Greens, Labour, Sinn Fein and the Socialist Party on the bin charges

Friday January 17, 2003 04:23

by Brian Cahill - Socialist Party

Their records contrasted.

From time to time Sinn Fein and Labour pose as opponents of the bin charges, looking for a few cheap votes. This article takes a brief look at their real records on the issue along with that of the Green Party - another organisation which sometimes pretends to be a radical alternative to the right-wing establishment.

The Green Party supports the bin tax. No ifs, no buts, no prevarications. It is in favour of introducing flat rate taxes onto ordinary people to pay for the mess created by business. Stick an "environmental" badge on any attack on workers and you can get everybodies favourite sandal-wearing liberals to vote for it. You could almost admire their honesty, which is more than can be said for Labour and Sinn Fein.

The latter two parties rely mostly on working class people for their votes and therefore have to be a little more careful.

Labour officially opposes the bin tax, but its councillors have voted it through in towns and cities across the country. In Cork last month its councillors, including the Mayor, voted again for the bin tax. Last night its Mayor in Dublin voted for the tax.

From time to time Labour feels the need to assert its anti-bin tax credentials and it takes disciplinary action against a few councillors by slapping them on the wrist. When the tax was first introduced in the Dublin Corporation area, with the votes of Labour members, its errant councillors had the party whip taken away for a few weeks! Torquemada himself would shiver in fear.

It should also be remembered that Labour opposes the tactic of mass non-payment - the only strategy which can beat the tax and which beat the water tax.

Sinn Fein are even oilier on the subject. Like Labour they are also formally against the bin tax. Unlike Labour they even formally support the strategy of mass non-payment, but as an organisation they have played no role in actually building non-payment. Which of course hasn't stopped them from trying to take credit for the campaigning work of others in their election material.

For them a stance of radical opposition is strictly for the election leaflets. When they actually get anybody into a position of power, it is business as usual. In the North this has meant their Ministers privatising schools and hospitals and fighting against the term time workers demand for a living wage. In the South it has meant helping pass the bin charges.

In Sligo their councillors voted for the bin tax. An Phoblacht then defended their decision to do so. The next year they came back to vote through an increase in the charges. In return they got their thirty pieces of silver - a Sinn Fein Mayor for Sligo.

When the tax was being introduced in the Dublin Corporation area, none of the parties wanted to carry the can. It soon became clear that a slimy deal was being cooked up. "The Voice", the newspaper of the Socialist Party predicted that two Sinn Fein councillors would fail to show while some Labour councillors would break their party whip and receive a slap on the wrist. Sure enough, the chosen Labour scapegoats raised their hands for the tax, while two of the Sinn Fein councillors had their mothers write sick notes. The other two Sinn Fein councillors voted against publically recording the votes of all councillors on the issue, further helping to sow confusion.

Despite all of this, Sinn Fein have had the cheek to sneer at the disappearing tricks of the Labour councillors last night.

Some ordinary Sinn Fein supporters have chipped into the campaign and will probably be as horrified by the antics of their leaders as the rest of us are. But the message is clear: We can't rely on Sinn Fein or Labour. The two parties care nothing for ordinary people.

I don't mean to imply that all organisations are the same. The campaign against the service charges involved the Socialist Party and other groups (including the WSM and SWP). We are active across the city trying to build a real community campaign. The Socialist Party was heavily involved in the campaign which defeated the water tax a few years ago, and as an aside our councillors have always turned up and always voted against the bin tax.

The only way for us to beat this tax is to stick together. Join your local campaign. Get involved and build mass non-payment.