Socialist Party Wales Socialism In Wales
By Taryn Tarrant-Cornish
The resounding mood of the speakers at the Cardiff People’s Budget echoed the opening words of the Trade’s Council’s Secretary, Dave Bartlett, who warned the city’s council; “We want it back.”
Over 40 people participated in the Cardiff People’s Budget called by Cardiff Trade Union Council. Speaker after speaker spoke movingly about their personal experiences outlining the human cost of cuts to the cities services and facilities.
Those attending in person and online were encouraged to visit their local councillors’ public meetings and demand that they fight for the people of Cardiff and not just pass on cuts from Westminster or the Senedd. Instead dip into the city’s significant reserves of £150 million and take advantage of funding increases to provide a better future for people in the city.
Opening the meeting Dave Barlett called it the beginning of a fightback by ordinary people.
He said: “Many people in Cardiff are beginning to say enough is enough and we need a fightback.”
Despite an increase in funding announced for Cardiff Council of 10.7 percent, which represents £52.6 million in cash terms he outlined how the current proposals, which were recently revised ahead of the May 6 election, represent a ‘break-even budget’ once inflation is taken into account. With more cuts to come in coming years being in the low single figures.
He continued: “With the certainty that night follows day, it in reality, means a further round of cuts and the reality is this in the last 10 years, 2,500 jobs have disappeared from local government, and along without the staggering £200 million of services that have been cut in this city.”
The public meeting was held in Cardiff’s city centre with input from trade unions, community groups and members of the public. The aim of the meeting was to draw up a real people’s budget to meet the needs of the city’s residents following years of austerity which have seen their service decimated.
Many of the speakers who followed during the busy meeting spoke passionately about the effects of cuts to services and facilities, particularly on women, young people and differently-abled people.
Many of those who spoke highlighted the dire state of youth services.
Cardiff Unite’s Ross Saunders spoke about the importance of youth workers and the hole their absence has left.
He said: “It’s a very skilled job the made the difference for the young people they worked with between a life that went off the rails in the world of addiction, chaos, a ruined life or getting through a difficult period.”
Mia Hollsing who has previously worked for Welsh Women’s Aid said: “Every week for many days now we’ve seen two women a week being murdered by partners, ex-partners or family.
“We’ve seen a further three women a week kill themselves due to domestic abuse. And we know that one in every three women experience domestic abuse in their lifetime along, of course, also with some men.”
After outlining a disturbing link between Covid 19 lockdowns and domestic violence leading to a 140 percent rise in the numbers of survivors on waiting lists for services, she demanded a 140 percent rise in funding to allow people to access these life-saving services.
She continued: “We need trauma support. We need counseling therapy, group work. We need prevention. We need interventions for perpetrators of abuse. We need different forms of community support.
“And of course, we can’t just stop the domestic abuse services either. This is all linked to other things. So we need council housing because people need rehousing. Refuge is only a temporary solution.”
There were also strong calls for increased provisions for Muslim women, alcohol-free and not-for-profit spaces for LGBTQ+ people and demands for increased funding for people with disabilities.
George Phillips who works for brain injury charity Headway Cardiff explained how cuts impacted the people who use their services.
He said: “It really does change their lives, but because of the cuts that we’re seeing to our funding people are slipping through the cracks and we can’t provide the level of care that we need to provide.”
Urgent calls were also made for the Council to improve the awful state of housing in the city and defend renters’ rights to affordable, good quality and safe housing.
John Williams a member of Unite and the housing union, Acorn, sighted Acorn’s quick growth in the city as evidence of the poor conditions of the housing available to working people in the Welsh capital.
He said: “We should put some demands forward to the council, such as rent control. The council already licenses landlords and they should make charging a fair rent, a condition of being registered.”
Demands were also made of Cardiff Council to improve the city fractured bus services and public transport more generally to make it easier for people to travel, reduce pollution and improve the quality of life for residents.
Education was also highlighted as an area where provisions were falling desperately short especially following the impact of lockdowns on students and inadequate services for children with additional needs.
The meeting summed up the anger felt by many in a city where residents feel their futures and the futures of young people look bleak as the services they rely on to make their lives liveable are cut and consolidated in the name of efficiency savings and privatisation.
