Kirklees Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition

14/05/2026

The first post-election meeting of the TUSC all-Britain steering committee took place on Wednesday May 13th and, as has been our practice every year since 2011, agreed to publish a full report as a public record of the results of all the 750 or so TUSC, independent and other left candidates – adve...

10/05/2026

The new anti-austerity and anti-war councillors elected on May 7th can make a difference, as a republished case study of the record of two socialist councillors under the last New Labour government shows.

The new anti-austerity and anti-war councillors elected on May 7th can make a difference, as a republished case study of the record of two socialist councillors under the last New Labour government shows. The headline-grabbing stories from the elections are the gains for Reform and the Greens, the P...

31/03/2026

Over 300 candidates will be standing with a clear working-class, socialist identifier in May’s elections, after the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) all-Britain steering committee approved 114 new applications to use a TUSC-registered description on the ballot paper at its most recent...

26/03/2026

Scottish Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition announces candidates for Holyrood election.

Our candidates include trade unionists with a record of leading struggles against cuts and for pay justice - including leaders of the Dundee and Glasgow City UNISON branches, as well as socialists with a long track record of fighting against war and oppression. Our candidates are:

Chris Sermanni - Rutherglen and Cambuslang
Jim McFarlane - Dundee City West
Donald McLeod - Dundee City East
Lynda McEwan - Dumbarton
Sinead Daly - Paisley
Jim Halfpenny - Renfrewshire North and Cardonald

The need for a socialist election challenge has never been clearer. All the main parties have a records of carrying out cuts to public services and other anti-working class policies.

15 core policies that Scottish TUSC candidates will stand on

1. End all cuts and austerity – elected politicians in councils, Holyrood and Westminster must refuse to make cuts and fight for fully funded NHS, council and social care services

2. No coalitions or electoral agreements with parties or independents who have a record of implementing cuts and who refuse to sign up to a no cuts platform

3. For a massive programme of council house building to tackle the housing crisis

4. Scrap the council tax and for its replacement with a tax on income that make the rich pay

5. Increase the minimum wage to an immediate £15 an hour with no age exemptions – wages must rise automatically with inflation

6. Abolish all anti-trade union laws

7. Stop benefit cuts – benefits must match the cost of living

8. Take the wealth off the billionaires – Tax the rich and big business – For public ownership and democratic control of the multinationals that dominate the economy

9. End the genocide – End the occupation of Gaza – Build mass struggle for Palestinian rights and an independent Palestinian state

10. End the war in the Middle East

11. Oppose all forms of racism – Fight for jobs, homes and public services for all – Defend the right to asylum and fight against the onslaught against refugees

12. Defend and extend LGBTQ+ and women’s rights

13. For socialist change, public ownership and democratic planning to tackle the environmental crisis

14. For the right of self-determination for Scotland, including the right of the Scottish parliament to organise a second independence referendum. Fight for an independent socialist Scotland

15. All candidates will stand on the pledge, if elected, of only taking the average wage of a skilled worker as an MSP

19/03/2026

“Don’t just protest on May 7th, it’s our chance to vote for socialist change”, is the headline of a new campaign leaflet published today for May’s local elections by the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) steering committee. “The local elections are a chance to protest at Sir ...

25/02/2026

With the inaugural central executive committee (CEC) of Your Party beginning its term of office on February 27th, it’s now time to seriously organise to get socialism on the ballot paper in the elections taking place on May 7th – with the official deadline for candidates’ nomination papers to ...

16/02/2026

A recent exchange between the Green councillors group in Sheffield and TUSC and Your Party supporters in the city has again raised the important question - what can councillors actually do to resist the austerity agenda facing local public services? Sheffield council provides over 500 public service...

10/02/2026

The campaign for the trade unions to take the lead in building a new working-class party, launched last May with a petition under that title (at https://www.change.org/TradeUnions-LaunchANewParty) and a 1,000-strong national meeting in July, is continuing its detailed work in each individual union.....

06/02/2026

opens candidate applications for May local elections - could you be the anti-austerity and anti-war alternative candidate we need? Forms, election guide, etc. at https://www.tusc.org.uk/22163/05-02-2026/next-tusc-all-britain-steering-committee-meeting-2/
Closing date for Round 1 - 21st February.

29/01/2026

The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) all-Britain steering committee has welcomed a new petition launched by leading trade unionists calling on the Green Party leader Zack Polanski to mobilise his party in the struggle against local council austerity. The petition – launched by 20 curr...