Month: May 2012

Dreadful that schools should fear the arrival of the DfE official. I hear jackboots…

askparentsfirst's avatarAsk Parents First

Dismayed parents at Jervoise Primary School in Birmingham have set up a Facebook Group ‘Save Jervoise School’ after being informed on Thursday that the DfE wants to force their good school to become an academy.

Parent Graham Lightning Sweet says that the DfE has targeted the school based on out-of-date figures from 2009.  He says that the experienced headteacher Mr McCabe has turned the school around from Special Measures to ‘Good’ in just three years and this year’s SATS results are expected to be outstanding.

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So much for parental choice!

askparentsfirst's avatarAsk Parents First

About 50 people attended a public meeting on Thursday 10th May at Northfield Baptist Church to discuss the threat to local primary schools being forced into academy status. The meeting had been organised by the teaching union NUT and the parent group Ask Parents Firstwhich is campaigning for open and democratic consultation on academy conversion. The meeting was aimed at three local schools, Northfield Manor, Primrose Hill and West Heath Primary, all of which, along with around 30 other schools across the city, are being forced to accept academy status by the DfE. Parents from all three schools were represented at the meeting.

The meeting was chaired by President of Birmingham NUT, Gay Hatton, who spoke about the threat to state education from the academies programme. Parents and community heard from four speakers.

Academies do no better than other schools

Richard Hatcher, Professor of Education at Birmingham City…

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Andrew Lansley? We know a song about him don’t we, children.
I must say that any group who would willingly listen to this cove can’t be all that NICE, so I hope to see you all there on Tuesday at 5.
(ah, I’m informed NICE, in this context, is an acronym, not an adjective.)

Birmingham Against The Cuts's avatarBirmingham Against The Cuts

Andrew Lansley is speaking at a NICE conference at the ICC on Tuesday 15th, and there will be a demonstration from 5pm in Centenary Square, called by Keep Our NHS Public and Save Our NHS West Midlands.

Lansley is responsible for the Health and Social Care Bill, which is currently passing into law, having been voted through by the Tories and Lib Dems, despite the legislation not being in either manifesto, and David Cameron having said that there would be no top down reform of the NHS.

Already the vultures are circling, with Virgin Health and Serco picking up contracts to run NHS services. The cap on private patients in NHS hospital has been raised to 49% and the responsibility for the provision of healthcare services has been removed from the Secretary of State for Health (they now only have to “promote” healthcare services – creating the…

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My comments from yesterday’s BATC report on the May 10 strike stand. So make sure you check out that blog next, assuming you haven’t already.

Birmingham Against The Cuts's avatarBirmingham Against The Cuts

Yesterday we posted a report of the public sector strike, which saw 400,000 workers around the UK out to defend their pensions. We’ve got the videos of the Birmingham rally up now for anyone who couldn’t make it to hear what was said.

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I had my doubts. I have no doubts now. A rolling programme of industrial action always in the headlines throughout 2012, 2013, 2014…
Let Cameron and Clegg be remembered for not one winter but for the Coalition of Discontent – and the thoroughly discredited ConDem experiment be synonymous with words which mean strife, strike, cuts, unrest, injustice, poverty, bankruptcy – both actuarial and moral – and the attempt to dismantle civilised society in the UK.
Bogeymen to frighten the grandkids!

Birmingham Against The Cuts's avatarBirmingham Against The Cuts

Today saw 400,000 public sector workers striking in defence of their pensions. They were also joined by prison officers who walked out, as they have done on previous strike days, as it is illegal for them to strike.

In Birmingham, around 150 Unite, PCS and UCU members went from their picket lines to a small demonstration led by Unite health workers at the QE Hospital, which was followed by an indoor rally, with speakers from the unions involved in Birmingham, and the Midlands TUC.
Videos of the rally are available to watch here

Sian Ruddick, PCS, chair of meeting

Today is important, we’re proving to the government that we haven’t gone away, we are fighting and we will continue to fight them until we win

Lee Baron, Midlands TUC

[CWU members] will have refused to cross the picket lines that so many of your members were on…

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This date is in my diary. I was there when the LibDems held their conference in Brum in 2011. I’m adding my voice to the call on the TUC to support this as a national demonstration against the cuts, against the failed austerity. If the legitimate marchers from 26 March 2011 in London alone came to Brum, it would be an impressive outing – more have been involved since then. Flooding the centre of Birmingham with a sea of protest and protesters would send a message hard to dismiss, difficult to ignore.

Birmingham Against The Cuts's avatarBirmingham Against The Cuts

The Tories are coming back to Birmingham for their 2012 conference, and the TUC have called a demonstration. In 2010, 7,000 people came here for the Tory conference, and last years Liberal Democrat conference saw a banner drop and demonstration, and with austerity failing, this year’s conference should see a huge demo against the economic policies of the larger of the two coalition partners, calling for an alternative economic strategy.

