City council to cut its budget by £8m this year
![Budget 14/02/12 (MP)
Members of UNISON and related groups protest to councillors at the start of a council budget meeting at Portsmouth Guildhall. (left to right front), Josh Cowlin (10), mum Kitty McGrath, Hawwa Webber and Charlie Buckland [07712439]
Picture: Ian Hargreaves (120528-6)](/webimage/1.3521527.1329290124!image/1018768978.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_595/1018768978.jpg)
Budget 14/02/12 (MP) Members of UNISON and related groups protest to councillors at the start of a council budget meeting at Portsmouth Guildhall. (left to right front), Josh Cowlin (10), mum Kitty McGrath, Hawwa Webber and Charlie Buckland [07712439] Picture: Ian Hargreaves (120528-6)
THERE were noisy protests outside Portsmouth Guildhall as the city council agreed to slash £8m from next year’s budget.
Campaigners chanted the slogans ‘no ifs, no buts, say no to council cuts’ and ‘they say cut back, we say fight back’ ahead of the council’s annual budget meeting.
The Liberal Democrat-controlled authority pushed through new measures to make £8m of savings in the next 12 months. It comes after it made £15m of cuts in last year’s budget – sparking protests from trade unions.
The council also outlined plans to cut a further £27m by 2016, which may lead to hundreds of job losses.
The authority said the savings are required due to the government’s austerity measures to deal with Britain’s £1trillion of debt.
But protest group Portsmouth Against Cuts Together (Pact) said the city council should not be making any cuts at all.
In a deputation to city councillors, Pact spokesman Ben Norman said: ‘Portsmouth is being made to pay for a crisis caused by the financial sector. Austerity is a failed strategy. It’s a failed ideology and by continuing with it you are failing your communities.’
But council leader Cllr Gerald Vernon-Jackson argued the savings were necessary to cope with the global financial crisis.
He said: ‘We all know the financial climate that we have to work in. The lack of reality from some people against all cuts is in my view bizarre.
‘If the UK is to avoid the fate of Greece and Ireland then we have to live within our means.’
Cllr Vernon-Jackson claimed the cuts will not impact on front-line services and confirmed that council tax will be frozen for the third year running.
He said: ‘This budget is aimed at protecting the most vulnerable in society and to protect the services that people value most here in the city. Of the £8m savings we are looking for within the budget, £7m of these have been found by looking at how the city council operates internally and looking at how to reduce these costs.’
The Conservative Party group on Portsmouth City Council proposed a new parking initiative called ‘Tory Tuesday’ yesterday.
Opposition councillors said all of the city council’s parking spaces should be free every Tuesday to encourage people to come to Portsmouth in a bid to boost local trade.
Tory leader Cllr Simon Bosher said: ‘Tory Tuesday will help breathe life into all aspects of our city.’
The scheme, which formed part of the Tory group’s alternative budget, would cost taxpayers £198,300 this year. Meanwhile, the Tories proposed the council could save £167,300 by not paying staff for the first three days they are off sick from work.
The amendments were not voted through and drew criticism from city council leader Cllr Gerald Vernon-Jackson who accused the Conservative group of ‘gimmicks’.
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Friday 25 May 2012
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Comments
There are 50 comments to this article
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KittyxMay
Friday, February 17, 2012 at 06:17 PMThank you for the debate...hope maybe to see you at the YouNiversity one day where all our opinions matter and nobody should get abuse for them! Your intellect has encouraged me to look into some of the things you have mentioned over the last few days :-) self growth is the building block for change, I hope one day the human race will be about more then profit...but I do see where you are coming from about the situation we are currently in, I cannot say I agree with it all, but my research will continue :-) best wishes to you too.
wizard of oz
Friday, February 17, 2012 at 05:50 PMKitty some of my comments are tongue in cheek, the problem for you is to work out which ones are which. I dont think we should blame this banker or that banker for how much they are paid, the culture of excessive bonus in the City started in the mid 1980's and like so many things in life if not properly regulated they get out of control. In fact the last Government openly encouraged that bonus culture, by letting certain wealthy persons pay a tax rate of 18% on there income. For the sake of the country, its citzens and the long term viability of the financial sector, the City needs reform. This must be done quickly but so quickly that it kills the sector that produces £55bn of tax revenue a year. I know its not fair, but that is life in the real world Well Ive exhausted my views on our economic situation, thank you for reading them ( I usually get lots of abuse) and best wishes.
