Firefighters and supporters celebrating their victory against the South Yorkshire fire cuts, 16.9.19

Firefighters and supporters celebrating their victory against the South Yorkshire fire cuts, 16.9.19   (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)

After months of campaigning, lobbying and petitioning by the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), Socialist Party and others, on 16 September the South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority voted not to proceed with the chief fire officer’s proposal to reduce crewing levels from five to four.

This would have resulted in 84 fewer firefighters over the next three years.

Now, they will instead look at using some of their £25 million reserves, and lobbying the government for ‘fair funding’.

We are proud the Socialist Party played a big role in this campaign, collecting over 2,500 signatures across South Yorkshire, campaigning with the Fire Brigades Union. We distributed hundreds of leaflets and supported the FBU lobbies.

This victory proves once again that if you fight, you can win.