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Bitterne walk-in's bitter win
Southampton TUSC supporters have been campaigning against the closure of a vital walk-in centre in Bitterne (see issue 832 or www.socialistparty.org.uk). The community campaign recently won a reprieve, with the cut postponed until after the general election. Declan Clune wrote to the local press following the victory.
...This victory shows everyone in the city and elsewhere that if you fight, you can win. But we don't believe it's enough.
Not one councillor backed the demand to keep the centre open: instead they asked for a 'public consultation'. We in TUSC stand together with residents who say the centre is vital for many in the east of Southampton and must remain a resource for them.
Proposed alternatives to the centre include dialling the new 111 advice number, speaking to a pharmacist, self-medicating and attending the distant Royal South Hants Hospital. These are not good enough, and represent a drive towards profit driven private sector providers.
Contrary to what some politicians claim, this was a victory for the people of Southampton and won by the people of Southampton. But we must remain vigilant and determined to fight again.
More vital services are under threat from the council's cuts. TUSC will be there to fight them.
The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) is an electoral alliance that stands candidates against all cuts and privatisation.
It involves the RMT transport workers' union, leading members of other trade unions including the PCS, NUT and POA, the Socialist Party and other socialist and anti-cuts groups and individuals.
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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.
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