SLANEYstfree

issue 6, Nov-Dec 2014

How Can We Save Our City?

Library of Birminghamplugging the cities financial blackhole

Focus E15 MothersSocial Housing, not Social Cleansing

Russell BrandSpoiling the struggle for everyone

Patriarchy In Floral PrintMuslim women pushed to wear poppy hijabs

However, in the 1980’s, there was not only an onslaught on trade unionism, but a deliberate de-industrialisation, leading to the growth of mass unemployment, low pay and inequality.

Slaney Street used to be in the Snow Hill area of Birmingham. It was a street where trade-unionism began in the city way back in the nineteenth century, before the Chartist movement.

The cover photo, a haunting image of the destruction of Slaney Street, caused by bombing during the Second World War is one of the only photographs of the street.It no longer exists, but the spirit of Slaney Street lived on and grew after the war ended.

The onset of the post-war boom, with full employment, saw the city became famous for its metal bashing industries and mass car production.

There was also a growth in other sectors, including the Council as a large employer, delivering much needed public services to the people of the city. Alongside all this there was a growth of trade unionism, and this helped bring reasonable wages and conditions to large sectors of the population.

That anti-social offensive is nowadays being followed up by an assault on Council services, with thousands more vital jobs being lost year after year, privatisation and constant attacks on wages and conditions.

The destruction being meted out to the city today is not being brought about by Nazi bombs, but is home grown; the result of years of the austerity offensive. If it is not stopped, we will be re-visiting the grim city landscapes of the 1930’s and 1940’s.

It is time for the city to re-capture the original spirit of Slaney Street.

Why Slaney Street?

The Council has recently announced a further £150 million in budget cuts next year, including the loss of 6,000 more jobs over several years. Services for the elderly, children, recreation, arts and culture have all been in the firing line and worse could follow. Council leader Sir Albert Bore has been suggesting ideas such as schools paying for zebra crossings and lollipop ladies/men themselves (putting children in danger if they don’t go to a rich school) and for pest control to be paid for by residents.

This decline of our city is happening in tandem with the local council steadily losing power to central government; which holds the biggest slice of the purse strings and has cut without mercy. Hitting the people of Birmingham with council tax rises and public service charges is no solution, but the politicians in the council offer no alternative but this. Rather, they’ve spent the last few years selling off public to business interests. Private companies like Veolia, Capita and Amey are doing very nicely out of their lucrative contracts with the council, milking it of our money to boost their profits.

Meanwhile the new The Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP) has as its aim ‘ensuring that the area is the natural home for Europe’s entrepreneurs and wealth creators’.

By wealth creators they do not mean the people who do the work, but the people up top who profit from our work. The GBSLEP links local Councils with the business world, but it is the tail of business that is wagging the dog of local democracy. Ordinary citizens have no say over what happens, except for an advisory role at best at ward committees. The people of Birmingham deserve better, we need a real democracy where we are in the driving seat not professional politicians and big business chiefs who could not care less about us.

The same can be said about the media moguls who own the press in this country (over 95% of the UK newspaper market is owned by just six companies).

Slaney Street is a project for an alternative to the private media conglomerates, we’re not-for-profit, owned by our members and run democratically in open meetings and aim to give a voice for Birmingham people who’ll otherwise not have the opportunity to communicate to the mass public. There is no better time to have a truly independent newspaper for the people of Birmingham than now.

A huge campaign is needed for Birmingham to once again become a city of jobs, affordable decent housing, reliable public transport, libraries, arts, culture and other public services. Everyone can play their part in this, from letters to councillors, pressure from our community organisations and trade unions or with direct actions such as demonstrations and rallies. Ours is a city with a rich tradition of struggle, from Saltley Gate, to the Poll Tax to the successful fight to stop the sell-off of the entire Council housing stock not so long ago. It also has a rich diversity of peoples that should be valued. Together, we can make Birmingham a place that is the envy of the world in which to live. But for that, we have to reject the dismal future we are currently being offered.

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An Editorial: Reclaim Our City!

Bob Whitehead

Own your local media: Become a memberCreated and owned by people in the city, Slaney Street is a news and media co-operative. We print runs of 10,000 newspapers and distribute them free across the city; on the streets and in community centres and local shops. As a member you are welcome to submit articles, work with the editors on articles and get involved in the designing process and your membership subs go to help us afford to print it. You can sign up on our website to make, income-based payments via PayPal, starting from as low as £3 per month. http://www.slaneystreet.com/join/

www.slaneystreet.com@slaneystreet

Due to their recent incredibly successful actions on the Carpenter Estate in London the Focus E15 Mothers have been all over the news recently with their inspiring grass-roots campaign. We asked Saskia, a long-term member of the campaign, exactly what they’ve been up to.

How long has the campaign been going and why exactly did you start it?

This campaign has been going for over a year - starting in early October. It began when the mother and baby unit of the Focus E15 hostel in Stratford was to be closed and all the mums were served with eviction notices. When walking down the Broadway street, a few mums, including Jasmin (one of the leading mums) met Hannah and others from the Revolutionary Communist Group who were doing a street stall on the bedroom tax. From this point the RCG helped the group of mums to fight against what was happening.

Give us a brief timeline of the campaign, what were some of the milestones, and what have you achieved?

Key achievements are that all the mums have been housed in London, when they were threatened with moving to Hastings, Manchester, Birmingham, etc. (Though not housed in social housing).

We have occupied East Thames Housing Association various times (holding a childrens party there), occupied the E15 hostel, been on our street stall every single Saturday for over a year speaking to the public, hired a double-decker bus and drove to Boris Johnson's office with all our petitions (built a mini-Newham out of cardboard outside), attended (tried to attend - got locked out) various public council meetings, held lots of public meetings ourselves and of course occupied 4 flats on the Carpenters Estate (almost empty 400 homes on an estate in east London) for 2 weeks, turning it into a social center for the community. (Since we left 40 people have been moved into the estate!) We have also had a couple of self-organised marches, the best of which was a march in East-Ham down the road - it got a brilliant response from the public. It was great to march amongst local people, not just outside the Houses of Parliament, where MPs are on holiday and tourists aren't interested. So lots of activity - that's what keeps us going!

House prices in London and across the country are skyrocketing, luxury tower blocks are constantly springing up council housing continues being sold off, what effect do you think this will have on the future of our cities?

The future of cities, in particular London, is interesting. One of our main slogan's is 'Social Housing, not Social Cleansing', because that is exactly what is happening here - the poor are being moved out, so there is more room for the rich. We have been learning that this has happened in cities around the world like New York, where the poor are on the outskirts and are shipped in for work. Under a system of money, capitalism, I guess that is inevitable.

In September Focus E15 mothers occupied a block of disused flats on the Carpenter Estate, what was the point of this action, how did it go and how was it received by the local community - particularly those still living on the estate.

Focus E15 MothersSocial Housing, Not Social Cleansing

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The Carpenters Estate occupation was planned to discredit the London MPs/mayors claim that there is no housing in London so they need to move the poor out. This estate is 10 minutes down the road from the E15 hostel and was built years ago to house the working class - and it also lies just behind the Olympic Park, which demonstrates the push of gentrification under the Olympics. This estate has over 400 empty homes.

