Communities Against the Cuts Social Event – Fri 7th December

Communities Against the Cuts fourth social will be on Friday December 7th. If it is anything like the last three, it will be enjoyable and successful.

As in previous socials, space will be found to mention some of our anti-cuts work. We will also be priviliged to have a speaker reporting on the country at the sharp end of European austerity – Greece. The Syriza party were getting a few percentage points in the polls a few years ago, but are now close to government. If elected, they would need solidarity from across Europe to survive and implement their counter-austerity measures. We are doing our bit in giving them space to explain how they are fighting back.

Friday 7th December, from 7:30pm
British Oak pub, Stirchley.

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Merrishaw Is Open Again!

This goes to show that a good campaign can succeed, even when it seems to have failed. We are also proud to have actively supported this campaign, and helped to save a great service for parents and children of West Heath

communitiesagainstthecuts

At last, Merrishaw has re-opened. Its status has changed, and is also known as the Albert Bradbeer Children’s Centre. It is no longer a nursery, but a place where young children can be brought by their parent(s) and take part in a variety of activities. However, the Merrishaw centre is open ‘for business’, still a council property and it employs its staff to guide activities.

The inside has been re-furbished and looks light, modern and very impressive. There is provision for other children and community use, such as a health room. The lack of nursery provision has been compensated for by expanding provision nearby, such as at the Albert Bradbeer School itself, we are told.

At last the shutters are down and the flags are up. We are proud to have been part of the vibrant parent’s campaign against its closure, and for its re-opening.

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Communities Against the Cuts Social Event – 22nd September

Stirchley and Cotteridge against the Cuts and Communities Against the Cuts have held two very successful and enjoyable socials in the past, and the third one is coming up on Saturday the 22nd September.
It will be held at the “Tower of Song”, just down from Kings Norton station. Entrance £3 and it starts at 8pm. Music, poetry and good company, all to aid the local struggle against austerity. For more details, including the artists, see the attached flyer

Front Line Services

Latest information on cuts in South Birmingham from Communities Against the Cuts – we’d love to hear from anyone helped by Birmingham CAB.

communitiesagainstthecuts

Desperate people need a (preferably local) Citizens Advice Bureau, but this essential front line service is threatened once again.  At present in Birmingham we have the Central one, plus three more in Kingstanding, Tyseley and Northfield, and these last three are facing closure once more. Their funding from the Council was slashed under the ConDem administration in March 2011, and only 50% replaced in October. £120,000 is now needed to keep them on the road. Without that, they are living a week-to-week existence, never knowing if it will be the last. You would think that under a Labour Council, that relatively small amount of money could be found quite easily, but there is no sign of it yet. Instead, the Director has appealed for funds from the public to make up the deficit! Here we have Labour echoing Cameron’s “Big Society”

In response to this very worrying situation, Communities Against the…

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Communities against the Cuts Public Meeting

Labour’s Plans for Birmingham and our Alternative

Wednesday 27th June. 7.30pm Cotteridge Church Centre.

Communities Against the Cuts meeting, with a speaker talking about Labour’s plans for Birmingham following the local elections where Labour took control of Birmingham City Council, and to look in detail at what the response should be.

There is the commitment to give wage rises for several thousand Council employees and the right to ask a question at full Council meetings. But there is also the decision to hold the District committees (renamed from Constituency Committees) in the Council House at 10am in the morning. So much for devolution!

Communities against the Cuts stood candidates in the recent local elections who promised to vote against public service cuts if elected.

They will also be discussing our work against academies and benefit cuts.

Communities Against the Cuts Meeting on Wednesday

Dear Friend,

Our next meeting will be on Wednesday 30th May, 7.30pm at the Cotteridge Church Centre, upstairs in the Chiltern Room.

Suggested agenda

1) Apols

2) Campaigning — academies, libraries, walk of shame? etc

3) Membership

4) Banner

5) Finance

6) Next meeting

NOTES

 Post election, the ‘ordinary’ campaigning has begun again, mainly around the forced academy issue in local primary schools. We have been involved in leafleting outside West Heath, Primrose and Northfield Manor Schools, the very successful public meeting in Northfield that made the front pages of the local press, and the great meeting last night in West Heath, called by the NUT and the NASUWT. The follow up meeting of Hands off West Heath School will be next Monday, 6.30pm in Oddingley Hall, complete with refreshments.

 We are still waiting for definite news of the Labour Council’s plans for the leisure centres. We handed in our big petition at a recent Northfield ward meeting, but that was to the Tories…

 Our petitions for the Kings Norton and Stirchley Libraries need to be handed in, and the best opportunities will be at the next Kings Norton and Bournville ward committees. (Kings Norton on 7th June 7pm, and Bournville yet to be organised). If we can get a good delegation to both meetings, we can also raise leisure services, Stirchley regeneration, Weatheroak and possibly quite a bit more. The next meeting of the Northfield Ward committee is on Monday 18th June 7pm.

 A prominent person in Cotteridge has told us said that she had spoken to several local people who had told her that they had read our election literature and were (almost!) inspired to vote for the first time in their lives.

Communities Against The Cuts, March/Rally and Social on 27th April

Communities Against The Cuts, who are standing candidates in the Kings Norton and Bournville wards for the council elections on May 3rd, are holding a rally and march, followed by a social event on Friday 27th April.

The rally, demonstrating against cuts in the wards concerned and to raise the profile of their candidates, meets at 5:30pm outside Kings Norton Leisure Centre, where speakers will talk about the effect of cuts on local services, before proceeding along the Pershore Road to the Cotteridge Neighbourhood Office, where Stirchley and Cotteridge Against The Cuts began their campaign, and then to the Stirchley Community School to hear about the privatisation of our education services.
The march will finish opposite Stirchley Library, at the group’s campaign offices.

After the rally, they will go across the road to the British Oak for a social event with music and comedy from No More Numbers, The Inebriati and Barbara Nice.
The social event begins at 7:30pm and you are welcome to come to that whether you can make the rally or not. Entrance to the event is £5 / £3 concessions.