Thursday 1 July 2010

Scottish Socialist Party vindicated as predicted job losses reach 120,000

During the recent General election campaign the Scottish Socialist Party warned that all our political opponents were planning job cuts in Scotland on a scale not seen in 25 years. We accused Labour, Conservatives, Lib-Dems and SNP candidates of concealing their intention to make ordinary working people and their families pay terribly for the economic and financial collapse the banks and government had precipitated. Of course all four of these neo-liberal, warmongering, capitalist parties vehemently denied this charge and the electorate was left to make up its own mind.
Now a study of the Scottish economy published by the highly influential Fraser of Allander Institute at Strathclyde University in Glasgow has reported that 120,000 jobs will go in Scotland over the next 5 years as the economy again contracts and the new CON-Dem Governments swingeing cuts in public spending take effect. Professor Brian Ashcroft the Institutes's chief economist concludes today that Scotland will fall back into recession this year and remain there throughout 2011. He forecasts the Scottish economy will stagnate for another year with growth in 2011 barely reaching 0.1%. Some 97,000 people in the public sector will lose their jobs and a further 37,000 in the private sector will join them in the ever lengthening dole queues.
'These cuts are absolutely inevitable' say the four neo-liberal capitalist parties in Scotland. New Labour appears to condemn the CON-DEM cuts but is in fact involved in a masquerade which sees them try to fool those gullible enough not to listen closely to what it is actually saying. Look at this quote attributed to Finance spokesman Andy Kerr in today's Glasgow Herald regarding the Fraser of Allander conclusions. 'This report' he says 'is absolutely damning. It confirms that the Thatcherite cuts agenda being pursued by the Tory-Liberal Democrat coalition is dangerous, unnecessary and unfair.' Indeed they are Andy, however Labour 'speaks with forked tongue' here because neither Kerr nor Alastair Darling are against slashing jobs and brutal public spending cuts. They argue 'the Thatcherite cuts agenda' is 'dangerous, unnecessary and unfair' but suggest similar swingeing attacks of their own!
I sat beside Alastair Darling several times at hustings in the Edinburgh South West election campaign. I heard him repeatedly and specifically warn audiences that there would have to be cuts, should his party be re-elected, as vicious as anything Mrs Thatcher introduced in the early 80's. So lets be absolutely clear here Labour are not against annihilating public services in this country and throwing millions of people across Britain onto the dole. Oh, they would rather not do so, I'm sure, but since the country's capitalist economy demands it they will do it and do it loyally as the lackeys to the so called 'free market' they are.
What a dreadful bunch of hypocrites New Labour are then. But surely then the SNP will be able to exploit that political position after all they trounced Labour in the Scottish Parliament elections of 2007 and the Euro elections of 2009? But no, the SNP are also in favour of making working people pay for the financial and economic collapse they had nothing to do with. The SNP also aim to perpetrate the same dangerous, unnecessary and unfair attacks on working people. John Swinney their Finance Secretary in the Scottish Government in the same Herald article quoting Andy Kerr says 'these spending cuts are too early and too deep'. Too early and too deep! So he is by inference in favour of annihilating our public services and the jobs of 120,000 people but not just yet and not so quickly!
Surely only those who don't want to see can't make out the very obvious conclusion here? Scotland needs the party that says no to cuts in public services more than ever. The vast majority of the population are now waking up to the odiously unjust and criminally unfair political con that is being worked on them. Apparently all 4 neo-liberal capitalist parties in Scotland intend to ensure those who made the most money out of the reckless, greed motivated short sighted gambling of decades just gone by are to be inoculated from the brutality of the economic recession they caused whilst those who gained nothing throughout are to pay the severest cost via prolonged unemployment, repossessions, appalling levels of public and social service provision, more hardship and misery.
Well I for one have more regard for and faith in the self worth, pride and resistance of the Scottish people.I do not expect them to meekly accept this criminal deceit now being carried out upon them.

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