Coalition Cuts South East Edition

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1 Issue 15 28th March 2011 Coalition Cuts South East Edition Sea of purple and green snaked through London on Saturday A carnival atmosphere, with brass bands, dragonfly stilt walkers, 4000 trumpets and tattoos, all decked out in green and purple, snaked its way through London s streets on Saturday 26 March. UNISON, the UK s largest union, formed the biggest group of people marching against the cuts, as tens of thousands of nurses, midwives, social workers, teaching assistants, blood transfusion staff and healthcare assistants made their way from all corners of the country, by train, plane, tube, boat and coach. From even further afield, union representatives from France, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden, showed their support for an alternative, fairer global approach to the economic crisis. The union leaders took part in a round table discussion on Friday 25 March, highlighting the different approaches their countries have taken to the downturn. The UNISON group assembled from am outside Embankment tube, with the march heading off to Hyde Park at 12 o clock midday. UNISON, at the front of the trade union section, was lead by giant purple inflatable s and national banners. Dave Prentis, UNISON General Secretary, said: Marching to the sound of a choir, brass bands, drummers, trumpets, rattles and whistles, a sea of purple and green ponchos, hats, t-shirts and flags made its way through London on Saturday. Millions of lives have already, or will shortly be, touched by the Tory s reckless plans. Tens of thousands of dedicated public service workers voted with their feet, marching with family and friends to show their support for an alternative economic approach. We know the government has other choices but the Tories are ideologically wedded to cutting back on vital local services and public sector jobs. This is not only a disaster strategy for our society it is already hitting our chances of recovery. Instead of making cuts that close children s centres, connexions offices and cut hospital beds, the Tory-led coalition should impose a Robin Hood Tax on banks, and make taxation fairer. A massive thank-you to all those that took part and helped make the day so successful!

2 PAGE 2 A BUSY WEEKEND FOR SOCC HAMPSHIRE CAMPAIGNERS The campaigning Mums from SOCC Hampshire have had an exciting and productive weekend. Some representatives travelled up to London by train to take part in the historic March for the Alternative in London. Dressed in suffragette-inspired colours of violet, green and cream, campaign co-founder Catherine Ovenden from Totton said, It was a real privilege to be part of such an historic event. I marched with my eldest daughter, Amy (3), because we are desperate for the Government to reinstate the ring-fencing for SureStart funding. Fellow campaigners in Holbury and Fareham held sympathy marches through the towns, and gathered over 500 signatures of support on their petition. They aim to gather 16,000 signatures in opposition to Hampshire County Council s decision to cut 35% out of the SureStart budget in Hampshire, from April. On Sunday, in Eastleigh, campaigners Becci Frost and Claire McClelland gathered a further 400 signatures of support. Becci from Fareham commented, We had a wonderful time at the Eastleigh 10k on Sunday. We met hundreds of local people who fully supported our campaign, including the Mayor, who was very happy to sign our petition. We were thrilled. Campaign co-founder Kate Reynolds will be at the The Meon Valley Riser, a cyclosportive event which sets out from the beautiful grounds of Boundary Oak school, on Sunday 3 rd April. She has been very kindly offered a stand by the organisers of the event, at which she will raise awareness of the campaign and gather signatures of support for the petition. Kate from Bursledon commented, We are very excited to be able to have a stand at such a popular local event and hope to gather hundreds more signatures of support. Hampshire residents seem to be fully behind our campaign and understand the importance of early intervention in the lives of Hampshire s children. We are also asking for some financial backing to be able to keep our campaign going. Events Diary Wednesday 30th March: Friday 1st April: Thursday 7th April: Portsmouth Against the Cuts public organising meeting. King Henry Building, University of Portsmouth 7pm. A talk about supporting/setting up local anti-cuts campaign groups, plan future protests and campaigning activity. All invited to attend. Community groups, service users and residents warmly welcomed. All together for the NHS day: lobby MPs and check with your branches for any planned activity Protest against waste privatisation, Fleet Council Chamber 6pm

3 PAGE 3 A Million Voices on March 26th

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8 Matt King 2010 'All Together for the NHS' Day - 1 April 2011 On April Fool s Day, UNISON members across the UK are telling their MPs: "Don't be a fool - support the NHS". As part of the TUC's 'All Together for the NHS' campaign, UNISON wants activists, members and all supporters of the NHS to tell their local MP how concerned they are about government s plans for the health service. "We want everyone to go and book appointments with their local MPs in their surgeries on 1 or 2 April," UNISON national officer Sian Davies says. "We must really influence MPs and show them how concerned people are - not just health workers, but everybody who uses the NHS." The government is trying to railroad the Health and Social Care Bill through as quickly as it can. That is why it's important that we all act now. The 1 April date aims not only to highlight the foolishness of some of the plans, but also coincides with a key stage in the progress of the Health and Social Care Bill through the House of Commons, before it reaches the House of Lords. Book an appointment to meet your MP at their surgery on 1 or 2 April To find out who your MP is go to from there you can access your MP s website and find out how to book an appointment to meet them. For more information on the TUC 'All Together for the NHS' campaign other helpful resources click here In the last issue we asked for volunteers to be their Branch Cuts Contacts and help with the gathering and dissemination of information. If you would like to be a Cuts Contact, please contact Jenny Mason at j.mason@unison.co.uk If your branch has been involved in any recent campaigning, had any good press coverage or is fighting proposed cuts and redundancies, please the details and pictures to j.mason@unison.co.uk and we ll get it in the next newsletter. Don t forget to add your branch activity to the Million Voices website and check out what other branches have been up tohttp:// n/branches.php