We did not expect the occupation to get as much media attention, but it is great that people around the country know that people are organising against these cuts and austerity, and hopefully are inspired to take action themselves. The local community was/is very supportive and said it had brought the estate back to life! It worked well as a Social Centre and many people came through the doors to see the excellent conditions of the flats left empty for 4 years.

What has happened since the occupation finished? and what are the campaigns future goals?

Since the occupation has finished we have held an excellent meeting in the estate which over 250 local people attended. The speakers were all people who are fighting back from the grass-roots, people from the New Era estate in East London, a Barnet estate in North London and women fighting back in South London.

We also occupied East Thames Housing Association (they work with the council to move tenants out) on Wednesday and had a 'sleep - in' bringing sleeping bags with us. The campaign aims to keep fighting Social Cleansing in London, and for Social Housing for the working class, to repopulate the Carpenters Estate and highlight the corruption of government.

We will keep doing protests, street stalls and direct actions; organising ourselves outside the normal bodies like large Trade Unions and other organisations associated to the Labour Party who are the same as the Tories. (We live in a Labour borough). We encourage everyone to do the same!

OPOL is a community finance cooperative that has been formed in the African Caribbean Community in Birmingham. Key among its objectives is the creation of sustainable businesses that respond to the socioeconomic needs identified among its members. Our first project is the acquisition of a banqueting suite for a community that loves to celebrate, and all those who will want to join us -students included.

Like so many organisations that have set out to address glaring gaps and important issues, we knew we had to get the governance right from the get go. Numerous discussions and public meetings led us to the cooperative model. This was an easy sell in the African Caribbean community. The early African Caribbean community was instrumental in the growth of the Credit Union movement in the 50s through to the 1980s. The democratic principles enshrined in the cooperative approach have always found ready acceptance among members of the community. Furthermore, belonging to a family of cooperatives that held dear the issues of probity and accountability at all levels, gave both the potential members and the founding committee the confidence that the trust deficit will be minimized. Broad-based community ventures will inevitably have to find ways to deal with this issue.

The main hurdle before us is the raising of the capital for the acquisition of the banqueting suite. Work is hard apace at the various elements that go to make a successful share offer. The group is being advised by the erstwhile Richard Bickle and other professionals. The committee has been heartened by the early and continued support from so many persons. Even before talk of a share offer was mooted, many individuals put their money into the pot. We earnestly hope that the full amount will be raised and so ensure that the banqueting suite project is off to the perfect start.

This project has been a learning journey for all concerned. As far as we know, the issuing of withdrawable shares has never been used among ethnic minorities. Our journey has required numerous adjustments and shifts in expectations and approaches. We owe a great deal to the suggestions and ideas from our public and stakeholder meetings.

We are still in need of website and database building as well as social media skills. We would welcome all the support and assistance we can get. Come in and join us.

For enquiries about the project contact Dr Roberts by emailing drgregjam1@gmail.com

Our People, Our Legacy Gregory Roberts

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The meeting heard concerns that the review of Birmingham's social care being undertaken by Prof Julian Le Grand on behalf of the Department of Education will possibly lead to the privatisation of children's care services in the city and also the transfer of services to a children's services Trust. The Declaration calls for social care services to remain publicly provided and for the Council to find additional resources to ensure safeguarding services in Birmingham are fully funded. The declaration states 'It is fundamentally wrong that private companies should have an opportunity to profit from the public care of vulnerable children. An independent Children’s Trust in Birmingham could be the first step to full outsourcing and pose major problems of accountability.' The meeting was addressed by Helga Pile, UNISON's National Officer for Social Care, she explained that the Government had introduced new regulations to allow social care services to be taken out of Local Authorities and handed over to other providers. Although there had been massive opposition to allowing 'for profit' companies to take over care services, the meeting heard that the Government will allow companies like G4S and Serco to set up a 'not for profit subsidiaries' to run services. Simon Cardy of West Midlands Social Work Action Network said: "Services must change to ensure children are kept safe in this city, but the changes proposed by the Con-Dem Government are not about improvement they are about ideology. Privatisation doesn't work. Breaking up and fragmenting these critical services will make matters worse for vulnerable children" This goes alongside the recent green light given by the Birmingham Cabinet to ‘externalise’ the five remaining Council run Children’s Homes when it agreed to start formal period of consultation on the move. The October Cabinet meeting also confirmed the permanent closure of two further homes which have been temporarily closed since last year. Nationally 65% of residential homes are run by into the private sector providers, and Private Equity companies have a significant control over the market. The City Council has an existing ten year block contract with Advanced Child Care to run five children’s homes providing three beds each. Over the period of the contract Advanced Child Care have been owned by a succession of Private equity companies including Bowmark Capital who sold it on to GI Partners in 2011. It has now merged to form the Cambian Group, whose shares were floated on the stock market earlier this year. Cllr Brigid Jones, the Cabinet member for Children and Young people, has previously described herself as neutral as to who runs the children’s homes in future. A spokesperson from the Social Work Action Network commented that ‘it does matter who provides residential care to vulnerable children who can’t be cared for by their own families’. Council residential workers are more experienced and better trained than those employed by the private sector. The Council even recognises its workers are committed to providing high quality care to young people. You cannot be neutral on whether you hand over the care of children so that they become an investment opportunity for a private equity company paid for from the public purse.’A follow up meeting is to be held to campaign against the privatisation of children's social care in Birmingham, if you are interested in getting involved please contact WMSWAN swanwestmidlands@googlemail.com

Birmingham’s Libraries are also to be the subject of further cuts and savings in 2015-16 as the City Council seeks to cut £150m from its overall budget. The Council published its Green Paper Responding to the challenge, looking to the future at the end of October, which identifies its priorities and the service areas where cuts will be made. A further service review of the future operation of the Library of Birmingham was announced which will report before the proposed Council budget is published this December. This review is charged with identifying cuts and savings in the Library of Birmingham and its relationship with community libraries. Cuts of over £2m were made to Birmingham’s library service this financial year and included proposals to close four Community Libraries. Successful local campaigns have been mounted during 2014 which have staved off the proposed closure of Spring Hill and West Heath Libraries.

Major cuts were also made to community outreach services provided by the LoB in 2014, the Mobile Library Service reduced the number of stops it has made by by one third and the Library Service at Home saw 400 fewer visits to people in their homes. Campaigners from the Friends of the Libraries of Birmingham have questioned the Council’s original budget saving of £1.35m set for the LoB for 2014-15. A spokesperson for the Libraries campaign said ‘ the budget was agreed without knowing the actual running costs of the new Library or the fundraising potential of the Development Trust. This figure was a 'leap of faith' when the Council set the budget in February and can now be seen as an error of judgement.

We would be concerned that any shortfall in funds raised is likely to be met by direct cuts to library services. This saving figure is carried over for the next three years and is a potential black hole which threatens the future sustainability of the LoB. The Council needs to publish its review of the potential for fundraising and the costs of running the LoB.’ The LoB Development Trust was set up as a charitable body to draw in funding for the Library which would not be directly available to the Council. When Library campaigners meet with Cllr Ward, Deputy leader of the Council, in August 2013 he conceded that it was open to question as to how successful the ‘great and the good’ would be in attracting new funding as there were a lot of similar bodies fishing in the same funding pond.

