I'm supposed to be getting some f@#$ing work done. Instead I'm sat here seething at the smoke and mirrors that is political discourse in the 21st century.
What's got me so riled? On the face of it, Levenshulme Baths! Or more accurately, the saving of Levenshulme Baths from closure by Manchester City Council to save money under the (blah blah blah) coalition cuts.
Here's the timeline. A few weeks back, Manchester City Council announced it's budget for the coming year, including the 25% cuts it was going to have to make to stay in line with government spending. The headline announcements for this included a handful of libraries and two swimming pools, one of which was the baths in Levenshulme. The measures announced seemed so draconian they made national news bulletins at the time.
I've lived in Levenshulme for six years now, and the baths have always been a political hot potato. There's always been rumours circulating that the (Labour controlled) city council wants to shut them down, and always an official statement that the council has no plans for the baths at the present time.
Following the announcement, two campaigns to save the baths lumber into action, one led by Lib Dem concillors the other by their Labour counterparts (Levenshulme teeters between Lib Dem and Labour). Local news bulletins reported live from the demonstration outside the baths. A soundbite from random middle class mum with kids even made it to Channel Four news.
Anyhow, yesterday the council met to discuss the plans. Around lunchtime word started to spread via twitter that the baths had once more been saved. Not long after, a LibDem sympathetic website Levenshulme Life (http://www.levenshulmelife.com/content/levenshulme-baths-stay-open) announced the same. By 2pm, a full colour leaflet announcing Labour had saved the baths was pushed through my door (titled “Labour Listens, Levenshulme Baths Special”). A similar leaflet from the LibDems arrived this morning.
How long do you think it takes to get say ten thousand full colour leaflets printed. I just rang a local printing firm who said “possibly by friday”. Four days, then. Assume I'm a regular customer and I reckon we can half that time. Two days.
Which means our Labour councillors knew last week the baths would be saved.
Which suggests, to a cynical old f@#$ like me, that they were never in danger. But it got some great headlines, didn't it?
Here's part of what's got me so riled: the local labour councillors are taking credit for saving a local amenity from their own labour controlled council. The local LibDem councillors are taking credit for saving a local amenity from the cuts introduced by their own party.
But here's what really bugs me. January 2011, fuel costs are going up, VAT goes up, unemployment goes up, the economy shrinks. The government announces plans to sell the forests...
