People first

Published: 29 April, 2010

• IN the run-up to the general & local council elections, can I make a plea for a non-party alternative called The People’s Charter.
Launched in March 2009, the charter has picked up support all over Britain with its slogan “A People’s Britain Not a Bankers’ Britain”.
This is not really surprising, as its six points represent an alternative to the message of despair put out by the main parties: that ordinary working people must pay for the bankers’ greed and recklessness by suffering massive cuts in their public services.
Charter supporters have been at many local hustings, asking the candidates questions like: will you renationalise the railways?
Will you campaign for the repeal of the draconian anti-trade union laws?
Will you fight for three million new publicly-owned homes?
Will you get the troops out of Afghanistan? And, so far, the only party to support such demands locally is the Green Party.
The charter urges all voters to ask if their candidates have signed the charter and to vote accordingly.
After the elections, the charter must be the framework for an alternative to the bankruptcy of the main parties.
DAVE WELSH
Foundling Court,
Brunswick Centre,WC1