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By Daniel Waldron

The DUP and Sinn Féin haveemerged again as the largest

parties of Unionism and national-ism respectively and are now thesole coalition partners atStormont. There are new facesaround the Assembly executivetable but the politics of austerity,sectarianism and inequality willremain unaltered. The two mainparties will continue slashing jobsand public services, co-operatingto deny women's right to chooseand maintaining division in theirown narrow interests.

New Ministers for austerity

Sinn Féin's fake opposition to aus-terity will be further exposed in thecoming period. After months ofgrandstanding on the issue, in the‘Fresh Start’ agreement, they hand-ed the Tories the power to imple-ment their so-called ‘welfarereform’. Now, 'Entrepreneur' MáirtínÓ Muilleoir's role as Finance

Minister will be to out-Tory theTories – making up to 20,000 publicsector workers redundant and over-seeing the cut to corporation taxwhich all the main parties champi-oned, transferring hundreds of mil-lions directly from public services tothe profits of big business.

By appointing Paul Givan – archi-tect of the so-called 'conscienceclause', which would legalise dis-crimination – as Minister forCommunities, the DUP are making aprovocative statement that they willcontinue to trample on the rights ofthe LGBT community and the wishesof the large majority by abusing thePetition of Concern mechanism toblock marriage equality. We need tobuild a movement to demand that heis removed from this office. It is truethat he would likely be replaced byanother dinosaur, but the act of forc-ing him from office would be a blowagainst bigotry and be an importantassist in the fight for equality.

Build opposition on the streets

The official Opposition of the UUP

and SDLP offer no alternative. Theysupport the same right-wing eco-nomic agenda and represent thesame politics of division. The SDLPmade a mockery of its claim to be aparty of 'civil rights' when it helpedblock abortion even in the most dif-ficult circumstances of fatal foetalabnormality and sexual crime.Meanwhile, Alliance is incapable ofuniting communities because itchampions austerity measures –such as water charges and a hike intuition fees – which create the socialconditions in which sectarianismbreeds.

The election of People BeforeProfit and Green Party representa-tives to Stormont reflects the grow-ing alienation for the sectarian,backward and right-wing status quo.These parties can make an impor-tant impact if they act as a genuinelyanti-sectarian and anti-austerityopposition. However, opposition tothe Executive’s cuts and archaicsocial policies will have to primarilycome from outside Stormont,through cross-community cam-paigns in the streets, colleges andworkplaces. The trade union move-

ment’s leadership must abandon itsfailed policy of social partnershipwith the Executive and beginrebuilding a co-ordinated fightbackbased on mass demonstrations andindustrial action.

Labour Alternative

The Socialist Party launched LabourAlternative alongside other tradeunion and community activists toprovide a genuinely cross-communi-ty, left alternative in the Assemblyelections. Our three young candi-dates – drawn from both Protestantand Catholic communities – won thelargest left and labour movementvotes in their constituencies indecades. This is an important begin-ning to building a genuinely anti-sec-tarian and fighting working classforce. Labour Alternative will befront and centre in supporting andassisting the struggles of workersand young people going forward. Ifyou want to be part of the fightback,get involved today!

www.labouralternative.orginfo@labouralternative.org

Join labour alternative today

New Assembly Executive, Same Failed Politics

Build a Cross-CommunityFighting leFt

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By Andrew Farley

On 26 April, doctors engagedin the first ever all-out strikein the history of the NHS.Joint protests by the BritishMedical Association (BMA)and the National Union ofTeachers (NUT) brought thou-sands to the streets in opposi-tion to Health SecretaryJeremy Hunt's imposition ofa new contract on junior doc-tors and Tory plans for forcedacademisation.

The Health Secretary's newcontract would have anincreased working hours for jun-ior doctors for less pay. It is evi-dent that the goal of the Torygovernment is to allow the NHSto fail in order to provide justifi-cation for further privatisation.One way of doing this would beby cutting the wages of healthworkers, making privatisation amore appetising prospect forcorporations. Last year, the num-ber of contracts allocated to theprivate sector rose by 500%.

However, Jeremy Hunt hasbeen forced to backtrack on hisclosed door policy towards jun-ior doctors and a deal has nowbeen proposed. This would notbe the case were it not for massopposition and activism ofhealth staff and the public. Thesuccess of the junior doctors

demonstrates that organisedresistance and determinedstruggle can bring aboutchange by putting pressure onpoliticians. Threats by the NUTto ballot their members causedthe Tory government to back-pedal on their plans for forcedacademisation by 2022. A strikevote is still a possibility, howev-er, given that EducationMinister Nicky Morgan stillplans to implement her acade-my programme.

At the BMA-NUT march inApril, the civil service union PCScalled for the Trade UnionCongress (TUC) to organise anational day of action in supportof the junior doctors. Againstthe interests of those they claimto represent, the TUC did notact on this proposal.

It is clear from recent eventsthat now is the time to act andbuild momentum. The gainsmade by the junior doctors insolidarity with other workersclearly shows that victory can beachieved if we stand togetheragainst a weak and divided Torygovernment. The TUC shouldmobilise the trade unions andhelp to create a mass move-ment in opposition to austerity.The Tories and their detrimentalpolicies can be defeated, butonly if we cooperate and active-ly fight them.

By Donal O’Cofaigh Fermanagh Against Fracking

WooDbUrN ForeSTreservoir feeds thestrategically important

Dorisland Water Works whichprovides water to 131,000 peo-ple in belfast, Larne,Carrickfergus, Newtownabbeyand Whitehead.

As such, you might think that therisk of contaminating that watersupply might give rise to some con-cerns among statutory agenciesand government departments. Ifso, you’d be wrong. For it is pre-cisely within the water catchmentfor this reservoir that the firstdrilling for hydrocarbons inNorthern Ireland has started, onforestry land leased by oil and gasexploration company Infrastratafrom Northern Ireland Water.

While campaigners have raisedsignificant concerns that drillingfor oil in the area poses a signifi-cant contamination risk to thewater table, the Department ofEnvironment has not conductedany risk assessments. Instead,exploratory drilling has proceededwithout any environmental orhealth impact screening by beingconsidered as ‘permitted develop-ment’ on the site – basically a loop-hole in planning policy whichmeans no such assessment is

required. While the same loophole has

been targeted elsewhere in the UK,it has not proved necessary inNorth Yorkshire where the Tory-dominated council voted throughexploratory deep-well drilling tofrack for gas, despite overwhelm-ing local public opposition. Thiswill be the first fracking explo-ration well in a few years since set-backs in planning applicationrefusals in a number of councils in2015.

We can be assured thatInfrastrata will report a multi-bil-lion oil find in Carrickfergus, prom-ising tens of thousands of jobs .That will be front-page news andthe implicit threat of huge legalcosts should anything limit thecompany’s profits (a situationalready occurring in the case ofTamboran who were halted fromfracking in Belcoo) will offerStormont Ministers the excuse todo nothing.

The campaign against drilling in

Woodburn has been very activeand held large meetings in thearea. It has focussed largely onlegal challenges to oppose thedrilling – unfortunately, thisapproach has been unsuccessful.

By comparison, campaigners inBelcoo focussed for three years tobuild public awareness on frack-ing: information meetings in vil-lages and even sought to use the G8Summit in Enniskillen to focus onthe issue. When the drillers landed,the community were already well-

informed.The popular response in Belcoo

involved almost every person inthe village and extended quickly toinclude those in neighbouringcommunities thereby becomingfully cross-community. The com-munity provided a 24 hour pres-ence at the site – supported byactivists from further afield.Teachers from local schoolsbrought whole classes to getinvolved. Frail pensioners walkedhand-in-hand up hills to attendprotests and rallies at the gates.Well-attended daily meetings wereheld in community buildings tocoordinate the response and dealwith problems. The cross-commu-nity involvement was so strongthat the local DUP councillor pub-licly broke ranks to oppose thefracking promoted for three yearsby his own colleague ArleneFoster.

The Ministers were left with lit-tle choice but to back down.

No doubt the frackers will beback in Belcoo and the battle willhave to be rejoined but lessonsshould be learned. Only massmobilisation – not individual actsof direct action – organised bydemocratic community campaignsand including publicised plans formass civil disobedience can forcepoliticians to make the back downand defeat the oil and gas industry.

By Ryan McNally

The LAboUr Party came out ofMay’s local elections better

than expected, despite predic-tions of doom from the party’sright-wing. It’s true that Laboursuffered a serious defeat inScotland, due to the SNP’s postur-ing as an anti-austerity force, butin england they managed to keepcontrol of their 58 councils. Theylost 18 council seats overall, asmall loss in comparison to the150 to 200 predicted by someanalysts. This didn’t fit in to thenarrative of the right-wing mediaand blairites in the party, whohave openly campaigned againstJeremy Corbyn’s leadership sincehis election in September 2015.

The challenges Corbyn faced dur-ing this election campaign shouldn’tbe underestimated. The hostility hefaces within his own party as wellas from the political establishmentelsewhere is overwhelming, andthis time it manifested itself asaccusations of antisemitism.Following a Guido Fawkes articleabout a historic Facebook postmade by MP Naz Shah, the anti-semitism issue came to dominatecoverage of the election campaign.

This suited the Blairites perfect-ly. Doubtless, many MPs and otherLabour grandees were hoping theparty would be decimated in theelections. This would have giventhem the ammunition they needed

to call for Corbyn’s resignation.The right-wing’s line of argument

has always been that Corbyn is une-lectable. His socialist policies areextremist positions that would takethe party back instead of forward.They call for the Labour Party to goback to the centre ground, andargue that only more moderatepolicies can appeal to voters.

But of course these are largelythe same group of people who sup-ported the ‘moderate’ policies ofTony Blair, the invasion of Iraq,hand-outs to big business andattacks on welfare. No matter howmuch they talk about sensible poli-cies and the centre ground, it’sclear what direction they wouldtake Labour.

In reality, ‘New’ Labour’s brandof neoliberalism is what is nowunelectable. Throughout the Blairyears and later under Brown andMiliband, it became clear thatLabour was another party of the1% and had no relevance to ordi-

nary people. This was reflected inthe surge of new members whoenthusiastically rushed to join theparty to elect Corbyn, who won ona platform of left-wing, anti-auster-ity policies.

Since being elected, however,Corbyn has shown himself willingto compromise with the right of theparty. Whether through his supportof the EU, which he openly opposedin the past, or through his allowingof a free vote on the bombing ofSyria, this is a tactic that’s clearlynot going to work. The Blairitescan’t be conciliated with and areunwilling to compromise. The onlyway the Labour Party can reallymove forward again is if Corbynmobilises his popular support in ameaningful way to take on the right-wing, initiating mandatory reselec-tion of elected representatives sothe Blairites can be removed andreplaced with people willing to gen-uinely fight in the interests of work-ers and young people.

Doctors & teachers force tories back

TUC Must Follow Example

Mass

Mobilisation

is key to

victory

Labour holds its ground, Blairites disappointed

Drilling begins in Woodburn Forest

Protests are ongoing at the Woodburn drilling site

Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party defied the expectations of the media

June 2016

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OUr New Minister forCommunities Paul Givan wasa key architect of the DUP’sproposed ‘conscience clause’,aimed at amending ourequality laws to allow reli-gious business owners torefuse services to LGBT cus-tomers. It is a blatant attemptto enshrine a right to discrim-inate into law and drive soci-ety backwards.

Last year on the Nolan Show,Givan refused to even clarifywhether gay sex should belegal, insisting in a TV interview:“I’m not going to give youentertainment value. My per-sonal opinions actually don’tcount.” Part of his remit will beto look after equality issues -what a calculated insult to LGBTpeople in Northern Ireland! TheDUP are sending out a clearmessage that they will continueto abuse the Petition ofConcern to block marriageequality, despite support from aclear majority both in societyand the Assembly.

We should demand thatGivan steps down and send amessage to the DUP that thisarrogant disregard for people’srights will not be tolerated.More importantly, we need toget organised to fight for fullLGBT equality. 20,000 peoplemarching for marriage equalityin Belfast last year has had aneffect. If has forced a number ofMLAs to changed their positionand vote for marriage equality.

Building a stronger grass-roots movement can force eventhe DUP back. The fact that JimWells was forced to resign asHealth Minister after makingdisgusting homophobic com-ments shows they are notimmune from pressure. TheSocialist Party & Socialist Youthhave been active in building theFight4Equality campaign tomobilise people againstStormont’s backward socialpolicies.

