Countering the cuts in your area
Workshop session
Cuts to benefits, cuts to health care, cuts to basic public services – all of these are going to impact communities directly. Suffering from overburdened debt and a lack of access to basic services, communities are integral to building any campaign or movement against the cuts.
This session will cover the key tactics and strategies political activists can use to engage community groups and build local anti-cuts campaigns.
Speaking from experience, local community activists Matthew Scott (Community Sector Coalition) and Frances Sullivan (National Coalition of Independent Action) will identify how the community and voluntary sector is being destroyed by the “Big Society” and detail strategies that activists can use to engage those groups directly.
From anti-cuts community groups already formed, Jim Cranshaw (Oxford Save Our Services) and Jon Redford (Brighton Stop the Cuts Coalition) will show how their local campaign groups were formed, and the successful actions and campaigns they run – and how they plan to carry on.
Then it’s over to you – come and learn and/or share your experiences, tactics and strategy.
Speakers:
- Jim Cranshaw, Oxford Save Our Services
- Matthew Scott, Community Sector Coalition
- Frances Sullivan, National Coalition of Independent Action
- Jon Redford, Brighton Stop the Cuts Coalition
i wouldve been at this event had it been mre widely circlated through on line groups on face book.. it has ONLY just been brought to my attention, too late to attend.
I got involved with my local socialists party in stoke, but its not really doing much outside student activities and the odd small rally at the moment, there seems nothing in the rural areas going on at all, yet people are angry and totally fed up of the cond dems…
i am wiling, more than willing, to set up local action in my area, i ran campaigns in the 90s to stop rail closures and to save local woodlands, and ive been involved in national campaigns for years – but without support and training and help, i cant do this by myself – in the past i had help from friends of the earth, greenpeace, land is ours, radical routes, cnd, pagan enviro groups, earth first etc, but now its a different arena.
i am a member of coalition of resistance, socialists, black triangle, but i cant travel to london all the time from stoke on trent, when im disabled and not working, not earning, and not allowed benefits…and living on savings and good will…and taking on our government and councils to boot.
I am also part of the freeman movement – which seems a viable route of protest useing common statute law and the magna carta against the corruption and treason and unjust laws we now have all around us.
has i always see it, numbers are strenght, if enough take action, and have a spport network country wide in all towns and rural areas as well as cities, as we did with the poll tax, and we support those loosing homes and benefits, and help them fight along with those with homes and money etc, then we can win the fight, there is one thing power hates and that is more power in opposition… they can arrest and bully a few and people isolated, but together as a movement and a community, they find their power challenged and weakened, thats how we won the poll tax campaign… and this is how we have to win now against cuts, against the benefit cuts, and aginst the bullying of the disabled and sick.. the real freudsters are in westminster whitehall and the banks and corporations…
Hi Jacky,
Great comments. Oxford Save Our Services are organising a conference which is a space for local anticuts groups to speak to each other, share ideas, tactics, support each other, talk about what works what doesn’t etc. This can include recruitment etc. If you’re interested get in touch on jimcranshaw [at] yahoo [dot] co [dot] uk It will be on 20 Jan and monthly after that.
Cheers,
Jim