Tenants in Aigburth are due to vote on stock transfer to Arena in November. The Council needs over half the tenants to vote and over half tovote in favour. As with local elections turnout might be low. Aigburth tenants did form an association 18 months ago and many were wary of stock transfer. Aigburth may follow Birmingham and London tenants in voting against stock transfer.

So council tenants in Aigburth have until November to organise a fightback, if you think that leaving it to fate or lack of tenants voting, then you're naive, but then sadly you've probably also lost the fight already.

If you truly want to remain as council tenants then learn the lessons from those who've already fought heart and soul against previous stock transfers here in Liverpool. Many of us know the underhandedness that goes on, even when there is a 'VOTE NO' campaign running you'll be out financed, out resourced and the RSL (or housing association), council and the so called 'inpendent tenant advisors' (the collaborators) will have a running total of who is voting YES and who is voting NO. If more people are voting NO the collaborators will then send letters out to people who ain't voted urging them to vote or even the council's own housing staff are sent around on the knock, if you VOTE NO early on sometimes you'll be sent another ballot paper asking you if you want to change your vote to a VOTE YES that happened up in Speke when South Liverpool Housing were after council housing there. It's no such thing as a secret ballot, the only people it's secret from are the 'VOTE NO' campaigners and the tenants.

In a recent stock transfer campaign in Liverpool, the collaborators had their celebration before the close of the ballot because as far as they were concerned the transfer was now in the bag.

As council tenants who are opposed to housing privatisation (stock transfer) you'll not be able to scrutinise the vote, it'll be counted outside of Liverpool beyond any kind of accountability. It's August, it's early enough to organise a campaign for a 'VOTE NO' there are people who'll help set up a 'VOTE NO' campaign, people who've learnt how the collaborators work, their methods and who as tenants are committed to retain publicly owned and accountable council housing for future generations.

You'll need fellow tenants who are committed to winning a 'VOTE NO' to help you out door-to-door in getting people to support a 'VOTE NO' it can be won, but it takes time, clever tactics, commitment and most importantly a political awareness of what's going on.

In Dovecot former council estate, there wasn't a 'VOTE NO' campaign and the turnout was around 70% and close to 80% voted yes, because they were told everything was going to be wonderful and nobody told them they were being lied to. So if you think doing nothing will lead to people not voting then you'll wake up to your new private landlord in 2005 and tenants who wanted to retain 'SECURE' tenancies and publicly owned and accountable housing will have they lost their rights and collective control over their homes, their community and also public land. All this without so much as a fight, not something I'd like to feel I colluded with because doing nothing is collusion.

The tenant? Alex from Aigburth said "Aigburth may follow Birmingham and London tenants in voting against stock transfer". For your information tenants in Birmingham along with committed trade unionists and socialists organised citywide for a 'VOTE NO' it didn't just happen. As for London, places like Camden which recently voted no for takeover by a ALMO again this was through a well organised tenant and socialist led 'VOTE NO' campaign, not by leaving it to chance.

Tenants, mostly working class people, in London are aware that outside of the council, that includes RSLs, Housing Associations and other private sector landlords, housing is very, very insecure and very, very expensive.

Fingers crossed then Alex?
--> Or make contact with those who've got experience!

I thought party political adverts were banned on Indymedia?
Editorial guidelines and all that?
Well what is this article, apart from one long party political advert, dressed up as news?

Seems that Indymedia's anarchist establishment have zero journalistic skills, training, background or understanding. That includes their chattering spies who can't let things roll without getting into a control freakery mental melt-down.

There are a few people here on Merseyside who bother to report news, or even just re-report news on a very regular basis that is important to those of us who don't trust Merseyside's extremely right-wing media establishment, such as Echo and BBC.

I recall someone posting something very important on flouridation of water earlier this year (a very important public health issue by the way) the posting was removed very quickly and no longer even appears on the list on the right.

So some of us might start to wonder who controls Indymedia, could it be paid for, resourced and ultimately controlled by agents of the state, to lull the anti-capitalist, anti-establishment and community activists out here into a false sense of freedom to report 'our' news for it to be conveniently deleted at very crucial times. As the saying goes "the revolution won't be televised" - perhaps Indymedia will pull the plug at *the* most crucial time as well, makes you think don't it?

There are Green party and Labour Party activists who regularly post onto Liverpool Indymedia (oooh panic, wet our knickers, a political party has been mentioned -ALERT-ALERT-ALERT- quick get out the marijuana and light up quick lest we go into mental meltdown, we can't break our programming. PANIC over it was only pro-capitalist, pro-establishment, pro-middle class parties that were mentioned, ALERT called off.

If you want a freer media then expect that you can't control it, otherwise you are no different than the big corporate media establishment that you anarchists yearn to become excepted into.

The SLP is the only political party to oppose council house transfers. Voting works!

And vote NUM too!

Oh, erm, hang on.

