Putting the Anti-Cuts Election Pledge to Use – Cornwall in 2013…

North Devon Anti-Cuts Alliance rather helpfully share a fantastic idea on their site – a pledge for council candidates to sign to say they will not vote through cuts or privatisation, and will campaign against these strongly. Of course, we’ve seen broken pledges from Lib Dem ranks, but it’s somewhat easier (perhaps) to hold local councillors to account than MPs 300 or so miles away.

With the unitary elections coming up in 2013 – a long way a way, but parties are already lining up candidates  – now would be a good time to start pressuring potential – and sitting – councillors in Cornwall to sign this pledge and reject Con-Dem cuts from Westminster. For Cornwall to reject these cuts in 2013 would be a massive step forward for the county (or country, for you Mebyon Kernow members). North Devon Anti-Cuts Alliance have already got around 11 candidates to sign the pledge, and it was organised no more than a few months ago. With a couple of years preparation, anti-cuts campaigners on this side of the Thamar could start a similar process of lobbying council candidates to defend local communities. Arguably most surprisingly, one of those who have signed the pledge is standing for UKIP. Sign of the times?

Anti-Cuts Election Pledge

If elected as a councillor, I pledge to:

Oppose by all possible means, all cuts to council jobs and services – rejecting the claim that ‘some cuts’ are necessary to our services. This will include:

  • Rejecting above inflation increases in council tax, rent and service charges to compensate for government cuts.
  • Voting against the privatisation or outsourcing of council services • Campaigning to use all the legal powers available to councils, to oppose both the cuts and government policies which impose the transfer of public services to private bodies.
  • Campaigning for councils to initially use reserves and prudential borrowing powers to avoid passing on cuts, and to help mobilise a mass campaign locally to defeat the cuts and set a budget that meets the needs of the local community, demanding that the government makes up the shortfall.
  • Make strenuous efforts to link local authorities who are willing to fight together to oppose the cuts.
2011
04/29
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‘How the cuts will hurt you – and how to fight them’

Cornwall Anti-Cuts Alliance are hosting a public meeting on the 28th April about the effect the cuts in Cornwall will have on our communities. As the name implies, the event will also aim at building the campaign in Cornwall against these cuts. We’ve seen in recent months news of hundreds of job losses at Treliske, the near closure of the youth centre in Mullion, around 700 jobs to be lost at Cornwall Council and dozens of other cases of ordinary people being made to pay for a crisis they didn’t cause.

Several local trade union leaders will be speaking, as well as local students. That includes myself (no, I’m not asking you to come because of that!); Lynsey Smith from Tremough Campus will be talking about the cuts to Higher Education, and I’ll be talking about  cuts to Further Education nationally. The meeting is the first of its sort in Cornwall (aside from the recent Academy debate in Falmouth) so should be an interesting start to the campaign. Perhaps there is even that demonstration in the pipe-line.

Please let your colleagues, comrades, student mates, councillors, friends and family know about this. It’s not one to miss. If you’re oppose to the cuts, this is a good chance to hear some prominent voices in the local anti-cuts movement and get involved in building it yourself.

It will take place at the Hall for Cornwall (Assembly Rooms), on Thursday 28th April at 7.30pm.

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I should be putting up a Facebook link for it soon. In the meantime, the details are below (from the Cornwall Anti-Cuts website) -

The meeting is being sponsored by the Cornwall branches of the CWU, NUT and PCS. The theme of the meeting is “HOW THE CUTS WILL HURT YOU AND HOW TO FIGHT THEM”, and speakers from the platform to date are: representatives from the Communication Workers Union, the National Union of Teachers (CORNWALL AND ISLES OF SCILLY BRANCH) ,the PCS UNION, GMB, as well as lecturers from around Cornwall. Other speakers will represent students from Truro College and Exeter University (Tremough Campus). There will also be a speaker from Save Our NHS (Cornwall).