Stopping further privatisation of

children's servicesJolyon Jones

The cities Financial Black Hole Jolyon Jones

The new Library of Birmingham is facing short term financial difficulties and the prospect of budget cuts in 2015-16. A report to the Council’s Cabinet October meeting identified a funding shortfall of £700k by the end of this financial year. The LoB Development Trust is failing to meet its target for raising funds for charitable and commercial sources to support the Libraries budget. This years funding target for the Trust was £1,075m. There are a further unanticipated £300k in the utility costs of running the LoB.

A packed public meeting of social workers and trade unionists launched the 'Birmingham declaration against privatisation of Children’s social care' last week (Thursday 23rd October). The meeting was organised the Social Work Action Network, Birmingham Branch of UNISON and Birmingham against the cuts to discuss the Governments reforms of children's social care. Birmingham's failing children's social care department has been the subject of Government intervention through the appointment of Lord Norman Warner as a Commissioner to oversee the Council's plans to improve safeguarding services.

Since we wrote to Slaney Street 6 months ago expressing our concerns over the destabilisation of NHS mental health services in Birmingham, things have hardly improved and health campaigners from Birmingham TUC’s Health Campaign Committee have uncovered more questions than answers about the competitive tendering of mental health services for young people in the city.

You’ll remember that we were trying to expose the waste of public money which was going into the ‘commissioning’ - i.e. the bureaucratic tendering and contracting exercises- around Birmingham’s Community Mental Health Services for the 0-25 year old age group. More and more of this type of thing is happening now that the Coalition Government’s Health and Social Care Act was pushed through Parliament and the setting up of local Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs).

Where we are at the moment is exposing the CCGs’ attempts to force 2 local public service organisations - the Birmingham Childrens Hospital and Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust - to tender for this new set-up of community mental health services, when the underlying idea is to encourage profit-making private sector 'partners' into existing NHS and Local Authority services.

Let’s give you an example of one of these outfits, who are big on marketing speak and glossy websites, but no-one really knows what they are actually going to do in this proposed new set-up – it certainly won’t happen unless they make a tidy profit from it! In the proposed new Public/Private Partnership for these services with Birmingham Children’s Hospital is Beacon UK.........(no not the old radio station). Its claim to fame is that “Beacon has been managing high quality mental health care since 1996.” Yes, supposedly, but in the United States.

Their ‘full-on’ website declares “18 years ago in the US, our founder Elizabeth ‘Betsy’ Pattullo pioneered the development, implementation and administration of publicly funded mental health managed care programs – starting with Boston, Massachusetts.” O.K. – implementation and administration – any experience in treatment? We’re not sure what this means, but they go onto say “ During the past eighteen years, Beacon Health Strategies has delivered our founder’s belief that mental health services can be provided in a more efficient and effective way.

Today, the company is operational in 21 states and responsible for more than 11 million people (including many frail and older people).”Of course, more efficient and effective ways of cost-cutting – and especially with vulnerable people – wow! Just what we need in Birmingham (not). So what about the UK arm of this operation? Well, they go onto say that “Beacon UK was set up in September 2011 by Dr Emma Stanton, a practising NHS psychiatrist.” Well, what a coincidence and great timing; just as the Coalition’s Health & Social Care Bill was wending its way through Parliament accompanied by all sorts of dirty tricks and clauses to allow the profit-making private sector unrestricted access to our taxpayer’s National Health Service.

Hope for Mental Health Services in Birmingham? Patrick Highton

5So, since 2010, particularly through the work of the ’38 Degrees’ online campaigns, there have been an increasing number of activities in the city, at hospitals, at Clinical Commissioning Group meetings, at Party conferences and when Health Ministers visit the city to protest, question and demonstrate that local people are not happy with what’s happening to their services and also to the workforce in our NHS who are becoming increasingly underpaid. All this takes us back 30 years in the Thatcher era when the NHS became a battleground around underfunding and the contracting out of work, such as cleaning and portering, etc.

In February 2014, initiated by the Secretary of the Birmingham Trades Union Council, a conference was called in Birmingham inviting trade unionists, activists and members of the general public to a debate and discussion about the way forward for protecting our NHS, keeping our NHS public and fighting cutbacks in the NHS. A number of speakers with experience in health service politics and management, mental health services, political activism and opposition to hospital closures were invited to speak, including Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (formerly Chair of Heart of England Foundation Trust, Professor Ann Davis of Birmingham University, Terry Mandrell of Solihull Keep Our NHS Public, John Lister of the London Health Emergency campaign, Peter Last of the West Midlands Pensioners Convention and Dr. Chidi Ejimofo, who is a leading activist in the Lewisham Hospital Campaign in London.

Out of the conference and the workshop discussions, a committee of trade unionists (UNITE, GMB, UNISON), activists and interested members of the community was formed within a month and has been meeting regularly on a monthly basis since. Also in the last 6 months, our Committee members and supporters have been busy involved in the a number of activities and actions to defend our local NHS services against cuts and privatisation. As well as uncovering criticisms and questioning the procurement and due diligence of ‘competitive tendering’ of Birmingham’s Community Mental Health Services for young people in the city ( see separate article), we’ve been supporting picket lines as union members during the NHS Unions’ half day stoppage in mid-October.

Working with the UNITE the Union regional office, we were on picket lines distributing ‘Fair Pay’ leaflets, badge and stickers at the following venues:

City (Dudley Road) Hospital Birmingham – where there were up to 50 people on the picket line,University Hospital Birmingham (the Queen Elizabeth) and the Womens Hospital – which had good local TV reports showing a good number pickets and a positive spirit from workers undertaking action Good Hope Hospital, Sutton Coldfield - where there was a good turnout by midwives (the Royal College of Midwives) and UNITE maintenance workers and also the Birmingham Children's Hospital

We’re also doing some work about the Heart of England Foundation Trust’s (HEFT) proposals for “reconfiguration of surgical services” at Good Hope Hospital (along with Heartlands in Bordesley Green and Solihull Hospitals).

As a taste of our activities and if you want to get involved in this around the City, the consultation goes on until January 2015, so email us at btuchcc@hotmail.com. Alternatively, you are welcome to join our monthly meetings (7:30 on the first Wednesday night of every month at a venue in central Birmingham), email us at the same address btuchcc@hotmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

“Originally working in an advisory capacity, the UK team combines NHS managerial and clinical insights to better integrate mental healthcare in partnership with the NHS. We now bring international best practice of the principles of managed mental health care to improve outcomes for people with mental health problems.” Hmm, sounds like we’re in for a bit of effective cost-cutting in our local mental health services (and maybe they’ve offered a few ex-NHS managers some juicy salaries to help out).There’s no evidence to suggest, in the jargon, any ‘added value’ from Beacon UK’s involvement here in Birmingham; we’re not sure what their role is in this new partnership so we have lodged a series of Freedom of Information (FOI) questions to organisations such as Birmingham Childrens Hospital about what such ‘providers’ are bringing to Birmingham prior to engaging in more direct action campaigns.

There have been many health campaigns in the City emerging from Birmingham TUC dating back in recent memory to the 1990s and also more recently, even when funding improved, campaigns against financial ‘wheezes’ such as PFI (the Private Finance Initiative) to build new hospitals, which left the publicly funded health service ‘in hock’ to big private companies.