To get involved, email:fight4equalityni@gmail.com

Welfare cuts on the waydespite grandstandingL

eAFLeTS Are now fallingthrough our letterboxesand advertisements are

appearing to inform us that thewelfare system in NorthernIreland is ‘changing’. This is adirect consequence of the FreshStart Agreement, where the DUPand Sinn Féin handed the Toriesthe power to implement their‘welfare reform’ programmedirectly.

After grandstanding on the issueof welfare reform for months, SinnFéin – like Pontius Pilate – washedtheir hands of responsibility forthe cuts. They will boast that theyhave secured £585 million to miti-gate against the impact of thesecuts over the next four years.However, this still falls far short of

the estimated cost of the cuts. SinnFéin themselves estimated that£122 million per year would belost by claimants in just two of theNorth’s eighteen constituencies,Foyle and Upper Bann. This repre-sents a dramatic retreat for theparty’s previous position that noone would lose out!

When these measures run out infour years – rather than the six orig-inally agreed at Stormont House –nothing is guaranteed and the fullimpact of these attacks on welfareare likely to be felt. The evidence isthere as to the effect it will have. Arecent report in Britain found 590extra suicides, 279,000 extra casesof mental ill-health and 725,000more prescriptions for anti-depres-sants associated with the contro-

versial ‘work capability assess-ments’ between 2010 and 2013.

Crucially, the £585 million is notnew money from the British andIrish governments. Rather, it is tocome from cuts to other Stormontdepartmental budgets, includingfrom the discretionary social fundwhich provides loans for urgent,essential spending to people onbenefits. Cuts are simply beingmoved around rather than wipedout. Austerity is austerity, whatev-er public services are targeted.

This demonstrates that SinnFéin’s opposition to austerity ishollow. They are not potentialallies, as some trade union leadersbelieve, but a party which is willingto go along with brutal attacks onworking class communities.

By Pat LawlorNIPSA Belfast Health Branch

organisers (personal capacity)

IT IS without doubt the Saveour Day Centres Campaign to

keep open facilities for peoplewith mental health problemsand learning difficulties acrossbelfast has been nothing short ofan overwhelming success.During the last six months, serv-ice users, carers, staff, tradeunion activists and supportershave embarrassed, humiliatedand rattled the belfast Trustexecutive. What was considereda done deal, to be easily imple-mented by senior Trust manage-ment, has become a Pr disaster,as they have been forced to delaythe proposals until after theAssembly election.

With little or no mainstreammedia attention, the campaign hastranscended all limitations. It hasengaged thousands of local peopleacross Belfast and beyond. Over16,000 people have signed the

petition to stop the closuresthrough organising local publicawareness stalls and attendingevents such as InternationalWomen’s Day and May Day ralliesin Belfast.

Local MLAs from the majority ofthe Executive parties fell overthemselves during the election totag their name to the campaign.But when challenged, the majorityrefused to give a commitment to doall in their power to stop the pro-posals going through. When seniorSinn Féin MLAs Fra McCann andPat Sheehan were challenged whatSinn Féin would do if they took upthe Health Minister portfolio, theygave a commitment that theywould stop the proposals in theirtracks. The campaign must nowdemand that Sinn Féin honour thatcommitment, but should takenothing for granted and maintainthe pressure.

This campaign gives a templateof what can be achieved when a co-ordinated, principled fightback iscarried out across all sections of

our communities, supported by thetrade union movement. Only thisuncompromising and challengingapproach to the austerity of theFresh Start Agreement will safe-guard our essential public services.

By a Belfast Library worker

STorMoNT AUSTerITy cutsare forcing yet another cut in

libraries. This time, the 14largest libraries are to have theiropening hours cut from 54 to 45hours per week. This is the fifthyear in a row that libraries havehad their budget cut. Last year,there were 3 separate rounds ofcuts. This ''death by a thousandcuts'' is designed to deflect atten-tion by not introducing massivelibrary cuts in one go. but the endresult will be the same - a verysmall library service.

Remember - these cuts are all tobalance the books after the govern-ment bailed out the bankers withbillions of pounds of our (taxpay-ers’) money!

These cuts do not reflect theneeds of communities. On the con-trary, library use is increasing, pos-sibly due to increased unemploy-ment. Working class communitiesespecially need libraries - as a com-munity hub, for reading/literacy,for internet access. The poorestfamilies don't have internet accessat home and are dependent onlibraries. This is especially impor-tant as so many job adverts andapplications are online now.

Many of the threatened libraries– including Finaghy, Carrickfergusand Lisburn – have been recentlyrefurbished or recently built.Where is the sense in cutting theirhours now?

Before the recent Stormont elec-tions, the DUP, Sinn Féin, UUP, SDLPand Alliance all voted through these

cuts. None defended the needs ofthe working class to have decentlocal libraries. Ordinary workersand library users should protestand put pressure on the DUP andSinn Féin to cancel these budgetcuts and defend libraries. How caneither of these parties claim to rep-resent ordinary workers and yetsupport these cuts?

Local Labour Alternativeactivists have launched campaignsto resist these cuts in Finaghy,Carrickfergus and Enniskillen. Apublic consultation is ongoing until17th July. This gives us an opportu-nity to put pressure on librarymanagement and the politicians.

If you want to get involved infighting these cuts, email:

info@labouralternative.org

Resist library cuts

Force Paul Givan out –fight for LGBT equality!

Day centres campaign rattlespoliticians and management

Homophobic Givan should be removed as Minister for Communities

Sinn Fein protesting against cuts they are now implementing

June 2016

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By Patrick Mulholland

ThIS yeAr’S NIPSA confer-ence comes at a veryimportant time. The new

executive, now entirely domi-nated by the DUP and Sinn Féin,are pushing ahead with theirplans to make 20,000 public sec-tor workers redundant.

The next four years will seemore cuts, pursued by both theTory government and theExecutive. If the Tories, the DUPand Sinn Féin get their way, thepublic sector will be stripped tothe bone and those of us whoremain will be stretched to beyondbreaking point trying to meet theneeds of our communities.

Over the last two years, NIPSA –under the leadership of a NIPSABroad Left (BL) majority on theGeneral Council – has played animportant role in arguing for theneed for the trade unions to strug-gle to stop austerity. NIPSA andother unions pushed the NIC-ICTUto call the one day public sectorstrike in March 2015– and NIPSAwas the only union that argued for

the naming of a second day ofstrike action in May. NIPSA hasprovided a loud voice of oppositionto the Fresh Start Agreement,including at the recent NIC-ICTUconference.

NIPSA Broad Left will be aminority on the General Councilover the coming year, and we donot believe that the incoming

majority group will take the res-olute stand that is necessary. Thiswill not stop Broad Left andSocialist Party members makingthe case for action to stop the cutsat all levels in the union, from theGeneral Council to the branches. Itis necessary to build resistance tothe cuts carefully and patiently.NIPSA must support its members

whenever and wherever they takea stand, support other trade union-ists when they resist austerity andassist community and campaign-ing groups in their efforts to pro-tect services and communities.Ultimately, however, widespreadand co-ordinated action will benecessary to really challenge aus-terity.

No links with sectarianparties

Some in the union movement,including some in the leadership ofour union, have no real intention ofresisting the cuts but insteadwould like to reach agreementswith the Executive. NIPSA BroadLeft has been fundamental inopposing the push by some leadingofficials for greater links betweenthe trade unions and the sectarianparties in the Assembly. The tradeunions are the biggest movement(with 220,000 members) thatunite Protestants and Catholics inNorthern Ireland – we cannotallow that unity to be destroyed byunion leaders who support part-

nership with the likes of Sinn Féinand the DUP.

The main political parties inNorthern Ireland are based in oneor other community only and aredependent on continuing sectari-an division. Their words andactions cement division. Tradeunions have to deal with theseparties in various ways but shouldnever form links, no matter howloose, with such parties. To do sorisks the unity of the trade unionmovement.

That does not mean that weignore politics. There is no suchthing as non-political trade union-ism. Every trade union has to dealwith a wide range of political, eco-nomic and social issues affectingits members on a daily basis.NIPSA is no different. We are thelargest union in Northern Irelandand we are on the frontline of thefight against austerity. In order todefend our members and publicservices, we need to move in thedirection of adopting a politicalfund. Until we do so we are heldback in our ability to fight for allthat matters to us.

By David Adair

IN JANUAry 2015, control overthe day-to-day running of

leisure centres across belfastpassed into the hands ofGreenwich Leisure Ltd (GLL).Although widely criticised byworkers and their respectivetrade unions, as well as mem-bers of the public, belfast CityCouncil ignored all calls for theservices to remain in-house andpushed the deal through.

Although promises were made toretain the same level of service andprofessionalism, in the monthssince the takeover, staff havebecome increasingly worried by theundermining of health and safetydue to unsafe staffing levels and thelow standard of training providedto new employees. At the time GLLtook control, promises were alsomade to keep all employees on theircurrent NILGOSC (local govern-ment) pension scheme and that thiswould also be offered to futureemployees. However, it has nowcome to light that those employedafter the changeover are beingoffered a lower quality private pen-sion in place of this and were initial-ly offered no pension at all.

On 24th May, after a ballot byUnite the Union saw 97% ofreturned ballots in favour of strikeaction, workers across all theBelfast sites stood on picket linesdemanding that the health andsafety concerns be immediatelycorrected and that all staff, regard-less of when they were hired, havethe same rights in regards to pen-sions. While some centres wereforced to close for the day manage-ment forced the opening of others.

With already dangerous staffinglevels in place, GLL decided to pushahead with business as usual, plac-ing profit before the safety of thosefew who decided to use their

premises on that day. With GLLrefusing to budge, further days ofaction are likely, with NIPSA possi-bly balloting their members onjoining their Unite colleagues.

The Socialist Party calls forBelfast City Council to immediatelybring leisure services acrossBelfast back in house. With thecouncil owning and maintainingthe eleven centres, plus investing

£105 million as part of their 10-year leisure transformation pro-gramme, it makes little sense,financial or otherwise, to allow aprivate entity to maintain control.We demand the council act toretain full control over their servic-es, restore staffing levels and train-ing to a safe level and ensure allemployees receive access to thepreviously agreed pension scheme.

ON 25 & 26 May, members ofthe University & CollegesUnion took strike actionacross the UK to demand a5% pay rise, an end toincreasing casualisation ofthe profession and real actionto tackle the ongoing genderpay gap. Since 2009, lectur-ers have seen their real payfall by 14.9%.

Increasingly, universities arebeing corporatised – meaningthey are becoming run like for-profit businesses rather than aspublic bodies focussed on pro-viding educational opportuni-ties and encouraging the pur-suit of knowledge. Nowhere isthis more clear than at Queen’sUniversity. We have recentlyseen a wave of redundancies.Under the proposals of the new‘Institutional Size & ShapeReview’, academic staff will beplaced under increased pres-sure to attract outside researchfunding or face losing theirjobs. This will inevitably have anegative impact on teaching.Entrance qualifications are alsoset to rise, various courses areto be merged and two degrees

are to be cut.The Students’ Union held a

Special General Meeting on 11May which overwhelminglyrejected these proposals andwas followed by a teach-inprotest in the Lanyon Building,which has since been followedup with further action.

Queen’s management havelong been outspoken propo-nents of corporatisation andhave openly called for tuitionfees to rise sharply. They are notalone, however. Alliance’sStephen Farry – former Ministerfor Employment & Learning –implemented deep cuts in fur-ther and higher education andproposed that fees could rise toas much as £9,000 per year. Thiswould discourage people fromworking class backgrounds fromgoing to university.

We can be sure that the Toriesand the new Assembly Executivewill continue the attacks on high-er education. We need a unitedstruggle of staff and students toresist cuts and corporatisationand demand free and fully-fund-ed education, run in the interestsof society, not profit.

NIPSA Conference 2016 – Serious challenges ahead

No for-profit universities Bring Leisure Services back in-house

By Conner Smith

workers at SP Graham bookmakers went on strike to coincidewith the Cheltenham festival, the second largest race day in theyear. They did so because, despite SP Graham’s highly prof-itable turnover, they still continue to pay their workers a pover-ty wage, only 9 pence over the legal limit. Davy McMurray,Unite official, stated “even at this late stage we are asking man-agement to share some of the company’s success and become afully accredited living wage employer”

SP Graham: end poverty pay!

