Fight for our NHS Public Meeting Thurs 4 November, 7pm @Lauriston School

Rally to Stop the Cuts

As the 20 October 2010 looms closer, so does George’s Osbourne’s Spending Review and its almost certain depressing outcomes.

One cannot help but feel overwhelmed with the Coalitions’ plans to cut, cut, cut public services. The Spending Review has been discussed and debated over the last few months; however, what has had little press and air time is whether and how viable are the alternatives.

There are alternatives and these will be discussed at this evening’s rally, beginning formally at 6pm on 20 October 2010 outside number 10 Downing Street, Whitehall, London.

The rally has been organized by the Coalition of Resistance and their details and further information can be explored by clicking on to the following website: http://www.coalitionofresistance.org.uk/?page_id=2

Speakers include Tony Benn who stated recently in the Guardian: “The time to organise resistance is now. We reject these cuts as simply malicious ideological vandalism, hitting the most vulnerable the hardest. Join us in the fight”. Also in attendance will be the likes of MP John McDonnell, Zita Holbourne (Black Activists Rising Against Cuts), Paul Brandon (Right to Work Campaign), students, the elderly and speakers defending the NHS from privatisation.

Students in London are set to meet up at Malet Street, London WC1 at 4pm and then move on at 4:30 pm to Lincoln’s Inn Fields, where they will join together with others and the main rally. Other demonstrations are set to take place simultaneously in outer London Boroughs - outside their respective town halls.

As Tony Benn has already stated, these cuts will hit the vulnerable and the well less off the hardest. For Hackney – these cuts will most likely be devastating and affect us all regardless of our employers. We may or may not have elected the ConDems personally, but they are our elected leaders and they must have regard for our wishes to stop the savage cuts in public services.

Your voice only impacts if you are heard speaking. The greater the attendance the more powerful our voice becomes.
by
Teena Lashmore

Have your say on how best to defend public transport at Hackney public meeting

Hackney Unites is supporting a meeting on Tuesday, 26 October at 7pm at the Stoke Newington Library Gallery on the issue of public transport. The aim is to give a voice to public transport users in the borough.

London Underground has announced 1,600 job cuts on the tube. Transport for London have begun to announce cuts in bus services. All of this before the government’s announcement of its cuts to the London transport budget (expected to be between 25% and 40%).

Hackney people rely on public transport; to get to work, to visit relatives, to take children to school and to undertake day to day tasks such as shopping. Statistically people living in Hackney have less access to cars than the average, we also have a significant pensioner population and an above average number of residents living with disabilities. Public transport is not a luxury for us.

The meeting will hear from tube workers involved in a battle to stop the cuts in tube station jobs and a speaker from the group ‘Campaign for Better Transport’. However, the success of the meeting will depend on how many Hackney public transport users attend and whether they commit to organising a forum to defend the public transport services we have. Bus routes are already being cut in Hackney. We are not being consulted. We intend to create a campaigning voice in Hackney to defend our public transport.

How can you help?
Come along to the meeting with your ideas.

You can help publicise the meeting by:

Cascading on this message to friends, neighbours, family and workmates

Signing up to the event on facebook (and then inviting friends to do the same): http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=167077869975293&id=684939084&il=0&ref=notif¬if_t=share_reply#!/event.php?eid=154406061264154 (you need to be logged in for this link to work)
Taking some leaflets to distribute to yoru neighbours in your street.
Getting a newsagent to display a leaflet in their window.
Joining us for leafleting at Manor House or Stoke Newington stations (details to be arranged).


Please drop us an email info@hackneyunites.org.uk if you can help.

The meeting has been called jointly between Hackney TUC and the transport union TSSA.

Campaigners succeed in saving the name of Dalston’s CLR James Library - News - Hackney Gazette

Save the name of CLR James library

We are meeting with Hackney Councillors tomorrow (Thurs) evening to put our demands to leave the name of CLR James library alone. We now have close to 2,500 signatures on the petition – let’s have another push so we can prove just how much support we have in Hackney and around the world.
Please circulate the petition and get others to sign: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/saveclrjameslibrary/
And for those that don’t know what this is all about: http://www.hackneycitizen.co.uk/2010/10/04/storm-over-clr-james-set-to-rage-through-black-history-month/

Hackney Youth Parliament’s first debate in Hackney’s Town Hall

As the world pays homage to the survivors of nine eleven and the victims of seven seven, Hackney’s Youth Parliament undertook their first ever Conference in London’s Hackney Town Hall.

It was a fun filled day with the conference kicking off at 11am. Rhasan Brunner, the current Chair of the Hackney Youth Parliament, gave a rundown of the day’s events. There was a range of workshops looking at issues affecting young people from tackling drug misuse, teenage pregnancy and obesity to exploring social expectations around gender and behaviour.

There was an open debate in the Council’s main chamber that looked at the recent burning of the Quran in the USA which has given rise to facebook discussions with young people in Hackney. Those in the council chamber were able to explore the potential consequences for Hackney, as there is a large Jewish, Muslim and Christian community. Others pointed out there are many religious beliefs in Hackney and that all young people should be allowed to explore these identities without fear. Leroy Logan who has worked as Hackney’s Met Police Deputy Borough Commander, was able to offer reassurance by pointing out that as every year passes, from nine eleven to the seven seven bombings, Hackney’s hate crimes have remained low, suggesting community work by other organisation are largely successful with achieving social cohesion.

This conference rides on the success of Hackney’s youth members visiting America and having access to Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. Although one of the key focuses for this conference was to bring young people in the Borough together, another was to establish a Youth Manifesto. Rhasan reflected that many young people in Hackney are involved in positive things such as politics and that he is keen to come along to Hackney Unites to see how he can participate so that young people’s views and needs are included.

As the day come to a close there was a hot buffet and an opportunity for reflection. Hackney has many young people actively participating in community events to make their environment better. As I walked away from Hackney Town Hall, on to my next job, I could not help but think I had been in the company of tomorrow’s leaders.
by
Teena Lashmore

Hackney: Borough of Sanctuary initiative

Dear Friends,

Thanks to those of you who attended the second meeting last
night of the Working Group for the ‘Hackney: Borough of Sanctuary
initiative’.

The next meeting is Tuesday 9th November
7pm at Stoke Newington Methodist Church, 106 High Street, N16 7NY.

If you are interested in working towards making Hackney a ‘Borough
of Sanctuary’ please come along.

If you would like to read more about the ‘City of
Sanctuary’ Movement in general (upon which we are basing our move towards
becoming a ‘Borough of Sanctuary’) please take a look at the
excellent website at www.cityofsanctuary.org