Labour’s choice: things can only get worse
JVL Introduction
While the new (or is that New) Labour government continues to prevaricate about arms sales to Gaza, it is promising us that for those of us in the UK “things will get worse before they get better”. Like many other commentators, Grace Blakeley argues that other choices are available.
If there were any lingering hopes that there was even the slightest chance of getting a socialist or even social democratic government when Starmer & Co were elected less than two months ago, Starmer’s speech in the Downing Street garden must surely have dashed those completely. .
“Keir Starmer would never admit it, but he has the power to raise public spending and investment, increase taxes on the wealthy and big businesses, and properly regulate big businesses and financial institutions.” But so far the promise not to raise taxes seem to matter more than the promise not to raise fuel prices, for example.
You may also want to check out the perspective from Another Angry Voice and their “12 things about the speech” and this from Counterfire which is a broader critique of the Starmer led government – so far!
LL
This article was originally published by Tribune on Wed 28 Aug 2024. Read the original here.
Labour’s Austerity Is a Choice
Despite what Keir Starmer claims, there’s nothing inevitable about another round of harsh cuts — it is a deliberate decision to avoid confronting the powerful.
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The government could stop sending weapons to the Ukraine. That would save £3.5 billion a year.
How many people who advocate arming the Ukrainians also advocate sending arms to the Yemenis or to the Gazans?
Second, Trident replacement should be cancelled.
In his memoirs, Tony Blair stated that the decision to replace Trident was taken ‘but the contrary decision would not have been stupid’.
Together, we could save both the Winter Fuel Allowance and lift children out of poverty by abolishing the 2-child cap.
Do not let Starmer and Reeves tell you otherwise.
Thank you.
It is incredible that we have Prem Sikka in the Lords, Miatta Fahnbulleh, Torsten Bell and Yuan Yang in the Commons — all progressive economists, and Sikka outspoken — but no alternative economic choices are being put forward. The new MPs may be cowed but Sikka’s comments and policy suggestions are on Youtube due to interviews by Crispin Flintoff on his weekly show (formerly Not the Andrew Marr, now the Crispin Flintoff Show).
Why four thumbs down to Tony?
Is it his comment of sending Arms to Ukraine? If Ukraine wasn’t being used to cripple Russia’s Economy, we wouldn’t need to send arms to them.
The US created the Coup in 2014 to oust its Leader, who wouldn’t apply to join NATO and Allow the US to build a Fully Armed Military Base in Ukraine.
After they sponsored Zelensky to become Leader, they bribed him to allow them to build BioLabs right across Ukraine, he also allowed the Nazi Azov Battalion to beat and murder Russian speaking eastern Ukrainians. These were the reasons why Russia attacked. As reported by the MSM and the BBC, Russia didn’t retreat from the outskirts of Kiev, it only went to Kiev to blow up all the BioLabs in the region around Kiev, they then moved eastward blowing up the rest. PS it was Hunter Biden that oversaw the building of the BioLabs.
When Starmer went to the US, in front of Biden, he told Zelenskyy, that they could fire UK supplied Missiles directly into Russian territory. He was risking the UK being a target for Russia, which would have the right to target British Arms Factories that made the Missiles. Starmer got carried away by being the UK PM and thought he was acting Ministerially. He wasn’t!!!