NIPSA must take a resolute stand against “Fresh Start” austerity

June 2016

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NIPSA Conference 2016 – Serious challenges ahead

By James Campton

The TrAGIC death of 17-yearold Adam owens last year

underlined the dangers of so-called ‘legal highs’. As of 26thMay, the PsychoactiveSubstances Act has come intoforce, a blanket ban on the pro-duction, distribution, sale andsupply of such substances. Thesesubstances, which mimic theeffects of already banned A andb Class drugs, destroy the livesof vulnerable people by creatinga drug compulsion that leads toa breakdown of personal rela-tionships and so leaves thealready disadvantaged withoutany means of support.

Socialists support a ban on thesupply of untested psychoactivesubstances, at least until theireffects are understood, althoughwe oppose the criminalisation ofdrug users. Drug abuse should betreated as a health and social careissue. The failure of Stormont andthe Tory government to investproperly in our addiction servicesmeans that a blanket ban will notsolve this problem. UpperSpringfield & Whiterock addictioncentre – aiding 4,000 individualslast year through counselling serv-ices for mental health and addic-tion – as well as the Railway Streetaddiction centre in Ballymena havesuffered significant cuts, whileFASA on the Shankill Road wasforced to close due to lack of funds.

The crudeness of blanket bansfailure to acutely challenge the

roots of drug abuse is highlightedby the experience of the Republicof Ireland - since 2010, it has onlyresulted in only 4 convictions,whilst failing to deal with chronicdrug problems in many workingclass communities. Meanwhile,poverty has increased in the Southtwo-fold since 2008, which pushespeople towards substance abuse toescape the blight of reality.

We as must oppose the ‘war ondrugs’ approach and recognise itfor what it is – a deliberate act ofcapitalist governments to

demonise those who are grippedby substance abuse, to divert atten-tion from massive social disinte-gration caused by their neo-liberalpolicies. So called “legal highs” area ruinous blight on society.However, the solution is not crimi-nalisation but fighting to ensurethat people who are gripped bythese awful drugs get the treat-ment they deserve through sup-porting investment in addictioncentres and challenging endemicpoverty by fighting for well-paid,stable jobs.

By Ann Orr

AT The time of writing, thedust is still settling on theformation of the new

Stormont cabinet. Arlene Fosterhas been successful in keepingher post as First Minister andtwo women – Claire Sugden andMichelle o’Neill – have beenappointed as Ministers for theDepartment of Justice andDepartment of health respec-tively. This surely is a first forNorthern Ireland but unfortu-nately, it is not set to change theappalling situation which meanswomen here are prevented fromcontrolling their own bodies dueto the archaic abortion laws dat-ing back to 1861.

Arlene Foster has repeatedlymade her position and that of herparty crystal clear – she and theDUP are “pro-life”. Claire Sugden, ina speech in the Assembly onInternational Women’s Day,declared 2016 “the year for womenin Northern Ireland”. Yet, when itcomes to the right women shouldhave to control their own bodies,Sugden’s position leaves much tobe desired – she voted againstallowing abortions in cases of fatalfoetal abnormalities. WhileMichelle O’Neill voted in favour ofthis bill, Sinn Féin has also made it

abundantly clear that they are nota pro-choice party and do not sup-port the extension of the 1967Abortion Act to Northern Ireland.

However, both Sinn Féin andClaire Sugden have taken stances infavour of marriage equality.Hopefully, the Assembly can begiven the necessary push to correctits glaring failures in this regardand bring Northern Ireland in linewith legislation in the rest ofIreland and Britain. But this willnot happen unless these politiciansand those of other parties are putunder serious pressure from below.

When it comes to abortionrights, three other women haveshown far more leadership thanthese leading female politicians.Diana King, Collette Devlin andKitty O’Kane have taken the bravestep to hand themselves into thePSNI for having helped others pro-cure abortion tablets. As theythemselves have pointed out, thesemedicines are on the World HealthOrganisation’s list of essentialmedicines but cannot be legallyaccessed by women seeking termi-nations in Northern Ireland unlessthey fit the current and extremelyrestrictive criteria.

Their action was also taken inresponse to a young woman havingbeen prosecuted and sentenced fortaking these medicines to termi-

nate a pregnancy. Our laws have tochange. These three courageouswomen must be supported andapplauded. Actions like these, aswell as protests such as the oneheld at Queen’s University whenArlene Foster was invited to speakon “women, leadership and peacebuilding”, are vital in building sup-port for the pro-choice movementand in putting public pressure onStormont.

Official figures published recent-ly showed that over 800 womentravelled from Northern Ireland toEngland or Wales in 2015 to termi-nate a pregnancy. The real figure islikely to be higher and does notinclude women who have medicalterminations by accessing tabletsillegally. We can therefore easilysay, that the outdated laws inNorthern Ireland directly affectover 1,000 women every year. Inaddition, it is clear that those whocannot afford to travel are beingforced into breaking the law. Thissituation must end.

The recent prosecution has high-lighted that we cannot rely on thecourts to change things. Instead,we must campaign actively forchange through protests andmovements on the ground. Thiswill allow us to pull NorthernIreland into 21st century on theissue of women’s rights.

Women in top positions but rights still denied

Socialists make impactat students’ conference

MeMBerS Of Socialist Youthattended the annualConference of NUS-USI – thestudents’ movement inNorthern Ireland – in April asdelegates from their variouscolleges. Belfast MetStudents’ Union – whereSocialist Youth members playa leading role – put threeimportant motions on theagenda, all of which werepassed.

The first motion called on thestudents’ movement to rejectthe austerity measures con-tained in the ‘Fresh Start’ agree-ment between the DUP, SinnFéin and the British and Irishgovernments. Crucially, themotion also committed NUS-USIto work with the trade unions tobuild co-ordinated opposition tothese cuts and attacks.

The second motion called forsupport for the campaignagainst the drilling taking place

at Woodburn near Carrickferguswhile the third called for solidar-ity and support for the rights ofrefugees fleeing war andoppression in the Middle East.

Now, the key is to ensure thatthese motions are translatedinto meaningful action.Unfortunately, in the recentpast, the NUS-USI leadershiphas failed to live up to the wish-es of its members, as expressedat Conference. For example,the 2013 Conference clearlycalled for action to resist anycuts to EMA, yet the leadershipsubsequently acquiesced to thecuts put forward by AllianceMinister Stephen Farry.

If NUS-USI provides a seriousleadership which has a strategyfor resisting the attacks on therights of students and youngpeople, it can become a power-ful force for change. SocialistYouth members will be at theforefront of this struggle.

Ban on ‘legal highs’ won’t tackle underlying problem

Sugden and Foster, new Justice Minister and First Minister

Women are still denied the right to choose in Northern Ireland

Laughing gas is used by more and more young people as a “legal high”

1. the eu is neo-liberal& pro-austerity

The ‘Troika’ of the EuropeanCommission, European Central Bankand International Monetary Fundhave waged class war on the peopleof Europe, driving an austerity agen-da which has had horrific humanitar-ian consequences. After years of crip-pling austerity, SYRIZA came topower in Greece with a mandate toend austerity. This was arrogantlydismissed by Jean-Claude Juncker,the President of the EuropeanCommission, who stated, “There canbe no democratic choice against theEuropean treaties.”

Then, in the referendum on 5 July2015, a magnificent 61% peoplevoted ‘Oxi’ to a new austerity dealdespite the blackmail of the Troika.What happened next was describedby Yanis Varoufakis, the formerGreek Finance Minister, as “terror-ism” and by an EU official as “exten-sive mental waterboarding.”’ The EUresponded by threatening an imme-diate banking crisis by cutting offaccess to liquidity.

The Greek government capitulatedand billions more austerity measureshave been imposed on the country’speople. SYRIZA are now responsiblefor imposing austerity primarilybecause they didn’t have a pro-gramme that was prepared to breakwith the framework of the EU andcapitalism itself.

2. the eu is undemocratic

These events show how the politicsof austerity is institutionalised intothe EU by successive treaties andpacts. Restrictions are placed on gov-ernment deficits, public spendingand national budgets are “moni-tored”. The so-called Fiscal StabilityTreaty states that governmentdeficits must not exceed 3% of GDPand public debt must not exceed60% of GDP. This effectively rendersnot just socialist policies but also

Keynesian and social democraticmeasures illegal

This will have real consequencesfor left governments elected any-where in Europe, including a Corbyn-led government in Britain. If Corbynwas to implement the popular poli-cies which saw him elected as Labourleader – such as nationalisation of therailways and energy companies – hewould find himself in a confrontationwith the EU, whose laws and direc-tives forbid such actions. Even to stopthe dismantling of the NHS wouldmean violating EU competition laws.The idea of “People’s QuantitativeEasing” proposed by John McDonnellwould be illegal under EU treaties. Itis, therefore, in the view of theSocialist Party, a mistake for Corbynand Labour to support remaining inthe European Union

3. fortress europe:Blood on eu’s hands

It may have won a Noble Prize andboast about free movement of peo-ple, but the EU’s appalling treatmentof refugees fleeing for their livesfrom Syria and elsewhere makes thisa sick joke. Over 50% of Syria’s pop-ulation are displaced. Tens of thou-sands have died trying to enterEurope, in the hope of escaping thebarbarism of war and dictatorships.Despite a wave of solidarity with therefugees from ordinary people, theEU now plans to establish a borderagency which will act to reinforce itsracist migration policy.

Member states have been guilty ofhuman rights abuses, often egged onby EU Ministers. For example, theGreek Migration Minister YiannisMouzalas claims that at one EU meet-ing he was told to "push" migrants"back in the sea”, with a Belgium rep-resentative saying, “I don’t care if youdrown them.”

The EU has agreed a dirty dealwith the increasingly dictatorialregime of Turkey. Now, NATO shipsare stopping people fleeing acrossthe Mediterranean to Greece.Refugees arriving in Greece are to besent back to Turkey. In return, a

regime that is waging a war on theKurdish people and is repressing anydissenting voices within its borderswill receive funding from the EU andhave its EU accession-bid considered.

4. the eu promotesmilitarism

The refugee crisis flows from thechaos caused by Western militaryintervention in the Middle East.While David Cameron recentlyclaimed that the EU is about securingpeace, the reality is very different.Millions of people have died in impe-rialist wars created by EU powers.The EU has also acted to fund thearmaments industry and demandedthat member states spend largeamounts of public money on the mil-itary, while demanding more andmore austerity.

At the same time it pushes formore military cooperation. The EU‘battlegroups’ are an initiative aimedat promoting the integration ofnational armed forces and providingthe EU with an independent militarycapability. They are supposed to bethe ‘rapid response’ force of the EUand have been used in militaryadventures across the world.

5. ttiP: a bosses’ charter

If all this isn’t bad enough, the EU isin secret negotiations with the US tolaunch the Transatlantic Trade andInvestment Partnership (TTIP). This‘free trade’ agreement is about pro-moting privatisation and reducingregulation of corporate activity. Waron Want estimates the deal couldcost almost a million jobs.

Public services, especially theNHS, are in the firing line. One of themain aims of TTIP is to open upEurope’s public health, educationand water services to US companies.This could essentially mean the pri-vatisation of the NHS.

The deal also will see the creationof unaccountable corporate courtswhich will allow multinationals tosue governments when there bottomline is threatened by regulations.This ‘Investor-State DisputeSettlement’ mechanism (ISDS) hasalready been introduced in otherfree trade agreements and used byUS company Lone Pine to sue Canadafor the ban on fracking in Quebec.French company Veolia is suing theEgyptian government for loss ofprofits as a result of the country’sdecision to raise the minimum wage.

6. Bring down the torygovernment

A vote to leave will undermine theTory government. As one Tory MPput it, “As the debate on the EU refer-endum intensifies, so do the possibil-ities for a split in the ConservativeParty.” Despite the bravado, this wasalways a weak government – sup-ported by only 24% of the electorateand with a parliamentary majority of

just 12. The Financial Times estimat-ed that Cameron has been forced into20 u-turns since last year’s generalelection, including on the junior doc-tors’ contract, on tax credits and onprivatisation of schools. Losing a

vote on such a key issue for capital-ism can be the final nail in the coffin,forcing Cameron from office and cre-ating a crisis for the Tories.

Jeremy Corbyn and Labour aremissing a golden opportunity to

bring down Cameron’s governmentby failing to advocate a ‘leave’ voteand campaigning independently for aworking-class, socialist alternative,as Corbyn did in the 1975 referen-dum. Nonetheless, this is an opportu-

nity for working class people to givetheir verdict on this hated govern-ment and fight for left-wing govern-ment that can break with the auster-ity agenda.

