Young people and the 2011 council elections

The local elections have certainly given young people alot to think about. A year ago in the general election, thousands of young people turned to the liberal democrats, because they saw them as a alternative to the two party system of labour and conservatives. The lib dems made promises of voting against tuition fees, creating a premium for poorer students and creation of jobs for young people. However a year later and tuition fees have tripled, with cuts to EMA poorer students are excluded from education and nearly a million young people are unemployed.

Now under the leadership of Ed Milliband Labour are trying to make themselves look like a alternative to the con-dem coalition, with their rhetoric of “too far too fast”, and trying to woo disillusioned lib dem supporters by Ed supporting the yes campaign, Labour are remodelling themselves to win support. Though what alternative do they offer? They offer a program of cuts, maybe a little different from the cuts of the con-dems, but nevertheless a package of devastating cuts.

People have turned to other parties as a alternative because they are alienated by the similarities of the main 3 parties. They may turn to UKIP, whose right wing agenda would lead to huge marketisation of schools and colleges leading to a two tier system, where the rich go to the best schools and the poor are excluded to the underfunded schools.

They could turn to the green party, while they may have fair policies on the environment, they still lack the understanding that it’s the system we live in, with the vast economic inequalities that cannot provide for the majority of people. The greens have not committed to fighting all cuts to jobs and services in which employment should be available for young.

However, there is an alternative out there, a alternative that will defend every job and every service. The socialist alternative can not only stop the cuts, but provide for new jobs and socially useful services. The privatisation of council services mean that profit is put before people. But with nationalisation people are the priority. A socialist alternative can provide jobs for graduates where capitalism can’t, such as using people with science degrees to research the environment or those with sociology degrees to research crime. A socialist alternative can provide jobs for the manual workers with building council housing and repairing out roads.

I’ve met candidates from all three of the main parties during my campaign. All three parties claim they will protect frontline services. But what about the workers in the background? How many of their jobs will you take? How can frontline services continue without the support of the background staff? Candidates have also said there isn’t a need for cuts to services because of waste and beurocracy in the council. But with the council having to make cuts of £27 million, will they find all that money? Were not for beurocracy and waste, but we also argue that if someone’s job in the council is unnecessary, then give them a more useful job. But the 3 main parties are hell bent on laying off workers.

While it’s important that we stood in the council elections, we don’t expect a landslide win. While the lib dems will suffer from their betrayal of young people and the Tories from their cuts program, people won’t be voting labour with all enthusiasm. Our biggest achievement will be alerting to people that there is an alternative out there, where people are priority. The next step is to continue fighting for working people, while our voices won’t be heard in the council chambers they will be heard on the streets and we can build the socialist alternative that provides for all.