Council beaten on austerity tax


Brent Kennedy, Carlisle Socialist Party

Cumbria’s Labour-Lib Dem council has been forced into a humiliating defeat over part of its austerity budget.

Local Socialist Party members played a leading role in organising the campaign against unfair compulsory parking charges.

There can be no doubt that the highpoint of this opposition was the 150-strong public meeting of “Denton Holme Stop the Parking Tax” we organised.

Local Socialist Party members systematically leafleted the working class area of Denton Holme. Residents spontaneously collected signatures from neighbours on their own petitions. In addition to the meeting, we organised the street protest outside the council offices, and successfully spread the message through local press and regional TV.

In the words of the local News and Star: “For long enough the fight was deemed futile by a council determined to see through its plans to claw back cash when faced with massive central government funding cuts.

“But overwhelming public opinion is never futile.”

This shows that the council can be forced to retreat if enough pressure is applied.

Of course the council will now look for other ways to take money off the working class. But this small victory sets a positive precedent – in particular for local government unions facing 1,800 job cuts in the area.