CAMPAIGNERS have launched a new attack on plans to axe the last two council-run care homes in Southampton.

A cost-cutting proposal to close Glen Lee and Holcroft House came under a fire at a public meeting organised by members of Southampton Socialist Party.

Speakers also condemned the impact public spending cuts were having on schools and other parts of the community.

They said Southampton City Council should use its reserves to safeguard services as well as launching a campaign to recoup the £100 million the government had “stolen” from the city since 2010 by slashing its annual grant.

It follows a series of demonstrations aimed at persuading the Labour-run authority to spare the two care homes.

As reported in the Daily Echo, the council says closing Glen Lee and Holcroft House would save £1.3 million a year.

More than 70 jobs will be lost if the plans are given the go-ahead although the authority has vowed to relocate staff to other areas of the service.

Glen Lee and Holcroft House are currently home to about 75 pensioners, many of whom are suffering from dementia.

The “Hands Off Our Homes” meeting was held at the United Reformed Church in Bitterne on Saturday.

Speakers included Sue Atkins, chairman of Southampton Socialist Party, who cited recent claims that some of the UK’s worst care homes are owned by companies which made a total profit of £113m last year.

She said: “The council is thinking of closing Glen Lee and Holcroft House at a time of acute crisis in elderly care.

“Where are the residents going to go – into the private sector and homes that restrict their well-being.”

Ms Atkins said the council should set a “no cuts” budget using its reserves and borrowing powers.

She added: “Local people are becoming increasingly angry that services which have been fought for over the decades are being dismantled and destroyed.

“The list of what’s been lost over the past decade is enormous.

“I want an end to poverty, homelessness, food banks and young people being robbed of a secure and prosperous future.

“If we organise we can fight – and we can win.”