** The budget deficit is an accountancy deficit not a resource deficit

Everyone knows that the money stolen from ordinary tax-payers by bank-bailouts, by tax-evading multinationals and by the super-rich could re-pay the government's budget deficit overnight. Second, everyone knows this paper deficit has been manufactured as an excuse to privatize public services, to sell-off publicly owned resources, and to siphon tax revenues away from services like the NHS to corporate "providers" - the same multinationals whose tax-dodging did so much to help undermine public services, and the same tax-dodgers who finance the Lib-Dems and Tory Party!

The budget deficit is an accountancy deficit, not a resource deficit, as enough resources exist for us all to live well. The problem isn't a lack of resources, it's an issue of control. Control rests in the hands of the Coalition and bank bosses - the Coalition whose partners most people voted against and who broke the promises they made to those people who did vote for them, and the bank bosses who've been exposed as the biggest thieves in history.

As for the consequences of privatisation-by-betrayal, if you think your granny and grandpa's health is safe in the hands of Richard Branson, what will happen to privatised GP services is what did happen to Virgin Trains and Virgin Megastores. Virgin Trains run a shit service, and Virgin Megastores were sold off, then closed down, as soon as they stopped making a profit. This is not a recession, this is a robbery, however, as for anti-cuts protests, the last thing recent events mean is that because we havn't succeeded yet we should just give up...

** I agree with almost every criticism leveled at the TUC and Labour

In context of these extraordinary events some sections of the radical movement have achieved the seemingly impossible. Far from seeing their ranks swelled by members of the public sickened by the betrayals of mainstream politicians, Anarchist groups have seen their support-base barely rise, in the worst cases, actively shrink. As most Indymedia users know, Freedom Press recently issued a statement floating the idea that, with just 300 subscribers and 10 stockists, they're thinking of closing the print edition of their magazine. Class War gave up formally organising in 2011. Ian Bone stopped blogging in 2012. The IWW and Sol-Fed do great work, but, as a group of similar size, the Anarchist Federation still advertises "well over a hundred members"! The Freedom collective estimate the total size of the movement as roughly the 3,000 who attend the Anarchist Bookfair down in London... in contrast the TUC represents 6.5 million members.

On Oct 20 the TUC are organising a march to protest against the cuts. As for radical objections to the politics and leadership of the TUC and Labour Party, the facts are simple. I agree with almost every criticism that could be leveled at the TUC and Labour! Radicals can however look on the Oct 20 protest as an opportunity to sit in our ghetto, lecturing an audience of virtually nobody about what we think is wrong with the TUC, or we can look on Oct 20 as an opportunity to show solidarity with the hopefully hundreds of thousands of ordinary people who'll be using Oct 20 to express their disgust with modern politics. We need to support this demo, not because of the people who are behind it, but because of the people who'll be on it.

When research indicates that between 50% and 70% of the population no longer self-indentify (rightly or wrongly) as being working-class (hey, argue with them about that, not with me) it's no more surprising that attempts to reconcile Anarchist opposition to the State with the defence of State services have been as successful as attempts to engage the population with Class War rhetoric. Put bluntly, class struggle Anarchism has gone down like a cup of cold sick with the 99% of this country's 62 million people, while those radical groups that have (relatively speaking) prospered have done so on the basis of their social inclusivity.

** Right now we need to use much more subversive tactics

We need to STOP lecturing the public about why we're right and why everyone else is wrong, and LISTEN to the public, not as Anarchists, but as equals. The blunt fact is that every Anarchist or Communist symbol that's displayed on protests has, in net effect, contributed nothing to the overall growth of radical groups, while alienating more members of the public, and being used by right-wing media to demonise protests. If we work hard, box clever and sustain determined opposition, one day we might get to wave those banners on a victory parade. Right now however we need to use much more subversive tactics. To do grass-roots politics we need to blend-in, not stand out. We need to encourage people to support demos on the basis of their grievances, not ours. We need to use our intelligence to find positives in every protest opportunity, and use our creativity to find ways to make sure the public enjoy protest politics. Get down the web-caff and get e-mailing, get the leaflets and stickers and get busy on the streets. If this demo's poorly attended the Coalition will be cock-a-hoop. If we make sure the demo's well attended, we can help wipe the smile off Cameron's face.

 http://www.afed.org.uk/component/content/article/66-welcome-to-afed-website.html

 http://www.freedompress.org.uk/news/2012/07/19/the-future-of-freedom/