However in recent years, the funding for the NHS has been declining rapidly, even in a period of so-called ‘protection’, and attacks have been made on its public status through the introduction of the Health and Social Care Act 2012 by the Coalition Government to introduce more ‘commissioning’ and to encourage private companies to enter the local ‘health economy’ alongside and within the NHS.

Maintaining the Momentum to Keep Our NHS Public Patrick Highton

Oppose further cuts of £150 million to Birmingham servicesNo to privatisation of adult and children’s social careNo to privatisation of swimming pools and fitness centresKeep all libraries open and adequately staffedNo to job cuts of 6000 by 2018 – defend existing terms and conditionsFor adequately funded and staffed child protection servicesOppose ongoing privatisation of our health servicesNo to privatisation of mental health services for under-25sNo to profit-making from cancer and end of life services No more privately funded NHS hospitals

Birmingham against the Cuts is a coalition of all those who want to fight against individual cuts or against austerity in general. We are supported by local trade union branches, political parties, community organisations and individuals. Next meetings on Dec 8th and Jan 12th at the UNISON office at 19th Floor MacClaren Tower Priory Queensway at 6.00pm

BirminghamAgainstTheCuts@Gmail.com facebook.com/BirminghamAgainstTheCuts

Access to Work (ATW) is a 20 year-old government scheme which currently provides equipment and support that over 30,000 Deaf and disabled people need to do their job. However, under the coalition government, ATW has undergone significant cuts and restructuring that are causing anxiety, hardship and reinforcing the very employment barriers it is supposed to eradicate. Susan Scott-Parker, Chief Executive of the Business Disability Forum, describes ATW as “a world class labour market intervention which removes the disability specific disadvantages that exclude so many unnecessarily from the UK economy”, and the scheme has also proved an economic success: the Sayce Report (2011) showed that for every £1 spent on ATW, the Treasury regains £1.48. Nevertheless, ATW has been drastically and seemingly arbitrarily altered without appropriate community consultation, leaving claimants suddenly being told they “cost too much”.

One of the new changes is the '30-hour rule', which means many Deaf people can now only afford an interpreter for half a working week, risking their jobs and potentially being forced onto the benefit system. Those outside of work face huge barriers, since potential employers would be expected to employ two people (the Deaf person and the interpreter) for one post. As a result, many support packages have been reduced or were not renewed in the past year. As Professor Graham Turner of Heriot-Watt University notes in prominent Deaf blog The Limping Chicken, problems are exacerbated by the coalition government altering its discourse on ATW. Referring to ATW as a 'grant' “makes the general public see Deaf and disabled people as ‘scroungers’, dependent on the generosity of others, instead of taxpayers and citizens who are ENTITLED to support as a form of social solidarity”. By politically disregarding and thus marginalising this section of society, the Tories aim to cause more social divisions and create 'scroungers' out of some of the most vulnerable people on the labour market.

BBC Deaf magazine programme See Hear has done well to thrust this issue into the spotlight and with a recent special episode on Access to Work. Despicably, the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) refused to be interviewed for the programme. While Lib Dem MP Stephen Lloyd, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Deafness, did make an appearance, it was only to derail the conversation by claiming that some interpreters have made £100,000 salaries under the ATW scheme. As is the case with welfare benefits, undeniable abuses of the ATW system by disabled people and service providers make up a tiny number of all claims, are dealt with legally and do not discredit the fundamental idea of the scheme.

Lloyd's spin is backed by no public domain evidence whatsoever, regardless of being mathematically implausible, and is another example of coalition divide-and-rule tactics; a cruel attempt to undermine the vital interdependent relationship between Deaf people and interpreters. While my British Sign Language teacher was not fooled, dismissing these claims as nonsense at our next class, such myths are divisive and dangerous fodder for tabloids to repeat. Lloyd latter admitted the £100,000 figure was based on the previous disabilities minister's calculations after See Hear could find no evidence for it. Evidence has emerged, however, that new ATW advisers never received disabilities awareness training, and in a recent BBC News interview, one anonymous former adviser spoke of a culture shift at the scheme that began around 2011, revealing “We were checking rather than supporting, we weren’t asking how can we help you? We were looking at how to possibly even try to catch you out or restrict you.”

The coalition government clearly regards the Deaf and disabled as a politically insignificant demographic, as shown by this ludicrous attempt to alter a scheme that actually makes a 50% profit for the Treasury. The campaign “Stop Changes to Access to Work”, along with Disabled People Against Cuts, are working hard on this issue, most recently rallying to attend the DWP select committee enquiry into ATW on the 29th of October. While the new Minister for Disabled People, Mark Harper MP, admitted problems with the scheme, the government must be urgently held to account on ATW. We must show local and national solidarity with anti-cuts activists and the Deaf and disabled communities. Join them and continue the fight: the coalition attack on ATW must be reversed.

Access to Work Scheme Cuts Threaten Deaf People &

InterpretersRichard Atkinson

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Newly employed care workers within Specialist Care services will no longer be enrolled in the Local Government Pension Scheme in a move to reduce costs. Plans to reduce the terms and conditions of care staff and to introduce a two tier workforce were outlined in a presentation to the Health and Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Proposals to transfer specialist adult social care services currently provided by the City Council into a Mutually Owned Social Enterprise (MOSE) include the reduction of employee costs as a means of the MOSE competing with private care providers in the care market.

Shabir Ladak, Head of City Finance in Specialist Care service, said ‘at the outset we need to do something about sickness quite quickly, in regards sick pay, we have an aging workforce and we need to reduce sickness levels to reduce downtime. Post TUPE there are no plans to change Terms and Conditions of existing workers.We are talking about the new workforce, they will be on lower terms and conditions, they won’t be part of local Government Pension scheme, they will be on living wage plus.‘

Care workers will be denied council pensions Jolyon Jones

`‘We cant compete in the market with private Home Care providers who have costs of circa £11-12 per hour. Our cost of employing someone is 30-40% extra with a pension scheme. We need to compete in the market for Home care but in the future but we need to look at living wage pay rates.’

Regarding the Re-enablement service he said ‘we need to look at flexible contracts with the workforce to deal with the downtime.’The future Business plan for the proposed MOSE will have all these assumptions tested out within it.’

There was criticism by Councillors who raised concern about the proposed introduction of different terms and conditions among the workforce. Cllr Sue Anderson said that a two tier workforce causes discord and teams don’t work together when they are paid differently.

In April the Council Cabinet agreed to consider plans to outsource care services on the assumption that a MOSE would be able to trade in the market and generate an annual £2.5m surplus. Service users would be able to purchase services from the MOSE from their direct payments or own funds. In addition to cutting the adult social care budget of the Council the proposal for the MOSE represents a shift towards the Council to become Commissioning Council and having the role of being a market regulator.Cllr Barnett the Chair of the Scrutiny Committee said at the outset of the presentation ‘I often worry when they send you people from finance.’

Speaking Out Against Gender ViolenceBijli, Birmingham

Billie Holiday’s widely acclaimed song of the 1930s ‘Strange Fruit’ orated the brutality of racism in the American South in the practice of lynching black people. Just as the formal abolition of slavery did not stop lynching and brutality against black people in the US, the Prevention of Atrocities Act (POA) has not addressed the violence against oppressed castes in India.

