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

Liverpool Indymedia

Wirral Against Service Cuts

Neon Black | 11.12.2008 23:32 | Social Struggles | Workers' Movements | Liverpool

A crowd of two hundred or more Wirral residents gathered at Wallasey Town Hall last night, to show their anger at the council's planned cuts to vital services.

The Labour/Lib Dem coalition have been pushing a 'Strategic Asset Review', which Council leader Steve Foulkes claims will 'support regeneration'. However - as many Liverpool people know - the word 'regeneration' is code for putting the needs of business before those of working class people.

The coalition plans the closure of twelve libraries - Birkenhead Central Library and many local branches - plus two leisure centres (including Guinea Gap Baths, right next to the Town Hall), Pacific Road Theatre and the Wirral Museum at Birkenhead Town Hall. As a replacement, the Cabinet want to build eleven new buildings, at the cost of £20 million. They claim this will mean "better but fewer" facilities. However, Foulkes (who got a 500% pay rise this February) has admitted he is looking for ways to save money. Libraries, cultural venues and recreation centres are clearly not considered a worthwhile investment.

The protest was arranged when Conservative Councillor John Hale, Chair of the Culture, Tourism and Leisure Overview and Scrutiny Committee called a special meeting to examine the Cabinet's proposals. Though the Committee has no powers to overturn the proposals, the Conservatives are seeking to use the dispute as a wedge issue in the run-up to the local elections next May.

At present, the Tories are the largest single party, having made significant gains from Labour this year. However, the coalition between Labour and the Liberal Democrats has kept them out of power. They would need a swing of a further nine seats to win overall control, but local leader Jeff Green and his councillors are keen to make political capital by opposing the hated cuts.

It is measure of these crisis-ridden times that the Labour/Lib Dem proposals are so right wing that the Conservatives - many of whom reached political maturity during the reign of Margaret Thatcher - are to be able to position themselves to their left. However, should they win power, the Tories would face similar - or maybe even deeper - economic problems, and would have to find money from somewhere, either by service cuts or higher taxes.

Yesterday's protest included many workers from the various facilities, as well as young children on perhaps their first demonstration. If the campaign is to be successful, it must ignore the siren songs of both the Tories and the Labour Party - which many trade union bureaucrats are linked to - and focus on concerted workplace-based action, which would have huge backing from Wirral people.

Neon Black
- Homepage: http://dreaming-neon-black.blogspot.com

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

-->