Rugby Against the Cuts met on Thursday, March 8th. The main discussion concerned the TUSC Statement about ending our alliance/collaboration with the Green party because of the Green party support for cuts, along with the intransigence of the local Greens over discussing seat distribution for the Council elections, and their refusal to negotiate. Rugby Against the Cuts had previously agreed to promote anti cuts candidates across the whole of Rugby as it had done last year. The Statement, which was mentioned in the local press, can be read in full at http://bit.ly/gd9tJr
A lot of the discussion was about whether or not Rugby Against the Cuts still had a role to play in the Council election campaign this year given the position of TUSC to end the electoral alliance. A number of TUSC comrades explained that they no longer wanted to be associated electorally with a Green party that nationally supported cuts.
A Labour party member asked whether the Green party as a whole supported the cutting position in Brighton - when it became obvious from Green responses that the recent Green party Conference had not called the Brighton Green Councillors to task, he concluded that the Greens, like Labour, did support cuts once in power, and actually suggested Rugby Against the Cuts should support TUSC as the only anti cuts Party locally! We didn’t push that one!
In the event, what was agreed, with only one vote against (and there were two Green party members present), was that Rugby Against the Cuts would withdraw from all electoral activity until after the Council Elections - in other words, RAtC will not get involved with supporting so-called anti cuts candidates this year, unlike last year when it had a leaflet promoting all anti cuts candidates, stalls and Media Releases promoting TUSC and Green anti cuts candidates. It was also agreed that RAtC would not meet again until May.
TUSC can now concentrate on its own campaign without distraction, standing as TUSC Against Cuts.
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