June 2016

6THE SOCIALIST

Six reasons to Vote ‘Leave’

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In the establishment media, the eUreferendum has been reduced to a clashbetween different wings of the tory party.

It’s Cameron vs Johnson, they say – two oldetonians. Many working class people are nodoubt worried about the prospect of leavingthe eU but socialists believe it is necessary tobreak with this capitalist institution. Since itsformation, the eU was designed to furtherthe interests of the european capitalistclasses at the expense of working classpeople. here are six reason why you shouldvote to leave the eU.

MoST LeADerS of the tradeunion movement have,

unfortunately, decided to supportDavid Cameron’s campaign tostay in the eU. In britain, TradesUnion Congress (TUC) leadershave been very vocal in defendingthe eU. In a 'better Together ineurope' leaflet, current TUCGeneral Secretary Franceso'Grady is quoted alongsideright-wing figures such as Virgin’srichard branson and bank ofengland Governor Mark Carney .her predecessor, brendan barber,went one further and co-authoredan article with David Cameron.Closer to home, the Irish Congressof Trade Unions is also advocatinga vote to remain.

They claim that there is a “socialEurope”, but the reality, of course,that is there is an “austerity Europe”.They claim that staying in the EUwill defend jobs – but, in fact, theopposite is true. The EU prides itselfon the free movement of capitalwhich means many jobs going toeastern Europe as bosses search forcheap labour. EU competition direc-tives ban governments from savingjobs by nationalising industry, asCorbyn has demanded for the steelindustry.

Union leaders also claim that theEU acts as a check on the Tories andeven that it has granted us variousrights. However, the British govern-ment already has opt-outs to manyrelatively progressive EU employ-ment laws such as the Working TimeDirective. Other EU employment

regulations such as the PostedWorkers’ Directive – which allowsmigrant workers to be paid less thanthe legal minimum in their hostcountry – are designed specificallyto drive down wages and underminetrade union rights. In 2009, thisDirective was used in an attempt toundermine conditions for construc-tion workers at Lindsay Oil Refinery,provoking a series of strikes.

Similarly, in December 2007, theEuropean Court of Justice delivereda crushing blow to trade unionswhen, in the Viking and Laval deci-sions, it decided that the right ofbusinesses to freedom of establish-ment must take priority over theright of trade unions to take indus-trial action to safeguard the inter-

ests of their members. BritishAirways bosses used the ruling tostop the BALPA pilots’ union strik-ing against plans to set up a sub-sidiary with worse terms and condi-tions.

More fundamentally, our rightswere not granted from on high bybenevolent EU leaders but won frombelow by workers’ struggle. It’s mis-leading for trade union leaders toclaim otherwise. A jewel in thecrown of EU employment law is theEqual Pay Directive, which formallyguarantees equal pay for women.This was won first by the massstrikes in France after World War II.Later, the French governmentdemanded equal pay be included inthe Treaty of Rome as they feared

being at a trade disadvantage.However, it was only much later thatthis law was enforced acrossEurope, again following the heroicstrikes of women munitions work-ers in Belgium, Ford workers inBritain and countless others in thedecades that followed.

The Socialist Party believe it is amistake for trade union and labourleaders to support the bosses’ EUand echo the fearmongering of thepolitical establishment. Instead,they should follow the example ofunions like the RMT transportunion, which is prepared to tell itsmembers the truth about the EU andorganise to defend its members con-ditions through serious industrialaction.

Defend workers’ rights: Oppose the bosses’ EU

EU Referendum:

BreAk froM the BoSSeS’ eU – fIght for A SoCIALISt eUroPe

1. the eu is neo-liberal& pro-austerity

The ‘Troika’ of the EuropeanCommission, European Central Bankand International Monetary Fundhave waged class war on the peopleof Europe, driving an austerity agen-da which has had horrific humanitar-ian consequences. After years of crip-pling austerity, SYRIZA came topower in Greece with a mandate toend austerity. This was arrogantlydismissed by Jean-Claude Juncker,the President of the EuropeanCommission, who stated, “There canbe no democratic choice against theEuropean treaties.”

Then, in the referendum on 5 July2015, a magnificent 61% peoplevoted ‘Oxi’ to a new austerity dealdespite the blackmail of the Troika.What happened next was describedby Yanis Varoufakis, the formerGreek Finance Minister, as “terror-ism” and by an EU official as “exten-sive mental waterboarding.”’ The EUresponded by threatening an imme-diate banking crisis by cutting offaccess to liquidity.

The Greek government capitulatedand billions more austerity measureshave been imposed on the country’speople. SYRIZA are now responsiblefor imposing austerity primarilybecause they didn’t have a pro-gramme that was prepared to breakwith the framework of the EU andcapitalism itself.

2. the eu is undemocratic

These events show how the politicsof austerity is institutionalised intothe EU by successive treaties andpacts. Restrictions are placed on gov-ernment deficits, public spendingand national budgets are “moni-tored”. The so-called Fiscal StabilityTreaty states that governmentdeficits must not exceed 3% of GDPand public debt must not exceed60% of GDP. This effectively rendersnot just socialist policies but also

Keynesian and social democraticmeasures illegal

This will have real consequencesfor left governments elected any-where in Europe, including a Corbyn-led government in Britain. If Corbynwas to implement the popular poli-cies which saw him elected as Labourleader – such as nationalisation of therailways and energy companies – hewould find himself in a confrontationwith the EU, whose laws and direc-tives forbid such actions. Even to stopthe dismantling of the NHS wouldmean violating EU competition laws.The idea of “People’s QuantitativeEasing” proposed by John McDonnellwould be illegal under EU treaties. Itis, therefore, in the view of theSocialist Party, a mistake for Corbynand Labour to support remaining inthe European Union

3. fortress europe:Blood on eu’s hands

It may have won a Noble Prize andboast about free movement of peo-ple, but the EU’s appalling treatmentof refugees fleeing for their livesfrom Syria and elsewhere makes thisa sick joke. Over 50% of Syria’s pop-ulation are displaced. Tens of thou-sands have died trying to enterEurope, in the hope of escaping thebarbarism of war and dictatorships.Despite a wave of solidarity with therefugees from ordinary people, theEU now plans to establish a borderagency which will act to reinforce itsracist migration policy.

Member states have been guilty ofhuman rights abuses, often egged onby EU Ministers. For example, theGreek Migration Minister YiannisMouzalas claims that at one EU meet-ing he was told to "push" migrants"back in the sea”, with a Belgium rep-resentative saying, “I don’t care if youdrown them.”

The EU has agreed a dirty dealwith the increasingly dictatorialregime of Turkey. Now, NATO shipsare stopping people fleeing acrossthe Mediterranean to Greece.Refugees arriving in Greece are to besent back to Turkey. In return, a

regime that is waging a war on theKurdish people and is repressing anydissenting voices within its borderswill receive funding from the EU andhave its EU accession-bid considered.

4. the eu promotesmilitarism

The refugee crisis flows from thechaos caused by Western militaryintervention in the Middle East.While David Cameron recentlyclaimed that the EU is about securingpeace, the reality is very different.Millions of people have died in impe-rialist wars created by EU powers.The EU has also acted to fund thearmaments industry and demandedthat member states spend largeamounts of public money on the mil-itary, while demanding more andmore austerity.

At the same time it pushes formore military cooperation. The EU‘battlegroups’ are an initiative aimedat promoting the integration ofnational armed forces and providingthe EU with an independent militarycapability. They are supposed to bethe ‘rapid response’ force of the EUand have been used in militaryadventures across the world.

5. ttiP: a bosses’ charter

If all this isn’t bad enough, the EU isin secret negotiations with the US tolaunch the Transatlantic Trade andInvestment Partnership (TTIP). This‘free trade’ agreement is about pro-moting privatisation and reducingregulation of corporate activity. Waron Want estimates the deal couldcost almost a million jobs.

Public services, especially theNHS, are in the firing line. One of themain aims of TTIP is to open upEurope’s public health, educationand water services to US companies.This could essentially mean the pri-vatisation of the NHS.

The deal also will see the creationof unaccountable corporate courtswhich will allow multinationals tosue governments when there bottomline is threatened by regulations.This ‘Investor-State DisputeSettlement’ mechanism (ISDS) hasalready been introduced in otherfree trade agreements and used byUS company Lone Pine to sue Canadafor the ban on fracking in Quebec.French company Veolia is suing theEgyptian government for loss ofprofits as a result of the country’sdecision to raise the minimum wage.

6. Bring down the torygovernment

A vote to leave will undermine theTory government. As one Tory MPput it, “As the debate on the EU refer-endum intensifies, so do the possibil-ities for a split in the ConservativeParty.” Despite the bravado, this wasalways a weak government – sup-ported by only 24% of the electorateand with a parliamentary majority of

just 12. The Financial Times estimat-ed that Cameron has been forced into20 u-turns since last year’s generalelection, including on the junior doc-tors’ contract, on tax credits and onprivatisation of schools. Losing a

vote on such a key issue for capital-ism can be the final nail in the coffin,forcing Cameron from office and cre-ating a crisis for the Tories.

Jeremy Corbyn and Labour aremissing a golden opportunity to

bring down Cameron’s governmentby failing to advocate a ‘leave’ voteand campaigning independently for aworking-class, socialist alternative,as Corbyn did in the 1975 referen-dum. Nonetheless, this is an opportu-

nity for working class people to givetheir verdict on this hated govern-ment and fight for left-wing govern-ment that can break with the auster-ity agenda.

June 2016

THE SOCIALIST7

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NO DOUBT, some readers of The Socialist willhave questions regarding the eU referendum.Here, we try and answer some of the most com-mon concerns.

Won’t uKiP and the far-right gainfrom a Brexit?

Many working class and young people will vote‘Remain’ because of an understandable fear that a‘Leave’ vote would mainly benefit UKIP and lead to astrengthening of racism and anti-immigrant senti-ment and policies.

But UKIP has gained ground and has been express-ing its racist politics while the UK is in the EU. Thestatus quo is clearly not working to combat this. Infact, the racist policies of the EU - which continues todeport thousands of refugees from Greece to Turkey- are contributing to gains for the far-right acrossEurope.

The ground for UKIP to grow is provided not byBrexit but by vicious austerity, repulsion towards thepolitical establishment and a deep desire for workingclass people to take control of their own lives andhave the chance of a different type of society.

UKIP doesn’t represent this alternative - it is yetanother party of big business whose politicians votefor cuts to jobs and services, just like the other capi-talist parties. Polls have consistently shown UKIP vot-ers are more likely than average to support national-isation of the railways and utility companies andother pro-worker policies.

The way to undermine UKIP’s support is, therefore,to build an alternative capable of actually achievingthis kind of policy, dispel anti-immigrant myths andanswer the fears of working class people about howbest to defend their jobs and services. This requiresbuilding a strong, united movement against austeritywhich could cut across racial division and bring aboutreal change to ordinary people’s lives. Why wouldsuch a movement opt to give a vote of confidence toan institution that is fundamentally opposed to theseaims?

could we not stay in and reformthe eu?

The EU has almost no mechanisms of democraticaccountability, with central decision making in thehands of the European Council – the heads of gov-ernment of the 28 member states – and an increas-ingly powerful, unelected European Commission.Those running them are contemptuous of democra-cy. Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström’s attitudeto anti-TTIP campaigners sums this up: “I do not take

my mandate from the European people.”The elected European Parliament is little more

than a rubber stamp without the ability to initiate leg-islation. The majority of MEPs are at the beck and callof an army of 20,000 corporate lobbyists.

The only reforms we are seeing from the EU areright-wing counter-reforms. Cameron has beengranted more reactionary opt-outs for Britain, in par-ticular in relation to restrictions on immigrants andsocial welfare rights. The model of Europe that theEU favours favour is a more “competitive” Europewith less regulation – i.e. more exploitation andfewer rights for workers. It is this EU that we arebeing asked to vote ‘Yes’ to.

Will leaving the eu undermine thepeace process?

Like in the recent Scottish Independence referen-dum, the approach of the establishment has been tounleash “Project Fear.” This is reflected in claims thatleaving the EU would undermine the ‘peace process’in Northern Ireland’. This has been the argued byPeter Mandelson, Enda Kenny and MartinMcGuiness, but it is simply not credible. A ‘Brexit’ willnot mean a “hard border” between the North andthe South, nor does leaving the EU mean the scrap-ping of the Human Rights Act, which is not connect-ed to EU membership.

