A campaign group was set up following last night’s public meeting to discuss the forthcoming spending cuts.
Organisers urged members of the public to attend the Full Council meeting on 23rd February to make their views known on the proposed cuts that will see nine libraries close, beach lifeguards and tourist information centres close, nearly 700 job losses (including schools), a large number of toilets and cuts to many other public services.
VB was present at the meeting providing live updates through Twitter and Facebook.
For those of you who missed it last night, here’s the roundup of updates.
- Stop the cuts meeting at the Riverside Centre, Newport just starting. Lots of people, especially as the fog’s so thick. Mike Starke up.
- Mark Chiverton: “Good to see some councillors here. Mostly opposition, but some Conservatives.”
- Mark Chiverton: “The strategy is a disaster. The implications of the cuts are only just starting to be understood.”
- “Challenge the leadership of this council to take a cross-party delegation to Downing St, to say No, you’ve got this wrong.”
- “Wight Bus is the only potential competitor to Southern Vectis.”
- “£8.5m of these IWC cuts are down to the Government. The rest of it is an ideological campaign by some Island Conservatives.”
- “To Andrew Turner and David Pugh: This is too important an issue for you to not bury your well-publicised differences”
- John Wortham:I may be old,but I know the difference between 6 and 17.Council are using this to cover up their bad financial management.
- It’s Squander-mania! The Tory administration as spent madly. £30m is absolutely gone
- The monolith over the road is not fit for purpose (Applause)
- Lady: “This Island has the real potential to become a real Eco-Island, not a fake one. Cutting public transport is backward looking”
- Mike Starke: “No lesser person than CEO Steve Beynon told me that Cycle routes will not be repaired. They’re a tourist attractor
- Union man: Current National administration want to destroy our country. Like in the war, it’s our duty to defend our country now
- Unity union rep: Southern Vectis made £1.3m profit last year
- Steve Goodman: Not used to this. Like you, I’d rather not be here – would prefer our ‘leaders’ were doing their job
- Petitions won’t make a difference We’re going to have to get out and make a fuss
- Health worker: There’s a group of consultants from Price Waterhouse Coopers have come to the Island to sort out Health Service
- Party leaders meeting at IWC today. This year’s budget wasn’t even on the Agenda!
- Geoff Lumley: Party leaders meeting at IWC today. This year’s budget wasn’t even on the Agenda!
- Asked David Pugh if any plans to lobby gov for more money. Answer: No, we’re not doing that
- Pugh is only interested in playing the politics. He’s fundamentally in it only for personal gain – his political path
- Geoff Lumley closed with, “David Pugh: Represent the Isle of Wight or stand down from power.”
- Mike Starke: I fear that we are being groomed for phase two privatisation. We’ll all end up paying for it
- Man: “IWC pushing responsibilities on to town/parish councils. Local Precepts will rise. It’s a Council tax increase by stealth”
- Other man: We need to come up with a solid plan, not just be outraged by the cuts. We need action
- Rowan:I’ve heard that Library workers have put forward several tens of ideas to the council, but told they didn’t cut enough, so shelved
- Vanessa Churchman: This council leadership has absolutely no forward thinking. There’s no strategy
- Geoff Mason: These cuts are going to have touch everyone on IW. At the next election, people won’t forget. Both locally and Nationally
- “Mark my words, in four years, Pugh will be sitting in the Big House. Maybe not here, but somewhere in the UK”
- NUT rep: We elected the council to run the services – not to run them down. At the very least write to your MPs
- NUT: There’s been several lies, or twisting of the truth. The first is Maggie Thatcher’s Tina – There Is No Alternative. It’s not true
- Reg Barry: Finally today, David Pugh admitted that £10m of IWC cuts are down to the Conservative
- Simon Cook: iwnocuts.org launching this weekend [email protected]
- Sarah: Connections worker. At the moment all 16 yo have a career interview with us. They’re going to be cut – replaced by volunteers
- Man: Experience has shown that writing letters doesn’t work. Maybe need for a single day for the whole Island to get together to say No!
- Jim: Pugh is after power. If we make sure these cuts are difficult for his future political career
- Lois: I’ve applied for every job going, but I’ve only had 1 interview in 4 months. What about an extra 500 people
- Jane:Cuts will lead to building being closed. They’ll be sold. Once they’ve gone, they’re gone. What about our Grandchildren? It’s ours!
- Jackie: Support will be needed. People on job seeker allowance for more than a year have their rent payment reduced by 10%
- Welfare cuts: Sick people will be forced off Disability benefit and put on Job Seeker Allowance
- In the Poll tax times, people supported one an other. That’s what we need now
- Man: If people who are well qualified can’t get jobs, how will people with learning difficulties supposed to get them
- *Lots of people equating these cuts to The Poll Tax – with the message of we’ve got to stick together*
- Geoff Lumley: “It’s only six weeks until this council tries to destroy the Isle of Wight”
- Mark Chiverton (wrapping up): “A budget needs to be set for the genuine need for the people on the Isle of Wight”
- Chiverton “We need to have people at County Hall on 23 Feb – show that you’re not happy”
- Stop The Cuts meeting has now come to an end. Got an interesting interview
