Len McCluskey writes:
You have to give the Tory-led coalition its due – when it
comes to fighting for their values and principles they take no hostages.
From the mass sell-off of the NHS to their friends and donors to the callous bedroom tax, the politicians in this government are the true class warriors of our time.
They look after their own – the few – while we – the many – face a constant barrage of attacks on our living standards.
There is also something quite spiteful about this government too: a vengeful, nasty streak seems to underpin almost everything they do.
Take its decision to slash funding to the only museum in England dedicated to celebrating the history of working people.
The People’s History Museum in Manchester is facing a £200,000 shortfall in funding after the government slashed its grant.
According to the museum’s deputy director, Cath Birchall, part of the reason is because their present exhibition graphically tells the story of working people and their role in the first world war, including some who were conscientious objectors.
Birchall has said: “They don’t see the importance of a national museum that shows the effects of the war on ordinary people.”
This was a war that saw an estimated three-quarters of a million people die in combat and over a million injured.
It produced domestic casualties too. Research suggests that while the battles raged on the western front, as many as 100,000 people died of malnutrition and disease at home.
The proposed funding cut for the museum is a blatant attempt by the Tory party to rewrite history in its own image, to stop future generations from learning what their great-grandfathers sacrificed in the name of their country.
In Tory history, brigadiers and colonels are worth more than barrow boys and coalminers.
When the trustees of the Manchester museum attempted to meet with culture minister, Ed Vaizey, the man responsible for funding our national museums, they received the terse reply: “I’m too busy.”
Those three words sum up the attitude of the Tory party.
The People’s History Museum is a rare gem, dedicated to remembering the stories of working people and their contribution to building this country, in both war and peace.
It charts our movement’s history, from the deportation of the Tolpuddle martyrs to the stoic heroism of Lancashire’s mill workers during the American civil war, and the solidarity with the movement against apartheid in South Africa.
It is one museum out of approximately 2,500 in the country.
If your thing is the history of lawnmowers then you’re well catered for, with several dedicated to the machinery.
If you’re a bit of a mustard aficionado then there are multiple museums devoted to telling you the difference between Dijon, English and wholegrain.
Yet, when it comes to the history of working people, England boasts just one – and the government wants to shut it down.
History is not just about those who write it, but about those who live it.
Working people and the labour movement have been at the forefront of all social and political changes this country has undergone over the past three centuries.
We must defend the People’s Museum from the Tory-led government’s malicious and politically motivated attack, and safeguard the one museum dedicated to telling the story of us all.
From the mass sell-off of the NHS to their friends and donors to the callous bedroom tax, the politicians in this government are the true class warriors of our time.
They look after their own – the few – while we – the many – face a constant barrage of attacks on our living standards.
There is also something quite spiteful about this government too: a vengeful, nasty streak seems to underpin almost everything they do.
Take its decision to slash funding to the only museum in England dedicated to celebrating the history of working people.
The People’s History Museum in Manchester is facing a £200,000 shortfall in funding after the government slashed its grant.
According to the museum’s deputy director, Cath Birchall, part of the reason is because their present exhibition graphically tells the story of working people and their role in the first world war, including some who were conscientious objectors.
Birchall has said: “They don’t see the importance of a national museum that shows the effects of the war on ordinary people.”
This was a war that saw an estimated three-quarters of a million people die in combat and over a million injured.
It produced domestic casualties too. Research suggests that while the battles raged on the western front, as many as 100,000 people died of malnutrition and disease at home.
The proposed funding cut for the museum is a blatant attempt by the Tory party to rewrite history in its own image, to stop future generations from learning what their great-grandfathers sacrificed in the name of their country.
In Tory history, brigadiers and colonels are worth more than barrow boys and coalminers.
When the trustees of the Manchester museum attempted to meet with culture minister, Ed Vaizey, the man responsible for funding our national museums, they received the terse reply: “I’m too busy.”
Those three words sum up the attitude of the Tory party.
The People’s History Museum is a rare gem, dedicated to remembering the stories of working people and their contribution to building this country, in both war and peace.
It charts our movement’s history, from the deportation of the Tolpuddle martyrs to the stoic heroism of Lancashire’s mill workers during the American civil war, and the solidarity with the movement against apartheid in South Africa.
It is one museum out of approximately 2,500 in the country.
If your thing is the history of lawnmowers then you’re well catered for, with several dedicated to the machinery.
If you’re a bit of a mustard aficionado then there are multiple museums devoted to telling you the difference between Dijon, English and wholegrain.
Yet, when it comes to the history of working people, England boasts just one – and the government wants to shut it down.
History is not just about those who write it, but about those who live it.
Working people and the labour movement have been at the forefront of all social and political changes this country has undergone over the past three centuries.
We must defend the People’s Museum from the Tory-led government’s malicious and politically motivated attack, and safeguard the one museum dedicated to telling the story of us all.
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