Last updated: December 17th 2002
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December 16th 2002: Have just received this, which is the LGIU/DHN/TEN (Local Government Information Unit, Democratic Health Newtork, The Education Network) submission to the DTI's GATS consultation! Highly critical of both GATS and the consultation!

December 2nd 2002: WDM have released a new report, Serving (up) the Nation, which looks at the obligations the UK government has already committed itself to under its 1994 GATS commitments. Lots and lots for locally-focussed GATS activists to get their teeth into, as well as lots of other shocking revelations about what the UK has already signed away! Supported by two press releases, Fate of public services 'in the hands of unelected trade lawyers' and public service broadcasting measures threatened by free trade agreement.

December 2nd 2002: "Local councils attack WTO" - excellent story in the Guardian!

12 November 2002: Just been sent these files by Northants Green Party. They conducted a poll of passers-by to assess (and spread!) awareness of GATS. The following are links to the poll text, an accompanying flyer, and how to do the poll: The poll itself, leaflet, How to do the poll.

October 18th 2002: The "Assembly of the Regions" have just held a GATS conference in Brixen. As far as I can gather the AeR are a European-level body representing local and municipal government across Europe. The final declaration is very strong.

October 10th 2002: Under pressure, the DTI have acquiesced to a consultation on UK GATS offers. The consultation is flawed for many reasons, however. For example see the WDM DTI action page. Consultation submissions must be in by the beginning of January.

19th September 2002: Excellent new article from "The MJ", which I believe is a local government newspaper (Municipal Journal?). Click here to see it. Contains concrete suggestions of local regulation that it seems entirely plausible to argue could be adversely affected by GATS.

16th August 2002: Sorry to have been away for so long. Good news though! Both Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough Council have passed a motion (18th June 2002) and North WarwickshireBorough Council (NWBC) have followed suit too! Click on the links to see the relevant motion. News reaches us that Stratford decided to support GATS - absolutely exasperating - and that Rugby had a non-majority vote on it. (We intend to focus our energies on these councils.) This means that in Warwickshire the county council (WCC), Warwick District Council (WDC), Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough Council (NBBC) and North Warwickshire Borough Council (NWBC) have now passed motions expressing concern about GATS. Excellent!

1st July 2002: Disconcerting news. A couple of sources have suggested recently that the EU is pushing hard to liberalise government procurement globally. At the moment GP is exempt from GATS, but there is a mandate to develop disciplines on it as part of the current GATS negotiating round. Once operationalised, it could mean non-discriminatory global tendering for all central and local government procurement contracts. For more on this, click here.

1st July 2002: The requests are starting to come in. The passing of the 30 June 2002 deadline for GATS requests has seen a flurry of media activity from the big players: US, EU, Canada, Australia etc. Some links: US (press release), US (executive summary), EU, Canada.

23 June 2002: Not really a new piece of news, but here is a speech I gave on GATS and Local Government a few months ago.

9 June 2002: Press Release sent to local newspapers and radio stations; press pack downloadable from here.

4 June 2002: Web links on main page now updated - more unions/organisations added!

31st May 2002: Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough Council on the march? Apparently N&BBC have written a letter to the government and are looking to organise a seminar on GATS at some point soon. Well done Paul Galley! The Nuneaton Constituency Labour Party is also being encouraged to adopt a trade-justice themed motion too. News also reaches us that a lobby of Coventry City Council is also due to take place soon, thanks to our Coventrarian colleagues! (Is that the right word?)

26 May 2002: Update article on GATS and Local government (May 2002), from Canadian researcher Ellen Gould, available here. Obviously from a Canadian viewpoint but very relevant to this side of the pond, too.

18 May 2002: Trawling the net, have just found what looks like the LGA's official response to GATS, dated 25 April. See here for details. To boot, have just got a cheeky letter in the local paper about GATS and other trade issues, see here.

17 May 2002: Success! Warwickshire County Council's Cabinet pass the motion unanimously (10-0). All three party leaders agreed to sign the letter which will be sent out to MPs, and the motion (see 15 May link) now becomes official WCC policy. Great stuff!

15 May 2002: Warwickshire County Council about to move a GATS motion? Here is a copy of the motion (Word) going before the WCC Cabinet on 16 May. We'll update the site just as soon as we know whether it's passed or not. (For a text version of the motion click here.)

17 Apr 2002: MASSIVE BREAKTHROUGH IN NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL GATS CAMPAIGN. GATS campaigners have got hold of leaked documents from the European Commission which detail the EU's ultra-aggressive GATS attack on the service sectors of other countries. See GATSWatch. This has also resulted in comprehensive coverage in The Guardian, including a front page! Relevant articles are here.

16 Apr 2002: LGA/LGIB produce new GATS report! Available here. In the next few weeks they will decide whether to take their concerns to central government.

8 Apr 2002: Great news! Warwick District Council finally pass GATS motion! Text is available here.

Mar 2002: Oxfordshire County Council pass this motion against GATS.

14 Mar 2002: On line version / download of Warwick District Council (WDC) documentation is here. Lots of information behind this link...

21 Mar 2002: WDM lobbying pack for local government, here. An excellent resource.

12 Mar 2002: Another great article about GATS and local government, again from Canada. New Gats Rules are Wal-Mart Welcome Mat.

9 Mar 2002: EXPLOSIVE STUFF. Think these "planning" articles from Canada don't apply over here? According to Ellen Gould, independent GATS researcher, the situation in the UK is probably worse. Check out this email!

4 Mar 2002: Excellent article from Canada about GATS and local government, planning etc: Globalisation is coming to your town. Though the article is written from a Canadian perspective it is a must-read for UK campaigners too.

12 Dec 2001: East Lindsey District Council issue scathing report on GATS, click here for more details.

Government found colluding with business in secret to advance the GATS agenda and destroy the citizen's campaign against GATS! Explosive stuff...read about it here (summary) or here (more detail).