HOOPS launch meeting

It was a fantastic launch meeting for HOOPS last Tuesday.  The room was fit to bursting with 200 people crammed in to the theatre at Oxford House to hear Tony Benn, Matt Wrack and local GP Kambiz Boomla speak. But more importantly it was a chance for local campaigners and activists to talk about the effects of the cuts and how we all are going to fight them.

Tony Benn, a veteran of the Labour left recalled stories of the radical past of East London where we, the people of this area were at the forefront of fighting for votes, schools, trade union rights and against fascism. He also recounted a meeting from his days in the RAF during World War 2, in which a young service man demanded to know why there was unemployment before the war and yet full employment during the war just to kill German people! He went on to say that what was needed was full employment on the things that people needed like schools, health, transports etc. 

His argument is still relevant today, with billions spent on Trident submarines and war instead of job creation, free education and green technological investment.     

As the meeting went on it became clear that the attacks are ideological starting on the very young and finishing with our pensioners, but so does the fight back!  

Militancy

Len from the Pensioners Forum proposed that over 65s should occupy buses and busy tube stations to defend free travel and other similar actions to increase the winter fuel allowance.

John a council worker and rep for Unison suggested a general strike to coincide with the TUC’s mass demonstration in March next year.  He said it was not pie in sky and that we should learn from our European and South African brothers and sisters.

From the platform Matt Wrack and Kambiz Boomla talked of the similar move to force privatisation upon the Fire Service and further privatisation on GP practices. Kambiz said that this was the biggest threat to the welfare state in 50 years. Matt talked about how the Fire Service won’t provide proper night cover. He also pointed out an example of a local fire station that had stood for over 100 years and been funded but now, in the 21st century we could not afford to keep it. Yet today society is far richer than Edwardian Britain.   

Alex a teacher and NUT rep from Stepney Green School and Kaye a lecturer and rep from Tower Hamlets College talked about the cuts and attacks on education.  The fight against academies and the cancelled school building programme and the cuts to higher education – affecting the most needy in literacy, numeracy and ESOL.  

Others spoke about the up and coming demonstrations, conferences and alternative vision of housing for all. There was also a call for demonstrations on 20^th October to protest against the Con-Dem announcement of cuts. Tickets were also on sale for the Tower Hamlets coaches to the demonstration against the Tory Party conference on the 3^rd of October.

All in all very productive, the next organised meeting will be 7pm, Wednesday 29^th September in the same venue: Oxford House, Devonshire Street, off Bethnal Green Road.