Election: Vote crucial for public services

NEVER has your vote been more important for public services.

With an election dominated by political beauty contests on TV and simplistic calls for ‘change’, the real issues are our services, the people who rely on them and the people who deliver them.

We can afford these services and they are crucial to rebuilding the economy. We musn’t repeat the mistakes of the 80s and 90s that brought our services to their knees. Apathy could be the winner in this election. Don’t let that happen. Whatever you do, vote on 6 May.

UNISON’s 10 April March and Rally is just one of a variety of activities being delivered by the union at UK and Scottish level in the run-up to the General Election.

The million voices campaign down south has unveiled YouTube and TV ads pointing out the likely impact of cuts to ordinary people - www.unison.org.uk/video/video.asp?did=10828.

And billboard ads drawing attention to the proposals of the Tories to take an axe to public service funding should they form the government, have been unveiled.

In Scotland a members’ issue of Scotland inUNISON is being distributed along with the spring U magazine. This gives the answers of the main Scottish parties to three key questions - Boosting the economy, Defending public services, and Affording decent conditions - and should mean that all members can see what the parties are saying about their jobs and services before they vote.

Scotland’s Retired Members’ and Health Groups both used their conferences as hustings, inviting the major parties along to quiz them directly.

Branches have also been organising work with communities - street stalls, leafleting and conferences. In addition to the existing ‘day in the life’ leaflet, a new poster has been produced showing the difference in all out lives that public services deliver.

The Spot the Difference poster shows a street with and without public services, and can be downloaded as a pdf from the UNISONScotland website www.unison-scotland.org.uk/publicworks.

The importance of the General Election to the jobs of our members and the services they provide is crucial and the Public Works campaign urges a vote for public services. But it will not stop there.

Establishment figures, the private sector and big business think tanks continue to peddle the myth that we cannot afford decent services, taking advantage of the crisis they caused to make us pay for their bail out. This will continue and increase after the election.

UNISON’s campaign is key to the fightback and must also continue.

headlines . top