THE COMMUNISTS’ MANIFESTO
NEWCASTLE CITY COUNCIL ELECTIONS 5 MAY 2022
HEATON WARD
IES T I N U COMM R FIT FO
S S A L C G N I K R WO ! E L P O PE
Steve Handford
Communist Party of Britain
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COMMUNIST @CPBritain
communistparty.org.uk @geordiecommunists Printed by Whittle Print, 36 Hutton Close, Crowther Ind Est, Washington NE38 0AH. Promoted by Martin Levy for Steve Handford, both c/o 13 Shoreham Court, Newcastle upon Tyne NE3 2XG. e: newcastle@northerncommunists.org.uk
COMMUNISTS SAY: Turn the country around—but for our class, not for the billionaires. COST OF LIVING CRISIS People in Heaton, like elsewhere, are facing a real crisis, with energy, council tax and food prices shooting up while pay is being held down. Meanwhile big businesses are making massive profits. The government acts in the interests of the wealthy but mass campaigning can force it to change, taxing the super-rich and stopping price rises. A NEW DEAL FOR OUR COUNCIL Over the past 12 years Newcastle City Council has lost £335m in central government funding, with £41m more to go over the next 3 years. Many services people need have disappeared. Councillors should be campaigning with trade unions, residents and representatives of other councils to demand the government reinstate the cuts made. FAIR TAXATION As well as demanding the reinstatement of central grants, Communists call for the abolition of Council Tax and its replacement with a local income tax based on ability to pay. As things stand, those on the lowest incomes pay proportionally more of their income for worsening services.
COMMUNITY WEALTH BUILDING The Council should take a leaf out of the books of the North of Tyne Combined Authority, and engage in Community Wealth Building, including buying more goods and services from local providers and encouraging other parts of the public sector to do the same, promoting energy conservation, renewable energy and the Real Living Wage. EDUCATION Communists consider education ‘from the cradle to the grave’ to be a basic right. We call, and campaign, for: • a publicly-owned network of nurseries • all schools to be brought back under democratic local control • free college and university education for all courses. HOUSING We support the demands of renters’ union ACORN for: • high-quality widely available Council homes • rent controls, and opposition to no-fault evictions • an improved landlord registration scheme locally. PUBLIC TRANSPORT To conserve energy, and reduce polluting emissions from motor vehicles, a top priority must be the building of an integrated and cheap public and freight transport system, using renewable energy, at local, regional and national levels. MAKE REAL CHANGES Communists want to be part of a collective radical voice for genuine change for ordinary working-class people in Heaton Ward.
COMMUNIST CANDIDATE STEVE HANDFORD SAYS: WORKING CLASS VOICES MUST BE HEARD “Now more than ever, with rises in Council Tax, NI, gas and electricity prices, and squeezed incomes, ordinary working people like you and me need a strong and clear voice. A voice that the political parties of the Establishment, including Conservatives and Labour, simply don’t provide. “Capitalism, the society under which we live, can’t provide a solution to the crisis, but the government can be forced to make concessions if there is mass pressure. Communists campaign for improvements here and now, but argue that ultimately we need socialism – a society which recognises the true value of all workers, based on public ownership of the economy, and providing essential services for everyone with a decent income in retirement.” YOUR CANDIDATE Steve Handford is a teacher of special needs children and has lived in Newcastle since 1994. He is an armed forces veteran, having served for two years in Northern Ireland. For the past 28 years, he has been an educationalist, passionately believing in enabling people to achieve their full potential. He is an active member of the NEU and a committed trade unionist. PEACE, JOBS AND SOCIALISM! Britain’s Communists oppose all wars and illegal invasions that profit only the arms dealers and monopolies. We condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but we have also consistently opposed NATO’s expansion into eastern Europe. We stand with the working class always – for well paid, secure and unionised jobs, for peace, prosperity and the right to a dignified life. We do not want to rise out of our class. But to rise with it!
STEVE HANDFORD
Communist Party of Britain
Heaton Ward