Library Decision "Deferral" - LBH Climbdown or Smoke and Mirrors?

According to the Hounslow Chronicle, which has been helping residents to organise against the proposed library closures, the London Borough of Hounslow would appear to be retreating from its threat to close libraries across the board and will instead be "deferring some book purchases" and launching a "more specific consultation" over libraries which will "decide the longer term strategy".

The full text of the article is available here.

Whilst this hardly represents an unequivocal declaration that our libraries will be kept open, invested in and supported as a matter of policy it is of course welcome news up to a point.

However the glad tidings do not stop there.  Proposed cuts to community halls are also to be delayed.  Youth centre activities previously under threat will now remain open and fully functional, and hugely valued but costly street cleansing services will be kept after all.

The unanswered question of course is how retaining all these facilities, retained though they should be, is suddenly going to be paid for.  A few days ago we were to all intents and purposes being told that the firstborn could no longer be fed unless we would allow every community building, every venue at which local people might conceivably come into contact with one another, to be shut down instantly.  Now suddenly it would appear this was not the case.

Which begs two further questions in particular.  The first one being, if the money to keep these premises open and these services running truly does not exist, as we were first told, then how is the local authority going to finance this new, revised agenda?

Conversely, if the funds to keep the libraries and community venues open does exist and was always available, what was the motive behind suggesting closing them to begin with?

The community should accept this news in good faith, but we must ensure that it becomes more than just a stay of execution.  Activities in defence of our libraries, community buildings and area committees must continue until we have a cast iron guarantee that they will be protected for the duration of the current administration.