First they came for our education. Then they came for our welfare benefits. Now they're deporting migrant hospital workers to downsize the NHS. If we don't act now…what will be next?
Accessible education is an essential part of any good society, as are functioning hospitals, fair welfare benefits and participatory democracy. Accessing these opportunities was always difficult for some people, even before the cuts. With the recent proposed cuts how many more people will be denied access to vital services?
Immigration currently generates substantial tax revenue in the UK. Yet despite the significant contribution they make, many migrants cannot access public services and mainstream benefits. Many migrants struggle to access even the services to which they are entitled. Migrants deserve a better service than we are currently offering, not new policies which will subject them to further exclusion and discrimination.
Nationalism and the Cuts
Many anti-cuts organizations equate fighting the cuts with demands to defend the Welfare State, especially those associated with the Labour party, but also many independent left groups. The No Borders position is different; it is the services we want to defend, improve and bring under popular control, not the Welfare state.
Early immigration laws such as the Aliens Act were developed in parallel with the embryonic Welfare State, which after all is part of the Nation State. Right from the beginning the Welfare State was developed for British Citizens and excluded migrants. We want to defend and improve services, but more than this we want to bring them under popular control so that the people who run and use these services can decide how the money is spent.
Cuts to public services will have a disproportionate effect on migrants. Raids on workplaces are increasing, as is the scapegoating of migrants in the context of increasing austerity. In a recent raid on St Thomas’ hospital, 72 migrant workers were seized by police and border agency officers. These actions are occurring at a time when services that migrants and asylum seekers depend on, such as ESOL and legal aid, are already under attack.
The No Borders Network
As an anti-authoritarian network, No Borders rejects all forms of domination and social control. We reject categories such as ‘alien’ and ‘illegal’ which create divisions that mask the real causes of poverty; capitalism, environmental destruction and unequal power relations, both in the UK and worldwide. The No Borders network adopts an explicit anti-capitalist position, seeing capitalism as at the root of social injustice and inequality.
Stop them in their tracks!
Let's stand together in our refusal to accept the budget cuts and the sale of the public sector to private companies. Let's reclaim these services for everyone.
This government is acting without a mandate and has no legitimacy in parliament. We call for a radical movement against a system of control that wants to divide us into citizens and non-citizens. We demand the end of the border regime for everyone, including ourselves, to enable us to live another way, without fear, racism and nationalism.
The No Fees No Cuts! demo starts at midday at Malet Street ULU. Join us! For more info about the demo go here.