KittyxMay
Friday, February 17, 2012 at 04:30 PMI look forward to hearing from you soon, Wizard of Oz. Sorry my own opinion disappoints you so much, I do actually agree with some of what you say, but I do feel it is a bit of an over reaction to a simple sign. The reason we were there was to offer an alternative solution, that point seems to be over looked. I will keep an eye on my email and send you a copy if you like, take care.
wizard of oz
Friday, February 17, 2012 at 03:43 PMPlease ignore post 46 it doesnt make sense. I will try again "Post 44, I would suggest if wish gain the moral high ground and gain the support of the locals , your supporters dont go around calling local people apish unintellectual types. Its a bit like Prescott going around punching potential voters (2001), people dont like it, Thank you for your email address, I will be in touch shortly.
wizard of oz
Friday, February 17, 2012 at 03:16 PMPost 44, I would suggest if wish gain moral high ground and gain support of the locals , your supporters dont go around people apish unintellectual types. Its a bit like Prescott going around potential voters, Thank you for youe email address, I will be in touch shortly.
wizard of oz
Friday, February 17, 2012 at 03:12 PMKitty post 43, I am extremely disappointed by your comments. What we need is answers to our problems not slogans. The UK Government has £2.5trillion of debts and liabilities and its getting bigger everyday, even with the currents cuts Government spending is increasing at a unsustainable rate (in my opinion). For the Governemnt to spend money it has to raise cash from revenue and asset sales, when this is not enough it has to borrow the money from someone. If those borrowers do not see a credible plan for the repayment of those borrowings they will not let you have the money to fund that Government expediture. No debt reduction plan equals no money, that means governments employees will not be paid, state pensions will not be paid, welfare payments will not be paid........A state of anarchy would exist and the poorest in our society would suffer the most. Human evolution is based on some sort of profit (more food , more land, and today more money), like it or not people like a society where there is incentive to get on and profit, its human nature. It would be great if we all got paid the same no matter what we do, but it not achieveable as long as man walks on this planet......Saying this banker got paid this or that is not going to save our people, they are mere droplets of water in the sea of debt. The big picture is Government debt, it must be cut and we the people will have to carry the burden of those cuts. Even a small delay will exponentialy increase the debt burden on us when those cuts come...... There two alterantives to that 1) Print money to satisfy demand ( they tried that in Germany 1920's1930's and ended with wheelburrows full of worthless cash and Hitler) or 2 ) Default on your debt, (dont pay the back to those that lent it to you). We would end up as a pariah state were no one will trade with us, that means no imports and no exports a bit like North Korea where the majority of the population are either starving or in prison or probably both. I dont expect you to agree with me but I speak the truth of the situation we are in. The time to campagin against the banks, banking deregulation and excessive bonuses was in the late 1990's and early 2000's, thats when the problem was created which we have to deal with. Hence the saying bolting the stable door after the horse has bolted, we must cut public spending now to cure the evils created 10 or so years ago there is no alternative.
KittyxMay
Friday, February 17, 2012 at 12:07 PMWizard of oz..sorry missed the YouNiversity post... (from what I understand) the person in question approached the youngest person in our group when they thought he was alone, he made a personal verbal attack on him. If he had something to say about the 2 day event that left no damage to the area he should have gone about it in a more adult way, not condoning negative comments on the page but the behaviour of that person can not be condoned either :-( we had many residents come and visit us who were interested in what we were doing and some event brought hot drinks and food over to us to show their support....I am not surprised to be talking about that one isolated negative event now, it is always the way...negativity spreads easier then positivity it would seem. No that is not what I think of the people of Portsmouth.
