Jackie Grunsell

Councillor for Crosland Moor and Netherton

Kirklees Schools Crisis

WHEN KIRKLEES COUNCIL was told by the government they weregoing to get £400 million to rebuild, or refurbish, all our schools,they were ecstatic about preparing education for the 21st Century.A huge, no-expenses-spared launch of the Building Schools for theFuture (BSF) programme took place last year at the GalpharmStadium.We were told there was cross party support for the most excitingventure for Kirklees education for over 40 years. A year later - andwhat has been the result?

Political Crisis

A huge political crisis has gripped the Council, as councillors havefallen out time and time again, putting their own interests first, before the wider needs of the community. Council meetings havedescended into a slanging match between all the main parties.First the Tories were kicked out of office,and now the Lib Dems have resignedfrom the Cabinet - leaving New Labourto govern as a minority administration.The plans for our schools have changed atleast four times: with endless drafts beingslung into the waste bin, leaving schools,staff and pupils bewildered about theirfuture.Council meetings have been besieged bycountless lobbies, protests and demon-strations from pupils, governors, parentsand trade unions - all horrified at thescale of the cuts.

What’s the Result?

As the smoke begins to clear from the big-gest political crisis ever to grip KirkleesCouncil, what has been the result?• all Middle Schools in the WhitcliffeMount area to close• Birkdale and Castle Hall HighSchool earmarked for closure• several other primary schoolsunder review, with a view toclosureThe government is bribing councils withthe offer of £400 million, on conditionthey introduce academies and founda-tion trusts, and bring in privatisationmeasures - all fancy words for remov-ing our schools from local democraticcontrol into the hands of unaccountable businesses and individuals. And whiledetermined local campaigns havemanaged to push back some of theseproposals, the future of other schools stillremain in the balance.

Fighting Privatisation

The council is now turning its attentionto the Huddersfield schools. Any HighSchools with less than 700 pupils (whichcould potentially threaten Moor End)and primary schools with less than 200pupils are under threat, as well as MiddleSchools in the Shelley area. The threat of privatisation remains in the air. Jackie has maintained a clear stand inthese debates: she has actively opposedschool closures and has fought theprivatisation proposals. She contin-ues being committed to maintainingand expanding public services, and will be part of any campaigns to keep ourschools open and accountable to the localcommunity. She remains a fightingcouncillor for the community.

Kirklees SummerActivity Programme

Kirklees has run a number of Summer Activities this year forchildren and young people aged8 to 19 years olds. Jackie wouldlike to hear from you aboutwhat you think of the provisionprovided by the council, so thatshe can take up your concernsand put forward your needs.Was the provision availableinitially sufficiently advertisedand clear information givento parents and young people?Was there adequate and easilyaccessible provision in your area?Were dates and opening timesadequate for your needs? Were therange and quality of the activitiessuitable? And finally, can yousuggest activities you would liketo see happening next year?Please write to Jackie at thecouncil, or contact her using theinformation at the bottom of the back page of this leaflet.

A Public Transport System Needed

THE LASTEST ROUND of cuts to the bus timetables in the Kirkleesand Calderdale area come, unfortunately, as no surprise. Despiteall the hot air generated by the government about environmentalprotection, public transport remains overlooked, and continuesto suffer from the legacy of privatisation. In a damning verdict onthe Labour government’s transport policy,

The Independent

recentlyreported that since 1997 the cost of motoring has fallen, whilst pub-lic transport fares have risen 17% above inflation.Not only do these figures leave the Labour government’s greencredentials in tatters, they also paint a clear picture of theirlack of commitment to social justice, as the major victims of the attacks on public transport will undoubtedly be the poorestsections of society. It is now a common theme in government policythat the poor, the elderly and the young suffer.

Increased Investment

The only method to reinvigorate the public transport systemis increased investment to create genuinely better services.The number of passengers using bus services in Sheffield, forinstance, shot up by 58% in one year — after frequency andvariety were introduced on the renewed routes.If we are serious about creating an environmentally friendly,accessible and cheap public transport network, we requirelarge-scale investment: something the current privatisedsystem cannot do. In fact, we already give the private opera-tors huge funding in the forms of government subsidies andthe fares we pay everyday!

