Keep up to date with Solidarity's campaign in East Ayrshire in the by-election blog http://www.solidarityscotland.org/content/blogsection/5/34/

Tommy Sheridan today called on the voters to put people first and reject Alistair Darling's budget. Solidarity have joined Tony Benn, George Monbiot, MPs Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell, MEPs Jill Evans and Caroline Lucas and Trades Union branches across the UK, in supporting the People Before Profit Charter peoplebeforeprofit.wordpress.com/ .  Sheridan said:

"New Labour allow billionaires to avoid paying tax altogether and all of the budget measures are aimed at businesses and banks with Darling, Mandelson and Brown clearly stating their only interest is in getting the people to borrow more and spending more, which is partly where this all started.  It's time to stop squandering billions on wars and weapons and redistribute the wealth from the rich to the poor."

Three Human Rights Observers with the International Solidarity Movement have begun a hunger strike in protest over the illegal confiscation of Palestinian fishing boats by Israel. The three HROs, Darlene Wallach of the U.S., Vittorio Arrigoni of Italy, and Andrew Muncie of Scotland, were forcibly abducted by the Israeli Navy on Tuesday, while accompanying unarmed Palestinian fishermen off the coast of the Gaza Strip.

According to Wallach, “We were fishing about 7 miles off the shores of Gaza. The Israeli soldiers came on board the three boats via four Zodiacs. The frogmen came up and over each boat. They used a taser on Vik while he was still on the boat, then tried to push him backwards onto a sharp piece of wood. He jumped into the sea to avoid being hurt more than he already was and was in the water for quite a while. Then they came for me and forced me into the Zodiac at the point of a gun. They kidnapped me and Andrew and Vik and all of the Palestinian fishermen.”

The Labour Government in Westminster are about to take up to 40% of benefits from lone parents who cannot find work.  From next week parents whose children are over 12 years old will face benefit cuts if you do not prove they are looking for work or take jobs affered to them.  Solidarity Co-Convenor, Rosemary Byrne said:

"Income Support is already too low, how could a family survive on 40% less?  Not all parents have the support of extended family and this could lead to many teenagers fending for themselves.  The only result of this will be more latch-key children and more poverty.  At a time when people are losing jobs Labour should be targetting the rich and not the poorest.  They have billions for bankers yet want to raid the purses of already hard-pressed families."