Cornwall ACA will happily welcome other organisations opposed to the cuts to join in. Contact Secretary Chris Gibson for more information on 01872 560 483, or c.mccarther@sky.com

2011
04/22
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Unitary Councillor claims 40% ‘Supporting People’ cut won’t affect the vulnerable

About three months ago I wrote to my Tory councillor, Fiona Ferguson, to ask that she vote against the 40% cut to the Supporting People grant, which funds homeless and vulnerable support services across Cornwall.

Here’s the main part of the letter:

Cornwall has some of the lowest wages in the UK, and some of 
the most expensive (and indeed most insecure) housing.
This makes people hugely vulnerable to homelessness.

The Supporting People scheme, of which the funding has remained
relatively consistent for this year as the last, is now being cut by
40%. This is putting thousands of people - not just the homeless, but
the elderly - at risk. With an increased homeless problem, extra strain
will be put on both the police and the NHS, and will be
counterproductive if the aim is to save money. Homeless people suffer
significantly more health issues - both mental and physical - and are
also more likely to commit crime to survive.

I am asking earnestly as someone you represent to vote to save the
Supporting People funding if and when it arises in a council meeting.

Well, she did eventually get back to me – three months later. I may have been a little bit scathing in my reply (thanking her for her ‘prompt response’) – but it is simply unthinkable that a near halving of the grant will ‘not adversely affect vulnerable people’. The fund is solely targeted at the vulnerable. Cutting off 40% of their support funding, will, however much ‘bureaucracy’ you abolish, adversely affect them. Even under the existing arrangements Cornwall has the second highest rate of homelessness in England, and it seems inevitable that this will increase dramatically because of the cuts.

She claims the council are having to make ‘difficult decisions’, but really, difficult for whom? Most of the councillors (an honorable few excluded) will barely be affected by these cuts. These cuts are difficult, not for upper middle-class councillors deciding what public services to slash most, but for those on the edges of society – the easy targets – those who don’t vote. The council have millions in reserves. They could have prevented this cut. And Fiona Ferguson, a highly influential Tory in the Unitary Council, could potentially have tipped the voting balance.

The cuts to the Supporting People grant will make life unbearable for many in the county. In my subsequent response, I ask her to U-turn on this decision. If not, I hope my fellow constituents will, by the time 2013 comes, realise councillors like these do not defend the interests of people in Cornwall – and, without a shadow of a doubt, local voters will act on that realisation through the ballot box.

Here’s her full response to my initial letter:

I have looked at this carefully and am satisfied that the cuts should
not adversely affect vulnerable people, although they will involve some
different ways of working and the reduction of margins to certain
providers.  Some services will be dropped altogether eg warden services
for sheltered accommodation where residents do not want or need it. A
great deal of work has been done with providers to safeguard this and it
will be closely monitored.

We are having to make difficult decisions.  As this was a ring fenced
budget in the past, it is clear that the council did not always get the
best value for money  and the cost it paid for the same service differed
dramatically between providers.
2011
04/11
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Don’t turn the AV referendum into a vote on the Lib Dems

The upcoming referendum on the Alternative Vote is an opportunity for us all in Cornwall to demand a fairer voting system. There is a great danger however that the referendum will become one on the Liberal Democrats, and indeed Nick Clegg, and not on a better electoral system – no small matter. Or there is the danger it becomes a vote on Devonwall, something it certainly isn’t. The result of the AV referendum will have no bearing on the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act, which has now of course passed. Instead the vote on May 5th is a chance to ensure our MPs work harder for our votes, have majority support in their constituencies, while keeping out extreme parties such as the BNP; one reason why they are in the ‘No to AV’ camp. On the other hand, as welcome as it would be for socialist candidates to get elected, it isn’t particularly likely under AV or FPTP, so sticking with the current system isn’t going to help anyone on the left.