Put this date in your diary now, and start telling people about it. We are calling to the TUC to make this a national demonstraton against austerity and for unions around the UK to book coaches for members and benefit claimants to travel to Birmingham.

Please note that the assembly point and time has changed:
10:30am assemble in Victoria Square, Birmingham (B1 1BB).
for march at 11.00am, then rally back in Vicotria Square.

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I wish the UCU, PCS and Unite best wishes and good luck for orderly and peaceful protest on 10 May. I question whether this action, taken in isolation makes strategic or tactical sense and feel concern that it will erode support for all public sector workers including the many not mandated to strike on 10 May.
But I support the cause, the right to act in defence of that cause, the right to dissent by withdrawal of labour and hope your ranks are full, your strike solid.

Birmingham Against The Cuts's avatarBirmingham Against The Cuts

PCS, UCU and Unite will be on strike on Thursday 10th May, in protest at the government’s ongoing attempt to slash public sector pensions in order to pay for the bank bailouts.

In Birmingham, there will be lefletting on Hospital Way, at the QE Hospital from 12noon, followed by a joint strike rally from 1pm.
The rally will be held in Lecture Theatre Room 101, Haworth Building, University of Birmingham (see the flyer for a map).

Coaches are running from around the midlands, and are free. Solidarity delegates from student & community groups are welcomed, but priority will be given to PCS, UCU and Unite members.

Coaches:
Birmingham – Town Hall, Victoria Square. Midlands TUC 0121 643 4342
Worcester – Elgar statue by Guild Hall. Steve 07545 838 690
Dudley, Merry Hill, Stourbridge, Halesowen. Dudley TUC 07795 410 261
Telford, Wolverhampton. Debbie 07881 823 211
Coventry

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“In Brighton on 22 April, any idea of individual supremacy was defeated by collective action and great unity.
Yeah, we won the day.”

Good, as it should be. Thanks for the detailed report.

StopMfE's avatarStopMfE

On Sunday 22 April, hundreds and hundreds of local people stood together against an attempted fascist march in Brighton. Some estimates of numbers were as high as two thousand and there were certainly large crowds lining the start of the route along Queens Road awaiting the arrival of the ‘March for England.’

The scale of the mobilisation against the arrival of fascists in Brighton showed that the political argument had been won. Those who stood waiting were convinced that March for England, an organisation that helped found the English Defence League and is supported by their Infidel and Casual United bedfellows, were fascists.

Whatever they claim about innocent allegiance to nation, their version of Englishness is little more than a hatred for anyone deemed an outsider. They stir up fear of religious difference. Whether they realise it or not, it is clear to anyone who reads their hateful web postings…

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As always, good analysis. Let us see what leadership the new leader of the council will show, particularly now the elected mayor sideshow has been shelved. If 3 May 2012CE yields any message, I guess it is that a sizeable section of the public have lost faith in politicians. I think some of us were already aware of this. If single issue campaigning is what it takes to have people act politically then bring them on. Gogwit supports campaigning groups and there is always space for them on Gogwit’s Blog.

Birmingham Against The Cuts's avatarBirmingham Against The Cuts

The local elections yesterday delivered the expected result, as Labour take control of the council after 8 years of ConDem coalition.
Of the candidates who replied to our pledges, Lisa Trickett won in Kings Heath & Moseley, Brett O’Reilly won in Northfield and Uzma Ahmed won in Bordesley Green. We look forward to Brett & Uzma fulfilling the pledges they signed and Lisa following through on the statement she made opposing leisure service privatisation and promising to support Connexions and young people in the city.

A list of results by ward is available from the Birmingham Post

Perhaps the most surprising result came in the Sutton Coldfield Vesey ward, where Labour won, taking a Sutton seat for the first time in over 60 years, so we are told. In that seat, the Conservative candidate won by 700 votes in 2011, this year the Conservative Candidate lost by…

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They serve us.
No further comment necessary.

askparentsfirst's avatarAsk Parents First

APF parents have been writing to their local election candidates asking them the following questions;

As a candidate standing in the local elections on May 3rd we would like to ask if you are in favour of a full consultation with a binding parental ballot before any conversion to academy status takes place?

If elected will you be willing to meet members of our campaign to discuss these issues further?

We have received a response from Eva Phillips, Labour candidate for Brandwood, who was emailed by APF parent Mark Raychell. Their email correspondence is reproduced below;

Hi Eva,

I’m a local Labour Party member and a parent of two boys at Colmore. I’m also a member of Ask Parents First.
I’m really concerned about the break-up and privatisation of local state education. Since the election, schools have been effectively bribed into becoming academies and leaving local authority accountability. We are now…

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