Tories faced with cuts devastation
Socialist Organiser1981 1981-08-06Read it in the scan (PDF), scan page 14 →
Read from the scan by machine and not corrected: expect misread words, and now and then a caption or a line from a neighbouring story. For anything you quote, read the scan.
Scan page 14
WORKING class men, women and youth have many bitter and inescapable reasons to be convinced that the Thatcher government's cuts are taking a heavy toll of jobs and public services.
But last week. saw even the dispassionate and well-heeled bureaucrats of the Department the Environment drawing up a devastating catalogue of the effects of the cuts.
Their assessment was made as the basis for a discussion between government and local government representatives at the Consultative Council on Local Government Finance.
Their conclusions are dramatic:
*Existing cash limits will mean the loss of another 150,000 jobs over the next three years.
*Even present cuts in school meals have left local authorities "overspending" by some £530 million per year: to meet Tory limits further draconian cutbacks would be needed.
*Some 50,000 teaching jobs - cutting more than 10% of the education teaching force - are necessary to comply with government limits: this must mean the start of compulsory redundancies.
*Personal social services face cuts in spending of £153 million this year and well over €100 million for the next three years; the report concludes that withdrawal of services on the scale implied would have intolerable repurcussions clients of d-social service departments and on the NHS, and could not, in practice be achieved in 1981-82."
Even plans to expand the police force could be hit by the Tory economies, and the fire service would face a new round of attrition with the axing of 3,700 jobs.
The • pattern of disaster is no surprise.
The fact that the Tories have already got as far as they have towards achieving their obliteration of vital services is the inglorious achievement of the trade union and Labour leaders, who have led no struggles and knifed the most determined resistance by the rank and file.
But things can only get worse unless a fight is taken up. The St. Mary's occupation shows the way.
No cuts! For occupations and supporting strike action to defeat the To ry offensive!