tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36028082.post1890940146328306821..comments2024-03-22T19:52:46.571+00:00Comments on SOCIALISM OR YOUR MONEY BACK: Guildford Hustings (25 April)Poetry Coalshedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05514953133244910986noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36028082.post-54175140973551925872017-04-26T10:31:19.093+00:002017-04-26T10:31:19.093+00:00About 40 people at the anti-Brexit hustings last n...About 40 people at the anti-Brexit hustings last night in Guildford to which<br />parties contesting the elections in the five Guildford town divisions were<br />invited, i.e. Tories, LibDems, Labour, Greens, Peace Party and us. No UKIP<br />representatives as they seem to have given up on Guildford, not having any<br />candidates there.<br /><br />In the absence of UKIP the pro-EU audience tried to make the Tory<br />representative, Bob Hughes, the whipping boy but, unfortunately for them,<br />this former MP and junior minister was very prominent in the Remain campaign.<br />The Lib Dem and the Green were a mutual admiration society (they are a joint<br />group on Surrey County Council), the Labour (and Cooperative) representative<br />was an EU "immigrant". The Peace Party candidate was an old-fashioned<br />pacifist who preached "be nice to everybody". He did, however, venture into<br />economics by claiming that "Modern Monetary Theory" meant that austerity was<br />unnecessary as the money could be made available if the government decided. A<br />perfect opening to point out that austerity was not a free government<br />decision but one forced on them by the requirement of capitalism, when in a<br />slump, for pressure on profits to be relieved by cutting government spending<br />and the taxes to pay for it. As most local council money comes from the<br />central government, these cuts trickled down to local level, leaving<br />councillors too no choice but to implement them at their level.<br /><br />There were questions on the environment. Another opportunity to explain that<br />under capitalism making profits has to take priority over everything else,<br />including the environment, and to point out that a global problem like<br />climate change required a global solution which capitalist states, with<br />different energy sources affecting their competitiveness, were unable to<br />agree on doing anything effective.<br /><br />SEE BLOG FOR SPGB ADDRESS<br />https://socialismoryourmoneyback.blogspot.com/2017/04/we-want-capexit.html<br />ajohnstonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09874891810770297962noreply@blogger.com