MANY people no longer trust politicians. The leaders of the main political parties call for cuts and privatisation, meaning they expect us to pay for a crisis triggered by the bankers.

Trade Unionists and Socialists Against Cuts will stand six candidates in the Stroud District, 11 around the county and nearly 600 nationwide.

All will be committed to a fighting programme against all cuts and privatisation, building a political alternative to represent ordinary working people.

TUSC Against Cuts is backed by the Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union and was co-founded by their recently departed general secretary, socialist and class fighter Bob Crow.

We are standing so that socialist ideas will be heard, explaining the need for a determined battle to fight for decent pay and jobs and defend public services.

Our candidates have battled to successfully prevent some privatisation plans for Gloucestershire’s NHS.

We helped present a petition to the council calling for a ‘no evictions’ policy for those who go into arrears due to the Bedroom Tax, which mainly affects disabled people. Labour, Tory and LibDem councillors voted against this.

One Dursley candidate is a long time Disability Rights campaigner.

Austerity is about taking from the poor and giving to the rich.

There is no need for any cuts to public services; there is plenty of money, just not in our pockets.

We worry about our jobs, pay, loss of housing benefit, disability benefits and struggle with rents and mortgages.

The fat cats dodge tax and 5 families in Britain own as much as 12.6 million people.

Socialism offers an alternative through democratic public ownership of our services and the big corporations, but it will take a mass fight back to get there.

Labour promise austerity until 2020 and that they will be tougher on benefits than the Tories, the need for a new worker’s party has never been greater.