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From The Socialist newspaper, 11 October 2007
Cuts kill - no reductions in the fire service!
AFTER THE usual sham of 'consultation', Devon and Somerset Fire Authority have decided to axe 25 jobs in the fire service in Devon, despite a budget surplus of £1 million.
Jim Lowe, Devon Socialist Party
The jobs will go in Barnstaple, Exeter, Plymouth and Torquay and will leave these towns and cities and the areas they serve understaffed.
In the event that an aerial hydraulic platform is needed for a rescue, firefighters will have to leave their posts either staffing another engine or fighting a fire, to operate it.
It seems fire chiefs have learnt absolutely nothing from the tragedy in Newquay over the summer, when three people died in the fire at the Penhallow Hotel. Fire cuts in Cornwall meant there were not enough firefighters or working equipment locally to tackle the blaze. Firefighters and equipment had to come from Plymouth, 50 miles away.
As with the NHS and the postal services, we must fight to retain vital public services.
Cuts kill. Devon Socialist Party is campaigning for no reductions in firefighters, engines or equipment, and for firefighters to be properly paid for the dangerous but essential work they do.
The Fire Brigades Union is urging people to write to the Chief Fire Officer for Devon and Somerset to protest against these dangerous and unnecessary cuts.
Please send your letters of protest to: Chief Fire Officer, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, SHQ, Clyst St George, Exeter EX3 0NW.
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Finance appeal
The coronavirus crisis has laid bare the class character of society in numerous ways. It is making clear to many that it is the working class that keeps society running, not the CEOs of major corporations.
The results of austerity have been graphically demonstrated as public services strain to cope with the crisis.
The government has now ripped up its 'austerity' mantra and turned to policies that not long ago were denounced as socialist. But after the corona crisis, it will try to make the working class pay for it, by trying to claw back what has been given.
- The Socialist Party's material is more vital than ever, so we can continue to report from workers who are fighting for better health and safety measures, against layoffs, for adequate staffing levels, etc.
- When the health crisis subsides, we must be ready for the stormy events ahead and the need to arm workers' movements with a socialist programme - one which puts the health and needs of humanity before the profits of a few.
Inevitably, during the crisis we have not been able to sell the Socialist and raise funds in the ways we normally would.
We therefore urgently appeal to all our viewers to donate to our Fighting Fund.
In The Socialist 11 October 2007:
Gloucestershire shows determination
Marching in support of the Burslem 12
Anger at Leighton, Crozier and Brown
Determination to continue the battle
Socialist Party NHS campaign
What we think
Brown's expedient election climb-down
War and terrorism
Anti-war movement upholds right to protest
Burmese students join London march
Socialism 2007
Socialism 2007: Debates to sharpen your socialism
Socialist Party news and analysis
Cuts kill - no reductions in the fire service!
Socialist Party feature
1917 October Revolution: the working class took power
International socialist news and analysis
Darfur bloodshed fuelled by land and oil grab
Iraq occupation: Brown's token gesture
Workplace news and analysis
Civil servants march against cuts and privatisation
National Shop Stewards Network holds meetings around the country
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