'Essex isn’t known as a hotbed of radicalism’: how protests turned back library cuts

After protests across the county, the council has dropped plans to shut 25 branches. Now a drive is on to prevent ‘stealth closures’

On Tuesday morning, more than 100 people gathered to march on a cabinet meeting at Essex county council’s Chelmsford headquarters. In scorching heat, protesters turned out from Hullbridge and Benfleet, Hadleigh and Great Parndon and Tye Green. “I need books, not screens,” said the banner propped on a toddler’s buggy. “No to the library vandals!” read another.

The Conservative-run local authority first unveiled its plans for libraries late last year, saying it hoped to close 25 of Essex’s 74 branch libraries, handing 19 more to volunteers and 15 to partnership schemes. The people of Essex weren’t impressed and the following months saw hundreds march against the cuts throughout the county: 500 in Manningtree, 500 in Galleywood, 300 in Colchester, 300 in Shenfield, 1,000 in Chelmsford. Tens of thousands also signed petitions in protest and a public consultation drew 20,000 responses. Then, earlier this month, Essex executed a remarkable U-turn, announcing that no library would close in the next five years.

Related: Do libraries run by volunteers check out?

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