Lambeth anti-cuts campaign launched

An initial organising meeting attended by 19 local residents and workers met today (30 June) at the UNISON office. Representatives of the local Pensioners' and Tenants' movements were present alongside members of local branches of the University and Colleges Union (UCU), the National Union of Teachers (NUT) and several members of Lambeth UNISON.

The meeting endorsed the following statement;

We, the undersigned resolve to work together to resist cuts in public services in Lambeth and beyond. We oppose;
* The cuts and redundancies announced by the Council in May;
* Further cuts arising from cuts in Grant Aid imposed by the Government;
* Further cuts arising from the Government’s Emergency Budget.

We support local people, service-users and workers who are organising to resist these cuts in services. Children’s Services are in the forefront of this first wave of job cuts.
We call upon the Council to resist rather than implement cuts in public services.

We call specifically for;
* Support for the joint trade union lobby of the Children and Young Persons Scrutiny SubCommittee on Monday 19 July;
* Support for a lobby of the Cabinet on Monday 26 July;
* The establishment of a broad-based “Lambeth Save Our Services” Campaign to support and co-ordinate opposition to cuts in public services.

We call upon all local trade unions, the Trades Council, community groups, tenants organisations, voluntary organisations, pensioner organisations, campaign groups, faith groups and Labour parties to support a broad-based “Lambeth Save Our Services” Campaign.

The meeting agreed to contribute to an Anti-Cuts Broadsheet to be produced by the trade unions represented at the meeting for distribution at the Lambeth Country Show on 17 and 18 July and discussed further campaigning activity which could be supported, including a community forum at which details of proposed cuts - and genuinely progressive alternatives - could be discussed.

A further meeting will take place after the lobby of the Cabinet on 26 July.