The truth is that the “peace process” is based oninstitutionalising and maintaining sectarian division,rather than breaking down the barriers between ourcommunities. While Orange and Green politiciansroutinely intervene to sectarianise issues, includingthis referendum, working class people have histori-cally mobilised to prevent a return to conflict. That isthe only power we can rely upon, not the EU or anyother outside force.

aren’t socialists internationalists?

Yes, but there is nothing genuinely internationalistabout the EU. What was internationalist about theEU’s role in Greece? Where is its internationalismwhen refugees are left to drown in theMediterranean? The solidarity and internationalismwe need is constrained by the EU.

Socialists stand for building a different type ofEurope - a socialist Europe run by and for the mil-lions, not the millionaires. A Europe of this kind willnot be achieved from within the bosses’ EU but bybuilding united movements of workers and youngpeople across the continent in opposition to austeritypolicies – whether from Brussels or national govern-ments – and attacks from the bosses.

FAQ: Socialists & the EU

MoST LeADerS of the tradeunion movement have,

unfortunately, decided to supportDavid Cameron’s campaign tostay in the eU. In britain, TradesUnion Congress (TUC) leadershave been very vocal in defendingthe eU. In a 'better Together ineurope' leaflet, current TUCGeneral Secretary Franceso'Grady is quoted alongsideright-wing figures such as Virgin’srichard branson and bank ofengland Governor Mark Carney .her predecessor, brendan barber,went one further and co-authoredan article with David Cameron.Closer to home, the Irish Congressof Trade Unions is also advocatinga vote to remain.

They claim that there is a “socialEurope”, but the reality, of course,that is there is an “austerity Europe”.They claim that staying in the EUwill defend jobs – but, in fact, theopposite is true. The EU prides itselfon the free movement of capitalwhich means many jobs going toeastern Europe as bosses search forcheap labour. EU competition direc-tives ban governments from savingjobs by nationalising industry, asCorbyn has demanded for the steelindustry.

Union leaders also claim that theEU acts as a check on the Tories andeven that it has granted us variousrights. However, the British govern-ment already has opt-outs to manyrelatively progressive EU employ-ment laws such as the Working TimeDirective. Other EU employment

regulations such as the PostedWorkers’ Directive – which allowsmigrant workers to be paid less thanthe legal minimum in their hostcountry – are designed specificallyto drive down wages and underminetrade union rights. In 2009, thisDirective was used in an attempt toundermine conditions for construc-tion workers at Lindsay Oil Refinery,provoking a series of strikes.

Similarly, in December 2007, theEuropean Court of Justice delivereda crushing blow to trade unionswhen, in the Viking and Laval deci-sions, it decided that the right ofbusinesses to freedom of establish-ment must take priority over theright of trade unions to take indus-trial action to safeguard the inter-

ests of their members. BritishAirways bosses used the ruling tostop the BALPA pilots’ union strik-ing against plans to set up a sub-sidiary with worse terms and condi-tions.

More fundamentally, our rightswere not granted from on high bybenevolent EU leaders but won frombelow by workers’ struggle. It’s mis-leading for trade union leaders toclaim otherwise. A jewel in thecrown of EU employment law is theEqual Pay Directive, which formallyguarantees equal pay for women.This was won first by the massstrikes in France after World War II.Later, the French governmentdemanded equal pay be included inthe Treaty of Rome as they feared

being at a trade disadvantage.However, it was only much later thatthis law was enforced acrossEurope, again following the heroicstrikes of women munitions work-ers in Belgium, Ford workers inBritain and countless others in thedecades that followed.

The Socialist Party believe it is amistake for trade union and labourleaders to support the bosses’ EUand echo the fearmongering of thepolitical establishment. Instead,they should follow the example ofunions like the RMT transportunion, which is prepared to tell itsmembers the truth about the EU andorganise to defend its members con-ditions through serious industrialaction.

Defend workers’ rights: Oppose the bosses’ EU

EU Referendum:

BreAk froM the BoSSeS’ eU – fIght for A SoCIALISt eUroPe

June2016

THE SOCIALIST8

The ASSeMbLy elections heldon May 5th saw the DUP andSinn Féin remain the largest

parties, further consolidatingtheir position as the main repre-sentatives of the Protestant andCatholic communities respective-ly. The UUP and the SDLP failed tomount significant challenges totheir dominance.

These headline results mask verysignificant developments, however.There is widespread and profounddisillusionment with the failure ofthe twenty-five year old “peaceprocess” to deliver real change.Sectarian division has not been over-come, the lot of ordinary workingclass people has not improved, andthe violence which blights workingclass communities has not goneaway. The results of the electionreflected this anger.

The turnout of voters in this elec-tion fell yet again, and the votereceived by all of the five Executiveparties declined. Importantly, candi-dates who stood outside the sectari-an camps, to one degree or another,won good votes. The Greens had avery good election, trebling theirtotal vote to over 18,000 and win-ning a second MLA seat. Mostnotably, the People Before ProfitAlliance (PBPA) won seats in WestBelfast and Foyle in a result whichwas the single biggest story of theelection.

DUP See off ChallengesWithin Unionism

Large numbers of workers andyoung people are turning away fromthe five parties which have formedthe Executive for a decade, fed upwith the cuts and the lack of progresson issues such as marriage equalityand abortion rights. The turnout inAssembly elections has been fallingconsistently. It fell again in this elec-tion, if only by a further 1%. Themain parties had reported disinter-est or even hostility on thedoorsteps.

The main issue in the election wasclear for the two main parties -whether the DUP or SF would comeout top with the most MLAs, andhence with the prize of the post ofFirst Minister. The DUP conducted apresidential style and openly sectari-an campaign, calling on Protestantsto keep new leader Arlene Foster inthe First Minister’s chair and to pre-vent Martin McGuinness from replac-ing her. They made sure to consoli-date their core vote by promising touse their ability as the largest partyof Unionism to block equal rights forgay people for another five years.

These tactics allowed the DUP tosee off a challenge from its right inthe guise of the hard-line TraditionalUnionist Voice and UKIP, thoughtogether these parties did win a not-insignificant 34,000 votes comparedto the DUP’s 203,000. Both partiesare weaker coming out of the election

– the TUV leader Jim Allister remainsisolated at Stormont and UKIP are nolonger represented there.

The UUP had high hopes of makinggains after modest success at the lastWestminster and local electionsunder its new leader Mike Nesbitt.Instead, it lost votes and came backwith exactly the same number ofseats. This is a serious setback forthem. They have reacted by refusingto take seats in the new Executiveand instead going into opposition, amove which will allow it to capitaliseon disenchantment in Protestantareas over the next five years.

The UVF-linked PUP also had a badelection, failing to capitalise on itssuccess in winning several councilseats in 2014. That year may come inretrospect to be seen as a false dawnfor the PUP, but it should not be for-gotten that its local election successwas propelled by the turmoil aroundthe flag protests and a it could gain asimilar impetus in the futuredepending on events. Young work-ing-class Protestants feel left behindby the peace process. When they lookaround, all they see is an educationaland employment wasteland.Working class Protestant areas havethe worst school exam results andtraditional jobs in manufacturingindustry have been decimated.Future eruptions of anger onto thestreets are inevitable. These sameareas have a proud but half-forgottentradition of strong trade unionorganisation and labour and socialistpolitics. Despite the sneers of sectar-ian cynics, that tradition has not diedand will help provide the bedrock fora new politics which unitesProtestant and Catholic workers.

Sinn fein and cross-class alliances

Sinn Féin (SF) continued with itswell-established all-class allianceapproach in the election, askingCatholics to “put Ireland first”. InSouth Belfast, its candidate was aself-described “entrepreneur” who,without irony, boasted of his busi-ness acumen and connections whilstcalling for “equality” for all (presum-ably entrepreneurs are more equalthan others).

It did not repeat the mistake ofnakedly calling for a vote on a sectar-ian basis as Gerry Kelly did in NorthBelfast at the Westminster electionbut its appeal to voters is simply oneto out-vote “the other side”. Sinn Féintried to capitalise on the centenary ofthe 1916 Rising through frequentreferences to the events of 100 yearsago in its literature. It called forCatholics to “Join the Rising”.

Despite all its efforts, SF’s vote felland it lost one seat. Nevertheless, iteasily defeated the SDLP, which wasunable to halt its decline in bothvotes and seats. The once dominantSDLP have been going backwards forfifteen years as SF advances its posi-tion as the dominant party in theCatholic community. Panic-stricken,it unceremoniously ditched its previ-ous leader six months before theelection and installed a new, youngerfigure, Colm Eastwood. He is deemedby the media to have performed wellagainst SF Deputy First MinisterMartin McGuinness but the long termdecline of the SDLP continues. Thelogic of sectarian politics is to votefor the candidate who most loudlyand robustly represents “your com-

munity” and the SDLP find it difficultto out-manoeuvre SF on this count.Seeking a way out of electoral obliv-ion, it has now joined the UUP on theopposition benches.

The decline in both SF’s and theSDLP’s vote meant that the totalnationalist and republican share ofthe vote fell. This is difficult for SF, inparticular, to explain, given itsrepeated assertions that Catholicswill simply vote Protestants into aunited Ireland in time. When chal-lenged on this point immediatelyafter the election, John O’Dowdplaintively called for the votes of var-ious “independents” to be includedin the nationalist and republicantotal, without specifying which can-didates he had in mind (Nolan Show,Radio Ulster, May 9th). Since then, SFfigures have suggested that thePeople Before Profit vote comes fromthe same “pool” as their vote.

Some commentators argue thatthe reason Catholics are now lesslikely to vote is because they areincreasingly content with the statusquo. In fact many Catholics, in partic-ular the working class and young, aremore and more fed up with the waythings are. Those who once looked toSF are angry that it is implementingcuts and appears to have abandonedthe most down-trodden layers inCatholic areas. The result is a turningaway from SF with both positive andnegative results: many Catholics,especially young people, are seekinga genuine way forward and trying tocast their vote accordingly but othersare lining up behind one or other ofthe multiple varieties of “dissident”republicanism. None of the forceswhich claim this mantle offer anyway out of the problems of impover-ished communities. Instead, theirbackward-looking and reactionarypolitics will only lead in the directionof increased sectarian division. Onlythe creation of a cross-communityleft alternative offers a real alterna-tive.

The fifth of the large parties in theoutgoing governing Executive wasthe Alliance Party. It appeals forvotes from both Catholics andProtestants but its base is largely inthe middle class and it puts forwardright wing economic policies. Inrecent times prominent members ofAlliance have called for increases instudent fees and the introduction ofwater charges. Alliance had hoped togain seats in some areas, standingadditional candidates in East andSouth Belfast, for example. In the endit too lost votes and it came backwith the same number of seats, end-ing a run of six elections when itsvote was edging upwards, and losingthe right to automatic entry into theExecutive.

Alternative candidatespoll well

Whilst the DUP and SF competed forpoll position on a simple sectarianhead-count, they in effect stood onthe same programme for govern-ment. The centrepiece of their nextfive-year term of office will be the“Fresh Start” Agreement, a deal forwhich the DUP and SF can claimcredit as its architects. Fresh Starthas many clauses but it can bereduced to one simple equation: taxcuts for big business paid for throughpublic sector job cuts.

The virtually identical economic

and social policies of the big five par-ties was one reason for the increasein votes for candidates from outsidethe main parties. The beneficiarieswere the Greens, the LabourAlternative platform initiated by theSocialist Party with others, but espe-cially the high votes achieved by thePBPA.

The Green Party provide a homefor some of those who are turned offby sectarian politics. Many youngpeople are drawn to its non-sectari-anism, its environmental policies,and its position on a woman’s rightto choose and the rights of LBGT peo-ple. The Greens have also taken avocal anti-austerity stance, throughits one MLA in the last Assembly,Stephen Agnew. He has now beenjoined at Stormont by Clare Bailey,who won a seat in South Belfast. Theanti-austerity credentials of theGreen Party are suspect, however.The clearest indication of this is thatits members have called for theintroduction of water charges, a taxwhich hits the poorest hardest. TheGreen Party indicated their willing-ness to join the new Executive by tak-ing the Justice Ministry, and thusbecome a party of government.Green parties in a series of othercountries have gone down that roadin recent years and in every casehave imposed cuts and other right-wing policies.

