The Socialist 13 September 2007

Fighting Unions Need a New party

Postal workers: "We have the power!"

TUC conference: Standing up to Brown's attacks

Needed: a combative trade union movement

Iraq: Get the troops out now

Tube workers' strike scores victory

Bosses get away with murder

Nurses strike

Manchester cuts maternity services

Leeds - no more deficits and cuts

APEC summit: Thousands defy police crackdown

Overcrowded prisons, overworked staff

Keeping tabs on the millions?

A life of debt and poverty?

Tory party struggles to recapture territory taken by New Labour

Impressions of China

Robert Blincoe - a life that illuminates an age

Previous issues, etc

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Manchester cuts maternity services

HALF A million objections, millions of £s in "consultation", an "independent" review and a few months for Health Secretary Johnson to think it over... and the upshot is what the bosses wanted anyway.

Hugh Caffrey and Lynn Worthington

Care for premature babies will close at most Greater Manchester hospitals, save only over-night or stabilisation cots, and be concentrated at three "super-centres". Cuts to maternity services will only profit private companies who own NHS buildings and who, before long, will probably run the "super-centres".

Destroying vital mother and baby services will eventually affect every family in Greater Manchester. It is unlikely there will be as many beds in the "super-centres" as there are in hospital units now. Every privately built facility we know of has meant less beds.

Most people will have to travel far further to get to hospital. The government talks about helping pregnant mums, but these government-sanctioned cuts put mothers and babies at risk.

Premature baby charity BLISS has exposed how too few beds too far apart already means the tragic loss of day-old lives. With too few staff and services further reduced, this will only get worse.

Privatised hospital cleansing services and deregulated 'public' transport means people take longer to travel further, to be at risk of super-bugs like MRSA when they eventually get to hospital.

Patients and the wider community need to organise as part of a mass movement to save what's left of the health service, and fight for its rebuilding.

The unions should be organising staff to fight against cuts. A lead from the unions on the 3 November national demonstration would give staff the confidence to oppose management bullies, and inspire communities to back them.

Socialist Party NHS leaflet

Socialist Party members, like many others, are building the November demonstration. But not one Manchester councillor or MP has fought these cuts. That's one reason why we want to contest next year's council elections in Manchester. We need a political alternative to the three main parties, to give a campaigning lead on issues like stopping the NHS being destroyed.

Socialist Party leaflet pdf (500K)

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Fighting Unions Need a New party