Green Left Fringe at GP Conference Spring 2012: Brighton and the Cuts

Cllr Alex Phillips, who voted against the Brighton budget was present during parts of this Green Left fringe meeeting but has asked that her contribution is not posted to this public blog. Her written account of this matter is posted on this blog below and at http://brightgreenscotland.org/index.php/2012/03/why-i-voted-against-the-brighton-budget/
PART 1
PART 2:
PART 3 PART 4


 From bright green http://brightgreenscotland.org/index.php/2012/03/why-i-voted-against-the-brighton-budget/


Local Government Why I voted against the Brighton budget Posted on March 8, 2012 by Alex Phillips


So, the Brighton and Hove Council Budget has been passed, but people are still asking me the question: why didn’t you vote ‘for’ the budget with all of the other councillors in the chamber that evening? Why did you decide to vote against? This blog is to explain my position. In short, I found our amended budget (by Labour and supported by the Tories), which included a Council Tax Freeze, unpalatable. I’ll clarify my thinking below.


First of all, I just want to say that I respect my colleagues, although I do not agree with their decision to vote ‘for’ the amended budget. I recognise that the other parties, who did not reveal their budget amendments until less than 48 hours before Budget Council, put us in an extremely difficult situation. This is despite us having spent almost three months in consultation with the city about our budget proposals. I know from attending meetings in the run up to budget day that there were several distinct views in the Group on how to respond to the ‘Blue Labour’-Tory alliance’s voting through the tax freeze and all that means for more severe cuts to budgets next year. Some colleagues agreed with me and some did not.


 It is interesting that in the final days before the budget there must have been a shift among some colleagues in favour of supporting the budget should it be amended by the opposition on council tax as several colleagues had previously shared my position but I was the only councillor who ultimately voted against. I am told that the Unions attempted to put pressure on Labour but to no avail. But we knew that neither Labour nor the Tories would budge on their proposed Council Tax Freeze. My view is that voting for the amended budget was incorrect, both strategically and in principle. For me it was down to a question of ethics, integrity, consistency of message and bringing our membership with us.


In voting for the amended budget, I do not believe we managed to do any of these things – something that could be electorally damaging to us in the future. Let’s put this into perspective. We led the way on refusing Pickles’ Council Tax bribe, which was a powerful thing to do, and thirty or so local authorities of all colours followed suit. Then, all but one (me) of the Green Councillors voted for the amended budget which included the Council Tax Freeze, so it looks as if ‘we’ capitulated to Tory thinking at the first hurdle. I decided to stand by my Green principles and keep my pledge to the members and the electorate, even if that meant I was the only one in the room to say ‘no’.


 Although my Green Group colleagues have equally sincere and different positions on this, as a politician, I believe it is important for me to keep faith with the voters: if I’ve told them that I’m against the Council Tax Freeze, then I feel that I have a duty to keep that promise and to vote accordingly. Taking the membership with us is also crucial, and in my view, we failed in this regard too. I was the first Green to take a Tory seat in the city, and the first Green to take a seat in Hove, and so I know just how hard it is to get elected. And we don’t do it alone. We do it with the help of our members, who put in countless numbers of hours and tireless work to see us elected. As a grassroots, bottom-up Party, we are supposed to listen to our membership, and that is why we have two Green Group Moderators – party members who are there to amongst other things, ensure all members’ voices are heard. Both of these individuals had clearly set out their personal reasoning as to why we should vote against the amended budget.


 I felt, and rightly, that by listening to these two individuals I was listening to a view that was also held within our general membership. In my view, we ignore our members at our peril. So, why am I, most of our members, the Green councillors and our Liaison Officers against the Tory bribe of a Council Tax Freeze? It is because of the knock-on effect that it will have for next year and future years, as we’ll have less income and our Council Tax base will be eroded. I must make it clear that I am not advocating that the Green Party should stand down from administration; the issue is about being consistent with our policies and taking the membership with us. It is clear that we have not remained consistent with what we told members and constituents, and so people are right to be annoyed.


