Update on Leicestershire Against the Cuts

It was a really good meeting of Leicestershire Against the Cuts on 19 July; very positive with a keen desire to fight the cuts. We extended the Steering Committee which next meets on 11 August) and elected a Chair, Bernard Harper - President of Leicester and District Trades Union Council, a Convenor, myself, and a Treasurer, Alan Stanley, also a Trades Union Council officer. We also agreed a strategy, key to which is that we will moblise to defend any public service threatened by the cuts, from ward closures to community centres from schools to old folks homes etc. We want to link the trade unions with the communities and build strong local based unity. The cuts affect us all and we all have a part to play. Everyone can help by getting the word out that we exist and getting their friends and family to join us as part of our campaigns and activities.The campaign strategy also includes:
*A national demonstration against the cuts called by the British TUC - we will lobby the TUC conference with thousands of others if they fail to do this.
*Support for all actions by unions and anti-cuts campaigns in defence of public services, including individual strikes at local or national level.
*Campaign activity through the wider movement and local communities
*Meetings and activities through trades councils and local trade union branches with anti-cuts campaigns to explain and build support for action
*Lobbies of councils, health boards and other employer organisations responsible for carrying through Government cuts.
PS - we also changed the group's name to reflect that it is county wide.