Don’t be duped into thinking the affluent South East is unaffected by austerity

 

By Lucette Davies

Think of Eastbourne and you may think of affluent, conservative, apolitical, right wing people and to some extent you would be right.  But there is also poverty, deprivation, homelessness, inadequate housing, people with disabilities and many other vulnerabilities.  There is a growing number of children living in poverty but at last there is a group of vociferous and motivated people determined to do all they can to fight for a fairer society.  I have really felt lucky to join the Eastbourne People’s Assembly and meet with others who agree nobody can afford to stay quiet any longer in the face of  the savage austerity measures being implemented by this government.

Eastbourne People’s Assembly is launched

By Lucette Davies

Back in 2013 this letter was published in The Guardian with a very impressive list of signatories and the national People’s Assembly was formed.  They are committed to an #anti-austerity agenda, something that I have felt I could only approach with trepidation.  The UK has a national debt that increased exponentially in the last parliament, how on earth could we even think about not cutting back on spending?  But I have felt the effect of cuts myself, seen the effects of cuts on many other lives and I live in fear of even more being imposed.  And so I went along to the launch night of the Eastbourne #People’s Assembly on Saturday night.