Scrap the Pta!

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Thirdly, this follows a number of occasions when, under THE title of the Prevention of Terrorism (temporary provi- sions) Act is a doubly sick joke. Few of those ever arrested restricted the freedom of the GLC, in particular, and other pressure from the press and Tories, the Labour leadership has under it as become so ie orary to ence la alone terror Party members to take action over issues connected with Iretion' ; as its proposer Roy Jenkins termed it, will soon be The most recent example concerns the PTA and the proposal from the GLC Police Committee to make a grant to Usually it is renewed each year with little debate and only the Troops Out Movement to research into the effects of the a handful of MPs attending. The official Labour policy has PTA in London, something which is needed as of the 1,200 either been support for the PTA, or last year, abstention pending a 'review' set up by the government. No more than people arrested under the PTA in London only 2% were ever 50 Labour MPs have ever attended to vote against a major Michael Foot states that the policy of the Troops Out attack on the rights of the Irish population in Britain. Movement is not that of Labour Party Conference on the This year Lord Jellicoe has finished his review of the withdrawal of troops. That is true, but many other organisaAct and concluded that it should stay and in some ways be extended. The Shadow Cabinet has decided to call on MPs to tions funded by Labour authorities have policies different oppose the PTA renewal this year, and given this the sanction from Labour's, and the grant would not have been to further There are only 3 problems with what would otherwise be With the witchhunt in full swing in the Party and an election coming up, it is, in Ken Livingstone's words, 'almost imend and vote. This was deliberately chosen to avoid 'em- Firstly, a two-line whip does not compel MPs to att- possible to have a rational discussion on Ireland' where the press and the Labour leadership are concerned. Yet at the barassing' MPs such as Merlyn Rees, Roy Mason and Don same time, as the many delegates from CLPs and Party branConcannon who had supported the PTA in the past.. ches to the Plastic Bullets conference shows, it is increasingly Secondly, it is vital that the PTA is not replaced with possible to put the arguments to the rank and file in the Paranother law of the same type, in the same spirit that Don *From the latest Labour and Ireland', bulletin of the Labour Concannon said that he'd be against plastic bullets if an equally effective replacement could be found. coming up to its 9th birthday. of a two-line whip.

a major step forward. land.

charged with anything.

TOM's position on withdrawal. ty. We must build on this.

Committee on Ireland.

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SCIENCE