Liverpool Social Forum Meeting 7.30 in Next To Nowhere 13/11/2007

Keep Our NHS Public
· Three person delegation from KONP presented an overview of their
organisation
· Successive governments privatising the NHS by stealth, tendering out
more and more to private contractors
· There is a low level of public awareness about this, which is allowing
the government to get away with it
· Biggest issues currently are the privatisation of GP surgeries,
dermatology clinics, the Karen Reissman strike in Manchester (see
http://www.unison.org.uk/news/news_view.asp?did=3818), and Public Finance
Initiative schemes
· Managers often tell NHS workers that hospitals should be ‘more like
Tesco’, this demonstrates the overlap KONP has with ‘anti-capitalism’
· There was some discussion of KONP’s methods and aims. There aim is to
halt privatisation of the NHS, something they seek to achieve by building
public awareness. Most of their tactics seem to be based on appeals to the
powerful.
· A Maghull campaign (at least temporarily) seems to have stopped
privatisation of GP surgery. There was leafleting, a public meeting (which 200
people attended), an action group was formed, they got some national media
coverage. They attended Primary Care Trust meetings and demolished the
government’s case. The PCT have now offered ‘consultation’.
· KONP hold their meetings at 7pm on the third Wednesday of every month,
at the Peoples Centre
· More information at Keepournhspublic.com, local yahoo group at
keepournhspublic@yahoogroups.co.uk
· There is a demo demanding the reinstatement of Karen Reissman on Sat
24th £1, tickets and info from seftontuc@blueyonder.co.uk, assembling at peace
garden

Other Items
· Katy to send Carol insurance info
· Earth First ‘Action Update’ ultimately to be stocked as part as
infoshop, some will also be in NFN, Sara to follow up
· Some discussion on climate camp, there will be a Climate march on Dec
8th with high profile speakers, possibility of action around this, discussion
around setting up of Liverpool camp/climate group
· Adam suggests actively inviting other local groups to meetings in
future, as with KONP. This will hopefully make us a better ‘social forum’.
We should start with climate camp. Adam will look into this.
· Introduction to direct action weekend proposed, a group called TRAPEZE
may contribute in January
· The discussion moved from direct action to the issues of trust and
respect within the group, especially at social centre events. The importance
of
being better organised at future events was agreed, before a frank exchange of
views took place about last Saturday’s party and events leading up to it.