Lewisham: no backsliding in council cuts fight!

A Jeremy Corbyn supporter during his leadership campaign, photo by Paul Mattsson (Click to enlarge)

Roger Shrives

At the January meeting of Lewisham Momentum (LM), Socialist Party members were delighted to see speakers from junior doctors' and nurses' bursaries campaigns getting support from this group of anti-austerity activists.

Unfortunately LM's leaders showed confusion on the big political issues facing working class people, especially on building opposition to the devastating next round of council cuts.

This reflects the political wavering of some Momentum supporters after Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell's letter to Labour councils. Labour councillors and right-wing Blairites in the party have since quoted this letter, claiming it ruled out any moves towards resistance from Momentum.

At the November LM meeting Socialist Party members proposed a series of activities including a petition in favour of a legal, balanced, no cuts 'needs budget'. This included using council reserves and operating 'unsupported borrowing'. We saw this as a prelude to the vital task of building a real fightback in a mass movement against austerity.

At the December meeting this was agreed and the petition circulated. But over Christmas LM secretary, Jill Mountford, decided to put this campaign on the back burner, hesitating about registering the petition with the council, which took much of the momentum out of the campaign!

Socialist Party members at the meeting vigorously argued against this. LM's leaders, in attempting to unify all strands of opinion, have ended up putting the comfort of service-cutting councillors above the jobs of library workers and others considering strike action against cuts?

Lewisham council says that to get our ideas discussed in the council chamber, we needed a huge 8,000 signatures on petitions and e-petitions. LM leaders' new hesitancy could make this hard task even harder, although they said after the meeting that socialists can still use the petitions, including the e-petition.

LM leaders are too pessimistic. Workers want to fight the cuts. Unite the union's national local government committee's call for councils to set 'no cuts' budgets should set the pattern. They want to fight cuts that threaten jobs and services - so should Momentum members in Lewisham and every area!

LM members decided at previous meetings to use the petition energetically on the streets, in the unions and in local areas. We should carry on doing so.

Lewisham Momentum is petitioning the borough's residents to trigger a council debate on setting a no-cuts budget. If you live in Lewisham, please sign the petition here.

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