NO. 9 • JANUARY 2017 • PRICE £1.00 • REDFLAGONLINE.ORG FEATURE You are being lied to about immigration PAGES 4&5 THEREDFLAPAGE 3 G NHS primed for Momentum: where next? PAGES 6&7 FRACKING privatisation RISK FOR HALF OF UK PAGE 7 leaked and some published. unflled with trainee numbers Hinchingbrooke Hospital, it had to BY DARA O’COGHAIDHIN • Leicester, Leicestershire & Rut- down 17 per cent cut over four withdraw from a 10-year contract land region will close one of three years. Tis will get worse when bur- due to patient neglect and inade- acute hospitals saries are scrapped in 2017. quate hygiene. SECRET COST-CUTTING plans • Te Black Country will shut down could force hospitals, Accident & an acute unit and one of its two PRIVATISATION SAVE THE NHS Emergency departments and wards general hospitals A YouGov poll found that 84 per On 26 November, thousands of to close, as stretched health workers • Mid and South Essex will down- cent of respondents want a publicly campaigners responded to a call struggle to cope. Te Guardian and grade Southend and Broomfeld owned NHS. But Tory cuts, along- from Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn campaign group 38 Degrees reveal A&Es, leaving Basildon alone to side private frms’ ability to under- to defend our NHS. Tis is just a that NHS Trusts face a shortfall of cope. cut public providers, will push start. £22 billion by 2020-21. Dr Tajek Hassan, President of the CCGs to outsource their contracts. Defending the NHS should be- Each of NHS England’s 44 “foot- Royal College of Emergency Medi- Tis is a deliberate strategy: run come a nationwide focal point for print” areas have been asked to sub- cine, warned that STPs “are poten- down the NHS; undermine public resistance to this government. mit a “sustainability and tially catastrophic and will put lives confdence; ofer private health in- Labour members should demand transformation plan” (STP), bring- at risk… Te multitude of problems surers and care providers to fll the that councils refuse to sign up to ing together clinicians, patients and facing emergency departments – gaps. the STPs, as Hammersmith & Ful- local health partners. Proposals in- including the worst four-hour per- Te 2012 Health and Social Care ham and Ealing councils have al- clude A&E closures, hospital merg- formance for a decade, stafng Act allowed services to be con- ready done. Councils can also ers and a reduction in face-to-face shortages and overcrowding – will tracted out to “any qualifed invoke their powers through TRUMP consultations. not be solved by closing units and provider”. In 2015 private frms Overview and Scrutiny Commit- removing beds. Patients will not won 40 per cent of all contracts, de- tees to hold NHS managers to ac- STPs AND CUTS simply disappear.” spite evidence that competition and count. Tey can refuse to NHS England says that it wants He was responding to a survey of privatisation worsen health equity implement the plans for cuts and PAGE 3 strong public engagement with Clinical Commissioning Group and quality of care. closures. STPs before any fnal decisions, yet (CCG) ofcers in which almost a Virgin Care, with its poor repu- Labour should also build and have told local health systems not third said their STPs might close or tation, won a £700 million contract support the national demonstration to make plans public. downgrade A&Es in the next 18 covering more than 200,000 people for the NHS, which has been called Wendy Saviour, Director of months, while half warned beds in Bath and North East Somerset in by Health Campaigns Together for Commissioning Operations for would go and a ffh expected staf November. It will become the 4 March 2017. A huge and militant North Midlands, said, “STPs are not cuts. prime provider of a wide range of mobilisation should push trade meant to be published at all. Tey Hospitals in England are running care from April next year. union leaders into action. Follow- should not go to Board meetings. up a record defcit of £2.45 billion, Serco was forced to abandon out- ing the example of the junior doc- Some of them contain very radical as a surge in demand coincides with of-hours GP services in Cornwall, tors, the trade union movement things… Tese are highly political severe cuts. Budgets fall far short of afer it emerged that it had falsifed must coordinate widespread indus- and highly contentious.” what is needed. data. trial action against cuts and privati- Nonetheless, some have been One in ten nursing posts remain And when Circle took over sation 2 THE RED FLAG • ISSUE 9 • JANUARY 2017 Where we stand REDFLAGONLINE.ORG CONTACT @REDFLAGONLINE.ORG AGAINST AUSTERITY grant for all. THE LABOUR MOVEMENT 100% opposition to Tory austerity. No cuts to End PFI/PPP and renationalise privatised serv- We can revive the Labour Party and the trade BM BOX 7750 07478330061 welfare, services, jobs or pay. ices. Restore