by Ferdy Lyons, East London Socialist Party
Newham resists cuts
‘Newham Resists’ has agreed to campaign for a no-cuts, needs budget to show there is an alternative to the Labour council passing on Tory austerity. Newham Resists is a new coalition.
round of draconian cuts by the Labour council
40 people came to the 27 November meeting from campaigns all over the borough, including Friends of Queens Market, Stop the Silvertown Tunnel, and Save Durning Hall. There were campaigners against the Sphere in Stratford, campaigners opposed to the parking fees, and disability rights activists.
Newham Socialist Labour – suspended members of the Labour Party in East Ham and West Ham – and the Green Party were also present.
27,000 people are on the housing waiting list in Newham. The borough has the highest number of people in temporary accommodation in London – 7,000 are children. The council’s only ‘solution’ is 1,000 new council homes by 2022.
Poverty
Newham child poverty levels are over 50%, yet youth services have been cut, including the closure of a vital arts centre, Stratford Circus. The council voted for £24.9 million more cuts, and a 4.99% council tax rise in its 2021-22 budget.
Newham has had a huge funding shortfall, so this budget would only be a start. We need to build the campaign to win the funding needed from central government.
At the Newham Resists meeting, Socialist Party members raised the need for a no-cuts electoral challenge in May. Steve Hedley, assistant general secretary of transport union RMT, said: “We’ve been defeated time and time again in this borough because we haven’t put up a challenge… we’ve got to think about putting people up against these people”. Newham Resists agreed to continue discussing whether to support this strategy.