But implementing them will be harder
David Maples, Brighton Socialist Party
When Brighton Labour councillors voted for further cuts to public services, they may have thought that it was the end. They are in for a surprise.
Faced with £16 million cuts, there has been lobby after lobby of Brighton’s Labour council:
- Parents of special needs children faced with cuts, campaigning for improved out-of-school and respite provision
- Adult social care users campaigning for adequate funding
- Housing campaigners trying to stop homeless people being uprooted away from friends and family
- Unison union council workers fighting for adequate staffing
Voting through a cuts budget is one thing. Implementing them, is another.
The cuts proposals include the closure of three community libraries. Which three have not been specified, so all are under threat.
In 2023, Labour councillor Anne Pissaridou opposed the closure of Mile Oak library. Standing as an independent, she gained over 450 votes in the next election. When Labour decided to close St Peters school, Labour councillor Les Hamilton resigned.
What will Labour councillors do when the three library closures are announced? 14 Labour councillors represent wards with community libraries. Will they lead the defence of their communities?
Recent local campaigns have been successful. Teachers at the University of Brighton Academy Trust schools took strike action to secure better funding. This resulted in the academy trust relinquishing control of the schools.
Parents of Hove Learning Federation schools successfully opposed the transfer of their schools to an academy trust. They have instead being retained under local authority control. Library campaigns can also be successful.
Community campaigns are significantly strengthened by the involvement of trade unions. Brighton Trades Union Council and Brighton Unison have played a vital role in bringing campaigners together. The enormous pressure on members caused by continuing cuts, and the council’s deliberate policy of understaffing frontline services, may force them to take strike action.
There are no council elections in Brighton this year, and the scheduled elections in Sussex have been undemocratically cancelled. But, if they are under sufficient pressure, Labour councillors may ‘discover some principles’, and stand down.
We would support campaigners against cuts standing in these elections. The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) is a banner available to anti-cuts campaigners to stand. By-elections could become an unofficial referendum on cuts.