But the main reason I’m supporting the Alternative Vote on the 5th May is because, as a student, I want my first general election vote to count, and I want to be able to vote honestly, without having to vote tactically as many are under First Past the Post. Being both a young person and a (very left) Labour supporter in Cornwall, I’m firmly anti-Lib Dem. But this referendum is a once in a lifetime opportunity to revitalise politics. Students: vote Yes on the 5th May and make what limited power young people have – the vote – count.

One step forward is better than standing still.


[This is an amended version of a letter for the West Briton]

2011
04/09
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May Day Festival in Plymouth – Celebrate Workers’ Day before the Tories scrap it!

Plymouth May Day Festival

From the LRC website:

Saturday 30th April 2011
11:00am to 6:00pm

Organised by Plymouth Trades Council and Plymouth Fightback Against the Cuts

Trade Unions for a Sustainable Future / Campaigning to Stop the Cuts

Trade Union Rights

 

  • May Day Procession: 12 midday, Plymouth Guildhall, Armada Way
  • Rally in the Roland Levinsky Building, Plymouth University at 1pm with John McDonnell MP
  • Campaign Stalls, Music & Film

Contact details: www.plymouth-tuc.org.uk or Tel: 01752 298834

A4 Mayday Festival Flyer

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Cornwall Anti-Cuts are thinking of having our own May Day rally, but there are a few obstacles (road closures, stewarding, march routes etc.) which need sorting out before it can be confirmed.

The Plymouth event, until then, looks like it will be a great day. Plus, you can’t go wrong with John McDonnell. Absolute hero.

2011
04/07
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Cornwall-Wide Demonstration in May Against the Cuts

I haven’t been posting a whole lot recently because I’ve been a bit out of the political loop, busy with college work among other things. So, now that my apology is over, I’ll give you a bit of context about what’s happening.

Anti-Cuts Alliance Cornwall (yep, looking into name rebranding) is planning a demonstration against the cuts in Truro, scheduled for the end of May. It’s not official yet, but I’ll keep you informed. Tomorrow’s general meeting will hopefully lay out the basic details.

During the wave of student protests last year, some of you will know myself and others organised demonstrations in Truro against tuition fees. Two of them organised within a couple of weeks and spread through posters and Facebook got over 100 out in protest. We were on relatively good terms with local police and nothing was mentioned about a levy on public protest. So long as it wasn’t obstructive or violent; it was fine.

Cornwall Anti-Cuts has been talking with the local council and after rumours of a £3,000 fee for utilising Victoria Gardens, apparently the committee have now approved  the request for the demonstration. Now’s the time to start raising funds and support for the protest. After the massive March 26th ‘March for the Alternative’ in London, now’s the time to bring the action home.

Truro hasn’t seen a large protest for a long time, and this one hopes to be supported by trade union branches (Anti-Cuts Alliance Cornwall is backed by Cornwall NUT and CWU) as well as local community groups. There’s a lot of preparation to be done.

If you’re part of a Cornwall based charity, a member of a trade union, a student, a worker, unemployed – if you’re anyone getting hit by the cuts, email canticall@gmx.co.uk and get involved. There’s going to be a Public Meeting – ‘How The Cuts will Hurt You and How to Fight Them!’ organised by Cornwall Anti-Cuts on the 28th April! It will take place at the Hall for Cornwall (Assembly Rooms), on Thursday 28th April at 7.00pm. Everyone’s welcome.

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While we’re talking about demonstrations – a few months ago, just before the 3rd (?) Day of Action against fees and cuts, myself and another fellow student were taken out of class and essentially interrogated by senior admin and two members of police about what we were planning – which was nothing at all, incidentally. Scandal! Well, not quite, but certainly fairly intimidatory and not appropriate for a place of learning (especially while we had studying to do). Legally, the police don’t even need to be informed about demonstrations. But with the police in Devon and Cornwall losing 700 staff – everyone’s being hit, and few are unsympathetic to the anti-cuts movement when they look at the facts.

