Hackney against the cuts
y | 04.03.2011 12:14
Wednesday 2nd March and Thursday 3rd March have seen some resistance against the cuts in Hackney. On wednesday, the Hackney Alliance to Defend Public Services called for a lobby outside the Hackney Town hall while the council was voting the cuts budget. Then today, a group of people invaded the town hall for a quick anti-cuts banner drop.
Banner drop on Hackney Town Hall
Protest during the Council budget vote
On Wednesday 2nd of March, around 300 people gathered outside Hackney Town hall to protest against the Labour council voting devastating cuts. After endless speeches, a thinned down crowd started marching around the Town Hall, blockading the road and scuffling about with the barriers on the Town Hall steps. For a full report see here 
http://london.indymedia.org/articles/7693.
On that night, the councilors showed whose interests they really represent. They try to scapegoat the government saying they had no choice because the budget was imposed on them from central government. But they had a choice, they could have voted for a needs budget, they didn't even try! See there for a more detailed account from the Gallery during the council meeting http://politicaldynamite.com/2011/03/hackney-votes-for-cuts-a-sketch-from-the-gallery/.
Then on thursday morning, a group of "concerned Hackney residents" paid a quick visit to the CYPS (Young People Services) on Mare st next to the town hall, to express their concern over the cuts relating to youth services. Hackney youth service is being shut down and merged with the Youth Offending Team to create "Young Hackney Service". This means that one department will have to do the work of two, while 95 jobs are being cut. In poor areas like hackney, where there are many vulnerable disadvantaged young people, youth services are absolutely essential. Not that we were expecting much from them, but shame on labour council for abandoning the most vulnerable!
After this visit, the same group invaded the town hall and the upstairs room to drop a couple of anticuts banners from the balcony. They entered and quickly invaded the first floor balcony, dropping a first banner saying simply "Stop the cuts". This was taken quite violently by the security guards and couldn't be photographed :( Then a second one was dropped "Against the cuts and the state". Probably reminding us that the state is not part of the solution to save us from capitalism and its crisis, but part of the problem!
Join the resistance against the cuts!
Links:
http://hackneyalliance.wordpress.com/
http://www.hackneysolidarity.info/
http://london.indymedia.org/articles/7693. On that night, the councilors showed whose interests they really represent. They try to scapegoat the government saying they had no choice because the budget was imposed on them from central government. But they had a choice, they could have voted for a needs budget, they didn't even try! See there for a more detailed account from the Gallery during the council meeting
http://politicaldynamite.com/2011/03/hackney-votes-for-cuts-a-sketch-from-the-gallery/. Then on thursday morning, a group of "concerned Hackney residents" paid a quick visit to the CYPS (Young People Services) on Mare st next to the town hall, to express their concern over the cuts relating to youth services. Hackney youth service is being shut down and merged with the Youth Offending Team to create "Young Hackney Service". This means that one department will have to do the work of two, while 95 jobs are being cut. In poor areas like hackney, where there are many vulnerable disadvantaged young people, youth services are absolutely essential. Not that we were expecting much from them, but shame on labour council for abandoning the most vulnerable!
After this visit, the same group invaded the town hall and the upstairs room to drop a couple of anticuts banners from the balcony. They entered and quickly invaded the first floor balcony, dropping a first banner saying simply "Stop the cuts". This was taken quite violently by the security guards and couldn't be photographed :( Then a second one was dropped "Against the cuts and the state". Probably reminding us that the state is not part of the solution to save us from capitalism and its crisis, but part of the problem!
Join the resistance against the cuts!
Links:
http://hackneyalliance.wordpress.com/ http://www.hackneysolidarity.info/
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