I marched with the Humberside Firefighters yesterday in support of their fight to prevent cuts in the service. It was the first bit of protesting I've done since ill health laid me low and it felt good.
Not that I've missed much in the fallow period; the people of Hull seem to have lost all inclination to resist the the autocrats, plutocrats, kleptocrats and anti-democrats who are bringing our society to its knees. There is little resistance to creeping fascism, or to municipal looting, in these parts. One result is that a thimble-rigger like Mr. Kim Ryley (or it Kym Riley?) can help himself to nearly a quarter of a million per annum out of our ribs as he watches the ship go down.
Another such is the Chief Fire Officer of Humberside, who appears to be a law unto himself. He, it seems, heads a select and mysterious band in his advocacy of cuts; I can't believe that he acts alone. Humberside's MPs, in East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire, are unanimous in opposition. That head-count includes Prescott PC, the firefighters' friend (that's a joke of sorts). All political parties are opposed, and all councils, except one where some sort of flim-flam occurred.
Said fire chief alleges that the butchery is in the cause of an improved service, but he's also on record as stating that the "improvements" will save £1.5 million - save for whom?

One economist's term I'm partial to, and which doesn't get used in the media is "the blood price". This is an equation - human lives and limbs weighed against profits. In other words, how many people will be killed, or maimed, or have their health ruined before the public reacts and demands reforms? Profits first, people far behind is the capitalists' rule, but they have to ensure they don't push too hard or too far. Dismantling of the Health Service, and of the Fire and Rescue Service is a tricky balancing act. But greed and arrogance coupled with ineffectual controls can lead to reckless decision making.
All's not lost, the fight goes on. There are petitions to sign at -
http://www.humberside-fbu.co.uk/