The saved St John's Library, Worcester, photo Philip Halling/St John's Library/CC

The saved St John’s Library, Worcester, photo Philip Halling/St John’s Library/CC   (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)

Ruthie McNally, Worcester Socialist Party

Worcester Socialist Party did another door-to-door paper sale on the back of the article of our success in the St John’s library campaign (see socialistparty.org.uk).

We decided to cover the blocks of flats in the St John’s area given our wonderful weather at the moment!

The flats are sheltered accommodation for the elderly so many have disabilities. It was quite easy to sell the paper as most had heard about the campaign.

We also handed out our leaflets explaining the campaign success but also warned that there were no guarantees the money would be there for long, so the fight would continue. Moreover, the council is making cuts elsewhere.

I talked to one resident about the firefighters’ campaign. Hereford and Worcester Fire Authority is proposing a cut of 60% in full-time firefighters at night in the two counties, alongside other reductions in service. Firefighters produced a petition and a response to the ‘consultation’ and we also put out a leaflet and petition on our stalls.

Another resident wanted us to push for a mobile library service to the flats (as we had been successful with our campaign) due to many residents not being able to access the local one.

The local councillor also got praise from some of the residents as he’d said he had been part of the campaign – unfortunately we never got to see him!