UK Newswire Archive
Democracy Nuked in Cumbria (again)
14-04-2011 19:23
Allerdale Democratic Services have quashed Councillor Joe Sandwith's motion to withdraw the borough council's "expression of interest" in geological disposal of high level nuclear wastes.
Italian Activist Kidnapped in Gaza
14-04-2011 19:16
An Italian ISM activist has reportedly been kidnapped in the Gaza Strip by a 'Salafi Jihadi' group.Nottingham Mobilises to Save NHS
14-04-2011 18:23
Recent weeks have seen a surge of local activity in defence of the NHS. Campaigners are opposed to cutbacks hitting the health service, as elsewhere, but also about proposed “reforms” of the NHS which critics claim will lead to widespread privatisation and a much reduced service.
Upcoming event: Save our NHS: Kill the Bill, April 21st, 7pm, The Mechanics, North Sherwood St.
On the newswire: The Cruellest Cut | Cuts Protest @ Vodafone, Boots, NatWest, TopShop.. | Notts UK Uncut occupied Lloyds TSB Bank Nottingham | Save Our NHS Demo, Standard Court
On April 1st, as part of a national day of action dubbed “All Together for the NHS,” health service workers gathered in the courtyard outside of the Standard Court offices, Nottingham. Unison organised a lunchtime demonstration against the planned cuts which are putting many jobs within Nottingham City NHS at risk. Commissioning staff and Community Mental Health Workers are currently at risk of redundancy.
On Saturday 9th April, Notts Uncut occupied Lloyds TSB and created “The Big Society Hospital”. The intention was to draw attention to the NHS reform white paper and the cuts across the NHS that this will lead to. After about half an hour of chants, informative speeches and a quiz (with prizes!) Lloyds decided to close so campaigners moved on and visited Vodafone, NatWest, TopShop, Boots, Miss Selfridge and Dorothy Perkins. The event attracted considerable media coverage on both BBC East Midlands and Central TV as well as the Nottingham Post.
Concern has also been raised about the termination of daycare at Hayward House Macmillan Specialist Palliative Cancer Care Unit. Hayward House is funded by a Primary Care Trust, whose Commissioners have made the decision to stop daycare on 1st September. Some different kind of service, but not daycare, will be offered after Sept 1st, but nobody yet knows what. Staff are not allowed to campaign on this issue, and patients are too ill. However, volunteers are angry, and free and able to campaign; although there have been no meetings and no formal campaign exists as yet, some volunteers are starting to write letters to publicise this attack on the dying.
With the government having postponed its planned restructure of the NHS, campaigners are continuing to push forward, hoping to finish off their plans for good. A public meeting is planned and will likely generate further action in and around Nottingham.
Daily Mail Glasgow offices invaded by Anti-Benefit Cuts Protesters
14-04-2011 18:22
This afternoon around 15 Anti-Benefit Cuts held a leafleting session outside the Atos assessment centre in Cadogan Street, Glasgow advising other claimants on how to deal with benefits medical examinations. It was part of the 3rd National Day of Protest Against Benefit Cuts being held in at least a dozen cities around Britian organised by a network of claimants' groups.
Turn the Royal Mile into the "Republican Mile"
14-04-2011 17:53
Fuk the royal wedding!!!!!Dispersal Order in Forest Fields
14-04-2011 17:28
A dispersal order will be in place in Forest Fields from Saturday 16th April until 5th Oct 2011
I have just been reliably told that a dispersal order has been approved for the Forest Fields area of Nottingham. This begins on Saturday 16th of April and runs until 5th of October 2011 which at 6 months is the maximum length for such an order.
This will allow Police and CPO's the power to disperse groups of 2 or more people should they have reason to believe that their behaviour has resulted or is likely to result in any member of the public being intimidated, harassed alarmed or distressed.
Failure to comply is a criminal offence!
Needless to say there has been no community consultation on this.
I have uploaded a map of the area the dispersal order covers, which are the natural boundaries of Forest Fields from Sherwood Rise to Noel Street, and Gregory Boulevard to Gladstone Street.
