The Socialist 21 February 2018

We can save our NHS

Chatsworth ward victory shows we can save our NHS

Tories raid £1bn from NHS facilities budget - unions must act

Blairite mayor faces open election after democratic 'irregularities' - fight for a no-cuts mayor

Facebook sides with state repression - reinstate the Tamil Solidarity page

Like rats from a sinking Ukip

Usdaw victory - Socialist Party member Amy Murphy wins presidential election

Bosses divided - university pension strikes can win!

After 80 strike days Mears workers achieve victory

Newham academies strike continues with three schools to strike together

Northern Ireland talks process paralysed

How can students and young people fight the Tories?

Leicester Uni makes Tory fee tripler David Willetts chancellor - sack Willetts!

South Africa: Ramaphosa is a safe pair of hands for capitalism

Russia: Ali Feruz, journalist and human rights activist, freed from jail

Building the campaign against clearances of the working class

Northants council crisis - protesters demand an end to cuts and privatisation

Victory: Pontllanfraith leisure centre saved

Save Salford nurseries!

Labour councillors push through savage cuts in Kirklees budget

May Day, May Day! Celebrate solidarity!

Bradford protests against kids' service cuts

Successful Socialist Party Wales conference sets tone for the year ahead

Tremendous determination on show at West Midlands conference

Lively discussion at East Midlands Socialist Party conference

Nottingham hospital black alert

Cardiff Refugee Rights gig success

Outrageous sentence for TUSC agent in 'misleading electors' court case

German engineering strike puts shorter week on agenda - but could have won more

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Save Salford nurseries!

photo Sergey Ivanov/Creative Commons, photo Sergey Ivanov/Creative Commons (Click to enlarge)

Sally Griffiths, Salford Socialist Party

Childcare workers, parents and Salford residents filled Hemsley Hall on 17 February to start their campaign to save five council-run nurseries.

The Labour council has, with the usual 'heavy heart', made the 'difficult decision' to include these nurseries in its long-running public service cuts.

Over 250 people were in attendance and during the meeting a young mother squeezed into the room to announce that there were many more supporters of the campaign outside who couldn't fit in.

This was a fantastic show of strength at a meeting that had been called by The Salford branch of public service union Unison with only a week's notice when the consultation for closure was announced.

We heard from a nursery nurse, a parent and a trade union member in Bolton who had fought for a nursery and won.

Speakers from the floor told how vital the nurseries were for working class people in Salford and also how all five of the threatened nurseries were graded as 'outstanding' - why close a service that is obviously working? No one wants to see nurseries privatised either, as quality of care and staff terms and conditions would drop.

Labour MP Rebecca Long-Bailey, Labour mayor Paul Dennett and a few Labour councillors tried to persuade the crowd that they could be trusted to fight to save the nurseries but they were unable to convince them.

The packed meeting called on the council to scrap the consultation and launch a joint campaign to demand the return of the funds stolen from Salford by the Tory government.

At the end of the meeting the talk was "we will win this" and "our nurseries will not close" from a confident and angry community.

Parents and workers all stepped forward to take up positions on steering groups for all the nurseries.

A petition has been started which went from 1,500 to over 5,000 signatures in 24 hours.

One mother said to us on leaving: "They don't need to thank us for coming out on a Saturday morning - they won't be able to keep us away when they threaten our children".

In this issue

Socialist Party news and analysis

Chatsworth ward victory shows we can save our NHS