I went to a meeting last week of a new group called Sandwell Against the Cuts. I thought around 50 people, mostly from trade unionists and ‘left’ groups represented a reasonable start, with the aim of mobilising for the national demonstration against the cuts in London on 26th March. As the only Labour councillor there I got away relatively unscathed. A couple of people complaining about the Council making cuts, (some of which we’re not actually making) or not giving sufficient public lead in fighting back (seemed justified to me) and only one person who said the Council should refuse to set a legal budget (although what the Council’s workforce would say when the money ran out wasn’t clear). Of course, if we didn’t set a legal budget Officers would, and Pickles would love every second of it. But as I say, on the whole the meeting was positive and about building support for the national TUC demonstration on 26th March.
What I will say for the organisers is that at least they are doing something. I’ve had a bit of a go today about one of my favourite blogs. The Plastic Hippo is bemoaning the performance of the Labour opposition in Walsall. I have no doubt some of the criticism may well be justified, although Walsall’s Labour politics have a long and troublesome history. But what gets my goat a bit is when people are dishing out the criticism of what other people are doing without making it absolutely clear what they are doing.
Sometimes the folk shouting slogans and selling newspapers can be a bit irritating, but they are up and doing something. Complaining about doom and gloom and the end of the world as we know it is all well and good, but fighting to the last drop of someone else’s blood ain’t going to do much about it. Walsall currently has some of the best bloggers around and a really good web presence, thanks to sites like The Yam Yam. They could bring the sort of impetus to Walsall Labour politics that is so badly needed. It doesn’t have to be all about sitting in committees.
As The Plastic Hippo says… The electorate deserve a credible alternative voice. Be that change.
Are you against all of the cuts or some of the cuts?
No, I can think of quite a few things I would be in favour of cutting. I’d cut out the off shore tax havens, I’d cut the tax free pay for the wealthy, I’d cut the bonus payments to bankers…. and I’m only warming up.
I am not in favour of a government policy that cuts economic growth. We have such a policy at present. The figures show it.
I was trying to ask a sensible question. Try again, shall we? All the cuts in expenditure or just some of them?
Look, if once in every hundred comments you try to post something sensible, how on earth do you expect me to have the patience to sift through the dross and work out which one it’s supposed to be.
I am in favour of a number of reductions in expenditure which can be made through efficiencies. That is possible in my experience in both the public and private sector. For instance in the NHS there is an expectancy that organisations will achieve cost improvement programmes of 3-4% every year. What the Tory/Lib Dem alliance are demanding are front loaded reductions in local government funding amounting to almost a third of their budget over a four year period.
the problem we have bob is I think we have so few members and younger ones
there is a total inertia in Walsall and so difficult to break down between rival factions as the borough is so polarised.
It’s worth saying that Sandwell Council is in the High Court this week fighting the government over cuts.
So, Councillor, if you were Chancellor you would be saying to various departments of state and regional authoprities something along the lines of, look, chaps, I am expecting “a number of reductions in expenditure which can be made through efficiencies.” When you have achieved these miracles I will either a) allow you to spend the savings on other little schemes dear to your heart, or b) I will take the money back? Which will it be, Councillor? More importantly, can you hear the howls of laughter up and down the corridors of Whitehall?
You have very quickly reverted to the normal juvenile remarks. And there was me assuming you were being ‘sensible’. Silly me.
Quite clearly, with everyone accepting the need to reduce the deficit there would be no point in adopting your ludicrous suggestion in your first point. Nor, if budget allocations were reduced by an amount would there would not be any money given out to ‘take back’.
Do try to grow up a bit.
There’s probably little point in trying to explain to people such as Mr Duff that the deficit doesn’t have to be reduced particularly quickly. The UK is under no pressure from its lenders indeed investors are still queuing up to buy our bonds even though they’re paying low interest rates.
Labour repaid a lot of the deficit that the Major government had run up. But Labour did it when our economy was performing strongly and not when it was at risk of a double dip recession.
The strategy that Alistair Darling was pursuing may not have been perfect but it looks much sounder than the one George Osbourne has adopted…
What ever the answer it would be better than we have now. Double dip here we come. Did the Chancellor learn nothing from his study of the economy in Ireland and I don’t think that the weather affected his spending. As we are “all in it together” (well, some more than others and some not really at all) surely his personal experience resonates with the country. We can’t all go skiing and nor would we want to. But the figures show that we can’t do much else either. Prescott was right when tramping arouond Westminster Green on the day that the coaltion was announced. The Posh Boys have taken over and managed to make Thatcher look like an economic wet.
Ah, but Darling was watching the economic forecast, whereas Osborne is watching the weather forecast.
Your reply was somewhat opaque but as I understand it you do recognise the need to cut our deficit but your means remain hidden. Let me keep it simple: would you cut anything and if so where?
Mr. Hughes, the reason the international bond dealers are quiet is precisely because the government is cutting its spending – although by a derisory amount I would suggest – 1% per annum starting this year!
I should add that one would be hard pressed to insert a fag paper between what the coalition is doing and what Brown & Balls, the broker’s men, would have done if, perish the thought, they had won the election.
I would continue with the existing cuts to the NHS budget, but save money from their wasteful top down reorganisation to privatise the service. As I thought I had made clear I would reduce the allocation to local authorities, but by no means as much or as quickly as the Tory-Liberal Alliance, in addition to those things I have already mentioned but your befuddled old mind seems unable to comprehend.
“cuts to the NHS budget”
What cuts?!
And a teensy-weensy bit off local authority budgets, too. Well, that’ll keep the bond dealers happy – not!
Still, I’m surprised you would not have touched the Defence budget – never took you for a military type.
Oh believe me, the tin soldiers and little boys with their toys would take a real hit.
You simply prove you have no understanding of health or local government financing and I really don’t know why you should want to make such a fool of yourself by displaying that publicly. The funding for nhs providers is being cut between 4-6% in the next year and in local government by nearly a third over the four year cycle.
Hi Bob; With regards to your comments on the meeting in Sandwell over opposing the public spending cuts, it’s good to see that something in the localities, although I’d have thought(or hoped) you would have had more support for such a meeting. We had a meeting against the cuts in Doncaster, back in October, Tony Benn was the main speaker about 250 – 300 attended, it was quite a lively meeting convened by an umbrella organisation, Coalition Against The Cuts which I believe is a Trotskyite front consisting of mainly Socialist Workers Party members, the speakers other than Tony Benn were all S.W.P. activists( I think Benn realised this, and just gave a perfuntary sort of speech, but then he is now well into his 80′s). From that meeting a couple of smallish demonstrations(150 – 200 people) have occured; work is being done to organise for the 26th March T.U.C. in our locality. But from where I am standing, while work is being done among the trade unions, obviously,there is no involvement by Labour councillors( I’ll apologise if Iam wrong); who in my opinion should be playing a prominent , if not leading role in this campaign, locally. But then they have been completely anonymous since winninng back control of Doncaster Council in May; a cynic may deduce that their policy is softly, softly, collect expenses; incomprehesible, when you consider that they have as Mayor, “Chopper” Davies, the only English Demorat party member of any sizeable local authority in the country; and who by his pronouncements makes Cameron and Clegg look like socialists. Hopefully we can make a good contribution to the March 26th demonstration from our area, with the Labour Group playing a prominent part if only because Ed Milliband is one of the local M.Ps.