KittyxMay
Friday, February 17, 2012 at 11:29 AMSorry again for the delay in my reply Wizard of oz, the banks that are at the top of the Bonus list are such as RBS who's top banker took 20.4m last year in bonus. HSBC who took 5.02m and Barlclays, 6.5m last year. Since they were bailed out wages with the banking system have risen by up to 12% while public sectors in some case have had a 2 year wage freeze and the pension issue to cope with. I see this as unfair and corrupt ( sorry if you dont) and that is mostly what that sign was referring to :-) but I also think the system is flawed in another way, one Bank said plainly 'good bankers are hard to find, they have short non committal contracts and if another bank offers them more they are free to leave, more often then not the banker will get the wage they want' :-( while we deal with budget cuts and pension cuts. You asked what alternative I can offer? I did state I did not have all the answers, but I could make one change to our world it would simply be that each decision we make we put the People before the Profit we make. Sadly the human race is far from that point, but on Tuesday I was supporting PACT who were there to offer an alternative that is more realistic then my personal wishes and if you would like to see a copy of what was proposed the add @hotmail.com to my screen name, drop me a line and I will send it over :-)
wizard of oz
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 06:59 PMBnorman of course there are alternatives to the free market, but history has shown they fail and are rejected by the people who are governed by these alternatives. When you say Democratic Socialism, I believe and again history shows us, that you cant have socialism and democracy. Call it what you will Its just a rebranding exercise to try and make it attractive. Socialism in all its forms (even Hitler said he was a socialist) means a planned economy combines public ownership of the means of production with centralised state planning. So the state who will own all large companies, such as Tesco, Glaxo, Vodaphone apart from the obivious such BP, Shell, Barclays. So I would have to shop at the state owned supermarket, buying state produced goods with my money from the state owned bank. Look at countries that employ that, economic disaster zones with miserable surpressed and poor citizens who dream of living in a capitalist system.........Thank you for explaining the" break the law break the poor" slogan, it may have been appropriate for the East End 1920's, but Liverpool in the 1980's or the present That just marginalises the struggles of the common people of that era.....I have a quote for you "We come, our country's rights to save, And speak a tyrant faction's doom, We raise the watch-word liberty, We will, we will, we will be free!" Tolpuddle martyrs 1834. Socialism is tyrany. The free market is liberty.
BNorman
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 04:04 PM‘Better to break the law than the break the poor’ was the slogan of the Poplar city council Rates Rebellion led by George Lansbury in the 1920’s. It was then adopted by Liverpool City council in the 1980s, when they set a Needs Budget rather than bow to the austerity demands of Thatcher. Using that slogan on Tuesday was perhaps a small nod to history. I can’t answer for anyone else, but I think we would all want to live in a society where those who contribute are those who are rewarded. The point, which we will of course not agree on, is that capitalism as a system has been shown not to work. The inevitable crisis of 2008 shows that the free market’s swings of boom and bust continue (no matter how much New Labour claimed to have abolished them!) Capitalism will of course continue to create a profit for some, but the number of those who are benefiting from this system continue to dwindle while inequality of wealth, and inequality of opportunity continue to rise. It is clear an alternative is needed. Capitalism, like everything else in society and economics, is a system created by people. Therefore it shows a disquieting lack of faith in our collective ability if you believe we cannot build something better. I believe an alternative system needs to be based on democratic public ownership of utilities and the larger corporations – and the ‘democratic’ part there is crucial. That of course is what makes the lobby on Tuesday so revealing. While I would promote democratic Socialism as the alternative, the ideas being proposed by PACT for local recovery were not actually that radical. The lobby simply highlights the cosy, cross-party, pro-cuts consensus of our professional politicians.
wizard of oz
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 01:16 PMOne more point on the The People's YouNiversity facebook page I noted the comment... "One local seemed to dislike it strongly- strike me as the apish unintellectual type... I had to show him his left and right so he could storm off in the right direction"...Is that what you think of the people of Portsmouth?
wizard of oz
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 12:40 PMKitty Thank you for replying to my post and correcting me where I was wrong. You are responsible for bringing up your children as is every parent in the country for their children ( not the state or someone else, me the parent), I hope I have equipped mine with the necessary skills and moral values to be contributor to our society, rather than a taker.....However would you please clarify "Who is a greedy banker? and "Break the law not the poor""......On a general note, life is not fair it never has been but the country we live in is a lot fairer than most and we should be thankful for that. Being a citizen of the UK has it rights and it has its responsibilities, some however seem to focus on their rights as opposed to their responsibilities. Sadly this erodes our society. What would happen if we all became takers and contributed nothing?.......So you are against cuts, so what is your alternative. Slogans are easy , but what would you do?. I say the free market and capitialism works, there is no alternative, it is the job of the Government to regulate that market so its benefits its citizens.
