The Brighton Stop the Cuts Coalition is proud to have worked alongside local students in organising the demonstration through town on the 24th November. The huge turnout, the most we have seen for decades, showed the anger that thousands of young people feel and highlighted their resolve to push the government back.
Despite the government effectively slamming the educational door for so many of them and saddling the rest with mortgage sized debt as they raise tuition fees, the demo was lively but good natured and got a very positive response from the public.
The students showed that the government will be resisted as they try to use a recession caused by the unfettered free market to introduce even more of the free market into our education system and make future generations pick up the bill.
The Stop the Cuts Coalition has concerns about how, later on in the day, the police took a heavy handed approach towards the students which was not warranted and put young people at risk. Chants of "we are peaceful why aren't you?" summed up the message of the overwhelming majority of the students.
The Stop the Cuts Coalition has worked productively with the police force in the past and we hope we can do so again, particularly as the police themselves are facing large cuts from this government.
It is clear that if Cameron and Clegg were nearly as interested in collecting the tax we are owed from the rich and controlling the banks as they are in charging for education and reducing services then the young people demonstrating today would be a little more inclined to believe that we really are "all in it together" as we are so often told.
The Stop the Cuts Coalition will continue to work to bring as many people as possible into the movement against all cuts to services, benefits and jobs.
We also hope to see a large turnout on the 16th December outside Kings House, Hove, where parents, children and workers from the Bright Start nursery will be marching to the town hall to support a council motion to stop its closure.
Join the coalition Facebook group here.
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Meeting Dates
Meetings take place on the second Wednesday of the month
We alternate between executive committee meetings and full trades council meetings. All delegates are encouraged to attend full meetings and any trade union member may attend as a visitor.
The next meeting of the Trades Council is on Wednesday 13th December 2023, 7.30pm, Friends Meeting House, Ship Street, Brighton BN1 1AF
Email BrightonTradesCouncil@gmail.com to be informed of meeting dates and times.
How to get involved
Contact: In the first instance contact the General Secretary Andy Richards at brightontradescouncil@gmail.com
Trades union councils consist of representatives of trade unions or branches of trade unions which meet within the area covered by that council, or which have members working or living in the area. A union branch will normally affiliate to the trades unions council in the area in which it meets.
Trades union councils consist of representatives of trade unions or branches of trade unions which meet within the area covered by that council, or which have members working or living in the area. A union branch will normally affiliate to the trades unions council in the area in which it meets.
Who are we and what do we do?
Trades union councils bring together trade unions to campaign around issues effecting working people in their workplaces and local communities.
Trades Union Councils consist of trade unions or branches of
Trades Union Councils consist of trade unions or branches of
trade unions which meet within the area covered by that council, or which have members working or living in the area.
A union branch will normally affiliate to the trades union council in the area in which it meets. Each branch will then send delegates to the trades union council's meetings. These branches pay an affiliation fee. Their delegates elect officers from amongst themselves to represent the views and priorities of the constituent branches and to take responsibility for working for and supporting the policy of Congress and the Trades Union Council (TUC) General Council. This is because trades union councils are registered with the TUC, rather than being entirely independent bodies. The Annual Conference of Trades Union Councils takes place over a May weekend.
Brighton Hove & District Trades Council was first formed in the function room above The Eagle pub in Gloucester Road, Brighton in 1890.
Aims and objectives
> Raise public awareness of rights at work and the union role in enforcing those rights.
> Promote organising and recruitment drives to build union membership.
> Support union and community campaigns for dignity and respect in the workplace and beyond.
With the threats of racism and fascism, changes in the labour market and debates over the future of public services, the trade union voice in the community is as important as ever.
The capacity of trades union councils to provide a local response and to organise trade unionists into coalitions with other progressive forces is crucial. They do this by providing services which keep local trade unionists up to date with developments within the wider trade union movement, and by taking up relevant local industrial and community issues.