of them. There will be much debate about structural forms, on the need for new parties, and the manner in which change can come about. I see no need at this point for a new party, nor do I see any value in engaging in bureaucratic arguments. I believe we must be united in action, working in defence of our class but also challenging the whole economic basis of society. Personally, I see the need for a strong revolutionary party firmly embodied within the working class. My aim will be to defend my class by whatever means I am able.

In outlining my thoughts above, I have maybe not given enough details as to what is involved with People Before Profit and the links with another Project that is to be launched, Jeremy Corbyn’s Peace and Justice Project. People before Profit arose from concerns that those people most affected by the consequences of Coronavirus, nurses, care workers and other health workers were not being given the consideration that they needed. Issues around personal protective equipment, the need for safe working and learning environments, problems associated with the furlough scheme, the serious threat of job losses and evictions . All of this led to a group of people including politicians like John McDonald, Rebecca Long-Bailey and Bell Rebeiro-Addy; health workers like the nurse Karen Reissmann; Trade Union leaders like Mark Serwotka, CPS, Steve Hedley, RMT, Jane Loftus, CWU, and Steve Turner of Unite; community activists like Suzanne Jeffrey, Chair of the Campaign against Climate Change, Tanya Murat, Southwark Defend Council Housing, and Paula Peters of Disabled People against the Cuts and Sabby Dhallu from Stand up to Racism, realising that a joint campaign was need to bring all of the issues involved together as a basis for action. People Before Profit has highlighted the many strikes that are taking place, providing a platform for speakers on behalf of these strikes and calling for solidarity support. They have also supported the students faced with problems over Covid, those involved in rent strikes and generally supported students in a similar way by providing a platform and calling for solidarity support. In addition to on-line meetings on Zoom, Facebook and You Tube they have been successful in calling for days of protest in which local groups have come together to take appropriate action in their own local situations. There is to be a national activist meeting with workshops on 24 January aimed at Building resistance in 2021.

The Project, Peace and Justice Project, the initiative of Jeremy Corbyn MP, will be launched on Sunday 17 January 2021 at 3.00. This I see as a complementary initiate which takes a different approach. The aim of the Project is to bring people together for social and economic justice, peace, and human rights, in Britain and across the world. The “focus will be poverty, inequality and corporate power; global co-operation and international peace; colonialism and self-determination and human rights; and climate justice. The Peace and Justice project will combine analysis, campaigning and networking. It will shine a light on injustice, offer space and hope to those driving change and generate ideas for a future that works for the many not the few.”

Whereas People Before Profit will concentrate on activity, linking community action, strike action and other forms of activity through a decidedly United Front approach, motivating the power of the working class to change society; the Peace and Justice Project will act as a resource providing detailed background information and linking events from around the world, demonstrating that the efforts to revolutionise society has to be considered within a global perspective.

I personally will follow with interest what comes out of the Peace and Justice Project but will devote my energies and abilities, such as I have, to building People Before Profit because I believe that activity ( guided of course by the understanding) is in the immediate interests of the working class.

Ralph A Tebbutt 04.01.20