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Regional secretary with the National Education Union
Fighting the cost of living crisis needs a mass movement
TAM KIRBY argues we can freeze energy bills and the price of essential goods, restore the universal credit uplift and abandon the National Insurance hike — so long as we can build a coalition to tax the rich

SATURDAY saw what I hope is the start of building a mass campaign across Britain with trade unions, People’s Assembly groups and community campaigning organisations to call out the Tories and the cost of living crisis they created. Here in Scotland very quickly we went from one protest in Glasgow to events being held in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee.

In Glasgow, the event held jointly by the People’s Assembly Scotland and the STUC had just a week to organise and very dreich weather but the turnout was excellent. What was even better were the numbers of young people not just attending but on the platform speaking.

I was asked to speak and contribute a tune as the representative for the People’s Assembly Scotland. In the run up, when trying to compile my thoughts on what to say, I was reminded of the last crisis the Tories created that had launched the People’s Assembly Against Austerity movement. When I first heard Cameron, Clegg and Osborne tell us continually that “we are all in it together” I wrote a song for my band called “Don’t piss down my back (and tell me it’s raining)” which became the title of our second album.

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