Will conman Cameron face cheering or jeering crowds at the Tory party conference in Cardiff this March?On the weekend of the 4th - 6th March 2011 Cardiff will be the venue for not one but two government party conferences. The Conservative Party will be hosting their Spring Forum at the Swelec Stadium, whilst the Welsh Lib Dems will be having their party conference just down the road at the Angel Hotel.
The Prime Minister himself, David Cameron will be be coming to make a keynote speech to the party faithful on the Saturday afternoon. We should give him the welcome he deserves to ensure he knows that his cost-cutting policies are not popular with the poorest in society.
His speech is already pretty much written: “Thank you for your wonderful Welsh welcome… blah blah… the cuts are necessary and tough decisions have to be made by everyone… a reference to recent Ashes victory… If we all work as team we can get through this together… ". Toad-like Welsh conservative leader Nick Bourne will lead the standing ovation, before staking a subtle claim for his surely inevitable seat in the House of Lords.
But Tory self-congratulation aside the 'Big Society' is not going to work and his policy makers know it. The organisations and charities that help the most vulnerable in society are suffering harsh cuts. Many will have to cease operation or be forced to abandon neutrality further and take funding from corporations. This will mean in some areas there will be little or no help for the poorest and most vulnerable including asylum seekers, people with debt issues and those with mental health problems.
His policies were started by his mentor and political hero Margaret Thatcher in 1980s, breaking the unions and imposing unjust laws. This coalition government intends to carry on in her tradition: support business, the rich and the warmongers and ignore everyone else. But cracks are beginning to show. The ConDems have already felt the anger of students in recent demonstrations at the end of 2010, which saw a rise of militant protest not seen on the streets for many years. This has given experienced (often jaded) activists encouragement and a new mood of solidarity between diverse groups and campaigns is emerging.
With the coalition already showing signs of weakness with their u-turn on the sell off of the forests. Local grassroots groups around the country are campaign against the raft of austerity measures, closures, sell offs and other issues. Trade Unions are beginning to mobilise the thousands of public sector workers who will be affected by a raft of extremely deep cuts. A new social movement concerned with tax justice has begun to coalesce around the effective actions of UKUncut.
In Wales we have a referendum on 3rd March followed by assembly elections in May. David Cameron would doubtless like to announce some kind of victory when he speaks on the 5th. As an anarchist I think we should all seriously consider refusing to play their political games and not go to the polling stations: not to encourage political apathy or disengagement, but to actively send a message to politicians of all parties that we have heard too many lies and too little truth.
We should be on the streets when the ConDem circus comes to town. 'Official' demonstrations have already been called, with the Welsh TUC having decided to do the police's job for them by limiting themselves to a ticket-only “free speech zone” some distance from either event. Doubtless more will be announced, check the calendar for details in the days ahead. But don't wait to be told what to do, make plans and be creative on the day. Be mobile and make the 5th March a day of chaos and confusion for the Tory toffs. This is a rare and valuable chance to really show conman Cameron what we think of him.