2011
04/05
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Cornwall Council ignores widespread opposition to NHS dismantlement

After a 5,000 strong petition demanding the council rejects the changes to the NHS in Cornwall and that a referendum take place on the issue was essentially chucked out today in Cornwall Council’s general meeting.

Fourteen hospitals in the county are going to be turned into businesses (‘Community Interest Companies’) instead of remaining within the national framework. If this doesn’t equate to the partial privatisation of the NHS I’m not quite sure what does. 2,400 staff will be handed over to these private bodies – which could limit collective bargaining rights and will certainly affect pay and conditions.

It’s unclear how much thought has gone into the decision to act as lackies for the Con-Dem government. The impact assessment, which can be found on the council website (hidden away, of course), demands the expected benefits of the changes be outlined. The council’s response is

“Transformed delivery of community health care in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly”

Transformed how? Surely this is much too vague considering the scale of the changes? An ambiguous one line statement doesn’t equate to a full impact assessment, or at least it shouldn’t.

Moreover, the list of groups consulted about the changes is near farcical. Not one union is officially listed in the impact assessment, though apparently some unions were consulted at a different point and acquiesced against the policies of national leadership, instead of opposing the changes outright. The groups consulted include ‘Perfect Moment‘ an apparently charitable group but whose site immediately declares it’s aim is  ‘Business & Project Development’ and ‘TR14ers Community Dance Team‘. A dance team? Consulted about drastic changes to health care affecting thousands of people? First as tragedy, then as farce…

Jude Robinson (the Labour councillor) and some Independents and Lib Dems opposed the moves. But perhaps there can be future challenges to the changes – legal, protest-based or union-coordinated.

There’ll be a lot more opposition to the NHS ‘reforms’ to come in Cornwall. A Save our NHS group has been formed and Cornwall Anti-Cuts Alliance will be actively campaigning about the £20bn NHS cuts.

Meanwhile, there could be some positive news on the horizon. Apparently 12-22 councillors are thinking of ousting Tory leader Alec Robertson as head of CCC, in favour of Truro Trehaverne (my ward, incidentally) councillor Fiona Ferguson. She’s still right-wing, but if Robertson were to be ousted it would destabilise the council’s Tory/Independent coalition.

 

2011
03/29
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From Inside the Trafalgar Square Kettle – My View on the Night of #March26

There have already been a large number of reports on the Trafalgar Square incident after the half a million strong anti-cuts demonstration on March 26. But after a number of posts (such as the one by Penny Red) about the night which do not give the full picture, I want to say what I saw.

The day itself was of course incredible. Completely peaceful, the march continued for hours before winding up some time in the early afternoon. We had heard about the Occupy for the Alternative event that UK Uncut was planning and so headed down for that at around 2pm. When we got there, many shops were already shut by the police, with dozens standing outside Vodafone, Topshop, BHS etc. I saw very little smashed glass and very little damage – a bit of paint on some buildings was all that marred most of their exteriors. The smaller Boots on Oxford Street had been shut down and turned into a singing hospital. I joined in and the atmosphere was positive. Up the road, a guitarist was playing anti-cuts tunes with a huge crowd in a circle around him. Even the police were laughing.

Despite rumours of violent anarchism, some of which I’m sure were true, we only saw people standing around enjoying the Uk Uncut actions. Many walking past applauded, while international media spoke to people dressed up as doctors staging direct action.

Hyde Park at Night

As darkness fell we walked to Hyde Park, where a Stay for One Day event was taking place. Around 200 people were there drinking, playing drums and sitting around fires. We got chatting to a few people there who wanted to see what Trafalgar Square and Piccadilly were like as we heard helicopters overhead.  The crowd at Hyde Park were largely of the ‘Lawful Rebellion’ sort, mostly hippies and generally peaceful anarchists (by that I mean those who don’t believe in the legitimacy of the state, not people randomly smashing things). This group had planned to camp there overnight, and although myself and my girlfriend had sleeping bags we decided to check out Trafalgar after hearing 2000 were there partying.

