Anti-Cuts Round Up

Lots of local meetings and protests going on or coming up in relation to cuts. Here's a quick round up of latest news.

Uk Uncut at Lewisham Boots

The UK Uncut protests against wealthy tax dodges shut down a number of stores in Oxford Street yesterday, there was also a related protest at the Lewisham branch of Boots organised by Lewisham Anti Cuts Alliance. This is from the leaflet they gave out to shoppers and staff:

Lewisham Council Lobby

Lewisham Anti Cuts Alliance has issued a statement about last Monday's demonstration in Catford outside the town hall, where several people were arrested:

'Last night (29th November) Lewisham Anti Cuts Alliance lead a peaceful protest outside Lewisham Town Hall in Catford to protest against first wave of cuts (c. £20m in the first tranche – possibly up to £78m over the next three years) which Steve Bullock was presenting to full council. The protest gathered various trade unions, the NUT, Unison, PCS, UCU and Unite, users of public services such as local libraries and Opening Doors and students from Goldsmiths College. Already the council has announced the closure of five libraries, the Amersham Children’s Centre, the Opening Doors employment centres as well as making 466 council workers redundant.

Around 150-200 people gathered from 5.30pm onwards in the freezing cold, wanting to express their democratic right to oversee the council and attend the public gallery of the council chamber. Upon arriving we discovered that just 28 people were to be allowed in. An orderly queue formed, where people were searched by security guards and the police. At 7.30pm when the meeting was due to start our protest began to gather outside the doors of the Council to make our voices heard.

We were met with harassment and abuse from the council employed security guards and the police, who were illegally preventing us from undertaking our democratic right to attend council meetings. Riot police then assaulted protesters and cleared the public gallery of all visitors and violently cleared the lobby.

Read the full statement here. See also the report at Save Catford - for the Council line, see the Mayor's statement at Brockley Central.

Art Against Cuts

There were well over 100 people at the Art Against Cuts event at Goldsmiths Student Untion yesterday, including a sizeable contingent from Goldsmiths as well as other art colleges - notably from the Slade, where there has recently been an occupation. There were various workshops planning creative actions in the lead up to Friday's demonstration on the day that the House of Commons will be voting on fee rises. The event continues today (Sunday), all welcome.

Unkettling education Teach-in at Goldsmiths

Tomorrow - Monday 6th December - there's a 'teach-in' at Goldsmiths in New Cross from 10 am to 9 pm, seemingly with lots of speakers from the Anthropology department. They say:

'The coalition government has launched a multi-front assault on education in Britain. Schools, colleges, universities, libraries, nurseries, youth programmes - all the places where we learn, teach, think and critique, from cradle to grave - have been targeted for a calculated offensive amounting to nothing less than an educational kettle. Join us for a collaborative teach-in to build the resistance and strategise a more progressive, inclusive, just educational future'

University for Strategic Optimism go to Tesco

The University of Strategic Optimism, which proclaims the need for 'free and open education, a return of politics to the public, and the politicisation of public space' held a lecture last week (November 30th) at the Tesco store in the Old Kent Road:

Simon Hughes Protest

Goldsmiths Student Union are calling for a 'Protest outside Simon Hughes office in Bermondsey, WEDNESDAY, meet 12 noon outside Goldsmiths RHB Building. He MUST vote against the fees!'.

Think that's all for now!