It's incredible. Five people have been shot in Salford recently but police vans and officers were deployed to Salford Civic Centre as a man tried to ask Salford City Mayor, Ian Stewart, a question about the reduction of mental health beds in the city and its impact on service users.
Steve Cullen is a member of the appropriately titled USUC (United Service Users Committee) which fights cuts to mental health services in Salford. Like any member of the community he is entitled to ask the Mayor or Council a question at the regular full council meeting, as long as it reaches the appropriate department 12 days in advance, the cut off in this case being 4pm on Friday 30th May.
Steve sent his question in at 3:12pm on Friday 30th May, only to be told the following Monday that his question was submitted too late. This morning, Steve joined a lively lobby of councillors who were on their way into the meeting at the Civic Centre.
The lobby, supported by Salford City UNISON and Salford Against The Cuts, was asking councillors to think again about cuts to everything from Salford Children's Camp to Welfare Rights and Debt Advice, to transport for severely disabled adults (see previous Salford Star article – click here).
Steve was also there, handing out leaflets and telling councillors that he had been denied the chance to ask his question on cuts to mental health services despite getting it in on time, showing them the printed email as proof. The Salford Star witnessed at least two councillors saying they would support his right to question the Mayor.
At the following meeting, one of the first items on the agenda was Public Questions, and Karl Davison from the Save The Jam Butty Camp asked the Mayor to hold an `urgent inquiry' into the running of the Camp, adding that statements from Councillor Pennington to both schools and in public on the Camp's status were misleading. He was quickly fobbed off by the Mayor who said it was a matter for the Camp's management and trustees.
As councillors prepared to move on to the next agenda item Steve Cullen stood up in the public gallery and told councillors that he had been prevented from asking his question, and could he ask it now?
"No" said the ceremonial Mayor "Sit down…we move on…"
Steve began asking his question: "Why is Salford Council in favour of reducing Mental Health beds, secure beds and community beds? What does the Mayor think of the impacts to service users?"
Security officers approached him, but as councillors continued with their business, Steve continued to demand an answer to his question, while asking councillors whether they wanted to impose censorship and restrict freedom of speech.
They completely ignored him, as those councillors who said they would defend his right to ask the question stayed silent…
"How ignorant is Salford City Council and its Mayor?" another campaigner shouted from the public gallery "Is this Iran or Salford?"
Steve continued to protest that he had been denied his rights as council officer Nick Page entered the public gallery and assured him that the matter would be investigated and he would be allowed to question the Mayor at the next full Council meeting – in a month's time…
The meeting moved on, with Salford Mayor Ian Stewart making statements and being fed questions mainly from Labour councillors that allowed him to slap himself and his Council on the back for things like the Spirit of Salford festival, empty homes and green policies, the Pendleton and Chapel Street regeneration, and `Chinese levels of economic development in the city' which would help `minimise effects' of austerity on vulnerable people, who will "no longer get their services" in the meantime.
Finally the agenda moved on to the AJ Bell Stadium – a joint venture between Salford Council and Peel Holdings – which has swallowed up over £23million of Council loans (see previous Salford Star article – click here) and is one of the most contentious issues in Salford.
Conservative Councillor Cheetham mentioned the Stadium's `substantial losses' and asked whether the Council would be advancing more loans. Deputy Mayor, David Lancaster, said he thought it would, explaining that the project hadn't `hit targets' again this year and was reliant on selling surrounding land to break even.
Councillor Lea then asked, not about the loans' potential effect on Council budgets, but about the inflated cost of beer, wine and spirits in the hospitality suite at the Stadium.
The meeting then ended and Steve Cullen was met coming out of the public gallery by two police officers who had been called in by the Council and wanted to have a word. They took his personal details – his name, phone number, personal address – and he was basically cautioned about his behaviour.
"I feel insulted, disgusted and ignored by Salford Council and the Mayor" Steve told the Salford Star "I did state that it's a democratic society and you should be allowed to ask questions without being told to shut up. When the police came and said they wanted to talk to me, and took my details, I felt like I had done something wrong, like a petty criminal, for asking these questions.
"But that isn't going to stop me" he added "It's made me more determined to carry on asking these questions and fight for mental health causes…"
It seems that if you are a member of the public and want to ask a sincere question about the cuts to services for some of the most vulnerable people in the city you get gagged and set on by the Greater Manchester Police – but if you are a Labour councillor and want to ask about the cost of wine in a VIP suite the Mayor and his Deputy have plenty of time for this…
Shocking!
• At the Council meeting, two petitions against cuts to Sure Start Children's Centres in the Fiddlers Lane in Irlam and St Paul's in Walkden were handed in to the Council in complete silence by councillors Brocklehurst and Kean. The petitions contained a total of over 4,500 signatures.
• Later, Councillor McIntyre asked what the consultation on cuts to the Lower Broughton Children's Centre would hope to achieve. Replying, Councillor Merry said that "we are not withdrawing services for any area…the Sure Start centres will be in different premises but the services will be maintained." With a £1million cuts to the service and staff on temporary contracts already axed, many might dispute Councillor Merry's conclusions.
Main photo shows Steve Cullen showing councillor a copy of his email containing his question sent before the Council deadline
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