Category: AUSTERITY

DODGY DAVE IN DIRECT ACTION DEFEAT

HAVE YOU EVER worried that protesting doesn’t change anything? Well, stop – you’re wrong. ‘And who says so?’, you ask. None other than our very own darling government!

Last month, the government blocked the release of a list of companies involved in workfare, admitting that protests and direct action have left the unpopular scheme in tatters. Since its creation, the scheme has met with fierce resistance with dozens of exposed companies (like the British Heart Foundation and Holland & Barrett) being forced to pull out through a high profile campaign of protest. The scheme was appealing to bosses when it was a dirty little secret, but it turns out that they hate being exposed as free labour profiteers, and tend to drop out when exposed to the light of day.

So, enter every big-businessman’s bezzie mate: David ‘Call me Dave if yer rich’ Cameron. Working with the D.W.P., he has blocked calls to reveal a list of workfare providers. Leaked documents from government lawyers state that “Previous targeted campaigns had resulted in the withdrawal of providers from workfare”, effectively citing mass public disapproval as the main reason for hiding the list. However, with more and more employees and people pushed onto the forced-labour scheme and happy to whistleblow, it won’t be long before more big names start falling.

The most important thing about the documents isn’t the length to which governments will go to protect big business, or the contempt for democracy shown by suppressing information from the public – we all knew this went on. What makes this crucial is that the government have admitted – in a document meant for their eyes only – that they are scared of action as it can and does get results. With the government admitting their fear of popular discontent, just think what we could achieve if we pushed a little harder…

So, on that happy note, ask yourself this: what better time than now to get on http://boycottworkfare.org, round up a bunch of yer mates and get stuck into the fight against this redundancy-making, crumbling scheme that puts yet more of our taxes in the pockets of the rich?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/nov/09/mandatory-work-activity-names-witheld

STATING THE OBVIOUS

A DEFIANT YET modest group of eight activists from Bath Anti-Cuts Alliance, Occupy Bath and B.A.R.F. anarchists, were all out in ‘force’ on the freezing night of Wednesday 5th December, leafleting with blue-tinged fingers, and bemoaning George Osborne’s mopey Autumn Statement. A statement that basically stated: “Yes, the evil Con-Dem austerity package has failed to turn around the economy’s nosedive” and “Yes, we’re gonna do at least another six years of the same, and feign surprise when it turns out it didn’t work”. As well as the recent years of frozen wages, ‘Workfare’ neo-slavery and dismantled public services, the new plan similarly attacks benefits, pensions and teachers’ unions. Meanwhile, the Sunday Times Rich List reported that the wealthiest 1,000 UK citizens have seen their fortunes increase by over £18 billion over the past year, to more than £414 billion – over a third of the national debt. Without meaning to state the obvious, but perhaps it’s about time for a bit of old-fashioned wealth redistribution?

GROUNDHOG DAY, OCCUPY BATH-STYLE

NOVEMBER 16TH-18TH saw the return of Bathonian regulars Occupy Bath, for their anniversary weekend trip down memory lane. Barred by the Council from their old haunt in Queen Square, campers made a last minute detour to upmarket Royal Crescent, to dirty the stuffy elegance with their tents and banners and ghastly cookfires. After a swift set-up, and hot nosh (care of Bath Food Not Bombs), they resumed the old General Assembly meeting format – open, consensus-based discussions where all present get to air their views and decide camp policy. A year on, this camp was more firmly focused on the government austerity program, as well as Britain’s corrupt economic system. As well as bathing in the glare of the B.B.C. and Bath Chronicle’s media spotlight, the campers found themselves also dazzled by the flash of busloads of tourist cameras, who must have thought they’d encountered some post-apocalyptic human zoo – and maybe they had. The next day, it was all out to hassle Starbucks on their tax evasion, complete with banner, megaphone and minor security guard scuffles. And then come the Sunday they packed up and went their separate ways, rather than outstaying their welcome for weeks on end, like last time! But unlike many of the Occupy cells, the Bath group are still very much active, particularly in the form of their brainchild Bath People’s Assembly, which meets every month at the Friends Meeting House – and maybe you should do, too?

