Press release: UK Uncut to shut down Westminster Bridge in protest over NHS bill
Posted on Wed 21st Sep 2011, 3:04pmFor immediate release
Tel 07415063231
Email ukuncut@gmail.com
UK Uncut to shut down Westminster Bridge in protest over NHS bill
Thousands expected to occupy one of London's most iconic landmarks on 9th October in last-ditch attempt to defeat bill condemned by doctors as 'undermining all that is precious about the NHS'
UK Uncut has announced that it is planning a spectacular act of mass civil disobedience in a last-ditch attempt to defeat the government's Health and Social Care bill [1]. The anti-austerity direct action group will bring traffic to a halt by blocking Westminster Bridge at 1pm on Sunday 9th October, days before the bill is debated in the House of Lords.
The bill, which will see private patients treated at the expense of NHS patients, healthcare workers made redundant and reduce the priority of treating chronic and complex conditions, will move to the Lords on the 11th October [2]. The British Medical Association, the professional association of doctors in the UK, says the Bill "presents unacceptable risks to the NHS" and is calling for the Bill to be withdrawn [3]. Large numbers of Liberal Democrat peers are expected to rebel [4].
Westminster Bridge, one of London's most iconic landmarks, lies between the Houses of Parliament on the north of the river and St. Thomas' Hospital on the south. UK Uncut claims that "by blocking Westminster Bridge, we symbolically block the bill from getting from Parliament to our hospitals". In a message to supporters entitled "Block the Bridge, Block the Bill", the group encourages participants to adopt tactics including lying in pools of fake blood, performing pretend operations and having picnics overlooking Parliament. They say the action will only go ahead if at least 1000 people indicate they will attend on Facebook but are confident that people will travel to London from all over the UK for the action.
Activists say that they have been talking to unions, NGOs and other direct action groups who are all keen to support the action, including the provision of transport from other parts of the UK. The group is unapologetic in its call for mass civil disobedience, saying "Yes, it will be disruptive. Yes, it will stop the traffic. But this is an emergency and if we want to save our NHS we need to shout as loud as we can." It says it will maintain close contact with St. Thomas' in the run up to the protest and during it to ensure access for emergency vehicles.
UK Uncut supporter Samina Khan said: "A leading doctor has said that this bill will 'produce an underclass of patients with chronic, debilitating illness', which isn't surprising when you invite private companies to exploit people's sickness for profit. I'll be on the bridge so that when my kids ask me what happened to the NHS, I can at least say 'I tried'."
Ben Aden, a nurse in a hospital in north London, said: "The government's 'listening exercise' was a sham. All major medical bodies told the government to scrap the bill, but the government is only listening to the private healthcare corporations who stand to make billions from our illnesses. The bill wasn't in the Lib Dem manifesto. It wasn't in the Tory manifesto. None of us voted for this. When the government show such a blatant disregard for democracy, it's right to engage in civil disobedience. This is our last chance to save the NHS."
[1] www.ukuncut.org.uk/blog/block-the-bridge-block-the-bill
[2] http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/joepublic/2011/sep/06/nhs-reforms-still-privatisation
[3] http://www.bma.org.uk/healthcare_policy/nhs_white_paper/
[4] http://www.politics.co.uk/news/2011/09/20/trouble-ahead-lib-dems-take-on-nhs-reform
Tel 07415063231
Email ukuncut@gmail.com
UK Uncut to shut down Westminster Bridge in protest over NHS bill
Thousands expected to occupy one of London's most iconic landmarks on 9th October in last-ditch attempt to defeat bill condemned by doctors as 'undermining all that is precious about the NHS'
UK Uncut has announced that it is planning a spectacular act of mass civil disobedience in a last-ditch attempt to defeat the government's Health and Social Care bill [1]. The anti-austerity direct action group will bring traffic to a halt by blocking Westminster Bridge at 1pm on Sunday 9th October, days before the bill is debated in the House of Lords.
The bill, which will see private patients treated at the expense of NHS patients, healthcare workers made redundant and reduce the priority of treating chronic and complex conditions, will move to the Lords on the 11th October [2]. The British Medical Association, the professional association of doctors in the UK, says the Bill "presents unacceptable risks to the NHS" and is calling for the Bill to be withdrawn [3]. Large numbers of Liberal Democrat peers are expected to rebel [4].
Westminster Bridge, one of London's most iconic landmarks, lies between the Houses of Parliament on the north of the river and St. Thomas' Hospital on the south. UK Uncut claims that "by blocking Westminster Bridge, we symbolically block the bill from getting from Parliament to our hospitals". In a message to supporters entitled "Block the Bridge, Block the Bill", the group encourages participants to adopt tactics including lying in pools of fake blood, performing pretend operations and having picnics overlooking Parliament. They say the action will only go ahead if at least 1000 people indicate they will attend on Facebook but are confident that people will travel to London from all over the UK for the action.
