Pass our motion – save our children’s centres!

Are you a member of the Labour Party or Green Party? Pass this motion at your next branch meeting.

This branch notes:

  1. That as recently as 2016 Lambeth Council made swingeing cuts to children’s centres in the borough, vastly reducing the service.
  2. That Lambeth Council have launched a public consultation over proposals to make severe cuts to children’s centres in the borough. The proposed cuts threatens the closure of five children’s centres, a halving of provision at seven more, and many job losses.
  3. That children’s centres are a lifeline for parents, carers and children in the borough, providing vital services and opportunities for socialisation.  
  4. The centres offer services that include antenatal and postnatal classes, breastfeeding support groups, ESOL language classes, debt advice, and much more.
  5. The children’s centres  mitigate against loneliness and isolation, and provide services aimed towards community integration and support, and as such are a central part of the borough’s preventative health and social care provision. Cuts here will likely result in greater costs elsewhere.

This branch resolves:

  1. To lobby its councillors in advance of the April Cabinet meeting, calling on them to to oppose the cuts to Lambeth’s children’s centre.
  2. To circulate the petition to all members.
  3. To circulate the online consultation to all members, along with guidance on how to fill it out.
  4. To mobilise for and join the ‘Save our Children’s Centres’ demonstration on 26th January.
  5. To stay in touch with the campaign to save the children’s centres, and keep members informed of actions and other ways to support.

Join the counter protest against the far right DFLA on 13 October

We are living in dangerous times. In a number of countries across the world the far right are making serious gains, winning elections and organising. huge street protests. The recent electoral results for Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil is a lesson for all of us. This article by journalist Glenn Greenwald offers a warning for what is happening.

In Britain the far right are doing less well electorally, but they have built a very large street protest movement, led by Tommy Robinson. Robinson is a known extremist and an Islamphobe – he wants to spread divsion and hate. After their last demonstration his followers attacked a trade union leader and harrasssed a bus driver just because she was a Muslim.

Lambeth UINSON will be joining the counter protest on Saturday 13 October to show that we are united against racism and far right hate. We will be alongisde thousands of other trade unionists and anti racists. These are dangerous times but united we can stand together and ensure that it is the politics of hope and not hate that triumph.

We will be meeting at 12 noon (earlier than the previously advertised start time) in Windrush square before we head up to the main counter protest at 13:00 at Old Palace Yard opposite Parliament.