NHS SOS:

The battle to defend the health service

Come to this rally at Socialism2006

Sunday 26 November,

3pm - 4.30pm,

University of London Union (ULU), Malet Street, London WC1.

Speakers include:

Dr Jackie Grunsell, Huddersfield Save Our NHS councillor.

Dot Gibson, secretary of Keep Our NHS Public (personal capacity).

Len Hockey (Whipps Cross Hospital UNISON joint branch secretary and Socialist Party member

Cuts in the NHS are taking place across the country. Blair and Brown's drive for private profit is devastating our health service. But for every cut threatened, there are people fighting back.

The huge demonstrations that have sprung up in rural areas, seemingly out of nowhere, are reminiscent of the early days of the anti-poll tax campaign. They show the potential for a national, co-ordinated campaign to stop the attacks on the NHS.

What can be done to save the health service? What is the alternative to Blair and Brown's PFI fiascos?

Come to the Socialism 2006 NHS SOS closing rally and find out.

socialism 2006

socialism2006 is a weekend of discussion and debate hosted by the Socialist Party, taking place on Saturday (3pm) /Sunday (10am-4.30pm) 25 & 26 November Seminars and debates will be held at ULU, Malet St, London WC1.

Rally for Socialism will be at Friends Meeting House, 173 Euston Road, London NW1.

About

Buy Ticket

Sessions

Essential Information

Rally for socialism

Saturday 25 November 6.30pm-9pm

Speakers include: Mark Serwotka - general secretary of the civil servants' union PCS;

Lucy Redler - member of the WASG regional executive committee and Socialist Alternative (CWI, Germany); Tommy Sheridan - member of the Scottish parliament and leader of the newly formed Solidarity; the Scottish Socialist Movement;

Len Hockey - Socialist Party member and joint branch secretary of Walthamstow Health UNISON.

Socialism 2006 is a weekend of discussion about how to kick back against this rotten capitalist system of war, poverty and exploitation and fight for the socialist alternative. The whole weekend will be an unmissable opportunity to meet up with other activists and exchange experiences and ideas, but the high point of the weekend looks set to be the Saturday evening Rally for Socialism.

The speakers at the Rally include some of the most important Left workers' representatives in Europe. Mark Serwotka, the general secretary of the PCS, is at the head of a union that is currently leading the fightback against Blair and Brown's attempts to massacre our public and civil services. One in every five jobs in the civil service is under threat and at the same time civil servants are seeing their pay and conditions under attack too! The fighting lead that the PCS has given in combating these attacks has seen it grow at a faster rate than any other trade union in the UK.

Two of the other speakers, Lucy Redler and Tommy Sheridan, will be representing important organisations in the German and Scottish socialist movements. Lucy stood as a WASG candidate in the recent Berlin elections against the 'Red-Red' coalition of the SPD and the Links Partei who are carrying out cuts and privatisation in the local government there.

Tommy Sheridan, of the newly formed Solidarity - Scotland's Socialist Movement, has been involved in the battle to defend socialist ideas through his recent libel action against the Murdoch gutter press. Tommy's victory has created a momentum for Solidarity to grow in size and influence and CWI members in Scotland are working alongside Tommy to build it.

Also speaking will be Len Hockey - Socialist Party member and UNISON joint branch secretary for Whipps Cross Hospital, east london. Len has recently led successful strike action of low-paid domestics and porters against Initial Rentokil at the hospital - scoring a victory against the privatisers and the service-cutters. Their victory is an inspiration to anyone who wants to defend and rebuild the NHS.

As well as these and other speakers there will be video footage of struggle from around the world.

The Rally for Socialism is set to be the high point of Socialism 2006, offering inspiration and analysis to the workers and young people there. Make sure you are one of them!