Greetings Supporters,

Thank you to everyone who came out in support to lobby Ealing Council before the Overview & Scrutiny meeting that discussed Ealing’s unwelcome Draft Library Strategy. There were powerful presentation again from James Conlon (Unison Convenor), Carolyn Brown (Hanwell Community Forum), Peter Ludbrook (Hanwell Library Users Group), Susan New (Northfields Library), John Martin (Pitshanger Library) and  Catherine Patterson (West Ealing Library) and myself, all objecting to the Draft Library Strategy. These added to the objections put forward by the Lib Dem Group and Conservative group who called in the Report.  It all fell on deaf ears! As one resident observer has stated, “the Scrutiny Panel chose to ignore the fact that the plans put forward by the ever-deceptive and waffling Cllr. Anand and Ms. Stewart were vague in the extreme and that Cllr Anand was publicly criticised for making use of double-accounting and incorrect datasets.”

64 % of respondents in the online consultation survey reject the use of community managed libraries  in Ealing and 17, 602 petitioners to date from combined Library campaigns object to the proposed strategy of outsourcing the running of any of the Borough’s Libraries to Community Management, and to continue to resource the libraries efficiently through Council funds, with professional, adequately paid librarians. 

Yet, last Thursday's Committee voted 8 to 6, with Chair, Councillor Blacker adding his final vote, thus upholding the Cabinet decision to implement the Draft Library Strategy. Three Labour councillors who voted for referral, plus two Tories on the Committee, and one Lib Dem, which brought total to six. Councillor Sitarah Anjum, Councillor Kiranvir Dhadval, and Councillor Linda Burke all voted for referal. But the overall result simply wasn't good enough!!!!

I have come to the conclusion that yesterday’s meeting was pure theatre, and that decisions had been made before the start of it.

Disappointingly, this Wednesday gone, the Council has already started preparing to make 93 librarians from the 7 threatened libraries redundant.   Sadly, I have heard many residents say after yesterday’s meeting and post online that they will now never vote for Labour again at local and national level because of their disgust over what they see Ealing Labour as doing to the libraries amongst other issues.  I am both angry with central Government for its austerity cuts that have led councils up and down the county to sever vital local services.  I’m angry with Ealing Labour too for axing our libraries when other boroughs like Hillingdon choose to save all of theirs. Two wrongs don’t make a right, and choosing to target our libraries is to risk destroying the very fabric of social justice and egalitarianism it purports to be fighting for.  I’m ashamed of what Ealing Labour is doing to our Libraries, as I said in my speech but I’m proud to be part of the Labour party. 

As national libraries campaigner, Alan Wylie rightly says “We need to get Labour to develop a national policy and then use it to whip these and other councils into line and commit to upholding and strengthening the statutory basis of public libraries. Then we stand a chance of reversing/halting the damage.” (https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/opendemocracyuk/public-libraries-are-vital-to-local-communities-labour-must-fight-to-defend-them/

The video speaks for itself, but, as you will see at some point, I had to cut my speech, and spoke from 'the heart'.   The full speech is accessible here (https://1drv.ms/w/s!AuvtJrO57Z1ooQjZW0ijW9kTBRzd?e=mLxLmm

SO WE FIGHT ON!

Best wishes & thanks again!

Grace