Ealing Alliance for Public Services to be established
On Thursday 11th November there was a public meeting at Acton High school for anyone concerned about defending public services from cuts. The meeting also heard about the plans for cutting welfare benefits. Among the main speakers was Bob Crow of the RMT union. At the end of the evening the meeting agreed to set up the Ealing Alliance for Public Services.
Sarah Edwards spoke at the meeting on behalf of Ealing Green Party, condemning the Coalition government’s plans to slash spending on services and welfare benefits. Sarah said “The government claims that the cuts are both essential and fair. In fact they are neither. These cuts are ideological, not unavoidable. We know they will hit some of the most vulnerable people in society. According to the Institute of Fiscal Studies the poorest 10% will be hit disproportionately hard as a result of these savage cuts”.
Sarah went on to outline how the government’s cuts were not essential. She said the party believed that it was necessary to address the deficit, but not so fast and certainly not in the way the coalition proposed. She said “We want to see a fairer tax system with a greater burden falling on high earners. We would also raise money from higher taxes on polluting activities, for example aviation”.
Sarah continued “The government should be cracking down on tax avoidance and tax evasion, where many billions of pounds are wasted. Instead the government seems obsessed with chasing the £1 billion pounds that is estimated to be lost in benefit fraud. We would also scrap the nuclear weapons programme. Cutting Trident would save £100 billion over its lifetime.”
“The Green Party wants to see investment in our future, not cuts in jobs. In addition to protecting front line services, we need to invest in things that will prepare the country for a sustainable future, when resources will be running out and climate change will threaten us all. For example if we should invest in things like energy efficiency and renewable energy not expensive, dangerous nuclear power. That way we can cut fuel bills and tackle fuel poverty”.
In conclusion Sarah said “The Green Party is already part of the national Coalition of Resistance against the cuts, and that Ealing Greens strongly supports the formation of the proposal to set up the Ealing Alliance for Public Services”.
Sarah Edwards
The meeting was chaired by Eve Turner of Ealing Trades Council. Other speakers included Daneil Crawford, Acton Labour Councillor, Jan Nielson, Anti-Academies Alliance. Representatives from several unions also spoke.
24th November 2010
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