Activists say that they have been talking to unions, NGOs and other direct action groups who are all keen to support the action, including the provision of transport from other parts of the UK. The group is unapologetic in its call for mass civil disobedience, saying "Yes, it will be disruptive. Yes, it will stop the traffic. But this is an emergency and if we want to save our NHS we need to shout as loud as we can." It says it will maintain close contact with St. Thomas' in the run up to the protest and during it to ensure access for emergency vehicles.
UK Uncut supporter Samina Khan said: "A leading doctor has said that this bill will 'produce an underclass of patients with chronic, debilitating illness', which isn't surprising when you invite private companies to exploit people's sickness for profit. I'll be on the bridge so that when my kids ask me what happened to the NHS, I can at least say 'I tried'."
Ben Aden, a nurse in a hospital in north London, said: "The government's 'listening exercise' was a sham. All major medical bodies told the government to scrap the bill, but the government is only listening to the private healthcare corporations who stand to make billions from our illnesses. The bill wasn't in the Lib Dem manifesto. It wasn't in the Tory manifesto. None of us voted for this. When the government show such a blatant disregard for democracy, it's right to engage in civil disobedience. This is our last chance to save the NHS."
[1] www.ukuncut.org.uk/blog/block-the-bridge-block-the-bill
[2] http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/joepublic/2011/sep/06/nhs-reforms-still-privatisation
[3] http://www.bma.org.uk/healthcare_policy/nhs_white_paper/
[4] http://www.politics.co.uk/news/2011/09/20/trouble-ahead-lib-dems-take-on-nhs-reform
Guest post: Welfare not Warfare: the price of the world’s largest arms fair
Posted on Mon 12th Sep 2011, 11:56amThis is a guest post by Kat Hobbs from Campaign Against the Arms Trade
Violence is an expensive business. Whether it’s the social cost of cutting welfare or the money you have to pay once dissent breaks out (as we’ve seen in the recent riots), cutting people’s lifelines by slashing spending on welfare and community services leads to social disorder.
Yet at the same time as their spending cuts are destroying the safety net for society’s most vulnerable people, the government is pouring millions into the arms trade.
Whilst there have been 40% cuts to university teaching budgets, and 60% cuts to social housing, the defence budget was cut by just 8%. The government spends more money buying arms from BAE Systems alone than it does on tackling climate change- equivalent to £64 a year for every adult and child in the UK.
Furthermore, according to figures obtained by Campaign Against Arms Trade, £700 million a year is spent on government subsidies to the arms trade. That’s around a £9000 subsidy for each job in the arms industry in Britain. As Alan Beattie said in the Financial Times, “You can have as many arms export jobs as you are prepared to waste public money subsidising.”
The UK Trade and Investment Department’s Defence and Security Organisation keeps a whole raft of civil servants busily employed on nothing other than promoting the deadly business of the arms trade. David Cameron’s entourage on his recent ‘democracy tour’ of the Middle East included eight arms dealers.
So instead of investing for our collective future, the government is wasting money, skills and expertise on weapons and warfare. These resources could be used to produce the things we really need- renewable energy, green technology, education and healthcare.
Next week UKTI will be co-hosting (along with Clarion Events, recently featured as ‘War Profiteer of the Month’ at War Resisters International) the world’s largest arms fair in Newham. While Newham- one of London’s poorest boroughs- undergoes over £100 million worth of cuts, the government is supporting an Arms Fair in the ExCel Centre.
On September 13th Defence and Security International will open its doors to over 25,000 buyers from across the world (regardless of their human rights record), selling everything from battleships to F16 fighter jets, small arms to unmanned-drones, microchips to armoured cars.
The Stop The Arms Fair coalition have called a day of action for September 13th, the first day of the fair. Join the action on the day in London, or organise locally against an arms company near you! We will be sending a clear message to the government - end the arms trade and stop the cuts, invest in welfare not warfare.
Violence is an expensive business. Whether it’s the social cost of cutting welfare or the money you have to pay once dissent breaks out (as we’ve seen in the recent riots), cutting people’s lifelines by slashing spending on welfare and community services leads to social disorder.
Yet at the same time as their spending cuts are destroying the safety net for society’s most vulnerable people, the government is pouring millions into the arms trade.
Whilst there have been 40% cuts to university teaching budgets, and 60% cuts to social housing, the defence budget was cut by just 8%. The government spends more money buying arms from BAE Systems alone than it does on tackling climate change- equivalent to £64 a year for every adult and child in the UK.
Furthermore, according to figures obtained by Campaign Against Arms Trade, £700 million a year is spent on government subsidies to the arms trade. That’s around a £9000 subsidy for each job in the arms industry in Britain. As Alan Beattie said in the Financial Times, “You can have as many arms export jobs as you are prepared to waste public money subsidising.”
The UK Trade and Investment Department’s Defence and Security Organisation keeps a whole raft of civil servants busily employed on nothing other than promoting the deadly business of the arms trade. David Cameron’s entourage on his recent ‘democracy tour’ of the Middle East included eight arms dealers.
