Top GP spearheads ‘Defend the NHS’ campaign in Bury

PRESS RELEASE: Bury North Constituency Labour Party

A top GP and health expert is to spearhead a ‘Defend the NHS’ campaign event being held by Bury North Labour Party this Saturday (July 23rd).

Dr Aneez Esmail, a practicing clinician and Professor of General Practice at the University of Manchester, will outline his fears and misgivings about the Government’s shake-up of the NHS at the event, which is being held at Bury Met Studio Theatre from 2.30pm.

Dr Esmail, who was medical advisor to the Shipman Inquiry Chair Dame Janet Smith between 2001 and 2004, has a wealth of experience about the NHS, having practiced as a GP in the Manchester area from 1987 onwards, followed by duties as a public health physician.

He currently directs the ‘Masters in Public Health Programme’ at Manchester University, while retaining his front-line role as a clinician at an inner-city practice.

Bury Council announcement how to tackle the funding cuts

Bury Council leaders have announced their intention to open up the debate amongst the residents of Bury as to where money in the council is to be spent. Debate will include the township forum, which start in September, and from this year on, the budget consultation will start in the November to give more time for residents to digest the proposals. However, whether this process will simply involve administering the same cuts as previously envisaged by the Tory led Council, time will tell. 

For the full article click here

Also announced, was the intention to review the state of the council's civic halls, through an independent review. They say that until the review is complete, the halls will continue to operate as usual. 

For the full article, please click here

Defending the NHS and Stopping the Privatisation of Health Care

Market reforms threaten the future of an NHS that is equitable and free at the point of need. Pennine Acute NHS Hospital Trust is axing 800 jobs across its four hospitals at Fairfield, North Manchester, the Royal Oldham and Rochdale Infirmary. Come to show your support for the campaign that is building to stop this callous act from destroying one of Britain's greatest institutions.

Where: Rochdale Labour Club, 89/91 Oldham Road, Rochdale OL16 5QR

When: Thursday 23rd June 2011, 8.00pm

Speaker: Martin Rathfelder (Director Socialist Health Association) & NHS Clinician

ALL WELCOME

Organised and supported by
Greater Manchester Association of Trade Union Councils
Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Trades Council
Socialist Health Association
Keep Our NHS Public

Letter to Bury Labour Party Leader Mike Connolly

Dear Councillor Connolly, 

Thanks for your courteous response to our questions before the election and congratulations to your group on taking control of the Council.

We are pleased that you plan to share power through an Executive and to open decision-making processes to public scrutiny. We will encourage individual members to take advantage of this new openness to pursue their own concerns about particular localities or services. As a group, we hope for an ongoing dialogue with you as leader, with members of your executive and with council officers as they implement your decisions. We see this letter as the first step in this dialogue.

We welcome your statement that ‘the transformation strategy’ is ‘dead in the water’ and that service reviews will start from the assumption ‘that services will be delivered in house’. We are pleased to hear of your intention to reverse planned cuts and particularly your commitment to a universal youth service, to the LAPs, to school crossing patrols and park rangers.

Outgoing Bury council leader resigns as Tory boss

The outgoing leader of Bury Council has resigned as the leader of the Conservative group.

Bob Bibby had led the authority for four years but lost control after Labour made six gains from the Tories and Lib Dems in the local elections.

Labour now has 26 councillors, the Tories 20 and the Lib Dems five, with Mike Connolly the new council leader.

A crucial seat was determined by drawing lots when two candidates in Ramsbottom each polled 1,822 votes.

Labour candidate Joanne Columbine beat Tory candidate Robert Hodkinson after they drew straws at the count at Castle Leisure Centre, Bury.

Mr Bibby has said he will stay on as a councillor for Church ward.

