Rally condemns Council over hospital cuts

A large rally in Lyric Square on Saturday afternoon heard condemnations of the Council over their "sell out" and "betrayal" of local hospitals. Local community campaign leader Carlo Nero led the charge, holding up a copy of the leaflet that was delivered to every house in the borough recently and which claims to have "saved" Charing Cross hospital. Here's some of what he had to say:



He went on to note that the Council's leaflet mentioned not a word about Hammersmith hospital in this part of the borough, nor did it mention the loss of 440 beds at Charing Cross. They had collaborated and colluded in the closure of one, and reduction of another to the status of a small "cottage hospital", he said. "Shame!" cried the crowd. "Thank-you" said Mr Nero.

Listening to speeches

Andy Slaughter was next up, repeating Mr Nero's charges, and urging people to attend a protest outside the NHS NW London meeting in Westminster on Tuesday morning. These were Tory cuts at national level, being implemented willingly at local level by a Tory council, he said.

The rally, which I would estimate numbered about 250 people, consisted mainly of people doing their shopping and who hapennned to be out and about at the time. The stand with petitions against the cuts did a steady trade of people wishing to sign up to express their opposition.

Andy Slaughter MP

Carlo Nero at the start claimed not to care about which political party people had come from: "this is a non party political campaign!" he declared. Which sat a bit awkwardly with the warm up act that had preceded him, a women's singing group from Lewisham who had attended "in solidarity" and sung a bawdy song about "Tories" and their "public sector cuts". This was much appreciated by the banner carrying Socialist Worker party comrades in the crowd, while the campaign's PR chief tweeted his own thoughts about the Conservatives:

So it's now a pretty anti Government and anti Tory campaign, as well you think it might be since they are the ones now implementing the radical downsizing of one hospital and the outright closure of much of the other. The hospital being effectively closed is sited in the poorest part of our borough where people live on average eight years less.

Carlo Nero quotes from - and derides - Council leaflet

So criticism where it's due - but I do wonder at how a campaign that is now avowedly anti Tory is planning on winning over a Tory Government. Maybe people power will be enough - they certainly pulled in the numbers on Saturday and petition sheets were full.

And that's what will be worrying the local Council more than the fate of hospitals.

The one or two Tory councillors who also attended the rally on Saturday, keeping their heads down, will have realised that this issue is likely to be a big one at the rapidly approaching local elections next year. So expect claim and counter claim to be pumped out at full volume between now and then.