I understand the police will be placing notices on lamposts as a way of informing the community, a pathetic way of communicating this example of reactionary and completely over the top style of policing.
If I hear any more I will post on here, in the meantime if anyone has any comments or suggestions what the Forest Fields community can do about this use the comments section below.
John Snow Pub Homophobic Management?
14-04-2011 17:22
From the Guardian.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/14/gay-claim-ejected-pub-kissing
Palestine Today 04 14 2011
14-04-2011 16:29
Get Real, Abandon Ideals - Says Labour
14-04-2011 16:23
A critical report of the Trades Council election rally.
Realising that we don't live in "an ideal world" and that we should "live in the real world" was the message from the Labour Party speakers at the Nottinghamshire, Mansfield, Nottingham and World Trades Council Labour election rally on 13th. April. Two of the Labour speakers were the Alliance for Workers Liberty (AWT) backed candidates in the elections to Broxtowe District Council, Greg Marshall and Andrea Oates.
Greg Marshall told us that "only the Labour Party is capable of forming councils to oppose the cuts" despite the fact that not one Labour-controlled council in the country has brought in an anti-cuts, deficit budget. Andrea Oates said that Labour councillors "have had to vote for cuts" even though Greg made it clear that there are no serious penalties for councillors who might bring in an anti-cuts budget. When challenged as to whether if there were a Labour-controlled Broxtowe Council it would bring in a deficit budget next year, Greg said that if we lived in an "ideal world" it would, but as we don't, it would not.
Marshall and Oates are signatories to a woolly statement written by Peter Radcliffe, the long-time grovelling Trotskyite apologist for Labour, urging support for the Labour Party in order to change it. (As if this pig could fly!) Tom Unterrainer of the AWL told us that the only viable prospect for anti-cuts campaigners was another Labour Government so it is vital to try to ginger up the Labour Party to ensure that the cuts are reversed. This is also the perspective of the Trotskyite Socialist Workers Party (SWP) and its splinter Counterfire. They can see no further than another Labour Government. This demonstrates the hollowness of Trotskyism's pretentions to being "revolutionary".
The other speaker was Alan Rhodes, Leader of the Labour Group on Nottinghamshire County Council. He listed the cuts made by the controlling Conservatives on the County Council which sounded very similar to the cuts made by Labour-controlled Nottingham City Council. Rhodes said that calling for councils to bring in deficit budgets is out of touch with the "real world" and condemned Liverpool and Lambeth councils for doing so during the nineteen eighties. He claimed that if Labour gained control of the County Council in 2013 things would be very different. Of course, he failed to mention that Labour lost control in 2009 as a result of its incompetence and corruption.
Jon Collins, Leader of Nottingham City Council, was billed to speak but he did not bother to attend. The audience consisted only of the usual suspects; Trotskyites, Labourites (few), anarchists and some other people who have been active in anti-cuts campaigning. Members of the wider public were not present. Despite the somewhat pompous air with which its leading Trotskyite and Labourite members present it, it was clear - and not for the first time - that the incredible shrinking Trades Council has very little capability to mobilize people to do anything.
Clearly, voting for Labour candidates in local elections will not defeat the cuts. Neither will campaigning to get a Labour Party committed to a cuts programme elected to government. So what can we do? Some of those at the meeting emphasized the importance of industrial action to combat the cuts. There is the possibility of a number of public sector trade unions taking strike action on 30th. June and the SWP speakers hoped that this could lead on to a general strike. Perhaps, but any effective general strike would have to last longer than one day and the appetite of both ordinary union members and their leaders for this sort of action does not yet exist. Any such action is more likely to occur as a spontaneous movement by ordinary people rather than called for by trade union leaders on salaries in the hundred thousand plus a year range.