This article was reproduced from the BBC

Council Election Results

After the late drama in yesterday afternoons count in Ramsbottom, the Labour Party are now in charge of affairs at Bury Council. As predicted, the Lib Dems got a bit of a kicking nationwide, and lost four seats, to add to four lost by the Tories. These 8 gains boosted the Labour seats to 26, which has created an overall majority. You can get more information from the following links;

BBC News

Bury Times

Overall, this is a good result for our campaign to protect public services in Bury. The Labour Party has given its support to a number of key areas of concern that we raised prior to the election, and we have support in the group from councilors, members and supporters. Our next meeting will be next Tuesday, 10th May, at Bury Met, so please come along to discuss the next stages of the campaign

Liberal Democrats Response

Last week, Bury Action Group sent out a request to all candidates to answer a number of questions on where their party stands on a number of issues, and how they would approach them if elected.

Liberal Democrats - Tim J. Boaden
Constituency - Moorside

Green Party Response

Last week, Bury Action Group sent out a request to all candidates to answer a number of questions on where their party stands on a number of issues, and how they would approach them if elected.

Green Party - Glyn Heath
Constituency - North Manor

Labour Party Response

Last week, Bury Action Group sent out a request to all candidates to answer a number of questions on where their party stands on a number of issues, and how they would approach them if elected.

Labour Party - Mike Connolly
Constituency - East Ward

UKIP Response

Last week, Bury Action Group sent out a request to all candidates to answer a number of questions on where their party stands on a number of issues, and how they would approach them if elected.

UK independence Party - Peter Redstone
Constituency - Pilkington Park Ward

Liberal Democrats Response

Last week, Bury Action Group sent out a request to all candidates to answer a number of questions on where their party stands on a number of issues, and how they would approach them if elected.

Liberal Democrats - Richard Baum (incumbent)
Constituency - St Mary's Ward

English Democrats Response

Last week, Bury Action Group sent out a request to all candidates to answer a number of questions on where their party stands on a number of issues, and how they would approach them if elected.

English Democrats - Stephen Morris & Valerie Morris

Constituency - Besses Ward & Holyrood Ward

PRESS RELEASE: BAG on the upcoming Council Elections

Bury Action Group has written to all candidates standing in Bury’s council elections to give them the opportunity to say how they would protect our vital public services.

The Group thinks all councillors should oppose the cuts. They will make the country’s economic policies worse not better. They will damage the lives of everyone in Bury to no benefit. Healthy local communities depend on the delivery of local services by council employees.

Group Chair, Sue Arnall, explained:

"We know that none of the three main parties are prepared to challenge the government by setting an illegal budget. In the end, each of them would have to make some cuts. Our letter gives the independent and small party candidates the chance to say whether they agree. Do they have an alternative approach?

The main parties do have some choice about which services to protect and which services to cut. Some councillors also claim to be able to deliver services despite cuts or to protect the quality of services whilst privatising them. We challenge the candidates to explain how they believe they can achieve this".

No to Racism in Bury

Sandra Walmsley is a councillor for Moorside Ward and a member of the CWU. She has invited members of Bury Action Group to a meeting at the Jinnah Centre at 7pm tomorrow.

This is Judy Paskell's summary of the circumstances.

'The issue is that an Asian member of the union, working at the big O2 call centre in Radcliffe, was racially abused over the phone by a customer, eventually responded in what the company consider to be a rude manner, and has been sacked. I believe members of the Bury Asian community will be there and I think a wide spectrum of local people should attend to show that we will not tolerate racism in Bury.'

We are passing an invitation to attend on at Judy's request.

Candidates ready for election fight

A total of 65 candidates will battle it out for 17 seats at next month’s Bury Council elections. The deadline for candidate registration passed on Monday, with one seat in each of the 17 wards up for grabs at the ballot box on May 5.

There are a total of 51 seats in the borough, with the Conservatives currently occupying 23 seats, Labour 20 and the Liberal Democrats eight. The Conservatives have a majority rule, although they do not have outright control.

