Budget Cuts and Bankers’ Bonuses
As reported in Glasgow Local News protestors from Citizens United Against the Cuts and supporters of the Save the Accord Centre campaign joined forces to occupy and hold a people’s assembly in front of a branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland on Gordon Street on the 8th of February. The occupation and assembly drew attention to the latest array of swinging cuts targeting the poor and vulnerable.
The group said that bankers’ bonuses were being paid for through benefits to the poor and disabled being cut.
Campaigner Sean Clerkin stated that: ‘ Bankers’ bonuses are leading to serious inequality in society. To pay for those bonuses, day centres in Glasgow are being cut. The people who use those centres are the poor and vulnerable. The bottom line is, the poorest and the most vulnerable in society are paying for the top bankers’ bonuses. It is financial rape.’
On Thursday the 9th of February 2012, Glasgow’s Councillors voted through another £43M in budget cuts. This is on top of the £100M+ cut in the last two years which have already led to huge cuts in services and the loss of thousands of jobs in the council, charities, voluntary organisations, contractors, etc in Glasgow. The budget went through by 40 votes to 38 amidst accusations of coercion, the resignation of another four Labour councillors and calls for Gordon Matheson to step down (see Newsnet Scotland’s report). As if that wasn’t enough to conclude the daily chronicle of nefarious goings on in the city chambers, a parent involved with the Save the Accord campaign was evicted from the public gallery for no apparent reason, read a full report on the Local Glasgow News website.
We’ll be keeping tabs on whether or not any of this new batch of cuts to public services is actually money being diverted and pumped into the 2020 games.
