Atherton Online

Campaigners opposed to the Coalition Government's Health & Social Care Bill, and what they say are 'un-mandated cuts' of £20bn in NHS funding, will be staging a part theatrical protest in Leigh town centre on Saturday led by Coalition 'Grim Reaper' Andrew Lansley.

The co-ordinating group, representing health service and other unions, and which includes healthcare professionals as well as ordinary members of the public, aim to raise wider public awareness of, and practical opposition to the controversial 'reform' proposals and unprecedented financial cutbacks which the group say combined together ".... are the biggest threat to the survival of the NHS since its inception in 1948."

The Leigh Branch of Britain's largest trades union UNITE, have issued an open invitation to local MPs, Councillors, trades unionists and members of the general public to join them in a massive demonstration on the 26th March in London.

They are offering free transport by executive coach, to all local UNITE members, and to anyone else opposed to the Government's huge public spending cuts programme living in the Leigh, Atherton, Tyldesley & Hindley Green area, on a 'pay what you can afford basis' , so that they can take part in what the TUC, who are organising the event, believe will be the largest protest in the capital for years.

"With local hospitals, libraries, and many other public services facing the axe, we are inviting everyone who is opposed to what the Government are doing to take part in the protest. We would be especially delighted to see our local MPs and Councillors joining us, and marching alongside us on the day" said Branch Chair Stephen Hall who will be leading the local UNITE contingent on the day.

So it happened. The meeting. There was swearing, name calling that escalated to a full on fist fight. Blood was spilled... I can't tell you how ugly it was. I really can't because I wasn't there, but kaShaw radio were and thankfully they recorded the whole thing. It was a much more civilised affair than what I just made up and, if you listen to it, as always, let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

This is a press release by the Atherton Demands Its Own High School group:

Members of the Atherton Demands Its Own High School (ADIOHS) campaign group have warmly welcomed Shadow Education Secretary Andy Burnham's decision to ask the Chief Schools Adjudicator to turn down Wigan Council's application to bring forward the originally planned closure date of Hesketh Fletcher High School by one year.

They are also supporting his call for the people of Atherton to have a new opportunity to debate the long term options for secondary education in the town given the closure proposal was explicitly linked to Wigan Council's ill-fated 'Building Schools for the Future' programme which included the expansion of Westleigh High School and the establishment of a 14-19 College at the existing Hesketh Fletcher High School site.

Speaking on behalf of ADIOHS, which has been campaigning for an adequately funded, educationally high achieving, non-denominational, community run high school to replace the existing HFHS set up, Chair Stephen Hall said: "We agree totally with Andy Burnham that the Council have got this wrong and that we need a re-run consultation on this broader question as we have been advocating.

So! There was another open public meeting on the 4th November and was basically all about the setting up of community group to best represent Atherton and its views. With the majority of this meeting being about agreeing upon a constitution. The draft version of which is presented below, and we'll post the amended one when it's finished.

Hopefully we're going to start adding an mp3 of any of the public meetings that happen in the town, so you can listen back to them if you didn't attend, or use them for reference at a later date. Apologies for the quality of this one, but it's the first time that it's been done so we need to work out the best way to do it. Next time I'll try and make it better quality and put chapter markers in so you can easily skip to the item on the agenda that you're concerned with.

Location: Jubilee Hall - Atherton

Attendees: Julie Finch, Ken Smith, Michael Livesey, Denise Thomson, David Watkins, Hermann St. John, Jane Warburton, Norman Bradbury, Mark Dudley, Sheila Prescott, Alan Prescott, Kathleen Cranfield, Stephen Hall, Stuart Gerrard, Alex Hartley (Recording)

This article is a press release from Stephen Hall. If any other group, organization or political party, would like their press releases to be published on the site, please add This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to your mailing lists.

Atherton High School campaigner Stephen Hall has pledged a continued fight for a new High School for Atherton on the part of the Atherton Demands Its Own High School group. He said that the group's campaign "..would go on irrespective of any attempts by the Council's Education Chief's to close the current Hesketh Fletcher High School earlier than the July 2012 date agreed by the Schools Adjudicator".

He said such an action by the Council would "have a detrimental impact on the education of all those still remaining at the school" and represented "a step backwards on the part of the Council" which would be "...strongly opposed" by the school campaign group - a proposal to do so having been initially scheduled but subsequently deferred to a future date at last week's Wigan Council Cabinet meeting.

"In contrast to this approach" Mr. Hall said "since the elections and the demise of Wigan's Building Schools for the Future programme, some of us have sought to open up a constructive dialogue with our two local MPs, Andy Burnham & Julie Hilling and with other influential Labour Party members concerned with secondary education provision on the East side of the borough and in Atherton in particular.

"We took this step in order to try and develop a more politically broad-based and non-partisan approach to the current school closure issue and in support of establishing a new high school for our town to replace Hesketh Fletcher when it closes.

Reminder of Atherton & Atherleigh Community Action Launch - this Friday at the Atherton Arms 7.30pm

The newly formed 'People Against Cuts' group, which aims to forge a non-partisan alliance of local trades unionists and public service users across the borough, has called for a Wigan Town centre rally on Saturday 31st July (1.00pm start) to protest against the huge public spending cuts likely in Wigan Borough area over the next two years and beyond.