Bradford bus workers on strike in 2015

Bradford bus workers on strike in 2015   (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)

Peter Robson, Bradford Socialist Party

Bradford Socialist Party members were in attendance along with other activists at the lobby of the council on 23 February outside Bradford city hall. Some Labour councillors came and talked to us as we attempted to persuade them to set a no-cuts budget.

This was a marked difference from 2016 when they were openly hostile towards us. But our attempts to offer an anti-austerity budget did not stop the Labour-run council making a further £40 million of cuts which, with the already millions that have decimated this city, is a legacy they should be ashamed of.

Not only will these cuts yet again attack the poorest, with the Edmund Street centre already closed as a refuge for the homeless. To add insult to injury, after the dirty work was done, they announced to the local press that they now want to rehouse 20% of people in care homes back into their own homes!

Clearly, some of these people are very ill and it would be unbelievable to send them home. And to what? With these cuts, there will be no carers left at this rate. We will continue to challenge these councillors.