ON Wednesday, March 26, the coalition of resistance held a press conference in London. This was supported by celebrities, politicians and trade union leaders, who joined forces with campaigners, to put forward common sense politics, instead of the the cuts and austerity that is inflicting misery and damage to our country.

These include cuts to our NHS and public services, and attacks on our welfare state and the grossly unfair bedroom tax.

Speaker after speaker condemned the government’s austerity programme, which is quite clearly not working.

One of the speakers was the Green Party MP for Brighton, Caroline Lucas, who talked about the People’s Assembly to be held on June 22 at the Westminster Hall in London, when more than 3,000 delegates will gather to put forward the economic alternative to cuts and austerity. She said it would be a once-in-a generation opportunity to unite all against this reckless government and expose the lie that there is no alternative to cuts.

She also said the assembly will “create political space to put forward alternatives to austerity”

and outlined her vision of “a labour-intensive green economy”.

The alternatives to cuts are the scrapping of the Trident programme, saving the country £100 billion, introducing a Robin Hood tax that could generate £20 billion a year and cutting tax loopholes and tax havens that allows the super-rich to avoid and evade paying their fair share in taxes. It is estimated that up to £120 billion has been uncollected that should have been paid.

And finally there should be the reintroduction of the 50p tax rate for the well-off. Millionaires in April will have a tax cut of up £100,000, a year whilst, at the same time, ordinary people are being hit hard, both through pay freezes, ever-rising prices and cuts to benefits even for working families.

The People’s Assembly hopes to have local campaigns right across the country to argue in favour of the alternative economic policy.

We in the Green party call on all who are opposed to the destruction being heaped on the people of Bolton to join forces and set up a local campaign of resistance.

Alan Johnson Bolton Green Party