People’s Petition Against Austerity
Over the next few months we want everyone to encourage as many people as possible to sign. A printable version of the petition to take around your workplace, for use on street stalls or to ask family and friends to sign can be downloaded here.
The letter reads:
Austerity is not working. The deficit is growing and the economy flailing. The coalition government remains hopelessly committed to cuts on a scale not seen since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
The impact is grotesquely unequal. The rich are getting richer even as the living standards of the majority are cut, and the public services on which they rely are shut down or sold off.
Europe suffers. Greece shows us the future: the European Union, ECB and IMF austerity measures have shrunk the economy by more than 20% in just three years, with a quarter of Greeks now unemployed.
Austerity is an economic catastrophe. The government must be forced off its current course. Hundreds of thousands are set to join the TUC march on 20 October. To coincide with this, we are launching a People’s Petition for an Alternative to Austerity. The petition will be handed in to 10 Downing Street in June 2013, when we will be holding a People’s Assembly in London to bring together all those opposed to cuts and debate a strategy for opposing them.
Everyone who wants to save the welfare state and resist spending cuts should sign and support the petition and the People’s Assembly as a step towards creating a mass movement against austerity.
Tony Benn, Len McCluskey General secretary Unite, Iain Banks Author, Caroline Lucas MP, Jeremy Corbyn MP, Owen Jones Author and journalist, Sam Fairbairn National secretary, Coalition of Resistance, Christine Blower General secretary, NUT, John McDonnell MP, Ken Loach Film director, Mark Serwotka General secretary, PCS, Josie Long Comedian, Lindsey German Stop the War Coalition, Roger Lloyd-Pack Actor, Kate Hudson CND, Katy Clark MP, Costas Lapavitsas Professor of economics, Soas, Manuel Cortes, General secretary, TSSA, Natalie Bennett Leader, Green party, Romayne Phoenix Chair, Coalition of Resistance, Paul Mackney Former general secretary of UCU; vice-chair, Coalition of Resistance, Clare Solomon Vice-chair, Coalition of Resistance, James Meadway Senior economist, New Economics Foundation
All signatures in personal capacity
Go to http://www.coalitionofresistance.org.uk/2012/10/peoplespetition/ to sign the petition now
I am surprised that you give so much importance to a petition as if that was going to change the face of the earth. To give no other perspective is very demoralising. It resembles here demands by the PCF for a referendum on the European Treaty. That’s not what people ask for. When we talk to people here in the streets, they want ACTION, not words and many refer to uprisings past and present, including revolutions in the arab world…
Socialist Resistance doesnt think a petition will change the world. We put forward our view of the next steps for the movement in the leaflet we produced for Oct 20. As part of that we are part of the Coalition of Resistance which itself launched the petition – not as an end in itself but as a tool to give the movement another unifying focus after the demonstration to try to build up to the Peoples Assembly COR is organising in June
Good luck anyway! Isn’t Tariq involved at all these days?
Have you got branches in Manchester so I can connect them to you…
Is Socialist Resistance a merger of former IMG’s and IS?
We are having a meeting in Toulouse in November to relaunch the 4th International!
Perhaps I should put a link to our site as we have lots of Brits in the area, many involved in our fight against shale gas…
Socialist Resistance was formed by the International Socialist Group in 2009. The latter was formed in 1987 by a fusion between the International Group (FI) and the Socialist Group, led by Alan Thornett. Yes, we do have a branch in Manchester. Who is involved in this meeting in Toulouse?
Hi Jane
To answer your last question on who is involved, as far as I know it is trying to solve the problem of the fact that the NPA for the time being is not officially affiliated to the 4th as the LCR was. At present members of the NPA are encouraged to become members individually but many of us think we should do more. Regarding who is involved, I can’t tell you yet as I don’t know for sure but at any rate many former members of the LCR, now in the NPA.
I asked about Manchester because I know a few people in Manchester as I used to live there for many years.
Perhaps I should send a series of questions for interview as the French generally ignore or deny that anything happens in the UK8
Regards
Marc
Marc, Hi,
Chris from SR Manchester here. Maybe you can contact me directly on jsirhc@hotmail.com for more information re SR in Manchester.
Chris.