David Bishop

Last Saturday (the 26th of March) I went on the ‘March for the Alternative”, a march against cuts in our public services. It was a lot of fun, and made me feel good that so many other people also cared about stopping the public services cuts.

I think we all surprised ourselves by just how big it was. Even conservative estimates seemed to be around the half a million mark for attendance. But other estimates have been around the 750,000 mark. It was overwhelmingly a peaceful march, which the media, to be fair, always point out, but still give almost their entire coverage to the violence that occurred… And even when they do talk about the march they attempt to make out it was a few invested interest groups that marched. This of course was bollocks, there was a mass mix of different people there. These spending cuts will effect us all, and I think the grim reality is seeping into the minds of the majority of people now. What Saturday showed was that, firstly the trade union movement while much smaller then it was in the 70s  is still a force in this country and secondarily a lot of people care enough about the cuts to March in Central London.

The question on the news was, ‘will this march make a difference’ on it’s own of course not. If this is all we do then we will lose. But, if this march gave people the confidence to do more, showed us that most people agree with us and they continue to fight and resist the cuts then we can win! Workers of the world unite, we have nothing to lose but our chains!

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It was good to read today that NHS doctors are vocalising their grave concern about the Tories horrific plans for the NHS. Over the last thirty years we have seen the slow rolling back of the NHS. However, nothing on the scale we will see if the Con-Dem government get their way with the new health care reforms bill. They wish to totally open up every aspect of the NHS to the market, this they claim, will make the health service cheaper and more efficient. It might very well make it cheaper by cutting corners in the name of making a profit rather then helping people, cutting staff down to skeleton crews, not training them properly all to make a few people at the top very rich while we get poorer and poorer health care. We have already seen this with private care homes, prisons and some wards in our hospitals. More efficient, clearly not. Over the years The NHS bureaucracy has increased with more private intervention, not decreased. Or look at the Bureaucratic nightmare that is the US Health care system, that’s where we are heading. An insurance based system in which we will have to top up our health care if we wish a real service or to be seen in a reasonable space of time. A system that is not universal and that the size of your wallet determines your health and whether you live or die.

It is imperative that we save the NHS, join the march on the 26th of March in London, there are free buses going from all over the place. For more information click here. Also,  get involved in the Anti Cuts Alliances all over the county, click here to find out what’s happening nationally as well as in your local area. If we don’t fight, we defiantly can’t win!

No Comments | In: Anti Cuts, Web Site | tags: Anti Cuts, NHS, Privatization. | #

On the 26th of March there will be the major march against the cuts in public spending. It will take place in  London.

It’s planned to be the big one, so if you can get there, do! There are loads of FREE coaches going. From Bristol, where I am going from, there are 40 alone at present, so no excuses :-p!

These cuts effect us all and we must fight them, else they’ll win and roll back people living standards. The Rich caused this crisis, so why are we paying? Make the tax dodging greedy rich pay instead!

For more information visit this web site

No Comments | In: Anti Cuts, Web Site | tags: Capitalism, March For An Alternative, Socialism. | #

Had a look at Google Analytics this morning to see what the traffic was like on this blog. I knew my traffic was up quite a bit as I’m actually updating the site now, but was quite shocked what it was at almost 5000% (yes five thousand is what I meant) increase in visitors over the last couple of months, 85% of which comes through search engines, my SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) skills are coming along nicely!

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I was reading an article about the AV (Alternative Vote) reform debate today that amused me . AV, First Past The Post (FPTP) does it really matter? It seems a bit of a joke, to me, debating which is better. Their both terrible terrible systems. The thing is, AV is probably worse than the system we have now. Like now, small parties (or even largish)  have little chance of making an inroad into parliament and under AV this will be made worse. But, this is what it seems the Lib Dems gave up everything for; their members, their voters, for a system that will probably not help them much at any rate

