Star date: 25th February 2015

AFTER THE SALFORD MAYOR TICKET FIASCO COMES THE CUTS CIRCUS

The UNISON protest placards outside today's Salford Council cuts meeting told one story... `Save Our Communities'... `Help The Homeless and Hungry'... `Stop The Cuts'...

Inside the Council chamber it was the same old story – a Political (with a capital `P') Punch and Judy Show, with no concerns being addressed, as Salford Council voted through £45million of cuts... "They were like a load of children" said one mother who witnessed the debacle.

Full details here...

From 8am this morning, campaigners against cuts were outside the Civic Centre with placards and banners urging Salford Council not to go through with the £45million cuts councillors were about to rubber stamp.

`Salford Destitute Set To Suffer'... `Salford Deprived Set To Starve'... `Save Our Communities' read some of the placards carried by Salford City UNISON members who work on the front line facing the horrors of life under the ConDem Government.

They were looking for Salford's Labour Council to at least delay the cuts to see what a new Government might bring after the General Election...or even to tell them exactly which services will be axed under the cuts budget which, apart from massive headline `savings' of £millions, has only has sketchy detailed information (see previous Salford Star article – click here).

There were also lots of references on placards to Salford Mayor, Ian Stewart's attempts to `reduce protests' in the public gallery of the council chamber by attempting to arrange tickets for Labour Party members... (see previous Salford Star article – click here)... `Do you want to `Reduce The Protests' Mr Mayor? Reduce the cuts! Simples!' read one, while another proclaimed `Kim Jong Ian? No Stalinism In Salford!'...

Joining the UNISON staff protest were pensioners, service users, community campaigners and representatives from the Green Party, TUSC and We Are The Reality Party. They heard Steven North, branch secretary of Salford City UNISON, explain that delaying the cuts vote wouldn't be `pie in the sky'...

"We're in a General Election year and only today we've seen new proposals coming out about the NHS – we need to be talking to the parties who will form the next government about a different funding settlement for places like Salford. If the Council is seriously committed to doing that it can work with the trade unions to use the time that we've got in order to do that.

"There is no reason why they have to take these decisions today" he added "We want to be fairly consulted, we want an opportunity to put our case jointly to government. If they are genuine they will take us up on that offer. That isn't pie in the sky, it's a very reasonable and practical thing they can do today, and hopefully they'll take that opportunity."

As the Council meeting began it was clear that wasn't going to happen. Meanwhile, neither Labour Party members nor protesters were intent on packing the public gallery which remained over half empty - and emptied even further as the meeting wore on and on, descending into a Political Punch and Judy Show, with insults being hurled between Conservative and Labour councillors – John Merry a `cappuccino communist' according to Conservative leader Karen Garrido; while Labour's Howard Balkind was threatened with legal action for aiming earnings `lies' at Robin Garrido.

Two thirds of the meeting was taken up discussing Conservative amendments to the budget – which included reducing council staff terms and conditions and union time, removing funding from the Working Class Movement Library, and slashing the number of Assistant Mayors.

In response, Labour councillors lined up to lay into the ConDem Government, which was like shooting fish in a barrel... "The opposition talk like we're the villain in the piece when it's the Government they support who are the villains" said Labour's Bill Hinds, adding that their attempt to get the `high moral ground' was "insincere and disingenuous". Cue applause from his own Labour councillors.

For the Tories, Iain Lindley argued "The simple truth is that not one single penny is coming back to Salford if Ed Miliband walks into Downing Street"... While the hot air was being expended, the truth was that, hopelessly outnumbered by Labour councillors, the Conservative budget amendments were never going to be voted through. And they weren't.

All that was left was for Salford Mayor, Ian Stewart, to get angry at the ConDem Government and the Salford Conservatives, and a heckler or two from Salford Against The Cuts who accused him of being a Stalinist.

Moving the £45million cuts budget, which was approved by every single Labour councillor, Stewart talked of his "heavy heart", before launching into what amounted to a party political broadcast on behalf of the Labour Party...

And with that, the Political Punch and Judy Show was over. But while the councillors were busy metaphorically hitting each other over the head with sticks and strings of sausages, the content would have been totally alien to those actually affected by the cuts – be they staff, community or service users.

In the public gallery was Noreen Bailey, a mum and carer for three severely disabled adults, who has campaigned against cuts to transport for disabled people and, turned off by mainstream politicians, is now standing as a candidate in the forthcoming General Election. She later wrote on Facebook...

"I have not long been back from the full Council meeting. I have never been so disgusted and upset. They were like a load of children arguing about a toy; these are grown men and women that are running Salford. Who on earth do they think they are?"

These were the only heartfelt words relayed all afternoon. Meanwhile, Salford is set to deal with the cuts carnage over the coming months...

• Salford Star could not livestream the Council meeting today because the Council's Wi-Fi connection was too slow. So much for the `super connected city'!