To read the full article, click here 

Future of youth services uncertain

Council chiefs have spelled out what the future holds for the borough’s five youth centres in the wake of cuts totalling £800,000 allied to the loss of around 18 full-time posts.There were initial fears that the youth service savings could have forced four of the five centres to close.

But bosses have now disclosed that the buildings will remain open, although some of the previous youth activities will be carried out by new service providers.However, in some cases, uncertainty remains over the level, frequency and type of youth services which will be offered.

To read the full article please click here

Media items

Bury Council leader Bob Bibby recently appeared on ITVs 'Party People' talking about the upcoming local elections on changes to the way Bury Council runs its services (he won't say it but I will...privatising them!). You can access the link here, but as with these things, it may not be available for that long.

In addition, we understand that Sue was contacted about this 'You and Yours' item, but you wouldn't know from listening to it - please click here to access it.

Councillor Kim-Il-Bibby: A Transparent, Strong Leader?

BAG Assistant Secretary, George Heron, reports back from last night's (30th March) council meeting to discuss the Transformation Strategy. A shortened letter also appeared in the Independent on the 2nd April.

In this week’s ‘Tuesday Essay’ Paul Vallely drew attention to the North Korean sounding ‘strong leader model’ of Council leadership in place in Bury and elsewhere. Councillor Leader Bob Bibby unexpectedly picked up the same theme during the Council Meeting the following day. In the midst of an outburst of self-justification whilst replying to the debate on his ‘Transformation Strategy’, he told colleagues that, as a ‘strong leader’ under the system brought in by a Labour government, he had no obligation to seek their approval for his plans. He was only inviting them to comment and vote on his ‘transformation strategy’ because of his personal commitment to ‘transparency’.

Paul Vallely noted that Councillor Bibby has gone ‘coy’ about his commitment to outsourcing and this was evident in the debate. References to wholesale privatisation, he said, were press misrepresentation. The review of each department at the heart of his strategy would be unbiased and concerned only with best value for money. If in-house provision was the cheapest, then so be it. For the Lib Dems Tim Pickstone welcomed the change of tone. A rational review was preferable to piecemeal, year-by-year cuts. Wholesale privatisation was not acceptable, but greater community involvement was highly desirable and the Lib Dems would promote this.

Independent runs story on Bury Council proposals

The Lancashire town of Bury has a radical approach to spending cuts – the council plans to privatise all its public services. Could it become a model for the whole nation? There is much more at stake than money, argues Paul Vallely.

Click here for the full article

26th March Demonstration in London

There are still two spare places allocated to Bury Action Group (BAG) on the CWU coach leaving Bury at 7 am: £10 or £5 for students please ring Judy on 0161 773 6211, or 07952 343755.

A number of those going are students and we want to share the burden of subsidising them between BAG members. If you can contribute £5, please contact Judy or George (07837 614405).

If you are currently looking after one of our banners please make sure it gets to London on Saturday - and let us know you are taking it. Please give us a mobile number and/or make sure you have Judy's and/or George's so we can form a group behind the banner on the day.

Looking forward to seeing you there

PRESS RELEASE: Keep on Telling the Council You Care

BAG Chair Sue Arnell presents Clr
Bob Bibby the petitions

The people of Bury have told the Council they do care who delivers their services – and trust council employees rather than outsiders. That is the message Bury Action Group have delivered to the Leader of the Council.

Councillor Bibby reportedly said that people in Bury did not care who collected their bins. His ‘transformation strategy’ included the assumption ‘that the council will not directly deliver services’. A paltry three week public consultation on the strategy included no public meetings and required members of the public to access the Council website to participate.

There was a huge positive response to our petition saying council services were ‘not for sale’. In six hours standing near the Millgate Centre we collected around 800 signatures for the petition – two people signed every minute. We were able to deliver the petitions to Councillor Bibby in person outside the Town Hall last Friday afternoon (18th March).

