When severe cuts to local public spending were announced, a group of campaigners in Walthamstow sprang into action to defend their community.
The Waltham Forest Anti-cuts Union was quickly formed in the wake of the proposed £2.6 million worth of cuts that received final approval at a council meeting held on 22nd July. Worst affected will be the children and young people’s department which has to find savings of £1.7m.
The meeting has triggered a party political row over whether cuts had to be made to children’s services. Labour council leader, Chris Robbins, claims they had no choice in what to cut whereas his Conservative opponent, Matt Davis, has stated that the Government did not specify that cuts be made from this department.
Waltham Forest Anti-cuts Union is made up of the Walthamstow Socialist Party, trade unions and other local people affected by the cuts. They lobbied councillors as they entered the meeting, asking them how they would vote. The group, who were campaigning alongside local branches of Unite and Unison as well as individual members of the community, said they were disappointed with the responses they got as all Labour councillors present at the meeting voted in favour of the cuts
The Anti-cuts union believes the Labour party was elected to power in Waltham Forest to save the borough from another era of damaging Conservative cuts to public spending. They feel “the onus was on labour to defend the public” facing the cuts but that they shirked this responsibility at the meeting.
The group’s mission now is to spread awareness, firstly, of what they call the very literal dangers the cuts could bring, pointing to tragedies such as that of baby Peter, and secondly, that there are alternative ways to reduce spending; the public sector does not have to suffer. Unison has outlined these in an alternative budget they have put forward to the council.
Waltham Forest Anti-cuts Union intends to follow a model similar to that used by the successful Anti-poll tax union of the late 1980s. They have pledged to be present at every council event where cuts will be discussed.
