Stop RBS fat cats getting huge bonuses from our taxes!

Join the Avaaz campaign to stop incompetent Royal Bank of Scotland bosses paying themselves astronomical bonuses from our taxes.

Despite losing the bank £750 million in the last six months, RBS executives are spending a fortune lobbying the government and now want to get another £500m in bonuses! It’s a scandal at a time when cuts are biting all of us.

We don’t have long to stop this offensive corporate greed – RBS executives meet on Wednesday. Avaaz want to deliver a deafening 100,000 strong petition to George Osborne to force a drastic cap on RBS bonuses and ban the use of our money to lobby the government. Click here to stop the great fat-cat rip-off, and then share this with everyone.

Update on NHS Campaign

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley is still trying to push his plan to privatise the NHS through parliament. It has been debated in the House of Lords for the past few months after passing through the House of Commons last summer.

The Lords’ ‘report stage’ begins on 8 March, which will last a few weeks. This could be the final time that the House of Lords discusses the NHS plans in detail.

There are encouraging signs that Lib Dem Lords have secured important concessions on keeping the Secretary of State’s “duty to provide” a health service. But, the Royal College Of Nurses and Royal College of Midwives say that Lansley’s plans are still very dangerous. They argue that the best thing would be for them to be scrapped altogether.

If passed, Lansley’s plans would see GPs in control of much of the NHS budget and the health service opened up to greater competition from the private and voluntary sector. However, changes are already being made in preparation for the new system to kick in, in 2013. Despite opposition from the doctors union, enough GPs have come forward to pilot the new plans in 97% of the country. PCTs are being dismantled and 1000s of jobs have already been cut.

More details about the Bill and how you can keep informed from the 38 degrees website here

and the Keep Our NHS Public campaign here

 

Public meeting to defend council jobs and services

On Thursday 2nd Feb there is a public meeting to discuss why and how we should defend our council services. Meeting is at 7:30pm in Friends Meeting House, Ship Street, Brighton.

Together with Brighton Stop the Cuts Coalition, we have called this meeting to decide how best to resist the Coalition Government’s drastic cuts to the Council budget. The budget will be slashed by a third over the next few years which will impact on jobs and services.

There are alternatives to cutting jobs and services as this letter to Prime Minister David Cameron highlights – letter on Brighton and Hove City Council budget cuts

Please email your local MP and ask them what they are doing to resist these budget cuts.

Mike Weatherley (Conservative Party) MP for Hove
mike.weatherley.mp@parliament.uk

Caroline Lucas (Green Party) MP for Brighton Pavillion
caroline.lucas.mp@parliament.uk

Simon Kirby (Conservative Party) MP for Brighton Kemptown
simon.kirby.mp@parliament.uk

British jazz star to headline bhwac’s fundraiser show

Britain’s foremost, award-winning jazz vocalist Claire Martin will headline a show to raise money for bhwac. The jazz singer will be accompanied by guitar legend Jim Mullen at the Sallis Benney Theatre on Friday 30th March at 7.30pm.

And that’s not all. The show will be compered by cheeky northern comedian Julie Jepson and features Brighton community choirs We-Bop and Hullaballoo plus Raised Voices, a guest street choir from London. Journalist and Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee will open the show. What a line up!

Tickets are on sale now!  £10 (£6 concessions) from Sallis Benney Theatre & Gallery click here for ticket sales website 
or Pen toPaper, 4 Sydney St, Brighton.

bhwac is a self-financing group. We desperately need funds to continue our work.

 vocal opposition poster