On the weekend of 6 and 7 March, 25 Socialist Party members campaigned in the Telegraph Hill ward of Lewisham against the £4.1 million of cuts that the council are making to jobs and services.
While the cuts are lower than some other London councils a Lewisham council report warns of the massive attacks that are to follow. A report from the mayor and cabinet to the budget-setting council meeting announced that there will probably have to be ‘savings’ ie cuts of between £50 million and £60 million over the following three years.
Earlier this year Socialist Party councillors Ian Page and Chris Flood launched a petition opposing the cuts and calling for the council to lead a campaign to demand extra government funding. Over this weekend 170 more people signed the petition.
Several of those we spoke to said that they had been Labour voters in the past but in the forthcoming council and general elections they are considering switching their votes to the Socialist Party. We also met more people who are interested in helping out in the election campaigns.
There is an interest in the area in discussing socialist ideas, with 50 copies of the Socialist newspaper sold and £60 raised for the fighting fund including several tenners and fivers.
