The fight to save Cambridge fire station from privatisation
0 Comments Published by Tom Woodcock on Friday, June 23, 2006 at 4:23 PM.
Developers are set to build 100 luxury flats and a sub-standard private fire station on Parkside. It illustrates both national and local government’s lack of commitment to public services. The County Council is intent on giving away the land and vital resource. RESPECT is campaigning for a publicly owned and run fire station which will enable the fire fighters to continue to serve the public in the best way possible.
The decision also highlights the limited vision the City Council has for building an environ-mentally sound, sustainable, socially inclusive plan for Cambridge.
The Council has no long-term strategy for the city’s infra-structure. Housing, transport and other key services are being left to the haphazard design of corporate developers and multi-nationals. There is a political climate that disregards the interests and needs of the local community.
The County Council brought the land on Parkside through a compulsory purchase in order to provide fire and police cover for the city. Now Cambridge is growing at a rapid rate. It is right to re-evaluate fire provision. It is, however, completely wrong to reduce the fire cover and to give away valuable land to the profit-driven private sector. The station should remain owned and run by the public in the interest of all.
RESPECT believes it is the City Council’s duty to refuse planning permission for the new fire station. They must ask for more funds for key provisions and highlight the hypocrisy of central government’s endless war chest at the expense of public well-being.
RESPECT will continue to work with the Fire Brigades Union and the public for better provision in Cambridge. We will be presenting the petition opposing the plans to the City Council. If you have not already signed our petition, please do so.
We hope to welcome representatives from the Cambridge branch of the FBU at the next RESPECT meeting on 4th July at Ross Street Community Centre.
Labels: No Fire Cuts
Stop the War Public Meeting - with Rose Gentle and others
0 Comments Published by Tom Woodcock on Thursday, June 22, 2006 at 4:49 AM.
Stop the War public meeting
Bring the troops home and building for the Manchester Demo
Friends Meeting House
Monday 3rd July @ 7.30pm
We hope Rose will be joined by local military families campaigner Sarah Chapman as well as a member of Stop the Wars national committee.
ROSE GENTLE’S SON WAS KILLED IN IRAQ AGED 18. SHE HAS SINCE HELPED SET UP MILITARY FAMILIES AGAINST THE WAR, STOOD AGAINST ARMED FOURCES MINSTER ADAM INGRAM IN A GENERAL ELECTION AND IS TAKING TONY BLAIR TO COURT. COME AND HEAR HER SPEAK.
"More hurt, more killings for Blair Its got to the bit do you turn your TV on? But I don’t have to, my phone will go. "Did you know that more troops were killed today? Do you know them?" I pray that I don't. But then I pray for the family that have learnt it’s the one that they love. Our memories for all the troops we have lost will go on. People say it gets easier each day. That’s not true. How many more will be killed for Blair's lies? 1000 troops are AWOL, they say its not Iraq. What is it then? I hope the 1000 troops never have to go back. If they come to me I would help them so they did not have to go back. This war is so unnecessary, bring the troops home now, not in 4 years, now."
Lecturers’ strike to save A levels at Cambridge Regional College has to be the whole communities struggle for comprehensive education
0 Comments Published by Tom Woodcock on Wednesday, June 21, 2006 at 11:30 PM.
The decision by Cambridge Regional College to end it’s A level provision is an attack on comprehensive education. The cuts will most affect those who are economically less well off by further limiting access to a broad and inclusive curriculum.
Lecturers from the new university and Colleges Union and the Association of teachers and Lecturers held a one day strike last Tuesday and are continuing their action with a work to rule policy in protest at the cuts and 12 full time job losses.
Cambridge Respect fully support the action and are helping to build a campaign that encompasses the broader issues faced as a result of Blair’s attacks on public education. The strikers have also received support from the NUT branch at the Long Road the support union Unison and staff from the Universities are now getting involved.
The FE sector in Cambridge is already divisive and the latest cuts will deny A level education to hundreds of students - including those who are studying as part of a mix of courses, those who work and mature students.
The announcement follows the closure of a thriving evening class provision at Long Road Sixth Form and adult courses at the regional college now also look in jeopardy as a result of government cuts and increased marketisation of the sector.
The attacks come as teachers; parents and students fight the new ‘Education and Inspection Bill’. The bill will break up education and create a two tiered system in which the working classes will inevitably have less access to education.
Opening education to market forces and pandering to the needs of corporate big business can only lead down this path and what the FE sector is experiencing in Cambridge is just around the corner for the secondary and primary schools in the area.
