Labour will most certainly win the upcoming General Election but this is only because the Tories have imploded. Unfortunately Labour are offering nothing to the working class. This is evidenced by the fact that one of the party’s major funders, Unite the union, refused to endorse Labour’s election manifesto. It is also why the union warned:
“Labour need to make government count. They can and need to make real change. The rise of the far right throughout the west should send alarm bells ringing in Westminster. People want to see tangible results and politicians must listen to workers and communities.” (June 13, 2024)
But Labour have decided to ignore this simple advice with a prime example of such ignorance being provided by Leicester’s Labour-run city council which is taking us all for fools by refusing to commit to maintaining funding for our city’s much loved and needed children’s adventure playgrounds. When the same Labour Council tried to do the same earlier THIS YEAR they were forced to backtrack because of protests, but once again it seems that Labour are now up to their same tricks again.
Last month an ex-user of one of the playgrounds wrote to the Labour City Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby and stated:
“It saddens me to think that we are in a position where we have to fight for something as basic as playgrounds that are so vital for our children’s growth and development. Our youth are the future of our community, and it is our responsibility to provide them with the necessary resources and support to thrive.” (May 24, 2024)
Labour evidently disagrees.
So last night, a large and noisy protest was held outside the Council’s offices in Leicester to demand them to stop their nonsense. As a leaflet given out at the event by the protest organisers was clear that the current actions of the City Council are setting the playgrounds up to fail. “This means that many playgrounds will close on 30th September.” The leaflet then goes on to conclude:
“We are asking the Council to issue the playgrounds with a minimum 5 year lease and from the date of issue, they provide us with 12 months funding.
“This will give us a fighting chance to obtained the funding we need to provide a valuable and needed service to some of the cities most deprived children.”
Further information
For the text of a letter that the playgrounds collectively sent to Sir Peter Soulsby on April 4, 2024, see here and here.
For the text of the leaflet given out at the protest on June 19, see below.
Thoughts of a Leicester Socialist 