The initial meeting of Leicester Against the Cuts took place on 29 June. It was well-attended, considering that it clashed with Spain against Portugal. The football rejecting individuals at the Independent Arts Centre numbered around 25 and the intiative we had started was endorsed by Andrew Lloyd, the full time official for PCS in the Midlands. This is good news because it gives us official support and hopefully some finance.
What was encouraging was that the meeting was attended by members of other unions and also members of the general public. It was agreed that to beat the cuts we needed to link unions with groups and individuals in the community fighting to defend services. The example of how the Poll Tax and Margaret Thatcher was defeated was very much in mind; a great lesson in working class history for those who are too young to remember the actual event.
A Steering Committee emerged from the meeting to take the campaign forward. Besides myself, this is Bernard Harper (President of Leicester and District Trades Union Council), Steve Score (Trade Unionist and Socialist candidate for Leicester West in the recent General Election), Mike Thompson (Unite) and Andrew Walton (Unison Leicestershire Health Branch).
The Steering Committe is discussing our next steps and an update will be posted soon.
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