The Public Services Not Private Profit Campaign was launched last year by a number of trade unions and John McDonnell MP as a response to the inability or perhaps lack of will from the TUC to provide a robust response to New Labour's slash and burn approach to public services.

In light of the gathering mood within many unions for a fight-back, activists within Westminster Trades Union Council and other local union activists called a rally in central London recently to get a local group up-and-running.

Speakers were Mark Serwotka, PCS[1], Paul Mackney, UCU[2], Tony Benn and Judy Moorhouse of the NUT[3]. They gave a number of examples of how New Labour's drive to sell off public services has resulted in a race to the bottom on jobs, pay and conditions for those working in Health, Education and the Civil Service and the continuing deterioration of service provision to the public.

However, it was not all doom and gloom. There was a clear call for a campaign across the public sector unions which will undoubtedly tap into the growing disillusionment in British society with Blair's privatising agenda.

Although many activists are frustrated at the lack of momentum, there seems to be a clear drive for action in PCS, the UK's sixth largest union. If members are willing to follow up the massive show of force on 31 January, when over 200,000 struck in defence of jobs, equal pay and public services then a national civil strike on 1 May could be on the cards. Mark Serwotka is hoping that this could be a focal point to inspire and rally the other unions, like Unison, to link up with the campaign.

Activists and no doubt members of the big unions, particularly in the NHS, are getting increasingly angry but are frustrated with their leaderships who are quite clearly hedging their bets with Gordon Brown. But many PCS activists are hoping that if their rank and file can be inspired to start moving pressure can be brought to bear on the leaderships who unlike Brown (although we are working on it!) are more likely after all to face elections at some point ! The ongoing debate will also give us an opportunity to discuss the Labour link and put forward ‘John4Leader' as a viable response to the continuation of the discredited New Labour 'Project' under Brown.

Another very interesting point that came out was the ‘Make Your Vote Count' plank of the PCS campaign. PCS are intending to ask all 5000 candidates before the coming local elections where they stand on Public Services and will then publish their results to every PCS member. Mark explained that many within the TUC had expressed opposition to this on the basis of loyalty to Labour i.e. Tories might give a better answer than Labour candidates!

This is surely a great idea. With the current disillusionment with public services, any Labour candidate with half a brain is surely going to answer with a pro-public services answer, meaning that they can be held to account when and if they win council posts. There are also perhaps many Labour candidates out there who are disillusioned with Blairism and only too happy to stick two fingers up to Tony Blair and co.

Mark expressed the hope that this would signal that the Labour Party was in revolt and shake the Parliamentary Party - another thing that he suggested scared the TUC officialdom, something I'm sure all socialists would welcome! Socialists do not support Labour blindly, out of tribal loyalty, but critically, from a working class point of view. That is why we are fundamentally opposed to Blair's pro-capitalist clique which to handing public services over to big business. And this is also why we argue that as long as the union link remains so does the potential to change the party. But this will not happen without a fight and this has start in the unions.

[1] Public & Commercial Services Union, the largest civil service union

[2] University and Colleges Union, recently merger of NATFHE and AUT, representing lecturers and teachers in further and higher education.

[3] National Union of Teachers