The argument that the other parties could raise a vote of no confidence in our Leader is disingenuous. Under our constitution, which is the Strong Leader Model, a vote of no confidence holds absolutely no legal significance whatsoever. The only way in which the other parties could get rid of us as the administration would be for them to propose their own Leader and then to call another meeting to vote that person in, which would take three weeks. This is very unlikely to happen because it would mean that the Tories would have to be in a coalition with the Labour Party; that would be electorally disastrous for both of them, but especially for Labour as the Tories have more councillors. In the unlikely event that it did happen, I believe some Labour members would leave their Party and join the Greens within no time at all. However I accept there would be some significant communications challenges for the Party and the council Administration in the event of a no confidence vote whatever the legal processes and so this was a tough decision to call for everyone. I should also point out that a vote of no confidence could have been proposed at any time in the past or indeed in the future. It is a challenging time for us to be in office, and we have had to work within the vicious constraints of central government, but the fact remains that we did not have to vote for a Tax Freeze – we chose to as part of the wider budget. Obviously others in the Green Group will disagree with me but I feel I have come to a considered position on this difficult matter.


So, where do we go from here? Well, in my view, we cannot allow this to happen again. We must feed the dilemma outlined above into the local party constitutional review process; and we must have improved methods of engaging with the membership, especially when issues are this important and there are conflicting views within the group and the party.


Alex is Green Party councillor for the Goldsmid ward in Brighton. She is standing for the Green Party nomination for the South East Euro region.

Avaaz Petition on Syria

(acknowledgements to Shan Oakes)


Thank you for taking action to save Syrian lives. Send the email below to friends and family, and post this link on your Facebook wall.


 http://www.avaaz.org/en/arab_league_save_syria_3/?tta


 Thanks again for your help, The Avaaz team --------


 Dear friends,


 With each passing day, Syria's crackdown on democracy protesters reaches new levels of horror -- bombing crowded neighborhoods filled with innocent civilians, cutting off electricity and phones so families can't call for help, and blocking medical aid to the wounded.


But finally a flicker of hope is emerging that could stop the terror. After the UN Security Council failed, Syria's neighbours in the the Arab League are taking the lead. They have called other key powers to an emergency meeting in 72 hours in Tunisia, and Avaaz will be sitting at the table with the Syrian democracy movement to deliver a clear mandate for strong action. Right now, the level of public outrage could make the difference between forceful action and feckless diplomacy.


Let's deliver a 1 million-strong call to action, and press negotiators to move now to stop the bloodbath. Click below to sign the petition -- it will be delivered directly to the delegates in the meeting:


 http://www.avaaz.org/en/arab_league_save_syria_3


 The student organizers and mothers who month after month have led peaceful marches for freedom are now facing down the full military might of Assad's army. They are calling for the world's help to ensure that the Syrian Spring does not die a gruesome death on the streets of Homs, Hama and Idlib. So far, the Arab League and United Nations have failed to stop the slaughter. But the international community knows that they cannot postpone action any longer. There is no panacea to end this, but a combination of more targeted sanctions, humanitarian action, support to the opposition to form an alternative government that unites people across the sectarian divide, and a plan to help those fearful of regime change to defect, could tip the balance of power.


 In situations like this one, a clear public proposal can force the hand of politicians and governments to take meaningful action fast. Let's show those meeting this week the extent of global determination to save the Syrian Spring and end the bloodshed. Sign the urgent petition for action now:


 http://www.avaaz.org/en/arab_league_save_syria_3


 With so many challenges facing our globe, our community rarely campaigns on the same issue numerous weeks in a row. But the situation in Syria is dire and the Syrian people are counting on us not to let this opportunity to make a difference pass us by. Let's come together one mor e time and show them that the world stands with them by forcing our governments to act. Let's come together one more time and show them that the world stands with them.


 With hope and determination, Ian, Jamie, Maria Paz, Allison, Andrew, Emma, Wissam, Stephanie, Bissan and the whole Avaaz team


More Information: U.N. Rights Chief Decries Inaction Over Syrian Assault (New York Times) http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/14/world/middleeast/syrian-forces-continue-at tack-on-homs.html


Syria rejects UN charges as Homs battered (AFP) http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j1pclwMLlv27cvsSseqnSzyCg 2xw?docId=CNG.f403ea8aad2faad073236239e9b0c0df.af1


 Tunis to host meeting on Syria on February 24 (Reuters) http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/12/us-syria-arabs-friends-idUSTRE81B0 DN20120212
Syrian regime 'emboldened' by UN inaction, says human rights chief (The Guardian) http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/feb/13/syrian-regime-emboldened-un-inac tion?newsfeed=true


'Heaviest shelling' in Homs for days, say activists, as massacres reported (al Arabiya) http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/02/14/194498.html?newsfeed=true

Brent CCC Environmental Writers Meetings; Derek Wall 20 February, Willesden

One of a  series of meetings where writers on environmental subjects read from their books and discuss their ideas with the audience. Organised in conjunction with Brent Library Service. On 20/2/2012 the  speaker was Derek Wall, author of No-Nonsense Guide to Green Politics and a forthcoming book on the history of the commons.The meeting was chaired by Martin Francis of Brent Green Party.




