Health Secretary bottles out of addressing nurses

The Royal College of Nursing is not a TUC affiliated union, and we would always encourage our brothers and sisters in the nursing profession to join an appropriate TUC union such as Unison, GMB or Unite. However, the decison of Tory Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley to sidestep the opportunity to address the RCN's annual conference is of interest to all trade unionists.

The BBC reports that: "Health Secretary Andrew Lansley is facing a confidence vote from nurses in reaction to his planned changes for the NHS in England. After a "listening exercise" at Downing Street with the PM and voluntary sector representatives, Mr Lansley will go to the Royal College of Nursing Congress. He will meet a group of 50 nurses - not the whole conference - which has prompted some to question his nerve. Meanwhile, Labour leaders will have an emergency meeting about the NHS plans.

Under the shake-up, GPs are to be given control of much of the NHS budget, while greater competition with the private sector will be encouraged. But critics, including the Royal College of Nursing, have warned the changes could undermine the NHS. After months of attacks, the government said last week it would run another consultation, even though the bill underpinning the changes has already started progressing through Parliament.

Wednesday marks the first significant step in that process. In the morning, Mr Lansley is meeting voluntary sector chiefs in Downing Street to discuss how they can get involved in delivering services. He will then travel to Liverpool to meet nurses. Instead of addressing the entire conference - he will have a separate meeting with 50 nurses representing all parts of the UK. The decision to attend the smaller meeting has caused anger among delegates at the conference.

Julian Newell, an A&E nurse from Sheffield, said: "I think it's a shame Andrew Lansley does not have the guts to come up and face congress as a whole tomorrow. "I'm not sure it's the right thing to say we'll have a selected group of small people to meet with him. I would rather us say if you can't face congress as a whole then we don't want to meet with him."

RCN general secretary Peter Carter also questioned the decision. "It's his judgment call, he feels it's better but he is going to get stick from congress. Congress is going to interpret it as him not having the courage to speak to them."

Tell Stephen Lloyd to defend the NHS !

If we’re going to stop Andrew Lansley’s dangerous plans for the NHS, the next couple of weeks could be critical. David Cameron and Nick Clegg are having a crunch meeting to discuss public opposition to the plans. We need to make sure that every MP is telling them that their voters are demanding a rethink.

If MPs receive a flood of emails ahead of the crunch discussions it could just tip the balance and persuade the government to back off. The more of us that email our MP, the more chance we have of protecting the NHS.

Can you send Stephen Lloyd a quick email today? It will only take a copule of clicks ! Please visit the 38 Degrees Website- there's even a suggested wording !

Brighton anti-cuts day school

The Brighton Stop the Cuts Coalition has organised a day school this Saturday 9th April and they very much encourage activists from across the South East to come along.

There will be sessions and a wide range of speakers from Unions (including Alex Gordon RMT president), South East Region TUC , Defend Council Housing, Anti-Cuts Economists, Keep Our NHS Public, Anti-Academies Alliance and much more! There will be lots of time for discussion and debate on how we take the anti-cuts movement forward.

It is free and open to all. So come along and please take the time to forward this email on to others who may be interested. We are keen to have activists from across the South East come along so pass the message far and wide.

People can arrive from 10am with a view to starting at 10:45am, we should finish by 4:30pm and have a bit of entertainment to finish.Its at Falmer House, Sussex University which is a few minutes from Falmer Train Station. Any questions or ideas let Phil Clarke know on BrightonTradesCouncil@Gmail.com.

Hastings Trades Council March and Rally

Our brothers and sisters in the Hastings Trades Council will be staging a march and rally on 19th April to put the case for the alternatives to the savage cuts being inflicted on their town and our region, including:-

• CONQUEST HOSPITAL…….JOB CUTS AND CLOSURE OF WARDS


• ASHDOWN HOUSE…..JOB CUTS AND PRIVITISATION


• HERON HOUSE…..JOB CUTS AND PRIVITISATION


• HASTINGS COUNCIL…..JOB CUTS AND CUTS TO ESSENTIAL SERVICES


• C.A.B……JOB CUTS


• HASTINGS VOLUNTARY SERVICES……JOB CUTS


• ROYAL MAIL……JOB CUTS AND PRIVITISATION


• TAX OFFICE….PARTIAL CLOSURE.

The demonstration is being supported by Unite, Unison, GMB, BUT, PCS, Usdaw, the CWU, FBU, RMT, TSSA and ASLEF, plus others from the local community. The march assembles at 12.30pm at Hastings Pier on Saturday 19th April. For more details contact the Sam Buckley of the Hastings Trades Council at swpsam@hotmail.com 0r 07807 289253