The image of the hanging bodies of the two teenage cousins in Badaun has been etched in our minds as a reminder that in the 21st century lynching is still being used as a tool of oppression. We, as women and feminists, see that image as an awakening to how our struggles for rights, dignity, and justice are far from over. What happened in that rural setting in Badaun in the state of Uttar Pradesh could have occurred in so many other places. The atrocities faced by oppressed castes and women in particular is the pinnacle of patriarchal, casteist oppression which highlights the double oppression which low caste women face.

The resounding protests to the lack of justice after the Delhi 2012 case mounted pressure upon the Indian government which resulted in changes to the Criminal Amendment Act (2013) which has raised the bar in criminalizing rape to capital punishment. While this move was welcomed for its recognition of rape as a serious crime, capital punishment was not the remedy. The dangerous outcome of this amendment to the law is that if a man has raped a woman, he is now likely to make a risk assessment decision as to whether to murder his victim in order to eliminate the possibility of a living witness to the rape. This shows how change cannot occur from above without challenging patriarchal attitudes and structures. Change must occur from within in order to liberate ‘culture’ from politicians who can dare to declare that ‘boys will make mistakes’ in relation to rape and from persistent norms which view women and their bodies as pawns within macho, masculinist games of power and territoriality.

We understand the convergence of right wing politics and patriarchy as the enemy of women’s liberation. This new era of Modi rule in India needs to be challenged as and when cases of gender violence and violation take place. Justice must be fought for.

Bijli and Women Together, two Birmingam-based women’s groups, stand with women and communities who have suffered at the hands of misogynists in these cases and extend our solidarity to organisations, movements and voices who are fighting systemic and systematic gender violence in South Asia and other parts of the world.

You can register your protest by signing the petition at this link:http://www.avaaz.org/en/womanifesto_modi_43b/?bgwbbcb&v=40671

The heinous rapes of women in India have shown the disdain men have for women generally and how women are abused and discarded with little regard, particularly when it comes to coming into contact with patriarchal authority embodied in the police, local politicians and competing community dynamics. Men engage in acts of brutality against women for misogynistic ends, to control and regulate women, but also as a strategic ploy to take revenge, manipulate and humiliate their enemies in war and other conflicts. Indian culture on the one hand espouses the protection of women, but it simultaneously betrays them by abuse, objectification, and regulation of their bodies as they are preyed upon, considered worthless and sold on the market as commodities. Under the guise of ‘culture’ which seeks to regulate women and their bodies in showing how they are ‘protected’ and coveted, women are continually targeted, betrayed, disempowered, and violated by the patriarchal state and communities which see them as either possessions or prey. What is important to remember is that many of us only hear of the most horrific cases when they come into the eye of the international community. If anyone were to collect the cases of historic rape and violence against women in South Asia which have gone unreported, unprosecuted or covered up by police, the subcontinent would be flooded far beyond the worst monsoon storm.

Strange fruit

Media attention, while important in publicizing misogynist acts, should not detract from the political mobilisations that are taking place to fight gender and sexual violence in a sustained manner. Media hype is one thing. Political consciousness and organisation is another.

Art: Meredith Stern, Justseeds.org

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www.greenbikeproject.net @BhamGBP

- A year's free use of our workshop, stocked with professional bike tools.- Access to bicycle maintenance training and education from our volunteers. - Free bike D.I.Y guide and membership pack..- A packed calendar of events including cycle rides, talks and skills workshops.

Benefits of Co-op Membership

Membership is kept low because we are a non-profit organisation. It's less than the cost of a service in a traditional bike shop, and any surplus generated will go straight back to into funding the expansion of the local cycling community.

Become a member today for only £20.

We are a community-led

bike maintenanceworkshop

and co-operative.

For opening times and events:

s.coop/gbpcalendar

Our workshop is located between The Learning Centre and Biosciences on campus at the University of Birmingham.

The Learning Centre Biosciences

University Centre

Haworth

University Train Station

What is a Co-operative?

QueenElizabeth

As a Co-op, the Green Bike Project is an independent business owned by its members; one person, one share. When you join you get an equal say in how the business is run. Membership is open to all - students, staff and the local community.

We sell used and recycled bicycles

Opening Times this term:

Tuesday: 12-3pmWednesday: 12-3pm

As a volunteer run co-operative, we need people to recognise the importance of having a workshop and promoting cycling by putting some of their time and effort back into the shop.

There are lots of little roles in the shop that need doing, none of them are too difficult to manage and we always schedule shifts in pairs so, if you are new to volunteering, you will be able to learn the ropes quickly.

Volunteering at the Green Bike Project is a fantastic chance to pick up a new skillset whether in bicycle maintenance, accountancy, events organisation, social media, co-operative development or any host of other aspects that help a co-op function smoothly. People learning new skills is important to us and we are hopeful as a volunteer you'll learn something new about co-operatives and bikes that will help you later on in life. If you are a student, your volunteering hours are recognised by the Guild and PSA scheme.

Keep the cogs turning.. Volunteer at the Green Bike Project!

The Real Junk Food Project aims to abolish food waste. We intercept waste food from local businesses, cook into healthy, nutritious meals and serve it on a Pay-As-You-Feel basis to help alleviate food poverty and encourage people to reconsider the value of the food they consume. We are currently operating from All Saints Church, Small Heath on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays. Contact us for more info:TRJFP.Brum@gmail.com/ @TRJFPBrum /http://facebook.com/TRJFPBrum

Originating in Leeds, The Real Junk Food Project is a network of self-sustainable Community Interest Companies spread across the UK that aim to eliminate food waste, whilst feeding those that are food insecure.

Since it’s conception in December 2013, the Leeds café has fed more than 5000 people and intercepted over 20 tonnes of "waste" food. This revolutionary concept is taking off fast, with the Bristol "Skipchen" now serving intercepted food 5 days a week and projects in Brighton, Manchester, Shipley and North Devon all proposed to begin trading with PAYF cafés in the coming weeks.

Eileen O'Sullivan, TRJFP Birmingham Co-Director says:“It is crazy that so many people across Britain are struggling to afford good food, yet in the UK we throw away 15 million tonnes of food waste every year. 30% of vegetables never even leave the farm!! Our aim is simple: we want to eliminate food waste and solve food insecurity, whilst encouraging positive community growth in Birmingham. The Leeds Pay As You Feel Café proves that the model works, and I am sure Birmingham will follow in this success. So pop in, say hi, grab some grub, get busy in the kitchen or donate your surplus food. We are always looking for volunteers or, if you need catering for an event, we would be happy to provide food; on a Pay-As-You-Feel basis of course!”

https://twitter.com/TRJFPBrumhttps://www.facebook.com/TRJFPBrum

Birmingham City Council Fossil FreeAccording to Birmingham City Council’s Green Commission Vision Statement of 2013, “we have a duty to our current and future citizens to ensure we build a positive and sustainable legacy for all,” and aims to make Birmingham a “leading green city.” Yet the city council continues to have financial investments tied up in the fossil fuel industry. This industry is one of the main drivers of global climate change; while the city council invests in this industry they are perpetuating and exasperating the continued and potential suffering of the many millions affected by climate change. Recently Oxford City Council passed the first UK council motion in favour of fossil fuel divestment. If Birmingham City council wants to become a “leading green city” they best follow suit and commit to divest from the fossil fuel industry.Please sign and share the petition:http://campaigns.gofossilfree.org/petitions/birmingham-city-council-divest-from-fossil-fuelsAnd come to Birmingham Climate Justice meetings every Wednesday at 6pm in the ICC Café to get involved in the campaign.

