Monday’s Daily Telegraph had in its editorial an early celebration of a PM Truss ‘victory’ in getting her Tory party to accept the abolition of the top rate of income tax. The prospect of many more millions for capitalist millionaires and billionaires was in the bag.
The Telegraph stressed: ‘Ms Truss remains determined to pursue the strategy she and her chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, have set out.’
The Telegraph crowed: ‘On the BBC yesterday, she gave an unapologetic defence of every decision that she has taken so far . . . She also did not rule out cuts in spending and welfare benefits.’
It concluded: ‘It was a bravura peformance that should give pause to colleagues pressing for a U turn.’
The Telegraph crowed too soon. In fact, even before that edition hit the streets, on early Monday morning it was announced that Truss had been overturned, and that on Monday afternoon Chancellor Kwarteng would bin the plan to abolish the top rate of income tax.
Oh how the mighty have fallen!
They were seen off by a massive opposition from the working class, and the way that this affected that wing of the Tory Party which tried to school some ‘Red Tories’ and secure seats and votes with their ‘level upwards’ campaign.
The plan to abolish the top rate of income tax on behalf of the millionaires has now been binned.
Tuesday’s 4th October Telegraph states that after being slapped in the face over the abolition of the top rate of income tax, Truss and Co are now planning to reduce benefits in real terms by not increasing Universal Credit in line with inflation, but by using a far lower metric, such as the increase or reduction in average earnings.
Tory rebels are already breaking ranks to state that this is just not on and that they will not support it.
A desperate Downing Street is now seeking to try to split employed workers from the unemployed sections by arguing that it is unfair for people on benefits to get inflation-linked rises while large numbers of workers are getting real-terms pay cuts.
AS THIS BATTLE INVOLVING MILLIONS OF workers AND YOUTH RAGES, THE TRADE UNION LEADERS REMAIN SILENT.
They must be made to take up the cudgel for the unemployed and the millions on benefits, and insist that their benefits are raised in line with inflation on a cost-of-living index drawn up by the trade unions.
The trade unions must also demand a sliding scale of hours and wages, so that workers are not sacked and hours reduced with no loss of pay.
The TUC must demand that wages are linked to a trade union cost-of-living index and that they rise with inflation so that not a single worker is driven into destitution.
Above all, the trade unions must take a stand with all those on benefits and all unemployed workers.
The Trade Union leaders must now be woken up. The massive resistance to austerity and all moves to make the working class and the youth pay for the crisis has resulted in Truss being driven backwards, and all her boastings can now be seen to be completely hollow.
With major sections of the middle class uniting with the unemployed and the youth, the working class and its trade unions must come into their own and give revolutionary leadership.
The TUC is meeting in Brighton on Tuesday October 18th. At this Congress it must now take action. It must call a general strike to bring down the Tories and form a Workers Government to replace the Tory regime and its parliament.
Rule will be based on Councils of Action set up in every neighbourhood and town to unite the workers, the youth and the middle class to form a Workers Government to build a socialist society and banish capitalism for ever from the UK.
A nationalised and planned socialist economy will rapidly transform the UK and create a much better life for all. There is not a moment to lose – TUC call the General Strike – Forward with the British Socialist Revolution!
