message brooght to & jobilant 70strong lobby of trade unionists and tenants outride a special meeting of the ruling Lahour group of councillors in the Sunday.
Ene Loreenment 1s demanuing that several local authorities make immediate cufs. Haringey has been singled out and told to eut 15 billion - Jen per cent: - off its current budget now.
But Haringey's Labour councillon have given the Govemment wreckens a sisp mn the tace, sunouncing taat toey will implement the resolalion of the Local Government Committee - the body which decides policy for the three constituency Labour Parties -rejecting the Goverament's recent circular and telling the Department of the Environment that * There will be no cuts in services and capilation expenditure, * There will be no relundencies - the Council will continue to fill racancies arisieg from resignerions in the current finencial year. * There will be no increase in coincil Ремід The Council says that it will consider economies in expenditure but tat there will be no cuts in essential services.
The effects of the cats would have been catastrophic. Figures as high as a 20 per cent cut in education spending had been Boated - meaning either teacher redundancies while class sizes remain over 30, or the axieg of the sew nunery programme and the long-standing 'rising fives' scheme.
But the battle has only just begun. The Covernment has threatened to sash the rate support grant next year to local authotities who don't cut enough. Unless the Labour group and the Council adopt a radicaily different policy. that would mean levying rates that would pay for next year's increase and this year's 45 million - a rise in the cabes of at least 30p in the pounul.
What's needed instead is a joint cam paign behecen all those Lahour controlled councils that are under attack from the Goverment. Massive sapport for such a campaign can be won by opening the books of the local authorities to tenants and trade unionists and working with NIA O SIRO AMU0 DIE K21 out how the social services can be exponte to meet socil neca- Baars the way to avoid isolation and hence the fate of Clay Cross WEEKLY NO CUTS Anti-cuts campaigners lobby the Haringey Labour group meeting last Sunday lal in North London. HARINGEY SOCIAL WORKERS SAY NO