A TEENAGER is standing in the new Reading Central constituency, promising that if elected he would eschew an MP’s wage.
Adam Gillman is on the ballot paper for the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition party in the July 4 poll, and at 18, he is the youngest candidate in the region.
He said he has been motivated to stand as a result of the past 14 years, saying the ‘rotten Tory government’ has overseen austerity, war and poverty.
“We saw the horrific response by the Tories to the covid pandemic where years of privatisation and underfunding of the NHS left us ill equipped to deal with the crisis,” he said, adding that the party awarded “dodgy and lucrative PPE contracts to their wealthy friends while thousands died due to their criminally inadequate response”, and referred to the Partygate scandal, where Boris Johnson’s administration disregarded covid rules on social distancing and gatherings to hold numerous social events and parties.
Mr Gillman also has concerns over the cuts made by the government on election in 2010.
“We have seen the impact of austerity first hand with infrastructure crumbling, bus routes cut, NHS resources stretched, youth services closed and so much more,” he said.
On the international front, Mr Gillman said: “There are the horrific repercussions of war not only in Ukraine and Gaza but also in Sudan, Yemen, Myanmar and all over the world, where innocent people are bombed and displaced as capitalist governments seek to strengthen their global position in an ever more violent and unstable capitalist world.”
This has influenced his thinking on the situation in Israel/Palestine following “horrific attacks by Hamas on October 7”. He says the Israeli state’s response was “horrendous war crimes” and “people are starving, thirsty and homeless, with the constant threat of further bombardment”.
He is critical of Labour’s response: “(This is) a party which once represented the interests of the working class.
“Now, it is clearly a party of big business supporting austerity, war and exploitation, as was the case under Tony Blair when he was Labour Prime Minister.
“Starmer eventually announced his support for completely inadequate ‘humanitarian pauses’ in the slaughter as opposed to a complete ceasefire. And this was only due to the pressure of the anti-war movement where hundreds of thousands were on the streets in London, and millions globally, against israeli state terror.”
Mr Gillman was also critical of Labour’s candidate in Reading Central, Matt Rodda, calling him “opportunist” for asbtaining on a parliamentary debate calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
“The anger against Rodda during the anti-war protests in Reading has been very clear,” Mr Gillman said.
“He also doesn’t support policies that would improve the lives of working people such as opposition to council cuts or the nationalisation of the energy companies, even after they recorded record profits while working class people face rising energy bills.”
Mr Gillman describes himself as an active trade unionist, who would campaign against “the devastating cuts and privatisation of public services by the central government”.
He said: “(These are) policies have resulted in the plundering of millions of pounds from local councils.
“If elected, I would immediately demand this money be returned to councils so that services are fully funded and nobody goes cold, hungry or homeless.
“Labour councillors up and down the country should be building mass campaigns amongst trade unions and service users to demand the funding needed rather than meekly accepting Tory cuts.
“They could initially use reserves and borrowing powers to implement no cuts budgets whilst building the kind of campaign needed. This is what I would stand for, and I have lobbied the Labour controlled Reading Council to demand this, as we see them, time and again, vote though multi-million pound budget cuts.”
On housing, he said he would campaign to help “working class people who are wrongfully evicted and face extremely high rents. I would propose rent controls, and the immediate building of council houses to meet demand.”
He pledged that if elected, instead of taking an MP’s salary of £91,346, he would instead take a skilled worked wage of £38,700.
Overall, he said: “We need fully democratic mass workers’ parties here and internationally, formed through the trade union movement, where working people collectively fight for their rights.
“This fight must lead to a socialist solution to oppose the war, poverty and terror of capitalism.
“If you want to see an anti-war and anti-cuts socialist alternative to the main parties vote TUSC Against Cuts in Reading Central on July 4.
“If you are interested in helping with campaigning, call: 07403 057140, or visit: berkshiretusc.org.ukto find out more.”
