What is different about this campaign to save a local hospital is that it has been very heavily supported in the past by local Conservative Councillors and MPs.
There is now a great deal of anger against the three local Tory MPs (including Jo Johnson and his brother London Mayor Boris Johnson) who promised to save the hospital during the General election but seem to have now forgotten this pledge.
Look at all the hot air on the college above.
This site gives you a taste of local feeling.
"James Brokenshire MP is a disgrace to the people of Old Bexley & Sidcup. He swanned into the constituency saying, during the General Election campaign, that he would stop the closure programme of Queen Mary's A&E. HE LIED. He was not alone. The famous email that he sent out days before the election was signed by all the local (Conservative) candidates.
They were but words to get themselves elected...and so it proved.
We learn today (22nd September 2010) that Queen Mary's A&E is to close in 6 weeks' time. All we can say after this long 3 year battle is, yes - it is a case of LIES, LIES, LIES. See below. What do you have to say Mr Brokenshire?
Where can we go now, what can we do? To say that the Conservative government and the local Conservative MP have badly let down the people of Old Bexley and Sidcup is something of an understatement. To start with please write to your MP to ask them how it is that this closure has gone ahead when they said that they would stop it. This is not just James Brokenshire in Old Bexley & Sidcup, it is all those constituencies that border it including Bromley & Chislehurst (Bob Neill) and Orpington (Joe Johnson) as well as all the others".
Check out Bexley Times and "Tory MP Fury".
Picture is of UNISON activists protesting last month against the closure (Mike Davey UNISON SGE Health Executive) who have been found themselves in recent years in the embarrassing position of being out-lefted at lobbies and demos by the extremely militant ranks of the Bexley Blue Rinse Brigade.
Methinks this demonstrates that people of all political persuasions value their key public services and if a campaign is properly supported (no trots please) they will join a coalition to resist the cuts.
This also reminds of Megan's argument 1) that we can defeat the cuts by working for a collapse of this coalition. Yet another reason for joining the TUC lobby of MP's on Tuesday?
