Steve Score, Leicester Socialist Party
Hundreds of people protested against the Labour council’s threat to community centres, libraries, and museums. The council is currently consulting on proposals to close and ‘give up’ some centres and libraries from council control.
Leicester Labour council cuts to council tax support have already hit those on the lowest incomes. Personal Independence Payments (PIP) are intended to allow people with disabilities to have an independent life – paying for things like carers and mobility.
The council is now including PIP as income in assessing council tax support. Some disabled people face a quadrupling or more of their council tax bills. They are expected to spend their PIP on paying council tax instead.
These are on top of all the other cuts the Labour council has made and is making to a range of local services, such as ending school travel support to students with Special Educational Needs (SEND) who have reached the age of 16.
Labour councillors claim they are the ones who care about people, and that it’s all down to previous Tory governments. But we now have a Labour government pushing through even more cuts.
I spoke at the lobby and said that, instead of fighting local communities and workers, the council should be using reserves to set no-cuts budgets, then getting our support to build a mass campaign to get the money required from the government.
We are building for a public meeting, which is backed by the local trades union council, with Socialist Party members playing a role in initiating, to bring together trade unions and community groups to launch a broad local anti-cuts campaign.
No to cuts – no job losses
How can we fight back?
Saturday 17 May, 2.30pm
Secular Hall, 75 Humberstone Gate, Leicester, LE1 1WB
