AROUND 50 activists from the southern half of England responded to the call for a meeting of health campaigners convened by Keep Our NHS Public in University College London on February 11.
Campaigners fighting to save community hospitals and local services met together with UNISON and Amicus activists, pensioners and organisers from London Health Emergency and the NHS Support Federation.
There was general agreement that local campaigns were essential to force back cuts and privatisation, but in some areas campaigns seemed to have run through all the available options and local activists expressed the need for a national initiative to unify and amplify their efforts.
Among the suggestions, many of those present appeared to favour the proposal for a national demonstration, while many also recognised the high level of risk involved, since in the aftermath of the anti-war protests almost any demonstration with fewer than 100,000 participating appears to be a failure.
There were concerns that whereas Amicus appeared favourable to suggestions of a national demonstration, UNISON's national leadership clearly remains to be convinced that any signifioped. strengthening it. cant national campaign should be develUNISON branches and regions had begun to mount their own campaigns, but without a full-scale commitment from national level of the major health union to support a demonstration it would not be likely to succeed - and calling a small demonstration which understates the scale of opposition to government policies would weaken or destroy the fightback rather than
The meeting was unanimous however in endorsing the proposal, first mooted by campaigners at the launch meeting of Manchester Keep Our NHS Public, for a "week of action" which would pull together the activity of dozens of local groups in the run-up to the local elections in early May.
And there was support for the conference called on March 25 by the NHS Support Federation, which will offer campaigners a further chance to share information and experiences, and a further opportunity to build support for initiatives at a national level. • Further details on all KONP activities are available, along with a brilliant database of cuts and closures and up to date media coverage on the campaign website www.keepournhspublic.com. credibility of the government, he could yet find himself served up as the fall-guy to divert attention from the direction of the government's underlying policies.
With a bit of uncertainty hanging over his job perhaps now even Nigel can begin to grasp how miserable his circular has made 250,000 PCT staff.
Meanwhile campaigners have to recognise the urgency of the fight to defend local services agalnst a new and larreaching round of cuts and privatisation.
page 6 of the scan
and the abuses unchal" lenged."
Sarah Ricca, Hickman and Rose Solicitors "The end of support for %. NCADC has to be seen as part
of a pincer movement against
would-be refugees.
"First the government
made it harder and harder for
people to come here legally to
claim Then they when there are serious prob. lems in the detention estate, particularly the increasing number of cases of suicide and self-harm, they are the only organisation which offers day to day information about the state of affairs."
Lord Avebury
"I have been writing about immigration and asylum for some years and NCADC has