People Before Profit is calling on Sinn Fein's Martina Anderson, to publicly oppose cuts in education

national | rights, freedoms and repression | press release

Monday May 03, 2010 14:41

by People Before Profit

We are up for the fight Sinn Fein wants to duck

Sinn Fein Minister Catriona Ruane has made it plain she intends to cut jobs in front-line services.

She told the Assembly’s education committee on January 14th that, ‘Action needs to be taken during the 2010/11 financial year to secure significant budget savings and this will involve pain...It will simply not be possible to avoid some reduction in funding direct to the classroom...There may inevitably have to be staff reductions.’

That means sacking class-room staff to meet Treasury edicts based on bailing out the bankers.

At the same time, her party leader Gerry Adams is suggesting that all Executive parties cooperate to oppose the cuts!

Sinn Fein is for the cuts at Stormont - against the cuts when there are votes to be won. I wouldn’t rule out party members standing outside the schools hit by Ms. Ruane’s ‘reductions’ with placards denouncing what's happening inside!

What’s Ms. Anderson’s position? Does she support Minister Ruane’s ‘inevitable’ cuts or not?

Meanwhile, Regional Development Minister Conor Murphy has quietly announced plans to privatise parts of our public transport system. Private firms are to be invited to tender against Translink for bus routes, for example. Meanwhile, Sinn Fein proclaims opposition to privatisation.

When it comes to economics, you name it, Sinn Fein is for it. And also against it.

I reckon the main reason Mr. Adams wants all the mainstream parties to form an alliance on cuts is so that none of them can be singled out for blame when the cuts come.

More and more former Sinn Fein voters are becoming tired of to this facing-two-ways tactic. We appeal to them to come over to People Before Profit - the only party which can be counted on to organise resistance to the cuts. Sinn Fein is full verbal radicalism. But when it comes to the practicalities, they bend with the wind from Westminster. People Before Profit is up for the fight that Sinn Fein won’t take on.

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Comments (2 of 2)

public Assembly Bill

by solidarity seeker

Mon May 03, 2010 15:56

Meanwhile watch out for the Public Assembly Bill, this would make sure no one will be able to meaningfully protest about any of the cuts. Who says they don't have joined up policies!!!!

fighting talk

by non-voter

Mon May 03, 2010 17:37

I agree with the criticisms of SInn Fein, but if PB4P is a political party as the above quote suggests ,it should say so clearly . If it is a party and not an “ alliance” formed with the aim of “deepening links between community groups “ as stated in PB4P’s website http://www.peoplebeforeprofit.ie/node/2 ,it would mean that the many SWP members in PB4P are in two parties at the same time. That is a recipe for the sort of opportunist , facing-both- ways politics that the group accuses others of practising.
The last poster is right to oppose the Public Assembly Bill , but the PB4P site doesn’t have any articles about the bill that I could see . It would be good to see an analysis of it. The aim of the bill is not to prevent “meaningful protest” though . As part of the peace dividend the British state will in fact now tolerate meaningful protest - so long as it remains at the level of protest . What it will not allow is the type of independent ,effective action that would threaten its existence . “People Before Profit is up for the fight that Sinn Fein won’t take on.” That sort of bravado talk is worryingly naïve to anyone with memories of Berntollet The northern statelet with the provisonals now incorporated will not tolerate any sort of a fight.

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People Before Profit is calling on Sinn Fein's Martina Anderson, to publicly oppose cuts in education

Comments (2 of 2)