Gloucestershire’s phlebotomists have brought their historic strike to a close after almost a year of action, leaving a legacy of determination – and a clear lesson about the power of solidarity in the face of anti-union laws and austerity, says FBU general secretary STEVE WRIGHT
THIS government has allowed the deaths of tens of thousands of our own citizens and its complete failure to handle the pandemic has also led to an unprecedented economic slump.
What we have seen this week is that the Tories also intend that it will be ordinary workers and the poor who will pick up the tab for their own failings.
Following on from the austerity of the Tory-led coalition, whose key measures have never been undone, we are now faced with another reduction in pay, cuts to public services and cuts to pensions.
The 2025 Budget shores up the PM’s political position with headline-grabbing welfare U-turns, but with no improvements on offer to declining public services or living standards, writes MICHAEL BURKE
The BBC and OBR claim that failing to cut disability benefits could ‘destabilise the economy’ while ignoring the spendthrift approach to tens of billions on military spending that really spirals out of control, argues DIANE ABBOTT MP
Exempting military expenditure from austerity while slashing welfare represents a fundamental misallocation of resources that guarantees continued decline, argues MICHAEL BURKE



