Today Nottingham Evening Post reports on the campaign protest at Nottinghamshire County Council HQ in West Bridgford on Thursday 21st October, the same day that Councillors voted to implement £75m worth of cuts over the next four years. 164 proposals were ‘debated’ to help the authority save £150m and Councillors gave the green light to more than half. These ‘category A’ proposals, will be made shortly, while the rest will be put out to consultation. Cuts next year include axing 1,300 posts and many services will be affected. And this is only the beginning. This is the challenge that we will be facing in the County from now on.
See also: a commentary and lots of photos from the demonstration, posted on Indymedia the Sunday following the event.
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Evening Post (with very conservative count of numbers on the demo):
ABOUT 400 protestors gathered outside County Hall to show their anger about proposed cuts to Notts County Council’s staff and services. Demonstrators held union banners and chanted for the resignation of county council leader, Kay Cutts. Union leaders told the crowd that if the council leader did not believe in public services, she should stand down.
Unison branch secretary Martin Sleath said: “We are fighting for public services and giving the message to this Tory council that we will not put up with a single job cut and privatisation.” Lisa Jones, chairman of the Notts Disabled Peoples’ Movement, told the crowd she was “incensed” by the cuts. A number of the proposed council cuts affected groups supporting disabled and vulnerable residents. Mrs Jones said: “We cannot, and will not, stand by and allow this council to use the cuts as an excuse to condemn us to second class citizenship.”
Protestors held up signs with slogans such as ‘Say no to Cutts’, while two dressed as the grim reaper. Maria Kalinowska, 43, from Arnold, was at the protest representing Parents SOS, a group fighting to protect services for disabled children.