Eight members of the BritishLabour Party stood under the titleNorthern Ireland LabourRepresentation Committee (NILRC).Over the last year, the British LabourParty has grown remarkably in theNorth. It now claims more than 1,700full and “£3” members – a clearresponse to the election of JeremyCorbyn as Party leader. The LabourParty in Northern Ireland declaredits wish to stand in the Assemblyelections but was blocked from doingso by the L National ExecutiveCommittee (NEC) in London. TheNEC is “reviewing” its position onstanding in elections in NorthernIreland but, for now, is sticking to itshistoric position of supporting theSDLP as a fellow member of the so-called “Socialist International”. Theeight Labour Party members whostood have risked expulsion to do so.Now, all Labour Party members mustconsider the way forward. In particu-lar, they need to address the questionas to whether a party which appearsto originate outside the North is themost likely vehicle by which votingon a class basis, as opposed to a sec-tarian basis, will become establishedhere.

PBPA breakthrough

The biggest news story from the elec-tions is undoubtedly the success ofthe People Before Profit Alliance(PBPA). Gerry Carroll topped the pollin West Belfast and Eamonn McCannwon a seat in Foyle after comingfourth on the first count. GerryCarroll is known as a hard worker onthe ground and a fighter who speaksout in support of workers in struggle.Eamonn McCann has been a promi-nent activist since the 1960s. Bothhave capitalised on growing disen-chantment with SF in its heartlands.PBPA has also drawn a vote awayfrom the SDLP. Various commenta-tors have suggested that the PBPAhas attracted votes which otherwisemight go to dissidents republicans, if

they were to stand, and this isundoubtedly true. They have alsoattracted new, young voters whohave no time for the dissidents, andolder voters who have had enough oftired, old sectarian parties, however.

The success of PBPA is to be wel-comed. It represents a break with theold, sectarian parties and is a voteagainst austerity. It is entirely possi-ble that the advent of left voices inthe Assembly will help to create aspace for class-based politics. Thereare dangers ahead, however, and it isnecessary to point to these at thisearly stage.

Much depends on how the twoPBPA MLAs perform now that theyhave been elected. It is inevitablethat contentious issues will come up,perhaps within weeks. Gerry Carrolland Eamonn McCann have, in thepast, taken positions on issues suchas parades which are, in the opinionof the Socialist Party, one-sided. Ifthey were to do so again in thefuture, with the greatly increasedpublicity which will be provided byholding Assembly seats, then thiswould be very problematic. There isalready a tendency to associatesocialism with republicanism. In thetense and dangerous climate createdby conflict on the streets, a one-sidedintervention by PBPA could possiblymake worse an already bad situation.

If this sounds like an unlikely pos-sibility, or even far-fetched, then weshould examine the lessons from thepast. In 1996, rioting erupted acrossCatholic areas of the North after anOrange Order march was forceddown the Garvaghy Road inPortadown by the police and army. Inthis tense atmosphere, a call wentout for the blocking of CraigavonBridge in Derry to prevent theApprentice Boys parade crossing iton its annual march on August 10th.If the parade had been blocked, whocan now doubt that the result would

have been an intensification of vio-lence with a risk of all-out conflictbetween communities? The responseat the time of the Socialist WorkersParty (SWP) – the organisationwhich is central to PBPA and towhich Eamon McCann and GerryCarroll belong – was to pour petrolon the flames. A leaflet was issued bythe SWP calling for a mass turnout toblock the bridge. Thais was a seriouserror. It is to be hoped that lessonshave been learned from this time butthere is no evidence that this is thecase.

Cross-communityLabour Alternative

The Socialist Party is very consciousof the need to overcome the reality ofsectarian division. We worked withothers to form Cross-CommunityLabour Alternative (CCLA) in orderto provide a clear, anti-sectarian andleft alternative in this election. Westood on an anti-austerity and pro-equality platform. A vote for CCLAwas not an easy vote for anyone whowanted to stay within the umbrellaof their “own” community. The“cross-community” label was adopt-ed to make this absolutely clear.

CCLA stood three young candi-dates: 18-year-old CourtneyRobinson in East Belfast, 19-year-oldSean Burns in South Belfast and 24-year-old Conor Sheridan in EastAntrim. Courtney won 517 votes,Sean 871 and Conor 551. This is avery creditable 2000 votes acrossthree constituencies which includeboth Protestant and Catholic work-ing class areas. These votes were thehighest achieved by radical left can-didates in these areas for more thana quarter of a century. The votes inSouth and East Belfast were won inthe teeth of major campaigns by theGreens.

We are proud of the stand that we

made in the election. We fought forvotes in both Protestant and Catholicareas. The Labour Alternative elec-tion campaign has put down a mark-er for the future. We gained a goodresponse on the doorsteps with ourmessage and we have been noticed.Unionist commentator Alex Kanedescribed our “raw energy and pas-sion” and nationalist commentatorFionnuala O’Connor our “wide-eyedif cock-eyed optimism”!

Above all else, Labour Alternativestood to point the way forward. Inthe aftermath of the election, we willorganise in local areas and will talkto others to consider how we bestproceed in the longer term struggleto establish class-based and anti-sec-tarian politics as the only way for-ward. Labour Alternative will engagein the struggles of working people inthe years ahead and will stand candi-dates across the three constituencieswe contested and further afield inthe local council elections in 2019.

The Way AheadThe incoming Executive will be

one of austerity and discrimination.Over the next five years, workers willinevitably resist the cuts, local cam-paigns will develop, and opportuni-ties will be presented for the furtheradvancement of a real alternative tothe sectarian parties.

We need a new party which repre-sents both Catholic and Protestantworking people. Such a party shouldseek to involve trade union activists,community activists, and young peo-ple who are up for a fight on socialissues. All those who are on the leftwith regards to social and economicissues, and who also reject sectarian-ism in all its forms, should be joinand become active in buildingLabour Alternative as a serious steptowards such a party.

for more info, visit labouralternative.org or email

info@labouralternative.org

Assembly elections

Main Parties suffer setbacks – How Do We build a real alternative?

an

aly

sis

this is an editedversion of a longerarticle which canbe found onsocialistpartyni.net

“Sectarian divisionhas not been

overcome, the lotof ordinary

working classpeople has not

improved, and theviolence which

blights workingclass communitieshas not gone away.

the results of theelection reflected

this anger”

DUP, Sinn Fein and an independent are now the only parties in the Executive

Green Party received anti-austerity votes, but their opposition to austerityis suspect, as seen by their support for water charges

Mike Nesbitt and Colm Eastwood have brought the UUP and SDLP into opposition in Stormont

June 2016

THE SOCIALIST9

The ASSeMbLy elections heldon May 5th saw the DUP andSinn Féin remain the largest

parties, further consolidatingtheir position as the main repre-sentatives of the Protestant andCatholic communities respective-ly. The UUP and the SDLP failed tomount significant challenges totheir dominance.

These headline results mask verysignificant developments, however.There is widespread and profounddisillusionment with the failure ofthe twenty-five year old “peaceprocess” to deliver real change.Sectarian division has not been over-come, the lot of ordinary workingclass people has not improved, andthe violence which blights workingclass communities has not goneaway. The results of the electionreflected this anger.

The turnout of voters in this elec-tion fell yet again, and the votereceived by all of the five Executiveparties declined. Importantly, candi-dates who stood outside the sectari-an camps, to one degree or another,won good votes. The Greens had avery good election, trebling theirtotal vote to over 18,000 and win-ning a second MLA seat. Mostnotably, the People Before ProfitAlliance (PBPA) won seats in WestBelfast and Foyle in a result whichwas the single biggest story of theelection.

DUP See off ChallengesWithin Unionism

Large numbers of workers andyoung people are turning away fromthe five parties which have formedthe Executive for a decade, fed upwith the cuts and the lack of progresson issues such as marriage equalityand abortion rights. The turnout inAssembly elections has been fallingconsistently. It fell again in this elec-tion, if only by a further 1%. Themain parties had reported disinter-est or even hostility on thedoorsteps.

The main issue in the election wasclear for the two main parties -whether the DUP or SF would comeout top with the most MLAs, andhence with the prize of the post ofFirst Minister. The DUP conducted apresidential style and openly sectari-an campaign, calling on Protestantsto keep new leader Arlene Foster inthe First Minister’s chair and to pre-vent Martin McGuinness from replac-ing her. They made sure to consoli-date their core vote by promising touse their ability as the largest partyof Unionism to block equal rights forgay people for another five years.

These tactics allowed the DUP tosee off a challenge from its right inthe guise of the hard-line TraditionalUnionist Voice and UKIP, thoughtogether these parties did win a not-insignificant 34,000 votes comparedto the DUP’s 203,000. Both partiesare weaker coming out of the election

– the TUV leader Jim Allister remainsisolated at Stormont and UKIP are nolonger represented there.

The UUP had high hopes of makinggains after modest success at the lastWestminster and local electionsunder its new leader Mike Nesbitt.Instead, it lost votes and came backwith exactly the same number ofseats. This is a serious setback forthem. They have reacted by refusingto take seats in the new Executiveand instead going into opposition, amove which will allow it to capitaliseon disenchantment in Protestantareas over the next five years.

The UVF-linked PUP also had a badelection, failing to capitalise on itssuccess in winning several councilseats in 2014. That year may come inretrospect to be seen as a false dawnfor the PUP, but it should not be for-gotten that its local election successwas propelled by the turmoil aroundthe flag protests and a it could gain asimilar impetus in the futuredepending on events. Young work-ing-class Protestants feel left behindby the peace process. When they lookaround, all they see is an educationaland employment wasteland.Working class Protestant areas havethe worst school exam results andtraditional jobs in manufacturingindustry have been decimated.Future eruptions of anger onto thestreets are inevitable. These sameareas have a proud but half-forgottentradition of strong trade unionorganisation and labour and socialistpolitics. Despite the sneers of sectar-ian cynics, that tradition has not diedand will help provide the bedrock fora new politics which unitesProtestant and Catholic workers.

Sinn fein and cross-class alliances

Sinn Féin (SF) continued with itswell-established all-class allianceapproach in the election, askingCatholics to “put Ireland first”. InSouth Belfast, its candidate was aself-described “entrepreneur” who,without irony, boasted of his busi-ness acumen and connections whilstcalling for “equality” for all (presum-ably entrepreneurs are more equalthan others).

It did not repeat the mistake ofnakedly calling for a vote on a sectar-ian basis as Gerry Kelly did in NorthBelfast at the Westminster electionbut its appeal to voters is simply oneto out-vote “the other side”. Sinn Féintried to capitalise on the centenary ofthe 1916 Rising through frequentreferences to the events of 100 yearsago in its literature. It called forCatholics to “Join the Rising”.

Despite all its efforts, SF’s vote felland it lost one seat. Nevertheless, iteasily defeated the SDLP, which wasunable to halt its decline in bothvotes and seats. The once dominantSDLP have been going backwards forfifteen years as SF advances its posi-tion as the dominant party in theCatholic community. Panic-stricken,it unceremoniously ditched its previ-ous leader six months before theelection and installed a new, youngerfigure, Colm Eastwood. He is deemedby the media to have performed wellagainst SF Deputy First MinisterMartin McGuinness but the long termdecline of the SDLP continues. Thelogic of sectarian politics is to votefor the candidate who most loudlyand robustly represents “your com-

munity” and the SDLP find it difficultto out-manoeuvre SF on this count.Seeking a way out of electoral obliv-ion, it has now joined the UUP on theopposition benches.

The decline in both SF’s and theSDLP’s vote meant that the totalnationalist and republican share ofthe vote fell. This is difficult for SF, inparticular, to explain, given itsrepeated assertions that Catholicswill simply vote Protestants into aunited Ireland in time. When chal-lenged on this point immediatelyafter the election, John O’Dowdplaintively called for the votes of var-ious “independents” to be includedin the nationalist and republicantotal, without specifying which can-didates he had in mind (Nolan Show,Radio Ulster, May 9th). Since then, SFfigures have suggested that thePeople Before Profit vote comes fromthe same “pool” as their vote.

Some commentators argue thatthe reason Catholics are now lesslikely to vote is because they areincreasingly content with the statusquo. In fact many Catholics, in partic-ular the working class and young, aremore and more fed up with the waythings are. Those who once looked toSF are angry that it is implementingcuts and appears to have abandonedthe most down-trodden layers inCatholic areas. The result is a turningaway from SF with both positive andnegative results: many Catholics,especially young people, are seekinga genuine way forward and trying tocast their vote accordingly but othersare lining up behind one or other ofthe multiple varieties of “dissident”republicanism. None of the forceswhich claim this mantle offer anyway out of the problems of impover-ished communities. Instead, theirbackward-looking and reactionarypolitics will only lead in the directionof increased sectarian division. Onlythe creation of a cross-communityleft alternative offers a real alterna-tive.

