HOME | IMC UK | Editorial Guidelines | Mission Statement | About Us | Contact | Help | Support Us

Liverpool Indymedia

Wirral Council Votes To Slash Services: What Now?

Neon Black | 11.02.2009 02:08 | Social Struggles | Workers' Movements | Liverpool

When Wirral Council finally voted to go ahead with the Cabinet's proposed slashing of local services on 9th February, it caused anguish to the hundreds of people who have been campaigning for the last few months. Council employees are now set to lose their jobs at the worst possible time, as a global recession bites. Service users have lost access to libraries, leisure centres, and cultural venues. This terrible attack on ordinary people has shown the limitations of protests, letter-writing campaigns, and pinning hopes on politicians. The need for a new strategy has been highlighted.



Anger has been rising since last November, when Council leader Steve Foulkes and Chief Executive Steve Maddox published a 'Strategic Asset Review', which recommended a mass closure of facilities and investment in "better but fewer" buildings, with the overall aim of saving £3.1 million from the Council budget. The plans have been changed since then, but eleven Wirral libraries still face the axe, along with many other venues. Several set-piece protests and marches have been organised, with the stated aim of putting pressure on the ruling Labour/Lib Dem coalition, but the Council has voted to press on with its closures.

Throughout this dispute, local Conservatives have positioned themselves as opponents of the cuts. They have voted against them, attended protests, and organised internet campaigns. However, trusting Tories to protect public services is like trusting vampires to run a blood bank, because Conservatives have long believed in the sell-off and closure of services which do not make a profit. Many of the local Tories reached political maturity at a time when Margaret Thatcher was doing just that, setting the policy agenda which Major, Blair and Brown have followed. Nationally, David Cameron has pledged to "shrink" public services if he wins power, and we can assume that the Wirral party would do the same if they got overall control of the Council in 2010.

Trade unions aren't any help either. Their 'ten point plan' amounts to a plea for more protests and consultations. They are also considering standing candidates in the local elections next year. This is far too little, much too late.

As the profit system coughs and splutters and throws millions of workers on the scrapheap, some are starting to fight back. There have been big one day strikes here and there, but these rarely achieve anything other than letting off steam, and it might be a poor strategy here when Wirral Council wants buildings closed permanently. However, there have been worker occupations of workplaces in countries such as the USA, Turkey and Germany, and also at the Waterford Crystal plant in Ireland.

When workers occupy their workplace, they take it over in their own interests and often the interests of the community as well. If they get enough support, they can even be 'recovered' - taken over permanently by their workers. Thousands of people on Facebook groups, hundreds at protests and 'consultations' and many, many letters written to local media demonstrates that Wirral council workers would have huge support if they took over the running of their workplaces.

Almost everyone on Wirral seems to want excellent public services for all. If we let a few politicians and bureaucrats decide we can't have them, what does 'democracy' really mean? We must support Wirral council workers in their struggle for their jobs and our services!

Join the 'Support Wirral Council Workers' Fight For Their Jobs And Our Services' Facebook group here!

Neon Black

Comments

Display the following comment

  1. Cheshire County Council — Mr Lees

Kollektives

Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World

Other UK IMCs
Bristol/South West
London
Northern Indymedia
Scotland

Topics

Afghanistan
Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-Nuclear
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Fracking
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Policing
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista

[navigation.actions2016]

[navigation.actions2015]

[navigation.actions2014]

NATO 2014

Actions 2013

G8 2013

Actions 2012

Workfare

Actions 2011

2011 Census Resistance
August Riots
Dale Farm
J30 Strike
Occupy Everywhere

Actions 2010

Flotilla to Gaza
Mayday 2010
Tar Sands

Actions 2009

COP15 Climate Summit 2009
G20 London Summit
Guantánamo
Indymedia Server Seizure
University Occupations for Gaza

Actions 2008

2008 Days Of Action For Autonomous Spaces
Campaign against Carmel-Agrexco
Climate Camp 2008
G8 Japan 2008
SHAC
Smash EDO
Stop Sequani Animal Testing
Stop the BNP's Red White and Blue festival

Actions 2007

Climate Camp 2007
DSEi 2007
G8 Germany 2007
Mayday 2007
No Border Camp 2007

Actions 2006

April 2006 No Borders Days of Action
Art and Activism Caravan 2006
Climate Camp 2006
Faslane
French CPE uprising 2006
G8 Russia 2006
Lebanon War 2006
March 18 Anti War Protest
Mayday 2006
Oaxaca Uprising
Refugee Week 2006
Rossport Solidarity
SOCPA
Transnational Day of Action Against Migration Controls
WSF 2006

Actions 2005

DSEi 2005
G8 2005
WTO Hong Kong 2005

Actions 2004

European Social Forum
FBI Server Seizure
May Day 2004
Venezuela

Actions 2003

Bush 2003
DSEi 2003
Evian G8
May Day 2003
No War F15
Saloniki Prisoner Support
Thessaloniki EU
WSIS 2003

IMCs


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech

Publish Your News


Temporary Scroogle search

-->