Haringey protest against Labour council’s threat of £70m cuts

Around 120 protestors braved the elements on Tuesday evening and raised their voices in a spirited and lively anti-cuts demonstration outside the offices of Haringey Council. The demonstration was organised by the Haringey Alliance for Public Services and marked the first council cabinet meeting of the new term. Speakers from HAPS, Unison, Unite, PCS, UCU, Haringey Solidarity Campaign, the Coalition of Resistance, the Right to Work Campaign and several more met with a resounding reception with their furious condemnation of the Tory Libdem governmen’s proposed cuts in public services and their opposition to any attempts by the Labour Council to enact them.

Haringey is one of the areas of the country with the highest level of unemployment, particularly among young people. It is also an area which depends on public services and public employment, with 28% of the local working populaion working in public administration, education and health. Despite this, the coouncil has announced its intention to press ahead with £70,000,000 in cuts over the next four years. However, the area has had a proud tradition of resistance, going back to opposition to  rate-capping and to the Poll Tax in the 1980s, and although the campaign has only been up and running for two months it has already generated a number of headlines in the local press. Now the task is to develop its roots in the local community and build connections with local union branches, drawing attention to where cuts are being threatened and organising to prevent them by all necessary means. In doing so it will need to draw on the lessons of previous and current campaigns and contribute to the success of the national anti-cuts fightback. Tuesday’s demonstration is certainly a very encouraging sign that this will happen and it provides an excellent example for other local campaigns to follow.