Update from Alan Story "OPPORTUNISTS USUALLY FOUND OUT… There is an expression about politics (and life generally) that goes: “in the long run, opportunists are usually found out." Last night at the meeting of the Sheffield Trades Union Council (TUC), leaders of Sheffield City Council were found out. Again. This time by people who once believed them about trees. And in the process SCC now has one fewer and fewer place to hide as the days tick by. Two years ago, the SCC never said 17,500 street trees were going to be felled. In any event, these would only be dead and damaged trees, not healthy ones. Felling would be based on the advice of impartial tree experts. And felling was all about making our pavements safe for disabled people and the elderly. Yadda, yadda. Some people, including some leading 17 trade unionists, activists and academics in this city bought into this SCC story. In February 2016, they wrote what a few of us on the left ( but only a few) considered as an "infamous" open letter openly attacking tree campaigners.* (see attached URL). The letter, wildly playing the "class card", said tree campaigners were into "navel-gazing" and …“it is difficult to escape the conclusion that opposition to the tree felling has as much to do with the protection of house prices in the leafy suburbs as it does with environmental protection.” “The council is proposing felling and replacing 14 per cent of the 36,000 street trees, or 5,000 in total. After this process is complete, Sheffield will still have a strong claim to be the greenest city in Europe,” the open letter continued. I still remember the words at the time of my mate and disability campaigner David Kirkham: “What they never explained in this letter was how attacking tree campaigners would build the fight against austerity, weaken the Tory government of Cameron, or strengthen rights for the disabled.” Released as the May 2016 elections neared, this open letter provided some useful political cover for the Labour Party when it was returned to office in SCC later that spring. And as tree campaigners played a negligible role in that election, the SCC line was never seriously challenged across the city. This campaign was about trees and not politics, we were told. And just-launched a judicial review of the felling programme would sort things out; let the courts handle it. Fast forward to today. Very few --- and really only what we might call ‘genetic Labour voters’ ---- believe the SCC fairy story anymore. Richard Hawley (his dad a former steelworker and union activist) is blunt: “the council f***ed up over trees.” The three MPs from the urban core of Sheffield have all called for the felling to be halted and for talks with campaigners to begin. Corbyn, the national Labour Party and local Labour Party branches, all deathly silent about trees or PFIs in February 2016, are also on side. Almost 50 million people have watched the 11-minute BBC documentary on our trees by Dino Sofos. The New York Times just featured what is happening in little old Sheffield. Last night, the Sheffield TUC realised they have been lied to by Julie Dore and her pals. “It’s been the police brutality on our streets” that persuaded me, said council president Bob Jeffery during a debate over a tough motion against the tree felling massacre of more than 5,500 street trees by Amey and SCC that was paused on Monday. “An absolute disgrace from a Labour Council”. “This PFI deal is rotten to the core”. “The biggest casualty is democracy”. “There are bunch of out-of-town thugs roaming our streets”. “Our city is a national joke.” “I totally agree with what it says in this flyer: ‘having plenty of healthy large canopy trees in our city is a good thing’; trees are very helpful in controlling asthma.” “It is simply unbelievable what is happening on my street.” (Two delegates live on Meersbrook Park Road.) These were just some of the comments from delegates at last night’s Sheff TUC meeting. Needless to say, that motion passed unanimously. Four NO STUMPERS were outside holding up “Axe PFIs, Not Trees” placards and passing out our most recent leaflet. (Nice to have such an easy gig and, for the first time, not to be “working” in dark night-time conditions.) As an observer and near the end of the meeting, a NO STUMP CITY spokesperson thanked the trade union delegates for their support and invited them to join us at the tree felling barriers if they are erected again. He also said it was important that GMB union members who work for Amey should be part on any future negotiations about Sheffield street trees and their future proper management. An ender for Julie and Bryan: there is another expression that fits these roller coaster times: “you can run, but you can’t hide.” One more hiding place went up in smoke last night. "