KittyxMay
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 11:28 AMWizard of oz, have a good look at the picture, a single parent with her son, an 'ethnic minority' and my friend in her wheel chair....a PR stunt maybe...but it was not mine. Lots of photos and names were taken, what was printed was down to the paper. We were at the Guildhall for a matter of hours, you do not know how I educate my children the rest of the time or how much time we spend in libraries reading 'appropriate material' I have not said I am unemployed I am currently paying myself from the business and seeing as I already said I am starting a new contract soon...how would it be productive to spend my time looking for another job? The People's YouNiversity has ALWAYS been a 2 day event, the one you saw in the paper was the second one and the next one will be at a different location ( as I have already said) and support is growing and cold weather will not bother us :-) Yes my sign is a very simplistic message, there is only so much you can write on a card! Obviously I am not suggesting we go to their house and take their money to feed the poor (hummm?? maybe lol) but there is a massive issue with how the system works and it is always the people at the bottom getting the rough end paying for decisions we had no choice in making . I am not standing there saying I have all the answers, I am not claiming to know every detail of politics and how to sort the world out. I am saying that this is unfair and I am not one of the people sat on the sofa complaining about the world while they contribute nothing and do nothing about it. Our political views are obviously very different and I respect yours I can only ask the same of you. If you do want to say anything at the next YouNiversity please let us know you are clearly intellectual and your opinions will be welcome even if they differ from ours, that is what the YouNiversity is all about :-)
wizard of oz
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 10:33 AMKittyxMay thank you for your reply.....lets deal with the "personal" issues first. You have used your children in this story and in previous ones, that would suggest a plan to gain publc sympathy. People like children and it gives the impression that the big bad state is punishing the said children. If you what Josh (and Izzy when she is lod enough to have a view) to have a better understanding of economic situation you should spend more time in library and reading appropriate material. Through knowledge we gain freedom, not by marching up and down Guildhall Walk being noisy. I get benefits, child benfit and child tax credit I also work full time and pay too much tax. I object to the tax being used on wasteful Government spending. I see too many people blaming the Government in all its forms for this that the other, we voted them in they have a democratic mandate. I am sorry you are unemployed, but instead of carrying out PR stunts to get in the paper you should spend more seeking employment. The Council has four pages of all types of vacancies.Finding a job should be your priority, if you are claiming benefits. So Occupy Portsmouth was 2 day event, were did it say that prior. to the event taking place? Or was it too cold or a lack of popular support the reason you gave in?......Now lets move to general issues, your banner says "make the greedy bankers pay" who are these greedy bankers? how many of them are there? As I said earlier the top 10% pay £100bn in tax every , the banks pay another £50bn in tax every year. Tax them too much and will go overseas and the Uk losses £150bn in tax every year. We need a fair and equitable tax were the rich pay more, but not too much were it harms the economy. We cannot keep on borrowing money our debts have to be paid back one day, otherwise no one will lend us any money in the first place. The only way we are going to get out this mess, is by cutting our spending on non essential services and hard work. There are jobs out there, but a significant minority the UK population would rather sit on there sofas and watch TV then find those jobs, I object to that. The wefare system should be a safety net not lifestyle choice. Youth unemployment is shocking result of poor education system, a benefit lifestyle as a career choice and unbalanced economy, these need to change to provide our young people with the necessary skills and motivation for employment and opportunites.....If you believe you are then stand for election, if the majority support you then you gain power. My guess is you and your movement have no popular support amongst the UK population and a plain and simple protest movement with no answers to our economic woes, except dont do this dont do that.
kristion
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 03:25 AMKitty, I do not agree with your views but support fully your right to express them. As long as your protests are peaceful all power to you.
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