Mad as hell? Try this for starters…
Posted on | October 20, 2010 | 2 Comments
If watching the full horror of the CSR this afternoon has made you want to kick your TV, here’s some more constructive things you can do to protest, register your feelings or just force your MP to think about their plans for a minute or two.
Make sure your MP knows how disgusted you are with the CSR
The TUC’s pre-CSR action, aimed at letting MPs know their constituents’ views on the planned cuts, is still eminently suitable for telling them how you felt watching the heart being torn out of our public services and benefits system.
Use their talking points and writing tips, or just say how you feel. Start here:
http://action.goingtowork.org.uk/page/speakout/cutslobby
A million voices for public services
The Unison anti-cuts campaign also has a useful letter-writing tool to help you write to your MP about protecting public services. You’ll need to add your own ‘action point’ to their suggested letter. How about asking them to write back and say what they will be doing personally to prevent the cuts?
Start here: http://action.unison.org.uk/page/speakout/cuts
Fund our future: Stop education cuts
A joint demo on 10 November by the NUS and UCU. In central London, the demonstration will fight cuts in education, as well as higher fees.
More here: http://www.nus.org.uk/en/News/News/NUS-and-UCU-national-demo-for-November/
Save consumer protection
Write to your MP asking them to oppose the abolition of vital watchdogs Consumer Focus (formerly the National Consumer Council) and the Office of Fair Trading. In cost-cutting times, protecting consumer rights against corporations is even more important.
Write to your MP here in two minutes: http://www.noshockdoctrine.org.uk/?p=360
Stop train fares rising by 8% a year
Campaign for Better Transport’s petition to stop regulated train fares being allowed to rise at 5% above inflation. Combined with forcing families out of inner London, these plans are yet another blow to household income that will increase poverty.
Letter to Danny Alexander here: http://bettertransport.org.uk/take_action/train-fares-inflation
Find a local campaign to support
Oxford Save Our Services is compiling and mapping info about local anti-cuts campagns around the UK.
See the map here: http://oxfordsos.org.uk/?page_id=70
Add your own local campaign via google docs here:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dDE3Q045M3VGRGlremY5eXlpR2NWZFE6MQ
If you know of more or better actions, please add links via the comments.
Comments
2 Responses to “Mad as hell? Try this for starters…”
Leave a Reply
Watch our film or make a random cut, like George!
October 20th, 2010 @ 5:50 PM
What we need is a General Strike, but since the public are too brainwashed by the Daily Fail and Murdoch’s minions to be ready for that, we should start with a General Tea Break.
http://bit.ly/aLFOB3
June 22nd, 2011 @ 7:19 PM
Against the new ‘Work Capability Assessment’ designed to get the long term sick back to work. Those of us suffering from long-term mental health problems are being wrongly found ‘fit for work’ and having to go through all the stress of appealing aginst these decisions. sometimes repeatedly. The process is designed to kick you off benefits, the ‘dependency culture’, which exists because mental health services are under-resourced and therefore mental health professionals have found it easier to fob their ‘clients’ off with a prescription and incapacity benefit endorsement. So in this tacit agreement, finding i was not encouraged to work i became wholly dependent on my benefit. I also believed i wasn’t well enough to, since that is what i was told. And sudeenly i face the terrifying prospect of having this taken from me. I didn’t choose to be mentally ill. I didn’t choose to be on long-term DLA. I didn’t choose the politicians who decided to make these cuts because of the bankers and economic situation. And so i believe that the mentally ill need to be heard properly and not have their views distorted by the likes of MP Philip Davies, and others. LEAVE US ALONE, LET US RETURN TO WORK WHEN AND IF WE ARE READY, ABLE AND WILLING. STOP THE PRESSURE OF MAKING RECEIPT OF BENEFITS ‘CONDITIONAL’