On 8 March Labour-led Nottingham City Council voted through a budget that will see a further £15.4 million stripped from public services in Nottingham, following a total of £271 million already slashed in the last decade. The budget includes the closure of the John Carroll Leisure Centre, a vital community resource in the working class neighbourhood of Radford.
Supporters of the Revolutionary Communist Group in Nottingham have been part of a spirited campaign to save the centre, but once again Labour councillors put their respectable political careers and the unity of their party ahead of the needs of the working class. Councillors ignored the views expressed in a petition signed by more than 2,500 local people, while David Trimble (portfolio holder for Leisure and Culture) condescendingly congratulated the campaign on their “great final report” while voting through the centre’s closure.
Days before the vote the campaign organised a morning of socially distanced exercise outside the John Carroll centre. During this event members of the community spoke on an open mic organised by the RCG, explaining the history of the centre and its role in building community, particularly through youth work programmes that have been based there. People at the event were clear that the Labour Council is hanging the community out to dry but there was also an atmosphere of defiance and determination to continue the fight beyond the vote. Daniel Thomas, Save John Carroll campaign spokesperson, said:
“We’re not going to stop here. This isn’t going to end… You can’t keep chipping away at our communities, you can’t keep stamping on this community and expect them not to stand up and begin to fight back. We’re just beginning!”
Every Labour councillor who attended the 8 March council meeting voted for the cuts. Radford Councillors Phil Jackson and Hassan Ahmed avoided the meeting altogether, cowing to Labour Party rules that make voting against or abstaining on a “legal budget” set by a Labour Group a disciplinary offense, under a rule introduced at the party conference in 2016, during Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership. At a campaign meeting following the vote, Councillor Jackson promised to “support the campaign in any way I can, no matter how unpopular that makes me”. But how can he do so while remaining in the Labour Party?
The Labour Party is directly preventing its members representing the needs of the people. The choice then becomes: break from the Labour Party and stand with communities against these devastating cuts, or remain with the Labour Party at the expense of the community. Supporters of the RCG have chosen our side. We stand alongside the people of Radford to say enough is enough! We urge you to join us.
If you have not yet signed the petition, please do so: Save John Carroll Leisure Centre – No Cuts! | 38 Degrees
The Save John Carroll campaign has a website with more detail on the impact of these cuts: www.savejohncarroll.co.uk
Please follow, like and share on social media: @SaveJohnCarroll
