Coventry Against the Cuts challenge councillors' 'legal obligation'

Coventry Socialist Party councillor Dave Nellist addresses a Coventry Against the Cuts protest, photo Coventry Socialist Party (Click to enlarge)

"When the real impact of these cuts is felt in services for children, young people and some of the most vulnerable communities in Coventry, there will be outrage that all the other councillors were united in passing these cuts."

These were the words of Socialist Party member Dave Nellist, the only Coventry councillor to oppose cuts at an emergency city council meeting on 10 August.

Coventry's Labour council responded to the Tory/Lib Dem government's demand for Ł3.7 million worth of cuts by proposing cuts of Ł4.5 million. Labour, Tory and Liberal Democrat councillors all voted for the cuts package. This was the start of Ł146 million in cutbacks due over the next four years.

Coventry Against the Cuts, initiated by Coventry Trades Union Council, organised a protest outside the Council House on the day of the cuts vote. As councillors arrived protesters asked them simply if they were 'with us' or 'against us'. A few Labour councillors signed the anti-cuts petition, but when Socialist Party members asked how they could then vote for cuts their response was that they had 'a legal obligation to vote for them'.

The additional Ł800,000 cuts are to come from the Supporting People budget, meant to be spent on the city's most vulnerable residents, including homeless people and victims of domestic violence.

Coventry Socialist Party councillor Dave Nellist addresses a Coventry Against the Cuts protest, photo Coventry Socialist Party (Click to enlarge)

Ł1.64 million of the cuts are from children and young people's services, and almost Ł1 million from employment and 'local enterprise' budgets. A Coventry newspaper recently featured a desperate 17-year-old college student who has made 500 plumbing apprenticeship applications, without success.

80% of the Ł4.5 million cuts were not explained in the documents before councillors. The documents said that the 'options' for cutting Ł832,000 from the local enterprise and growth initiative budget would be 'reviewed'.

But Socialist Party councillor Dave Nellist obtained material two hours before the council meeting which showed that Labour councillors had already held a secret board meeting six weeks earlier at which the cuts had been decided. For example, Ł155,000 was to be cut from employment advisers in two of the poorest areas in the city, Willenhall and Hillfields, meaning more than 850 unemployed people lose support or help from those employment projects.

Coventry Socialist Party councillor Dave Nellist addresses a Coventry Against the Cuts protest, photo Coventry Socialist Party (Click to enlarge)

"It's no good individual councillors lamenting their role in these cuts, we need a campaign in Coventry and every town and city across the country," said Dave Nellist, who was given only three minutes to speak. Dave requested extra speaking time as he was the sole opposition to cuts, but Labour councillors voted against this.