Radcliffe LAP to be curtailed

It has come to our attention that Radcliffe Local Area Partnership (LAP) scheme is to be cancelled. This is one of six LAPs under threat following recent budget cuts announced by the minority Tory Council. According to attendees, the decision to stop meetings was only announced on the night, with no details as to what would replace it. The Prestwich group are due to meet tomorrow (Thursday).

Radcliffe LAP comprises of the electoral wards of Radcliffe North, Radcliffe East and Radcliffe West. In addition to the market town of Radcliffe, are the villages of Ainsworth and Starling, part of Bradley Fold, Black Lane, Outwood and Chapel Field.

Latest News from BAG meeting

Last night's organising meeting decided we should have a stall in Bury on Friday this week from 12 - 2pm near the Halifax/Bury Interchange (see photo attachment of last week's stall for location or ring 0161 798 8762 to check). At 2pm we will take all the completed petition forms to the Town Hall to hand them in. A journalist from The Independent has been in touch with us and may be around to take photos. PLEASE HELP WITH THIS IF YOU CAN.

If you have not yet sent a comment on the Transformation Strategy to Bury Council please do so before Sunday (click here).

National Demonstration Against the Cuts

Bury Unison are putting on a coach for the TUC demo in London on 26th March. This is looking like it will be a huge march. There are a number of trains and coaches going from Greater Manchester and many hundreds from across the country. For Unison members the cost is £5 and for non Unison members the cost is £10. You need to contact the Bury Unison office to get a ticket : 17 Knowsley St, Bury BL9 0ST, 0161 253 5176, email unison@bury.gov.uk.

Help us to challenge the Transformation Strategy

Whilst we are still reeling from the cuts which were announced at the budget meeting a few weeks ago, Bury Council is moving on. Well, now we have Bury's Transformation Strategy. This is, in effect, its agenda for future cuts. Every service will be reviewed and the assumption will be that it should be handed over to the private or voluntary sector unless the existing providers can show they would be more efficient. We have until 20th March to comment on this process.

This is the weblink to the process: http://www.bury.gov.uk/transformation/default.asp

We want to encourage everyone - our members and other citizens of Bury to:
1. Register their objections to the transformation agenda through the 'consultation' process and to
2. Write to their councillors objecting both to this inadequate consultation and the transformation agenda itself. Comments and queries for this will follow soon

URGENT: Bury Council to outsource services??

It has come to our attention that Bury Council are seeking to privatise and outsource ALL services that they currently provide. The purpose of this strategy, potentially, will be to hand over services such as library and leisure facilities, youth provision, learning disabilities, parks and highways, for example, to private companies, charities or voluntary groups. The consultation process will end on the 20th March will a decision due on the 24th according to the Council website.

Bury Action Group would vigorously oppose such a move. We would suggest that services such as those mentioned above can only be run by an organisation (i.e. the council) which is accountable to the people of Bury and which puts the needs of its residents first over profit. We are asking supporters to contact their councilors and to lobby them to come out in opposition to this regressive policy which will see private profit put before social needs.

There are two articles on this in the MEN and Bury Times. You can view the Transformation Strategy by clicking here

Further statements will be released in due course

March Against the Cuts - 5th March

All Saints Park at 12.00 and marching to Albert Square.
Rally 1.30 pm Manchester Town Hall

We will be protesting against the Coalition government’s determination to make us pay for the economic deficit The question of how local Councillors who say they are against the cuts should respond to the Coalition Government's imposed funding cuts to local authorities clearly remains a major controversial issue.

The so-called 'Dented Shield' approach previously employed by Labour controlled Councils back in the 1980's against the Thatcher Government, combined with a complete lack of involvement by Labour & other opposition party Councillors in the anti-cuts fight on the ground, is clearly a wholly insufficient anti-cuts strategy if one at all, and falls way short of the type of anti-cuts stance we should expect all elected representatives worthy of their salt to be taking in the next period.

Report from the Wednesday 23rd Budget Meeting

This is intended as a straight record of what I saw, please add to it if you were there so we get a fuller and more rounded picture of the event.