Derek Wall (part 1)


Derek Wall (part 2)


Derek Wall (part 3)


Derek Wall (part 4)

George Brown

Anti-nuclear conference in Japan calls international day of action, March 11

Anti-nuclear conference in Japan calls international day of action, March 11 February 18, 2012


 “We now stand at a crossroads. We have the choice to break out of the nuclear fuel chain and move towards efficient, renewable and sustainable energy that does not threaten health or environment.” The Global Conference for a Nuclear Power Free World was held at Pacifico Yokohama on 14 and 15 January 2012.


6000 people on the first day and 5500 on the second, including 100 international participants from over 30 countries, gathered at the conference, with a total of 11,500 participants. The conference was broadcast live over the internet, with an audience of approximately 100,000. At the closing of the conference, the Yokohama Declaration for a Nuclear Power Free World was announced.


" The 11 March 2011 earthquake, tsunami and related melt down at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has led to great suffering for the people of Japan and has increased radioactive contamination across the globe. It has also sounded a warning bell throughout the world about the long-term health, environmental and economic risks of nuclear power. As with Three Mile Island and Chernobyl, the accident at Fukushima has reminded us once again that nuclear technology is unforgiving and accidents cannot be contained. The situation is not under control as declared by the Japanese Government. The nuclear power plant is still unstable and workers continue to work under life-threatening conditions. Radioactive contamination is spreading. This is a regional and global emergency. People are either forced to flee with their children or live with unacceptable health dangers and prolonged radiation exposure. In Fukushima prefecture, evidence of radioactive material has been found in the breast milk of mothers and the urine of children. Lives are threatened, including those of future generations. The regional economy has been destroyed. Every step in the nuclear fuel chain has created Hibakusha, a term initially used to describe survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs, but now used for all victims of radiation exposure.


 Uranium mining, nuclear weapons testing, accidents at nuclear power plants, and the storage and transport of nuclear waste have all created Hibakusha. The experience of these Hibakusha around the world is one of secrecy, shame and silence. The right to information, health records, treatment and compensation has been inadequate or denied with excuses of “national security” or due to cost. This lack of accountability is not limited to Japan, but is a problem fundamentally present in the nuclear industry everywhere due to the corrupt relationship between governments and the nuclear industry.


We now stand at a crossroads. We have the choice to break out of the nuclear fuel chain and move towards efficient, renewable and sustainable energy that does not threaten health or environment. For the sake of future generations, it is our responsibility to do so. Turning away from nuclear energy goes hand in hand with nuclear weapons abolition, and will contribute to lasting world peace.


 The global solidarity shown towards the people of Fukushima and the spirit of those gathered at the Yokohama Global Acknowledgements to http://climateandcapitalism.com  Conference for a Nuclear Power Free World demonstrates that connections between people are truly what will create the foundations for our future.


 We call for:
1. The protection of the rights of those affected by the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident; including the right to evacuation, health care, decontamination, compensation and the right to enjoy the same standard of living as before 11 March 2011;


 2. Full transparency, accountability and responsibility of the Japanese Government and the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) and the establishment of an independent body to disseminate information to the public to reverse the history of concealing information from the public and releasing contradictory information.


 3. Ongoing comprehensive data collection and radiation measurement of humans, food, water, soil and air to inform the urgent and necessary measures to minimise the populations exposure to radiation. Data collection will be necessary for generations and inter-agency governmental undertakings and the support of the international community are required. Corporations that have profited from the nuclear industry should carry their share of the costs.


4. A global road map for the phase out of the nuclear fuel chain – from uranium mining to waste – and the decommissioning of all nuclear power plants. The ‘safety myth’ has been destroyed. Nuclear technology has never been safe and has never survived without massive public subsidies. Renewable energy is proven and ready to be deployed on a decentralised and local scale if only policies to promote it were advanced to support local economies, such as Feed-in-Tariffs.


 5. Currently closed Japanese nuclear power plants to not be reopened. Japan’s energy needs can be met by implementation of policies including the Feed-in-Tariff law that has been adopted and the structural separation of ownership of transmission and production of energy.