The fifth of the large parties in theoutgoing governing Executive wasthe Alliance Party. It appeals forvotes from both Catholics andProtestants but its base is largely inthe middle class and it puts forwardright wing economic policies. Inrecent times prominent members ofAlliance have called for increases instudent fees and the introduction ofwater charges. Alliance had hoped togain seats in some areas, standingadditional candidates in East andSouth Belfast, for example. In the endit too lost votes and it came backwith the same number of seats, end-ing a run of six elections when itsvote was edging upwards, and losingthe right to automatic entry into theExecutive.

Alternative candidatespoll well

Whilst the DUP and SF competed forpoll position on a simple sectarianhead-count, they in effect stood onthe same programme for govern-ment. The centrepiece of their nextfive-year term of office will be the“Fresh Start” Agreement, a deal forwhich the DUP and SF can claimcredit as its architects. Fresh Starthas many clauses but it can bereduced to one simple equation: taxcuts for big business paid for throughpublic sector job cuts.

The virtually identical economic

and social policies of the big five par-ties was one reason for the increasein votes for candidates from outsidethe main parties. The beneficiarieswere the Greens, the LabourAlternative platform initiated by theSocialist Party with others, but espe-cially the high votes achieved by thePBPA.

The Green Party provide a homefor some of those who are turned offby sectarian politics. Many youngpeople are drawn to its non-sectari-anism, its environmental policies,and its position on a woman’s rightto choose and the rights of LBGT peo-ple. The Greens have also taken avocal anti-austerity stance, throughits one MLA in the last Assembly,Stephen Agnew. He has now beenjoined at Stormont by Clare Bailey,who won a seat in South Belfast. Theanti-austerity credentials of theGreen Party are suspect, however.The clearest indication of this is thatits members have called for theintroduction of water charges, a taxwhich hits the poorest hardest. TheGreen Party indicated their willing-ness to join the new Executive by tak-ing the Justice Ministry, and thusbecome a party of government.Green parties in a series of othercountries have gone down that roadin recent years and in every casehave imposed cuts and other right-wing policies.

Eight members of the BritishLabour Party stood under the titleNorthern Ireland LabourRepresentation Committee (NILRC).Over the last year, the British LabourParty has grown remarkably in theNorth. It now claims more than 1,700full and “£3” members – a clearresponse to the election of JeremyCorbyn as Party leader. The LabourParty in Northern Ireland declaredits wish to stand in the Assemblyelections but was blocked from doingso by the L National ExecutiveCommittee (NEC) in London. TheNEC is “reviewing” its position onstanding in elections in NorthernIreland but, for now, is sticking to itshistoric position of supporting theSDLP as a fellow member of the so-called “Socialist International”. Theeight Labour Party members whostood have risked expulsion to do so.Now, all Labour Party members mustconsider the way forward. In particu-lar, they need to address the questionas to whether a party which appearsto originate outside the North is themost likely vehicle by which votingon a class basis, as opposed to a sec-tarian basis, will become establishedhere.

PBPA breakthrough

The biggest news story from the elec-tions is undoubtedly the success ofthe People Before Profit Alliance(PBPA). Gerry Carroll topped the pollin West Belfast and Eamonn McCannwon a seat in Foyle after comingfourth on the first count. GerryCarroll is known as a hard worker onthe ground and a fighter who speaksout in support of workers in struggle.Eamonn McCann has been a promi-nent activist since the 1960s. Bothhave capitalised on growing disen-chantment with SF in its heartlands.PBPA has also drawn a vote awayfrom the SDLP. Various commenta-tors have suggested that the PBPAhas attracted votes which otherwisemight go to dissidents republicans, if

they were to stand, and this isundoubtedly true. They have alsoattracted new, young voters whohave no time for the dissidents, andolder voters who have had enough oftired, old sectarian parties, however.

The success of PBPA is to be wel-comed. It represents a break with theold, sectarian parties and is a voteagainst austerity. It is entirely possi-ble that the advent of left voices inthe Assembly will help to create aspace for class-based politics. Thereare dangers ahead, however, and it isnecessary to point to these at thisearly stage.

Much depends on how the twoPBPA MLAs perform now that theyhave been elected. It is inevitablethat contentious issues will come up,perhaps within weeks. Gerry Carrolland Eamonn McCann have, in thepast, taken positions on issues suchas parades which are, in the opinionof the Socialist Party, one-sided. Ifthey were to do so again in thefuture, with the greatly increasedpublicity which will be provided byholding Assembly seats, then thiswould be very problematic. There isalready a tendency to associatesocialism with republicanism. In thetense and dangerous climate createdby conflict on the streets, a one-sidedintervention by PBPA could possiblymake worse an already bad situation.

If this sounds like an unlikely pos-sibility, or even far-fetched, then weshould examine the lessons from thepast. In 1996, rioting erupted acrossCatholic areas of the North after anOrange Order march was forceddown the Garvaghy Road inPortadown by the police and army. Inthis tense atmosphere, a call wentout for the blocking of CraigavonBridge in Derry to prevent theApprentice Boys parade crossing iton its annual march on August 10th.If the parade had been blocked, whocan now doubt that the result would

have been an intensification of vio-lence with a risk of all-out conflictbetween communities? The responseat the time of the Socialist WorkersParty (SWP) – the organisationwhich is central to PBPA and towhich Eamon McCann and GerryCarroll belong – was to pour petrolon the flames. A leaflet was issued bythe SWP calling for a mass turnout toblock the bridge. Thais was a seriouserror. It is to be hoped that lessonshave been learned from this time butthere is no evidence that this is thecase.

Cross-communityLabour Alternative

The Socialist Party is very consciousof the need to overcome the reality ofsectarian division. We worked withothers to form Cross-CommunityLabour Alternative (CCLA) in orderto provide a clear, anti-sectarian andleft alternative in this election. Westood on an anti-austerity and pro-equality platform. A vote for CCLAwas not an easy vote for anyone whowanted to stay within the umbrellaof their “own” community. The“cross-community” label was adopt-ed to make this absolutely clear.

CCLA stood three young candi-dates: 18-year-old CourtneyRobinson in East Belfast, 19-year-oldSean Burns in South Belfast and 24-year-old Conor Sheridan in EastAntrim. Courtney won 517 votes,Sean 871 and Conor 551. This is avery creditable 2000 votes acrossthree constituencies which includeboth Protestant and Catholic work-ing class areas. These votes were thehighest achieved by radical left can-didates in these areas for more thana quarter of a century. The votes inSouth and East Belfast were won inthe teeth of major campaigns by theGreens.

We are proud of the stand that we

made in the election. We fought forvotes in both Protestant and Catholicareas. The Labour Alternative elec-tion campaign has put down a mark-er for the future. We gained a goodresponse on the doorsteps with ourmessage and we have been noticed.Unionist commentator Alex Kanedescribed our “raw energy and pas-sion” and nationalist commentatorFionnuala O’Connor our “wide-eyedif cock-eyed optimism”!

Above all else, Labour Alternativestood to point the way forward. Inthe aftermath of the election, we willorganise in local areas and will talkto others to consider how we bestproceed in the longer term struggleto establish class-based and anti-sec-tarian politics as the only way for-ward. Labour Alternative will engagein the struggles of working people inthe years ahead and will stand candi-dates across the three constituencieswe contested and further afield inthe local council elections in 2019.

The Way AheadThe incoming Executive will be

one of austerity and discrimination.Over the next five years, workers willinevitably resist the cuts, local cam-paigns will develop, and opportuni-ties will be presented for the furtheradvancement of a real alternative tothe sectarian parties.

We need a new party which repre-sents both Catholic and Protestantworking people. Such a party shouldseek to involve trade union activists,community activists, and young peo-ple who are up for a fight on socialissues. All those who are on the leftwith regards to social and economicissues, and who also reject sectarian-ism in all its forms, should be joinand become active in buildingLabour Alternative as a serious steptowards such a party.

for more info, visit labouralternative.org or email

info@labouralternative.org

Assembly elections

Main Parties suffer setbacks – How Do We build a real alternative?

an

aly

sis

Labour Alternative stood on a cross-community, socialist platform

June 2016

THE SOCIALIST10

US

ele

ctio

ns

INTerNATIoNALLy, yoUNGpeople and workers have

reacted with shock and disgustto the Presidential campaign ofDonald Trump. his platform ofopen bigotry – describingMexican immigrants as “rapists”,calling for a ban on Muslimsentering the US and calling forthe criminalisation of womenwho have abortions – has pro-voked massive anger.

The threat from Trump is seri-ous. His dangerous brand of right-wing populism has the potential toseriously threaten the lives of allworkers. We have to make a seri-ous attempt to understand thebasis upon which Trump has wonsupport. Dismissing him as a jokedoes not adequately address thedanger he poses.

Trump has won support from asignificant section of the whiteworking-class which is disenfran-chised with the Republican elite.His support primarily comes fromthe poorest regions in the USwhich have been rocked by de-industrialisation and have high lev-els of unemployment. The systemhas failed these people. A deep-seated anger against the corruptand aloof political elite has devel-oped, and this is what Trump hastapped into. At the first Republicanprimary debate, he said:

“I will tell you that our system isbroken. I gave to many people.Before this, before two months ago,I was a businessman. I give toeverybody. When they call, I give.And you know what? When I needsomething from them, two yearslater, three years later, I call them.They are there for me. And that's abroken system.”

Trump's aim, however, ratherthan challenging that system is toreinforce it. His politics deflectfrom the failures of capitalism andblames them instead on migrants

and ethnic minorities. He is part ofthe class responsible for the domi-nation of Wall Street, inequalityand poverty. He intends to scape-goat minorities and, in doing so,preserve the position of the 1%.

While they are overwhelminglyopposed to his populist position,the Republican Party establish-

ment are responsible for the rise ofTrump. They have made conscioususe of chauvinistic and racistscaremongering to undermineObama and now the chickens havecame home to roost. Trump hasemerged as a candidate who hastaken their rhetoric even furtherand is now out of their control.

US Presidential race

The Good, the Bad & the Ugly

Bernie Sanders & the need fora political revolution

IN THIS context, SenatorBernie Sanders has emergedas a serious challenger toClinton’s coronation as theDemocratic nominee. His callfor a political revolutionagainst the billionaires andsupport for ‘democraticsocialism’ has resonated witha huge layer of workers andyoung people. He hasaddressed monster rallies oftens of thousands in citiesacross the US. He has tappedinto the desire to sweepaway the rotten vestments ofthe current system which hasfailed the vast majority.

For the millennial generation,the American dream is littlemore than a cruel joke.Unemployment, the chains ofstudent debt and growinginequality have shackled youngpeople to a life of poverty.Sanders is the embodiment ofthe desire change, the hope fora break with the status quo.

The Democratic Party hasshown itself to be anything butdemocratic. While Sanders haswon victories in state afterstate and is neck-and-neck withClinton in elected delegates,the super-delegates – made upof elected officials and otherparty grandees – are over-whelmingly on the side ofClinton. The party’s machineryhas been mobilised to doeverything possible to cutacross Sanders’ momentum.

It now seems that Sanderswill lose the primary race dueto these undemocraticmanoeuvres. He now has achoice – to let this movementdie a death or to carry it on for-ward building a real challenge

to the billionaire class. We havereached a historic point in histo-ry where the fate of the two-party system hangs on a knifeedge. Those have flocked toSanders in support of his chal-lenge have laid the basis for anew party – a party free fromthe domination of the 1%, aparty which will fight for theinterests of workers and theoppressed. Sanders shouldrefuse to back Clinton andinstead stand as an independentcandidate, using his campaignas a vehicle to build a new partyfor the 99%.

Such a party has to be organ-ically connected to the strugglesof ordinary people throughoutthe US, whether it be the BlackLives Matter movement, thestruggle for a $15/hour mini-mum wage, the student strug-gles for free tuition or the envi-ronmental fight to save ourplanet. It is only through the cre-ation of such a force that the99% can deal a substantial blowto the the 1%. Sanders has thepotential to pave the way forthe creation of such a party if hetakes the necessary steps. If hefails to do so, it will fall to rank-and-file labour and left activiststo ensure the momentumbehind Sanders’ campaign isnot lost but instead channel itinto the fight for a political voicefor workers, young people andthe oppressed.