Trafalgar Square – From Rave to Rampage

So we arrived at Trafalgar Square at around 8 or 9pm – and at that point the mood was incredibly. Very few police, very little disorder, several fires and a samba band filled the square alongside the 2000 others there. A bit of drunkenness but no aggression at this point. Then not long after 9 we heard a clinking sound around the clock. The sound of metal against metal. It had no chance of destroying the clock itself.

But then the police came in and formed a line around the clock. To the demonstrators delight, these were chased off, but came back stronger. Sticks started to be thrown (pulled from the bonfires, frighteningly), and I heard breaking glass. Not long after we saw a man stumbling around covering his bleeding head. Riot police then reinforced the officers around the Olympic Clock. This battle lasted for quite a while, and we watched with bemusement and not a little fear, as broken bottles landed beside us.

Just before 10pm (I think), hundreds started running off the square. We lost the person we had met that night and didn’t realise a kettle was being formed. It was too late at this point. Police had blocked all the exit point, and they started coming towards the main column. Before long they had surrounded the metal ‘fence’ around the monument and forced us inside. I saw people lash out in frustration and in return being rammed in with shields. One women repeatedly ran into the police to be knocked over again. Another man was shouting at them. All understandable. There were over a hundred on the actual column, chanting and occasionally throwing something. Unfortunately, because we were kettled, these objects far too often nearly hit the peaceful demonstrators not up there.

I asked an officer where the necessary toilets were in the kettle - they had to provide water, toilets and medical help. None of these things were provided. We were freezing cold, needed sleep and had been standing all day. I was told as the kettle formed that it was only ‘temporary’ and we would be allowed out shortly. This was not the case. Instead the sent in reinforcements. It was intimidating. And most in there were obviously innocent. So it was fundamentally frustrating. No legal support. And we were of course demonised in the press. Meanwhile the rabble on the monument continued chanting, shouting and doing what they could to annoy the police.

This continued for over 2 hours. Just before 12 a sympathetic officer told us to go to the right where people would be let out, until at 12:05 we were released. Around a hundred police surrounded the kettle, forming a rectangular border on the exit. We were released 3 at a time, our photos were all taken and we exited dazed, knackered, irritated and angry with both sides, unlike at the December 9th demonstration where the police were in fact largely to blame. Kettling is disgusting. But it was not unprovoked.

I later met the young man who had started the attempted demolition of the Olympic Clock, and he said he felt ‘responsible’ for the following chaos. Why he was telling us this I don’t know. But contrary to what some have been saying, I was told by him that he was arrested and then ‘de-arrested’ after the incident, not before. It is important not to romanticise about the night. It was fairly brutal, and there was a lot of justified anger out there. The people I saw who were wearing black with their faces covered however, were largely just there for a riot. The only thing that isn’t being said is that these characters were in a minority in Trafalgar Square, at least at the start when it was merely a large street party.

For socialists, it is the mass movement that is key. And that’s what the 500,000 strong march was all about. Direct action, too, has a role to play, and the peaceful but radical nature of UK Uncut is a vital tool against tax-dodging and the cuts. But there must be balance, and the Trafalgar Square occupation should not have ended how it did. To blame it all on one group would be disingenuous.

Turnout will be much reduced at further demos if people think it is going to end in havoc. Saturday was my second time in London for a demo, and, excuse the pun, travelling 300 miles to be kettled isn’t many people’s cup of tea.

2011
03/28
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Cornwall Says No To Academies – Head of NUT Christine Blower comes to Falmouth

A hundred education workers and members of the public came to Falmouth on Monday for an important debate on Michael Gove’s Academies, or ‘Free’ Schools. The tone of the meeting was one of out-right opposition to the changes, with schools across the country given a choice between becoming Academies or facing cuts to staff.