 6. The prohibition of export of nuclear power plants and components, especially to industrialising nations in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe.


 7. Support for local and municipal authorities that play an important role in creating a society not dependent on nuclear power. We encourage solidarity between local municipal leaders, regional parliamentarians and civil society to promote strong communities, decentralization, bottom up approaches and an end to economic, racial and gender discrimination.


 8. Actions, demonstrations, seminars and media events to be held throughout the world on 11 March 2012 to protest the treatment of the citizens of Fukushima and call for a nuclear power free world.


Based on the above principles, the participants of the Global Conference have launched the “Forest of Action for a Nuclear Power Free World”, containing concrete plans for action. These many recommendations will be submitted as appropriate to the Japanese Government, governments of other nations, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) and so on. 10,000 people came to the Global Conference for a Nuclear Power Free World in Yokohama, and 30,000 watched online. We, the participants are determined to maintain an international network to support Fukushima, cooperation among those affected by radiation through the Global Hibakusha Network, the establishment of the East Asia Non Nuclear Power Declaration Movement, and a network of local municipal leaders and mayors.

A CARE WORKER WRITES

Peter Allen Co-chair of Green Left, was very concerned  to state, at the recent meeting between Green Left Committee members and Brighton and Hove Green party members and councillors, that even if  a cuts budget minimised the harm done to Council employees, it could impact secerely on employees providing services that are now contracted out to the private sector. Here "Kieran West" gives an idea what cuts can mean for this sector.


A CARE WORKER WRITES By Kieran West


I work for a private company that provides care in the home for the elderly. The organisation is one of many in my town which provides the care that once would have been provided by the council. Because most care has been privatised there is now a highly diminished council care structure.


There is a stark difference between conditions for council workers and privatised workers. Council workers will even say that they’re not working too late in the evening “thanks to you guys”. Working conditions at a private company defy belief. I work on average 45-50 payable hours per week, despite not opting out of the 48 hour working week when I signed my contract. However these are also only contact hours.
Work is given on an almost “self-employed” basis. I only get paid for the time I am in a client’s house, not travel time, or gaps in my rota. Taking all that into account I probably work up to 70-75 hours per week.


Recently a lot of my work days have been from 7am to 9 or 10pm.due to me technically only being “on work time” during the time I am in a client’s house, the company gets around legal issues about providing breaks and maximum working hours. I am also not given a petrol allowance formost areas I cover. These long shifts take place one day after another, with no thought to how much break I get in between.


These conditions are the direct product of privatisation, as the council only pays the contracted company for time spent with the client. It also allows the company to keep us on casual zero hours contracts, and not as salaried workers. Dividing up the needs of clients into 10, 15 or 30 minute blocks means that clients often don’t get the care they need.


For example, I could arrive at a client’s house to find an issue has arisen since the last carer visited (fall, become ill, soiled themselves etc.), I will have to deal with this issue and will not left time to do the basic things I was meant to be there for (washing up, making their dinner).


ROTAS
Calls are packed in so tightly that often I have been given impossible rotas that assume I can be across town (at least a 10 minute drive) in five minutes. That’s if I get a rota at all! Recently rotas that are meant to arrive on Thursday to start the following Monday (too short notice as it is) have not been arriving until Monday or Tuesday of the week they are for. There is a complete lack of freedom to plan a personal life, or challenge issues such as overload of work.


There are big issues over sickness. As the company is chronically understaffed it seems that even one person being ill overstretches resources.The company has a mass text messaging system, notionally to let carers know medication details for clients, or changes to rotas. However this messaging system is mostly used to bully carers. We often get messages threatening us about the number of people off sick. The most hilarious message I’ve ever had said: “Carers, you do not work at Morrisons, you work with vulnerable adults, being sick and handing back shifts at short notice will not be tolerated”.


How I’m meant to be sick at long notice, I’m not entirely sure!


Over the Christmas period we were informed that they would not accept even one day’s sick leave without a doctor’s note, and that they were going to do “welfare visits”.When they were challenged on this they demurred, but we can only assume it was a threat to turn up at our homes to make sure we really were sick.


Clearly all sense of their legal responsibilities has left them. But the lack of trade union organisation has allowed them to get away with it.


As a socialist I have been agitating for colleagues to join a union. Several have, however the staffing turn over is so high that many have left. It is incredibly hard organising in the private care sector, I rarely see other carers and our work is atomised.


