'Rather an illegal Budget than an immoral one'

by Andrew Wastling

' Swingeing cuts of £22 Million were agreed by Rochdale Council as its
leader dubbed the Tory's austerity drive “ morally bankrupt “. The
town will have suffered £200 Million worth of cuts by 2017 – including
£1 million next year', the  Manchester Evening News reported last week , and added that this

was to include :

'Plans put forward include cuts to HIV prevention and support
services totalling more than £2.5 million. Funding for specialist HIV
prevention & support services is set to be cut  by £110,000, while
money spent to help drug and alcohol abuse sufferers could be slashed
by £1.2 million over the next two years' ,

' Rochdale Council agrees swingeing cuts but leader slams "morally
bankrupt" Tory austerity drive' ,

[ Manchester Evening News , 24 February  2016 ,

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/rochdale-council-agrees-swingeing-cuts-10947076

].

Yes he's quite right it is a 'morally bankrupt' Tory austerity drive

- but to agree a " morally bankrupt " budget surely raises questions

of Labours role as a functioning  opposistion party ?

Lets hope Councillor Farrnel is just the first of many Labour Council

Leaders to speak out about this vile Tory government whose financial

diktats and slash & burn austerity would not be out of place in Franco

s Spain or post Allendes Chile. He at least wasn't taking  Tory slash

& burn austerity lying

down - but what happened to the rest of them ?

We already know it's the same old Tory Story from the remote

so called Tory elite in  Westminster - We never expected anything

different from them – they are after all Tories.

However local people certainly do want and expect something different from

Rochdale Labour Party .

They did not vote in Labour Councillors only to have them meekly

“rubber stamp”  Cameron & Osborne’s  policies through the back door

of Labour Town Halls .

They voted Labour to stand against Tory Policies and their pernicious

,evil right wing ideology  and their savage attacks on ordinary

workers , the frail & vulnerable in our Northern towns .

They did not vote Labour in to play role the collaborator or to act

the role of second understudy to the Blue Tories or for the Labour

Party to facilitate the most

concerted political attack on our local working class communities

since the 1930's to adopt the guise of  quisling Red Tories.

If Labour Councillors are not going to take a stand against the worst

cuts to Local Governments Public Services since 1974 when will they

finally get a political vertebrae, and at last take a principled

political stand and say enough is enough ?

" Jerusalem " ,Sir Hubert Parry's , rousing anthem for the labour

movement,has rightly been in the Labour Party song book for many years

. At home sung anywhere from a church congregation to a union picket

line this hymn encapsulates much of why the Labour movement was

founded.

The Party's very raison d’etre set to music many people feel.

Perhaps the remaining majority of those Labour Councillors who pointedly failed

to speak out , and the others who failed even turn up to the Budget

fixing meeting last Wednesday night , might like to skim over the

last verse for a timely reminder ?

I will not cease from mental fight,

Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand,

Till we have built Jerusalem

In England's green and pleasant land

It will be noted that very few if any other than the hand picked

spokesmen out of 48 Labour Councillors were moved enough by righteous

anger at the " morally bankrupt "  Budget to bother to speak out in

opposition to this Tory imposed Austerity budget and instead of

attempting to defend the walls of Jerusalem they meekly collaborated

with the Tory Government in their brick by brick demolition of the

Welfare State, the NHS and Public Services – most appeared to me to

have thrown in the towel before even breaking into a few drops of

perspiration never mind a proper sweat.

A case more of demolishing - than building -Jerusalem - a more total

near - capitulation  of the hard won victories of the reforming 1945

Labour Government it’s  difficult to find.

There was very little  " menatl strife " in the Council Chamber on

Wednesday evening  and as for  " swords not  sleeping  in hands" - the

protestors looking down on the assembled Labour councillors  struggled

to hear what most said and to work out  if indeed they were even

actually awake or not ?

It was abvious to all watching from the Public Gallery that not only

were most Labours Councillors swords  " asleep "  in their hands they

were self evidently too blunt and rusty to defend Jerusalem, and

probally little use for even fighting their way out of a soggy paper

bag -   " pathetic ", " cringe worthy " and " spineless " were among

the most common words describing most Labour councillors  performance

in the post budget autopsy at the bar.

“Our hands are tied “ , bleat Labour , “there is nothing we can do to

stop them!”

“Then what is the point of voting for you  at all ? “ , the local voters

will soon start responding .

Anti austerity protesters have a few suggestions to our Labour

Councillors of what could be done by way of opposing the Tory Cuts

rather than  simply "rubber stamping" them without a struggle:

For example minutes from some Northern Councils show “ No Cuts Budgets

“ have been discussed by some Greater Manchester Councils at official

level .

If Labour councillors mounted a serious campaign alongside the other

120 Labour councils they could demand what they need to avoid a cuts

budget .The  Government couldn't find enough retired civil servants to

replace them all. Northern Councils acting in unison could force this

government with its wafer-thin majority to back down. In the meantime

they could continue to fund services using reserves, as 82% of

councils already do, and borrowing powers, especially given the

extremely low interest rates being charged currently.

Rochdale Labour Council have so we are told  £169.6million  in usable

reserves. Could these reserves not be  “front-loaded “ to keep our

communities & vital front line services from being devastated by Tory

“ slash & burn “ Austerity measures and then repaid back from

Westminster once we get a financially saner Corbyn premiership Labour

government back into power at Westminster in two years time ?

Such a course of action would not be illegal and councillors no longer

face the risk of being surcharged or banned from office But if they

really want to fight to save services this is just one course of

action open to them.

And of course as a tactic of last resort – good old fashioned

,peaceful , non-violent civil disobedience - rather than collaborate

in implementing an immoral budget those Labour Councillors still in

unions could for example ask their union reps to ask their membership

to refuse to implement cuts legislation, take industrial action ,

adopt go slow policies, walk outs and worker occupation in departments

forced to implement brutal cuts by a reluctant Labour Council.

A united front between Labour Councillors and Council workers about to

be made redundant would be a better response than just timidly rolling

over and giving up without even a struggle as many appear to have done

this week.

Those Labour councillors of faith could refuse to participate in

actively facilitating a Tory Budget that breaches their individual

consciences and runs contrary to deeply spiritual ,religious faith or

beliefs.

Christian Councillors for example could make public statements to the

effect that refuse to participate in the implementation of the Budget

on the grounds it runs in direct contradiction to the Christian

parable and Jesus ministry to the poor and vulnerable :

“Do not exploit the poor because they are poor and do not crush the

needy in court”  Proverbs 22.22

I'm equally certain Muslim, Hindu and Socialist councillors in the

local Labour Party should if they are men & women of true conscience

be able to easily find a reason not to willingly participate in such a

divisive and socially destructive piece of legislation if they choose

to do so .

After all as the great Martin Luther King Jr,  pointed out in the sixties :

“An individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust,

and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to

arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in

reality expressing the highest respect for the law”

In the end when  all is said and done It is surely better to

peacefully break unjust laws than to break the backs of poor and

vulnerable people  .

If our local Labour party and our elected councillors are not prepared

to take a moral lead and resist this vindictive Tory imposed Austerity

others are prepared to do so .

Yours faithfully

ANDREW WASTLING