N Staffs Against the Cuts Press Release

Press release for immediate publication, Wednesday 1 December 2010

North Staffs Against Cuts, in association with the North Staffs Trades Union Council, is calling a public demonstration in Hanley on Saturday 4th December. Demonstrators are asked to assemble at 10.30 a.m. at Lichfield Street Car Park, next to the Victoria Hall.

Campaign spokesperson Dr Simon Halstead said:
“North Staffs Against Cuts is a broad-based community protest movement, working in association with the North Staffs Trades Union Council. We oppose all cuts to services, benefits and jobs. We campaign to get our elected representatives to acknowledge their duty to protect the interests of the electorate. We support all protest groups, such as those who are defending the children's centres, education, libraries, leisure facilities, museums and the Buttercups Nursery, among others. Join our rally to defend our services from massive cuts! What we demand is: not one job lost, not a penny cut! Make the bankers pay for the mess they have created!”

Invited speakers include:
Jason Hill, North Staffordshire Trades Union Council
Michelle Hunter-Gray, North Staffs Against Cuts
Andy Bentley, North Staffs Against Cuts
Tony Conway, PCS
Richard Sidley, NASUWT
Gary McNally, Staffordshire University Students' Union
Liat Norris, Youth Fight For Jobs
Colin Walton, Unison [Local Government]
Jenny Harvey, Unison [Health]
Pam Tinsley MBE [Shopmobility Campaign]
Ivan Hickman, NUT
Representative of Buttercups Nursery Campaign

Fiona Weston of the Buttercups Nursery Campaign said:
“Parents have unanimously agreed to continue to fight to save Buttercups Nursery because we feel there are real alternatives to closure that could save this valuable service.”

Peter Rofe of PCS, the civil service union , said
“The UK Tax gap is £120 billion, made up of £25bn tax avoidance, £70bn tax evasion, and £26bn in uncollected tax. Yet instead of hiring more staff Revenue and Customs continues to cut staff. We need tax justice. There are currently less than 500,000 vacancies in Jobcentres, while 2.5 million people are unemployed. Getting tough on Welfare will not work since there are not the jobs available. It will simply cause more misery, which is the only outcome possible from the coalition government's policies to cut £11bn from welfare.”

Jason Hill, President of North Staffs Trades Union Council, said:
“We believe that these cuts are not necessary, as they will harm the poorest and most vulnerable members of our society, and risk plunging us back into recession. We could save billions of pounds by ending the war in Afghanistan and cancelling the Trident nuclear missile programme and a further £30 billion by introducing a Robin Hood tax on City financial transactions.

For further information contact:
Simon Halstead, Press Secretary, North Staffs Against Cuts
07580 805088
northstaffsagainstcuts@gmail.com