NHS faces ‘crisis of the government’s making’
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/nhs-faces-crisis-of-the-governments-making
Austerity-hit services are ‘bursting at the seams’ as waiting lists balloon to record high of over seven million
THE NHS is facing a “crisis of the government’s making,” the labour movement stressed yesterday after official figures showed treatment waiting lists have ballooned to a record high of more than seven million people.
…
Unison slammed the numbers, saying they “paint a bleak picture of the state of the NHS.
“There are too few staff to provide safe patient care, and as more leave for better paid work, so waiting times and delays worsen,” head of health Sara Gorton stressed.
“The government must get a grip and start talking to unions about pay.”
…
The solution is resistance
Now is the time to be joining demonstrations, occupations and the picket lines writes JOHN MCDONNELL MP
Brighton by Socialist Appeal at Wikimedia Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/f/blackrock-power-behind-throne
…
We need to be out there in the streets, taking every opportunity we can to hold this government to account and linking up all the forms of resistance taking place.
As well as the large numbers of people taking industrial action to try and secure decent wages, there are renters campaigning against eviction, people with disabilities campaigning to ensure their benefits are not cut, climate justice campaigners and a whole range of social movements saying no to the Tories’ agenda.
So, what way forward for our movement? The solution is deepening this resistance at all levels, and that means joining demonstrations, occupations and the picket lines — and it also means discussing the alternatives we need around a socialist policy programme.
This programme must be based on redistributive taxation that will fund our public services and address the poverty and inequality that scar our society. And it must include securing stable, long-term investment in our infrastructure and in our people — including through extending public ownership — so we can mobilise our whole economy to tackle the challenges ahead and the rising challenge of climate change.
Follow John on Twitter @johnmcdonnellmp.
Just Stop Oil activists disrupt traffic calling for U-turn on coal decision
Just Stop Oil supporters have disrupted traffic on key routes in Central London today to demand that the government halts all new oil and gas licences and consents and reverses yesterday’s decision on a new coal mine.
15 Just Stop Oil supporters wearing hi-vis vests walked onto Whitechapel Road, East London at 8.15am and proceeded to march slowly east and then west causing delays to traffic. The march continued onto Commercial Road.
Sophie Holland, 51, a mum of three and NHS speech therapist from Bristol said:
“My concern for the future of everything has reached the point it seems reasonable, responsible even, to be in the streets demanding change. Why is our government not listening to Sir David King, Sir David Attenborough, the many 1000’s of scientists and the UN Secretary General who can’t make it any clearer: either we change, or we perish. Still the government plans for more oil, gas and now coal. They are killing us, our natural world, our children’s futures.
“I work with people with severe asthma and long Covid, who struggle to breathe. Air pollution will get worse, as will fires, floods, hunger. It is beyond contention. A liveable future is possible, but only if we stop new oil and gas. I’m terrified. I want my children to die of old age. What I can’t understand is why isn’t everyone on the streets, shouting for change?
Teresa Garlake, 59, a former teacher and mother of 2 young adults from Oxford said:
“As a teacher I worked to help children believe in themselves and their power to be good citizens. What future do they have now? Our government knows full well that allowing the extraction of new oil and gas resources in the UK will destroy everything we hold dear. Yet it continues to subsidise the fossil fuel industries with billions of pounds every year.
“I don’t want to be here causing disruption, but the fact is that the real disruption is being caused by a government that continues to support a fossil fuel industry that is bringing about an unliveable future. Morally, who are the criminals? We are here to do all we can to bring about a future for all children. We can’t have that unless we stop all new oil and gas”
The action follows yesterday’s announcement by the government that it has given the greenlight to the UK’s first new coalmine in 30 years at Whitehaven in Cumbria.
A Just Stop Oil spokesperson said “The government has just ripped up any pretense of global climate leadership and signed the death warrant for millions of people and for what? Coal that no British company wants or needs, whose credentials rest on dangerous lies about jobs and carbon capture and storage.
“Their toxic plans will lead to social collapse and the destruction of everything we hold dear. This cannot stand. We need everyone out on the streets now to take back what is rightfully ours: the chance of a livable future.”
12 Just Stop Oil activists in court for M25 gantry actions today
12 Just Stop Oil activists are appearing in court today to face charges associated with causing disruption on the M25 in November to put pressure on the government to halt all new oil and gas licences and consents.
This week sees the continuation of court hearings for the Just Stop Oil supporters arrested as part of the four days of action on the M25 during November. A total of 12 supporters including 5 currently on remand are appearing at Southwark Crown Court today from 11:30am in 4 separate hearings in connection with actions taken on 8th November.
Among those appearing in court today is Jane Touil, 56, a former public sector worker from Rochdale. She is partially sighted and was wrongfully imprisoned for 4 days in November after having been released on bail by a magistrate. Jane said:
“I feel morally compelled to act. I cannot stand by and do nothing while the government knowingly pursues genocidal policies. There can be no new oil and gas if we want a liveable future. Licensing new oil and gas amounts to mass murder. I urge everyone who wants a liveable climate to support Just Stop Oil.”
George Cattell, 22, from Leeds said:
“Ordinary people are in absolute misery this winter, sitting in darkness and freezing as the government continues to prioritise the profits of fossil fuel companies that are torching the climate. Even during my relatively short life I have seen the climate crisis get much worse and still emissions are increasing. Licensing over 100 new oil and gas projects in the North Sea is criminal. I couldn’t sit by and watch anymore so I stepped up into civil resistance. I stand by my actions. I have no regrets and I’m prepared to go to prison if that’s what it takes to force our government to change.”
Amber Robards, 21, an environmental student from Bristol said:
“I’m terrified for the future. I couldn’t hide from the truth or carry on life as normal any longer. It is unbearable to just stand by and watch as the government commits genocide against vulnerable people across the world. My generation has been put in an impossible position.
“I stepped up to take action with Just Stop Oil to put pressure on the government to stop new oil and gas projects and I am prepared to face the consequences. They would rather lock us all up than prevent societal collapse by ending new oil and gas. But you can’t imprison a flood, you can’t put a heatwave in the dock, you can’t fine a wildfire.”
Six weeks of continuous disruption and civil resistance by supporters of Just Stop Oil during October and November resulted in over 700 arrests. Since the campaign began on April 1st, Just Stop Oil supporters have been arrested over 2,000 times, with 25 supporters currently in prison.
Just Stop Oil continues to peacefully resist the government’s plans to licence over 100 new oil and gas projects by 2025, and its failure to fulfil its promise to help people with their skyrocketing energy bills.