RUGBY TUSC: NOT CONTESTING THE GENERAL ELECTION, INSTEAD SUPPORTING A CORBYN-LED GOVERNMENT BASED ON

The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) has confirmed that it will not be standing candidates in the June 8th General Election. “The TUSC national Steering Committee decided that there would be no TUSC candidates on June 8th”, Rugby TUSC spokesperson Pete McLaren told us today.

“We thought hard about this both locally and nationally. We had a long discussion at our April meeting in Rugby, and initially we did seriously consider standing.

“However, Rugby TUSC decided that this particular General Election not only gives ordinary working people the opportunity to get rid of an increasingly right wing Tory Government, swallowing UKIPs policies as it does their voters, but it also gives us all the chance to elect a socialist, in Jeremy Corbyn, as Prime Minister. Fellow socialists like ourselves would only be splitting the left vote if we stood

“Ever since Jeremy Corbyn was elected leader of the Labour Party, TUSC has supported his left wing views against attacks from both the Tories and Blairites within the Labour Party by continuing to build the struggle against austerity that lay behind Jeremy’s leadership campaigns. This is why in Rugby and elsewhere we have continued to contest local elections against Labour councilors carrying out cuts, as we did in the Warwickshire County Council elections on May 4th given Labour’s support for the £67 million Tory cuts agreed in February.

“The General Election is different. Defeating the Tory Government would be seen as a massive victory for Jeremy Corbyn, and this could inspire and convince millions of people that a different society – a socialist society that puts people before profit – is possible. That would give us the chance to help build the kind of support needed to implement the socialist policies Jeremy campaigns around

“We are living in very interesting political times. Throughout the western world, including Britain, politics is in a state of flux. The result of the General Election could throw up a number of questions and issues. Not only will Rugby TUSC be fighting in the next four weeks for a Jeremy Corbyn led Labour Government based on bold socialist policies, we will also be eagerly awaiting the new political situation that unfolds after June 8th in terms of advancing working class political representation and the role TUSC can play in that struggle,” Pete McLaren concluded.

NOTES

Rugby TUSC can be contacted at: www.rugbytusc.com; on 07881 520626; RugbyTUSC@gmail.com; or PO Box 4123, Rugby CV21 9BJ

The full national TUSC statement can be seen at http://bit.ly/2q8RLEn

Pete McLaren has just been re-elected to the TUSC National Steering Committee, and is its Local Group Development Officer. He was the Rugby TUSC Candidate in the 2015 General Election

Pete McLaren has recently been re-elected to the Left Unity National Council, and is therefore in a relatively

unique position to comment on developments within the left generally.

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