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Gateshead

 

  • Ian Mearns (Labour) - No response received
  • Hazel Anderson (Conservative) - No response received
  • Frank Hindle (Lib Dem) - No response received
  • Andy Redfearn (Greens) - No response received
  • John Tennant (UKIP) - No response received
  • Elaine Brunskill (TU&SA) - see response

Name: Ian Mearns

Party: Labour

Contact details: councillor.imearns@gateshead.gov.uk


This candidate has not yet responded please complete the e-action form and ask them to reply to our 5 pledges.
 

 

Name: Hazel Anderson

Party: Conservative

Contact details: hazel4gateshead@googlemail.com


This candidate has not yet responded please complete the e-action form and ask them to reply to our 5 pledges.
 

Name: Frank Hindle

Party: Lib Dem

Contact details: frank@frankhindle.org


This candidate has not yet responded please complete the e-action form and ask them to reply to our 5 pledges.

Name: Andy Redfearn

Party: Greens

Contact details: andy@pointov.com


This candidate has not yet responded please complete the e-action form and ask them to reply to our 5 pledges.

Name: John Tennant

Party: UKIP

Contact details: jtennant33@hotmail.com


This candidate has not yet responded please complete the e-action form and ask them to reply to our 5 pledges.
 

Name: Elaine Brunskill

Party: Labour

Contact details: red_brunskill@yahoo.co.uk


As a Gateshead's candidate for TUSC (Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition) I fully support the 5 pledges put forward by the PCS Make your Vote Count Campaign.

Pledge 1: Public Services
In the North east we have the biggest percentage of workers working in the public sector. Undoubtedly, any attacks on civil servants will have a disproportionate impact on this region. All of the three established parties are looking at wielding the axe on public services. They say we need austerity measures, but they want to ensure it is working and middle class people who pay the price for their economic crisis.

The banks were bailed out to the tune of £1.2 trillion of our money, that is more than five times the annual wage bill of the entire public sector. Yet in a massive con trick they are attempting to blame public sector workers.

Alongside other TUSC candidates I stand on a programme of no cuts in public services and for the renationalisation of the privatised utilities.

Pledge 2: UK tax gap
Scandalously, successive governments have turned a blind eye to the super-rich who evade and avoid paying their taxes. These tax evaders have the attitude that "only the little people pay taxes".

I will campaign for a progressive tax on rich corporations and individuals, with a crackdown on tax avoidance. I also support raising the tax threshold for low paid workers. All plans to close HMRC offices and cut staffing levels must be abandoned

Pledge 3: Pay
The pay of Civil servants has been under sustained attack for decades. National pay bargaining was broken up under the Tories, and the onslaught intensified under New Labour. This has led to the scandalous situation of the vast majority of civil servants being on low pay, many having to rely on means-tested benefits.

The decision to have 200 separate bargaining units was clearly designed to divide and conquer the workforce within the civil service and I fully support the PCS campaign for national campaign bargaining.

Furthermore, attacks on the pay and conditions of civil servants will be stepped up, regardless of which of the three main parties are elected in the forthcoming general election. TUSC candidates are united on the need for mass resistance to this offensive. In our manifesto we pledge to put forward left-wing policies to help inspire mass resistance to such attacks

Pledge 4: Pensions and the Civil Service Compensation Scheme
I oppose New Labour's disgraceful plans to tear up the long-standing agreement on the Civil Service Compensation Scheme (CSCS), and have visited various PCS picket lines on strike days to offer support and solidarity.

Furthermore, I am angered by the hypocrisy of New Labour ministers, preparing to tear up the CSCS agreement, who tell us failed bankers, who are continuing to reap in massive bonuses, cannot be stopped as they have legally binding contracts.

Pledge 5: Equality impact assessments
I fully endorse the stance of the PCS to fight inequality, discrimination and oppression. The PCS points out that Equality Impact Assessments (EIA's) are a tool to combat inequality and promote good relations between different social groups.

As attacks on the wages and conditions of civil servants intensify it will become increasingly essential to fight such discrimination. Alongside all trade unions the PCS must be vigilant in order to ensure vulnerable workers are not picked off by unscrupulous management.