PROTESTERS took to the streets of Leamington on Sunday to voice their concern at health and education cuts.
The Coventry and Warwickshire Sustainability and Transformation Plan will see some £270million cut through an overhaul of health services, while school budgets in Warwick and Stratford districts face cuts of some £10.5million as part of a new national schools funding formula put forward by the previous government.
South Warwickshire Keep Our NHS Public (SWKONP) organised the march which ended with talks by NHS staff, teachers, and union representatives in the Pump Room Gardens.
Andy Summers, of Warwickshire National Union of Teachers, said: “Sunday’s Rally for Education and the NHS in Leamington was a remarkable success.
“Hundreds of parents, children waving home-made banners, NHS and educational employees and many other concerned Warwick and Leamington residents marched through the town.
“The frustration felt by many parents was very evident and the shared concern with the SWKONP group provided stark evidence of the decay in public services and the inevitable effect of this double whammy assault on Warwickshire.”
An Education Question Time event, open to all to attend, is being held at Leamington Town Hall on Monday May 22, starting at 7pm.
All the general election candidates standing in Warwick and Leamington will attend, along with former NUT president Philipa Harvey, while in the chair will be Emma Knights, chief executive of the National Governors Association.
Photos courtesy of Russell Whitehead Photography. www.russellwhitehead.com