We need to be organised in these workplaces but we also need to have a wider campaign to bring care back into the public sector so that it can be better


PS Workers Liberty have given Green Left permission to distribute/publish this.

Letter in The Guardian calling for Maria Miller to resign.

From: Darkest Angel darkestangel32@hotmail.co.uk
Date: Fri, Feb 10, 2012 at 12:59 AM
Subject: Letter in The Guardian calling for Maria Miller to resign.


Hello there. In the light of recent interviews with Maria Miller MP (Minister for the Disabled and Under Secretary of State) an online group of disabled and non disabled activists are sending a letter to the guardian calling for her to resign. The article is here http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/feb/06/minister-disabled-no-shortage-jobs?CMP=twt_fd
 If you would like to have your name/organisation added to the list of signatures please reply asap so we can get it sent quickly. A copy of the letter is below. 


 An open letter to Ms Maria Miller, Under Secretary of State (Disabled People) Work and Pensions.
 Dear Maria Miller MP,
 We, the undersigned have no confidence in your abilities as Under Secretary of State (Disabled People) Work and Pensions. We believe that you should resign from your position for the following reasons:


 1) For failing to fight hard enough to ensure that disabled people receive a fairer assessment of their capabilities. For suggesting to Disability Campaigner, Sue Marsh, whose own Disability Living Allowance has been decreased, that she use her ‘extensive right of appeal through tribunals’ if she is unhappy about the DWP’s decision. You appears to be ignorant of how the proposed cuts to legal aid will severely limit access to justice through tribunals for thousands of DLA recipients. Added to this, the closure of many Citizens’ Advice Bureaux, because of cuts, means many people cannot get the advice they need.


 2) For persistently disregarding the views of charities, organisations, medical professionals, scholars & academics, independent inquiries & commissions, who have made it clear in public statements that the Work Capability Assessment in its current form is ‘not fit for purpose’ but is willingly administered by ATOS Heathcare.


3) For persistently defending the changes to move people from Incapacity Benefit to Employment & Support Allowance, which have led to many sick and disabled people being wrongly assessed and some terminally ill people being passed fit to work. Also for persistently defending the proposed change from Disability Living Allowance to Personal Independence Payments, which will take away the benefit from many needy and deserving people.


4) Your refusal to engage directly with the people at the first ‘Hardest Hit March’ on the 11th of May 2011, the follow up in October 2011 and more recently in January 2012 sent a clear message that, though you will participate safely from a live internet blog or a radio studio, you are reluctant to meet, in person, people with serious illness and disabilities whose anxiety and sense of injustice drive them to take to the streets in all weathers to voice their feelings


5) For being responsible for introducing the plan to charge lone parents to access the service which will replace the Child Support Agency, when organisations such as Gingerbread have opposed the idea because of the damaging effect it will have on children and the difficulties, if not impossibilities, of many parents in getting child maintenance. A large percentage of lone parents are disabled or caring for disabled children.


6) For failing to take a sufficiently strong public stand to protect disabled people from disability-based discrimination, prejudice and disability hatred. Such disability hatred often stems from articles in the media, including the state-sponsored BBC, which regularly portray people who are sick and disabled as scroungers, particularly those who suffer from conditions that may not be readily obvious.


7) For misleading the public by claiming that there is not a shortage of jobs but a fear of work, suggesting that all people who receive benefits are workshy. You said you believed the unemployment problem was down to a lack of ‘appetite’ for the jobs on offer, claiming that on any day there are 400,000 job vacancies. What you failed to mention was that there are 2.68 million people unemployed and that in some parts of the country, such as Hartlepool, there are twelve people chasing every vacancy. Neither did you mention that many of the jobs are part time and/or unsalaried and commission-based.


8) Finally, although your background is in marketing and advertising, you does not appear to be using your PR skills to highlight the plight of the sick, disabled, poor and vulnerable in our society, but rather the opposite. Before the 2010 General Election, Politicians were queuing up to promise the right to ‘recall’ MPs who do not do their jobs properly. So far, no legislation has been passed to enable people to do this. However, we, the undersigned, feel that this should be the case for you. It is for the above listed reasons that we, the undersigned believe that you, Ms Maria Miller MP, to be out of touch with the worries, concerns and outrage felt by sick, disabled, poor and vulnerable members of our society. We therefore urge you to resign immediately.

CoR meeting: 'Resisting Austerity in Europe'

You are most welcome to attend the public meeting on Thursday February 9, 2012 at 7.00 pm.


