South London Cuts News

As the reality of long promised cuts begins to dawn, the number of protests seems to be increasing. Last night there was a lobby of around 100 people outside Lewisham Town Hall where Council cuts were being discussed (see reports at Hangbitch and Deptford Visions). Seemingly Labour mayor Steve Bullock called protestors 'Fucking Idiots' (see Newshopper). Charmed.

Meanwhile a Lewisham Anti-Cuts Alliance is being launched in the Red Room at the Deptford Albany at 7pm on July 27th. An initial focus will be the planned closure of the Deptford Job Centre in November. There is also a proposal, discussed at Brockley Central, to launch a group to save the threatened Crofton Park Library. A Save New Cross Library group has been started on Facebook.


In Southwark there is a public meeting against the cuts on Monday July 19th, 7 pm at the Salvation Army, 1 Princess Street, SE1, with speakers from Southwark Pensioners Action Group, Latin American Workers Association and unions.


In education, universities are already cutting back on anything outside of a narrowly defined 'core business'. Nursery World reports this week on protests against the closure of the nursery at Goldsmiths in New Cross. There was a lobby of the Governing Body of South Bank University this afternoon to protest against the potential closure of LLLU+, its pioneering development centre for adult language, literacy, numeracy, dyslexia and family learning. A campaign has been launched to save it.

Some differing perspectives on the Mark Elms affair (highly paid headteacher at Tidemill School in Deptford) at Brockley Central and Bridget McKenzie.