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Save adult education at the Bethnal Green Centre - Lobby, 25th June
Tower Hamlets council is planning to close the Bethnal Green Centre, one of the oldest adult education centres in the country. Campaigners have organised a lobby of the council on 25th June, following the recent demonstration and march attended by 200 campaigners along with local MP George Galloway.

Adult education courses are under threat nationwide as a result of government policy aimed at making learners pay, regardless of their ability to do so. This is being felt also at Bethnal Green Centre, 229 Bethnal Green Road, London E2 6AB, where adult learning is under threat following a statement made by the director of children’s services at the Borough of Tower Hamlets, which would confirm that there were plans for the building to be “disposed of” after a two-year interim period.

Students, staff and the wider local public became suspicious back in March when preparations were being made to move some courses to other centres and terminate other courses altogether. At a public meeting at the centre on 20 March, Cllr. Clair Hawkins confirmed that the centre had been earmarked to accommodate local school pupils from Bethnal Green Technology College during a two-year refurbishment programme, displacing adult day classes in the process.

The council plans thus sprung upon students, staff and local residents was duly met with vociferous criticism, marking the beginning of what has become a veritable campaign to save Bethnal Green Centre. After a number of activists’ meetings, a petition and letters were drafted and circulated, and a public march to bring the issue to the attention of the wider public was organised.

Local MP George Galloway and a crowd of about 200 people gathered in Bethnal Green Gardens and marched down Bethnal Green Road to the centre on Saturday, 26 April, attracting media coverage in the East London Advertiser, Evening Standard, LBC Radio and BBC London Radio.

Although the Council is now back-tracking in the face of public opposition, denying that there are any plans to sell Bethnal Green Centre in two years’ time, the Campaign is continuing to press Tower Hamlets Council for cast-iron guarantees that the centre will remain devoted to adult education beyond 2011, thus ensuring adequate provision for both, school pupils and adult learners in the area, an objective well within the financial means of the Borough.

To this effect, representations will be made to the full council meeting at 7:30pm on 25 June at the Council Chamber, 1st Floor, Town Hall, Mulberry Place, 5 Clove Crescent, London, E14 2BG - Click here for a map of the area.

Support from other adult education centres, local unions, community organisations and the wider public will be welcome.

Bethnal Green Centre has been an adult education centre since after the First World War. Its contribution to community cohesion and individual self-improvement is much appreciated by people in the area. This applies in particular to courses such as woodwork, jewellery, ceramics and mechanics, for which irreplaceable facilities exist at the centre, and in whose defence the “Association of Dirty Classes” formed by students has been particularly active.

For more information, visit www.bethnalgreencentre.blogspot.com, or contact Roberto Foth, UCU representative and campaign member, at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .
 

News and articles of interest

Here are some articles and news reports we think are worth looking at

Poll of polls shows Labour at its most unpopular since 1935 by Nigel Morris
Gordon Brown is leading Labour to its worst electoral defeat since the 1930s, according to a new "poll of polls" for The Independent. On current levels of support, Labour would lose almost half its MPs at the next election and David Cameron would become Prime Minister with an overwhelming majority. The backlash against Labour has left the party with the support of just 27 per cent of voters, the weighted average of last month's polls for The Independent shows.

Unmanned spy planes to police Britain by Kim Sengupta
The Government is drawing up plans to use unmanned "drone" aircraft currently deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan to counter terrorism and aid police operations in Britain. The MoD is carrying out research and development to enable the spy planes, which are equipped with highly sophisticated monitoring equipment that allows them to secretly track and photograph suspects without their knowledge, to be deployed within three years.

The Camp for Climate Action, at Kingsnorth, Kent, 3rd to 11th August - full details
Wednesday 10 am update. Local MP Bob Marshall-Andrews condems police action at climate camp (see BBC article), saying "I find the use of police in riot gear incomprehensible and I think it was a mistake." He also described the actions of the police as "provocation."

Diego Garcia: the UK's shame by Andy Worthington
The ancient Greek dramatist Aeschylus wrote: "In war, truth is the first casualty." These words are particularly apt in relation to the British Overseas Territory of Diego Garcia, leased to the United States in 1971, where the truth – that a secret "War on Terror" prison existed from 2002 until as recently as 2006 – has been persistently denied by both the British and American governments.

The Horror Of Israeli Occupation - documentary developed by Chaim Yavin West Bank Checkpoints
A video clip that dramatically portrays the meeting of Israeli solders and Palestinians at controversial West Bank security checkpoints. This clip is the second of a series taken from "Land of the Settlers", the acclaimed documentary developed by Chaim Yavin, Israel's premier news anchor.

Anger at police raid on green camp ahead of coal protest by Matthew Taylor
Environmental campaigners and politicians criticised the police last night after around 200 officers raided a climate camp, seizing hundreds of items that they claimed could be used to break the law. Activists at the camp, which starts today with a series of workshops on sustainable energy and social justice, said the raid aimed to disrupt legitimate protest.

Morning Star Back on Track After Office Fire by Tomasz Pierscionek
In the early hours of Monday morning (last week), an electrical fire broke out at William Rust House, the East London office of the socialist newspaper the Morning Star. The fire, believed to have been caused by a malfunctioning air-conditioner, broke out at approximately 3am and caused considerable structural damage to both the interior of the Morning Star's newsroom and the equipment within, knocking out both electrical power and phone lines.

Venezuela Bridges Diplomatic Fissures and Polishes Alliances in European Tour by James Suggett
Rounding off a diplomatic tour of Europe that began with Tuesday's controversial visit in Russia, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez mended relations with the Spanish government, set up a bi-national commerce commission with Portugal, and eliminated visa requirements to facilitate bilateral accords with Belarus this week.

Why David Cameron Blames the Poor by Peter Taylor-Gooby
David Cameron's 'blaming the poor' speech in Glasgow may be more than just an attempt to placate the unreconstructed right of the Conservative party. It is not often recognised how far British public opinion has shifted towards a liberal individualist stance on social issues in recent years. In some ways we are more Thatcherite under New Labour than we ever were under the Conservatives.

Star names set to top the bill at Carnegie Festival - Dunfermline Press
TWO of the best-known faces on television will be making personal appearances in Dunfermline next month as part of the inaugural Carnegie Festival, from 21st August to 7th September. Evan Davis will be in dialogue with fiesty MP George Galloway in a conversation on Saturday, 23rd August, at 7.30pm in the Carnegie Hall. Tickets, priced £5, are available from the Carnegie Hall box office.

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