In an excellent local protest this evening trade union and community campaigners took over the Council Chamber at Lambeth Town Hall for a debate about how to fight cuts in public services, as Councillors made the cuts elsewhere in private session (http://www.streathamguardian.co.uk/news/8871895.UPDATE__Council_passes_budget_amid_massive_protests/).
Whilst Councillors (believing that they had no option) bent the knee to the Coalition Government (who have no popular mandate for their kamikaze economic policies) local people engaged in a serious, considered and peaceful debate about how to fight back.
The main focus of contributions to the debate (from a wide range of community and union campaigners) was upon how to develop opposition to Government policies (particularly by maximising attendance by local people at the TUC demonstration on 26 March).
Although some members of deputations who were due to address the Council were disappointed that, having gone into private session, the Council then refused to hear from them, the overall impact of this evening's events has been to strengthen and broaden the campaign against the cuts.
The decisions taken by Lambeth - or any local authority - are never irrevocable and can always be fought. The peaceful, orderly and militant demonstration and protest in Brixton this evening has provided a platform to take this vital campaign to the next level.
The campaign against cuts shall continue to be fought, job by job, service by service, day by day.
That protesters marched out of the Town Hall in a resolute, determined and united way demonstrated the seriousness of the growing forces being drawn around the local "Save Our Services" campaign (http://lambethsaveourservices.org/).
The Tory-led Government is set upon destroying the gains won for working people over previous generations. Tonight local people in Lambeth said that we will fight back.
Sent using BlackBerry® from Orange
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