Around 130 people turned up at some time between 6 and 6.45pm outside Bury Town Hall to protest against the cuts.    The major groups represented were ourselves (with two banners), a substantial (and noisy) presence from the Youth Parliament, the UNITE union and a number of members of UNISON.    Two people (including me) were taking names of new members of the Action Group.   I signed up 16 new members.  We were at the Manchester road entrance and were encouraged by supportive toots from horns from passing traffic.   

There seemed to be an unnecessarily large police presence, largely occupied in ushering us to the right entrance or in assisting ushers to protect the entrance to the Town Hall. 

There was clearly another way in to the Town Hall open for councillors and we saw no Lib Dem or Tory councillors and therefore could not lobby them.   The Labour group plus MP Ivan Lewis turned up (I guess around 6.25) and briefly addressed us through a loud hailer expressing their support before mingling with the protesters.   The Bury Times political correspondent was there.

BURY ACTION GROUP PRESS RELEASE 27TH FEBRUARY 2011

Last Wednesday Bury Council made a few headline changes to its drastic set of budget cuts, no doubt hoping to be supported and praised as a listening council. The concessions make very little difference.

Bury Action Group always knew we were in for a long fight over cuts. Our organising meeting next Tuesday at the Met Theatre at 7pm will plot the way forward for the next few months. New members are welcome to attend.

One concession came directly from the Tories: transport to school for children with special needs was reinstated. Congratulations to the vigorous campaign from parents which put this at the top of the agenda and made it impossible to ignore.

Protests greet Bury Council cuts meeting

Report from Thursday's Bury Times.

Huge Bury Council cuts were due to be rubber stamped at a critical local authority meeting.

Protesters from Bury Action Group announced they would be lobbying outside Bury Town Hall last night before councillors deliberated over the proposed budget cuts of £12.2 million.

Please click here for the full report

Pictures from Wednesday's Demonstration

Please click here for a link to Whitefield Labour Party's site which has pictures from the demonstration outside Bury Town Hall

UNISON statement on the campaign

Most of you will be aware of proposals going before council that if passed will result in significant job losses. An action group “bury against the cuts” has very recently been set up to protest against all cuts to the council budgets. As yet no decision has been made by the UNISON Bury branch executive committee on whether we will be joining with this grouping.

 The branch do of course want to build the widest possible support for opposing both the current proposals and the nationally driven cuts in local government that will undoubtedly have a devastating effect on all our jobs. We will report back on any decision to affiliate or not to this or any other such group once we have had discussions with representatives of the group.

BURY ACTION GROUP PRESS RELEASE 20TH FEBRUARY 2011

Bury Council’s budget meeting at 7 pm on Wednesday plans cuts that will decimate many essential services. The cuts are being imposed in a great rush with little or no consultation with employees or the people of Bury.

Bury Action Group will lobby and demonstrate outside Bury Town Hall from 6pm and has tabled questions for the meeting itself. Please come and join us.

These cuts will directly affect some of the most vulnerable people in Bury. Transport to school for children with special needs will be withdrawn, in some cases forcing their parents to give up work. The budget for carers who help vulnerable adults to maintain their independence will be slashed. Provision in libraries for people with sight and hearing difficulties will be cut. A hostel for the homeless may be under threat.

Public Sector workers set for rally over cuts

Article from the Bolton Evening News (hosted by Bury Times) about union opposition to the cuts.

"UNION members are preparing for their biggest rally ahead of the council meeting to approve its budget for 2011/12.

Cuts in grant funding and the Government’s deficit reduction programme mean the authority has to find £40 million of savings next year, all of which are set out in the budget".

Please click here for the full article

Support for 23 Feb demo grows

Today we have been informed that Unite the Union will be joining Bury Action Group campaigners on the 23rd of February to demonstrate against the cuts that are being proposed by the council. This follows on from the news received at last Thursday's Scrutiny Committee Meeting where members of Bury's Youth Parliament informed us of their intention to protest over the cuts in Youth Service provision. We are awaiting news on Unison participation, which we obviously hope they will agree to.

