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Southampton council: cutters or Corbynistas?
Protesting against Bitterne walk-in centre closure, photo by Southampton Socialist Party (Click to enlarge)
Nick Chaffey, Southampton Socialist Party
Southampton council meets on 18 November in the next round of council budget consultations. Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) supporters will be lobbying the council to defend jobs and services and back Jeremy Corbyn's call to stop cuts.
Services currently under threat include six libraries in the city. Just £250,000 would keep them open and protect librarians' jobs. NHS walk-in services in Bitterne have recently closed after a five-year long TUSC campaign. Just £120,000 would fund the nursing staff to re-open services there.
While these essential services suffer, Southampton council has found £2 million to complete its corporate arts centre project, now home to a new Nandos restaurant.
Councillors make choices, why can't we find the money for the libraries and walk-in services?
Over £90 million cuts have been carried through since 2010 in Southampton, devastating jobs and services.
Elected in 2012, Labour has continued voting though Tory cuts and losing council seats along the way, while anti-cuts councillors Keith Morrell and Don Thomas have been re-elected with huge majorities.
The election of Jeremy Corbyn has boosted support for the anti-austerity movement. He spoke in Southampton to close to a thousand people who cheered his call to end council cuts.
To build support for such a stand TUSC is organising a Southampton People's Budget conference to identify what the city needs and how we can fight for it.
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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.
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