Anti-cuts, public services

Health, education, housing, benefits, local councils, ...

NUS president makes U-turn to support direct action, and occupations

NUS president Aaron Porter today did a spectacular U-turn apologising for lack of support for students taking part in the national day of action called by National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts on Wednesday. A the "spineless" lack of public support for university occupations around the country. Porter was speaking the occupation at University College London following criticisms of him from occupiers over Twitter. Porter said: "For too long the NUS has perhaps been too cautious and too spineless about being committed to supporting student activism. Perhaps I spent too long over the last few...

30 November: student day of action on cuts and fees

The National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts and a general assembly of London students have issued a call for further action on Tuesday 30 November. It's not long now until the Con-Dems try to pass their education cuts through parliament, and if they do – we will keep fighting! But in the meantime – ALL OUT FOR THE 30 NOVEMBER! • No to fees • No to cuts • Save EMA Tax the filthy rich to fund education for all! On 30 November - assemble in Trafalgar Square, London, at 12 noon. Click here for more .

24 November: school students lead the way

School, college, and university students took to the streets on 24 November, in a show of protest to make it clear that students are not going to accept this government's attacks. The response to the call for the day of action by National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts has shocked politicians, police and student leaders even more than the size and anger of the National Demonstration on 10 November. Students have made sure that the Royal Wedding didn't force the cuts off the front pages! It is will be hard to find a school, college or workplace not talking about this action in the next days...

Lord Young: the honest face of the Tories

"Lord" David Young, the right-wing Tory peer appointed by David Cameron to take the hatchet to health and safety laws, has had to resign after embarrassing the government by saying that the economic crisis has "left most people better off" and that "when this [the Tories' cuts program] goes through, people will wonder what all the fuss was about" ( Daily Telegraph , 18 November). Young also commented: "I don't remember in '07 being short of money". Since he is, like most senior Tories, a multimillionaire businessman, this is not exactly surprising. This is the honest face of the Conservative...

The left in the anti-cuts movement

The development of anti-cuts campaigns and committees has been one of the most immediate political consequences of the government’s cuts programme. The formation of such groups is of great significance. Local, fighting campaigns of action and solidarity could become a key element in reviving and re-making parts of the working class movement. The exact origin and composition of these committees varies from place to place so no tidy ‘general picture’ assessment of these initiatives can be made. In some places, sectarian projects like the SWP’s Right to Work are substituted for or counterposed to...

"Then we all walked out together..."

At the Lambeth Living [Lambeth Council’s housing “Arms Length Management Organisation”] staff conference on 8 November there was a lot of anger and nervousness at the announcement of job cuts. Cuts are coming when directors are on salaries of over £100,000 a year and consultants on thousands a month, and all announced in a hall in London Bridge costing £9000 to hire. The Chief Executive said nothing precise could be told to staff that day. After she finished her speech the Unison convenor stood up and said the union was angry, an industrial action ballot had been agreed by the union’s London...

SNP's 'Social Contract' means cuts

At the time of going to press (17 November) the SNP is announcing the Holyrood government’s budget for the financial year 2011-2012. Huge cuts are expected. The Con-Dem government has cut the grant for Scottish government for 2011-2012 by £1.2 billions (out of a total budget of £30 billions). But over the next four years the Holyrood budget for health, education and council funding will be cut by 7%. Its “capital grant” (for infrastructure projects) will be cut by 38%. Cuts in welfare benefits will add to the damage inflicted on the Scottish economy by the cuts in the Westminster grant...

Take the fight to the Tories!

On 10 November, 50,000 students marched in London against the government's plans to cut university teaching budgets by 75% and raise student fees to £9,000 a year, thus closing the doors to higher education for students from worse-off families. Trade unions are still dawdling, planning no national demonstration until 26 March. Union members should insist that their organisations follow the students' lead!

Labour councils and Tory cuts, last time round

Poplar Labour council's fight against another Tory/Liberal coalition government, in 1921, and the battle by the Labour council in the village of Clay Cross, Derbyshire, against Tory laws imposing council rent rises in the early 1970s, shows that councils can take on the government and win. Click here to read more, in the 1985 AWL pamphlet, "Illusions of Power: the local government left 1979-85 . And click here for the 1986 pamphlet, "Liverpool: what went wrong". In the early 1980s there was a bigger flurry of defiance by Labour councils. Sadly, every single one of them backed down in the end -...

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