Thanks are due to you and to all the trade unions and other organisations who generously supported and mobilised tens of thousands of activists and their families locally and regionally to support our hugely successful ‘Our NHS’ demonstration in London on March 4, called by Health Campaigns Together and built jointly with the Peoples Assembly. The police estimate was 250,000, which they don’t say lightly, so by any standards this was a tremendous show of strength.
At least 16 national unions gave us their support, along with the National Pensioners Convention and many more national and local organisations. You can see reports, pictures and videos of the day at www.healthcampaignstogether.com.
Of course one demonstration, however big, will not change government policy. The plan all along was that the demonstration would kick start a new wave of sustained campaigning in every town city and rural area, to build a major concerted movement for the NHS.
Unless we are to wait and watch our health care decline until 2020 we have to pile pressure on councils, councillors and local MPs of every party to in turn clamour for a government change of line, a halt to all the cuts and plans to close local A&E and hospital services, and a major injection of new funds to make up for the six long years of frozen NHS budgets that have left spending trailing well behind the growth of population and health needs, and falling both in spend per head and as a share of GDP back to the bad old days of the 1980s.
Health Campaigns Together is not an organisation but an alliance of organisations, and we have no political agenda other than consistent opposition to austerity-driven cuts in our NHS, privatisation and PFI, and any plans which drag the NHS into such policies. Our aim is simple: to bring together the maximum number and variety of organisations to build a powerful MOVEMENT, united on the need to act now to defend our NHS and its principles.
So we are appealing to you to work with us in this, and continue the fight. Health Campaigns Together has no bureaucracy, no offices or full time staff, and no core funding: we only have the resources we can raise through donations, affiliations and sales and advertising in our newspaper, which is now quarterly, the next issue now beginning preparation.
The newspaper, now a 12-page tabloid, is available FREE online, but we also print copies for use by campaigners, and sold at a fraction above cost price.
The next issue in early April will be advertising the activities we are proposing for the rest of this year, and analysis of the budget and recent developments: but we could also be carrying reports of YOUR local activities and campaigning if you submit articles or information to us by March 27 at healthcampaignstogether@gmail.com.
In addition we are asking all organisations which want to continue the fight until we win to show your support for in a variety of ways, according to your local circumstances:
1) Advertise your support: we are offering organisations defending the NHS the chance to take out paid adverts, with your artwork, or your own words and/or images which we will design: the rates are: Full page £500, half page £250, quarter page £125, one eighth £75, minimum advert £50. Adverts must be booked and paid for ONLINE by March 27.
2) SPECIAL MAY DAY offer: advertise your NHS speakers on May Day event platforms with a 2-column ad for a standard £60, with FREE online display advert on our website. Adverts must be booked and paid for ONLINE by March 27.
3) Affiliate your organisation to Health Campaigns Together: affiliation is easiest online, and full details are available at http://www.healthcampaignstogether.com/support.php, although you can use cheques and post if preferred. If your organisation would struggle to raise our suggested £50 affiliation, please contact us to negotiate a lower rate.
SUBSCRIBE to Health Campaigns Together: we can send out bundles of the paper for little over cost price plus postage and packing fees: but to make sure we adjust the print run appropriately we welcome advance orders. The paper will appear quarterly in 2017 (as we did last year). So we are offering a special Spring offer if you Pre-order for the rest of 2017. Get a 10% discount on orders for all 3 Spring, Summer and Autumn issues received before 15th May. That would give you the following savings (the more you order, the more you save!):
Spring, Summer and Autumn issues SPECIAL OFFER, inc. postage:
10 copies £27.00 (normally £30)
50 copies £67.50 (normally £75)
100 copies £94.50 (normally £105)
500 copies £189.00 (normally £210)
4) Send us a donation: we welcome donations from individuals or from organisations, and thank all those who kindly donated to ensure our March 4 demonstration covered all its costs.
It’s best for us if you can make direct payments online to our Coop Bank account:
Sort Code 08-92-99, Account Number 65797921 but please email us at healthcampaignstogether@gmail.com to let us know how much you have paid and what it’s for!
If you are unable to make payments online, cheques are very welcome. Please make out to Health Campaigns Together, and send c/o HCT, 28 Washbourne Rd, Leamington Spa CV31 2LD
5) INVITE a speaker: Health Campaigns Together is keen above all to encourage the building of strong, broad-based local campaigns, and we welcome invitations to speak as long as travel costs can be covered. Contact us at healthcampaignstogether@gmail.com.
We have come a long way since Health Campaigns Together first started bringing together unions and local campaigns in the autumn of 2015. With your help we can go on to build an even more powerful movement forcing back Theresa May’s government, and defend our NHS. Thank you for your support and for reading this: we hope you will be in touch with us soon.