Remember, its not too late to get involved if you aren't already. Bury Action Group will be outside Whitefield and Prestwich metro stations Monday evening, so if you would like to come along and help out please do. We also need as big a turnout for Wednesday's meeting as possible, so please do what you can to publicise this with your neighbors, friends, family and work colleagues

URGENT: Tickets to Budget Meeting on the 23rd

Due to the interest being shown to the meeting on the 23rd of February where the budget will be voted upon, tickets will be issued for the public gallery. They will be given out at the Town Hall entrance on Knowsley Street on a first come first served basis.

The persons that have put questions will receive a ticket which needs to be collected from the Town Hall reception.

If you have any further questions, please forward them to our email address

Final battle looms over town hall budget cuts | Prestwich Advertiser - menmedia.co.uk

Article from Thursday's Prestwich Advertiser

Sweeping council budget decisions that will shape the futures of Prestwich, Radcliffe and Whitefield are just days away. Now an eleventh hour rallying call for a final fight against the planned cuts has been issued.

Final battle looms over town hall budget cuts | Prestwich Advertiser - menmedia.co.uk

Report from last night's Scrutiny Committee

Eighty people turned out for the Scrutiny Committee on 17th February, the last chance to challenge the impending cuts before the full budget meeting on Wednesday 23rd February. For a while it was standing room only until extra chairs were brought in and so the meeting started late.

Cllr Gartside and Finance Director Mike Owen gave the same presentation, with some updated figures, that they gave at the consultation on 1st February but this time aimed at a dozen councillors who were expected to scrutinise the budget. While the figures leading to the cuts were explained there was initially no discussion of what this meant to services – we didn’t need a Maths lesson, we wanted to know what’s being cut. There was virtually no documentation provided for the public who outnumbered councillors by six to one.

Lib Dem Councillor Richard Baum on our campaign

Below is a response to a set of questions that were put to the Councillor on the impending cuts;

Thanks for your email.

We are hamstrung as Councillors in that we are legally obliged to set a balanced budget according to the settlement given to us by the government. So we can't avoid making cuts, even if we wanted to. Failing to set a budget would mean us being sent to prison.

I will oppose cuts specific to Prestwich as i have been doing, and hopefully we can stop these when it comes to the vote next Wednesday. 

From Budget Consultation to Budget Protests

Bury Action Group was 're-born' from the anger expressed at the Bury Council budget consultation on 1st February. 180 people attended the meeting in the Elizabethan Suite to hear excuses and hand-wringing from Cllr Iain Garside, lead member for Resource, and the Council's Finance Director Mike Owen. 

It was clear that the council had simply accepted whatever meagre resources had been doled out by the Con-Dem coalition, and we, the people of Bury, simply had to accept there was no alternative to the cuts. There were even lists of budget headings strategically placed around the room, with post-its supplied, so you could pick your favourite cut! Needless to say no-one took up the opportunity.

Lobbying/questions at Internal Scrutiny Committee Thursday 17th February

Arrive early - any time after 6pm outside Bury Town Hall to lobby councillors on their way in. We hope to have our new banner by then, but you should still recognise our group if it isn't ready.

Meeting starts at 7pm in the Peel Room. Members of the public are allowed to attend and there is a half hour session near the beginning for public questions. The organising committee have prepared some questions but you can bring your own, offer support to those who ask them and watch the whole debate.

Unemployment rises in Bury

Unemployment in Bury has risen in the past month, according to labour market statistics in the Bury Times today. 

For the full article please click here

Welcome

This page is currently in the process of being constructed. If you would like to get in touch with us about the campaign to stop the cuts in Bury, please send us an email at buryactiongroup@gmail.com to receive notification of events and meetings which we will be planning over the coming weeks and months.