The title of the meeting is 'Resisting Austerity in Europe' and it is part of a national tour on this theme and the guest speakers are the following:

• Owen Jones, author of “Chavs – the demonization of the working class”. 
• George Barrett – rebel Labour councilor from Barking who was recently expelled for refusing to vote through cuts. 
• Clare Solomon– former ULU President and Coalition of Resistance steering committee member.
• Mohamed Ashraf, parent from the Montgomery School Campaign. 
• Beccy Adams, NUT rep from the Montgomery School Campaign.

Governments across Europe say there is no money for jobs, schools, health and housing and they expect ordinary people to shoulder the burden. Meanwhile their fat cat friends in the city and the bosses of banks rack up enormous bonuses and avoid tax on a colossal scale. We present three speakers who say there is an alternative to the politics of cuts and austerity– but only if we fight for it


The meeting is held at Committee Rooms 3 and 4 in the Council House, Victoria Square, Birmingham (B3 3BD).


 It is organized by the Coalition of Resistance. and supported by Birmingham Against the Cuts and the GMB union.


acknowledgements to Doug Rouxel

Health and Social Care bill.

Please act and also circulate widely
The pressure is mounting to save the NHS.....we need Andrew Lansley to publish the risk register relating to the Health and Social Care bill. Please copy the email below and send it to your MP asking them to sign the Early Day Motion to get the risk register released. You can find your MP's email address by putting in your postcode at  http://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/mps/
This is really important. Dr Eoin Clarke MP says in his blog:


Andrew Lansley has concealed a 'risk report' that has examined the potential dangers of his NHS Bill. He simply refuses to publish it. I am told that the reason for this is that the report contains a very serious warning about the long term damage the bill will do to the NHS. The chief warning in the report is that Lansley's reforms will spark a surge in health care costs and that the NHS will become unaffordable as private profiteers siphon off money for their own benefit. The report specifically warns that GPs have no experience or skills to manage costs effectively.
http://eoin-clarke.blogspot.com/2012/02/andrew-lansley-covers-up-nhs-report.html


Simply copy the text below and create a new email to send to your MP. Remember to include your address so that your MP knows you live in their constituency.




Dear 
Please could you sign this very important Early Day Motion to get the government to release the risk register relating to the Health and Social Care bill?
http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2010-12/2659


Yours sincerely,
NAME
ADDRESS




Romayne Phoenix
Green Left

We Support the Right to Peaceful Protest - Drop the charges against the Cardiff Castle Two!

On 11 November 2011 the police violently broke up a completely peaceful protest on the green outside Cardiff Castle by Occupy Cardiff (part of the world-wide Occupy movement against inequality and injustice in the financial system). They ‘kettled’ the demonstrators in a subway and arrested six people.


 Eric Jinks and Jason Simons were charged under Section 61 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act with “failing to leave the land, namely CARDIFF CASTLE, as soon as reasonably practical”. They are due to appear at Cardiff Magistrates Court on Wednesday February 8th 2012 and if convicted face a maximum sentence of three months imprisonment.


 The police action is an assault on everyone’s rights to express ourselves publicly and peacefully protest and is therefore a threat to the democratic rights of everyone in Wales. We call for the charges against Eric and Jason to be dropped, and for the Police to cease to use this legislation to restrict democratic protest.


 sign the petition at http://www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/right2protest


 acknowlegements to Anne Greagsby

SAVE OUR NHS

Crucial time for action


 TUC SAVE OUR NHS RALLY
 Wednesday 7 March 6pm Central Hall Westminster
The TUC have finally called a rally against the bill under the banner of the All Together for the NHS http://www.tuc.org.uk/social/tuc-20551-f0.cfm


In the mean time please support and publicse these actions


Lobby the BMA Tuesday 07 February 6pm BMA Tavistock Square, WC1


Leaflet at http://www.facebook.com/events/292530860803596/


Lobby the House of Lords as Lansley's Bill reaches Report Stage Wednesday 08 February 2.30 - 8.30 pm Old Palace Yard, Westminster, Opposite the Lords
Leaflet at http://www.facebook.com/events/277566832305621/


Candle lit demonstration and Q&A session Sunday 05 February 5pm Enfield Town Market Place,


The George Health Worker Network Meeting against the Bill Saturday 4 February 12-4pm Room 2C, University of London Union, Malet St, WC1 Romayne Phoenix