PUBLIC SERVICES, NOT PRIVATE PROFIT

CAMPAIGN PLANNING MEETING on

MONDAY, OCTOBER 6th 2008, 7.30 pm in the upstairs room

GOOSE on the GREEN PUB, RUSHEY GREEN, CATFORD

 

 

Across the borough and beyond, campaigners and trade unionists are having to confront continuing attacks on both our public services and on our living standards.  In Lewisham:

• The Council is determined to break-up local Authority schooling with Academies and Trusts
•  Health services face cuts and privatisation through “A Picture of Health”.
•  Local Authority housing is being given over to ALMOs and Housing Associations.

 

Meanwhile, while billions are found to bailout the banks, workers are being told that they have to put up with year-after-year of below-inflation pay awards.

But trade unions and communities are beginning to say ‘enough is enough’. The NUT is balloting its members for national strike action to oppose pay cuts. Housing and health campaigners have been organising to defend our services. The Defend Education in Lewisham Campaign is challenging the Council’s damaging proposals.

 

That’s why the NUT, together with Defend Education, have agreed to hold a public meeting later this year to explain what is at stake and how we can fight the attacks. From this initiative, we hope to build a united campaign to defend our services.

 

Next Meeting of Campaign

Our next meeting will take place on Tuesday 20 May at 7.30pm at the Goose on the Green pub in Catford. We meet in the room above.

We will be discussing the campaign lead by local parents against the takeover of Monson primary school by Haberdashers Askes.

The reorganisation of SEN and the proposed closure of Brent Knoll will also be discussed as well as the council’s proposals to relocate Brent Knoll and ‘reorganise’ SEN provision at Medowgate and Prendragon.

Parents and teachers from Lewisham Bridge will also be updating the campaign on the attempt of Prendergast to take over the new school proposed on the site.

All welcome!

 

Lobby the Council 23rd January

The Monson Haberdashers Askes Consultation closed 13th December. The report will be submitted to the Mayor and Cabinet on 30th January. However before then there is a full council meeting on 23rd January at which the Socialist Party councillors have submitted the following motion:

Motion for Lewisham council for a parents’ ballot on the Monson-Aske’s proposal

 

This council believes that the controversial proposal to hand over Monson primary school to Haberdashers’ Aske’s Hatcham College secondary Academy is exactly the type of issue where the principles of ‘participatory democracy’ and ‘democratic control of community assets’ (outlined in last year’s government Governance of Britain paper and the Quirk review of community ownership of assets) should apply.

 

In that light, we call on the mayor to organise a single-question parents’ ballot on the proposal before a final decision is taken on whether to proceed.  This ballot should be of the parents of pupils in all Lewisham primary school classes within the same ‘distance to school’ radius as Monson is to Haberdashers’ Aske’s Hatcham College namely, Edmund Waller, John Stainer, St James Hatcham, Myatt Garden, Kender, Childeric, Turnham, St Mary Magdalene, Lucas Vale, Ashmead and Monson.

Join us at the lobby of the council on 23rd January to support the Councillors’ motion and to show the Mayor our opposition to this dangerous proposal. We will keep you posted with further details.