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cornwall: Station to station March to stop the cuts

Local newspaper The West Briton is organising a march to save 24-hour fire cover in Cornwall. The march will take place on 29 September and go from Falmouth to Camborne stations, which are both facing budget-driven downgrades. The “day of action” will kick off at 10am from Falmouth fire station.

The FBU has urged the people of Cornwall to participate in the march. South West FBU regional official John Drake told the West Briton:

"We are fully in support of the Station to Station march that is being spearheaded by The West Briton. We believe this event will be a massive show of opposition to the proposals from the Liberal Democrats to downgrade Falmouth and Camborne fire stations.

"It will also give the elected members of the council the chance to nail their colours to the mast of this campaign; one that the overwhelming majority of people in Cornwall support.

"We would be pleased to also see politicians of all parties marching to support this flagship campaign by The West Briton which is fighting hard to save vital fire cover."
Local politicians are also backing the march.

"It's imperative that people turn out to march and let the county council know we're not going to give up the fight," Falmouth mayor Mike Varney told The West Briton.

Penryn mayor Mary May is also joining the march which will pass through her town: "We all have children and families. Night-time fire cover needs to be there so people can go to sleep at night.

"We must mass together and demonstrate about something we believe in. Let's put our best foot forward and prove the strength of feeling," she told the newspaper.

Redruth mayor John Hayward said: "This is a wonderful opportunity for all the towns in West Cornwall to show their solidarity. Redruth will be on the march."

Lib Dem mayor to Lib Dem councillors: ‘You cannot make these cuts’

Jeff Collins, mayor of Camborne, insisted to The West Briton: "All you have to do is look at Newquay. I am a Liberal Democrat and I am saying to my colleagues on the county council: 'You cannot make these cuts. You must support the firefighters'."

Andy Cooper, editor-in chief of The West Briton, said: "For more than 10 weeks now - even before the tragic events in Newquay on August 18 - we have been spelling out the risks to the community of these proposed fire station cuts in Camborne and Falmouth.

"Now, more than ever, it is clear what an utter folly it would be for the ruling Liberal Democrats to press ahead with these dangerous plans.

"Yet, still we cannot get an unequivocal public guarantee that they will scrap the proposals and, instead, stand up for what they are supposed to be doing - protecting the safety of Cornish council tax payers.

"They have a golden opportunity - especially now their plans for a single unitary authority have been approved - to step back from the brink and find ways to fund this vital service.

"It's time to show them how strong our feelings are in the only way left to us - a public protest linking Camborne and Falmouth in our Station to Station march.

I urge anyone who cares about this issue to join us on September 29 and Save Our Stations!"

Further details on: http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=146877&command=newPage

Billy Bragg joins Cornwall’s campaign against the cuts

Billy Bragg played in St Ives last Wednesday night and the FBU took the opportunity to corner him for an interview with the West Briton newspaper, who are running the "Save our Stations" campaign.

The story will appear in this week’s newspaper.

Backgrounder

In meetings on 21 August with Cornwall County Council leader David Whalley and fellow councillor Ken Yeo, executive member for public protection, the Union called on the county council to drop the cuts proposals, but they have refused, saying instead that they wished to await the outcome of a detailed investigation into events at Newquay.

The proposals are to be considered by the full council on October 9.

The FBU also called for the shortfall in fulltime firefighters currently standing at 17, to be addressed as a matter of utmost urgency. This equates to almost 1 in 10 of the wholetime establishment in Cornwall.

Furthermore, the FBU urged David Whalley and Ken Yeo that they increase retained firefighter numbers in Cornwall in line with a review that has been gathering dust on a council shelf for 3 years.

Both these requests were also refused.

Sign the petition against cuts in Kernow now!

The Union together with regional paper, The Western Morning News, is running a petition against the cuts and all members are encouraged to sign:

Click on the below link: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/firecuts/index.html

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