University of Birmingham Fossil FreeUsing information obtained from a Freedom of Information Request it was discovered that the University of Birmingham had about £70million worth of investments. It is estimated roughly 10% of this was invested in the fossil fuel industry either directly through financial investment managers or indirectly through areas such as the University’s pension scheme. The University states on its website that, “sustainability is at the core of the University's activity” and yet has vast sums of money invested in the fossil fuel industry. On the 8th of October the University of Glasgow made a historic commitment to divest its entire £129 million endowment from the fossil fuel industry making it the first University in Europe to do so joining 13 US Universities.

Please sign and share the petition:http://campaigns.gofossilfree.org/petitions/fossil-free-uobAnd come to People & Planet meetings every Wednesday at 3pm at the Guild of Students to get involved in the campaign.

If it is wrong to wreck the climate, it is wrong to profit from that wreckage!

Fossil FreeThe Real Junk Food Project Birmingham

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9Patriarchy in floral print

Sajidah Ali

West Midlands

For organisations centred around people.

There are over 200 co-operatives in the West Midlands, employing over 12,000 people with a combined turnover of £1.7 billion. One of our guiding principles is co-operation among co-operatives. The recent upsurge in public interest in co-operatives gives us more opportunities to highlight a better way of doing business with concern for the community at its core.

We are taking an opportunity to showcase a number of co-ops in this newspaper providing an income stream for Slaney Street and promoting the co-operative model.

Co-operatives West Midlands is the regional body promoting the co-operative model of business, representing co-operative enterprises, facilitating networking between co‑operatives and helping to support existing and new co-operatives.

Patriarchy in floral print – Why the £22 price tag isn’t the only thing wrong with the Poppy headscarf“It is a dangerous double edged sword when a public campaign is both sexist and anti-Islamic.”In the spirit of all things ‘British’, Muslim women are currently being urged to don a headscarf printed with the red poppies now synonymous with Remembrance Day. Despite apparent support from Islamic Society of Britain, the concept of asking Muslim women to wear the Remembrance Day symbol around their heads as a Hijab (Head covering worn by Muslim women) is fundamentally flawed.

If we are to accept -and we do, as this was the driving force behind the campaign- that this hijab will allow Muslim women to accurately represent British values, then perhaps we ought to examine the notion of British values. David Cameron PM, as well as his cabinet ministers have driven home the rhetoric that being British means to understand, accept, and implement the fundamental values of democracy, equality, respect and tolerance. How then, does dictating what a woman should wear in order to appear British, represent tolerance and equality? How then, are we allowing the perpetuation of a patriarchal status quo wherein society dictates how a woman must dress?

No. Islam is about a woman opting to (many do, and many don’t) dress modestly; opting to cover her hair. Many Muslim women believe the inherent feminism to the concept of Hijab is instrumental to their identity. Their religion and their femininity are intertwined, and they represent it through their Hijab.

To then allow an increasingly embarrassing culture of Muslim Apologism - from the #NotInMyName media storm to shortening the name Muhammed to ‘Mo’ - to override a component of Islamic faith, in turn overrides the ‘British value’ of mutual respect and tolerance of every religion. It is simply not tolerable to expect Muslim women to become inadvertent brand ambassadors for fallen soldiers through their dress. Not only does it undermine their right to dress as they please, it represents the Remembrance Day rhetoric, despite many Muslim women (myself included) making informed decisions to adopt an anti-war stance. To presume that a Muslim woman is not educated enough to make up her own mind about wearing a Red Poppy again contradicts the British values we are so dearly promoting.

Personally, I interpret pushing Muslim women to wear the Poppy hijab for fallen Muslim soldiers as a redundant and patriarchal concept; an excuse to allow the rise of creeping Islamophobia and existent sexism to further seep into popular Muslim culture. See for example, the use of the Prevent campaign in targeting figures of popular Muslim culture like comedian Humza Arshad to endorse and advice against strong expressions of Muslim identity. Why are we allowing a government agenda to order how we express our feminine Muslim identity? It seems to be reflective of a wider post 9/11 strategy to mould Islam into something which is comforting to the British government and public. It is patriarchal in allowing a fundamentally feminine expression of identity to be manipulated into what is deemed acceptable by societal norms.

The Hijab has, for too long, been a topic of discussion in the Western media. From the rise in Hijab fashion culture to feminist groups such as FEMEN protesting against women who choose to cover. It may not come as a total surprise; women are immediately recognisable as followers of the Islamic faith through Hijab. This feeds into a wider conversation about the White Saviour complex, and the need to whitewash every practice the Western world deems alien.

Increasingly, we are hearing of said Muslim women being openly attacked and subject to violent abuse. Is encouraging these women to modify their choice of expression not feeding into a culture of blaming the victim instead of punishing the perpetrator? Why do we not address the issues of misrepresentation and lack of education, instead of allowing a culture of bigotry and intolerance to continue to breed by changing Islamic practice to fit into a narrow-minded mould? To say that we are moulding it towards a British Islam is contradictory; a truly British Islam would accept both the Muslim female choice to wear Hijab and not to wear a Remembrance Poppy.To blatantly target Muslim women who wear Hijab is not only Islamophobic, it is outright offensive in its motivation to mould women - how is that okay?

Birmingham Co-operative Film Society shows a monthly ‘film to make you think’ every month of the year. Members suggest and select each program, leading to a finished line-up that is always diverse and surprising. Since it’s launch, it has benefited significantly from advances in technology and distribution to bring a wide range of films to Birmingham, most of which have never been screened in the city.The latest voting round has finished and the Winter/Spring programme reads:

McCullin | December 11th 2014 Don is one of the greatest living war photographers and his career has included capturing some of the world’s most devastating conflicts. Hear his life story and see some of the pictures he thinks define the conflicts he has covered.

Grow Your Own | January 8th 2015An English community gets testy when a refugee family is granted a plot of land on which to grow vegetables in the local allotments.

Road To Guantanamo | February 12th 2015A part drama, part documentary, that focuses on the Tipton Three, a trio of British Muslims, held in Guantanamo Bay for two years until they were released without charge

Tony Benn: Will and Testament | March 12th 2015Tony Benn, the longest serving Labour MP in history, was also, arguably, the most popular UK politician of all time. This documentary reflects ,through his words and the words of others, on his inspiring life and powerful politics.

Bienvenue Chez Les Ch’tis (Welcome To The Sticks) | April 9th 2015A French public servant who lives in Provence is unexpectedly banished to the armpit of the far North. Strongly prejudiced against this cold and inhospitable place, he leaves his family behind to relocate temporarily there, with the firm intent to come back South as soon as possible.

All films are screened at 7.00pm (doors 6.30pm) in Central England Co-operative Members’ Hall, Birmingham and Midland Institute, Margaret Street, Birmingham and cost £5 / £3 (members). Membership is open to all who live or work in Birmingham and costs £12 for the year. Alongside free entry to one film, membership delivers control of the program (through nominations and voting), reduced entrance fees to films and occasional special social events. For more information www.justfilm.coop www.twitter.com/justfilmcoop and ‘Just Film for a Fairer World’ on Facebook.

