And there will be others. Are you happy these services should go, probably never to return, while the City bankers still earn a massive amount, much of it in bonus.Lewes and District Trades' Council has united with Lewes Stop the Cuts, a group formed by ordinary citizens who felt no need to act politically until now. We have no local MP we can trust or turn to. We must make a noise ourselves. If you are affected by any cut, let us know (see Contacts) and we can start to buiild a picture and resistance. For up to date information, contact Lewes Stop the Cuts

Arrangements for The 2nd LEWES FESTIVAL OF TRADE UNIONISM AND SOCIALISM 2011, with the subtitle "Defeat Fascism - Defend Services" are almost complete. The line up is:

• Tues. Oct. 4th 2011 1st May Band “Fighting the Cuts” All Saints Centre 7.30 Free,
• Fri. Oct. 14th 2011 Roy Bailey, music and song, The Royal Oak Folk Club, £10 in advance, now on sale (apply the Royal Oak Folk Club tinvic@globalnet.co.uk), £12 on door (A Folk Against Fascism event) 8 -11pm
• Wed. Oct. 19th 2011 Attila the Stockbroker, supported by Oliver Gozzard satirical poetry The Elephant and Castle 8.00 Free,
• Wed. Oct. 26th 2011 PUBLIC MEETING with BILLY HAYES (leader of CWU), Megan Dobney (Regional Secretary SERTUC), Brian Traynor (regional officer POA), Paula Black (officer UNISON) Lewes Arms, upstairs function room Free 7.45pm - 9.45 pm.
  .

  Please print a copy of this poster for yourself using the embedded PDF and display. If you stumble across this website and live and work in East Sussex, ask your local Trade Union Branch if hey send a delegate to Lewes District Trades' Council. If not, encourage them to do so. ndividualism and the culture of personal gain nearly brought the country to financial ruin in 2009/10. Let's work together and give power back to the unions. If you do not belong to a union, come along to our Festival and see what it's all about. Union's are part of the Big Society and only they will stand up for your rights and interest.

  ---

  LEWES COMMUNITY DECLARATION FOR DEMOCRACY AND RESPECT, AND AGAINST THE POLITICS OF HATRED
  We, the people of the Constituency of Lewes, including Newhaven and Seaford, are opposed to those who seek to promote hatred and discrimination in our community. We believe that the lessons of history demonstrate that hate politics, racism and fascism, if unchallenged, inevitably cause fear and division in communities, and consequently lead to intimidation and violence. We believe that diversity is a strength and a cause for celebration, and that those who promote discrimination and racism in our community are seeking to divide us. All signatories to this statement have a shared belief in democracy, justice, fairness, peace and equality. We oppose bigotry, discrimination and racism at home, at work and in the community. We declare our willingness to work with democratic political parties, faith groups, community leaders and others that take a stand against those that promote hate politics, racism or fascism.
  
  Rosemary Collict Seaford Town Council,
  Father Richard Biggerstaff St. Pancras Roman Catholic Church,
  Susan Murray Green Party,
  Ralph Taylor Seaford Town Council,
  Jane Macintosh Lewes Group in Support of Refugees and Asylum Seekers,
  Norman Baker MP,
  Hratche Koundarjian Labour Candidate, Chair, Labour Party in Seaford,
  Steve Daughtery Southover Church,
  Rev A.P.Camper MA Minister of Westgate Unitarian Chapel Lewes,
  Mr. D Motley Chair, Lewes and District Trades Council,
  Dave Brinson, Labour Candidate for Eastbourne and NUT National Executive Committee
  Mr M Motley
  
  Add your name

  ---

  DEFENDING YOUR RIGHTS!

  The Trades Union Council

  Lewes and District Trades Union Council brings together unions to work and campaign around issues affecting working people in their local workplaces and communities. The Trades Union Council aims to:
  
  * raise public awareness of rights at work and the union role in enforcing those rights.
  
  * support union and community campaigns for dignity and respect in the workplace and beyond.
  
  With the threats of racism and fascism, changes in the labour market and debates over the future of public services, the trade union voice in the community is as important as ever. The Lewes and DistrictTrades Union Councils aims to provide a local response and to organise trade unionists into coalitions with other progressive forces. We can do this by providing services which keep local trade unionists up to date with developments within the wider trade union movement, and by taking up relevant local industrial and community issues.
  
  A union branch will normally affiliate to the trades union council in the area in which it meets. Each branch will then send delegates to the trades union council's meetings. These branches pay an affiliation fee. Their delegates elect officers from amongst themselves to represent the views and priorities of the constituent branches and to take responsibility for working for and supporting the policy of Congress and the TUC General Council. This is because trades union councils are registered with the TUC, rather than being entirely independent bodies.
  
  Is your union affiliated?
  
  
  
  

  ---

  Monthly Meetings 2011

  Meetings take place in the upstairs meeting room at the British Legion Club, Morris Road, Lewes, beginning at 8.00pm and finishing by 9.30pm.
  • Monday 18th July 2011
  • NO MEETING August 2011
  • Monday 19th September 2011
  • Monday 17th October 2011
  • Monday 21st November 2011
  • NO MEETING December 2011
  
  
  

  ---

  LEWES a radical place to live

  The area covered by the Trades Union Council has a rich and radical history. But beware. You will search the history books in vain for most of it. This is...
  
  A People`s history of Lewes
  
  1264: The battle of Lewes: The first direct challenge on a battlefield to the divine right of kings. The Mise of Lewes agreed after the battle led directly to our modern system of Parliamentary democracy.
  1381: Jack Cade murdered: At the village of Heathfield, some 10 miles from Lewes Cade, a leader of the Peasants revolt was hunted down and murdered.
  1393: Lewes peasants revolt: 12 years after the crushing of the peasants revolt Lewes people break into Lewes castle and burn the rent rolls of the Earl of Arundel.
  1645: English civil war: Cromwell holds a provisional parliament in Lewes.
  1768: Tom Paine in Lewes: Paine, later to become an iconic figure in both the French and American revolutions moves to Lewes to work as a customs officer. He is dismissed for attempting to organize fellow workers into a union.
  1926: General strike: Trains in and out of Lewes come to a halt. The TUC decides that the strike is holding firm in Lewes without the need for pickets.
  1936: Anti- Nazi demonstrations in Lewes: Protestors block the main Lewes to Brighton Road outside Lewes prison in protest against a fact finding visit to the prison by gestapo officers.
  1971: TUC reorganizes: Lewes and Newhaven Trades Union Councils merge to form Ouse Valley and District Trades Council.
  1997: Election upset: the people send Lib Dem Norman Baker to Parliament, the first non- Tory to represent Lewes in over a century.
  2003: And even more upsets: The Marxist Socialist Labour Party captures over 15% of the vote in Bridge Ward during the local elections, beating the entire slate of the Blairite New Labour Party.
  And what next...?
  
  .....and some famous people with Lewes connections
  
  Our little town a few miles from the south coast of England boasts a number of radical and revolutionary connections. To name just a few...
  
  Brendan Behan, Irish writer and republican was incarcerated in Lewes prison.
  Henry Hyndman, Founder of the Social Democratic Federation, the forerunner of the Labour Party, played cricket for Lewes Priory CC.
  Virginia Woolf, writer and feminist lived in Rodmell, a village three miles from Lewes.
  Friedrich Engels loved this area of Sussex. His ashes were scattered off the cliffs at Beachy Head some 16 miles east of Lewes.
  Thabo Mbeki, ANC leader and later president of South Africa attended Sussex University, a few miles west of Lewes.