DO NOT VOTE - APATHY PARTY ROOLZ OKAY!

New non-hierarchical party founded called the APATHY PARTY!

Membership: Everyone and no one can be a member. Everyone must use a nickname as part of their membership so nobody can be identified with anything they have ever said or written at any future time or date.

Aims & Objectives: Every member must write their own aims & objectives, each members individual aims and objectives must not be copied from another members book, no cooperation is allowed in these matters.

Constitution: To be written by each individual member in another book to be kept safe and not shown to anyone else especially another member of the APATHY PARTY.

Youth & Children's section: The aims of the youth and children's section is to overthrow their parents running of the household as it is the most basic heirarchy, our youth members must encourage a child's dietry preferance over their parents so called best interest for children, children must be encouraged to try and take over school classes because all teachers are based on a heirarchy of knowledge and kids know where it's at.

Our party will appeal to the APATHETIC NON-VOTERS we won't hold meetings unless two or more of us happen to meet while shopping in Safeways or Marks & Spencers, we sleep in the same bed or share the same weed. We won't elect any leaders because we like leading ourselves because we've led ourselves up the garden path for generations therefore we know how best to misled ourselves and also the masses if we can rope then in again.

Party policy will be based on support or non-support of policies of the current party in power, however non-support of such policies will be kept strictly confidential amongst those opposing such policies. All apathy party members must be good and obedient consumers and never complain about the bountiful goods provided by the labour of others.

Campaigns and direct action: These will be decided when two or more people speak louder than the rest of the people, however if three or more people speak louder than the two or more members already speaking they will be deemed as organising a collective action, however if four of more members speak louder than the three or more and two or more members also simultaneously speaking then it'll be time to skin up also known as rolling some weed.

To skin up: The two members or more who originally spoke louder than the rest of the group will sit down and quietly roll some weed for da rest of da group, firstly before undertaking the making of the weed they will spend five minutes sucking their thumbs which is said to aid the rolling of the skins it is also said to have a good psychological effect upon the said individuals. The three members or more who spoke louder than the two members or more will source some extremely loud music with a loud repetitive low thudding bass. For reference this is the kind of music that students usually enjoy playing at 2am, 3am and 4am in the weekday mornings which adjoining neighbours enjoy listening to through the walls which helps them concentrate on getting up in time for 8am to get to work. The four or more members who spoke louder than the two or more and three or more members who created the current direct action 'weed-in' can now sit down and receive the first rolled weed after watching the two or more members sucking their thumbs for five minutes.

Thus we have a programme one of many competing for non-recognition, aims and objectives and constitutions written by each and every one of our members for their own personal needs, while we won't transform society, the local neighbourhood or our street this century, we'll transform our own minds and that'll have such an amazingly wonderful effect on all our neighbours that we'll create another summer of love.

So remember if you want to keep things as they are then:
DO NOT VOTE -
REMEMBER THE APATHY PARTY -
SMOKE WEED, TURN THE BEATS UP AND FUCK SOCIETY!
.
*
Sponsored by capitalism, imperialism, corporate fascism, the status quo rocking all over the world, uz and ar mates, the new world order, MI5, CIA, MOSAAD, BUSH-LADEN corp and the English royal family.

I'm starting to wonder who controls Indymedia, could it be paid for, resourced and ultimately controlled by agents of the state, to lull the anti-capitalist, anti-establishment and community activist (me, that is) into a false sense of freedom to report 'my' news for it to be conveniently deleted at very crucial times.
Defend the rights of free speech for the people's freedom-loving vanguard! And his mates too!

Or we'll collectivise your fuckin allotment!

"Constitution: To be written by each individual member in another book to be kept safe and not shown to anyone else especially another member of the APATHY PARTY."

Like I could be bothered to do that? In fact, I can't be bothered even to write this.

Because, of course, the SLP has the monopoly on working class beliefs as well as the belief in social justice! Makes me laugh that you honestly think you are the only people opposed to this treatment of council tenants. Can't resist getting their own plug in can they? And it is always at the expense of the argument.

Anyways...
The estimated shortfall of £57million in getting homes to the required standard by 2010 has yet to be explained as far as I am aware. The public needs to see just why this is the case, what work needs to be done on council homes, and how the council decided on these figures.
Also, this does leave £50million that the Council says it does have. Therefore, what are they planning for this money? If all homes are transferred, then what are they planning for that £50m? How many homes do they believe they can renovate for that money? If they had not contracted out large elements of their repairs and maintenance duties, would they have been able to afford everything?

These questions need to be asked.

Every time you post Kai, you destroy your news by promoting the SLP so of course it gets hidden. Read the guidelines.

"Hierarchy : The newswire is designed to generate a news resource, not a notice-board for political parties or any other hierarchically structured organizations."

In this post you are using Indymedia to promote the SLP and its policy on council housing in comparison to other political parties and organisations.

Its that simple.

now excuse me, must rush back to headquarters for further instructions

;0)