Socialist Party Wales Socialism In Wales
By Mark Evans, branch secretary Carmarthenshire County Unison (personal capacity)
On Tuesday 3rd March Carmarthenshire County Unison branch along with Socialist Party members and other anti-cuts campaigners lobbied Plaid-led Carmarthenshire County Council full council meeting (where the budget was being voted on) calling on councillors to make a stand and implement our branch’s no cuts budget. Plaid Cymru councillors voting for the cuts had to walk the walk of shame past us to get into the council meeting.
Due to a pre-election sweetener from Boris Johnson Tory cuts passed on by the Labour Welsh Assembly Government to Carmarthenshire County Council for the next three years (£16.5m) are not as bad as were expected.
But these cuts coming as they do on top of previous cuts will nevertheless have a serious impact on jobs, services and communities.
We had no illusions that Plaid councillors would make a stand because the council’s public consultation about the budget was a sham. There was no mention of cuts in the consultation- the words efficiencies and savings were substituted for cuts.
And if the public didn’t accept the’ efficiencies’ or ‘savings’ suggested they were threatened with a rise in council tax.
Our branch has stopped council cuts on many occasions we will continue to make councillors make the walk of shame until they stand with us or are removed from office.
