Scottish Parliament Elections 5 May 2011 - Glasgow Region
Shaking up the Scottish parliament. – and making your voice heard
George Galloway and the Coalition Against Cuts are standing for the Scottish parliament on the Glasgow regional list on May 5.
More than ever, we need MSPs who will fight for the people of Glasgow. We are standing to offer a voice to hundreds of thousands of people in our city facing savage cuts and attacks on living standards.
We stand for public services accountable to the voters, not privateers amassing fortunes at the voters’ expense
George was a Glasgow MP for 18 years and is a fearless and outspoken opponent of war, cuts, racism and poverty. He is the lead candidate on our list.
‘Wandering the streets of Glasgow in 2011, grass grows in the potholes and despair grows in the hearts of the poor and the unemployed. Life expectancy for men in some parts of the once ‘second city of the empire’ is lower than in parts of the former empire.
‘The ConDem Thatcherites have cut another £100 million from public services in Glasgow. They claim there is no alternative to these brutal and heartless cuts. Well, we beg to differ.
If you elect me to the Scottish parliament you can be sure that the real alternative to savage cuts will be heard loud and clear all the way to No 10 Downing Street.
‘Cameron’s Old Etonians are hitting the poorest and most vulnerable. They are kicking disabled people off benefits. In a city like Glasgow, with its legacy of industrial sickness and ill health, that’s devastating. Worse, the government is paying a private company – Atos – a bonus for every person they drive off incapacity benefit.
‘While I was an MP in East London I campaigned against these cutthroat privateers, who were brought in to run a health centre. Now they’ve had their 10-year contract in Tower Hamlets terminated seven years early for failing to meet NHS standards. I’m calling on the leaders of the other parties in Scotland to join with me in saying that this company should have no role in deciding who is fit for work and who is not.
‘If you elect me to the Scottish parliament, this is just one example of where I hope to make a difference for the people of Glasgow and the people of Scotland.
‘Not only will I oppose every cut to schools, hospitals and public services, I’ll also fight for a parliament with the powers to tax the rich bankers and big business to help pay for jobs and decent public services. I will argue for investment, not cuts, to get the economy moving and improve the national bank balance.
‘Our coalition stands for public services accountable to the voters, not privateers amassing fortunes at the voters’ expense.
‘No matter who you’re voting for in your local constituency, if you want an MSP for Glasgow to fight your corner, vote for me and the Coalition Against Cuts on the peach coloured ballot paper.’
End the Economics of the madhouse
Our MSPs reject the idea that there is no alternative to the savage cuts which are intended to pay for the crimes of the bankers. We support progressive taxation that means the rich will pay more. We will campaign to close all tax loopholes – this measure alone would bring in an estimated £120 billion in unpaid or avoided tax and eliminate the budget deficit in a flash.
The ConDem government, however, is slashing public spending, which will shrink the economy. That means less tax revenue. And that, in turn, means the budget deficit will get bigger. This is the economics of the madhouse and the exact opposite of what they are doing in the US.
• We say we should invest our way out of the mess, leading to better services, jobs and growth. This is the way to cut the national debt.
• We would also scrap the council tax, and replace it with a tax that ensures the rich pay.
• We demand an end to the occupation in Afghanistan and the bombing of Libya, and to scrap Trident.
• We should spend the billions saved on war and weapons in the creation of decent jobs and a free education for our young people, instead of throwing a generation on the scrapheap.
Fight Poverty Not the Poor
Glasgow suffers from some of the worst poverty in Britain. There are 200,000 people in the city who rely on benefits, pensions or tax credits. We say fight poverty, not the poor.
• The ConDem government has announced its intention to slash £18 billion from the welfare bill over the next four years. That means attacking the poorest and most vulnerable, large numbers of whom live in Glasgow. Parents relying on child benefit will be very hard hit.
• Workers who rely on tax credits and those on other benefits will see their income reduced because the ConDem millionaires have decided to use a lower figure for inflation, rather than the real cost of living, which is being driven up by their VAT rises.
• The government and private sector are also freezing wages just as inflation is taking off.
• Most disgracefully of all it is those on Incapacity Benefit, Employment Support Allowance or DLA who will be at the sharpest end of these cuts. It will mean the poor getting poorer while the rich get away with murder.
It’s just another reason why we need to elect MSPs who will fight poverty, not the poor.
Wage war on the banks
The bankers’ bailout and the recession it caused means that each UK taxpayer now has a debt of £28,000.
• And now the ConDem government’s cutbacks have slashed output by 27 percent, according to the International Monetary Fund.
• The Westminster government has imposed a derisory tax on bankers. We will vigorously campaign for what is known as the Robin Hood tax – a 0.05 percent levy on all international bankers’ transactions.
• This tiny tax will have no effect on the financial institutions but will raise more than £20 billion a year across the UK, more than £2 billion in Scotland.
Standing up for the millions, not the millionaires
Our Pledge to you
We promise to shake up the political establishment with a powerful voice for all those suffering from the rotten policies of the ConDem government. We are with the millions, not the millionaires.
• We will oppose all cuts in jobs, services, benefits and pensions whether carried out by the ConDem coalition, or by Labour or the SNP here in Scotland.
• We will campaign for the scrapping of expensive and costly PFI and PPP schemes in the public sector.
• We will oppose cuts to our universities, colleges and schools.
• We will support the retention of the Educational Maintenance Allowance and campaign for a return of a living grant for all students – paid for by taking the money from the rich elite through progressive taxation.
• We will support the setting of needs budgets that protect jobs and public services. We will initiate a forceful campaign involving the communities, workers, trade unions and residents of Glasgow for the return of the £100 million stolen from the city by the ConDem coalition. If the government can bail out the banks to the tune of billions and find billions for wars, they can find the money for essential jobs and public services.
• We support the aims and activities of the Defend Glasgow Services campaign and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with all communities facing cuts to services.
• Our MSPs will not form a coalition with either a Labour or SNP led Scottish government. We will vote against all budgets that would result in cuts to jobs and services in the Scottish parliament and only support legislation and bills that are in the interests of the communities we represent.
• We will campaign for a massive increase in social housing provision.
Time to Shake up Holyrood
These are the policies we will campaign for at Holyrood and which, if we hold the balance of power, we will insist on.
• We will support a referendum on Scotland’s constitutional future.
• We will campaign to extend the powers of the parliament to give Holyrood real powers over the economy, tax, pensions and benefits.
• We will demand that Scotland at long last has a powerful international voice for peace, justice and equality.
How to Vote for George Galloway–Coalition Against Cuts
• You have two votes, one for the constituency and one for the Glasgow region
• Please give George and the Coalition your regional vote on the peach coloured ballot paper.
• Our listing is third from the bottom of the page and will look like this.