http://new.bathpeoplesassembly.org/

http://standingstonesblog.blogspot.co.uk/

ANARCHY VS. CHAOS: AN INTRODUCTION TO ANARCHISM

Black And Red Federation
bathactivistnet[at]yahoo.co.uk

16/11/12

MEDIA RELEASE – for immediate use
Anarchy vs. Chaos: An Introduction to Anarchism

ON SATURDAY 24TH November, from 3 until 6pm in the Coffee Lounge of Manvers Street Baptist Church in Bath (a minute’s walk from Bath Spa train station), the Black And Red Federation will be organising a discussion on anarchism, and invite members of the public to come along and take part. The group feels that recent government policy and business lobbyists have made the UK a better place for millionaires and rightwing politicians, but an increasingly uncertain and unhealthy place for everyone else.

Anarchism has received a bad press ever since its birth 219 years ago, with anarchists forced into stereotypes of either violent thugs or sandal-footed hippies – caricatures repeated by both the media and political establishment on one side, but also by self-proclaimed anarchists on the other. But many anarchists see it differently: the philosophy has come a long way since its roots amongst the Taoists of ancient China and the Christian heretic Anabaptists of 16th Century Europe, promoting mutual respect, equality and rationality, and opposing oppression wherever it appears. Indeed, anarchism had become a mass movement of hundreds of thousands of everyday people fighting for and winning freedom in 1920s Ukraine and 1930s Spain, however briefly. Far from embracing destruction and chaos, anarchists say that ‘Anarchism is Order’!

In Bath on the Saturday, a handful of local speakers will make short presentations on the ideas and history of this important but controversial political philosophy, before breaking down into longer group sessions where all present are invited to discuss and offer their two cents. The group will ask whether, in this current climate of biting austerity and growing global unrest, anarchists and their ideas have any role to play?

Entry is free, food and hot drinks will be available, as will stalls of literature, and all are welcome to come along and join them on the day!

Notes to the Editor:

If you would like any further information, please email bathactivistnet[at]yahoo.co.uk

You may also want to check out any of the following:

network23.org/barf
+

 

 

DUCHY DIARY #2

HELLO AGAIN DEAR Mountaineers

Her Royal Mumsie visited me this week with some truly shocking news. She has found out this month that housing benefits are going to change. At first I was panic-stricken, as the Dave and Gideon have proposed to remove benefits from those of us with “unused” bedrooms in our home. I mean, I have extra houses with hundreds of bedrooms! With the amount of cuts to my benefits, that would mean my trips abroad would be significantly reduced and, bugger the carbon footprint, if one can’t sun in the Seychelles and ski in the Sierra Nevada at least twice a year, one simply couldn’t carry out one’s duties – one is only bloody human. I got so het up that i spilled my Bollinger Blanc de Nois Vielles Vignes Francaises 1997 all down my third favourite Savile shirting. Ah well, plenty more of both. My foul mood was only assuaged by Camilla, bless her, who cantered over, gave me a stiff one and pointed out that it was only the poor and undeserving that the benefit changes will affect!

Well, I can tell you my relief was palpable! Anyhow I think it is fair enough that under 16’s should share a room, my boys had to share a castle, it really made them close and well-adjusted – not at all the reptile-eyed, attachment disordered, powder-nosing delinquents the gutter press so love to portray. As for foster kids, they should just be happy to have a roof over their heads, so not allowing them a room is Ding Dong by me. Anyway, I watched ‘Oliver’, and some of those needy kids are simply wretched. As it’s just the plebs getting their benefits cut, it’s even possible that some of the savings will get kicked up to yours truly, then I can get Balmoral newly carpeted. And what a spiffy idea of Dave’s putting in that doodad about siblings having to share rooms to make room for lodgers! A three-bed house house for a family of six is highly sufficient; there is such a thing as bunk beds – apparently. And disabled adults should just appreciate that they are still alive, and haven’t been culled by the fam, they really don’t need the extra room: we always throw ours in the cellar and have down with it! Sensible policies and all that. Anyhow i am really looking forward to April’s changes, and as it gives you a chance to stand up and take a hit for good old Blighty, I bet you can’t wait either, eh? Lucky little buggers.