What happens to this money?

The First Group, responsible for many local bus and trainservices, reported profits of £94 million this year. It’s the banker’s subsidies all over again. Imagine the impact if thesemillions were invested in improvements in services ratherthan being pocketed by the corporations. What a disgrace — that while public transport makes sense, privatisation robsthe community!This short-term approach and profit-driven nature of pri-vate companies cannot solve the transport crisis. Bringingthe transport system back into public ownership and plan-ning for the community’s needs is what is important. Weneed a public transport system based on elected bodies of transport users, community representatives, and the staff working in the industry. This is the only way we can guar-antee top-quality services for all. Jackie Grunsell, as a fight-ing local councillor, is working to maintain local transportservices and supports campaigns to create a comprehensivepublic transport system.INVOLVING YOUNG PEOPLE in politics is a veryimportant aspect of my work, and so I am pleased towork alongside a campaign called Youth Fight for Jobs. YFJwas launched last April as a nationwide campaign at the G20summit in London, where a ‘March for Jobs’ took place. Ithas since gained widespread support.Rather than patronising young people and trying to appeal tothem through gimmicks (such as Gordon Brown’s infamousYouTube appearance), YFJ actually confronts the problemsyoung people face - unemployment, low wages, and tuitionfees. In our local area, YFJ has organised successful protestsand public meetings to highlight these issues facing youngpeople.I would encourage anyone in Crosland Moor and Nethertonwho is interested in ensuring a future for today’s youth toget involved in the campaign. Full details can be found at:

www.youthfightforjobs.com

Youth Fight for Jobs Campaign

Jackie is working with young people across the ward anddiscussing ways to improve youth facilites where needed.

Where have all the Houses Gone?

THERE IS NOW an acute housing crisis across Britain, and in Kirklees thiscrisis seems even worse. Two major things are causing this problem: theeconomic crisis brought on by greedy bankers and speculators, and twentyyears of failure to build any new council housing.The behavior of the speculators brought about an over-inflated housing bubble - prices shot up as the demand for houses outstrippedsupply. Then this bubble burst, threatening families and homes.It is now expected that by the end of the year there will be 425,000 mortgages that are more than three months inarrears - much of it caused by reduced family income. The full im-pact of unemployment has yet to set in, as redundancypayments are temporarily hiding an even greater personal crisis.But in Kirklees, housing repossessions hit a twelve year high lastyear - even before the major impact of the crisis. In Huddersfieldthere was a 57% increase in repossessions, making the area thetwelfth highest in the country.A major contribution to this housing crisis has been caused bya sustained policy by the Labour government of not buildingany new council housing. This not only condemns many familiesto be without a decent home, but impacts on all other housingissues, creating shortages and pushing up the price of private rentedaccommodation. The whole community suffers. Modernisa-tion and repairs to existing housing is urgently needed. AcrossEngland, 8.1 million homes fail to meet the government’s own,very basic, decent home standard; more than one million chil-dren in Britain live in housing that is overcrowded, temporary,run-down, damp or dangerous. In Huddersfield alone there are8,000 people on the housing waiting list.Yet, Kirklees Council has stood by and failed to act toaddress this appalling situation: very little, or next-to-nothing is being done. It is time for urgent action.In spite of the restrictions imposed by the Labour government,Kirklees Council can act. But the Labour councillors, sittingcomfortably in the Town Hall, don’t want to rock their Labourgovernment’s boat.

What should they do?

Jackie has consistently argued over the years for the need for acouncil house building programme. Kirklees Council can imme-diately begin pressuring the Labour government to increase coun-cils’ management and maintenance allowances. They should re-move the debt charges from council HRA accounts, and open updevelopment grants and funding for a new council house buildingprogramme. The council can also move to purchase family homesin danger of repossessions - thus keeping families in their homes,rather than funding private landlords to house homeless families.There is a saner way to develop and maintain decent homes for allthan this mindless muddle of housing speculation. Decent housingshould be available to everyone. And councils can develop policiesthat can help make this happen. Kirklees should be leading theway on this.

The Socialist

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