February 2013 – Notts Save Our Services

Nottingham Anonymous anti-cuts action on 23/2/2013

Brief report from a participant on the Nottingham Anonymous anti-cuts action yesterday:

Up to one hundred demonstrators assembled in Old Market Square and proceeded to blockade tax-dodging firms such as Starbucks, Vodafone, banks, etc. People passing by responded very positively. Some joined in the fun. The police followed the demo around but kept a low profile. The mainly young people participating were very lively and positive. Anonymous are to be congratulated for organising this direct action.

Update: longer report and more photos: http://nottingham.indymedia.org/articles/5393

Another photo on Notts Indymedia, outside NatWest: http://nottingham.indymedia.org.uk/tumbles/5379

Nottingham Indymedia relaunches

It’s good to see Nottingham Indymedia has reopened publishing as of today. Over the last few years of austerity, and long before, the independent newswire has been an important source of news, comment, photographs and videos about anti-cuts activism and events in Nottingham and Notts. Most importantly it is a place where anyone can publish. Notts SOS has regularly linked to articles and features from the website. Take a fresh look and get publishing!

Back to work schemes quashed in court & Mandatory Work Activity under pressure from anti-workfare campaigning

Good news from Boycott Workfare and all over the news.

Today, the Court of Appeal quashed the government’s workfare schemes, which have seen tens of thousands of people put to work without pay and many more put at risk of destitution through sanctions.

Of the numerous workfare schemes introduced by this government, only Mandatory Work Activity remains lawful. With immediate effect, those on the controversial Work Programme, Sector Based Work Academies, Community Action Programme or other workfare schemes may leave without risk of sanction. Sanctions currently in place must immediately be brought to an end.

The government has however threatened to swiftly lay new regulations which may make the schemes mandatory and subject to sanctions. The impact of the ruling remains substantial, since unless the DWP wins the right to appeal in the Supreme Court and succeeds in that appeal, everyone who has been sanctioned on the schemes to date should be entitled to be paid back and all referrals to date will have been unlawful.

The viability of the remaining ‘lawful’ workfare scheme, MWA, is under question due to campaigners’ success in persuading charities and companies to withdraw. A DWP evaluation of Mandatory Work Activity in December 2012 noted that “The high profile withdrawal of placements from a number of larger charities meant a sharp reduction in placements.”

[…]

Boycott Workfare’s UK-wide week of action on 18th-24th March will go ahead with the aim of bringing Mandatory Work Activity to an end and ensuring the government don’t bring workfare back. The campaign will do all it can to ensure all those who have been sanctioned on the schemes are repaid, so watch this space.

Full article: http://www.boycottworkfare.org/?p=2020

Fuel poverty protest in Nottingham, Thursday 14 February 2013 at 12:30pm

Fuel poverty protest against E.on.

Event venue: Eon Open House, 33 Lister Gate, Nottingham, NG1. [Map]

Thursday, 14 February 2013 12:30 until 14:00

Eon and the other five big energy companies (EDF, Centrica, SSE,
Scottish Power and npower) are a cartel which controls 99% of the
domestic energy market. Domestic energy prices for us are constantly
rising whilst every year these companies declare record profits.

According to a recent survey, this winter 1 in 4 families have had to face
a stark choice between heating and eating. Whilst e.on executives and
shareholders spend bumper profits on second homes and holidays abroad,
people in the UK are freezing because they need to eat.

We are starving to stay warm!

On June the 17th and 18th the G8 world leaders will be meeting in
Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, to discuss how to maintain the capitalist
system which enables and justifies this daylight robbery. While we allow
our lives to be governed by these crooks profit will always come before
people. The only way to achieve real change is to break from this
vicious cycle of exploitation, smash capitalism and reorganise our
communities in a way which ensures everyone has access to the
necessities of life.

From the 10th of June there will be a week of action, workshops and
meetings in London to protest against the G8 and to work towards
building the sort of world that we want to live in.

Background

Stop the Great Fuel Robbery weekend of action… One week to go

Hi everyone,

Next weekend, between 15th-18th February, hundreds of people across
the UK will be taking to the streets to Stop the Great Fuel Robbery in
our national weekend of fuel bill assemblies and action
( http://fuelpovertyaction.org.uk/stop-the-great-fuel-robbery/ ) All
the details of what’s going on are at the end of this email. But,
first, here’s a round-up things you can do to help.

ONLINE SPEAK OUT FORUM

We’ve launched an online forum for people to speak out about their
experiences of the likes of mammoth fuel bills, greedy landlords,
rip-off energy companies. If you can’t make it to an event on the
weekend, submit your testimony online in advance (make sure you let us
know if you want it read out at a fuel bill assembly.
Find the online speak-out forum here:
http://fuelpovertyaction.org.uk/speak-out-on-your-situation/

DO YOU HAVE TRADE UNION CONTACTS?

We’re asking trade union branches to offer their support for Fuel
Poverty Action and our weekend of action. If you have union contacts,
email fuelpovertyaction@gmail.com and we’ll pass on a model email and
letter and motion of support.

SPREAD THE WORD

The facebook event for the weekend of action is here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/480595618645346/
Please join the event, invite all your friends and share it as your status.
And, don’t forget to follow @FuelPovAction on Twitter.

Warm wishes,

Fuel Poverty Action
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Visit http://www.fuelpovertyaction.org.uk
Twitter: @FuelPovAction
http://facebook.com/fuelpovertyaction
Email us at fuelpovertyaction [at] gmail.com
Tel: 07586 482 157
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