Brighton's £24 million cuts budget c/o Labour Cllrs abstention.

A number of Green/Labour amendments to the Budget were passed but the budget was passed largely intact with its £24 million of cuts - because Labour decided to abstain rather than join the Greens in voting it down - shame!  Although the Greens were ready to vote the budget down last night, it is not clear what they would ultimately have done when it came back again to a subsequent meeting

300 marched through Brighton and Hove yesterday in opposition to the cuts budget, making it clear that there can be no cuts at all . Elected councillors were expected to represent their communities and not the bankers.

Across  Sussex, from Lewis, Littlehampton,Chichester, Crawley, Worthing, Brighton and other towns, anti cuts cttees are busily campaigning to defend all public services. Now is the time to bring the experiences and lessons of these campaigns together and strengthen the solidarity movement. The TUC demo on March 26th will see a very large contingent from the region marching against the Con Dems. Join us by contacting your local anti-cuts campaigning group for coach tickets to London.

Breaking News
At least it was good to see the smile wiped off the Lib Dems last night in Barnsley, where they were forced into 6th place and lost their deposit in the bye-election. Clegg couldn't even bring himself to campaign for his own candidate. He was that afraid of the electorates' revenge. A good kicking well deserved. Now let us hear Labour talk more about the squeezed working classes rather than the "squeezed middle classes". Will the new paratrooper Labour MP and Ed, along with the shadow cabinet, be marching with us on the streets on the 26th and really fight the cuts??? We expect them to.

In Wisconsin the workers and students continue to hold firm and fight back against the Republicans. Will Labour MP's and Councillors do the same??