FIGHT TO SAVE WEYMOUTH REFUGE CONTINUES

I would like to thank all those who have contacted me directly to support our campaign to save the Women's Refuge. I think that the word 'disgusted' probably best describes the shared response . The County Council's Cabinet gave short shrift to the combined arguments of several Lib Dem councillors, myself & Jim Knight . There was no real attempt to listen .

At the beginning of September however I attended a meeting of the Health Scrutiny Committee whose role it is to examine the operation of the Supporting People Commissioning Body & it was clear that they were prepared to listen to the arguments & were gravely concerned, voting unanimously against the closure of the refuge.

I hope that this wasn't a pyrrhic victory. Whilst I'm sure the cabinet will ignore this decision it has now been minuted & can be debated in Council.

We are at the stage however where if the decision is not overturned we may well need to begin to raise money in order to save it. Public opinion is so strong & the refuge too important to lose.

People from all over Dorset as well as the Borough are outraged. I have rarely seen people so angry. We have over 5000 signatures on our petition now & people are still signing. When I have spoken to individuals on the street they all express the same opinion: to close a service like this goes beyond the pale.

We must also remember that cutting this service in Weymouth cuts the number of places available for women seeking safety across the whole of Dorset.

Some services are simply too important to cut. The Conservative Cabinet at County Hall think that the safety of women is less important that providing an outreach service: it is not. But this issue goes beyond party politics – we must all work together to get the Council to change its mind, & if it won’t to raise enough money to keep the refuge open ourselves.

When people in power refuse to listen to what ordinary people want, we have to take action as a community to make sure that they do.