DEMO: Mulberry Place, 6.30pm Wed 8th Dec

The effects of the government cuts on Tower Hamlets are now becoming clear.

In order to set a budget for 2011/12 the council is planning to cut £38m from the budget, which will have a huge effect on jobs and services.

HOOPS is supporting a demonstration called by local trade unions outside the next council meeting on Wednesday December 8th – a flyer for this is attached.

We are asking councillors to join the campaign against the government cuts and to support the TUC national demonstration on March 26th.

We will be redrafting the HOOPS petition against the government cuts and asking councillors to sign it.

Please circulate the leaflet and encourage people to come along.

Lobby Tower Hamlets Council
Wednesday 8 December
6.30pm
Mulberry Place
5 Clove Crescent E14 2BG
Buses D6, 15, 277, Blackwall DLR
 

The cuts in Public Spending announced in the Comprehensive Spending Review will have a devastating impact on communities like Tower Hamlets. They will affect everything from Health and Education, to Benefits and other Services. They will impact on services and on jobs having a huge detrimental impact on the local economy. The Council has already given notice of the loss of up to 500 posts this financial year with more to follow. These cuts will have a real impact on services and jobs in our community. The Con Dem Coalition has no mandate for these savage cuts and the overwhelming majority of people inTower Hamlets have voted for Mayoral candidates and Councillors expressing opposition to them. 

Rather then implementing these cuts we call on the Council to

• Work with Trade Unions and Community Groups to oppose the ConDem Coalition cuts
 

• Expose the impact of the cuts on our community,
 

• Organise a series of community meetings against the cuts
 

• Support the TUC national demonstration on 26 March 2011. 

  Called by Tower Hamlets Council Joint Trade Unions supported by HOOPS Tower Hamlets

Next student protest, Tue 30 Nov

THE OFFICIAL WALKOUT STARTS AT 11AM SO THIS MARCH (UNLIKE THE OTHERS) WILL START MOVING AT 12PM TO GIVE THOSE STUDENTS WALKING OUT TIME TO JOIN EVERYONE ELSE

THE PROTEST ROUTE HAS NOT YET BEEN FINALISED. A LONDON-WIDE ASSEMBLY WILL TAKE PLACE ON SUNDAY THE 29TH TO DECIDE WHAT ROUTE THE MARCH

NEXT HOOPS CAMPAIGN MEETING - WED 24 NOV

Wednesday 24th November at 7:00pm in Oxford House. We are aware that this date is a Day X but we have already postponed this meeting b4 and we really need to meet before the Council meeting. It is possible to go to demo earlier, but yes we know its hard.

Statement about 10/11/10 student demonstration

A statement has been issued supporting Wednesday's student protests

We need unity to defend education and break the Con Dems’ attacks. Stand with protesters against victimisation.

• Stand with the protestors against victimisation
• Hands off our students, our colleges and our universities
• Broken windows cannot compare to the broken hearts and dreams of a generation denied education and jobs

Sign the Unity statement

We need unity to break the Con Dems’ attacks
Stand with protesters against victimisation

Wednesday’s national NUS/UCU 50,000 strong national demonstration was a magnificent show of strength against the Con Dems’ savage attacks on education. The Tories want to make swinging cuts, introduce £9,000 tuition fees and cut EMA. These attacks will close the doors to higher education and further education for a generation of young people.

During the demonstration over 5,000 students showed their determination to defend the future of education by occupying the Tory party HQ and its courtyards for several hours. The mood was good-spirited, with chants, singing and flares.

Yet at least 32 people have now been arrested, and the police and media appear to be launching a witch-hunt condemning peaceful protesters as “criminals” and violent. A great deal is being made of a few windows smashed during the protest, but the real vandals are those waging a war on our education system.

We reject any attempt to characterise the Millbank protest as small, “extremist” or unrepresentative of our movement. We celebrate the fact that thousands of students were willing to send a message to the Tories that we will fight to win. Occupations are a long established tradition in the student movement that should be defended. It is this kind of action in France and Greece that has been an inspiration many workers and students in Britain faced with such a huge assault on jobs, housing and the public sector.

We stand with the protesters, and anyone who is victimised as a result of the protest.

Initial signatories include:

Mark Bergfeld, NUS NEC
Sean Rillo Raczka, Birkbeck SU Chair and NUS NEC (Mature Students’ Rep)
Vicki Baars, NUS LGBT Officer (Women’s Place)
Alan Bailey, NUS LGBT Officer (Open Place)
Kanjay Sesay, NUS Black Students’ Officer
Matt Bond, NUS Disabled Ctte (Open Place rep)
Michael Chessum, Education and Campaigns Officer UCL SU
Jade Baker, Education Officer Westminster Uni SU
Cameron Tait, University of Sussex Students' Union President
Nathan Bolton, Campaigns Officer Essex University Students’ Union
Clare Solomon, ULU President
Jim Wolfreys, UCU NEC
Dr Marion Hersh, UCU NEC and Scottish Executive
Alex Gordon, President, National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers (RMT)
Lee Hall, playwright ‘Billy Elliot’
Hilary Wainwright, Transnational Institute
Alex Callinicos, Professor of European Studies King’s College London
Billy Bragg Songwriter
Noami Klein Author and Activist All in a personal capacity

  http://www.petitiononline.com/st53231/petition.html

The next meeting of our local anti-cuts campaign is on Wednesday 24th November at 7:00pm in Oxford House.

This is the day after council unions meet with the Chief Executive so we may have some picture of what the budget looks like in Tower Hamlets.

We should take the example of the students and bring some of that feeling to every campaign that fight and cuts.

The TUC has named Saturday March 26th as the day for the national demonstration and we need to make sure that this is huge, but there will be a lot of campaigning and activity before then.

Hope to see you on Wednesday 24th.