Clinton – Wall Street’s candidate

hILLAry CLINToN offers noreal alternative to Trump or

any republican. She representsthe continuation of the statusquo. A former executive at union-busting multinational WalMartand a hawkish Secretary of Statewho has consistently backedimperialist wars abroad, she ispart and parcel of the Democraticestablishment.

In the 1990s, Clinton backed herhusband’s gutting of the welfaresystem which plunged millionsdeeper into poverty. She has

referred to black youth as “super-predators” and has, in the past,opposed LGBT rights. Her current‘progressive’ face is merely cynicalposturing.

Clinton's bid for the democraticnomination has been greeted bysome as a historic attempt to electthe first female President. Yet shehas failed to attract majority sup-port from young women. Variouspolitical pundits have attempted toexplain this away. In reality, it isbecause she does not convincinglyspeak to the concerns and aspira-

tions of the majority.Polls are showing that in the

event of a Clinton vs TrumpPresidential race, Clinton leads onlyby a slim majority. Anti-Trumpactivists should not fall into the trapof lesser-evilism and cheerleadingfor Clinton – to do so will allowTrump to further build upon anti-establishment sentiment andpotentially ride to victory. Buildingan anti-corporate, left-wing force isthe best way to undermine supportfor Trump.

THe UNITeD States is the heartland of internationalcapitalism. It is the land of “The American Dream”,

where we are told that each and every individual –regardless of race, religion or economic position – hasan equal opportunity to succeed and climb to thehighest echelons of society, writes SeAN BUrNS.

for the vast majority, however, this dream hasbecome a nightmare. The US continues to rank as oneof the most unequal societies in the world. The top 1%have more wealth income than the bottom 90%.Poverty is growing as wages fall and prices rise. racistpolicing continues to oppress the black people. Thereare, in reality, two Americas – one of extravagance,extreme wealth and luxury and another of poverty,oppression and despair. Now, the American two-partysystem and the political establishment are facingrevolts from within their own ranks in the form ofDonal Trump and Bernie Sanders.

Trump – the billionaire megalomaniac

PROTEST RALLY5pm Friday 17th JuneBelfast City HallContact Sean on 07709276057 for more info

DUMP TRUMP!

June 2016

THE SOCIALIST11

By Gary Mulcahy

AS We go to press, workersand young people acrossFrance are pitched in an

intense conflict over the so-called Socialist Party govern-ment’s attempt to introduce dra-conian anti-worker legislation.on 26 May, an estimated300,000 people marched againstPresident hollande’s plans,which include removing restric-tions on bosses firing workers,extending the 35-hour workingweek to up to 46 hours, givingbosses more powers to cutwages and slashing maternityleave and holiday time.

Workers across several tradeunion federations have went onstrike, leading to oil refineries andelectricity power stations beingshut down. The response of thestate has been to attack demon-strators with CS spray, which hasbackfired on the government.

The national emergency calledin response to the terror attacks inParis last November is still in place,outlawing all public demonstra-

tions. Yet, Nuit Debout (NightRising) – a new movement inspiredby Occupy Wall Street and theIndignados movement in Spain –has seen nightly assemblies ofmostly young people in public

squares where opposition to thegovernments labour laws havebeen discussed. They have alsobeen used by people to raise allsorts of issues affecting them.Youth unemployment has hit 25 %

across the country, but is evenhigher in the cities where youngpeople see no future.

Many people want to see a com-plete change in how society is run,echoing the revolutionary uprising

of May 1968, but there is no masspolitical alternative which resiststhe neo-liberal agenda of the gov-ernment. With the far-right FrontNationale attempting to stir up anti-immigrant and racist moods in soci-ety, there needs to be democratical-ly convened assemblies involvingthe youth and workers who are pre-pared to fight the government todiscuss the formation of a new massparty, with federal structures tounite left parties, to fight for work-ing class people and put forward aprincipled socialist alternative.

The strike movement hasalready shaken the ruling SocialistParty, with more than 50 MPs com-ing out against Hollande’s labourlaws. Hollande and others in thegovernment have even suggestedcertain changes. This is a clearindication of the unpopularity ofthe government’s plans. Hollandehas the lowest ratings of any presi-dent in French history. Thisfavourable situation should beseized by the leadership of thetrade union movement to escalateand broaden mass strike action inthe coming weeks.

By Oisín McKeown

eCoNoMIC AND social turmoilhas now caused a political

crisis in both brazil andVenezuela. In both cases, the tra-ditional right-wing parties haveused the economic crisis toattempt coups against the cur-rent governments.

The Venezuelan right have longbeen waiting for the opportunity tomove against President NicolásMaduro, Hugo Chávez’s successorand leader of the United SocialistParty (PSUV). Since coming topower in 1999, the Chavista gov-ernment have made many positivesocial reforms and made big stepsin tackling inequality. However itfell well short of implementing agenuinely socialist programme ofnationalisation and workers’ con-trol. As a result, the PSUV govern-ment has allowed Venezuela’seconomy to be exposed to the tur-bulence of the market and the eco-nomic sabotage of internationalcapitalists.

The Venezuelan right have usedthe current crisis of inflation anddrastic shortage of everyday goodsto rally support against Maduro’sgovernment. In April, the SupremeCourt shot down an attempt by theright-wing controlled Congress toshorten the Presidential term, anattempt to force an early election.They are now collecting signaturesfrom Venezuelans in an attempt totrigger a recall referendum andremove Maduro.

In Brazil, the coup againstPresident Dilma Rousseff of theBrazilian “Workers Party” (PT) hasalready taken place. Dilma wasremoved on the 12th of May by theright-wing in Brazil’s Chamber of

Deputies. She has been replaced byformer Vice-President MichelTemer, a man synonymous withcorruption. Dilma’s governmenthas been guilty of implementing aprogramme of austerity and anti-worker counter reforms. This,combined with an economic situa-tion spiralling out of control with10 million now unemployed,undermined her support amongstthe working class.

Despite her neo-liberal agenda,the coup against her must beopposed as these undemocratictactics set a precedent for muchharsher undemocratic attacks bythe right-wing against Brazil’sworking class. Temer’s new gov-ernment has already announcedyet more counter-reforms and planto accelerate the pace of privatisa-tion and austerity. Prior to thecoup, school students had occu-pied government buildingsprotesting cuts and many publicsector workers were on strike.Temer’s cuts and the right-wing’s

attack on democracy are likely tosee these movements grow. TheCUT, Brazil’s main federation oftrade unions, is now coming underpressure from workers to takeaction against neo-liberalism inBrazil.

In both countries and interna-tionally, it is time for the workers’movements to mobilise againstthese undemocratic manoeuvres.In Venezuela, Maduro’s govern-ment must step up its actionagainst the capitalist class wishingto remove them. His governmentmust take control of the economythrough nationalisation and work-ers’ control to stop the economicsabotage and to ensure he regainsthe confidence and support of theworking class. In Brazil, it is impor-tant the left stands against thecoup, whilst also taking a standagainst the austerity of both Temerand Dilma. A genuine struggle ofworkers against this could formthe basis for a new party of theworking class to replace the PT.

France: Revolt against attack on workers’ rights

By Aaron Spiers

IN The South, after a pro-longed period with no gov-

ernment, Fine Gael’s endaKenny has managed to retainhis crown as Taoiseach (PrimeMinister) ; however, its place onhis head has never been moretentative after the main par-ties’ tallied their lowest com-bined vote in the history of thestate in February’s generalelection.

Amidst a tentative alliance withperennial rivals Fianna Fáil, theFine Gael minority governmenthas been forced to suspend thecontroversial water charges. Thisis the narrative anyway, that themainstream media would have usaccept. In reality, the watercharges have not been suspendedby the benevolent hand of FiannaFáil’s Micheál Martin - on the con-trary, Martin's party once soughtto impose a similar tax upon theworking class themselves.Instead, the establishment's handhas been forced by the strong andcohesive action of the people,who boycotted the austerity taxen masse and took part in massdemonstrations.

Similarly, the JobBridge scheme– an exploitative ‘work for yourdole scheme’ aptly dubbed'ScamBridge' by its opponents,including the Socialist Party – hasalso been placed on the back-burner. Tellingly, the Irish LabourParty, who defended the schememost zealously, have even turnedtheir back on the policy.

The establishment hopes thatthe suspension of these policiesalone will serve to quell the angerwhich has manifested itself so

actively among ordinary people.The quango Irish Water remains aregistered entity. JobBridge, itseems has a successor of its own,in a collection of more targeted(read: ruthless) policies, perhapsthe most disgusting among themthe 'Fit for Work' scheme – anefarious stripping of benefitsfrom disabled people liftedstraight from the Tory playbook,that incidentally saw 2,380 peo-ple dead within six months ofbeing declared "fit to work", andsubsequently losing their bene-fits. The Irish establishment’sown scheme will yield similar cat-astrophic results.

Kenny et al will be disappoint-ed then, when the newly foundfervour of Irish working people isnot so easily muzzled.Emboldened by the victories wonthrough struggle, groups of work-ers – including Tesco staff andLuas tram drivers in Dublin – arestanding up to defend their rightsand conditions through industrialaction. The rediscovered methodof active resistance will not berestricted to a single issue, andinstead will be the new norm forwhat is the least popular govern-ment in the history of the state.

South: new governmentbruised by mass resistance

Latin America: Right-Wing on the Offensive

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Protest against President Dilma in Brazil

Tens of thousands of workers and young people in France have marched against new anti-worker legislation

JOIN THE SOCIALIST PARTY! Text ‘JOIN’ to 07821058319 www.socialistpartyni.net

PaPer of the SocialiSt Party iSSue 97 June 2016

By Kevin Henry

THe refereNDUM on the UK’smembership of the eU is set to bean important political event thatwill shape political developmentsin Britain, Ireland and acrosseurope in the years to come.

Socialists want to see a Europethat is run in the interests of themillions, not the millionaires. The EUproject is the polar opposite of this.It was a central part of the “Troika”which imposed austerity on theworking class of Europe, including inthe South. It imposed technocraticgovernments of bankers on thepeople of Greece and Italy andacted to corral SYRIZA when it waselected by the Greek people to endthe nightmare of austerity.

The EU has institutionalised neo-liberal policies in various treaties

including the Lisbon Treaty andStability Treaty and throughinternational free trade agreements.This includes the TTIP agreementbeing negotiated between the EUand US, which will allowgovernments to be sued bymultinationals when labour, healthand environmental regulations limittheir ability to profiteer.

Many believe the EU is aguarantor of human rights.However, its “Fortress Europe”immigration policies which haveresulted in the deaths of tens ofthousands of refugees fleeing warshow that to be a sick lie. Despiteprotests across Europe demandinga humanitarian approach to therefugee crisis, the EU has acted toreinforce its borders, includingdoing a dirty deal with thereactionary Turkish government to

effectively establish prison campsfor refugees. Meanwhile, theEuropean Court of Justice upheldthe DUP's homophobic 'gay blood'ban.

Crucially, the EU cannot bereformed. The Parliament we electcannot initiate its own legislation,only tinker with the laws putforward by the right-wing,unelected European Commission.Power is increasingly beingconcentrated in the hands ofunelected technocrats who act inthe interests of the 1%. Breakingfrom the EU will be a necessarystep in the fight for a leftgovernment which implementspolicies in the interests of workingpeople.

Despite the bravado, the Torygovernment is weak and has beforced into u-turn after u-turn on

their right-wing programme. The EUdebate has opened up divisionswithin the Tories. Cameron andOsborne – representing themajority of the capitalistestablishment – support remainingwithin the EU. A vote to leave willescalate these divisions, withCameron fundamentallyundermined and the bosses’ partyfacing a serious succession crisis.

For capitalism, this referendum ishigh stakes and their ‘Project Fear’has gone into overdrive to try tosecure victory. Socialists say weshould vote against the fear-mongers, break with the EU andjoin the fight to build a differentEurope run in the interests of the99% - a socialist Europe based oninternational solidarity between theworking class and oppressed, notexploitation and inequality.

THe SOCIALIST PArTY SAYS:

l fight austerity fromBrussels, westminster andStormont

l No to fortress europe! Letthe refugees in, fight for jobsand homes for all

l No to wars and occupa-tions! Oppose eU militarisation

l Yes to workers’ unity andreal international solidarity

l Vote against the bosses’ eU– fight for a europe run forthe millions, not the millionaires

Vote to LEaVE the Bosses’ EU

Fight for a Europe of the 99%