People's Charter joins call for a People's assembly

Anti-cuts activists from across Britain announced that they'll come together in June for a historic assembly against austerity. MPs, the unemployed and trade unionists are expected to flood Westminster Central Hall in a bid to show that the cozy pro-cuts consensus doesn't exist outside parliament.

Dozens of trade unionists, MPs and grass-roots activists including the People's Charter called on those angered by public-sector cuts and privatisation to rally at a "national forum for anti-austerity views which, while increasingly popular, are barely represented in Parliament". Their launch statement said:

"This is a call to all those millions of people in Britain who face an impoverished and uncertain year as their wages, jobs, conditions and welfare provision come under renewed attack by the government. A people's assembly can play a key role in ensuring that this uncaring government faces a movement of opposition broad enough and powerful enough to generate successful co-ordinated action, including strike action. The assembly will be ready to support co-ordinated industrial action and national demonstrations against austerity, if possible synchronising with mobilisations across Europe."

Coalition of Resistance chairwoman, Romayne Pheonix, said the event was inspired by the mass grass-roots fight against austerity in Greece and across Europe.

"I think what we have is an exciting opportunity to bring together official delegates from the whole of the trade union movement with campaign leaders from across the country."

The conference—scheduled for Saturday, 22 June—will follow a swathe of welfare cuts effective from April. Funding for council tax subsidies will be cut by 10 per cent, while increases in housing benefit and a raft of other benefits will be capped at half the current rate of inflation. And the launch of the Tories' Universal Credit will give bosses the power to stop workers' benefits if they go on strike.

To register for the assembly visit www.coalitionofresistance.org.uk.

The signatories:

Katy Clark, Labour MP, Jeremy Corbyn, Labour MP, John McDonnell, Labour MP, Murad Qureshi, Labour London Assembly, Dawn Butler, ex-Labour MP, Caroline Lucas, Green MP, Natalie Bennett, Green Party England and Wales leader, Robert Griffiths, Communist Party of Britain general secretary, Bill Greenshields, Communist Party of Britain chair, Fred Leplat, Socialist Resistance, Richard Bagley, Morning Star editor, Bob Crow, RMT general secretary, Mark Serwotka, PCS general secretary, Len McCluskey, Unite general secretary, Christine Blower, NUT general secretary, Kevin Courtney, NUT deputy general secretary, Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general secretary, Manuel Cortez, TSSA, Billy Hayes, CWU general secretary, Mick Whelan, Aslef general secretary, Paul Mackney, Natfhe (now UCU) ex-general secretary, Vicki Baars, NUS VP union development, Kevin Donnelly, Trade Union Council, Tariq Ali, author, John Pilger, journalist, Ken Loach, filmmaker, Owen Jones, writer, James Meadway, New Economics Foundation senior economist, Lee Hall, playwright, Roger Lloyd Pack, actor, Josie Long, comedian, Francesca Martinez, comedian, Iain Banks, author, Arthur Smith, comedian, Roy Bailey, folk singer, John Rees, Counterfire editorial board, Wendy Savage and John Lipetz, Keep Our NHS Public, John Hendy QC, People's Charter vice-chairman, Imran Khan, People's Charter co-chair, Rachael Newton,People's Charter, Zita Holbourne, Co-chair, Black Activists Rising Against Cuts, Anita Wright, Secretary, National Association of Women, Joginder Bains, Association of Indian Women, Shang Gahonia, Indian Workers Association, Colin Hampton, Co-ordinator, National Unemployed Workers Centres Combine, Carolin Jones, Director, Institute of Employment Rights, John Hilary, Director, War on Want, Romayne Phoenix, Coalition of Resistance chair, Sam Fairbairn, Coalition of Resistance co-chair, Clare Solomon, Coalition of Resistance vice-chair, Andrew Burgin, Coalition of Resistance vice-chair, Lindsey German, Stop the War Coalition convener, Kate Hudson, CND senior economist, Bruce Kent, peace campaigner.

Morning Star, Wednesday 6 February 2013