Arming ourselves with arguments against the ConDems

UNISON did well to support the research, in association with the Fabian Society and the TUC, published in today's Observer which demonstrates that closing the deficit with the emphasis on spending cuts hits the poorest hardest.

We need to use this evidence to rebut the justifications which will be offered to us for particular cuts proposals, when they crystallise into redundancy proposals on which our employers need to consult us. We will be told that the proposals before us will "improve services" even though we will know as well as their authors that this cannot be true.

Unfortunately the Coalition Government have got public opinion on side for spending cuts right now Overall 57% think Osborne made the right decisions for the country as a whole, with 23% thinking he made the wrong decisions. 42% think he made the right decisions for them, 33% the wrong ones.

It's no shock that the political left lost the battle of ideas since 2008 when our standard bearers were New Labour, but the support for Government budget decisions will not long outlast their beginning to bite. Therefore we need to prepare our arguments as much as we need to prepare our forces.

As well as publicising the negative impact of the "ConDem" budget on the most vulnerable we must continue to publicise UNISON's Alternative Budget which is of course very similar in many ways to the People's Charter as a campaigning tool.

UNISON Activists need to familiarise ourselves with the arguments against the cuts as much as we need to improve our organisation and ability to resist.