Will Leicester City Council Listen to Adventure Playground Campaigners?

Well over 100 campaigners, including parents and children, joined a lobby of Leicester City Council last Thursday to oppose cuts to adventure playground services across the city.

Leicester’s adventure playgrounds are used by over 10,000 children citywide. They provide children and young people with supervised access to play, sports, and arts facilities, as well as providing educational support.

Many, particularly poor, families depend upon these services.

At the lobby, the noisy protestors chanted “save our playgrounds” and carried placards reading “say no to Tory cuts”! Unfortunately, however, Leicester’s Labour-led council will be unlikely to heed this sensible advice – despite considerable hand-wringing.

The local council have done nothing to organise a fight back against Tory cuts, claiming that their hands are tied. They also claim that the mood for a fightback is lacking in the city.

But just last month, Leicester saw over one thousand people take to the streets in defence of a local heart unit. Mass opposition also recently saved a library from the chop.

If the local council was prepared to take a lead in building a campaign against Tory cuts, it would receive widespread support across the city. But to lead this campaign, they would first have to stop implementing cuts!

Leicester’s Labour-led council is currently consulting on whether funding for the adventure playgrounds should be cut by 50% over the next four years.

It is possible that the council will consider the cut too unpopular at this stage and back down. But this would only offer a temporary reprieve. Without a united fightback against Tory cuts, “saved” services will be more isolated, and therefore more vulnerable, when the next round of cuts come!

Socialist Party members supported the lobby, and our leaflets advertising a public meeting on how Labour councils can resist all Tory cuts were well received.

Leicestershire Against the Cuts will be holding a public meeting on whether Leicester’s Labour council can fight back against Tory cuts at the St Matthews Centre (LE12PD) at 2pm on Saturday December 3. https://www.facebook.com/events/373177766356230/