So instead of investing for our collective future, the government is wasting money, skills and expertise on weapons and warfare. These resources could be used to produce the things we really need- renewable energy, green technology, education and healthcare.
Next week UKTI will be co-hosting (along with Clarion Events, recently featured as ‘War Profiteer of the Month’ at War Resisters International) the world’s largest arms fair in Newham. While Newham- one of London’s poorest boroughs- undergoes over £100 million worth of cuts, the government is supporting an Arms Fair in the ExCel Centre.
On September 13th Defence and Security International will open its doors to over 25,000 buyers from across the world (regardless of their human rights record), selling everything from battleships to F16 fighter jets, small arms to unmanned-drones, microchips to armoured cars.
The Stop The Arms Fair coalition have called a day of action for September 13th, the first day of the fair. Join the action on the day in London, or organise locally against an arms company near you! We will be sending a clear message to the government - end the arms trade and stop the cuts, invest in welfare not warfare.
Guest post: The Real Cost of Cutting Communities
Posted on Wed 7th Sep 2011, 1:26amThis is a guest post by Zelda Jeffers, a member of Basildon Uncut. Basildon Uncut is joining others at a march to Dale Farm from 1pm on Saturday 10 September, starting at Wickford train station, half an hour from London Liverpool St.
While activists across the country have been taking action against the cuts, our local council in Essex has managed to get hold of £18 million to evict a local community from their own land and make them homeless.
Dale Farm is Europe's largest Traveller community, and one that has been under constant threat of eviction. It is probably most famous for being featured on the TV hit "My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding", but its claim to fame might change if Basildon Council gets its way.
Ignoring pleas from the United Nations and Amnesty International, Basildon Borough Council has set aside £9.2 million for the eviction operation - more than a third of its budget. Essex police have obtained another £10 million from the Home Office and Basildon Council to cover what they expect to be a three week battle with five hundred resisting residents and supporters.
Basildon Council are axing local services and jobs to pay for making 50 families homeless. The Council is claiming that they are protecting the Green Belt from the Travellers - ignoring that it was a scrapyard when the Travellers bought the land and cleaned it up. Ironically, the eviction costs are being blamed as one of the reasons why Basildon Council is controversially selling off our well used and loved playing fields and parkland, and allowing developers to build on them to increase their value.
We've been asked to pay for the financial crisis caused by the banks, and now we're being asked to pay in order to deliberately make people homeless. £505,000 is being cut to disabled services, and 100 Basildon Council jobs are likely to be axed to help the local authority cope with budget cuts which will leave it £2.3 million short. Spending £18 million on evicting families from their own land when we can't find the funds to keep nurseries, libraries and youth centres open shows something has gone terribly wrong. The excuse for this outrage is that it's about ‘upholding the law’. But the law isn't being applied equally. According to the Commission for Racial Equality, more than 90% of Traveller planning applications are initially rejected compared to 20% overall. The council demands that Travellers move to authorised pitches, but they refuse to make any available. So what is this about? It's about ethnic cleansing, and Basildon council wants us, the local people, to foot the bill.
While activists across the country have been taking action against the cuts, our local council in Essex has managed to get hold of £18 million to evict a local community from their own land and make them homeless.
Dale Farm is Europe's largest Traveller community, and one that has been under constant threat of eviction. It is probably most famous for being featured on the TV hit "My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding", but its claim to fame might change if Basildon Council gets its way.
Ignoring pleas from the United Nations and Amnesty International, Basildon Borough Council has set aside £9.2 million for the eviction operation - more than a third of its budget. Essex police have obtained another £10 million from the Home Office and Basildon Council to cover what they expect to be a three week battle with five hundred resisting residents and supporters.
Basildon Council are axing local services and jobs to pay for making 50 families homeless. The Council is claiming that they are protecting the Green Belt from the Travellers - ignoring that it was a scrapyard when the Travellers bought the land and cleaned it up. Ironically, the eviction costs are being blamed as one of the reasons why Basildon Council is controversially selling off our well used and loved playing fields and parkland, and allowing developers to build on them to increase their value.
We've been asked to pay for the financial crisis caused by the banks, and now we're being asked to pay in order to deliberately make people homeless. £505,000 is being cut to disabled services, and 100 Basildon Council jobs are likely to be axed to help the local authority cope with budget cuts which will leave it £2.3 million short. Spending £18 million on evicting families from their own land when we can't find the funds to keep nurseries, libraries and youth centres open shows something has gone terribly wrong. The excuse for this outrage is that it's about ‘upholding the law’. But the law isn't being applied equally. According to the Commission for Racial Equality, more than 90% of Traveller planning applications are initially rejected compared to 20% overall. The council demands that Travellers move to authorised pitches, but they refuse to make any available. So what is this about? It's about ethnic cleansing, and Basildon council wants us, the local people, to foot the bill.