While the government has bailed out the banks with our money, they have been stealthily rushing through a bill that will virtually abolish welfare for single parents and disabled people.

The Bill proposes a number of changes:
• phasing out income support for single parents, and cutting incapacity benefit and carers’ allowance.
• introducing a US-style workfare scheme
• increased conditions for claimants, including taking off payment for missed interviews and non-compliance with drug testing, and pressure to undertake “training”
• privatising more of the Jobcentre Plus work, with companies being paid more the less benefits they award

As most may have noticed, there has been a recent increase in the number of police stop and search operations outside tube stations and in the streets. Under the protection of section 60AA of the Criminal Justice & Public Order Act or section 44 of the Terrorism Act, police carry out what are clear abuses of authority and intrusion in our personal lives. A now hackneyed terrorist bogeyman serves to justify any arrest, whether of anti-war and anti-capitalist protesters or of any remotely 'suspicious' individual. With the DNA database expanding to further layers of the population, state control - enhanced through science and technology - is turning us all into potential suspects, at the expense of hard-won civil liberties.

The Weir Hall Action Group is stepping up its 20-year long campaign to save the Bull Lane Playing Fields on the Haringey/Enfield border near the new Sixth Form Centre in North Tottenham. They are supported by the Haringey Friends of Parks Forum and the Haringey Federation of Residents' Associations.

They are opposing Council plans to sell off some of the Council-owned green space for housing, and are developing their own community plan to manage the site for much needed sports and related activities. A decision is due to be made on September 16th.

On Saturday 19th July, 500 residents, market traders, local shopkeepers, campaigners and passers-by formed a human chain around the whole Wards Corner block by Seven Sisters tube in order to say No to evictions, No to demolition, and YES to restoration as set out in the Community Plan created by local people.

Following the protest, the private developers pulled out of the planning hearing scheduled to rule on their application at the Civic Centre on Thursday July 24th. This has been seen by campaigners as a great victory for people power.

Thanks to everyone who came along to Haringey Independence Day in April (over 200 people). It was a really useful start to building links between activist groups all round Haringey and improving our effectiveness.

We are having an initial planning meeting to discuss the idea of a similar event in 2009, on Wednesday 24 September, 7.30pm, upstairs at the Phoenix Millennium Centre, West Green Road, N15 (entrance on Vincent Road).

For a report of last year's event, go to the Independence Day website.