The Socialist 3 February 2010

‘Filthy rich’ get richer: Challenge the bosses’ greed!

'Filthy rich' get richer: Challenge the bosses' greed!

Taliban insurgency, poverty and corruption Brown's Afghan crisis deepens

Chilcot Inquiry: Millionaire Blair has no regrets

Fight new attacks on London's NHS

Save our A&E!

Civil service Young workers get organised

Youth Fight for Jobs (YFJ) activities

No cuts and no fees in further education

Young people blocked from access to education

Council criminalises dissent

Socialist councillors back school's protest

Weak growth - the best that capitalism can offer

Fast News

Trade unionist and socialist coalition

Bob Crow launches Portsmouth TUSC

Scottish TUSC steering committee set up

TUSC Coalition sponsors

Unison general secretary election: Fighting left challenge needed

Defend the four: Courts show what side they're on

Civil service strike ballot as talks fail

Fujitsu strikers determined to save jobs and pensions

Sri Lanka: Violent election campaign puts Rajapakse back in power

Tekel workers demand general strike in Turkey

Betrayed - PTSD casualties of war

Previous issues, etc

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Socialist councillors back school's protest

ON 20 January, for the second time in two months, over 50 parents came out to protest against horrendous conditions at John Gulson primary school in Foleshill, Coventry.

Rob Windsor, Coventry Socialist Party councillor

Parents' complaints include toilets right next to classrooms, overcrowded reception classes, a non-functional school hall, no medical room and structural problems.

The protest followed one in December and was again 'loud and proud'.

The Parents Action Group petition was presented to Coventry's Tory cabinet member John Blundell. The Tory council attracted a lot of blame for these issues and rightly so.

But both main political parties voted for a schools' reorganisation when the city was New Labour-controlled and a number of primary schools were needlessly closed. This was only completely opposed by the Socialist Party group; we correctly predicted that the city's population would grow and called for smaller classes.

The expectation of schools like John Gulson to take additional pupils into already worn-out buildings created the spark that ignited the protests. Parents fail to see the sense in making plans to extend a school where the core buildings are already decaying - they want a new school.

They hope to invite New Labour education minister Ed Balls to the city. If this happens, let's hope he denounces his government's bailing out of bankers and tying schools' improvement plans into unaffordable private finance schemes and instead offers the cash to build a new school.

We fully supported the parents in organising protests, which were covered on Central TV as well as local media, and will continue to do so.

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'Filthy rich' get richer: Challenge the bosses' greed!