31.08.1995

Lochee referendum on health cuts

THE Communist Party of Great Britain launched its Lochee West election campaign by declaring its intention to use the election as a referendum on hospital cuts and closures in Dundee.

Saturday saw the start of the campaign with the Communist candidate Dominic Handley and CP supporters petitioning outside the shops in Lochee.

The response to the petition against the closure of DRI, Kings Cross Hospital and The Limb Fitting Centre was tremendous with, once more, people queuing up to sign.

Dundee branch of the CP will be knocking on every door in Lochee West with this petition to show the strength of opinion in just one area of the town. The names will be added to the thousands we have collected in the city centre in the last few months and presented to the Teaching Hospitals Trust on Monday September 25.

The Communist Party is the only party standing in this election that has fought against these closures and we condemn the Labour administration of Dundee District Council and the SNP administration of Tayside Regional Council for their silence on this issue. They have not fought for the people they are supposed to represent.

Dominic Handley said: “Decent healthcare is a right for everyone. Hospitals should not be run like businesses for profit. We are determined to force the trust to listen to working class demands.”

Mary Ward