Anyway, as I was saying…

H.R.H. Prince Charles

HARDEST HIT HIT BACK

THURSDAY 25TH OCTOBER saw over 30 disabled people and supporters march in Bristol, to draw attention to the massive impact the cuts are having on disabled people and their carers. This is especially clear in Bristol, where the Lib-Dem-led council has forced through policies shutting down eight care homes across the city, despite mass opposition from service users, workers and anyone who gives a shit about the most vulnerable in our society. To highlight the massive impact of these cuts, a report by the Children’s Society and Disability Rights U.K. claims 230,000 severely disabled people are set to get between £28 and £58 less in benefits every week, while 100,000 children stand to lose up to £28 a week, and up to 116,000 disabled people who work will be at risk of losing £40. Event organisers estimate that government cuts will directly hit more than 500,000 disabled people across the country.

After the march, tempers flared when local Lib-Dem scumbag, mayoral candidate and avid backer of care home closures Jon Rogers tried to address the crowd. Not wanting to listen to someone who has campaigned tirelessly to rob them of their facilities, the crowd responded with heckling, booing and even lobbing a few objects, including a lit cigarette, at Rogers – the least he deserved in our humble opinion. Speaking after the event, one of the demonstrators explained their actions, describing how Rogers “[doesn’t have] much of a place at a demonstration like this. He has closed operations for eight care homes in Bristol.” Quite right. Even if the care homes may be set to close, there is still more to fight for. In the meantime, the least we can do is give back a little bit of the discomfort and humiliation that politicians force on us – especially the most vulnerable of us – by making sure they can’t speak in public without having to dodge awkward questions, awkward heckles and as many flaming objects as we can throw!

A LOTTA SQUATTER BOOKS

ONE OF THE first of our services the Tories lined up for destruction was libraries. To your average Tory, too rich to need a public library, it was easy to spread the ‘no-one uses libraries anymore’ lie. However, those less well-off know that libraries play a massive part in the lives of the community, young and old. It is a place where those of us without private school educations can develop and nurture a love of reading. But all over the country, resistance has been seemingly futile, and dozens of libraries have been closed. However, at least one community is showing us all how to hit back and keep hitting the books. In 2011, Barnet Council took the unpopular decision to close the Friern Barnet library; immediately, a campaign group was set up, protesting outside and inside council sessions and spreading the word. When the library closure went ahead anyway, (with pro-closure councillor Judith Beckman admitting “I don’t know where the library is”), locals refused to give up, mounting round the clock pickets of the library. And when council vans turned up to remove the books, locals used a phone tree call-out and soon dozens of people were blocking the entrance, keeping the books where they belong. Since then, the group has been deadlocked in negotiations with Barnet Council, who are offering a replacement ‘library’ in a small room miles from the original building. Locals refused, and so the stand-off continued.

That is until a small group of squatters entered the library, immediately re-opening it with a collection of donated books, and were welcomed with open arms. Today, the library remains open four days a week, staffed by local volunteers, and is as well used as before the shut down. The library squatters, and the residents of Barnet, have set an example for us all. The government has never been interested in the average person and has been quite happy to rob us of the things we want and need, hiding behind banner of ‘deficit reduction’. Protesting has a time and a place, but like the residents of Barnet, if we want to win back our public services, we need to stop asking nicely and rip our libraries, schools, hospitals and workplaces back from the hands of sell-out politicians and run them by ourselves, for ourselves.

PRIVATISE THIS!

THE TORY LEADER of Cornwall council has been booted out of office amidst another privatisation row. Councillors accused Alec Robertson of showing ‘disdain for democracy’ as he tried to push ahead with the sell-off of Cornish libraries, care homes, job centres and advice centres – despite his nutty proposals being shot down by his own council! Despite the widespread opposition to his plans, designed to shave 20% off the council budget, Robertson and a small clique of fellow Tories attempted to smuggle the plans through behind the council majority’s backs. After getting caught blue-handed in the middle of chatting up B.T., (eager themselves to operate Cornwall’s libraries and other services), Robertson was ousted in a raucous council session which saw one councillor removed by security! Independent councillor Graham Walker summed up the situation, saying “I no longer have confidence in a leader who chooses to put party politics and ideology before the clear decision… of the people of Cornwall”. Get used to it mate, that’s Tories for you.