News in BriefNatasha Turner, Sean Farmelo, Hattie Craig

Art: Sidemuncher

British Troops pull out of Afghanistan after 13 yearsAfter 13 years of UK troops on Afghan soil, a full retreat has now been achieved with Cameron certain that the UK’s mission had been “accomplished”. Coincidentally the UK has announced an increased military deployment in iraq, 11 years after the second gulf war was also deemed “mission accomplished”.`

Students abducted and killed by police in MexicoPolice, in conjunction with a local drugs gang, abducted 43 students from a radical left-leaning college in Mexico City. 38 bodies have been found. On the 4 Nov, the former mayor and his wife were arrested on suspicion of organising the abduction.

Podemos polls as the strongest party in SpainSpain’s far-left party, Podemos (We Can), is leading in the polls. The party, founded in January, has sprung from grassroots protests and plans to challenge corruption, wage disparity and economic cutbacks as Spain struggles out of recession.

Students march for Free EducationStudents are to march in London on 19th November. The demo is part of an escalation of opposition to the government’s programme of fees and privatisation in education. Thousands are expected to attend.

Scottish labour in meltdownPolitics remain turbulent north of the border with Johann Lamont resigning (leader of Scottish Labour), Alistair Darling announcing that he is stepping down in 2015, Labour continued its nosedive with the news that the SNP won an unprecedented 52% in the most recent Ipsos Mori Poll. Another poll showed 2/3rds of Scots support second referendum within ten years, meaning the issue of devolution from westminster is a topic that won’t simply disappear. PKK in Kurdistan

ISIS isn’t the only group trying to carve out its own space from the protracted crisis in Syria and Iraq. The PKK, the Kurdish nationalist group and revolutionary organisation involved in defending Kobane have three autonomous cantons in the region operating along the non-hierarchical lines of American thinker Murray Bookchin. The Western media's fascination with Kurdish women fighters stops only on the surface and doesn’t examine the contents of their politics.

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It gives him the sense of entitlement and superiority to lecture a black man on racial solidarity. He is both unaware of how much his privilege provides, and of how he contributes to the environment which gives him privilege in the first place.

This isn’t about calling Brand out for fun in some sort of witch hunt. He certainly isn’t the only one guilty of this kind of ignorance, but he wants to be a revolutionary - his book is called Revolution - and without a respect for liberation politics, he is never going to be. He talks about an egalitarian society yet overlooks social stratifiers beyond class. Or at least, doesn’t examine them with regards to himself.

This does beg the question: what does it matter so long as he’s raising awareness? He can join the ranks of Caitlin Moran and Lena Dunham in the group of gateways to transgressive politics, surely? Two problems: 1) Whose gateway? By remaining racist and misogynistic he makes himself and radical politics less accessible to those who need it most. He may have made you question the legitimacy of the authority of the elite, but he has also made mainstream leftism even more hostile to marginalised people than it already is; 2) If you learn your radical politics without liberation politics, your radical politics will inherently uphold societal power disparity. In other words, in Year 5 I never learnt long division. By the time I got to my maths A-level I took my exam three times before giving up. If you don't learn it now you'll make it harder for yourself later, and giving up isn’t an option.

So with Brand dismissed, who do we look up to? Who can be a voice for the people? Can't we have a celebrity role model without them being deemed unworthy? Celebrities are entertainers, capital bringers for their producers in most cases and rich themselves, to boot. Beyoncé can be, and in many ways is, a groundbreaking feminist, but why do we expect her to be (often expecting her to meet a higher standard than our other (white) problematic faves)? Besides which, we live in a toxic society and no matter how hard we try to undo that we will still reflect that toxicity. None of us are perfect and none of us should be expected to be. Putting people on a pedestal is unhealthy. Idolatry removes the idol from those they’re expected to represent, putting immense pressure on them and creating an additional power dynamic which makes holding people to account hard and often personal, too. Fans jump to the defence of those who can't be defended in a show of misplaced loyalty. Respecting someone means allowing them to grow.

Admiration and respect are important, but we can all, and should all, learn from each other. I don’t want a monolith to take on Jeremy Paxman on my behalf, I want to build a dynamic movement and work things out as we go. No one person holds the wisdom needed for a revolution, we must learn how to change society by first changing how we interact ourselves.

Russell Brand’s political outcries evidently strike a chord amongst the student masses, demonstrated by many a Facebook share. The political status quo is that the flaws of the system are the price to be paid for democracy, that there’s nothing to be done about it and its all part of the world we live in. UKIP vents the frustration stemmed from an inert political system, and their increased support in the past five years speaks for itself; the desire for a game changer trumps the welfare of other human beings. Likewise, Russell Brand is "calling for change...genuine alternatives", but he has taken this frustration and made something else of it.

Controversially, he did this in urging people not to vote. There goes an argument that with far-right parties on the rise we should all be voting to prevent their access to power. However, when even the Greens are guilty of backing budget cuts which disproportionately affect vulnerable people, such as adult social care and children’s services, not voting is a refusal to be complicit in a broken system. Voting is not the only form of democracy, just the only one given legitimacy; the voice of the people can be heard in protests and direct action, too. Evan Davis congratulated Brand for engaging more young people in politics than any politician, and I would argue that there is some truth to this. Brand argues against voting, but for political engagement. Even if you disagree with sitting out of voting, it would be hard to argue that Brand has turned young people off politics altogether.

With all this considered, his newfound political leverage doesn't negate the fact that he has historically engaged in, and continues to engage in directly oppressive behaviour. He is very clearly racist; he dons redface as fancy dress and accused Jason Riley, a conservative black American, of “betraying his racial roots” . When Riley explained that he had grown up in an inner city neighbourhood and dealt with the police, Brand responded: “Just bow down to authority at every possibility. Never confront injustice. Keep your mouth shut. Why not write a book called ‘Kick me in the ass all day long, I’ll do as I’m told.’” He is still misogynistic; his career is built on jokes which mock women and violence against women - let’s not forget Georgina Baillie, or his call to a number used to report rape as an onstage prank. He claims he is a changed man since “the love of a good woman” turned him in the right direction (the No More Page 3 campaign), but that that good woman was the same woman who posted bail for Julian Assange. He was asked to edit the New Statesman, and he said yes because “a beautiful woman was asking me.”

While his voice is the voice of a working class survivor of abuse and a former drug addict, he is still a cisgender, white man with enough money to live. And this privilege grants him the ability to speak on political subjects and be listened to, just as they granted him the ability to have a career as a mainstream comedian.

Russell Brand, spoiling it for everyone Chloe Bramwell

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The in-vogue philosopher, Slavoj Zizek, hits the nail on the head when he talks of a “shared struggle” as a means of emancipation. That is, a point at which all who are oppressed by the hegemonic, capitalist paradigm side-step its divide and conquer tactics and rise up as one, overwhelming force for social and political change. Perhaps this is why he was once described as “the most dangerous philosopher in the West”.

For the left, infighting is its undoing. Divergence between the various strands of socialist, green, anarchist and even some religious movements – who to a large extent are all actually fighting for (or against) the same things – has allowed the right, with its narrow but shared agenda to succeed in using vitriol, fear and xenophobia as a means of mobilising sympathisers.

