In Oxfordshire, the Conservative-led county council has slashed public services while hoping the voluntary sector will pick up the slack. Local residents group Oxford Save Our Services has seen the devastation caused in David Cameron's backyard. So when the prime minister said he wanted private companies to be able to run all public services, we decided to take our campaign to the national level.
Oxford is rated third highest in England for the number of people working in vulnerable public sector jobs. Nevertheless, Oxfordshire county council is making severe cuts, often choosing to close services altogether rather than scale back. It is cutting services by £119m while offering a one-off "big society" fund of £600,000 — the equivalent of taking away £100 and giving back 50p.
Young people are devastated as 21 youth centres all over the county are closing, despite the "hug a hoodie" campaign and youth worker strikes. Many say they will have nowhere to go and will be lost without the trained youth workers who are losing their jobs. Charlie, 18, from Oxford detached unit, says her youth worker "saved her life".
Plans for closing 20 libraries are being delayed only because of a vociferous campaign from angry residents all over Oxfordshire, as well as famous authors like Philip Pullman. The council wants local people to volunteer to run them, but groups have insisted this isn't a solution.
Older and disabled people in Oxfordshire are being hit hard by drastic social care cuts. We know people who have lost 50% of their benefits, including 100% cuts to mobility allowance – one father says his daughter has become "a prisoner in her own home".
The council blames campaigners for cuts to social care, and insists that big society volunteers will appear to run libraries and youth centres. We don't believe volunteers will appear, and we don't think they can replace professional public sector workers, so we're supporting local strikes. We're also campaigning for corporations to pay their taxes so there's more money to go around.
But we fear yet another threat is on its way: full-scale privatisation. The recently published Open Public Services white paper will allow all public services (except the military and judiciary) to be run by private companies as well as charities, with the local authority choosing between providers. If the legislation goes ahead, our council is likely to make savings at local people's expense, sacking their workers and bringing in private companies who can cut corners to offer cheaper contracts.
I've lived in Oxford as a child, student and adult. I hate to imagine the primary school I went to, the parks I played in, the library I loved, being run by companies who charge us for entry; the university, run by corporations, available only for the richest students; services for children and young people, leisure and health centres, all up for grabs.
The parliamentary debate and the white paper consultation by the Cabinet Office focused on carefully chosen examples of social enterprises and charities running public services. It skimmed over the fact that service users have often suffered in private takeovers.
Instead of waiting for the council to privatise everything we hold dear, Oxford Save Our Services decided to work with 50 anti-cuts groups to tackle national government policy. From 29 October, we're planning a "week of auctions" where groups symbolically "sell off" services and buildings across the country, ending with the "sell-off" of parliament on 5 November. Join us and help defend public services.