The panel, which consisted of Christine Blower (General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers), David Woods (Head of Services at Cornwall Council), Graham Walker (Shadow Education Secretary at Cornwall Council) and Pat McGoven (Head Teacher of Helston College) all expressed their views on the subject. Of twenty or so people invited to speak in support of Academies – zero agreed to talk. Not much of a debate then, but some interesting insights were offered into both sides’ opinions.

Christine Blower said she is a ‘huge supporter of democratic local authorities’ and warned that contrary to what Gove is saying, the Academies bill is ‘intensely centralising’ and a ‘solution looking for a problem’. Lib Dem David Woods said that the bill was a ‘lawyer’s charter’ as it is dangerously open to interpretation.

Some interesting facts emerged from the meeting:

  • There are currently over 20 schools currently applying for Academy status in Cornwall
  • School performance in Cornwall is higher than average for the UK
  • Free schools in Sweden ‘exacerbated social division’. In Finland, the education system is excellent – and there is no privatisation in the school sector
  • 28 schools are making redundancies in Cornwall
  • 118 schools in the county have less than 120 pupils. Small schools are under more pressure to become Academies.

The driving factor behind the rush to become Academies is fear. Schools are threatened with financial uncertainty if they stay in the local authority, and are offered extra funding. However, when the council link is removed, these schools will have to fill the gaps in terms of purchasing resources and services – reducing this extra funding significantly.

That there is no coherent resistance to Academies in Cornwall is a worry which one NUT member made clear – ‘isn’t the role of the NUT to resist these reforms, not to debate them?’. A representative from the Anti-Academies Alliance would have been welcome. Cornwall Anti-Cuts Alliance had a stall but no speaker on the platform unfortunately.

National School Students Union

One issue that I raised was the formation of a National School Students Union to give students themselves in these schools a clear and democratic voice, linking them with other schools across the country. Christine Blower claimed that ‘Student Voice’ was its equivalent. But the scheme is relatively unknown and unused by school students and is not a presence in many (if not most) secondary schools across the country. However, she did state it is ‘appropriate for students to have a say’.

Pat McGoven of Helston College was ‘very supportive’ of such a move. And the Head of Services at Cornwall County Council said the idea was ‘perfect’, noting that there was ‘no mention whatsoever of students in the academies bill’.

Co-Operative Schools – An Alternative?

An idea which may appeal to socialists as well as liberals is the possibility of threatened schools becoming co-operatives. Helston College are considering this – the Co-op Party in Cornwall should get behind this and suggest it to the schools considering becoming academies.
It’s going to be a long road ahead against Academies. But with the government looking increasingly weak – they may break easily over the issue.

2011
03/24
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Council to Debate NHS ‘reforms’ – Be there!

As opposition towards Lansley’s NHS demolition reaches epic heights, more than 5,000 signatures have now been collected for a petition to Cornwall County Council which stated:

We the undersigned:

  • Oppose the move of Adult Community Health Services, including the operation of the 14 Community Hospitals, out of the NHS to a Social Enterprise Community Interest Company
  • Petition Cornwall Council to debate this matter at a full meeting of the Council so that all 123 elected representatives of Cornwall can consider the issue fully
  • Request that Cornwall Council carry out a referendum to see whether the people of Cornwall support (or oppose) this move BEFORE implementation by NHS Cornwall.

This breakthrough is great news for health campaigners and patients in general in Cornwall, especially with the recent news that  450 NHS staff here are facing pension cuts. Thousands of staff are going to be managed by a private company, making them somewhat less protected than public-sector staff.

Since every petition which contains over 5,000 signatures means a debate must take place on the issue in a full council meeting. Add this to your calendar and show your opposition from the public gallery!

Cornwall Council Meeting, County Hall

Tuesday, 29th March, 2011 10.30 am

If you can make the meeting, it would be wise to show how the people of Cornwall feel about these changes to one of the world’s greatest health services. And, I mention this entirely innocently of course….A3 signs/placards can be easily folded in half and sneaked into council meetings. Just sayin’.

2011
03/17
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