4,000 march for West London A&Es

4,000 march for West London A&Es

Brent Fightback supporters

400 or so activists from Hammermsmith and Brent assembled
at Acton Park on Saturday to march to Ealing Common where
they were joined by thousands from the main march which
began in Southall.

The marchers were campaigning for the retention of the
Accident and Emergency facilities at Ealing, Hammersmith,
Charing Cross and Central Middlesex hospitals.

Sarah Cox, speaking for
 Brent Fightback, declared that
the campaigners should retain unity
in the face of attempts to divide and
rule and campaign for ALL the
hospitals and resist any closures
until they were convinced that any
alternative arrangements were in
place, secure and more effective
than what they replaced,

Len McCluskey speaks for the people (Coalition of Resistance statement)

Len McCluskey speaks for the people
  
The Coalition of Resistance deplores the astonishing attack made by Labour leader Ed Miliband on Unite General Secretary Len McCluskey, following McCluskey's call for Labour to break from the austerity policies which are destroying the British economy and wreaking havoc in the lives of ordinary people.

McCluskey has a strong track record in opposing austerity and has spoken out about the terrible hardships now facing the working class: the cuts in benefit, wholesale destruction of the NHS, the bedroom tax and other measures designed to pauperise and criminalise ordinary people. Unite is one of the main backers of the People's Assembly against Austerity which is leading the campaign for a single united anti-austerity movement to take on the policies of this government - a vital development if any of the gains of the working class since the second world war are to be retained. McCluskey's recent championing of the anti-austerity position in the New Statesman has led Miliband to respond by saying that McCluskey 'does not speak for the Labour party' and that he was 'disloyal' and his statements 'reprehensible'.

In attacking austerity Len McCluskey is speaking for the whole working class, he is speaking up for the disabled, the pensioners, the young unemployed, those of poverty pay and millions of others. This is precisely what the Labour Party should be doing but is failing to do. The discussion raised by McCluskey is both essential and legitimate: it is over the future policies of the next Labour government and of the Labour Party manifesto going into the next general election - a process which is ongoing through the national Policy Forum. These are real discussions on matters of the highest importance for the future of the working class where anti-austerity voices must be heard and the opinions of a leading trade unionist - who speaks for so many, in and out of his union  - cannot just be dismissed with hostility and contempt. The question underlying Len McCluskey's comments is the crucial one: if Labour is elected in 2015, will it be a government that seeks to protect and advance the interests of the working class or will it be a government that furthers the austerity agenda, destroying the NHS and what remains of our welfare state? This is the crucial debate.

Edinburgh Mayday Rally

MASS PICKET - Unite Construction Rank & File

MASS PICKET - Unite Construction Rank & File

Wesbourne Park Crossrail Site on Monday 22nd and Tuesday 23rd April.
7am - 8:30am.

for further details see: https://www.facebook.com/jib.electrician/posts/369280689842857

London Wide NHS Coordinating meeting: TUESDAY 16 APRIL 6.30pm

London Wide NHS Coordinating meeting

TUESDAY 16 APRIL 6.30pm

Camden Town Hall Judd St WC1 (Kings X Tube)

Discussion will include:

18 MAY DEMO

-Organising support

-Plans on the day including speakers, route, stewarding practical arrangements

24 APRIL LORDS DEBATE

- Action on day of Lords debate

(acknowledgements to Ryan Coley)

KEEP OUR NHS PUBLIC template letter to lobby letter to Lords pre 24TH APRIL

(acknowledgements to Romayne Phoenix)

Below is a KONP produced and Checked template letter to encourage members to HAND WRITE lobby letter to Lords pre 24TH APRIL - please consider passing this on

Dear Activist, Here is a shorter letter for you to use in lobbying peers. Please write this letter by hand or send by email having put your name and address, dating and adding anything you want to say personally.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Dear Peer

Re: Debate on 24.4.13 on new regulations (S!500)

Please make time to attend the Lords for this important debate and vote to annul these regulations. They will not give the Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) the freedom to commission services that they (and members of parliament) were promised during the passage of the Health and Social Care Act 2012.   Lord Howe said

‘ … commissioners would not have to create markets against the interests of patients.  Clinicians will be free to commission services in the way they consider best.  We intend to make it clear that commissioners will have a full range of options and that they will be under no legal obligation to create new markets, particularly where competition would not be effective in driving high standards and value for patients. As I have already explained, this will be made absolutely clear through secondary legislation and supporting guidance as a result of the Bill’.  (Lords, 6.3.12)

But this is not what has happened.  There was such an outcry over earlier regulations that the government withdrew them, laying SI 500 as the substitute.  The words are softer but the impact the same.

• CCGs will be forced to put all new services out to tender which is costly
• The wording is ambiguous and may lead to legal challenges 
• Law trumps guidance so do not be fooled by reassurance about guidance
• The timing has left insufficient time for the public to contact peers
• Peers have to work on this during their recess, reducing their effectiveness as a second chamber
• There is no need for these regulations to be rushed through now

You will have received detailed letters analysing the meaning of the regulations and the legal opinions which confirmed my fears so I will not reiterate these here.

I am also concerned about the considerable number of peers who have connections with the health care ‘industry’ and who voted in favour of the Act. I feel they should abstain rather than vote for these regulations which will effectively lock the NHS into a real market under EU law and that US companies are ready to exploit.

Please take this opportunity to annul the regulations so that they can be rewritten to reflect in law what Lord Howe said to you on 6.3.12 

Yours truly,

For Lib Dems Last sentence before signature

Remember that the H&SC Act was not in the Coalition agreement and that voting to annul these regulations will not affect that agreement. You have an opportunity to ensure that rewritten regulations reflect your own party’s policy and protect the NHS as an important social endeavour beloved by the English people. 

NO Evictions How to campaign to keep people in their homes

Subject: Invitation to a NO eviction workshop// Sun, 12. May // 2-4.30pm // Holborn, London

NO Evictions

 

How to campaign to keep people in their homes

 

Unite Community invite you to a free skills sharing workshop to look at ways to stop evictions. Come along and join activists from Spain and Germany who will be sharing experiences of their NO-eviction movements.

Sunday | 12 May | 2.00-4.30pm (including a break)
Unite House | 128 Theobald's Road | Holborn | London WC1X 8TN | map

Many people are facing eviction today because of the unfair welfare which will force people into debt and arrears.

Join us for an afternoon of housing related discussion, developing ideas for creative protest action and networking. Housing activists from Berlin and Barcelona will present photographs and short films and will share their experience, knowledge and tactics to keep people in their homes.

The workshops are open to everyone, with any level of experience in activism. We'll be looking at:

• What “eviction resistance” means in other European countries?
• What can we learn from our own experiences of the anti-poll tax movement
• Why we might choose to get involved in direct action against eviction?
• What are the possible legal consequences of different types of protest action?

Inspired by different experience presented by the speakers, we'll come up with ideas how to build up localnetworks to support affected people and work out next steps.

From: "Tucker, Pilgrim" <Pilgrim.Tucker@unitetheunion.org>

Date: Tue, 9 Apr 2013 15:25:31 +0100

To: Tucker, Pilgrim<Pilgrim.Tucker@unitetheunion.org>

Subject: Invitation to a NO eviction workshop// Sun, 12. May // 2-4.30pm // Holborn, London