Bradford jacks up rates and rents CUTS WILL BE CENTRAL TO SCOTS LABOUR CONFERENCE

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BRIEFING AGAINST THE WITCH HUNT. 5p per copy, plus 11½p postage, or 20 copies post free, from Ann Matthews, c/o Berm Labour Party, 133 Lower Rd., London SE16.

Stan Crooke THE debate on local government cuts will be among the liveliest at the Labour Party Scottish Council annual conference opening on March 12 in Perth.

Motions from Cheart West Renfrewshire, and Pollok CLPs, differ in details but propose: no cuts, no rent/rate increases, and publicity campaigns, demonstrations and strike action against the Tories.

After last year's conference, a mis-named 'council of war' , with representatives from the Scottish TUC, the Scottish Labour Party, and Labour Groups, was established, allegedly to fight the cuts. In practice, it did nothing at all.

This year there are nine motions which do no more than place demands on the next Labour government and/or call for 'United and effectivé resistance"'. . to the Tories' attacks - without saying what this should consist of.

Savage cuts in spending have already been implemented by Labour councils. Rejection of the three nocuts motions would mean a continuation of that shameful record.

They are weakened, however, by amendments proposed from North Edinburgh CLP and Lothian Region Labour Party, which advocate majority opposition by Labour Groups as an alternative to making cuts. This is likely to emphasise manoeuvres in the council chamber rather than a real confrontation with the Tories.

Motions on democracy - less numerous this year than resolutions directly on the Tory KH Scottish TUC: unions need to attacks - also focus on local government.

At last year's conference Alex Kitson, conference chairperson, fought tooth and nail to ensure the defeat of motions demanding accountability of Labour Groups. A repeat performance from Kitson or others, can be expected this year to head off the motions from Glasgow District Party, West Lothian CLP and West Dunbartonshire CLP.

These motions call for such measures as: annual election of Group or Committee chairpersons by joint Group/Party meetings: implementation of measures promised in election manifesto; minutes of Group meetings and voting records of the members to be available to the local Party; annual policy for £1 indsey BRADFORD Council's controlling Labour Group passed on an 18.2% rate increase and a rent increase of £2.27 per week to Bradford workers last week.

The budget was narrowly carried with only three Labour councillors abstaining and so refusing to endorse the increases. robilise against cuts conferences to discuss and update policies.

There is also a dangerous amendment from AUEWTASS to an East Edinburgh CLP motion. The amendment seeks to delete the final paragraphs of the motion which demand implementation of party policy by a Labour government but defend the right of groups such as 'Militant' to campaign for their own ideas in the party, and replace them with a statement of how imperative it is that "Party policy is implemented by Labour government and supported fully in opposition.

Shopping list

Given what it aims to delete, the amendment is aimed not against the likes of Dennis Healey but against the rank and file Left.

There are 27 motions on public ownership, but they read like a shopping list of what the next Labour government should nationalise, or re-nationalise:

British National Oil Corporation, British Gas, the entire energy industry, banks, friendly societies, insurance companies, building societies. salmon fisheries. land. forestry, all forms of transport. and, of course. 'the top two hundred monopolies which dominate 85b of our _economy.

They difter on compensation.

Eight motions are against any compensation, four are the Militant tendency's formula of compensation only on the basis of proven need, eight léave the question open, and a motion from Galloway CLP argues that it should be on the basis that profits acquired in the privTwo further councilors, who had originally signed a letter opposing increases, caved in following a meeting with the group leadership four days before the vote. Six prospective councillors also supported the letter along with Bradford North Constituency Labour Party, four Ward Parties, the secreate operation of these assets will be recovered."

Two motions clearly coming from Militant-supporters, call for workers' control and management;

one motion talks of 'community control' of nationalised salmon fisheries;

the other motions are silent and therefore presumably accept the present form of administration of nationalised industries.

*No compensation"

should be supported, as the best policy against the profiteers now snapping up hived-off industries.

But even 'nationalisation under workers' control and management" is inadequate on the issue of control, implying a bureaucratic concept of "socialism" as something bestowed from above by a benevolent labour government, after nationalisation.

The worst aspect of all the motions on public ownership is the absence of proposals for a campaign right now against the Tories' plans for privatisation. Only one motion, from Kirkcaldy CLP refers even vaguely to the immediate need for struggle, by "encouraging"

the Labour Party Scottish Council to do everything in its power to stop this move he the Tory government.

