It’s official. This week’s decision by Moody’s credit rating agency to remove Britain’s “triple A” rating shows that Tory chancellor George Osborne’s austerity policies are not working.We have already seen how the benefit cap threatens to force thousands of families out of their homes – indeed, Camden council plan to relocate more than 700 families up to 200 miles away.
Yesterday the Guardian quoted a report by a think-tank warning of a sharp rise in the number of children having their education disrupted by having to move schools due to the benefit cap.
Added to the cap is a whole raft of benefit cuts that include the bedroom tax, ending of disability living allowance, council tax benefit cuts, to mention just a few, that are about to rain down upon claimants in April.
But anger and resistance is growing across our towns and our cities. Meetings are being organised in localities to build the fightback. We received this report from Manchester:
“A fight against the bedroom tax was launched in Manchester last Tuesday at a 45 strong meeting.
Manchester Coalition Against Cuts hosted a meeting attended by low paid workers, community activists, advice workers, trades unionists including a delegation from from Greater Manchester Unite the Community Branch, tenants, legal advisers, unemployed people, along with activists from the Greens and the SWP.
We collectively decided to launch a campaign to defeat the Bedroom Tax across Greater Manchester.
Greater Manchester Against the Bedroom Tax is committed to building a network of resistance around three demands: 1. No To The Bedroom Tax 2. No To Evictions 3. Homes For All”
The meeting also agreed to send a delegation to the Benefit Justice Campaign Summit on Saturday 9th March, just 8 days away now.
Registrations have poured in from a wide range of groups from all over the country including housing activists and tenants groups from Swindon, Essex and Cumbria, disabled peoples rights campaigners from Lambeth, Norfolk and Scotland and trade unionists from Sheffield, Newcastle and Leeds.
The stakes are high.
But coordinated resistance can kill off the bedroom tax and these other hated attacks.
Campaign for Benefit Justice Summit
Saturday 9th March
11am at ULU, Malet St London WC1E 7HY
Cut Rents, Not Benefits – Can’t Pay , Won’t Pay – Can’t Move , Won’t Move
Register For The Summit
Download Leaflet for the Summit
Benefit Justice Campaign A4 poster
Email Campaign For Benefit Justice – benefitjustice@gmail.com
You can follow the Campaign For Benefit Justice on:
Facebook www.facebook.com/benefitjustice
Twitter @benefitjustice
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