29th October 2022
Sunak – the Tories’ latest hope to save the sinking ship
A week may well be a long time in politics but two weeks is not long enough in which to fix a broken economic system. The decision of Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, with the backing of Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, to delay the Autumn Budget statement from 31st October until 17th November smacks of desperation.
They claim that the economic indicators will look more favourable then. That markets will have settled following the ‘good news’ of Sunak’s ascension to the Premiership. That the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) will be able to make a more informed assessment of the economic future.
All of which is simply so must smoke and mirrors, characteristic of capitalist economics. The British economy has been unravelling due to a lack of strategic investment since the late 1970’s, a trend which has accelerated since the financial crash of 2008, since when the levels of productivity in the British economy have declined year on year.
While the gambling dens of the City of London have sucked the British economy into a false sense of reliance upon financial services and trading, the manufacturing base has either been closed down or sold off to overseas buyers, keen to take advantage of the capital friendly regime successive British governments have encouraged.
The current crisis is blamed, by the Tories, upon the war in Ukraine and the mistakes made by overnight Premier, Liz Truss, in her mini-budget of 23rd September. Labour routinely add Brexit to this list, not to criticise the Tories mishandling of the exit from the EU, but to suggest that leaving the monetarist straitjacket of the EU was, in itself a mistake.
All of which feeds the illusion that with some adjustments or a different set of policies, or even by re-joining the EU, that the system can in some way shape or form be ’fixed’. The ruling class, as part of their response to the crisis, need to feed this illusion or the reality that the crisis is in fact a systemic one may gain sufficient prominence to pose a threat. This was a strain of public realisation which Labour touched upon under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, hence the need for it to be ruthlessly crushed.
It is a strain which is resurfacing in the wave of strikes and strike ballots amongst workers demanding, not only wage rises to keep pace with inflation, but the maintenance of safe working conditions for themselves and the public.
These demands contrast sharply with the announcement of profits by energy giants such as Shell, reporting a record $30 billion profit in the year so far, and Exxon Mobil posting a quarterly profit of nearly $20bn. Shell has paid no windfall tax on the profit by exploiting a loophole which exempts companies that invest their surplus in increasing oil and gas extraction.
Clearly such investment will be with a view to increasing profits further. It will not contribute to the net carbon zero commitments of the government, a target of 100% clean energy by 2035, or do anything to support the necessary investment in renewable energy sources. The fact that multi billion dollar profiteering companies can get away with dodging tax, while contributing to the destruction of the planet, at a time when those responsible for rail, NHS, mail and other services struggle to get a decent pay rise, is not lost on the general public.
This level of hypocrisy is characteristic of the Tories in particular but is symptomatic of a system which has the defence of the banks, corporations and aristocracy as its raison d’etre. There is no doubt that the Tories have sailed the economy into stormy waters but however Hunt and Sunak choose to reshuffle the deck chairs in two weeks time, there is no avoiding the fact that, with them at the helm, the ship is sinking.
Resistance must continue to build to expose Tory lies, Tory hypocrisy and Tory economic mismanagement. Arresting the economic decline which has been the hallmark of the Tories over the past 12 years by investing for the public good, both in people and infrastructure, will only be the first step. A revolutionary reshaping of political, economic and environmental priorities is required to begin to turn around the damage done by capitalism.
It is not only desirable, it is possible, with collective action, a socialist programme, with mass popular backing, and the will to succeed. That message must be the one that is repeated to force Labour off the fence. It is vital that we continue to apply pressure for a manifesto which is not primarily aimed at assuaging the markets but is aimed at challenging the immediate inequalities in the system, which a view to overhauling it entirely. A manifesto for the many, not the few.
Avanti Populo 