Democracy in action? Cuts protesters barred from debate.

A group of protesters entered the Town Hall while others continued to protest outside

I am unable to bring you a report on tonight's Brent Council meeting, which was voting on a cuts package that will seriously damage the people of Brent,  because police barred me, and many others, from attending the meeting of the Council. Admission was by ticket only with a limited number issued. There were empty seats in the chamber and on other occasions the public have been allowed to stand. Not tonight.

I was told by the police that they had been called by the Council and instructed to remove me from the building  (Brent Town Hall)  because I was trespassing.  When I said that I was there to see democracy in action I was told that democracy was voting in elections and protesting was nothing to do with democracy. When I said that I wanted to report on the debate and the arguments for and against the cuts, I was told that it was for the Council to decide whether they wanted their proceedings reported and that Parliament  didn't let the public into all their debates.

Frustrated campaigners continued to protest outside the Council chamber for some time until they left in orderly fashion. They left having made their point that they were not prepared to accept the supine position of Labour councillors who appeared prepared to damage the very people that they had been elected to serve and protect. 

Groups from a variety of campaigns had lobbied outside the Town Hall from 6pm in a good-humoured but determined show of solidarity.

Brent Anti-Cuts Campaign Set Up

Twenty people attended Wednesday's organising meeting to set up a Brent Anti-Cuts Campaign. The twenty included members of the Labour Party, Green Party, Social Workers' Party and even the ex-leader of the Brent Democratic Conservative group. They included members of Unison, Unite, RMT and the NUT and workers from the public sector and voluntary sector.

All were agreed on the serious threat posed by the cuts on ordinary working people and vulnerable groups. After discussion of the main areas of cuts in council services, health, public transport, education, welfare benefits,housing benefit,  school building programmes, legal aid the meeting agreed an organisational structure.

Brent Campaign Against Cuts will be broad and inclusive, including workers and users, community groups and all opposed to the cuts. It will be pro-public services and attempt to be proactive, looking at alternatives to the cuts, rather than just reactive. It will recognise that Coalition government policy is the source of many of the cuts even if implemented at local authority level.

The meeting agreed to lobby the Brent Council Labour group to follow the example of Camden and Islington Labour councillors in agreeing to join their workers in the protest march against the Autumn Review on October 20th.