As a Green Party member, it is frustrating to see this lack of unity hampering the efforts of those on the left. Often, articles and commentaries fail to mention the Greens entirely when talking about solutions. In addition, the Greens as a more mainstream offering tend to be on the end of unhelpful criticisms from within the left.

A recent Slaney Street article “Podemos, Syriza, Left Unity: Doing politics differently”, by Edd Bauer, sniped at the Green’s economic policy which he said sought “redistribution at best” compared to Left Unity’s aspiration for “democratic control”.

A shared struggle is our best chance of success Andrew Walton

For me, framing such a distinction in this way merely stops people getting behind a party that could actually challenge the status quo of phoney “austerity” and socialism for the rich (to borrow a lovely Owen Jones sound-bite). So why not be less fickle about the ideological discrepancies we seem to have on the left, and instead champion a Green Party, which, while polling at around 7% of the national vote, offers by far the closest we could possibly get to a fairer, more economically and environmentally viable future in Britain - at least in the foreseeable future? The Greens would devolve economic power; rendering participants in the economy at all levels less vulnerable to the damaging effects of economic decisions made elsewhere and over which they have no control. For instance, by bringing decision making to the most appropriate level and by promoting self reliance within communities and regions.

There are many readers probably shouting "But the Greens still advocate capitalism!" It is true that many of the Green's policies are designed to mitigate the effects of capitalism rather than eradicate it; at least in the short term. But this could be the start of a transition to a new economic paradigm in the longer run.

The Scottish referendum, if nothing else, dared people to dream of a devolved political structure; one in which decisions can be made locally in the interests of local people. With the incumbent leader of the Council singing to the Tory tune of “austerity”, we should be working together to help elect an entirely new council; made up of people who will challenge central Government while demanding greater autonomy for the people they represent. Membership of the Birmingham Greens has more than doubled since the start of the year: with greater support from the left we could soon win our first council seat, and who knows where we could go from there.

The debate on Serbia re-emerged on the 14th of October when a drone flying the flag of greater Albania was flown into the Serbian national team stadium as Serbia played Albania. This act was hugely provocative as the flag of greater Albania and the idea of greater Albania includes the highly disputed area of Kosovo which both countries claim. It was a stupid and needless act that ignited an already very tense game. The game had to be abandoned as the fans in the stadium resorted to violent attacks on Albanian players. This gave UEFA a great opportunity to finally get tough on Serbian football and to really show that racism and violence in football are simply unacceptable. However once again UEFA failed miserably. They fined both Serbia and Albania 100,000 euros and then awarded Serbia a 3-0 win then deducted them 3 points. So neither team gets any points, both get a fine and Serbia actually end up better off because the 3-0 win improves their goal difference. I have seen many suggestions across the media for more appropriate punishments, with the main suggestion being Serbia should simply be kicked out of UEFA and banned from playing international football for X number of years ranging from two to twelve. This is something that UEFA should really consider.

However, one thing the papers and pundits seemed to have missed is that UEFA also need to offer a carrot to Serbia if they use the stick to ban Serbia from football. If UEFA’s sole punishment is to ban Serbia then the fans are likely to become angrier, more violent and feel even more ostracised.

I am proud of my Serbian roots; my grandmother came over from Serbia just after the war to study at Birmingham and has retained a strong sense of Serbian pride that has been passed down to my Mother and then to my Sister and I. I was very young during the 1990’s, which was one of the darkest times in Serbian history, where a group of tyrannical leaders committed atrocious crimes for which they still haven’t been properly punished and still scar the region today. I also love football, I have just gotten back from a trip of almost 550 miles to see my Leicester City team outplayed by Swansea. However when Serbia and football mix my pride often turns to shame and I question just how much I love the beautiful game that can be often be so ugly.

My first experience of Serbian football was in 2000 when I went to Filbert Street to see Leicester take on the 1992 World Champions Red Star Belgrade in the UEFA Cup. It was my first ever European night and I was very excited. The game was high paced and entertaining however I started to notice the Red Star fans were very hostile and I still remember the pitch being engulfed in smoke because their fans threw flares. As a seven year old this was exciting but also rather disconcerting. This idea of Serbian fans being hostile only grew when upon asking my Dad if we could try and go to the second leg because we could stay with family in Serbia - my Dad told me the second leg was in Vienna because the Serbian fans were too badly behaved to have the game in Serbia. To top it off, having drawn 1-1 in Leicester we were beaten 3-1 in Vienna in a game marred by violence and racial abuse. Leicester fans were pelted with bricks and bottles, while Leicester players Andy Impey and Ade Akinbiyi were racially abused.

As I got older and started to watch more football I began to realise that this wasn’t an isolated incident and that Serbian football was and sadly still is a hotbed of racism and violence. In the last few qualification cycles for major tournaments Serbia have been deducted points twice and seen their U-21 team fined for racially abusing England players. It is clear that Serbian football has not done anything to deal with the appalling behaviour of its fans since my experience of it and 2000 and it is also clear that the Serbian Football Federation have no intention of dealing with it.

The rule of Milosevic left many young Serbian men unemployed, angry and without help or hope. This has given rise to ultra-nationalist parties which encourage this kind of behaviour and have strong links to Serbian hooligan groups. UEFA must show that it can help these people even if it is only in a small way. They must look to invest greater time into Serbian football, to encourage young men to get involved in the sport and give them opportunities to learn about other cultures and people through football.

Of course, UEFA cannot solve the various problems in Serbia nor can they be expected to affect major political change, but they can show themselves to be an organisation that cares about Serbia and Serbian football at a micro level rather than being an all-powerful unaccountable body of bureaucrats that Serbian football fans feel they have no stake in. UEFA must take two pronged approach to countries like Serbia but also Russia and other eastern European states where racism and fan violence are huge problems. Severe punishments must be meted out to show the severity of racism and violence in football. In addition UEFA must also show countries passionate about football why they are relevant and why working in co-operation with them can have serious benefits both on and off the pitch. At the moment UEFA is not even close to achieving either of these things.

www.slaneystreet.com@slaneystreet

Its time for UEFA to get tough on Serbian Football. Jozef Brodala

We are very pleased to bring you this sixth issue of Slaney Street. We decided to produce this paper because of the lack of accountability of the mainstream media. It mainly reflects the concerns of the business world, not those of ordinary people.We now wish to build on the success of Slaney by widening its appeal, drawing more people into writing for it and hopefully assisting with its distribution.To that end, we are calling the third Slaney Street conference on the evening of Tuesday 20th January.To introduce the meeting, we will be welcoming GRANVILLE WILLIAMS, of the ‘Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom’. He will talk about the failings of the local and national media, and of the role that independent publications can play.There are other local publications apart from Birmingham’s Slaney Street, such as the Manchester Mule and the Bristol Cable, and we hope to have additional speakers who can reflect on the growing disenchantment with the so-called newspapers whose main function seems to be to spread misinformation and division. There will time for discussion on how we proceed with Slaney Street and there will also be a fresh election for the editorial board.We do hope you put this date in your diary.

Date: Tuesday 20th January// Time: 18.00-21.00// Venue: Guild of Students, University of Birmingham

3rd Slaney Street Conference

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