Socialists launch Assembly campaign

The Trade Union and Socialist Coalition (or TUSC) launched their London Assembly challenge tonight in Shaftesbury Avenue. Around 150 people heard speeches from list candidates who explained their vision for the campaign.

The meeting was surrounded by a lively throng of people selling leftwing newspapers or giving out leaflets on seemingly every subject from travellers to Kazakstan. One rather lovely postcard had a massive picture of a woolly mammoth and a large red “TUSC”. There’s something rather charming about a group embracing a pre-historic extinct creature as the mascot for the socialist movement. It’s living proof that they are a focus group free zone.

Caught between the Coalition ‘rock’ and Labour’s ‘hard place’

Chairing the meeting Nick Wrack said that three events this weak proved that we lived under a government that was for the “rich and big business”. These were “The vote to destroy the National Health Service… maintaining, not increasing, the minimum wage for young people… and the cut in tax for the top 1%.”

He said that “Austerity has its boots on and it will not stop until it has trampled everything we hold dear.”

Bob Crow, the General Secretary of the RMT union, described how the RMT was officially backing the TUSC election campaign (as is the London region of the FBU, firefighters’ union). The audience laughed as Mr Crow delivered a rather whiny Ed Miliband impression asking for “responsible capitalism”. “What is responsible capitalism? It’s built on inequality.”

Matt Wrack, the General Secretary of the FBU, spent a good deal of his speech denouncing Brian Coleman, the Conservative Assembly Member who is chair of the fire authority. Describing how Coleman had advanced privatisation in the service which had time and again ended in disaster and wasted money. He said the the Coalition government was about “a future that offers nothing to the millions and everything to the millionaires.”

Other speakers denounced Labour and Conservatives alike with one saying that there “should be no compromise with capitalism.” Jane Sutton, who stood against David Lammy in Tottenham in the general election said that “even though the Labour Party is not fighting there are plenty of us who want to stand up for a decent society.”

Top list candidate Alex Gordon (President of the RMT) said that “there is a majority of people in this country that want to turn their backs on both the benches in Parliament.”

Prospects for TUSC

Rounding off the rally Nick Wrack said that their candidates were “the best of the trade union movement and the socialist movement.” However he did think that there was a draw back to their campaign that “no one knows who we are and no one knows what we stand for.”

Still, given these factors (that are traditionally seen as disadvantages in electoral races), the meeting was lively and upbeat. Possibly more of a draw back was the constant use of the term comrade and an electoral name whose most recognisable symbol is an extinct and clumsy beast, it’s likely that this platform may struggle to snowball in the  election to come.

One weakness of the rally was that whilst it was fiery on issues like the NHS and unemployment it had very little to say about the London Assembly. I listened carefully for mentions of London Transport (one reference which was simply in favour of more strikes), cycle lanes and road safety (no mentions), or indeed any other London specific issue.

No one said anything substantive about either Boris Johnson or Ken Livingstone, although it was mentioned that TUSC is not standing  for Mayor and will simply be calling for people to give one of their votes to TUSC.

In order to achieve the 5% required to get one seat TUSC will have to out-perform Respect in its 2004 heyday, that seems a tall order despite the strong trade union backing.