Waiting

The 15 motions on training and youth employment do mostly demand immediate campaigning, rather than waiting for the next Labour government. * They condemn YOP schemes and the Tories' proposals for making them worse than ever.

But the section on 'Industry and economic policy might more approtaries of four tenants' associations and Pat Wall as prospective parliamentary candidate for Bradford North.

The right wing leadership of the labour group have already begun a concerted attack on the socialist councillors. Using their control of the Executive of Bradford South Constituency they priately be entitled:

•Nationalism Alternative Economic strategy"

The next Labour government is repeatedly urged to throw up the barriers around Britain and establish a sort of island of sucialism in the midst of a capitalist Europe.

And this is seen primarily, if not completely, in terms of legislation passed in Parliament. The working class will remain passive recipients of reforms, bestowed from above.

And the motions fail completely to relate the blueprints for tomorrow to the class struggle of today.

Liveliest

An amendment from the Union of Communication Workers to a motion from AUEW-TASS will provoke the liveliest debate in this section.

The original motion is a clear statement of opposition to wage controls, whilst the UCW amendment seeks to add: "

but recognises the need for a national economic assessment between the trade unions and Labour government.

They can only mean a new social contract, another pledge by union leaders to keep down their members' wage demands.

The three other topics most likely to put some life into the proceedings are defence, Ireland and Some motions call for unilateral disarmament:

one from the Co-op calls for 'progressive nuclear disarmament" and one from the AUEW (Construction Section) calls for "world disarmament" have sent a letter to the District Party calling for the deselection of Alex Corina, one. of the three socialist coun cillors who faces election in May.

Bradford North GMC Executive have made clear their intention to appeal against any District decision which goes against Corina.

But East Dunbartonshire CLP demands immediate withdrawal from NATO and Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles CLP states that unilateral disarmament should 'have absolute priority over commitment to NATO, and over the principle continued membership of NATO.

These will clearly be vital to put teeth into the demand for unilateral disarmament. But perhaps even more worrying for the cold warriors in the Labour Party, is a motion from Berwick and East Lothian CLP. The motion calls for "support to any local authority or organised. group which tries to prevent their installation . the Party should consult with the STUC with the aim of denying the availability of trade union labour which will be necessary for the preparation of the military sites involved."

A motion like this will show up clearly who is ready to fight actively against the siting of such missile sites in Scotland, as opposed to those who want no more than good intentions for the next Labour government.

Four motions and two amendments have been submitted on . ireland. Two of the motions, from Edinburgh District labour Party and North Edinburgh CLP, call on the next Labour government to withdraw the troops from Ireland.

Only two motions one amendment deal Poland. But sharp disputes on this issue have begun even before the start of the conference.

The Labour Party Scottish Council has turned down a request from the Solidarity Trade Union Working Group for fraternal/sororai delega'es to be invited from among the exiled Polish trade unionists in Britain. On the same excuse of 'lack of time' the Labour Coordinating Committee is not prepared to have Solidarnose speaker on the platform of its fringe meeting.

One of the motions submitted Poland is from the EETPU. The antiSolidarnosc element in the Scottish Labour Party will no doubt latch onto this as proof that Solidarnose is a right wing plot to undermine socialism in Poland.

Delegates should reject such subterfuges, and come out clearly in favour of the motion and amendment from Cathcart CLP whien spells out concretely the kind of support needed to back the Polish workers' struggle: demonstrations, labour movement delegations, material support, breaking off links with the. state-run 'trade unions' in The three councillors plus the prospective councillots who signed the anti-cuts letter are to meet to discuss to publicly campaign for a 'no cuts/no rent or rate increase' position over the next year and to organise to support rent protests and cuts fights.

A public call for action against rent and • rate increases has been made and a public meeting has been: called on the Buttershaw Estate at Buttershaw Middle School on Monday 15 March at 7.30pm. Councillors and prospective candidates will speak. Councillor Alex Corina told Socialist Organiser: "I cannot support cuts of this magnitude in living standards for working class people. I hope that council tenants and ratepayers in Buttershaw will support this meeting."

If working people in Bradford are not to be forced to shoulder Tory cuts then clearly some of the strength shown in the Bradford Labour Party around the rejection of sitting MP Ben Ford must be turned towards the issue of local government. Left councillors must give clear, consistent leadership in a fight to remove the right wing from the Labour Group and mobilise the labour movement to confront this Tory government.

Barry T