A hundred people lobbied against cuts in Children and Young People's Services in Lambeth on 19 July. A report is included below. Next week, we need an even bigger protest: join trade unionists, service-users and community activists protesting to the council's cabinet against their plans for cuts in services and jobs!
6.30pm, Monday 26 July
Lambeth Town Hall, Brixton (bottom of Acre Lane, a few minutes from Brixton tube)
A hundred workers, council tenants, parents, service-users and pensioners protested outside Lambeth council's 'Children and Young People's Scrutiny Committee', at very short notice, on 19 July. (Children and Young People's Services are the sharp end of the Labour council's cuts program, set to lose £20 million over two years.) About seventy went in to the Town Hall and gave the committee - who are obviously not used to being scrutinised themselves! - a very hard time indeed.
Wednesday 21 July 2010
Lambeth 'Save Our Services' campaign broadsheet
Click here to download the first broadsheet produced by the new Lambeth 'Save Our Services' anti-cuts campaign, supported by Lambeth UNISON, GMB, NUT and Pensioners' Action Group among others.
Thousands of copies were distributed at the Lambeth Country Show on 17 and 18 July.
Contents include:
- Save our services
- Budget misery for millions of older people
- Defend education at Lambeth College
- Lambeth housing in crisis?
- Right to Work campaign
- Children's services under attack
- Why we won the Whittington
- 10 reasons why we are right to consider strike action / 5 reasons why local Lambeth people should support us
For printed copies of the broadsheet, ring the UNISON office on 020 7737 2134.
Thousands of copies were distributed at the Lambeth Country Show on 17 and 18 July.
Contents include:
- Save our services
- Budget misery for millions of older people
- Defend education at Lambeth College
- Lambeth housing in crisis?
- Right to Work campaign
- Children's services under attack
- Why we won the Whittington
- 10 reasons why we are right to consider strike action / 5 reasons why local Lambeth people should support us
For printed copies of the broadsheet, ring the UNISON office on 020 7737 2134.
Tuesday 6 July 2010
Kala Tara: the Asian Youth Movement and the fight against fascism in the 1970s
A film showing to open Ideas for Freedom 2010
7pm, Friday 9 July
The Exmouth Arms, Starcross Street, Euston, London NW1
In the 1970s, many thousands of British Asian youth became active around the Asian Youth Movement, a radical, secular, socialist-influenced network fighting against racism, police brutality and the threat of the far right.
Kala Tara (Black Star), a film named after the Bradford AYM's paper, tells the story. We are showing it to open Ideas for Freedom, the weekend of socialist discussion and debate hosted by Workers' Liberty (9-11 July).
We will be discussing what lessons the left can draw for the fight against racism and fascism today, and why the decades since the AYM's heyday have seen a shift from secular, leftist towards religious and communalist politics.
Plus Tower Hamlets activist Ansar Ullah will be speaking about the fight against fascism and Islamism today.
Facebook event here.
7pm, Friday 9 July
The Exmouth Arms, Starcross Street, Euston, London NW1
In the 1970s, many thousands of British Asian youth became active around the Asian Youth Movement, a radical, secular, socialist-influenced network fighting against racism, police brutality and the threat of the far right.
Kala Tara (Black Star), a film named after the Bradford AYM's paper, tells the story. We are showing it to open Ideas for Freedom, the weekend of socialist discussion and debate hosted by Workers' Liberty (9-11 July).
We will be discussing what lessons the left can draw for the fight against racism and fascism today, and why the decades since the AYM's heyday have seen a shift from secular, leftist towards religious and communalist politics.
Plus Tower Hamlets activist Ansar Ullah will be speaking about the fight against fascism and Islamism today.
Facebook event here.
Thursday 1 July 2010
Lambeth anti-cuts campaign launched
An initial organising meeting attended by 19 local residents and workers met today (30 June) at the UNISON office. Representatives of the local Pensioners' and Tenants' movements were present alongside members of local branches of the University and Colleges Union (UCU), the National Union of Teachers (NUT) and several members of Lambeth UNISON.
The meeting endorsed the following statement;
We, the undersigned resolve to work together to resist cuts in public services in Lambeth and beyond. We oppose;
* The cuts and redundancies announced by the Council in May;
* Further cuts arising from cuts in Grant Aid imposed by the Government;
* Further cuts arising from the Government’s Emergency Budget.
We support local people, service-users and workers who are organising to resist these cuts in services. Children’s Services are in the forefront of this first wave of job cuts.
We call upon the Council to resist rather than implement cuts in public services.
We call specifically for;
* Support for the joint trade union lobby of the Children and Young Persons Scrutiny SubCommittee on Monday 19 July;
* Support for a lobby of the Cabinet on Monday 26 July;
* The establishment of a broad-based “Lambeth Save Our Services” Campaign to support and co-ordinate opposition to cuts in public services.
We call upon all local trade unions, the Trades Council, community groups, tenants organisations, voluntary organisations, pensioner organisations, campaign groups, faith groups and Labour parties to support a broad-based “Lambeth Save Our Services” Campaign.
The meeting agreed to contribute to an Anti-Cuts Broadsheet to be produced by the trade unions represented at the meeting for distribution at the Lambeth Country Show on 17 and 18 July and discussed further campaigning activity which could be supported, including a community forum at which details of proposed cuts - and genuinely progressive alternatives - could be discussed.
A further meeting will take place after the lobby of the Cabinet on 26 July.
The meeting endorsed the following statement;
We, the undersigned resolve to work together to resist cuts in public services in Lambeth and beyond. We oppose;
* The cuts and redundancies announced by the Council in May;
* Further cuts arising from cuts in Grant Aid imposed by the Government;
* Further cuts arising from the Government’s Emergency Budget.
We support local people, service-users and workers who are organising to resist these cuts in services. Children’s Services are in the forefront of this first wave of job cuts.
We call upon the Council to resist rather than implement cuts in public services.
We call specifically for;
* Support for the joint trade union lobby of the Children and Young Persons Scrutiny SubCommittee on Monday 19 July;
* Support for a lobby of the Cabinet on Monday 26 July;
* The establishment of a broad-based “Lambeth Save Our Services” Campaign to support and co-ordinate opposition to cuts in public services.
We call upon all local trade unions, the Trades Council, community groups, tenants organisations, voluntary organisations, pensioner organisations, campaign groups, faith groups and Labour parties to support a broad-based “Lambeth Save Our Services” Campaign.
The meeting agreed to contribute to an Anti-Cuts Broadsheet to be produced by the trade unions represented at the meeting for distribution at the Lambeth Country Show on 17 and 18 July and discussed further campaigning activity which could be supported, including a community forum at which details of proposed cuts - and genuinely progressive alternatives - could be discussed.
A further meeting will take place after the lobby of the Cabinet on 26 July.
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