Proportional Representation would have been the best one, of course. Well, better, hardly democracy because after all we live in a Capitalist system and democracy isn’t compatible with that. It’s strange how people can think we live in a democracy when we have little of the choices that actually matter. We have no democratic control over our working lives, unless you’re rich, you can only sell yourself for a fraction of what you make and be dictated to. Sure you can start your own business but that takes a lot of time and money which most of us don’t have. You don’t have the freedom to distribute your opinion on a wide scale unless you’re rich and can afford to own a newspaper or TV channel. And even the supposed choices we have, do we? Who get into power time and time again? Parties that are totally out of sync with public opinion, who are rich men, on the most part, who don’t have the majorities interests at heart. Just take the cabinet. Their mostly multi millionaires. Look at the cuts, which ever way you look at them the working and middle classes are hit the worst and the rich get corporation tax cuts and bailouts. We must fight for a new workers party, and break free from the cycle of voting for the lesser of two evils…

No Comments | In: Socialism, Web Site | tags: AV, Capitalism, New Workers Party, Socialism. | #

Not that it’s better then nothing, and certainly better then a kick in the balls but 800 Million when we gave the banks trillions in bailouts not to mention the fact they have been leaching off us since forever and the massive drops in working peoples standards of living is an insult to say the least. And it’s not even as good as 800 million considering the cuts on Corporation tax which the bankers will benefit from! This is nothing but a political gesture with no substance.

The bankers caused this crisis yet we pay for it, with cuts to our services, pay and jobs.  Everyone will suffer (unless you’re a banker) and many many will die, let’s not mince words after all that is the grim reality of this all. All in the name of profit and keeping a live a outdated system that serves no one but the rich of our society.

Allowing this to continue is a crime, we can change things if we organise. The rich need us, we don’t need them, like they pretend we do. They are and do what they do because we allow them to. If we all just said ‘no’ who would do all the work to produce things and services that make them the profit? Huge profits I might add and in return give us a fraction of those profits in wages when it’s us that does all the work!

They know this, which is why they must keep such a tight reign on the media to spread their lies. But people aren’t stupid, people know it’s bollox what they read in the paper but feel powerless to do anything. But it’s simply not true, we have the power, all they have is the piles of money, without workers to make them their vast profits they are powerless to control us, this needs to be remembered!

We have nothing to lose my friends, nothing but our chains!

No Comments | In: Anti Cuts, Socialism | tags: Banks, Capitalism, Socialism, Torys. | #

Came across these little parodies that amused me from Proper Tidy Blog promoting the UK Uncut Web site. They illustrate how the rich get away with avoiding billions a year in tax while us ordinary people have our wages, services and stanards of living cut. The rich caused this crisis yet the poor pay, as usual, and the rich get ever richer! The posters here state 25 Billion but the total in lost tax when including evasion is more like 120 Billion now! For a break down click here.

No Comments | In: Anti Cuts, Web Site | tags: Rich, Tax. | #

As many of you will have heard yesterday the Police launched a new Crime Mapping Web App, read up here if you haven’t. Well this is the anti social map for round my way. When I first looked at it I thought bugger that looks bad. But, when comparing it to other areas of Bristol it really isn’t bad at all…

Not sure I see the point of it other then it’s mildly fun to take a gander at and perhaps to scare people. But I suppose you got to keep’em scared to keep’em down! It’s the way they can keep control. I think most people can agree the system we live under is deeply unfair but stop at the point of trying to change it because they have been ground down, demoralised to such a point they don’t see a way of changing it. Which of course isn’t true, we can if we organise! History has shown us time and time again we can change things, we must change things!

No Comments | In: Web Site | tags: Crime, Police. | #

My blog is ranked seven for the search term ‘David Bishop’ making me the seventh most popular David Bishop in the entire world!!! Good times! This blog post where I have now mentioned David Bishop three times should hopefully help too! :-p

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Went to Bristol South Socialist Party branch meeting last night and we watched a short film called ‘Socialism on Trial’ about the Liverpool Council between 1983 to 1987. Like now the city was facing massive cuts when the city was already in a horrendous state. The 47 Liverpool Councilors shows that you can fight the cuts, and what current councillors are saying is bollox about having to make the cuts passed onto them.

The production values are ridiculously bad, but try and push through that, important messages within!

No Comments | In: Anti Cuts, Socialism, Video | tags: Anti Cuts, Council, Liverpool, Socialism. | #