Nurseries occupied

Socialist Organiser no. 161, 12 January 1984 · scan p. 20 · Cllr. Garth Frankland · about 371 words

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Published by the Socialist Organiser Alliance, 28 Middle Lane, London N8. Printed by Fast Fred Offset (TU Registered as a newspaper at the GPO. Signed articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the SOA. By Cllr. Garth Frankland TWO NURSERIES in Wakefield have been occupied since 22 December by parents protesting over a Labour Council's proposal to close them down. If they are closed there will be no daycare nurseries in the Wakefield area.

32 Labour councillors, led by Jack Smart, the right wing Chair of the Association of Metropolitan Councils voted in favour of closing Sandal Day Care Nursery and Langthwaite Grange Day Nursery.

Eleven Labour councillors broke the whip to vote against the closures in open council. They were subsequently suspended from the Group.

The eleven suspended councillors support the nursery occupation and some are taking part in the 24-hour a day vigil.

Councillor Smart's position is that the Tories in Westminster say that cuts have to be made. He makes the cuts and then the blame rests with the Tories.

Labour councillors have no other responsibility in the matter! They are administrators, not militants.

The closures are part of a packet of cuts which add up to £4½ million and involve dozens of compulsory redundancies.

Although local union officials, particularly in NUPE, have opposed the cuts and supported the occupations they have failed to organise supporting strike action to protect the union members' jobs and local services.

The local District Labour Party meets on Wednesday 11 January to discuss the suspensions. This body has been gradually swinging to the left over the last three years and may well demand that Councillor Smart reopens the nurseries.

Already the Wakefield Trades Council and local NUM branches support the occupations. The Regional Labour Party has condemned the closures and the Labour Party Regional Council has called for the reinstatement of the eleven suspended councillors.

Representatives from the Thornton View Hospital occupation have come to the occupation to express their support.

This linking of the two campaigns is an important joining together of two parts of the anti-cuts campaign. Ways of extending this link to an effective rank and file controlled campaign against the government's cuts must now be sought.