FE providers are being pressured to offer courses geared towards employers needs. Cambridge has had a proud tradition of community education. Privatisation is a move away from an ethos that values personal enrichment,, the arts and the social befits of the community as a whole.
The story is the same at Universities. Anglia Ruskin has cut Modern Language and politics degrees and other courses. Along with increased top up fees this will further limit the opportunity degree level studies to many student and especially locals who rely on local provision.
With the right vision and commitment Local Education Authorities have it within their power to provide radical, comprehensive and free education. Respect Activist in Cambridge have been a key part in maintaining this vision.
We are linking up the issues and are building a campaign to protect and improve comprehensive education. We have helped set up a working group of educational Trade Unionists and are widening our campaign to include students and parents.
It is clear that government’s agenda is denying people the right to a rounded broad based curriculum. We want a good school for every child and the right of all to a continued and fulfilling education.
Lecturers from the new university and Colleges Union and the Association of teachers and Lecturers held a one day strike last Tuesday and are continuing their action with a work to rule policy in protest at the cuts and 12 full time job losses.
Cambridge Respect fully support the action and are helping to build a campaign that encompasses the broader issues faced as a result of Blair’s attacks on public education. The strikers have also received support from the NUT branch at the Long Road the support union Unison and staff from the Universities are now getting involved.
The FE sector in Cambridge is already divisive and the latest cuts will deny A level education to hundreds of students - including those who are studying as part of a mix of courses, those who work and mature students.
The announcement follows the closure of a thriving evening class provision at Long Road Sixth Form and adult courses at the regional college now also look in jeopardy as a result of government cuts and increased marketisation of the sector.
The attacks come as teachers; parents and students fight the new ‘Education and Inspection Bill’. The bill will break up education and create a two tiered system in which the working classes will inevitably have less access to education.
Opening education to market forces and pandering to the needs of corporate big business can only lead down this path and what the FE sector is experiencing in Cambridge is just around the corner for the secondary and primary schools in the area.
FE providers are being pressured to offer courses geared towards employers needs. Cambridge has had a proud tradition of community education. Privatisation is a move away from an ethos that values personal enrichment,, the arts and the social befits of the community as a whole.
The story is the same at Universities. Anglia Ruskin has cut Modern Language and politics degrees and other courses. Along with increased top up fees this will further limit the opportunity degree level studies to many student and especially locals who rely on local provision.
With the right vision and commitment Local Education Authorities have it within their power to provide radical, comprehensive and free education. Respect Activist in Cambridge have been a key part in maintaining this vision.
We are linking up the issues and are building a campaign to protect and improve comprehensive education. We have helped set up a working group of educational Trade Unionists and are widening our campaign to include students and parents.
It is clear that government’s agenda is denying people the right to a rounded broad based curriculum. We want a good school for every child and the right of all to a continued and fulfilling education.
Cambridge has now set up a faslane365 group. The intention is to get 100 people from Cambridge together in order to spend two days blokading the Nuclear Submarine Base in Faslane, Scotland. The Cambridge group is organised on geographical lines and will brind together a number of different campaign and individuals. Other groups from around Britain and as far away as Sweeden will take other days in an atempt to blokade the base for a whole year starting in October. I intend to go and hope you will come too. The hipocracy of this government is so clearly exposed on this issue. Nuclear Weapons are just so wrong, they kill everything in there way, they cannot tell compatant from civilian and cause irreputable damage to the environment . if you don't intend to use them then you don't need them. We are signed up to the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty (NNPT) and the new generation trident due to be housed at Faslane are more pwerful than the current system and thus a clear breach of the international treaty. Blair, Bush and most of the British media are currently engaged in a propoganda war against Iran for breaking the NNPT, which they are not, whilst the axis of corporate enterprise plans their attack and rebuild their warheads without and sene of the irony! The resources and money that will be tied up in the project are an insult to working people. We have been told that there is not enough money for free education and health of decent pensions. The 25 billion being spent on the submarines and bomps is enough to pay the 'crippling' NHS debt 35 times.
A steerning group has been set up and a date set - the weekend of the 4th and 5th of November.
If you would like to be on the e-mail list for the Cambridge Faslane 365 group then send a message to: sympa@lists.riseup.net
Log on to faslane365.org to check out the plan
A steerning group has been set up and a date set - the weekend of the 4th and 5th of November.
If you would like to be on the e-mail list for the Cambridge Faslane 365 group then send a message to: sympa@lists.riseup.net
Log on to faslane365.org to check out the plan
Labels: No Nukes
