Thousands of anti-cuts campaigners from across Sussex to travel to London on March 26 for the TUC demonstration
Real alternatives to these cuts exist and this government must listen!
Thousands of stop the cuts campaigners from across Sussex and beyond are preparing to unite with hundreds of thousands of people from up and down the country in London on Saturday March 26 in opposition to the government's cuts for what is anticipated to be the largest trade union-led demonstration in decades.
With the harshest government cuts to public services, welfare and jobs ever witnessed, raining down upon the lowest paid, unemployed and most vulnerable, Saturday's demonstration is a massive and vital opportunity for people to unite to voice their anger at politicians' lies of “being all in it together,” and to display unity in fighting for an alternative that will make the wealthy bankers and the rich pay for the crisis they caused.
At Brighton's city council meeting on March 3 a Labour and Green amended Tory cuts budget tore away £23 million of local funding for crucial youth support services, care and education. The Tories voted for the budget, the Greens voted against it to against the cuts, and Labour cowardly abstained and betrayed its working class supporters by letting the cuts go through. Hundreds of jobs are threatened to make working class people pay for preventable cuts to public spending viciously swung at us by this hated government. Teachers, nurses, carers, unemployed, students, pensioners, council workers, and people going on their first demonstration, will all be travelling up from Brighton and along the south coast to demonstrate.
“Can you afford NOT to be on this march? The ConDem government is set to roll back the welfare state decades - all to pay for the bankers' crisis. Don't let them get away with it!” Andy Richards, Brighton Town Hall Unison branch.
“The cuts are totally unnecessary, an excuse to slash or privatise every public service to serve the interests only of the well-off. Over the last few years there has been a vicious assault on the unemployed, the sick and disabled, single parents, carers and those on low incomes, launched by New Labour and now accelerated by the Con-Dems. The attack on benefits affects us all, whether in work or not. Benefit levels are a floor for wages, and many workers depend on benefits to top up their low incomes. Forcing more and more people into the dole queue creates an army of cheap desperate labour, and workfare will enable the bosses to replace their organised workforce with dole slaves. The government via the right wing press would have us believe that they are attacking 'scroungers' and that the 'genuine' claimants will be safe. We say the real scroungers are the rich who want to profit from our suffering, the bosses and bankers who avoid their taxes. It's time to stand together in solidarity and fight back against these wreckers before our welfare system is destroyed completely, along with public healthcare, education and all other public services.” Pip Tindall, Brighton Benefits Campaign.
"The blunt facts of media monopolies and huge pay increases for local newspaper bosses while more and more staff at the Argus and local media are abandoned to the brutal attacks on unemployment is the edge of an axe slicing away local news resources up and down the country in order to protect profits. Argus workers and many other working class journalists will be travelling up from Brighton to march alongside thousands of others who are facing attacks like ours on their jobs, pensions, communities and public services - in the same way each worker and department of a newspaper or printshop works together to provide news, ideas and information, we can show that same unity in London on Saturday 26 by working together to voice our stop the cuts demands and for a just alternative." Peter Knight, Brighton & Mid Sussex NUJ branch.
"While the top bankers and big businesses that caused this crisis enjoy their huge salaries and bonuses, we are faced with an erosion of our rights, job cuts and cuts in services. This crisis of capitalism is being placed onto our shoulders to bear. The demonstration on March 26 will be the first of its kind in over a decade. It will be a chance not only to express anger at the austerity of the ConDem government, but also to discuss the fight-back in the weeks and months to come. The demonstration should be a launchpad for further action, specifically a 24-hour public sector general strike, probably over pensions. The Socialist Party will be arguing for a socialist solution to cuts and the crisis, with a public meeting on the March 28 at 7.30pm in the Phoenix Community Centre." Jon Redford, Socialist Party
Coaches are assembling at St Peters church from 8.30am on Saturday morning to take campaigners to the demonstration and more are being booked for everyone who wishes to come. Contact Brighton Stop the Cuts Coalition campaigners via brightontradescouncil@gmail.com or call 07709 696561 if you, your workmates, friends and family would like to come. Real alternatives to these cuts exist and this government must listen.
