Rally and rhetoric at WL People's Assembly but strategy needed

Owen Jones gets into his stride (Photo: Simerjit Gill)

 

About 100 attended the Assembly (Photo: Simerjit Gill)

Last night's West London People's Assembly was certainly a lively affair with many passionate speeches but I was a little concerned when I saw the chair of the meeting and 5 speakers on the platform. There was some anxiety at the main People's Assembly at Central Hall that it would be more of a rally than an organising meeting. In the event it was a bit of both. I was concerned that this local assembly, covering Brent, Hammersmith  & Fulham and Ealing, would also be more of a rally, although surely that must be where we  analyse and prioritise  local issues and our strategy?

Although speakers were keen to say they would not just describe how awful things are it inevitably becomes the main theme topped off with rousing calls for action and unity. This certainly raises morale but doesn't get down to the nitty gritty. Advertising trains and coaches for the Tory Party demonstration on September 29th is important but what are the next steps in keeping our local A&Es open or fighting the privatisation of our schools? How relevant is it to organise across boroughs when local councils, even of the same political complexion, are dealing with the cuts in such different ways?

 Next month there will be a founding meeting of the West London People's Assembly where its structure will be decided and officers elected and perhaps these issues will be discussed then.

As a common issue across the boroughs, and of course a national issues, the future of the NHS was prominent in the speeches and contributions as was the general theme of the poor being made to pay for the bankers' crisis, and the demonising of the poor by politicians and media in an effort to divide and rule. The focus on the real human stories behind austerity made us both more angry and more determined.

It was good that the Campaign Against Climate Change shared the platform with UK Uncut, hospital campaigners and trade unionists. Suzanne Jeffrey for CaCC made some telling points comparing  the economic and climate crises.

She said government and bankers knew the system was a sham but pretended there was no problem  or indeed that they were creating the problem, and when the crisis broke blamed it on over spending in the public sector and making the poor pay. Government and industry similarly pretended  there was no problem with climate change, denying their role in creating and increasing the problem, and then shifted the responsibility on to ordinary people and their life styles, or even worse on to people in developing countries.

Having just returned from the Green Party it was interesting to note that many of the solutions that Owen Jones proposed in his summing up are in fact Green Party policy.

Save Our Sulivan school is a child-centred campaign that deserves our whole-hearted support

Outside Hammersmith Town Hall

Parents, pupils, teachers and governors  lobbied the Hammersmith and Fulham Council at Hammersmith Town Hall this evening to try and save Sulivan Primary School. 'Save Our Hospitals' campaigner were there in  support.

The Council want to  move the pupils to nearby New Kings School to enable a Free School for 800 boys to take over the Sulivan site. The sting in the tail of this proposal is that New King's has decided to become an academy with private sponsorship, contrary to the values of Sulivan Primary.

The 'consultation' took place, as so many do, when people were away for the long summer holiday.

The campaign website describes Sulivan School LINK:

• It is rated ‘GOOD WITH OUTSTANDING FEATURES’
• It is full in nursery and reception – 299 parents have chosen Sulivan
• It has earned some of its highest results ever in recent years with amazing achievement and progress
  
• It is a small, beautiful school with lovely grounds including large play areas and an outdoor science laboratory

The demonstration began at 5.30pm at this last Cabinet before the consultation.  The Council had refused to hear a delegation on technical grounds but eventually they were given 5 minutes to present their case

It is clear from the comments that have been circulating on Twitter @SaveOurSulivan  that Sulivan is exactly the sort of small, family-centred , creative school that we in the Green Party favour and it is great to see it getting such vociferous support from parents. They deserve maximum support.

Here are some of the Twitter comments:

'Learning for life' -and Learning outside!! Lets keep it that way! 

 we have wonderful courgette flowers in the sulivan school garden ready for eating - yum yum - how many schools can report that!

'oh what a perfect place, we want to keep it our Sulivan school' name the song!!

Sulivan children bake cookies to help save their school! @lbhf council can't say no to a cookie baked with such love 

 Amazing Gardens for exploring, cooking, science and conservation. Children don't want bricks - they want EARTH

 Sulivan is one of the top performing primaries in @lbhf - and in high demand. Closing us makes ZERO sense.

 @jamieoliver we cook fab meals from kitchen garden for the children and they also have their own kitchen - we even cook for the Lycee

  Twicktor Meldrew ‏@twicktormeldrew 31 Aug
Not in my Borough, but I'll mention @SaveOurSulivan. @LBHF want to shut Sulivan Primary School to open another lardy di da free school!

 Very sad to try and remove the opportunities Sulivan gives to poor local children of all cultures. #shameful

 Our chn learn science, data collecting, conservation. Some @hfconscllrs see this 'too good 4 our chn' - we don't

 Children in portacabins so that the property can be fixed up at our cost and given away to a private school chain

 Local children in #fulham are petitioning to save their school! Support the youth of the community - help Save Sulivan