Tower Hamlets anti-cuts budget lobby

Protesting against the cuts, photo Senan (Click to enlarge)

Tower Hamlets Socialist Party

Tower Hamlets council plans to vote through cuts in its budget of �58 million on 22 February. Labour Party mayor John Biggs essentially thinks there's no other option but to implement the Tory government cuts.

However, the council has reserves of �71.5 million. It is entirely possible for the council to legally refuse to make a single cut this budget year. This can give the council the time to build the campaign needed to take on the Tory government.

Socialist Party members have been active in the borough speaking and campaigning against the cuts and against the idea that they are 'inevitable' or 'responsible'. We say there is another option - build a mass campaign to win back the funding taken from local government. This was the tactic successfully used by the Poplar councillors in the 1920s and Liverpool council in the 1980s.

We will be joining other local campaigners and activists to protest the lobby of the council on 22 February at 6pm at Tower Hamlets Town Hall to shout a big "no" to cuts to our local services.

We are also planning a meeting at 7.30pm on 30 March (contact [email protected] for more) to discuss how to further the campaign and how to plan a strategy to defeat the cuts in our local council.

For a detailed guide on how to set a no cuts budget see tusc.org.uk/txt/355.pdf

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