Workers' Fight workplace bulletin editorials - 6 July 2016

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Workers' Fight workplace bulletin editorials
6 July 2016

The pound is down to a 30-year low, threatening an increase in our cost of living. Financial markets are in turmoil despite being flooded with hundreds of billions in fresh cash. Real estate is facing a hard landing, with the likely mothballing of major projects and the cancellation of planned ones, resulting in tens of thousands of job cuts.

As to the big foreign manufacturers operating in Britain, they're considering their options, pending further developments in the Brexit process. But one thing is certain: whatever option they choose, it will be aimed at preserving their profits, not our jobs.

But never mind all the turmoil in the real world: the politicians of the capitalist class are pursuing a life of their own, on a planet of their own, where the interests of the population are just irrelevant.

Having organised this referendum in order to resolve its infighting - which was all the 23rd June vote was ever really about - the Tory party's rival factions are now fighting it out under the spotlight of the media. The pantomime of the referendum, with its flood of lies, scapegoating and scaremongering, has turned into an ugly farce.

The dance of the vampires

After Cameron gambled and lost, and was therefore unable to restore order in the ranks of his party, his rivals went for the kill.

But then the farce began. Johnson, Leave's front man lost his bottle and gave up. His right-hand man, Gove, who had previously denied having any ambition to become leader, suddenly found the appetite for a career move to Downing Street. Others followed, including Energy minister, Andrea Leadsom, the author of a proposal to scrap all employment rights for workers employed by small companies.

Ironically, though, of all the aspiring contenders, the favourite now appears to be Theresa May, the only one among them who was formally on the Remain side, although she was always careful to keep a low profile during the referendum campaign.

But then, as Home secretary, May has always been in the Tory right-wingers' good books. She is particularly popular among them for her campaigns against migrant workers - for instance, for shamefully setting up anonymous hotlines for "concerned citizens" to grass up suspected "illegal" migrants, whose only crime was to try to by-pass May's stringent immigration rules in order to escape destitution in their home countries. And, of course, it is no coincidence that May is now making a point of refusing to offer EU migrants living in Britain any guarantee to as to their future status.

In other words the poisoned atmosphere created during the referendum campaign by the politicians' scapegoating of migrant workers remains in the forefront of the political scene.

The road to real change

All this goes to show that, contrary to the expectations of many Leave voters, the political establishment has not been shaken in the least by their votes. Nor could it be. A ballot paper is just a piece of paper. It cannot stop the politicians of the capitalist class from taking care of their masters' interests. Nor can ballot papers stop British capital from finding ways of preserving its profits, Brexit or not.

In fact, Osborne has already set the tone. His proposal to cut corporation tax to below 15%, says it all. And guess who will have to make up for the resulting lower tax receipts and pay for the cost of the Bank of England's intervention to stop a financial and, possibly, banking, meltdown?

Sounds familiar? Yes, it's the 2008 crisis all over again. Maybe not as drastic, but maybe even worse - no-one knows. What we do know, is that the capitalist class and their politicians will present us with the bill, as they did in the years following 2008. And we have to prepare for this.

When under attack, the best defence for the working class is always to go on the offensive - and we will need fighting objectives which can protect us from the capitalists' attacks.

Because we cannot tolerate any attempt to make us pay with our jobs or wages. These politicians have wrecked their own ship. If they launch such attacks, we will have to ensure that no jobs are cut and that all available work is shared out between all available hands, without any loss of pay.

We cannot tolerate either that the collapse of social provisions should be blamed on migrants, when these are due to long-term cuts designed to redirect public funds into the pockets of the capitalist class. If there is no social housing, if the NHS is collapsing, and if the welfare system is shrinking, it is because they are starved of funding. But this will only change if we workers impose our will on the government.

It is time for us to push aside the politicians' lies and scapegoating. The future depends entirely on our ability and determination to fight for our collective interests, by uniting our ranks across all nationalities.