Local Councils

Following previous actions in Islington, Lambeth and Lewisham, London activists have taken more direct action against council meetings as councillors of all main parties push on with passing cuts budgets. In Haringey, activists stormed a council meeting on Thursday 24 February, forcing council business to be suspended and councillors to leave the chamber. The council eventually manage to conclude its business, passing a budget including £34 million of cuts. Labour councillor Sheila Peacock claimed it “broke [her] heart” to pass the cuts, but clearly the situation was not heartbreaking enough...

I was involved in the occupation of Lambeth council chamber on Wednesday 23 February. It really brought home to me the necessity of tight and diciplined action. It sounds a strange thing to say — that organisation is a good thing — but there is a lot of “talk” around about how such organisation is undemocratic and we should “just let things happen”. Nothing would have happened if Lambeth SOS had not put lots of time into planning the night. Planning ensured that people stepped forward, were willing to lead and were committed to the action and ensuring that it went ahead. If we need more direct...

Norfolk 250 people protested outside Norfolk County Council’s chamber, and dozens more protested inside it. Tory Council leader Derek Murphy said: “People are rightly passionate about their county, their services and their jobs. But needs must, and those needs are very great indeed.” Such is the financial logic of the ruling class that means a £60 million cut from council spending. Another £90 million worth of cuts is likely over the next few years. Youth and children’s services, adoption and family intervention work are especially badly hit. Unions need a campaign to build for strike action...

Unison members at Nottinghamshire County Council will strike on 24 February against the Tory-run authority’s plans to axe 1000 jobs in the next three months. The council proposes to spend a total of £60 million making 3,500 redundancies over the next three years. Voting two to one in favour of action, these workers are the first to stage industrial action against job cuts. Their action is vitally important for all public sector workers facing cuts. Since winning the council in 2009 the Tories have pledged to transform their ideological commitment to “smaller local government” into direct...

In 2010 the Government declared a three year pay freeze for all public sector workers, but said that those on less than £21,000 workers (67% of workers in local government) would get £250. Even that little promise has not been kept. Now, for the second year running, local government workers are to have a total pay freeze. Unison, the main local government union, says it is launching a campaign to make Osborne deliver on his promise to the low-paid in local government, schools and colleges. But in fact Unison leaders effectively gave up months ago. Back in October Unison put in a pay claim for...

Local government workers in Birmingham will demonstrate on 26 February and lobby their employer, the council, on 1 March, following unanimous votes at four mass meetings to push for a strike ballot. Birmingham council, the largest local authority in Europe, is planning a cuts programme which would see workers lose allowances for night shifts and anti-social hours, and lead to a pay cut of up to a third for some workers. Park rangers and some library workers stand to lose up to £4,000.

David Cameron’s “Big Society” big idea is in trouble. Its critics say it is too vague, little more than a cover for cuts. And there is too little money in the pot to finance the “voluntary sector” and “community involvement” projects the government want. Cameron was moved to answer his critics in a “big speech” on Monday 14 February. “Big Society” is not cover for cuts, insisted Cameron, because I’ve been “passionate” about this idea for years. But it seemed like little more than repackaged conservative politics. Conservatives (and Thatcherite Blairites) have long said they want to break up...

Norwich AWL comrades joined the weekly Norfolk Coalition Against the Cuts city centre stall on Saturday 4 February bringing with them representatives from the Save The Unthank Centre campaign. The campaign has attracted nearly 1,000 signatures on its online petition. Norfolk County Council aims to close the unique family centre as part of their massive cuts to public services. The Unthank Centre has a countywide remit working with families who have children aged 12 and under. These children are living with extremely difficult emotional and psychological problems, including abuse and neglect. A...

Around 300 people took part in direct action against Lambeth Council organised by the Save Our Services campaign on 7 February. The actions included an intervention at a council meeting and blocking a major traffic interchange, and mobilised workers and community activists from across the borough. Only one Labour councillor, Kingsley Abrams, spoke out against the cuts, prompting council leader Steve Reed to call him a “disgrace”. When Reed’s comments drew an outcry from the public gallery, the police were called, but were forced to beat a hasty retreat. For more, see http://bit.ly/dH5NvB.

Following a consultative ballot which voted 2 to 1 to move to a formal ballot, members of Nottinghamshire County Unison will vote on taking industrial action against proposed job cuts. The ballot will involve 3,600 workers and comes in response to a briefing paper from council management which asserted that 1,000 compulsory redundancies are “likely to be needed” in 2011. Unison is building for a demonstration at County Hall on 24 February. The strike ballot closes on 15 February and action is therefore likely to coincide with the demonstration. For more, see nottsunison.org.uk. Elsewhere...