West Midlands fire engine cuts


Pete McNally, Worcester Socialist Party

Hereford Fire Brigades Union (FBU) is faced by management plans to reduce the number of fire engines in the county. Worcester Socialist Party members supported their protest against these cuts on 20 September.

It was an impressive effort by the FBU, with about 20 members leafleting and getting petitions signed. They had flags and placards and got a lot of public support.

The petition called for a referendum on raising council tax to fill the apparent shortfall in funding. We argued that it would be better to call for more funding from central government.

Herefordshire shares its fire and rescue authority with Worcestershire and only elects councillors every four years – so the chance to mount a no cuts challenge in 2015 must not be missed.

We asked FBU members to consider being candidates next year for the anti-cuts Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC), which includes the Socialist Party. We found that one member followed TUSC on Twitter and another had previously stood for TUSC in Sheffield. So we may be able to challenge the cuts consensus in Herefordshire for the first time.