Video of Demonstration in Central London on 18th May 2013
This concentrates on Lewisham and the successful direction action stunt by the PFI Scam direct action team. As the march passed by the Barclays branch hundreds of people took Boycott Barclays cards and information about the petition to exempt health from the forthcoming US-EUTrade
Treaty. Dozens of LPBP members took part and were accompanied by Strawberry Thieves Socialist Choir.
Sad news: only a week after the hoarding below was targetted by our direct action team, the whole set of four boards was completely removed from the corner of Endwell Road / Mantle Road, Brockley!
Join us opposing the bedroom tax.We have been collecting signatures on a petition calling for no evictions of Lewisham Homes tenants who get into arrears because of bedroom tax deductions from the housing benefit. On Saturday 11th May we handed in a letter to Lewisham's Mayor, Steve Bullock, asking him to support this call.
Send us an email or text 07986 998 172 to find out where we are next campaigning on this issue. Click on the "Bedroom Tax" item on the campaigns menu to the left to find out more about this issue and why People Before Profit is campaigning on it. Friday 1st March - we met at St Paul's Cathedral 12 noon and moved off to Innisfree's offices:
See www.SaveLondonNHS.org.uk for more information or email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Tweet using hashtag #PFIScam Over 20,000 on the march!Lewisham saw it's largest demonstration in memory yesterday as thousands marched past Lewisham Hospital calling for Jeremy Hunt to reject plans to close its A&E and maternity departments.The demonstration was decided upon shortly before Christmas and the last three weeks have seen hundreds of people involved in getting the political message out to the residents of Lewisham, Bromley, Bexley and Greenwich. Lewisham People Before Profit played a major role in the organisation, working together with other campaigners to ensure the smooth running of the campaign. National radio and television have given prominent coverage to the protest action and we are now awaiting Jeremy Hunt's announcement, which will be followed at 6pm by a rally outside Lewisham Hospital. Whether Hunt decides to close the A&E and Maternity or to spare them, we will still need to counter the underlying cause of the bankruptcy of the NHS trust in Greenwich and Bromley - PFI payments to Barclays, Innisfree and Taylor-Woodrow (United Health Consortium). We have been paralysed within the campaign meetings by the reluctance of the Labour Party to allow discussion of this aspect - Joan Ruddock MP didn't mention it on Radio 4, Heidi Alexander didn't mention it in her speech in Mountsfield Park. None of the Lewisham MPs has signed the early day motion on PFI and Lewisham (www.parliament.uk/edm/2012-13/306//) presumably because they don't want to put the blame for the mess fairly and squarely where it belongs - on Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. Fortunately Lewisham People Before Profit has no such inhibitions and we will be discussing how to campaign on this at our regular monthly meeting next Monday, 4th February at 7.15 at The Broca Cafe. All welcome. We have already performed a short sketch about the PFI scam inside Barclays Bank branches in Deptford and Lewisham and set up a petition on the Downing Street website at epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/42460 There is lots of interesting information about PFI at www.SaveLondonNHS.org.uk Why we are calling for PFI contracts to be annulled
South London Healthcare Trust had two hospitals built under PFI contracts costing £210 million. They have paid £535million so far in 10 years. The contract provides for a further £2000 million to be paid over the remaining term of the contract - around 18 years. This is the main reason why the trust is bankrupt and why the Tories have used a clause put in by the Labour government to impose a Trust Special Administrator, Matthew Kershaw, to run the trust while coming up with ways of making it financially viable. He is using this opportunity to demand the closure of Lewisham Hospital's A & E and Maternity departments and wants to sell off parts of Queen Mary Hospital in Sidcup. He also wants the Princess Royal Hospital in Farnborough to be either run by Kings College hospital or privatised. Anyone with a brain can see that the main problem is the exorbitant payments being made by taxpayers under the PFI contracts. Here is a link to an excellent Daily Telegraph(!) article about it: PFI - Where did it all go wrong? And here is the link to BBC Radio 4's File On Four which investigated how PFI contracts are being sold on to other vulture capitalists: File on Four: PFI Profits Another excellent article from the Guardian on the PFI, Hospitals and Fixing the Libor Rate Fight to save Lewisham Hospital Accident & EmergencyVideo of Brockley consultation meeting on Monday 26th NovemberVideo of the demonstration on Saturday 24th November
First consultation meeting Tuesday 13th Nov 2pm - 4pmat West Greenwich Community Centre, 141 Greenwich High Street (near Greenwich railway station). Four members of Lewisham People Before Profit were there to confront hatchet man Matthew Kershaw. We challenged him on PFI and the 50 or so members of the public were all sceptical of his reasoning.! Public meeting last Thursday, 8th Novemberat the Lessoff Auditorium, Lewisham Hospital, 6pm. The meeting venue was full so two overflow venues were arranged. Around 700 people attended in total and heard Louise Irvine, a local GP and Keep Our NHS Public activist and Eileen Smith from Ealing's Save Our Local Hospitals. Along with Mike Davey of Lewisham Unison they explained the situation and called for maximum turnout on the demonstration on 24th November. Mayor Steve Bullock and MP Heidi Alexander also spoke. Steve Bullock refused to commit Lewisham Council resources to informing all residents about the campaign - so we'll have to do it ourselves! Please sign the petitions at: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/lewisham-hospital/ and http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/41027 Download the paper version here: PetitionPLEASE HELP COLLECT SIGNATURES BY GOING DOOR TO DOOR IN YOUR STREETWe have produced 30,000 cards explaining the issues. You can download it here: PFI Card. Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it if you would like some cards to give out while petitioning. We also need people to help give out the cards and collect signatures at primary schools and at railway stations.
Demonstration on Saturday 24th Novemberassemble at the Grassy Knoll, between Rennell Street and the roundabout in Lewisham to march to Lewisham Hospital for a "Hands Round the Hospital" event. Go to http://www.savelewishamhospital.com for more information.Here's a brilliant video about privatisation of healthcare - do pass it on.
Hope to see you there.
Click here for the full story as it unfolds: http://peoplebeforeprofit.org.uk/occupied housesPlease sign the online petition at: www.change.org/petitions/defend-lewishams-council-housingemail to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it |