While Cornwall’s rejection of the politics of public service sell-offs is a good news story, it’s worth reminding ourselves that privatisation has never worked in our favour. Wherever public services are flogged to the highest bidder, standards drop, prices soar and working conditions plummet. The Tory wetdream of private companies running all our services should be the rest of ours’ nightmare and needs to be resisted wherever it rears its head.

FREE FUN FOR ALL THE FAMILY!

ON 20TH OCTOBER 200,000 people filled the streets of London from Lambeth to Hyde Park, in protest against austerity. There were people from diverse social and racial backgrounds, babies and great grannies, black and white, poor and slightly less poor (rumour has it the rich of London were huddled in Blitz-style terror behind the reinforced shutters of the Ritz), all having a laugh, a sing-song, a good chat and a shout in the sun. There were nurses, physiotherapists, train and bus drivers, teachers, pensioners, students, anarchists, socialists, communists, and people with disabilities: all with one thing in common, being fucked over by the government and wanting their voices heard! Most knew marching alone wouldn’t be enough, and there was a definite mood to take things further, but what better way to boost your own morale than meeting others who want things to change?

The highlights of the day came at the end of the march, as a couple of thousand malcontents took action against companies involved in tax-dodging and the government’s Workfare/slave labour scheme. Targets included a posh Hilton hotel, stormed and occupied just like McDonalds, Starbucks and Boots. Wheelchair-users and pensioners blocked the road at Marble Arch in protest at cuts to services and benefits, and reports are still rolling in of small-scale occupations and shutdowns all over London. In a telling moment, thousands of trade unionists booed Ed ‘I’m just like you in my £1.4 million mansion’ Miliband at Hyde Park as he tried to convince the crowd that red cuts hurt less than blue ones. Despite the great atmosphere, numbers were way down on the 500,000 strong anti-cuts demo last March. Why? Because the T.U.C. have sold us the occasional demo as an alternative to actions that really could stop the cuts, such as mass strikes, occupations and direct action. While angry workers made the most of the day to network amongst themselves, for the T.U.C. leadership, it was nothing more than a ‘re-elect Labour’ stunt and a pacifier to the thousands desperate to get properly stuck into the Tory scum. It is now the job of ordinary people to keep fighting, with or without the T.U.C.: a one-day strike and the odd protest is not a recipe for success and if the union leadership can’t deliver the action we need to be taking, it’s time to start doing it for ourselves, in our communities and in our workplaces. You never know, we could even be talking revolution.

 

ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL

ALL OF US can think back to those confusing, exciting, and emotional teenage years and think “wow, I really do wish we had more exams! I loved the stress and the competitiveness of them, they really made those years!” Well, don’t worry, the coalition government are here to save the day again with the introduction of the ‘EBac’. Not only will everything count on this one exam, after two years of study (I really hope you’re not ill that day kids, or hung over!), but you will also have the fantastic opportunity to be forced to stay in school another two years to finish them. That means more time with the parents, annoying siblings and no cash! So, no more coursework (I wonder what will happen to the more fun subjects of arts and tech?), or multiple attempts to bring your grades up, but also only those smart-arse kids with rich parents and smaller families are much more likely to do better (more space and time at home to focus on work and practice), and those who are poor are going to be lucky to reach 18 with any skills or qualifications. We all know how useful science, maths and English is to our lives, unlike carpentry, mechanics, plumbing, building, childcare and growing your own food. You can really get a good job to support yourself with knowing what Macbeth was about or what is 5x + 3y = 10x + 15y. But no worries, with the rise in apprenticeships at places like Costa Coffee and slave labour…. whoops I mean ‘the Work Programme’…. at Tesco stacking shelves, you will be well sorted. It is not like you could afford university fees at £9,000 a year anyway. You know what might be better idea? Skip school, go learn something useful off your own back and start trading your skills with your mates. It will be more fun, interesting, and gives you some cash. ‘Education’ is for losers anyway.