Today on International Workers' Day I voted in the local elections, I wonderhow many other students will be doing the same. I hope many do and while in Hull Left we fully recognise that electoral politics is only a small part of consistent activism, we still cast our votes in the ballot and see definite merit of candidates standing on a platform advocating working class politics.
Unfortunately the choice we have is not great at the moment both in Hull and nationally. Nationally we have a Labour government attempting more and more to destroy the link they party shares with the working class and the Labour movement. The 10p tax scrap and the ensuing outrage is a long line in defeats for the working class within the party which as last Thursday showed the unions when organised are willing to challenge.
In Hull are Lib Dem council is not doing anything better. Scrapping free school meals, closing down care homes, giving crap wage increases to bin men, and maybe even selling out the fire fighters. The Lib Dems market themselves to the right as the fresh alternative to conservatism; they might only privatise ¾ of everything or only fuck the majority of the poorest people over. To the left they get out their “socially liberal” credentials and talk about Iraq, ID cards, 42 day detention. They are not the choice for the disaffected or apathetic worker or student; they have no interest in us, just looking for the next step on the career ladder.
Today I voted Labour in Newland as the only alternative to a right wing, anti working class agenda peddled by the other two main parties. My vote for Labour was a very critical one, the Labour council here before the lib dems have little to stand up for and the people of Hull are right to have little respect for them. They are though the only party with the trade union movement at its core. The Unions represent millions of people and through assertiveness those of us as members, (in Hull Left we see membership of a trade union as a step in protecting your rights at work and fighting for better deals for young workers) can have more influence under Labour then anyone else. The strikes of last Thursday sent out a message that public sector workers will not settle for a pay cut, and they will strike and we in Hull Left support all workers who take industrial action for a fairer deal.
So students that do vote today should critically back the Labour candidates and if we do see them in power or as our councillors we must hold them to account without fail, and get our voice and our movement heard!
