The Cuts Campaigners Need to Improve their Game

If the anti-cuts campaigners want to be successful they need to do three things.

1. Pick their battles
2. Stick to the facts
3. Talk persuasively, not just loudly

Picking Battles

Anti-cuts campaigners need to realise there are going to be cuts, and they are going to be big. That does not mean that they should give up, there are cuts which can be uncut, policy reversals which can be forced. The policy turnarounds on school sport and forests shows battles can be won, but only the right ones. From now on anti-cuts campaigners need to pick areas where a wide base of support can be built, where the issue speaks to as many people as possible. Those are the battles where the coalition see that the loss of face that comes with a U-turn is better than continued negative headlines and loss of support.

One quick nod to scepticism here: it should be noted that Gove managed to cut £50,000,000 from school sports funding and leave anti-cuts campaigners feeling like they'd won a resounding victory. Hmm

Sticking to the Facts

There are enough things wrong with the way this government is cutting that the anti-cuts campaign shouldn't need to make things up. This week a report by website False Economy claimed that the NHS is to loose 50,000 jobs over the next four years. That's pretty eye-catching and certainly shocking. It's also a gross abuse of statistics; for example the report counts doctors moving hospitals as job cuts. The way the government proposes to reform the workings of the NHS may not be all rosy but its funding commitment is solid, funding for the NHS will increase in real terms.

Campaigners need to focus on what Lansley and Gove will do to the NHS and to education. Lying just gives the pro-cut lobby ammunition whilst distracting from the real arguments.


Talking persuasively, not just loudly

Last week, 10 weeks after the university tuition fees rise passed through parliament, I was canvassed by a group of anti-tuition fees campaigners: complete with music, shouting and leaflet thrusting. The leaflets reiterated the same arguments about the changes to the tuition fees system, I'm not going to discuss those arguments again, the problem here is that the debate around tuition fees, and cuts in general, has to move on.

In the coming weeks university leadership will be meeting to decide what fees their universities will charge students from September 2012. This is where anti-fees campaigners should now be focusing their efforts. But I don't think this is a battle where mass protest will be effective; instead student leaders need to be sitting down with both the politicians who will have to approve fees changes, and with the university managements themselves. Campaigners need to ensure that future students get the best deal out the system, like it or not, will be in place from September 2012. This will only be achieved through giving the management and politicians reasons to help, it won't be achieved by shouting at them.



The case against cuts can be made. But, it must be done so in a way which targets those cuts which are unfair, unjust, or foolish. Nor can the campaign be distracted by publishing misleading stories which allow the proponents of cuts to attack when they should be justifying the policies. Finally if campaigners are going to shout to get attention, they should make the most of our attention once they have it by making clear, persuasive arguments for their positions.