The general aim of anti-cuts campaigners should be to undermine the legitimacy and authority of the British state, regardless of which parties constitute the government of the day. This is what happened with the anti-poll tax campaign twenty years ago. The refusal of millions of people to pay the poll tax, despite being urged to do so by the Labour opposition, and the willingness of demonstrators in London to fight back against an unprovoked police attack, forced the Tory Government to abandon the poll tax. Also it was part of the reason for the departure of Margaret Thatcher as prime minister.
Industrial action has a part to play in combating the cuts, more probably carefully selected actions in parts of the public sector rather than a general strike. But also new initiatives are very important such as the UKUncut campaign, highlighted by one speaker from the floor, which encourage civil disobedience by directly targeting capitalist interests in support of whom the public spending cuts are being made. The Tory, Lib-Dem and Labour politicians who favour cuts should not be allowed to draw their generous salaries and expenses undisturbed. We should go after them and make them feel under pressure. In London on 26th. March, can anybody remember what the dreary, predictable trade union leaders had to say? Rather it was the UKUncut protestors on Oxford Street and the maraudering anarchists attacking ruling class targets who seized the initiative. The way forward for the anti-cuts campaign is not sticking to the dead left rituals of meetings, marches, demonstrations, etc. but bold, innovative actions which really hit at and damage our vicious, ruling class enemies and their wretched lackeys such as the Labour Party and its Trotskyite hangers-on.
New squatted social centre in Manchester
14-04-2011 16:04
Daily Mail Glasgow offices invaded by Anti-Benefit Cuts Protesters
14-04-2011 15:48
This afternoon around 15 Anti-Benefit Cuts held a leafleting session outside the Atos assessment centre in Cadogan Street, Glasgow advising other claimants on how to deal with benefits medical examinations. It was part of the 3rd National Day of Protest Against Benefit Cuts being held in at least a dozen cities around Britian organised by a network of claimants' groups. Members of the Crutch Collective, the SWP, SSP and others held up banners and placards declaring that Atos robs from the poor to give to the rich, while IWW songs played in the background. The Work Capability Assessments carried out by Atos have been heavily criticised by CAB, the Child Poverty Action Group and others as being unfair and not based on medical opinion. The process is driven by the government trying to cut 2.5 billion from Employment Support Allowance to pay for the public debt caused by the banks gambling on the financial markets. Those going in for the assessments appreciated what was being done.Animal Rights UK website up
14-04-2011 15:35
* Find your Local Animal Rights Group.
* Catch up on the latest news.
* Find out about forthcoming events, protests and marches.
* Get advice and information on Campaigning
* Network, Chat, Plot and Scheme using our forum.
Don't trust your granny with The Fellowship Houses Trust!
14-04-2011 15:18
A provider of social housing for elderly, vulnerable, people is more interested in making profits than their welfare. Developments are being sold off, or demolished and the elderly, residents are being thrown out in the drive for profits.Solidarity with Chris Bambery! Down with SWP Stalinism!
14-04-2011 14:32
against stalinist coup in the SWPClimate Camp – South Coast: Resurrection for the Insurrection
14-04-2011 14:08
Imagine another world. A world where people matter, where the outstanding issues of the day, climate change, community resilience and workers rights are addressed and we can look forward to a more radical and sustainable future.Protester from Leeds beats Met in high court
14-04-2011 13:27
Protesters who were attacked by police at protests in 2009 have won their case against the London Metropolitan Police in high court today.
(anonymised link below)
Cameron's Turn To 'Divide and Conquer' Politics
14-04-2011 13:23
Cameron's Turn To 'Divide and Conquer' Politics
14-04-2011 13:22
David Cameron's latest speech on non-EU immigration was best summarised in a satirical Tweet by comedian James Cook: "You know who I blame for the country's problems? The people in our society with the least amount of power or wealth." It is a transparent bid to distract from the unpopularity of the government's policies and canvas for right wing support in the coming local elections. But even more importantly than that, it is a resurrection of the age old 'divide and conquer' politics, aimed at undermining the working class as a whole.
Alarming Times…WAG is Dead!
14-04-2011 12:44
WAG is dead, long live Anarchy !