Election 2007

Protect public services

Building and running state schools and hospitals through public bodies rather than private companies is the top priority for Scottish voters according to a recent BBC Scotland poll. So much for New Labour's flagship policy of promoting blatant profiteering by private companies through PFI/PPP financing.

Privatisation of our public services will prove to be an electoral disaster for New Labour as people now understand what a bad deal it has been. The Labour Party conference voted to end PFI, a decision supported by the trade union movement. But the New Labour leadership ignored the vote and is pushing ahead. The outgoing Scottish Executive launched a consultation paper “Transforming Public Services” which claims that it is not important who runs our services and proposes weakening democratic accountability and strengthening central control.

Any debate on public services must take into account the role of the European Union as a tool of big business. It is EU directives which are driving the outsourcing and privatisation of our public services. Yet the other parties have little to say on this.

Communists call for an end to big business profiteering through privatisation of our services. They demand renationalisation of the energy and public transport sectors including water, gas, electricity, coal, buses and railways as part of a left wing programme.

Communists argue the need to build a broad alliance with the labour movement at its heart to campaign against privatisation, defend pensions, oppose marketisation of education, social services and health and to project an alternative that is in the interests of ordinary people.

RESIST PRIVATISATION!