local democracy: end the cap on unions, recruiting the young and the old, the work- LONDON WC1N 3XX End cruel benefits sanctions – stop forcing dis- local authority spending. ing and the unemployed, the casual workers, abled people to work. women, black and Asian people, migrant workers, RED FLAG @REDFLAGLABOUR Tax the rich, not the poor: raise taxes on busi- DEMOCRACY LGBT people, the skilled and unskilled, the man- ness and the wealthy. Clamp down on tax avoid- Abolish anti-trade union laws. Employment pro- ual and the office workers. ance. tection from day one. End the bans on socialists and the purge of new Votes at 16 for all regardless of nationality. members. Restore the right of local Labour Parties A PLANNED ECONOMY Nationalise the media, guarantee right to reply, to select and if necessary deselect their local and Take over the banks and financial institutions launch new mass media under democratic control parliamentary candidates. without compensation. Merge the banks into a sin- of the labour movement. Full policy-making powers to be in the hands of gle state-owned investment bank under direct Abolish the Monarchy, the House of Lords, the the membership, not the MPs or grandees. democratic control of the working class majority. Privy Council. Labour MPs to be under the democratic control Jobs for all. For a massive programme of in- For a single chamber, elected by proportional of the party’s membership, not the other way vestment to create socially useful, sustainable representation. round. RED FLAG is an organisation that campaigns for jobs. End precarious working – make casual con- Self-determination for Scotland and Wales, in- For a democratic and socialist constitution for Labour to become a mass working class party with tracts permanent, including apprenticeships. cluding the right to separate from the UK if a ma- Labour that sets public ownership and socialism socialist policies. Share the work. Cut the hours to a maximum jority choose it. as our goals. We are members of the Labour Party because, 30 hour working week and reduce the retirement For workplace Labour Party branches and like hundreds of thousands of you, we believe that age to 60 for all. NO TO OPPRESSION mass Labour women’s, BME, LGBT and youth or- under new leadership it can help the working class Promote a planned shift to sustainable energy. No to racism in all its forms, to Islamophobia, ganisations. defeat austerity and put forward a radical alterna- Nationalise the top monopolies under workers anti-Semitism and national chauvinism. Labour councils should refuse to carry out Tory tive. control and without compensation. This to include No to sexism, complete equality for women, cuts and rally nationwide resistance including co- A Labour Party infused with its new members’ the great food, water, energy, transport, infrastruc- equal pay now. ordinated strike action against undemocratic Tory spirit of resistance and desire for a radically diferent ture, pharmaceutical, manufacturing, property, re- No to oppression and discrimination against disqualifications and any attempted imposition of alternative, can start to oppose the Tories’ welfare tail, technology and telecoms conglomerates. lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. commissioners. cuts, NHS privatisation, their wars and missiles, Draw up a socialist economic plan through Free abortion on demand. All Labour and union officials to be subject to mass direct democracy, matching production and 24-hour free childcare facilities for all. regular re-election and to the right of the members their anti-immigrant racism. distribution to popular need not private greed. No to discrimination on grounds of disability. to recall them, and to be paid the average wage It can campaign positively to scrap tuition fees, Cancel the national debt to the private bond- Abolish Work Capability Assessment, reinstate all of the workers they represent. bring back student grants and create a National Ed- holders and refuse to submit to blackmail from in- benefits. For cross-union and cross-industrial commit- ucation Service free for all, from cradle to grave. ternational financial institutions. tees of workers that can take action even against We need to start the fghtback now. We need to INTERNATIONALISM the wishes of union officials where necessary. take to the streets against the Tory beneft cuts. We END EXPLOITATION Cancel Trident. Workers of all countries, unite – build an inter- need strikes and protests for higher pay, lower rents, Raise the minimum wage to £10 an hour, for Britain out of NATO. national union of revolutionary socialist parties. lower fees. We need to stop the Tories’ anti-union all, regardless of age. Welcome refugees and migrants. Yes to free- laws. We need to protest against government plans Work or full pay. Benefits for the unemployed dom of movement, no to immigration controls.